New Apostolic Church

Introduction

Embarrassment – forgetfulness – sloppiness in archival work, of a New Apostolic Christian. Almost unforgivable to me. Forgeries and theft of ideas in the literature of the New Apostolic Church!

In the spring of 2001, that is to say 6 years ago, a New Apostolic Christian wrote to me, under the heading of forgery – falsification, that Volume II of the ‘History of the Kingdom of God’ was largely copied from the following book:

Author: Helmuth von Glasenapp, Title: The non-Christian religions ,Published: 1957 by Fischer Bücherei KG, Frankfurt am Main, Series: ‘Das Fischer Lexikon’.

I had buried the correspondence under thousands of files. By chance it came back into my hands now.

The Grandchildren’s Experience

But that had a completely different meaning. Both grandchildren (twins) came home crying. They were always dragged along to Protestant religious education classes by their friends because the teacher could tell the Bible story very vividly. The children were also involved through role-playing, whether at Christmas or Pentecost, as well as taking them on excursions to the martyrs of the Protestant faith, such as Bonhoeffer. In Lutherstadt Wittenberg they met with Polish and English evangelical circles. It was always exciting because the teacher had a special gift. The children loved and adored him almost idolatrously. Our New Apostolic children thus had their own personal opportunities for comparison through their own religious instruction. In doing so, they were taught by their parents to defend their ‘New Apostolic faith’ as best they could. Not to proselytize, but to manifest the basic Christian attitude of our church.

As luck would have it, they once took with them the second volume of the book from Bischoff Verlag ‘Reichsgottesgeschichte’. They proudly showed it to the teacher, saying, “We also have very beautiful content-rich Christian literature. This is what our apostles wrote and issued.

The skepticism of the teacher

The teacher picked up the book. Since it was essay time, he was able to study it very carefully. At the end of the lesson, which was also the end of school, he said the following: “Dear children, if you want to go, I’ll say goodbye. If you want to stay, you can stay. It’ll only take a few minutes.” They all stayed. “I received a very nice book here from your classmates. On the first page it expressly says, I’ll let the owners read it out: ‘This textbook is intended exclusively for the members of the New Apostolic Church. Published by the Apostles’ Quorum of the New Apostolic Church, Dortmund.’

I have a few things to tell you about this now. Do you want to hear the truth, or would you rather I kept silent, so as not to put our two dear fellow listeners, whom you have brought to the lessons, in mental distress?” Everyone wanted to hear, including my grandchildren, what he had in store. For they knew their teacher well enough. When he said something, it carried weight and was consistent, no ifs, ands or buts

Book Search

He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He explained that he was on the phone with the State Library almost once a week to bring in any works to teach, to make it more lively.

The telephone book reference service was on the other end of the line. Everyone listened in over the loudspeakers, “There’s a work that looks very familiar to me, especially since on page 8 (Reichsgottesgeschichte), it talks about a scholar Helmuth von Glasenapp.” He wanted to spell the last name. However, the lady said shortly afterwards: “That would not be necessary, for the author is well known.” A few moments later came the following information: “The great non-Christian religions of our time, 1954, in the Staatsbibliothek Berlin, Potsdamerstr., To order: Vintage 1966, Signature No.: SER.3559-1-226, Staatsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main, 1954. Signature No. D54/9038, Staatsbibliothek Leipzig 1954, Signature No. SA 2415-228.”

Due to this quick announcement, all the students were very astonished at first. “I have now introduced ‘book research’ to you once outside of class. It’s not in the syllabus. Easy, fast and cheap.”

Research work for the grandchildren

Turning to the New Apostolic disciples, the teacher now said the following: “Go and borrow the book. Compare page by page. It takes a lot of effort and work. You can turn it in separately as a research paper in the next essay. I don’t want to discredit a publisher here, nor your apostolic college. But what is not true can only be set straight by facts.

That is then already the preliminary stage for the university. It’s as simple as that. I’ll give you an example: a professor puts his finger in a jar of urine and licks the finger. “All students, please copy this. In disgust, they all stick their finger in and lick it. ‘Very nice’ says the professor. ‘Only they still have to learn to observe, ladies and gentlemen. I dipped my index finger. I licked the little finger'”. All the children laughed heartily. In the schoolyard, as children are wont to do, my dear grandchildren were teased a lot. Hence the bitter crying at my house.

My grandchildren’s statement was that they would never again defend the New Apostolic Church in any way. That one time had been quite enough for them. Humiliation, teasing, being called a weirdo.

Be Quiet and Keep Your Mouth Shut?

Now to my subject of my embarrassment of forgetfulness. I had all the facts in the archives. But who thinks of such enlightenment in the grandchildren. One is ashamed to reveal such things in the end. In front of himself, the official body and his own relatives. You just don’t want to be discredited as a heretic, enlightener or critic. So shut up and keep quiet.

I now found the statements, took the grandchildren aside and showed them my correspondence from 2001. They gave me a good grilling. Reproaches hailed down. I was able to explain to them, at least to a very small extent, that everyone has to make their own experiences in life. No amount of well-intentioned advice from grandma and grandpa and all the dear relatives, priests, Sunday school teachers or whomever will help, even if it is sometimes bitter experience. They took me in their arms and gave me a big hug. Grandpa, we learned a lot from this incident. First think and weigh the consequences. If you can’t talk to your father and mother about it, involve your elders, or your teachers, friends, classmates, or other Christians.

