Criticism of Assemblies of Yahweh
From Wikinfo
Since its inception the Assemblies of Yahweh has had some criticism leveled at them by non-members and former members. These include:
- A lawsuit brought against Yahweh's Assembly in Messiah over Federal Trademark Violations. YAIM paid damages and settled out-of-court.Damages Current Lawsuits Yahweh, Inc.?
- Strictness
The Assemblies of Yahweh Is basically considered a movement straight out of Christianity, Although they deny Main Christian Doctrines such as the Holidays Christmas and Easter and many other things.
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Break aways
Over the years, many of those who have left the organization have cited Pharisaical attitudes and controlling practices among the reasons for their departure. Some have asserted that despite its claims as the only true religious organization, the Assemblies of Yahweh has failed to live up to the spiritual standards set forth by the Philadelphia assembly of Revelation 3:7-13. Others contend that family relationships, friendships, marriages, and career aspirations were damaged or destroyed as a result of the organization's absolutist pronouncements. As with the Worldwide Church of God, some reportedly left disillusioned with religion in general. Detractors have charged that insufficient emphasis has been given toward putting into practice the Scriptural teachings on love, including toward perceived enemies.
One of the first graduate students was Elder Wirl, who left the organization and is now a pastor in Yahweh's Philadelphia Truth Congregation. Another graduate, Jacob C. Meyer, Jacob O. Meyer's son, also left the AOY and is now pastor of the Yahweh's Frystown Assembly, which is located near Frystown, Pennsylvania, just miles from his father's group. Jacob O. Meyer does not like information about how many of the members of Obadiah and his family have left his organization, for it would cause others to question why.
Jacob Meyer has sought to unify the Sacred Name Movement, and stated in the preamble of the AOY Statement of Doctrine, written in 1969, that "Widespread disorganization and confusion have been rampant during the past years in the Sacred Name Movement. We hereby present this document as the basis of our Faith on which we can all stand, and on which we can base a unity of purpose." However, most rejected the concept of one-man or papal government and he failed to develop a following in the Sacred Name Movement. Recently he has begun denying he was ever a part of the Movement.
Legal issues
Questions over the financial accountability have led to concerns over the spending of members' tithes and offerings, including expenditures for lawyers' fees. One such lawsuit is described in an article called Yahweh INC? [1] that describes how Jacob O. Meyer sued another Sacred Name group headquartered in Missouri, formerly called "Assemblies of Yahweh in Messiah", now called Yahweh’s New Covenant Assembly, over the use of the organization's name and other accusations over membership lists, in spite of the fact that there were other Sacred Name Groups with the name Assembly of Yahweh many years before Jacob O. Meyer entered the Sacred Name Movement.
Members who have left the AOY over the years include Jacob O. Meyer's brother, sister and several of his children. Jacob O. Meyer's son, Daniel K. Meyer MD, who was the first graduate student of Daleth School operated by the Assemblies of Yahweh, posted his disagreements on Freedom Rings Bulletin Board, a forum for GLBTQ students, that "The biblical writings are a record of human experience at particular points in time. If we accept that we have been given the capacity for thought and insight, and we accept that our understanding of the world is different now than it was 2000 years ago, do we need to restrict our understanding of sin to that same understanding? For example, we no longer accept the biblical explanation for unusual natural events which occurred - "earth stood still" !! It was considered sinful to wear garments of mixed fibers - linen and wool, for example. No Christian I know now considers that sinful. Free yourself from anti-intellectualism!" Dr. Daniel K Meyer, MD [2]
External links
- Assemblies of Yahweh Profile - An overview of the Assemblies by traditional Protestant Christians. (Critical)
References
- ^ "Yahweh INC?". http://www.giveshare.org/BibleStudy/074.yahweh.html.
- ^ "Lebanon Valley College GLBTQ Forum". http://geocities.com/lvcarchive/lvc.html.
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