Teaching with authenticity

[hawkgrrrl]

So, here’s the question I’d like to ask about the 14 Fs. Did E. Benson write them assuming one day he’d be in the big chair (and therefore benefit from his generous interpretation of prophetic infallibility) or did he do it to suck up to the powers that be (since there’s a bit of a yes man culture at play)? Inquiring minds want to know. I kind of think it’s the latter, but it could just be because that’s how they are trotted out by all subsequent speakers.

[nibbler]

I had that same question myself. I discounted the brownie points option because by then he was already an apostle and locked into the succession paradigm. I guess we’ll never know whether this was a preconceived power play.

[DarkJedi]

If we believe Edward Kimball, SWK was not in full agreement with the 14Fs. Therefore, it falls more to first scenario.

[Old-Timer]

I think he wrote them because he was ultra-conservative and believed them.

He was wrong, imo, about quite a few things, so why not 14 specific things?

[hawkgrrrl]

They are just so dumb. I don’t know how anyone can repeat them with a straight face. Srsly.

[LookingHard]

DarkJedi wrote:

If we believe Edward Kimball, SWK was not in full agreement with the 14Fs. Therefore, it falls more to first scenario.

But it could be that ETB was trying to say, “bow to the big boss” and getting on his good side, but it didn’t work. I have the Edward Kimball saying he dad was upset by this and felt it was not proper doctrine.

[NonTraditionalMom]

I think it’s a mix of both. There are some quotes in the lesson that definitely point to currying favor, in my opinion. There is one where ETB compliments SWK on basically giving the best talk ever given which, in my mind, sounds more like sucking up than acknowledging that God is speaking. I also get a definite feeling of arrogance from ETB, like supposedly giving a half-hearted apology for the 14 F’s after being reprimanded by SWK. But I also agree with Ray– I think he truly believed what he was teaching. It reminds me a little bit of when I took over a small team at work, and my boss spoke to me at length about making sure my team knew that I was in charge and that the buck stopped with me.

[Author]

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