A Few More Comments about the Book:

• ▫ There were several editions of this work. 1954, 1957, 1966.
• ▫ It was published by Bischoff Verlag in about 1974, according to the preface by Walter Schmidt, Dortmund.
• ▫ After all ‘worldlings’, slogan for non-apostolics, had already read it in 1954, 1957 and 1966 and it was gathering dust on their shelves, ‘apostolic’ readers get it in their hands for the first time after 20 years. Actually, already ‘store-bought’.
• ▫ The reader and buyer are led to believe something. This textbook is intended exclusively for members of the New Apostolic Church.
• ▫ It is further suggested that the publisher is the Apostles’ Quorum of the New Apostolic Church, Dortmund, as if a highly theologically trained, settled Apostle had guided his stylus there.
• ▫ In the preface by Walter Schmidt the special importance of the restored ministry of grace and apostleship is pointed out. Only they can impart salvation and no one else.
• ▫ Here one adorns oneself, as so often in the apostolic written material, with foreign feathers

More Plagiarism

• ▫ In addition to the transcription of the booklet only discovered in 2007: ‘The Completion of God’s Plan of Salvation According to the Words of Jesus’. Author or even better copyist, Johann Gottfried Bischoff, 1935, we still know the
• ▫ Falsification of the 1932 testimony
• ▫ Write-off Apostle Starz on the periodization that was dumped on the trash at the 1999 Apostles – Assembly in Toronto. Presenter Apostle Drave elaborations by Apostle Schwarz.
• ▫ Copycat Apostle Schwertfeger. Article: ‘The Island’. In ‘Our Family’, about 2-3 years ago.
• ▫ Remarks by Chief Apostle Kuhlen. About the NAC history book. Where essential parts have been suppressed, which are detailed long and wide in the history book ‘Old and New Ways’, by Salus 1912. It is about the excluded apostles Niemeyer, Clippe, Brückner, van Osbree, Faber and others.

There’s no End to Depreciation

If I looked any further, I could think of more. Let’s leave it at that. Let that little suffice. I can think of a few after all: ‘The tracks in the sand’ and ‘Jesus carries the sinner’ and ‘The devil with the long spoons, in eternity’. All stories occupied by other people that have been rebuilt into NAC’s own.

Hold it, hold it. As I write this, here’s what else comes to mind. The Bischoff publishing house reprints a ‘facsimile’ of Our Family, from the thirties. He very deliberately omits the Hitler friendly articles, all of which have run in the family. It’s not a facsimile reprint, it’s a forgery. Facsimile means literally. Original – Reprint. No sign of it. So fake. That from a Christian publisher with the claim of the only beatifying church, led by apostles.

Soberly Considered

If I look at the matter in the very sober light of the lines presented, the following would actually have to be requested: All brothers and sisters who were manipulated and deceived in a very deliberate way by the Bischoff publishing house in 1974, will receive the following sticker from the publishing house, to stick on the book ‘Kingdom God History II’:

„Dear brothers and sisters
We have deceived you, disappointed you, and will now set the record straight: The book entitled ‘Kingdom History II’ WAS NOT written by the Apostles’ Quorum. Though so named as editor, the author was suppressed and concealed. These are essentially reprints of the book: Helmuth von Glasenapp – Die großen nichtchristlichen Religionen unserer Zeit, published 1954, 1957, 1966, Fischer Bücherei.’ Reprinted in substantial parts by Verlag Bischoff in 1974. When the publisher Fischer had already given up on this Christian ham, we acquired the reprint rights, for cheap money. Everything was changed in our favour. And sold it to you, dear New Apostolic brethren, as our own work of art. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please affix this text to the first page.
Your District Apostle Meeting 2007“

This is what an honest reappraisal of historical falsification should look like. Yeah, that’s how we honest, doofy little siblings think. What does the church leadership think? A thousand miles away from it.

Young People Are No Longer Fooled

It’s already catching up with them, though. See my grandchildren. Without any input from me or anyone else. Let these grandchildren become adults, want to study. The experiences with the pupils and the teacher will be indelibly burned into their souls. Though scarred, a scarred wound always burns again eventually.

The Shot in the Neck

This is actually where the neck shot comes in. Not from my pen. This requires nothing more than a good memory, a good archive, to find this fact again. I argue best with the words of the apostles, which flow around us like delicious dew. Not a polemic that you like to embrace.

Apostle word Klingler
Source: Calendar ‘Our Family’ 2000 p. 43, Title Heading: ‘Sources’ His words: “The term ‘source’ is used in various contexts in the German language. So too does the careful writer of books indicate in his works the sources he used to compile them …”. Concluding – They are apostle’s words, not mine – :

1. Apostle Walter Schmidt did not tell the truth in his preface.

2. Neither does the publishing house Friedrich Bischoff, son of the immortal Chief Apostle Bischoff (owner of the publishing house).

3. Neither the publisher Fischer, nor the author ‘von Glasenapp’ was named here.

4. It was a 20-year-old ancient ham of literature that was sold to the siblings as the latest insight.

They were all not careful writers of books, indicating in their works the sources they used to compile them … (Note: At this point we have shortened the original text somewhat!). The literature so supposedly divine, written by apostles, is gradually becoming a poor pile of rubble.

Old and New Ways

The only work, if it may be called such, that deserved the name was Salus’s book ‘Old and New Ways’, of 1912. It has never been reprinted since 1912 because it contained too many truths that the NAC reader was never meant to know.

The church music and texts contributed by the Protestant Church also contribute to this. I’d guess between 80 and 90 percent are evangelical lyricists and poets. But where were they world champions in fabrication? In ‘Being Dormant’, by the author Apostle Knobloch. No human being has ever entered or seen the otherworldly realms, has been there except Jesus Christ, but Knobloch writes almost 500 pages as if he had resided there or had already taken up residence there. Oh, yeah. Luther, Melanchthon, Zwingli, Calvin and de Costa, all standing under the ceiling in the Berlin Cathedral, had already been sealed by Apostle Schwarz and were therefore New Apostolic Christians!

Courtesy of O. Wieland.

© O. Wieland

Photo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkeQPITKzPk