Author Topic: Cooneyites, Naysayers, Two by twos, No namers, Church of no name, The way  (Read 7542 times)

I know that this site primarily deals with NA issues, however I feel that this is germane given that this cult offshoot of Christianity is the largest, most illusive, and potentially rapidly growing cult on the globe. Anyone, regardless of ethnological origin, should steer clear of becoming involved with this cult, even though its members are generally "warm, fuzzy, and friendly". Sites discussing this are easily located with Bing or google. I myself am a recovering cult member, even though it has been more than 2 decades since I managed to get free.


Stuart 
May we all be blessed with an abundance of peace, compassion, and love.

Offline educatedindian

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4740
Re: Cooneyites, Naysayers, Two by twos, No namers, Church of no name, The way
« Reply #1 on: November 21, 2010, 06:48:50 pm »
Could you tell us in more detail about why you consider them a cult or dangerous? I wasn't able to find much on them besides their origins and lots describing them as completely non-hierarchical. That seems the opposite of a cult, though there are items online from ex members.

------------
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_2x2.htm
....The criticism that does exist appears to be mainly that the "two by twos":

 Believe that individual cannot not be saved unless they first hear the Gospel from a 2X2 worker. This has been called the "Living Witness Doctrine."
 Believe that salvation is only attained by joining the 2X2 group, trusting in Jesus and leading a devout life. (Most Evangelical Christians and the CCM critics claim that only repentance and trusting Jesus are necessary for salvation.)
 Claim that they alone will mostly attain Heaven after death. All of those who do not belong to the group, (the remaining 99.999% of humanity) will be sent to Hell for eternal torment without hope of relief.
 Have suppressed information about their founding by William Irvine in the early 20th century.
 Teach that their group has been in continuous existence since the 1st century, was founded by Jesus, and is the only true Christian church. They teach that, over the centuries, the movement "has suffered much persecution, which is the principal reason for its obscurity and the low profile it continues to keep. Moreover, the very worst persecutors have been the Christian churches themselves, which from the earliest times have diluted and perverted the true gospel." 14 
 Believe that they have to follow strict behavioral codes throughout their lifetime. They feel that they can lose their salvation at any time. (Most Evangelical Christians believe that once one trusts in Jesus as Lord and Savior, one is saved for eternity and cannot lose their salvation.)
 Use mind-control techniques on their membership, to control their thought and behavior and almost reduce them to a zombie state. We have found no evidence of this in the 2X2s or in any other religious group.
 Are trapped in the organization and not allowed to leave. We find no evidence of this phenomenon either; members are free to leave the movement at any time. 

Only two of the above are believed to be a valid criticism of the 2X2s. The group does appear secretive about their historical background, and does have unique beliefs about salvation. But, on other matters, they are very similar to other fundamentalist Christians in their beliefs.

--------------

Found these.
http://www.rickross.com/groups/twobytwos.html
http://www.rickross.com/reference/twobytwos/twobytwos3.html

Re: Cooneyites, Naysayers, Two by twos, No namers, Church of no name, The way
« Reply #2 on: November 22, 2010, 04:11:17 am »
Well, rather than go through all the details, check this site

http://www.caic.org.au/biblebase/workers/cooney.htm

I both experienced and observed everything mentioned on that site. What I can add that wasn't mentioned there...

Children are primarily home schooled, and those that are not, such as myself, are not permitted to participate in any extra-curricular activities. The only friends permitted for association are those whom are already a part of the church.

Marriage outside the church was not permitted. Those involved in affairs, pre-marriage sex, or seeking divorce were excommunicated (including the spouse not seeking the divorce).

Smoking, alcohol, drugs, make-up, "revealing outfits", piercings, tattoos, jewelry, parties, most holidays - all forbidden.

I should mention that excommunication meant being shunned by the entire congregation. I personally witnessed this happening, and, had it happen to me. People that I had grown up with, been friends with for decades, no longer even giving the time of day simply because of the threat of excommunication and eternal hellfire. The threat of spending eternity in hell was an ever present topic of discussion.

