"Sharing" is one of the most prominent [practices], and is the foundation of their meetings. The modus operandi is as follows. A Grouper unfolds to another person, in many cases a complete stranger, his past history, in some cases entering into details concerning his sins public and secret, with the idea of breaking down reserve, and of getting the person so addressed to tell him his past history, his sins public and secret, and then urging the individual to surrender to Christ, who will give him power over his sins and enable him to live a pure life. Is this practice Scriptural?
Two bodies, the Roman Catholic and the Wesleyans, have something akin to this. In the case of the Roman Catholic it is not exactly a question of sharing, but of confessing to the priest. In the priest's hands it becomes an instrument of tyranny, establishing an ascendancy and power over the one who confesses. It is notorious that girls and women are horribly corrupted and polluted in their minds by the searching question the priest often puts, especially upon sex matters.
The Wesleyan class meeting is more for sharing spiritual experiences of the goodness of God, but the class meeting is more or less a thing of the past. Any spiritual exercise that is only dependent on experience is not likely to be permanent.
We are assured that the "Sharing" of The Oxford Group Movement is unscriptural, and therefore fraught with great dangers. But we are told it is Scriptural. If so, why has it not been practiced all down the centuries of the Church period? We have had pointed out to us, "Confess your faults [offenses, New Translation, J.N.D.] one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed" (James 5:1616Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16)). But this surely is limited to a Christian, who has committed a fault or offense against the one wronged, asking forgiveness; or to the heart, being burdened with some fault or offense, unburdening itself to some " righteous man," whose prayers are desired, for we read, " The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much " (James 5:1616Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16)). It certainly does not inculcate a Christian confessing to an unbeliever, or confessing in a Group meeting, where many entirely unconverted men and women may be gathered.
Acts 19:1818And many that believed came, and confessed, and showed their deeds. (Acts 19:18) is quoted, "And many that believed came, and confessed, and showed their deeds." There is confession here, but no "sharing." They were anxious sinners, who came to Paul and his companions, confessing their deeds. They would do it once, and rightly so, but there is no hint of the system of "sharing."
The Apostle Paul's confession in 1 Tim. 1:1313Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. (1 Timothy 1:13) is a model. It is not "sharing" but a confession intended to extol the grace of God in reaching such a sinner as he was. Note his confession does not go into prurient details of an indecent nature. He confines himself to the opposition to God manifested in his blasphemy against God's truth and injury to His people. As to confessing sexual matters in public, Scripture emphatically forbids this. "Fornication and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints" (Eph. 5:33But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; (Ephesians 5:3)). There is not a line in Scripture to support "Sharing" as practiced by the Group.
The writer went to Group meetings, and listened to "Sharing." One man week after week told how he was intemperate, immoral and dishonest, and how he had been delivered from these things by surrender to Christ and allowing His power to control him. He told these things, apparently without shame, and we can think of nothing more deadening to a sense of shame than the continual witnessing to the sins of a past life, again and again, before complete strangers in many cases.
The Group meetings I attended were not opened by prayer, no Scripture was read, nor did I see a Bible in the hands of anyone.
Young man after young man was called upon by his Christian name (a practice in the Group Movement) to give his testimony. They sauntered up to the chimney-piece, lolled against it with hands in their pockets, recounted in more or less detail their past history, sex matters bulking largely, told how they have surrendered to Christ, and their lives were changed.
However, in all these cases coming under our personal observation there was no confessing of Christ as Savior, not even a stray remark about the atonement; they spoke of being delivered from the power of sin, but not of being forgiven the guilt of sin. They all told us how happy they were, but the only testifier, whose face really beamed with joy, was that of an old man, who said he had been converted to God, and knew Christ as his Savior, fifty years before in a Primitive Methodist Sunday School.
As young man after young man spoke of surrender to Christ, there was no sign of the joy of the Spirit in them, no remark indicating that Christ was precious to their souls, and we wondered what they knew of Christ. Their testimony sounded more like shibboleth than reality. We feel sure if some had said they had surrendered to Buddha, their testimony would have meant the same thing. What can they know of Christ and of the way of salvation when they come to such a meeting, and the Bible is absent?
They put confession and sharing into quite a wrong place when Persona Grata says:—"I don't think it is too much to say that until a man confesses his sin to another man he can never really be spiritually vital" (" Life Changers," p. 104).
Fancy not being saved till you confess to another MAN. What about confessing to God? The whole system of "sharing" is unscriptural and fraught with grave dangers. There may be one percent good in it, but we are convinced there is ninety-nine per cent evil, and it should be rigorously avoided.
Writing of "Sharing" we read, "In one sense the Psycho-analyst, with his splendid technique based upon exhaustive experiments, is simply bringing scientific verification to what the Church learned long ago under the guidance of the Holy Spirit " (" Sharing." J. P. Thornton-Duesbury).
It is sad when we are told that the Holy Spirit's teaching is simply the method of the psycho-analyst. The former is sane and sound and spiritual; the latter's methods may be fraught with danger, especially in the hands of unconverted people.