Hi, brothers and sisters in the Lord,
After more than a year of being away from the BF forum, I'm back.
For those of you who are new to BF since I was last on the forum, I came to a knowledge of Biblical marriage because of more than 1,000 hours of intense study and research about 2-1/2 years ago. The results of that study and research found its way into a dissertation (still unpublished) of slightly more than 50,000 words entitled For This Cause: What the Bible Actually Teaches About Marriage. It also discusses the related topic of divorce. In late July of 2010, before the dissertation was completed, I was fired from my position as Assistant Pastor, and was later excommunicated from the denomination. (Church of God, Cleveland,TN.) I was fired because I made this statement: "The Bible does not teach that it is a sin for a man to have more than one wife." The statement was made in a private conversation that was subsequently made public by the other person when I was not present, and the Senor Pastor fired me when I refused to recant it. I told him I would be glad to recant that statement if he could show me from Scripture that it is not true - which, of course, he couldn't do. According to the Church of God Minutes (their doctrinal statement, constitution, and bylaws) I should have had a trial presided over by an Administrative Bishop from a different state than the state where where I was ministering, so I could face my accusers and defend myself, and must also be found guilty of whatever charges were brought against me before my ministerial credentials were pulled and I was excommunicated - but that legality was ignored, and I was drummed out with a letter in the mail that didn't name even one accuser. It simply said that I was no longer a credentialed minister, and was also no longer a member of the denomination, because I believe the false doctrine that "polygamy" is not a sin. They didn't even know enough about my beliefs to know that I believe polygyny is not a sin, but polyandry - which is included in the definition of polygamy - is condemned in both the Old and New Testaments! The Administrative Bishop who excommunicated me didn't have one conversation with me at all after he was appointed to his position - he simply signed the paperwork as if I had been properly accused, tried, and found guilty. We had one short conversation about two months before he was appointed to the position of Administrative Bishop, but not about anything I believe that might be different than what the denomination teaches, it was just a friendly conversation between two friends. (Some friend!) When I protested to the denomination's Ministerial Relations Board about the way I was defrocked and excommunicated without even any formal charges, let alone a trial, I was told that I could be restored if I repented, etc. But I did nothing wrong, unless studying the Bible for myself is a sin, and I won't repent of or recant God's Truth. So I dropped it and moved on.
BTW, no one in the Church of God knew about my dissertation. All they knew (and to my knowledge, all that they know to this day) was that one statement I made. If they had read my dissertation (which was completed by the time I was excommunicated), they probably would have burned me at the stake, because I propose polygyny as a ministry to the church's unwed mothers and their children!
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A lot of things have happened in the past year, most of which will not be discussed on the forum.
Two things I can say, though, are that I'm now in Colorado Springs, CO. I moved from Gallup, NM, to Albany, NY, for about three months (and had an operation on my neck at the VA hospital in Albany), then, in April this year, moved to Colorado Springs, the town where I grew up. The town has really grown since I moved away in 1975 - from under 100,000 population then, to almost 500,000 now! That makes most of the city new to me.
The other thing that can be discussed is that I am now a full-time student, and plan to eventually earn a PhD in Theology and Apologetics from Liberty University. That will make the "Poly" in my screen name, PolyDoc, true in reference to having more than one doctorate. It is already true in reference to my belief that polygyny is a form of marriage that is approved, and in some cases, required, according to true biblical doctrine. My DD is not an earned degree, and it will take a few years to accomplish the requirements for the PhD. Most of the required classes can be taken online, but some of the advanced graduate-level classes will require my presence on the campus in Lynchburg, VA, for a couple of weeks each semester. (Maybe the Lord will see fit to bless me with a motorhome before then...)
I'm debating within my own mind about whether or not to try writing my doctoral dissertation on the subject of marriage, when I get to that stage of my studies. But, of course, whatever I do write about must be approved by the powers-that-be at LU, so I might not have that option - especially if I tell them that one reason I want to write on that topic is because the Church has been teaching false marriage doctrine since about AD 900, give or take a few decades.
It might take me a few weeks to get caught up on what has happened in Biblical Families during my absence, but I plan to resume contributing to the forum on a regular basis. I've done a lot of studying over the past 18 months (more of that studying was outside of classes than in classes) and I have changed my position in several major areas of doctrine as a result of those studies. Some of my changes in doctrinal beliefs might make it a little more difficult to be accepted for graduate-level work at LU, because I now very strongly disagree with some of the doctrinal positions that are very strongly believed by the Baptists and most other conservative evangelical denominations. (Especially in the area of eschatology, but more on all that in future posts.)
