Number 10 

Genuine Spiritual Suspicion

One of the early, further steps down arose in the Way's campaign against homosexuals. Everyone became really angry at homos when the W.O.W. program got canceled at the last moment because of them. That helped propel us to overlook what the Word actually said concerning the "remedy" that was forced upon us. However, it first must be noted that mistakes had to have been made and oversight had to have been lacking for things to even have gotten that far. The captains of the ship had missed the warning signals and their lack of vigilance actually was the cause for the terrible consequence of the canceling of the entire W.O.W. program at the last minute on the main stage of the Rock of Ages. Had that job been done right, any homosexual applicants should have been discerned and screened out much earlier. But because those responsible for the program and those who were supposed to oversee the overseers missed it, their error actually was the cause of the dashed hopes and preparations for the many legitimate and pure W.O.W. Ambassador trainees that year. But somehow the focus was directed away from that fact and believers were led to focus hatred on homos.

Instead, we were taught that "genuine suspicion" was a legitimate criterion for accosting and "inquisitioning" suspected homosexuals. First of all, suspicion is never genuine, revelation is. Second, the foundation of Biblical jurisprudence is "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." This is documented in Numbers 35:30, Deuteronomy 17:6 and 19:15 concerning crimes worthy of death, of which in Moses' time, homosexuality was one. Furthermore, this concept is echoed in Matthew 18:16 in the very same context of what was supposed to have been accurately taught to us as "Biblical Confrontation". We sure missed that! It also is mentioned in II Corinthians 13:1 and is summed up in John 8:17 "that the testimony [marturia, eye-witness testimony] of two men is true". Instead, many people were accused, confronted and railroaded out with no eyewitnesses at all, only suspicions. But we gladly overlooked this because it was for a good cause... We got rid of the hated homos. But it was not done properly according to the Word of God. Yes, some real, practicing homosexuals were smoked out, but others who were on the mend or people who were only strange or different got oppressed, accused and thrown out unjustly. God does not take to that too well... Expedience was wrought, but justice, not!

What was the legacy of this error? It served as the basis for all the other inquisitions that followed and helped turn our love-motivated ministry into a fear-motivated one. No one successfully spoke up. Instead, we all accepted the erroneous practice of "genuine suspicion", sacrificing the means to achieve the end we desired. But at the same time we all unknowingly accepted the consequence of that injustice. Many of us received that consequence when the same thing was used against us when we ourselves were cast out for even more dubious reasons. That was because an error allowed becomes a toe-hold for Satan which if not confronted becomes a foothold and then if not challenged grows like gangrene to contaminate other practices till ultimately the hand of the adversary becomes manifest in ministry matters. Later on we eye-witnessed that daily. We had been made so afraid of one set of devil spirits that we had fled from them into the open arms of another! The adversary had used an age-old hunting technique and flushed his quarry out where he could capture them. This all was made possible because the top people wanted to cover up the errors in management and leadership that had allowed the homos to infiltrate in the first place. After this the "personality" or culture of the ministry really began to change and soon the ministry started treating believers with the same venom that we'd expect to only receive from the adversary. Satan was beginning to successfully use the ministry itself as a vehicle to get even with key believers who earlier had been instrumental in defeating him.

I do not like what homosexuals stand for. What they practice is wrong. They must be confronted and if possible, helped. But we don't discriminate against the people, we do object to their actions. Realistically, homosexuality is a state so low that it is very difficult for those who practice it to receive deliverance. But that still is no cause to compromise the justice of the Word to open the door for more error. The Lord addressed the invitation for salvation to "whosoevers". This by itself is a great cause for hope and encouragement for those in need. Who are we to put a limit on that? If there is a will to believe and keep at it to receive wholeness, anyone should be allowed a continued opportunity to receive deliverance.

This situation is similar to how the early Church lost truths on their road down. Church History records the expulsions of many second and third century groups for their heretical beliefs. Most did espouse error. But many times they also held accurate beliefs or practices that no one else had as much accuracy on. However, what transpired was that both the erroneous doctrines and the accurate beliefs or practices were publicized as traits of the heretical group and so when they were condemned and excommunicated, the good got expelled along with the bad. We lost the manifestations that way, many ancient Biblical manuscripts, as well as the importance of Paul's epistles and even the way that the Bible should be studied (the word study method). In this case the accursed group, homosexuals, had no positive qualities. But while they were being expelled an erroneous practice was being instituted. It was just a different twist on the same trick. Both now and back then the same ingredients were there: pressure and intimidation, which back then was from the Roman persecutions, and the adversary had managed to infiltrate enough to effect control. It is disheartening to realize that Satan succeeded in pulling the same kind of trick on us, but it shows that Way II was on the same road down.