Credibility: Difference between revisions

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|'''''I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.''''' - Friedrich Nietzsche

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|'''''If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.''''' - Mark Twain

'''''In order to thoroughly deceive others, it is necessary to also deceive oneself'''. The actor playing Hamlet must indeed believe in the moment that he is the Prince of Denmark, though when he leaves the stage he will usually remember who he really is.''

''On the other hand, '''when someone's entire life is based on such pretense, they seldom if ever return to reality. That is the secret of many successful politicians, evangelists and confidence tricksters alike–they believe they are telling the truth, even when it seems sure they must have known that they faked the evidence.''' Sincerity, my dear Julia, is a quality not to be trusted.'' – Sarah Caudwell from 'The Sibyl in Her Grave'

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~~[[Image:Credibility.png|thumb|right|250px]]~~

In our search to find the truth and to separate fact from fiction as it relates to William Branham and his ministry, one of the the most important issues that has to be addressed is his credibility. This need to be examined in relation to the various stories he tells in describing his supernatural experiences.

In our search to find ~~out~~ the truth and to separate fact from fiction as it relates to William Branham's ministry, the ~~biggest issue~~ that ~~we have run across~~ is ~~whether William Branham was credible with respect~~ to the various stories he ~~relates~~ describing his supernatural experiences.

''To be persuasive, we must be believable; to be believable, we must be credible; to be credible, we must be truthful.'' — Edward R. Murrow

Credibility refers to the believability, trustworthiness and reliability of a person ~~or message~~.

Credibility refers to the believability, trustworthiness and reliability of a person.

=Was William Branham credible?=

[[Image:Credibility.png|thumb|right|250px]]

~~'''''If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything~~.~~''''' - Mark Twain~~

Because William Branham was a minister of the Gospel, one starts off with the assumption that he generally told the truth, that he was credible. But that assumption must be discarded if it can be demonstrated that he regularly strayed from telling the truth.

Because William Branham was a minister of the Gospel, one starts off with the assumption that he was credible. But that assumption must be discarded if it can be demonstrated that~~, at times,~~ he ~~did not tell~~ the truth.

William Branham portrayed himself as a simple, honest, uneducated man who was sent from God as a prophet to forerun the second coming of Christ. However, many of the stories that he told have been proven to be untrue and many of the doctrines that he said he received directly from God were, in fact, [[Plagiarism|plagiarized]] from other ministers. Another significant issue is that many of [[Different Stories|William Branham's stories changed dramatically over time]]. Why did this happen?

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The following items have caused us to question William Branham's credibility (click on the links to read a detailed explanation of the issue):

#Did William Branham visit the Vatican and see the inscription "''[[VICARIVS FILII DEI]]''" above the throne of the Pope?

#[[William Branham and Billy Graham|Did William Branham lie about his prophecy regarding Billy Graham?]]

#[[1933 Ohio River Experience|Did anyone hear the voice on the Ohio River in 1933?]]

#Did William Branham see [[Stories about Eagles|a mother eagle carry her babies on her wings?]]

#[[The Cloud|Why did William Branham say that he was under the cloud when they took its picture, when he clearly wasn't?]]

#Did William Branham travel [[William_Branham's Travels#Around the world seven times?|around the world seven times?]]

#[[Bible saved from the flood|Was William Branham's Bible saved miraculously in the 1937 flood?]]

#[[The Man from Windsor|Why did the story of the man from Windsor change so drastically over time?]]

#[[Plagiarism|Why did William Branham say that he received his revelations from God when he took many of his doctrines from other men?]]

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#[[An Uncertain Sound|Did William Branham claim to be a prophet?]]

#[[The Nazarite Birth|Was William Branham born under a Nazarite Vow?]]

#[[~~Discernment errors~~|Was William Branham's discernment 100% accurate?]]

#[[Was William Branham's discernment ministry genuine?|Was William Branham's discernment 100% accurate?]]

#[[Guessing the disease|Was William Branham's ministry always 100%?]]

#[[The Mystery of the Empty Cornerstone|What was in the cornerstone of Branham Tabernacle?]]

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#[[William Branham's Double Standard#Trimmed Hair & Short Skirts in the Branham Family|Why did William Branham criticize women that cut their hair and wore short skirts, when his own family did?]]

#[[Arvel Mosier|What actually happened to Hattie Wright's boys?]]

