I don’t really keep up on this site much anymore but I appreciated your comments and wanted to give just a little input on a few of your musings.
The ABC has some heavy misogynistic practices. Women only eat after the men. Women must don a head covering in the meetings or if praying anywhere; even though this was only mentioned one time in the Bible, in a letter written only to the Corinthian people and the writer of that letter never expected it to become widely published and a “law” for all. Women are not allowed to teach. Again, from a letter the writer never expected to be published globally. None of these things line up with the examples left by Jesus. He enlisted many women as his disciples.
The general consensus in the ABC is that if one is accused by senior management, they must “repent” even if there was no actual wrong. When I was accused, I was told I could not speak or offer any defense of my words. Over and over, I heard from people showing up at my door after I was excommunicated, (unwilling to step inside to talk since they were told that would cause them to become “oppressed”), that I needed to “just go along with what they say, even if they’re wrong, for the sake of unity”. That’s not unity, that’s authoritarian rule.
On the face of it, there seems to be happiness and joy in the ABC. Behind the scenes is actually a great deal of fear, anxiety and depression. The upper echelons rule through fear. There is a great deal of talk in private “off the record” that goes counter to the accepted view. As an elder, not by choice but by decree, I saw how many people came for prayer and anointing for “oppression” at every weekly meeting. “Oppression” is the standard term used for depression or anxiety.
It is a standard teaching of the ABC that “protecting the body” is over all, even if that requires lying. Even if it is close family that must be shunned. Even if it is lifelong friends that must be alienated. I do not recall there was any teaching of Jesus that delineated such a practice. These are all markers of a cult. Jesus associated with anyone and lifted burdens, not inflicted burdens too heavy to bear. His mission was not to instill fear and isolation. As to secret meetings, Jesus had none. Even the day of Pentecost was witnessed by others not associated with Jesus. The all-churches begin with the elders marching a perimeter around the grange hall to separate it as “holy ground”. I was there one time when the fire inspector showed up to do a walk-through and the hall had to be “sanctified” all over again. That’s superstition.
As to the source of my father’s teachings, you are mostly correct. When I was born my father was a “youth minister” at a Presbyterian church in Tacoma WA. I only know those days from stories he told since I was too young to be aware. He attended two seminaries, the last being in Eugene OR. These were when I was an infant. My first personal church recollection was that of Noti Pentecostal church in Noti OR. This could be classified as a “holy roller” church with people being “slain in the spirit” at the prayer meetings and lots of hellfire and fury taught from the pulpit. Each meeting many would fall to the concrete floor and lay quivering in some sort of trance. As an age five- to eight-year-old, church could be scary.
My father’s job is what led us to Seattle and he became reacquainted with James Watt, once a co-worker with Derek Prince ministries. I became aware, in my research, that my father had actually met Watt long prior to us moving to Seattle. Watt was the greatest influence on ABC doctrine. Many of his other ABC teachings came from reading religious books and listening to Christian radio in the car, despite his instructions not to read these books or listen to any Christian radio. He did both all the time. I was in the car with him when he listened to the “Wells” teaching on radio, as well as the “Horns of the Altar” teaching. He then wrote those up as his own then traveled between areas teaching them as his own. They weren’t. Nearly all of the basic ABC salvation doctrines came from James Watt, who learned them from Derek Prince. In fact, if one acquires the Derek Prince book “Foundational Truths for Christian Living” on Amazon you will find it is all nearly identical to ABC doctrine. As I show on this site, the Daily Reading Card” was originally made by James A Watt. It was then duplicated exactly by the ABC and presented as my father’s creation. It was not. The use of the Stegenga Greek concordance, Vines, Panins’ etc., was all first initiated by James A Watt as an efficient method of study. There is very little that is original in the ABC.
You referenced Mormonism, Jehovah Witness and Freemasonry. I was unaware Bruce was raised in the Mormon church and that explains a little more of his outlook on life. In regards to the reference aligning ABC practices with Jehovah Witness there are in fact many distinct parallels. Shunning, pushing aside family, abuse of any person with a view different from the upper echelons, etc. There are parallels between all three…Scientology, Jehovah Witness and the ABC. Leah Remini, an escapee from Scientology, produced an excellent video illustrating comparisons of Scientology and JW and these can be extrapolated to parallels to the ABC as well. It can be watched for a couple bucks online but is very well done. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niZVKjaP8ZM
I don’t know of any family history showing my father was ever a Freemason. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and when he left the war (WWII) he became a Seabee in Tacoma WA for a while. This is when he began to seek out Christianity and was soon associated with the Pentecostal movement, William Branham, Kuhlman, A.A. Allen and a host of other Pentecostal preachers. I would think he would have been averse to joining Freemasonry, but I was too young then to have any firsthand knowledge.
