Quote:
Originally Posted by tv1a
Here's a naive thought.
Why not create a Christ identity?
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Jesus Christ has very little to do with this whole "Apostolic Identity" thing. It's more about preserving the new status quo that was gained at a terrible price.
Lies were told, innocent people were smeared and vilified. The true history of Oneness Pentecostalism and its diversity was edited. A very harsh and intellectually corrupt regime was forced upon the entire fellowship. If you didn't play ball then you were "charismatic," slandered and disfellowshipped.
There is a lot invested in this "Apostolic Identity" program. It is the culmination of the all the hard work done by men like L.E. Westberg and Ike Terry. Westberg made the Kansas District what it is today and Terry set the pace for the ruinous pogroms that were carried out in California for so many years.
Terry had deliberately moved out to CA in the 1950's and settled in Clyde Haney's backyard to challenge those who were "weak on doctrine." He famously proclaimed himself as being the "First to Preach This Message in the Valley!" despite Haney's longstanding efforts. That is how little Terry thought of his own brethren. He promoted the whole program that saw many of his ideological soul mates move out to CA and establish themselves with the intention of "taking over the district." This led directly to the Western District's reputation as being one of the most divided and nasty places to minister within the UPC fellowship right up until just a few years ago.
There's a lot of nastiness invested in this program. A lot of hate and vile that has been documented over the years and has caused the UPC and Oneness people in general to be labeled as a cult by almost all of the rest of our society. People don't back down from their bigotry and hatred very easily, so I would expect this nonsense to continue into the foreseeable future.
The current "Apostolic Identity" program is founded upon the "I hate my brother" mantra of men like Westberg and Terry.
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