THE WAY INTERNATIONAL I. BACKGROUND The Way International is a false religion commonly referred to as a cult. Walter Martin, in his book, The Rise of the Cults, defines a cult as: "A cult, then, is a group of people polarized around someone's interpretation of the Bible and is characterized by major deviations from orthodox Christianity relative to the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith, particularly the fact that God became man in Jesus Christ" (p. 12). The Bible warned us that there would be false Christs and false gospels: "If someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted...such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve" (2 Corinthians 11:4,13-15 NIV). The Way International was founded by Victor Paul Wierwille, a former pastor of 16 years in northwestern Ohio. He resigned from his pastorate and disposed of his library of some 3,000 volumes and developed his own interpretation of the Bible that became the doctrines of The Way International. He professes to have had heard God's voice: "God spoke to me audibly, just like I'm talking to you now. He said he would teach me the word as it had not been known since the first century, if I would teach it to others" (Elena S. Whiteside, The Way: Living in Love, New Knoxville, Ohio: American Christian Press, p. 178). The Way Magazine states, "The so-called Christian Church today is built essentially on man-made doctrine, tradition, confusion, bondage trips, and contradiction to the word as it was originally God-breathed" (The Way Magazine, September-October 1974, p. 7). The Way International believes Victor Paul Wierwille has the only true interpretation of the Scriptures, and is the only one who can lead fellow Bible students out of the confusion in which traditional Christianity has engulfed them. This exclusive claim to inspiration is a characteristic of cults (Josh McDowell, Understanding the Cults, p. 142). II. DOCTRINES A. Deity of Jesus Christ Fundamental to Christianity is the truth that Jesus Christ is God. Nearly every cult denies this basic Biblical truth. Wierwille and The Way international clearly deny the Divinity of Jesus Christ: 1. The Way's Definition of Jesus Christ "If Jesus Christ is God and not the Son of God, we have not yet been redeemed" (Victor Paul Wierwille, Jesus Christ Is Not God, p. 6). "God is eternal whereas Jesus was born...Jesus Christ's existence began when he was conceived by God's creating the soul-life of Jesus in Mary. God created, brought into existence, this life in an ovum in Mary's womb" (Victor Paul Wierwille, The Word's Way, Vol. 3, pp. 26, 37). "Those who teach that Jesus Christ is God and God is Jesus Christ will never stand approved in 'rightly dividing' God's word, for there is only one God, and 'Thou shalt have no other gods'...The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus Christ was a man conceived by the Holy Spirit" (Victor Paul Wierwille, Jesus Christ Is Not God, p. 79). 2. Biblical Defense of the Deity of Jesus Christ Below is an excerpt from Josh McDowell's book, Understanding the Cults, p. 151, which he lists a comparison of the attributes and titles attributed to God and those attributed to Christ. The conclusion is obvious--Jesus Christ is God: Attributes of God the Father and the Son 1. from everlasting Psalm 90:2 Micah 5:2 2. first and last Isaiah 44:6 Revelation 1:17 3. fills all Jeremiah 23:24 Ephesians 4:10 4. does not change Malachi 3:6 Hebrews 13:8 5. is the Almighty Exodus 6:3 Revelation 1:8 6. God of truth Deuteronomy 32:4 John 14:6 7. creates all things Isaiah 44:24 Colossians 1:16 8. King of Kings 1 Timothy 6:15 Revelation 19:16 9. everlasting dominion Psalm 145:13 Daniel 7:14 10. final judge Romans 14:10 2 Corinthians 5:10 11. name is above all Psalm 83:18 Philippians 2:9 12. reward is with Him Isaiah 40:10 Revelation 22:12 13. perfect love 1 John 4:8 John 15:9 14. the light 1 John 1:5 John 1:5-9; 8:12 15. our hope Psalm 39:7 Titus 2:13 16. takes away death Isaiah 25:8 2 Timothy 1:10 17. every knee bows Isaiah 45:23 Philippians 2:10 18. blots out sin Isaiah 43:25 1 John 1:7 19. forgives sin Exodus 34:7 Mark 2:5 20. calms sea Psalm 107:29 Matthew 8:26 21. prepares heavenly city Hebrews 11:16 John 14:2 22. glorify His name Isaiah 24:15 2 Thessalonians 1:12 23. glory forever Galatians 1:4, 5 2 Peter 3:18 Jesus said, "If you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in you sins" (John 8:24 NIV). B. Source of Authority 1. The Way International believes that there are two sources for truth, one is the Bible and the other is the teachings of their founder Victor Paul Wierwille. This conclusion can be easily made in the fact that he claims divine revelation from God, that he alone has the ability to instruct in the truth, especially since the first century (The Way: Living in Love, p. 178). One might notice that two other false religions have made similar claims, the Roman Catholics with their Pope who claims sole right to interpret the Scriptures, and the Mormons with the "gold plates" that Joseph Smith discovered that provides insight into the truths of God. Wierwille's view of the Bible is unique and divergent from the historical view of the Church. He says, "...The records in the gospels are addressed at times to Israel and at other times to the Gentiles, but never to the Church of God. One of the greatest errors in the translations of the Bible was placing the four gospels in the New testament. The gospels logically belong in the Old Testament" (Victor Paul Wierwille, Power for Abundant Living, p. 5). 