The Readers Digest is a monthly magazine with articles of varying quality covering a wide range of subjects and interests.The magazine has a large circulation in Britain and North America, helped by vigorous advertising. Over recent months a new advert has appeared in this magazine on behalf of the United Church of God. The…
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It is official. In fact, the claim appears on the web-site of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts. The claim? ‘During the past 112 years, more than 50,000 authenticated testimonies of healing have been published in the monthly and weekly Christian Science Journals’. And that is not all. They claim that…
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In this article we are going to look in more detail at what Christian Science teaches and believes. At the outset I want to make five introductory points in order to approach the subject responsibly. First, Christian Science beliefs are expressed clearly in many books and pamphlets as well as on their own website.…
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Here is another significant date in the history of Christian Science: 6 January 1895. On that day the 'Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science', Mary Baker Eddy, gave a 'Dedicatory Sermon' in her rather lavish 'First church' in Boston, Massachusetts. The occasion? 2600 children had given generously towards a room in the building for…
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Christian Science, or to use the official title, the Church of Christ, Scientist. Their world headquarters is in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Here, too, is their 'Original Mother Church', built in 1894. The group operates in 70 countries and has over 2,200 branch churches. Most of the 'churches' are found in English-speaking countries: the USA,…
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A cult. That was the claim I made in last month’s article regarding the Raven/Taylor group within the Exclusive Brethren movement. Here are some reasons in support of this claim. Allegiance Firstly, members must give total allegiance to their leaders. Jim Taylor Sr died in 1953 and six years later his son established himself…
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Aberdeen, July 1970. Does this date and location have any significance for you?Probably not. However, for those readers who were, or still are, members of the Exclusive Brethren then the date will probably be significant. And the reason? Well, Aberdeen, July 1970 was a milestone for many Exclusives; it was a crisis and a…
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Two days after the Waco holocaust on 19 April 1993, a newspaper interviewed Graham Baldwin, a former London University chaplain, who had previously helped to bring approximately 200 people out of various cults. With an eye partly on Waco, Baldwin remarked, ‘It is no good people saying that everybody has a right to join…
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I am grateful to readers who write to me in response to my Evangelical Times articles. The letters are always interesting and useful. Some provide me with valuable additional information and insights into a cult, while others are extremely critical of what I write. But each letter is considered carefully and often referred to…
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It was 19 April 1993 and the first week of our college summer term. At the end of one class, a little before 11.00 a.m., I walked down the corridor towards my room only to be greeted with the news that there was an urgent telephone call waiting for me in the main office.…
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A return visit. That is how I describe this month’s article. And it is a return visit to the Worldwide Church of God. The reasons? Well, there has been an encouraging response from several readers concerning my articles on the WCG. Not all have agreed with me, but most comments have been constructive. Secondly,…
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In this second article we evaluate the changes which have occurred within the WCG. The changes have been extensive and startling, but are they adequate? Have the doctrinal changes filtered through to affect members and leaders at local levels? These important questions will be considered below. Further background For the United Kingdom, Ireland and…
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