The Bible Study (first known as Forever Family ) was founded in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1971 by Stewart Traill. This is a communal organization, teaching evangelical Christianity.
In the 1970s, with its headquarters in New York, it developed into a controversial church network with 10,000 members and 110 communes at its peak, but only a few hundred members in later years.
Traill had a conversion experience in the early 1970s in Allentown, joined the Pentecostal church from which he was expelled, and began teaching the Bible and developing followers. He changed the name "Family Forever" to "Bible Study in the Church" in 1976. Former members complain that they work at very low wages, with all the money going to church. This group has a communal lifestyle, with Traill maintaining that only he can understand the true meaning of God's words. Traill encourages his group members to sever ties with their families. Over time, the members decreased in number.
With the carpet cleaning business, "Christian Brothers Carpet Cleaning," they are the inspiration for Seinfeld's "Carpet Cleaning Purifier". They also started a used van business as a commercial venture.
The group has been accused of being a sect, and it is thought that Traill became a millionaire from him. Pdt. Bruce Ritter of the Covenant House accused him of pulling 17 youths out of the shelter with promises of salvation, and state courts prohibited them from housing or transporting youth under the age of 18 without parental consent.
In November 2013, the AP investigated claims that the church was guilty of running sub-standard housing for orphans in Haiti after two church-run homes received failed scores from Haitian institutions that monitor orphanages. "... Though they claim in IRS archives to spend about $ 2.5 million every year, homes for boys and girls are very dirty and crowded during recent inspections that the government says should not remain open."
Video Church of Bible Understanding
References
COBU Mike Montoya's Web page
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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