Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Paedophilia among the brethren


Let's not cover it up.


The use of the word paedophilia  is an abuse of language. It means love of children but its practice is the opposite. Genuine love of children is a precious attribute, illustrated by the Lord when He took little ones on His knee. Paedophilia today is abuse of children where they are merely instruments for self gratification.
Abuse is probably more common among us than we would care to admit. Police clearance certificates may be a cover for abusers. They don’t commit their first crime until they have been cleared. Most such crimes are committed in the home rather than at the back of the hall anyway.
The issue is what should be done with the offenders once they are exposed. Many of our leading brethren will insist not to expose them. Thus they continue in their assaults.
I am told the scriptural pattern is for elder brethren to deal with the offender. He may then be put out of fellowship until he repents. I will cite a case where all involved are personally know to me.
A girl in a northern assembly was befriended and shown a lot of kindness by her Bible Class Leader and his wife. The man was also an elder in the assembly. The girl complained to a visiting preacher that she had been raped several times by this man, first when she was thirteen years old. When she was sixteen he thought he had made her pregnant and took her to a clinic. He was challenged by the remaining elders and was consequently put out of fellowship. Later he “repented” and was received back into fellowship. Nothing else to date has happened to him in relation to his crime.
I can tell you of another man, an elder in an assembly who raped a schoolgirl and then thought it was all put right when he eventually married her.
We can cite many similar stories. My readers will know of many more. Is it right to cover it up?
The local church has no authority to judge in criminal cases. To follow this course is to establish cult status This is what the Cundick/Jackson case is all about. Incidentally we hear of several others who have now come forward to report his abuse.
In civil offences committed against us by our brethren, we bear the wrong. In criminal cases there is a duty to report it. There may be no legal duty to make a report but there has to be a moral and a Christian duty to do such. Otherwise the perpetrator is left free to continue in his crimes.
The victim in any case will not be taking the offender to court. In criminal cases the Crown Prosecution Service does this. It is Crown v. Offender.
We strongly advise any who have been abused to make it known to the police. It is not necessary to discuss with overseers first. They may well increase your pain and suffering in attempts to shut you up.  .   

Friday, April 26, 2013

No Enemies?

“No Enemies”

You have no enemies, you say?
Alas, my friend, the boast is poor.
He who has mingled in the fray
Of duty, that the brave endure
Must have made foes, if you have none,
Small is the work that you have done.
You’ve hit no traitor on the hip,
You’ve dashed no cup from perjured lip,
You've never turned the wrong to right,
You've been a coward in the fight

Charles Mackay.


So my brother, are you the coward? The man who cries "Do not rock the boat"? You will not name the foe, though the Lord did, and the apostle Paul. Paul even showed Peter up on one occasion, naming him in Scripture that his error would be for ever exposed

The boat sinks not by rocking but because the chief man on oversight has pulled the plug out. At least, drowning together provides unity.

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Monday, April 22, 2013

New Title

We are now "Waymarks for Believers".  Not all Brethren are believers sad to say. Many will not admit it but when asked about their conversion they go all coy.
If you cannot recall a conversion experience, you are still hell-bound. Go to my Gospel Page, Way for ther Weary.  www.desertmates.blogspot.co.uk

If you are not interested in Bible truth, go back to your telly.We are writing for the benefit of Bible Believers.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Mind the Oversight!


Question in Believers Magazine, April 2013. 

click here to read full text  question box

Regarding inviting brethren to give ministry if they are from “assemblies that have drifted away from New Testament patterns”.
[A] brother who is “urging that we should stop inviting them to our meetings” has made his position clear, presumably to the overseers. He should leave the matter there. We should do all in our power to maintain unity among the Lord’s people.
Dr West, mentions several possible points of departure. “do the women wear head coverings at all  the meetings? Do the sisters take a public part in the gatherings? Is there a full-time elder who is paid a fixed stipend? Does the questioner any longer regard these companies as local churches meeting according to the word of God? If not, there are serio0us implications.
Serious indeed! We reply. Dr West does not believe the Bible I believe. He visits other companies and criticises the Bible most of the people are holding in their hands. I do not listen to a man who is out to destroy my faith.
But what if the elders are united in inviting a man to speak when he is from a place where adulterers are in fellowship? A divorced and remarried man (or woman) is an adulterer.
How about the A-millenialists among us, and those being invited to speak by an A-millenialist oversight. Or those who preach Calvinism? Assemblies are RIDDLED with them.
Precious Seeders are even denying the need of a decisive fixed point Biblical conversion.
Must I sit tight-lipped and endure such, telling myself this is keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace? Perhaps it is time to make a fresh start.
Separation is a dirty word among the Brethren. There are many places listed in Roy Hill’s !”List of Assemblies where I am not prepared to have fellowship. Because it is only possible to have fellowship with those who are likeminded. I thank God I am not alone.
But the main issue of the Q and A is  “drifted away from New Testament patterns”. Discerning brethren will understand this to mean abandonment of Brethren practices and not departure from Scripture. It is rare and has always been rare to see all sisters with their heads covered when in an assembly meeting. Usually for young women it is a beret pinned vertically to the nape.
It is Bible truth that has been abandoned, for the sake of supposed unity. Believe what you like but please do not rock the boat.

God does not expect us to recognise the unrecognisable.

Friday, April 05, 2013

Are you really saved?

Learn how even Precious Seed committee members can get saved.
Go to my blog  Way for the Weary.  www.desertmates.blogspot.co.uk
-or via my profile.