"In case (you're) wondering if this group of Christians is some kind ofcult, they are not," he wrote in the letter dated April 5, 1984. "I thoughtabout that a lot at first, too. But God has shown me that they are truly hisdisciples. God has shown me through Scripture."
The Holy Bible. Old Testament. New Testament. The Gospels.
Through the ages, their chapters and verses have been used to defendslavery, and to abolish it.
To embrace capital punishment, and to denounce it.
To convince followers that the path they are on is the one and only wayto salvation.
So it is with alternative religious movements. While some use more of theBible than others, many invoke at least enough Scripture to evoke asense of godly approval.
Church Universal and Triumphant founder Elizabeth Clare Prophet, forexample, quotes liberally from the Bible to bolster her argument thatreincarnation was part of Jesus' message. Aquarian ConceptsCommunity cites the New Testament over and over to encourage trust inits divine administration at Planetary Headquarters.
And for the Brothers and Sisters, a nomadic band of Christians whotravel quietly across the country in search of recruits, the Bible isn't just apart of its message -- it is the focus of their entire faith. As Kraig Fosterput it 13 years ago: "God has shown me through Scripture."
The Brothers and Sisters select strong excerpts for their recruits, which,taken literally and without regard to context, certainly appear clearenough: leave straightaway, forsake all, take up your cross daily.
But just how accurate are their interpretations? The San DiegoUnion-Tribune took some of the group's most-emphasized verses tolocal Bible experts to help separate the wheat from the chaff, scripturallyspeaking.
First, there is the story of the rich man in the 10th chapter of Mark. TheBrothers and Sisters use this voraciously to persuade recruits that if theyare serious about eternal life, they must give up their jobs, their educationand their wordly goods.
"It's a misuse of the text to just lift it out," cautions Florence Gillman, abiblical studies scholar at the University of San Diego.
To emphasize her point, Gillman flips over to Luke 19 and the story ofanother wealthy man, named Zacchaeus, who gives away only half hisgoods to the poor and still wins praise from Jesus.
"You can't generalize," she says, looking up from her Bible in a coffeeshop on the campus of the Roman Catholic university.
Mark Strauss, at Bethel Theological Seminary, agrees.
"What Jesus is saying (in Mark) is that this individual had one thing thatwas holding him back, his attachment to his material goods," saysStrauss, a New Testament expert who teaches at the San Diego campusof the Protestant seminary.
"This is specific advice to this one man. Others might not be held back bymaterial goods. There are multiple examples where individuals do not sellall their possessions, but are still considered holy and held in good regardin the Bible."
The Brothers and Sisters also are strong on separation from family, usingverse after verse to convince recruits that they must cut their ties.
But as Strauss, Gillman and others point out, there are many verses withquite opposite messages: One of the Ten Commandments dealsspecifically with honoring mothers and fathers; Jesus goes to Peter'shome and heals his mother-in-law, suggesting strongly that Peter did notabandon his family; the apostle Paul refers to husbands traveling withtheir wives in ministry; the evangelist Philip had a home with fourdaughters.
And in the Gospel of John, some of Jesus' final words from the crosswere to his mother standing nearby.
The bottom line is context and discernment, say the scholars. Read theBible as a whole message and determine what it means for your life.
The Brothers and Sisters use only the King James Version, a 17thcentury translation that continues to be a sentimental favorite among somesegments of Christianity despite newer, and arguably morecomprehensive, versions. But there may be another reason that leaderJim Roberts insists on the King James Version.
"It is harder to understand, so you need an authority to interpret it," saysStrauss.
There is a measure of genuine Christianity in the Brothers' and Sisters'use of Bible verses, Gillman notes. But, she adds, the selected texts arebound together "in a cultic straitjacket."
"Real Christianity is peaceful, happy to shout from the housetops," shesays. "It has no secrets."