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foreverhis
Intermediate Member
Username: foreverhis
Post Number: 459
Registered: 9-2005
Posted From: 69.176.48.179
| | Posted on Monday, January 15, 2007 - 8:13 pm: | 
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Colossians 2
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;
12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.
16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--
17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.
18 Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,
19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.
20 If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,
21 "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!"
22(which all refer to things destined to perish with use)--in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?
23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence. |
seekingglory
Intermediate Member
Username: seekingglory
Post Number: 116
Registered: 12-2005
Posted From: 24.162.130.158
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 16, 2007 - 8:24 pm: |
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People generally join Homestead Heritage because of a perceived path to honor God, to improve their personal walk with Jesus and to care for others through the form of community. These folks are generally most often altruistic, trusting persons who may be somewhat naïve. The majority are unaware of the method Homestead uses to recruit, school, and retain members. By using the enticements of a unique fellowship within a special community they employ thought reform processes that affect the decision making and commitments of the person who enters and stays. The techniques and methods Blair Adams uses and promotes creates a vast range of consequences—psychological, spiritual, social, and financial—suffered by those dominated and controlled by this man gone astray on a personal power trip.
Blair and his ‘elders’ use guilt, fear, and intimidation to control the members. They employ the 10 basic methods as seen in so many abusive churches; control-oriented leadership, spiritual elitism, manipulation of members, perceived persecution, life-style rigidity, emphasis on experience, suppression of dissent, harsh discipline of members, denunciation of other churches, and the infliction of painful exit processes. Any person with HH membership experience can testify that the leaders of HH use all ten of these methods. Blair and Howard teach members to accept values and conduct that modify reality. Whatever they want to do is taught as doctrine. I can just hear Blair saying to himself many years ago, “if I create a community that obeys my rules, these rules are then reality, and if I declare myself a pastor I can put God's imprimatur on my wishes, my fantasies, my desires." How can he get away with it? He simply sets up a system where he is accountable to no one and therefore beyond confrontation
Once a person is able to break free from HH then healing must occur. Finding confidence again to approach group or church affiliation and overcoming distorted spirituality are part of a long list of problems to sort out and deal with on the path to recovery. Prax would have you believe that this church is innocent of all charges and most posters here are spiritually dead. But without knowing the heart of any of the posters it is possible to draw a conclusion to all this by remembering..................
Any group that leaves a trail of broken people should be avoided. There is something fundamentally wrong with a church that has destroyed the lives of so many people. |
under_grace
Intermediate Member
Username: under_grace
Post Number: 369
Registered: 9-2005
Posted From: 64.193.215.136
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - 11:35 pm: |
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Prax and Dowen,
Please respond to Col.2 especially 16-23. Do these scriptures fit with the patterns of HH?
Under Grace |
praxaluh
Advanced Member
Username: praxaluh
Post Number: 911
Registered: 9-2005
Posted From: 74.73.4.159
| | Posted on Thursday, January 18, 2007 - 10:40 am: |
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Hi Under_grace,
Colossians 2 is a major exegetical battle-ground,
with very diverse views of what is being
referenced and condemned, from (off the top of my
head, there may be more) rules coming from
gnosticism (note the 'worship of angels') to
Jewish unscriptural Talmud-ish intrusions, to
Mosaic ordinances to, apparently in your view, any
Church fellowship guidelines for the body of believers.
So to give good justice to your question, I would
have to take the time to really discuss context
and exegesis in depth. Perhaps I will do so later
today, after work, or tomorrow.
Let me ask you a question, though. Have you ever
done any substantive study and reading on the
issue of the context of Colossians 2 ? This is
not a trap or trick question, just so we are
talking on an even keel on the questions. And if
you haven't you might do a little study on your
own in the meantime.
Shalom,
Praxaluh |
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