This post is especially directed to people in Colombus, but may be of interest to some others.
If someone privately thinks ideas in his head, no one can question him. His own thoughts are strictly his. If a group of people hold ideas in common and discuss them privately, it’s probably not a great idea to butt in and debate with them. But if a group of people start aggressively and publicly proselytizing for their ideas, they should expect public scrutiny of those ideas.
And so I am not prying at all when I begin to speak openly of the ‘United Bible Fellowship Church’ which proselytizes at OSU. I was walking back from the library toward my dorm room this afternoon when a young lady started talking to me about the Bible. It was one of those high-pressure sells, and this girl had a stack of flyers with “Bible Study Appointment’ sign-up on it so that she could take down people’s names, phone #’s, cell phone #’s, emails, and time commitments (!).
Although I believe in reserving judgment till enough information is in, there was no doubt that this was a very bad start. This young lady basically wanted to take complete strangers and sign them up for one-on-one ‘Bible Study Sessions’ without giving almost any information about her group at all. Although I don’t know exactly what this church teaches, its public behavior shows all the signs of being a manipulative group. Someone who is trying to spread ideas openly will follow a method of giving out information about his cause openly. Someone who is trying to bring people under their control will give little or no information about himself or his organization, but will seek, as quickly as possible, time commitments and personal information from intended targets.
That’s not to say the young lady passing out flyers is predatory by nature. More likely she’s part of a group that operates in a manner that is at least somewhat predatory, aggressively indoctrinating new members to do the same. So let’s review the red flags. But there is no doubt that trying to take something from strangers, whether money, time, or information; is always a swindle of some sort unless something like information or a genuine service is given in return.
As an illustration of how this sort of thing works, I will reproduce their flyer’s information in full, plus my own comments:
One-to-One
Bible Study and Sunday Worship Service
[Picture of a Dove with an Olive Branch in its Mouth]
[Cartoon drawing of an accepting and diverse-looking punch hanging out]
University Bible Fellowship
———————————–
Why study the Bible?
The Bible is the source book of Christianity. It contains 66 books. It is written by many authors who were inspired by God over a period of more than 1600 years, yet it is one book with one major theme.
The Bible has the message from God. It tells us that God hates sin, but loves sinners. There are enormous lessons. The Bible study leads us to salvation. It leads us to a fruitful life that pleases God.
Many a man was inspired and transformed through Bible study.
How to study the Bible?
There are three basic steps in the Bible study.
1. Observation: What does it say? The first step is to pay close attention to the Bible passage itself, noting characters, geological background, contrast, repetition, progression, climax, etc., as well as special phrases or words. Maps and Bible dictionaries are often useful to gather additional information on the passage.
2. Interpretation: What does it mean? The second step is to prayerfully meditate on what we have observed. Memorization helps the process. It is to throw a question “why” on the passage. It opens a new understanding and brings a new insight toward the passage.
3. Application: When, where and how can I use it? Although meanings are great, they won’t be useful unless they are utilized or applied properly. Are there promises to claim? Are there commands to follow and sins to avoid? What are the prayer topics for me and others?
One to one Bible study
One to one Bible study has its unique features that surpass any other methods.
One to one Bible study gives each person an opportunity to study the Bible at his own pace, to ask questions and seek answers interactively. It gives the person in need and despair comfort and love from God. It fosters a long personal relationship in the word of God.
——————
University Bible Fellowship
Address: 49 W 10th Ave Columbus, OH 43210
Phone: 614) 294-9996
Sunday Worship: 11:00 am
Homepage: www.columbusubf.org
[map]
*Parking available in the back
—————–
Bible Study Appointment
Name:
Phone:
Cell Phone:
E-Mail:
Available Day and Time:
Now, nothing that the young lady or her flyer said directly prove that the church is a cult or anything, but the behavior I’ve observed fits closely with patterns used by controlling and dishonest religious groups. Let’s list them:
1. Pushiness. Operators stand in public places, trying to target as many people as possible and convince them to commit to joining the group.
2. Secrecy. No real information is given about what the group is. All information that is given is quite vague.
3. Off-ness. The group presents itself as part of a major group, but then says things inconsistent with that group’s message. This group, for example, only identifies itself with ‘Christianity’ and seeks study of the ‘source of Christianity,’ the Bible. But then comes the weird statement: “The Bible study leads us to salvation.“ No affirmations about who God is, who Jesus is, how salvation is given, or anything like that.
4. Personal Ties and use of Emotion. The group seeks to quickly ‘tie’ incoming prospective members relationally by exploiting their weaknesses. ‘It gives the person in need and despair comfort and love from God. It fosters a long personal relationship . . .” Through these means, an incomer finds himself an intimate part of the group before or while he is still in process of finding out what the foundational beliefs of that group are.
5. Falsification of Data. That’s right. I am accusing the United Bible Fellowship of either intentionally or unintentionally misleading people through false claims on that flyer. Can you find the falsification? It’s the website on the flyer. It doesn’t exist. And trying to find out about these people is extremely difficult.
So can I say for sure that they’re a cult or that they are evil? No. But I can say with confidence that I’ll be extremely cautious about the group, and if anyone asks me anything about them, I’ll just recommend that they stay away. You should think carefully about anyone who tells you to dive into something. You should run from anyone who pressures you to dive into something you know nothing about without looking at it from the outside first.
test the spirits — united bible fellowship church
This post is especially directed to people in Colombus, but may be of interest to some others.
