Darwin keeps multiplying the bizarre novelties in his poisonous home-brew theology. Here are a few outstanding ones:

Anti-Trinitarianism

Darwin attacks doctrine of the Trinity with an odd and unusual do-it-yourself doctrine of the Godhead. Here is a section from the The Sojournal, VOL. 1, NO. 3, JULY 1995:

V. THE "TRINITY" FALLS SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. This is a HOT one! The Bible NEVER uses this term, and typically how this term is used today, it falls short of what is revealed in the Word of God about who God is. It is true that there is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as God, Matthew 28:19-20. It is true that God is plural in person hood, Genesis 1:26-27; 11:7-8; Isaiah 48:16. But, the word that "Christianity" (starting with the early church fathers and the Catholics) has used to describe Him (i.e. the "Trinity") falls short in what is revealed in the seven Spirits of God in Revelation. Please see Revelation 1:4-5; 4:5; 5:6; & Zechariah 4:1-10. There are seven spirits describing the Holy Spirit clearly portrayed in Scripture. Typically, these seven are brushed aside by preachers today as the seven-manifold manifestations of the Holy Spirit (read the commentaries on the Revelation passages above). If we simply take the Bible for what it says (take God at His word), we see that the Holy Spirit is described in Revelation and Zechariah as seven. Just as there is only one God, yet we have the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (plural in who He is). There is one Spirit (Ephesians 4:4), yet in describing this one Holy Spirit the Bible reveals Him to be seven (plural in who He is). This is definitely hard to understand, but nonetheless this is what the Word reveals (Romans 11:33-36). More on this can be heard on the tapes, Jesus, 100% Man, 100% God, and For The Record, Part 1.

Humanistic Theism

Darwin has also recently published a bizarre article arguing on the basis of Exodus 15:3 ("The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is His name") that God is actually human, and that the Almighty exists in a physical body "in human form." We wonder if someday Darwin will encounter Psalm 18:31 ("who is a rock, except our God?") and declare that God is an inanimate man of stone. How then will he fit Psalm 84:11 ("the Lord God is a sun") into his hyper-literal hermeneutic?

A Different Gospel

Darwin overthrows the gospel by implicitly (and sometimes explicitly) denying the doctrine of justification by faith alone (sola fide). In his message "Blessed are the Poor" (preached 2 May 1996) he taught that literally selling all one's unneeded possessions is a prerequisite for entering the kingdom of God. While occassionally giving lip service to justification by faith (see letter 2 below), Darwin regularly qualifies and adds to the terms of salvation, so that when he is finished, "grace is no more grace" (Romans 11:6). In practical terms for Darwin's followers, the true cost of "salvation" boils down to this: you must do precisely what he tells you and agree with everything he says. If you step out of agreement with him at any point and are unwilling to be "corrected," you will be branded a hell-bound heretic who has "played the harlot." In fact, he believes if you turn away after hearing the "truth" from him or his group, you have committed the unpardonable sin. Thus he employs craven fear to try to keep his disciples in the group.

Excessive Authoritarianism

Many (if not all) of Darwin's disciples regard his authority as apostolic. We have heard from a former member of the "fellowship" that Darwin's long-time henchman, Al Soto, claims Darwin's teaching authority is tantamount to that of the Apostle Paul. Meanwhile, Darwin insists on the right to examine his disciples' private mail—in order to make sure they are "walking in the light."

Also, more than one eyewitness has told us Darwin is extremely brutal in his application of "the rod" to his own children—and encourages his followers to do likewise. In an on-line discussion on these matters, one cult member cited Proverbs 20:30 ("The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly"), suggesting that proper spanking ought to leave bruises on a child. Shortly afterward, an anonymous Fishite (whose misspellings looked suspiciously like Al Soto's) chimed in, citing Proverbs 23:13-14 ("Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell."). He declared: "Beat, is just that, beat. You can not get around it."

Judging from the stress Darwin puts on this aspect of parenting in his teaching, he certainly has an unwholesome preoccupation with rigorous corporal punishment. People who have left the cult, as well as some who have had relatives join, tell us that men in the group are even encouraged to "discipline" their wives with physical punishment.

In fact, according to Darwin, "The reason women even exist is not so that they can be independent entities. The reason they exist is so that they can help men." Furthermore, Darwin says, "It doesn't matter if the husband is a believer or not (1 Peter 3:1), the wife is still to submit to him, even if he beats her."

At least one member of the Fish cult abandoned his wife and infant child because the wife did not want to move to Lake Hughes. The man's own mother says that in a year's time, he paid only about $40 in child support for his own child, while giving regular "offerings" that went to support Darwin Fish and his family. Apparently, the men of GWF/atc think they can safely ignore 1 Peter 3:7 ("You husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered") and 1 Timothy 5:8 ("If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel")—especially if the wife refuses to follow the husband into the cult.

Polygamy and Concubinage

More recently, Darwin has published an article justifying polygamy and the keeping of concubines. He points out that polygamy was a fairly common practice in Old Testament times, and he claims "the Lord never condemns the practice."

