Breaking: William Branham on the news

A friend just sent me a link to WHAS11 News, a Louisville program airing a special about William Branham and the Message of the Hour:

11 News @ 6pm: I-Team Investigates William Branham

A Message-believing sect has also been accused of child abuse and molestation in Germany.

Groups like Seek Ye the Truth are now attempting to defend the Message against the charge of being a “cult” by asserting their Biblical orthodoxy. I’ve already written an assessment of the Message against standards for diagnosing cultlike behavior. “We’re not a cult” is often one of the first things a Message believer says when a potential convert looks at them askance for mentioning a modern prophet.

It’s my opinion now that “cult” is not a particularly useful word for understanding coercive religious groups. I don’t deny that Message believers are Christians when I look at their actions. Their ability to defend Branham using Bible passages means less than nothing to me. What matters is how they treat one another and outsiders. A cult is not a creed, it’s a way of living. In any case, I’ll be watching that news story tonight (provided I can figure out how to get a Louisville station nowhere near Louisville.

[UPDATE: As a reader has pointed out below, Seek Ye the Truth is not a Message organization. It appears to be a conservative Christian group that argues against Branham through Scripture. I drew my former conclusion from its posts on the WHAS11 News facebook page, linked above. A written synopsis with embedded video of the news coverage is now available here.]