2. "Wierwille claims that he properly interprets the Bible and preserves the meaning of the text, confident that it is God's infallible Word. But in practice, He manipulates texts, adds words to them in brackets, and, if all else fails, claims that the original meaning was "lost" by the Apostate Church and that God has given it especially to him to reveal to the world. Such practices effectively make the Bible little more than a tool in Wierwille's work to build his own system" (Robert and Gretchen Passantino, Answers to the Cultist at Your Door, Eugene Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 1981 p. 166). C. Trinity The Way International rejects the doctrine of the Trinity. They believe that God is only one person and not three persons in one as is clearly taught in the Scriptures. Wierwille stops at the verse that says, "there is one God..." (1 Timothy 2:5), and does not consider the other verses that speak of additional persons in the Godhead, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...The Word became flesh, and lived for a while among us" (John 1:1;14). That Word is Jesus who is called God! The third person is indicated in Acts 5:3, "Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit...you have not lied to men but to God" (Acts 5:3-4). D. Virgin Birth Wierwille denies the virgin birth, "If it is said a virgin shall bring forth a son your Bible would fall to pieces. It says plainly that Mary was a virgin only at the time of conception, not at Jesus' birth; the theory of virgin birth has been a theological assumption and erroneous teaching. The Bible said in verse 20 that God told Joseph, 'Take unto thee thy wife' when Joseph took her unto himself he lived with her as a husband lives with a wife. She was a virgin when she conceived by God, but when Joseph took her unto himself she was no longer a virgin. The divine conception made Mary no longer a virgin (The Way Magazine, Dec. 1970, p. 6). Wierwille's false theology comes into direct conflict with the truths of the Scripture, "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son...When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son (Matthew 1:23-25). The Bible is clear, a virgin gives birth, but The Way International denies those truths. E. Salvation Wierwille believes salvation is manifest not only by believing in Christ but also by speaking in tongues, "the only visible and audible proof that a man has been born again and filled with the gift from the Holy Spirit is 'always' that he speaks in a tongue or tongues (Victor Paul Wierwille, Receiving the Holy Spirit Today, p. 148) The Way International claims that their gospel is valid because it demands verbal confession of faith in Christ, but Jesus said, "If you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins" (John 8:24). They believe that Jesus is not God and that he was not born of a virgin, which is not believing in the same Jesus that is in the Bible. Also the manifestation of tongues is never a part of salvation. F. Abundant Life A big "lure" that The Way International uses to induct people into its teachings and practices is its promise of an Abundant Life, which is found described in this poster found on numerous college campuses: ================================================================= YOU CAN HAVE POWER FOR ABUNDANT LIVING Abundant living means you can be SET FREE from all fear; doubt and bondage; DELIVERED from poverty, sickness and poor health; OVERFLOWING with life, vitality and zest; RESCUED from condemnation and self-contempt; CURED of drugs and sex abuse. You can RESTORE your broken marriage; ENJOY a happy united family, where there is no generation gap. If you have power for abundant living you can GAIN self- respect; enjoy SATISFYING work with more than ADEQUATE income. You can OVERCOME depression, discouragement and disappointment and have LOVE, JOY, AND REAL PEACE. There can always be a POSITIVE outlook on life, day after day, with no let down. there can be a new PURPOSE in your life. If you have the more abundant life. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT! Every problem you ever had can be overcome when you are fully and accurately instructed. ================================================================= (Josh McDowell's Book, Understanding the Cults, pp. 149-150). These claims can be easily refuted by a careful study of the Bible, for example: Jesus did promise believers an abundant life, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10). But the context of this passage refers not to material wealth, but to spiritual salvation and its attendant fullness. In the lives of the Apostles we do not see great material blessings; in fact much of the first century Church was extremely poor materially, as the Book of Acts attests. The Apostle Paul and Timothy were not cured of their various afflictions and illnesses as they lived the abundant Christian life; in fact, Paul asserts that his physical affliction, a "thorn in the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7) was given to Paul for humility because of the tremendous revelations and visions he had received from God. Neither do we see peace between family members as necessarily a promise of salvation. Jesus said, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother- in-law--a man's enemies will be the members of his own household'" (Matthew 10:34-36). Each of the other claims of the poster could be similarly refuted each in turn, but the point remains that The Way's claims are distortions of the truth. III. CONCLUSION The Way International is a false Christian Cult. The deception is obvious at some points and very subtle at others. Its teachings consist of distortions of Scriptural truth, reinterpretations of Biblical texts and bold denials of Scripture that contradict the assertions of Wierwille. The salvation it proclaims is false and ineffective, being based upon a savior who is not God incarnate and a "salvation experience" which must include the speaking of tongues. Yet, according to the January 1987 issue of "The Church Around the World" it is increasingly popular both here in America and abroad. It is the third most popular cult movement, following the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. Books, pamphlets and even computer programs are some of the methods they employ to propagate their false teachings. We need to be very careful when handling any of their literature or "free" computer programs of the Bible. The Bible Program from The Way International is "tainted" with their false theology in the form of "built in" study notes. The only protection we as believers have from false teachings and false teachers is to "stay in the Word," reading it, memorizing it, and obeying it. Only then will we be able to discern the truth and discard false teachings such as The Way International. Bible Bulletin Board internet: www.biblebb.com modem: 609-324-9187 Box 318 Columbus, NJ 08022 ....online since 1986 Sysop/Webmaster: Tony Capoccia