#[[William Branham on Suicide#Inaccuracies about William Cowper's death|Why did William Branham say he went to William Cowper's grave when he didn't?]]

#[[William Branham on Suicide#Inaccuracies about William Cowper's death|Why did William Branham say William Cowper committed suicide when he died of heart failure?]]

#[[William Branham on Suicide#Stephen Foster|Why did William Branham state the Stephen Foster committed suicide, when this is not true?]]

#Was there really a connection between [[The Pope and the Lunar Eclipse|the Pope visiting israel in 1964 and the lunar eclipse that preceded his visit?]]

=But didn't Abraham lie?=

~~This should be considered as~~ a response out of [[Cognitive Dissonance]] (if you don't know what this is, please click on the link).

We have had many message ministers deflect the issue of William Branham's credibility by pointing to the flaws of some of the prophets in the Old Testament. Such a response is clearly coming out of [[Cognitive Dissonance]] (if you don't know what this is, please click on the link).

~~Many~~ message believers, ~~when~~ confronted with the clear facts that William Branham lied ~~repeatedly state~~, "Abramham lied and he was the father of faith." ~~This is~~ effectively admitting that William Branham lied but that it is not a big deal ~~if he lied~~.

When a message believers, confronted with the clear facts that William Branham lied, states, "''Abramham lied and he was the father of faith,''" they are effectively admitting that William Branham lied but that it is not a big deal.

The problem with this argument is that it is a [[Failed Prophecies|red herring]].

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William Branham, on the other hand, appeared to have lied to uphold the claim that God spoke to him and that his prophesies were authentic. William Branham lied to make himself look like a prophet so that people would follow him.

Under the new covenant ~~that we find~~ in the New Testament, lying is not acceptable behaviour because the Bible plainly tells us what is expected of Christian leaders:

Under the new covenant as outlined in the New Testament, lying is not acceptable behaviour because the Bible plainly tells us what is expected of Christian leaders:

:''Therefore an overseer must be above reproach...<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 1 Ti 3:2–3.</ref>