After more than a year of being away from the BF forum, I'm back.
For those of you who are new to BF since I was last on the forum, I came to a knowledge of Biblical marriage because of more than 1,000 hours of intense study and research about 2-1/2 years ago. The results of that study and research found its way into a dissertation (still unpublished) of slightly more than 50,000 words entitled For This Cause: What the Bible Actually Teaches About Marriage. It also discusses the related topic of divorce. In late July of 2010, before the dissertation was completed, I was fired from my position as Assistant Pastor, and was later excommunicated from the denomination. (Church of God, Cleveland,TN.) I was fired because I made this statement: "The Bible does not teach that it is a sin for a man to have more than one wife." The statement was made in a private conversation that was subsequently made public by the other person when I was not present, and the Senor Pastor fired me when I refused to recant it. I told him I would be glad to recant that statement if he could show me from Scripture that it is not true - which, of course, he couldn't do. According to the Church of God Minutes (their doctrinal statement, constitution, and bylaws) I should have had a trial presided over by an Administrative Bishop from a different state than the state where where I was ministering, so I could face my accusers and defend myself, and must also be found guilty of whatever charges were brought against me before my ministerial credentials were pulled and I was excommunicated - but that legality was ignored, and I was drummed out with a letter in the mail that didn't name even one accuser. It simply said that I was no longer a credentialed minister, and was also no longer a member of the denomination, because I believe the false doctrine that "polygamy" is not a sin. They didn't even know enough about my beliefs to know that I believe polygyny is not a sin, but polyandry - which is included in the definition of polygamy - is condemned in both the Old and New Testaments! The Administrative Bishop who excommunicated me didn't have one conversation with me at all after he was appointed to his position - he simply signed the paperwork as if I had been properly accused, tried, and found guilty. We had one short conversation about two months before he was appointed to the position of Administrative Bishop, but not about anything I believe that might be different than what the denomination teaches, it was just a friendly conversation between two friends. (Some friend!) When I protested to the denomination's Ministerial Relations Board about the way I was defrocked and excommunicated without even any formal charges, let alone a trial, I was told that I could be restored if I repented, etc. But I did nothing wrong, unless studying the Bible for myself is a sin, and I won't repent of or recant God's Truth. So I dropped it and moved on.
BTW, no one in the Church of God knew about my dissertation. All they knew (and to my knowledge, all that they know to this day) was that one statement I made. If they had read my dissertation (which was completed by the time I was excommunicated), they probably would have burned me at the stake, because I propose polygyny as a ministry to the church's unwed mothers and their children!
----
A lot of things have happened in the past year, most of which will not be discussed on the forum.
Two things I can say, though, are that I'm now in Colorado Springs, CO. I moved from Gallup, NM, to Albany, NY, for about three months (and had an operation on my neck at the VA hospital in Albany), then, in April this year, moved to Colorado Springs, the town where I grew up. The town has really grown since I moved away in 1975 - from under 100,000 population then, to almost 500,000 now! That makes most of the city new to me.
The other thing that can be discussed is that I am now a full-time student, and plan to eventually earn a PhD in Theology and Apologetics from Liberty University. That will make the "Poly" in my screen name, PolyDoc, true in reference to having more than one doctorate. It is already true in reference to my belief that polygyny is a form of marriage that is approved, and in some cases, required, according to true biblical doctrine. My DD is not an earned degree, and it will take a few years to accomplish the requirements for the PhD. Most of the required classes can be taken online, but some of the advanced graduate-level classes will require my presence on the campus in Lynchburg, VA, for a couple of weeks each semester. (Maybe the Lord will see fit to bless me with a motorhome before then...)
I'm debating within my own mind about whether or not to try writing my doctoral dissertation on the subject of marriage, when I get to that stage of my studies. But, of course, whatever I do write about must be approved by the powers-that-be at LU, so I might not have that option - especially if I tell them that one reason I want to write on that topic is because the Church has been teaching false marriage doctrine since about AD 900, give or take a few decades.
It might take me a few weeks to get caught up on what has happened in Biblical Families during my absence, but I plan to resume contributing to the forum on a regular basis. I've done a lot of studying over the past 18 months (more of that studying was outside of classes than in classes) and I have changed my position in several major areas of doctrine as a result of those studies. Some of my changes in doctrinal beliefs might make it a little more difficult to be accepted for graduate-level work at LU, because I now very strongly disagree with some of the doctrinal positions that are very strongly believed by the Baptists and most other conservative evangelical denominations. (Especially in the area of eschatology, but more on all that in future posts.)
