The New Apostolic Church

We are very grateful and fortunate for Nicolai's openness about himself and his past. A handful of items are particularly relevant to the man Nicolai became and the motives behind what many believe to be his counter productive, even alienating, tactics.

Perhaps the explanation is as simple as a deep abiding passion against anything that appears to remind him of the less pleasant aspects of his family's background. For instance, in our first interview, he shared that his Grandmother had been a member of Neuapostolische Kirche, an organization with many of the trappings of evangelical Christianity. However, a subtle, insidious, thread flows through their message of "salvation". It is easier see these disturbing trends if we look at the English language version of Neuapostolische Kirche, or rather, The New Apostolic Church.

The New Apostolic Church, or NAC, was founded the 1830's by John Bate Cardale, who is considered the First Apostle of the Second Sending:

In the 1830’s faithful Christians from several denominations shared a longing that the Lord would restore to the church what had been so vital in the first church, the full activity of the Holy Spirit and the leadership of the Apostle ministry. They fervently prayed for the restoration of these divine gifts. In response to this intense longing and these sincere prayers, spiritual gifts of prophesy and healing were awakened. On October 31, 1832 the first Apostle of the second sending, John Bate Cardale, was called by divine prophesy. Over the next three years, eleven more men from various denominations, social positions and religious training were called to the Apostle ministry.

These Apostles withdrew for a year to study the Scripture and insure a complete understanding of their apostolic commission. When they emerged, the Apostles immediately began traveling, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, sealing souls with the Holy Spirit, ordaining ministers for the care of the congregations and working to fulfill their commission of preparing souls for the coming of Christ. That work of Grace and Apostleship continues to this day.

This, by itself, hardly sounds any stranger than myriads of beliefs from various religious sects around the globe. But strangeness of belief does not a cult make. Indeed, by the standard of "strangeness", mainstream Christianity, whilst still espousing the literalness of Christ's Resurrection, can be deemed cult. By such simple standards of "strangeness" even the belief in quantum physics could be argued as "cultish".

It is not the oddness of belief that indicates a cult at work, but, rather, evidence that the organization manipulates members to make them dependent on the organization for "salvation". Many argue all religions are cults trying to control their followers. But there is a vast chasm between believing the way to salvation is through God and your personal relationship to Him, however that is understood, and manipulating followers by saying the only way to salvation is through one specific church, regardless of your personal relationship with the divine.

Do we have evidence of a cultish dynamic in the NAC? One has only to read their own material to see evidence of it:

Q - What are the fundamental beliefs of the members of the New Apostolic Church?

A - It is best described by our creed:

Article 1:
I believe in God the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

Article 2:
I believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried, entered the realm of the departed, rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, from whence he shall return.

Article 3:
I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy apostolic church; the community of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the dead, and life everlasting.

Article 4:
I believe that the Lord Jesus rules his church through living apostles until his return, and that he has sent them into the world and still sends them with the commission to teach, to forgive sins in his name and to baptise with water and the Holy Spirit.

Article 5:
I believe that all ministers in the Church of Christ are chosen and ordained into their ministries only by apostles and that all gifts and powers must come forth out of the apostle ministry; equipped with these, the community becomes a legible letter of Christ.

Article 6:
I believe that the Holy Baptism with water is part of the rebirth, and that a person baptised with water is entitled to the Holy Sealing. It is furthermore the covenant of a good conscience with God.

Article 7:
I believe that the Holy Communion was instituted by the Lord himself, in memory of the once brought eternally valid sacrifice and the bitter suffering and death of Christ. The worthy partaking of the Holy Communion establishes our fellowship with Jesus Christ, our Lord. It is celebrated with unleavened bread and wine, such to be blessed and dispensed by a priestly ministry of the Church.

Article 8:
I believe that those baptised with water must receive the Holy Spirit through an apostle, to obtain the childhood in God, whereby they become incorporated as members in the body of Christ.

Article 9:
I believe that the Lord Jesus will return as sure as he ascended to heaven and that he will transform and take unto him the dead in Christ and the living bridal souls, who have hoped for and were prepared for his coming; that after the marriage in heaven he will return to earth with them, to establish his kingdom of peace and that they will reign with him as kings and priests. After conclusion of the kingdom of peace, he will hold the Last Judgement when all souls who did not take part in the first resurrection shall receive their part according to their conduct, be it good or evil.

Article 10:
I believe that I am obliged to obey the worldly authorities provided no godly laws are thereby transgressed.

I have italicized the most problematic parts of the NAC creed; lets us review them in isolation:

I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy apostolic church

I believe that the Lord Jesus rules his church through living apostles until his return,

I believe that all ministers in the Church of Christ are chosen and ordained into their ministries only by apostles and that all gifts and powers must come forth out of the apostle ministry

I believe that those baptised with water must receive the Holy Spirit through an apostle, to obtain the childhood in God, whereby they become incorporated as members in the body of Christ.

At a casual glance, the average reader may see nothing odd about these. If you look closely, however, you will see these passages attempt to shift the focus of one's spirituality away from a personal relationship with God and transfer it into a relationship with the church. In other words, the church organization becomes the moral compass of these people's lives, a compass that is only as true and ethical as the flawed people who control the church.

By no means are we saying these disturbing dynamics are unique to NAC. The transfer of loyalty from a cause to an organization is an insidious dynamic that can be found throughout politics, as well as religion. We are grateful to Nicolai for helping us shine a light on this subject so activists of all interests can protect themselves. But what we do not quite understand is why Nicolai perceives these dynamics prevalent, even dominant, throughout the 911 Truth Movement, as he has written in many places.

One can certainly agree a host of strange characters gather at the fringes of any political interest. But I confess I do not see "cultish" dynamics as a dominant force in the 911 Truth Movement. I have yet in my research to encounter 911 "Truth" organizations who have said in effect "the only way you can achieve our political goals are through our specific group, all others are false". This is how I would expect a "cultish" dynamic to manifest in the political arena.

However, as Nicolai has the greater experience in these matters, we will wait for his further input.