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Those of us who attended school from 1945 - 1957, have seen
many changes in the attitude of the FOC.
In elementary school, their children seemed quite normal. One of our classmates was best friends with a
"Kisser" who came to birthday parties. When we were in Junior High, she would not
have anything to do with the rest of us.
We were all shocked to find out, in the eighth grade, that another one,
T---, was dropping out of school to get married! Who would marry a child of
that age?
As adults there were
some followers who played cards with a group of us and belonged to the same
archery club. I didn't shoot field
archery, so I would watch their baby while they were on the range. One follower friend offered to watch my
children when a group of us were in Salem lobbying for a law to inoculate all
children. There was a minor outbreak of meningitis that killed a couple of
their children and it made us realize that having their children in the public
schools endangered our own loved ones.
One of our dear friends is not only a follower - she is a
true Christian. She does not shun anyone; she embraces those who are true
friends. We giggle at one memory: She
had very serious medical problems after the birth of a baby. She was anointed and prayed for and came home
in bad condition. Another friend sneaked
some pain pills through her bedroom window and she heard the women say,
"Oh, look how peaceful she is resting, our prayers are being
heard!" When her husband went
hunting, she would come to our parties occasionally, but she never drank
liquor, she just had fun.
A young woman on our
street went into labor and FOC parked any way they wanted. The police were called, so neighbors could
have access to their own driveways. That
is one of our peeves about them. They
don't care who they inconvenience, as long as they get their way. By the way,
the baby died.
One of the problems that has progressed over time is the FOC
teenage boys are acting ruder and more gang like than they were years ago. This [group] has no true guidance, the children have
never been taught any of the fascinating stories that are hidden from them by
false prophets who started and controlled a group of people. Their parents are totally ignorant of what
Christianity means.
Open your doors, open your hearts, open your minds. THERE IS A WONDERFUL FREE WORLD OUT HERE!
They have changed. They used to be more friendly to "worldly people" because they were open to members coming in from the "world" when you could be baptized by the right person "the apostle" and have a chance at salvation by being baptized into the correct church.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it was believed to be more of a gathering of the elect, such as comes along with Calvinist type doctrines. They certainly were and are extreme Calvinist in that they believe people are created to go straight to heaven (them) and straight to hell (the rest of the people in the world). Not everyone believes that way but a lot do.
When Walter died, baptism ended, the fullness of the gentiles came in and the church became closed, and if you are not in you are considered by many to be doomed.
I hope this is not taken the wrong way.The FOC is Not calvinist at all.I would think it would be more like arminian.That theology alines with the FOC. Election is a undebatable doctrine that's taught in the word of God.Man don't do the choosing of salvation.Salvation is of the Lord.Because they also teach you must keep the law in order to maintain your salvation.No election in that!That would be man centered theology not biblacal theology.If being elect makes you a calvinist then Apostle Paul was a calvinist before calvinist were calvinist.John,Peter,Paul,and Jude all taught the doctrine of election long before John Calvin ever did. And if that makes me a calvinist then I don't mind being in line with the scriptures, but prefer to be called reformed.As a member of the FOC we need reform.For some reason I have a hard time posting with my name so I will sign off with it Shane Womack.Greetings from Idaho. MAY THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN RECEIVE THE REWARD OF HIS SUFFERING
DeleteShane,
DeleteThank you for using your name and speaking on behalf of your convictions.
Please continue to join the discussion.
If you select the "name/url" option, you can enter your name without a url address :)
The "L" in TULIP which is an acronym that refers to the five points of Calvinist doctrine stands for limited atonement. It is very Calvinist and not Arminian to believe in Christ's limited atonement and that Jesus atonement was only for the elect, not for everyone. The FOC in Oregon City is much different now, than the FOC in Idaho. Most people in the FOC in Oregon City believe that Christ died for the elect only and take that a whole step further to believe that Christ died only for the people in the Oregon City FOC and that if you are elect, you must be in the FOC in Oregon City.
ReplyDeleteIt has nothing to do with whether or not election or predestination is biblical, but takes the belief to a different level. Not only is it believed that Jesus died only for the elect, but that they know who the elect are and they are in Oregon City, not Idaho or anywhere else.
OMG, we who have the ability to know fact from fiction are totally shocked that one insignificant little cult can actually believe they are the "chosen' elite. How do they rationally think that they can ignore all the facts taught in the Bible?
ReplyDeleteThe only conclusion that we can think of is that this frightened insignificant group has put themselves above all the prophets God put on this earth. Just by being a member of Oregon City FOC, they go to heaven and all the people who have devoted their lives to help others go to Hell.
We hope the FOC enjoy their self-made heaven, while the rest of us enjoy the beauty of an Everlasting Life in Heaven.
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