Technology is heavily frowned upon, especially anything to do with entertainment. Our family had no television for the first dozen years, and, when we did get one, we hid it anytime an "elder" would call to come by, because to be caught would have meant possible excommunication / banishment. Members of my family who did not "belong" to the church were not permitted at church functions or gatherings on threat of banishment / excommunication of those whom invited them.

The family structure that members had to follow...the male was in charge, made all important decisions, was the "breadwinner", was the voice for the entire home. The female was to be subservient, follow the males lead in all things, take care of any of the males needs, perform all cooking, cleaning, childcare, etc., The children were to be subservient, well behaved <read be small adults>(on threat and application of both psychological and physical application), be seldom seen and less heard. Even in this, male children were given preferential treatment and girls were extensions of the mother (cooking, cleaning, etc.).

Higher education was only permitted in select fields that could benefit the church and were not objectionable to the Workers / Ministers. Sciences of almost any kind, many humanities liberal / liberal studies, critical thought programs or courses, much of theology plus more were not permitted since these courses encourage questioning and rational / critical thinking. Questioning the faith or the Workers was seen as straying or being influenced by Satan. Dinosaurs, evolution, quantum mechanics, other galaxies, the composition and history of our planet, et al ...all works of either Satan or God, with God "testing" our faith.

The Workers (as they are referred to) hold power through the threat of excommunication. Salvation is only obtainable by following their directives and living a pure life. They preach that they are the only ones who can correctly interpret scripture and therefore, salvation is only obtainable with their assistance. Failure to attend even one church function is scrutinized and could be reason for excommunication. The hierarchy always consisted of one senior worker and one junior worker in a county or area. The workers within a state were overseen by a worker who was in charge of that state, and these in turn selected an overall national leader. I have heard, though not verified, that national leadership was alternately handed down or even earlier, inherited.

Members often stay in this cult for fear of losing contact with their family and friends through shunning, and, of course, there is always the threat of hell.

As a child, before our family started "to stray", the threat of being burned alive forever was to say the least, a significant motivator. After that came "Why can't we go see ( fill in name of former excom member)? " Because s/he has strayed and is now under the influence of the devil". Grow up hearing that and living with that year after year and it's D*** effective. Personally, I credit this cult with causing me to become a predator (no longer, different topic). That however is a different topic which I'm not qualified to scientifically support, not being a psychologist or behavioral specialist, only a biased ex-participant.

Only after I got out did I begin to realize how pervasive the programming was...almost 2 decades later, I still catch myself with hangups from that time.
 
May we all be blessed with an abundance of peace, compassion, and love.

Re: Cooneyites, Naysayers, Two by twos, No namers, Church of no name, The way
« Reply #3 on: November 22, 2010, 04:51:59 am »
Sounds like the evangelical co-workers I worked with at a job here a couple years ago. All other branches of Christianity were, of course, wrong. Somehow, they didn't understand how I could call it a "fear-based" religion.

Their plan is to band together, fundamentalists, across the nation and get congregations to vote for this or that person, or this or that law, in an effort to bring America under Biblical law, since America, in their view, is founded on what they believe is "Christianity", which is to take the Bible literally.

Basically, any organized religion could be called a cult, they just have differing levels of severity for breaking the rules I guess.

I watched this thing on the Jim Jones suicides, and Jim Jones reminded me of James Arthur Ray.

Glad you were able to get away from them.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2010, 04:53:56 am by critter »
press the little black on silver arrow Music, 1) Bob Pietkivitch Buddha Feet http://www.4shared.com/file/114179563/3697e436/BuddhaFeet.html

Offline Sparks

  • Posts: 1412
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_2x2.htm

URL changed to: http://www.religioustolerance.org/two-by-two-church-menu.htm

Found these.
http://www.rickross.com/groups/twobytwos.html
http://www.rickross.com/reference/twobytwos/twobytwos3.html

Not found there, but in this new domain of Rick Ross there are several articles:

https://culteducation.com/group/1204-the-two-by-twos-cooneyites.html

Several discussions in the Cult Education Institute's forum, use the search function and enter any of the terms from the title of this thread:

https://forum.culteducation.com/index.php

Many good links here (from 2003, edited in 2010), although some of them not working now:

https://forum.culteducation.com/read.php?12,2439,2439