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Date: February 22, 2024 05:57AM
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FBI launches probe into church investigated by BBC
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68361054The FBI has launched a probe into a secretive Christian church that was the focus of a recent BBC investigation.
The church has no official name but is often referred to as The Truth or the Two by Twos.
The sect has recently been rocked by a sexual abuse scandal, with the names of hundreds of alleged perpetrators given to a hotline set up for survivors.
An ex-minister who abused a boy in the 1980s told the BBC he had "no reason" to be concerned about the FBI probe.
Last month's BBC investigation looked into claims of child sexual abuse spanning decades within the church.
One ex-minister, Robert Corfield, admitted when confronted that he sexually abused a boy, Michael Havet, in Canada in the 1980s.
Mr Corfield said he wasn't aware of an FBI investigation.
"I'm just leaving it all in God's hands and willing to accept whatever he allows to happen, so I'm not concerned about it," he said on Wednesday.
His name is one of more than 700 given by people to a hotline set up by a group called Advocates for The Truth (AFTT) to report sexual abuse within the church.
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_by_TwosTwo by Twos (also known as The Truth and The Way[3]) is an international, home-based Christian new religious movement that has its origins in Ireland at the end of the 19th century. This church has no official name; among members, the church is more usually referred to as "The Truth", "Meetings", or "the workers and friends". Those outside the church refer to it as "Two by Twos", "The Black Stockings", "No-name Church", "Cooneyites", "Workers and Friends", or "Christians Anonymous". The church's registered names include "Christian Conventions" in the United States, "Assemblies of Christians" and “The Alberta Society of Christian Assemblies” in Canada (dissolved only after it was exposed), "The Testimony of Jesus" in the United Kingdom, "Kristna i Sverige" in Sweden, and "United Christian Conventions" in Australia. These organization names are used only for registration purposes and are not used by members.
Some in the church claim it is a direct continuation of the 1st-century Christian church. Others in the church believe that a restoration of some sort may have occurred in the late 19th century. Church ministers are itinerant and work in groups of two, hence the name "Two by Twos". Members hold regular weekly worship gatherings in local homes on Sunday and midweek. The church also holds annual regional conventions and public Gospel meetings. Baptism by immersion as performed by one of the church's workers is required for full participation. The orthodox Christian Trinitarian doctrine is rejected, and members deny having a church name. Doctrine of the church teaches that salvation is reached by attending the group's home meetings, accepting the preaching of its itinerant, unsalaried ministry workers, and "professing". (See Terminology). Whereas some other Christian sects believe in salvation by faith alone, the Two by Twos teach that salvation is not achieved through faith alone, but achieved only through a combination of faith and "works". Works are described as selfless good deeds, which are in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ.
The church claims no official headquarters or official publications. The church does not explicitly publish any doctrinal statements, claiming these must be orally imparted by its ministers, referred to as "workers". Its hymnbook and various other materials for internal use are produced by outside publishers and printing firms. Printed invitations and advertisements for its open gospel meetings are the only written materials which those outside the church are likely to encounter.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2024 06:00AM by anybody.