Since leaving the ABC; kicked out for all of eternity actually; I have been in contact with many persons across the globe who have been subjected to the exact same crushing practices used by the ABC. It would seem this is epidemic in Christianity and stems from the fleshly desire of certain types of men (authoritarians) to lord it over another. I suppose there may be a few women with this same outlook but the ones I have encountered have been predominantly men. This is not anywhere close to the example Jesus gave us of love, acceptance and freedom. From what I have seen there are some universal “untruths” that permeate churches like this and these are the very things Jesus pushed back against. It is what caused him to upset the tables of those selling offerings (salvation) at the temple gates, or caused him call the Pharisees “vipers” and “whitewashed tombs”. This is the basis for the statement that we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood but instead wrestle principalities and powers. Authoritarian false doctrines that bind mankind. Jesus set us free from the law of sin and death. Now men want to bring it all back, even to the point of initiating again the Old Testament feasts.
You are correct in stating the ABC is a “secret society”. Secret societies have a public facing side to give them credibility, but it is that secret side where all the abuses happen out of the view of many. No one is accepted into the ABC unless you first go through their ritual baptism using their particular rules and codes. Their baptism is the only valid one, per their view. I have covered this on my site in detail. If they want to accept this doctrine of “perfect spiritual genealogy” they will be severely disappointed to learn my father’s baptism did not follow the ABC rules in any way which then corrupts the entire lineage downstream.
As to tithe, they reference tithing to Melchizedek. The upper echelons place themselves as the face of Melchizedek and insist they must be tithed to. I have mentioned many times, over many years, to follow the money. There are a few who have enriched themselves on the financial degradation of others. This example of Abraham and Melchizedek does not reference an ongoing tithe. The tithe (tenth) given came from a one-time spoil of war and did not come from his established earnings. It was a tenth of the plunder after a battle and was a celebration of a victory. There is no New Testament doctrine on tithe at all. While I appreciate generosity, and ten percent is a good number for many, if a person chooses to tithe or give money or goods, more or less than ten percent, to another entity not the ABC, the question would be; why is this still not giving?
Go without grocery money and go without basic living expenses but pay up to the elite elders, apostles, etc. because how else can you hear the word of God without them and they need compensation for their services. Everyone else is slaves who go without thing so these men can survive comfortably. You lower members don't serve or contribute or minister. You add nothing but the higher ups are so worthy.... pay up or be cut off. That's been my take away.
That is a quite adequate explanation. Recently I learned the ABC actually sued one of its members in Clark County in order to gain tithe they felt had not been adequately given and over a piece of antique furniture that was coveted (case 23-4-00409-06). Whenever there are abuses, follow the money.
The principles the ABC teaches repeatedly rely heavily on a series of accepted books and draw heavily from a letter Paul wrote to the Hebrew people. What is missing is they have forgotten to follow the lessons Jesus taught through parables and see their words of Jesus as having more weight than those of Paul and others. Jesus delineated five most important things and they are these:
· Justice
· Mercy
· Faith on God
· Love
· Tolerance
The greatest in that list is “love”. “Tolerance” is simply an extension of that same love to ones we would consider most unlike ourselves. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, it was those of the same faith, who were too busy trying to please God through their religious practices who were the villains of the story. The hero was a man the Jew would have seen as a defiled enemy. Once you move past those five things, the rest is open to interpretation. This notion in the ABC that with enough Greek word study everyone will all see as one…is wrong. The entire universe is diverse, all mankind is diverse. We will never on earth see eye to eye completely. We have different languages, different dialects, different cultures… And those who believe their sets of books will set men free…they only work in English. The great commission applied to the entire world with all its diverse languages, not just English. Bruce Leonard once told me one cannot find salvation without the Stegenga Greek Concordance. That is putting a lot of trust in a man not really knowing if what he wrote was right. He may have been wrong or misguided. Number three on that list is Faith on God, not John Stegenga.
I wish you well.