That is quite wrong; an implicit condemnation of polygamy is undeniably clear in the Bible's first description of God's plan for marriage in Genesis 2:24: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they [two] shall be one flesh" (Ephesians 5:31). But Darwin pretends that the principle of two becoming one flesh is in no way compromised by polygynous relationships. He writes:

Whether it be in a monogamous marriage or a polygamous marriage, the two still become one flesh. The man becomes one flesh with each of his wives. We know this by the fact that even if a man has sex with a harlot, he nonetheless becomes one flesh with her (1 Corinthians 6:16). Therefore, the two becoming one still applies to each union in a polygamous marriage.

One frankly wonders how this belief will work out in practical terms among the Fishites. Darwin's article seems to imply that he would not advocate polygamy in any society where bigamy is forbidden by law. He says,

If the law of the land dictates polygamy not to be legal, then we are to submit ourselves "to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake" (1 Peter 2:13; see also Romans 13:1-5). Polygamy, under these circumstances, should not be practiced. But, if a believer lived under a government that recognized polygyny as a legitimate form of marriage, no one could Biblically condemn the man for having more than one wife.

But bigamy is illegal in America only if one registers the second marriage with the state. Most states have no laws that forbid men to cohabit with multiple women. To quote another ostensibly Christian Web site where polgamy is advocated, "Bigamy is the criminal offence of registering a second marriage when a first marriage is still recognised. Polygamy can be practiced without breaking the law simply by registering no more than one of the marriages."

By using a similar rationale, Darwin and his followers could easily justify polgamy and concubinage in their own cult. If they are not practicing it secretly already, they certainly hold no moral convictions that would keep them from doing so. When a narcissist with a predatory personality like Darwin's begins to advocate the keeping of concubines, that is just one more major reason to steer clear of the cult he has founded.

A Theology of Hate

Darwin and his cohorts love to talk about God's hate, and they hate to talk about God's love. They have turned the biblical picture of God's character on its head, so that the god they proclaim is a trigger-happy killer who generally hates humanity and delights in judgment and damnation. The posters Darwin displays in his public picketing typically say things like "Jesus Caused 9-11-01"; "God Kills"; "God is Angry"; and so on.

In practice, this means Darwin thinks believers should be hateful, too. In his article on Kieth Green, Darwin writes, "Keith did not trust in the Lord. If he had, he would have hated Catholics, especially the priests." Darwin loves to quote Psalm 119:104, 128: "I hate every false way." He also quotes Psalm 139:21-22 to justify making people the object of his own human hatred. And the way Darwin teaches his followers to "hate"—
including the way he himself models hatred—is an ungodly, unkind, philistine kind of hatred that is puffed up with egotism and self-conceit, and has no proper place in the lives of any of Christ's followers (see Matthew 5:44; Romans 12:14, 20-21; 1 Peter 2:23, etc.).

In a message I sent to Al Soto I pointed out the group's undue obsession with hate, which is made even more notable by their almost complete silence about God's love or the believer's love for his neighbors. Mr. Soto replied, "OK, I miss your point here. God hates....right? That's what Scripture teaches. If God hates then.....uh....He is hateful."

Converts to Darwin's cult often become overtly hateful to relatives and friends who express any concerns. According to close family members, the young wife of one convert was told by several men in the cult that she was a "whore, stubborn and going to hell with her baby if she did not move to Fish's church. She did not move. [She] is a young, tiny, woman with a baby. Three or four, counting [her husband], went into her home and took all her furnishings and fridge, and food from fridge, took the firewood outside, and left this girl who has been married only one year with a baby. [She is now living] with her unworking Mom and disabled stepdad, who lives in a one-bedroom unit."

More Errors Yet to Come. . . ?

Most cultists typically borrow their errors from historic heresies like Pelagianism, Socinianism, Arianism, and Gnosticism. Darwin seems to be inventing his doctrinal anomalies on the fly. Having already denied the Trinity and remade God in the image of man, Darwin would seem to have no reason to stop reinventing "Christianity." After all, Darwin has already repudiated every preacher and theologian in the history of the church as a "false teacher." That means there are absolutely no doctrinal moorings in his system. Darwin's interpretation of Scripture is subject to no rule but his own whims. So it remains to be seen how far from orthodoxy he will travel.

In the meantime, it is not without significance that Darwin is spending his time trying to justify masturbation, attempting to build a case for polygamy, advocating harsh discipline of children, and continuing to condemn everyone who does not agree with him—while having little or nothing to say about Christ or the gospel. The Fish cult has attracted at least one convicted child molestor, two or more men who have abandoned their wives, and several other men who treat their wives like chattel. The men of the cult boast of their freedom to drink and smoke, while some of them are living in open disobedience to 1 Timothy 5:8. Wives and children are the most pathetic victims of this cult. It has become a fraternity for men who are worse than infidels (1 Timothy 5:8).