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 {| style="width:100%; border:1px solid #E8B399;background-color:#F0DCC8;vertical-align:top; float:left; text-align:center; padding: 0.3em;margin-left:5px"
 |'''''I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.''''' - Friedrich Nietzsche
+|-
+|}<br>
+{| style="width:100%; border:1px solid #E8B399;background-color:#F0DCC8;vertical-align:top; float:left; text-align:center; padding: 0.3em;margin-left:5px"
+|'''''If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.''''' - Mark Twain
+'''''In order to thoroughly deceive others, it is necessary to also deceive oneself'''. The actor playing Hamlet must indeed believe in the moment that he is the Prince of Denmark, though when he leaves the stage he will usually remember who he really is.''
+''On the other hand, '''when someone's entire life is based on such pretense, they seldom if ever return to reality. That is the secret of many successful politicians, evangelists and confidence tricksters alike–they believe they are telling the truth, even when it seems sure they must have known that they faked the evidence.''' Sincerity, my dear Julia, is a quality not to be trusted.'' – Sarah Caudwell from 'The Sibyl in Her Grave'
 |-
 |}
-[[Image:Credibility.png|thumb|right|250px]]
+In our search to find the truth and to separate fact from fiction as it relates to William Branham and his ministry, one of the the most important issues that has to be addressed is his credibility.  This need to be examined in relation to the various stories he tells in describing his supernatural experiences.
-In our search to find out the truth and to separate fact from fiction as it relates to William Branham's ministry, the biggest issue that we have run across is whether William Branham was credible with respect to the various stories he relates describing his supernatural experiences.
 ''To be persuasive, we must be believable; to be believable, we must be credible; to be credible, we must be truthful.'' — Edward R. Murrow
-Credibility refers to the believability, trustworthiness and reliability of a person or message.
+Credibility refers to the believability, trustworthiness and reliability of a person.
 =Was William Branham credible?=
+[[Image:Credibility.png|thumb|right|250px]]
-'''''If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.''''' - Mark Twain
+Because William Branham was a minister of the Gospel, one starts off with the assumption that he generally told the truth, that he was credible.  But that assumption must be discarded if it can be demonstrated that he regularly strayed from telling the truth.
-Because William Branham was a minister of the Gospel, one starts off with the assumption that he was credible.  But that assumption must be discarded if it can be demonstrated that, at times, he did not tell the truth.
 William Branham portrayed himself as a simple, honest, uneducated man who was sent from God as a prophet to forerun the second coming of Christ.  However, many of the stories that he told have been proven to be untrue and many of the doctrines that he said he received directly from God were, in fact, [[Plagiarism|plagiarized]] from other ministers.  Another significant issue is that many of [[Different Stories|William Branham's stories changed dramatically over time]].  Why did this happen?
@@ Line 21: / Line 26: @@
 The following items have caused us to question William Branham's credibility (click on the links to read a detailed explanation of the issue):
+#Did William Branham visit the Vatican and see the inscription "''[[VICARIVS FILII DEI]]''" above the throne of the Pope?
+#[[William Branham and Billy Graham|Did William Branham lie about his prophecy regarding Billy Graham?]]
 #[[1933 Ohio River Experience|Did anyone hear the voice on the Ohio River in 1933?]]
+#Did William Branham see [[Stories about Eagles|a mother eagle carry her babies on her wings?]]
 #[[The Cloud|Why did William Branham say that he was under the cloud when they took its picture, when he clearly wasn't?]]
+#Did William Branham travel [[William_Branham's Travels#Around the world seven times?|around the world seven times?]]
+#[[Bible saved from the flood|Was William Branham's Bible saved miraculously in the 1937 flood?]]
 #[[The Man from Windsor|Why did the story of the man from Windsor change so drastically over time?]]
 #[[Plagiarism|Why did William Branham say that he received his revelations from God when he took many of his doctrines from other men?]]
@@ Line 40: / Line 50: @@
 #[[An Uncertain Sound|Did William Branham claim to be a prophet?]]
 #[[The Nazarite Birth|Was William Branham born under a Nazarite Vow?]]
-#[[Discernment errors|Was William Branham's discernment 100% accurate?]]
+#[[Was William Branham's discernment ministry genuine?|Was William Branham's discernment 100% accurate?]]
 #[[Guessing the disease|Was William Branham's ministry always 100%?]]
 #[[The Mystery of the Empty Cornerstone|What was in the cornerstone of Branham Tabernacle?]]
@@ Line 65: / Line 75: @@
 #[[William Branham's Double Standard#Trimmed Hair & Short Skirts in the Branham Family|Why did William Branham criticize women that cut their hair and wore short skirts, when his own family did?]]
 #[[Arvel Mosier|What actually happened to Hattie Wright's boys?]]
+#[[William Branham on Suicide#Inaccuracies about William Cowper's death|Why did William Branham say he went to William Cowper's grave when he didn't?]]
+#[[William Branham on Suicide#Inaccuracies about William Cowper's death|Why did William Branham say William Cowper committed suicide when he died of heart failure?]]
+#[[William Branham on Suicide#Stephen Foster|Why did William Branham state the Stephen Foster committed suicide, when this is not true?]]
+#Was there really a connection between [[The Pope and the Lunar Eclipse|the Pope visiting israel in 1964 and the lunar eclipse that preceded his visit?]]
 =But didn't Abraham lie?=
-This should be considered as a response out of [[Cognitive Dissonance]] (if you don't know what this is, please click on the link).
+We have had many message ministers deflect the issue of William Branham's credibility by pointing to the flaws of some of the prophets in the Old Testament.  Such a response is clearly coming out of [[Cognitive Dissonance]] (if you don't know what this is, please click on the link).
-Many message believers, when confronted with the clear facts that William Branham lied repeatedly state, "Abramham lied and he was the father of faith."  This is effectively admitting that William Branham lied but that it is not a big deal if he lied.
+When a message believers, confronted with the clear facts that William Branham lied, states, "''Abramham lied and he was the father of faith,''" they are effectively admitting that William Branham lied but that it is not a big deal.
 The problem with this argument is that it is a [[Failed Prophecies|red herring]].
@@ Line 78: / Line 92: @@
 William Branham, on the other hand, appeared to have lied to uphold the claim that God spoke to him and that his prophesies were authentic.  William Branham lied to make himself look like a prophet so that people would follow him.
-Under the new covenant that we find in the New Testament, lying is not acceptable behaviour because the Bible plainly tells us what is expected of Christian leaders:
+Under the new covenant as outlined in the New Testament, lying is not acceptable behaviour because the Bible plainly tells us what is expected of Christian leaders:
 :''Therefore an overseer must be above reproach...<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 1 Ti 3:2–3.</ref>