If someone privately thinks ideas in his head, no one can question him. His own thoughts are strictly his. If a group of people hold ideas in common and discuss them privately, it’s probably not a great idea to butt in and debate with them. But if a group of people start aggressively and publicly proselytizing for their ideas, they should expect public scrutiny of those ideas.
And so I am not prying at all when I begin to speak openly of the ‘United Bible Fellowship Church’ which proselytizes at OSU. I was walking back from the library toward my dorm room this afternoon when a young lady started talking to me about the Bible. It was one of those high-pressure sells, and this girl had a stack of flyers with “Bible Study Appointment’ sign-up on it so that she could take down people’s names, phone #’s, cell phone #’s, emails, and time commitments (!).
Although I believe in reserving judgment till enough information is in, there was no doubt that this was a very bad start. This young lady basically wanted to take complete strangers and sign them up for one-on-one ‘Bible Study Sessions’ without giving almost any information about her group at all. Although I don’t know exactly what this church teaches, its public behavior shows all the signs of being a manipulative group. Someone who is trying to spread ideas openly will follow a method of giving out information about his cause openly. Someone who is trying to bring people under their control will give little or no information about himself or his organization, but will seek, as quickly as possible, time commitments and personal information from intended targets.
That’s not to say the young lady passing out flyers is predatory by nature. More likely she’s part of a group that operates in a manner that is at least somewhat predatory, aggressively indoctrinating new members to do the same. So let’s review the red flags. But there is no doubt that trying to take something from strangers, whether money, time, or information; is always a swindle of some sort unless something like information or a genuine service is given in return.
As an illustration of how this sort of thing works, I will reproduce their flyer’s information in full, plus my own comments:
One-to-One
Bible Study and Sunday Worship Service
[Picture of a Dove with an Olive Branch in its Mouth]
[Cartoon drawing of an accepting and diverse-looking punch hanging out]
University Bible Fellowship
———————————–
Why study the Bible?
The Bible is the source book of Christianity. It contains 66 books. It is written by many authors who were inspired by God over a period of more than 1600 years, yet it is one book with one major theme.
The Bible has the message from God. It tells us that God hates sin, but loves sinners. There are enormous lessons. The Bible study leads us to salvation. It leads us to a fruitful life that pleases God.
Many a man was inspired and transformed through Bible study.
How to study the Bible?
There are three basic steps in the Bible study.
1. Observation: What does it say? The first step is to pay close attention to the Bible passage itself, noting characters, geological background, contrast, repetition, progression, climax, etc., as well as special phrases or words. Maps and Bible dictionaries are often useful to gather additional information on the passage.
2. Interpretation: What does it mean? The second step is to prayerfully meditate on what we have observed. Memorization helps the process. It is to throw a question “why” on the passage. It opens a new understanding and brings a new insight toward the passage.
3. Application: When, where and how can I use it? Although meanings are great, they won’t be useful unless they are utilized or applied properly. Are there promises to claim? Are there commands to follow and sins to avoid? What are the prayer topics for me and others?
One to one Bible study
One to one Bible study has its unique features that surpass any other methods.
One to one Bible study gives each person an opportunity to study the Bible at his own pace, to ask questions and seek answers interactively. It gives the person in need and despair comfort and love from God. It fosters a long personal relationship in the word of God.
——————
University Bible Fellowship
Address: 49 W 10th Ave Columbus, OH 43210
Phone: 614) 294-9996
Sunday Worship: 11:00 am
Homepage: www.columbusubf.org
[map]
*Parking available in the back
—————–
Bible Study Appointment
Name:
Phone:
Cell Phone:
E-Mail:
Available Day and Time:
Now, nothing that the young lady or her flyer said directly prove that the church is a cult or anything, but the behavior I’ve observed fits closely with patterns used by controlling and dishonest religious groups. Let’s list them:
1. Pushiness. Operators stand in public places, trying to target as many people as possible and convince them to commit to joining the group.
2. Secrecy. No real information is given about what the group is. All information that is given is quite vague.
3. Off-ness. The group presents itself as part of a major group, but then says things inconsistent with that group’s message. This group, for example, only identifies itself with ‘Christianity’ and seeks study of the ‘source of Christianity,’ the Bible. But then comes the weird statement: “The Bible study leads us to salvation.“ No affirmations about who God is, who Jesus is, how salvation is given, or anything like that.
4. Personal Ties and use of Emotion. The group seeks to quickly ‘tie’ incoming prospective members relationally by exploiting their weaknesses. ‘It gives the person in need and despair comfort and love from God. It fosters a long personal relationship . . .” Through these means, an incomer finds himself an intimate part of the group before or while he is still in process of finding out what the foundational beliefs of that group are.
5. Falsification of Data. That’s right. I am accusing the United Bible Fellowship of either intentionally or unintentionally misleading people through false claims on that flyer. Can you find the falsification? It’s the website on the flyer. It doesn’t exist. And trying to find out about these people is extremely difficult.
So can I say for sure that they’re a cult or that they are evil? No. But I can say with confidence that I’ll be extremely cautious about the group, and if anyone asks me anything about them, I’ll just recommend that they stay away. You should think carefully about anyone who tells you to dive into something. You should run from anyone who pressures you to dive into something you know nothing about without looking at it from the outside first.
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