Greetings. I have just seen the Cephas Ministry/Library with the items on Billy Graham, Oral Roberts and so on. I am a Christian of 23 years standing, a journalist of 18 years and a musician of 22 years. I have been a Pentecostal for about 22 years. I have one question. I have visited various websites which dissect the ministries of international preachers who are errant or perceived to be errant. Most of the information on these people is not new to me. Additionally, my comprehension of issues of the occult, to which some of them are linked, is vast. However, whenever I have tried to enter into discussion with the people operating such websites, their responses have demonstrated plain intolerance. When I say 'discussion,' I actually mean that I do not attack their views or address them in disparaging language. Normally they reply only once and after that they simply ignore my further communications.

The implication is that such websites carry information that should be received and accepted without further discussion. In my interpretation of things, such a stand implies that those websites, which I think are like yours in purpose and operation, take their work very emotionally and cannot tolerate any questions however well-meant. If they have no time to deal with people who want to engage them in discussion then they have no right to run websites of any kind at all. A website by nature is an open invitation to talk. And while various Christian groups are running such websites, the implication of their reaction to enquiries or comments is that no one should have any views concerning what they are putting forward. Because I am addressing you for the first time, and you are running a similar website, you may be in a position to explain to me why I do not get a response beyond the first one from similar websites.

I am afraid the position of such websites brings out a completely unChristian and also unhelpful stance. If I knew how, I would have much loved to address all of them at the same time. They should be strong enough to absorb with dignity and long-suffering (which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit!) all communications coming their way. They should not take things personally because by so doing, they may address people in harsh terms and turn away the very multitudes they want or hope to save from error and therefore eternal damnation. While matters of righteousness and sinfulness are in absolute white and absolute black, we as human beings have, unfortunately, to wade through a lot of grey to clarify issues and bring people into God's Kingdom through the enabling of the Holy Spirit. We are required to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves, which I think is lacking among many of us believers. So then, please advise me as to why I cannot engage in ongoing conversation on issues raised by some of the websites themselves. Thank you.

Dear Sir (you didn't sign this letter nor address us as human beings). I am Rita Williams, wife of recently deceased husband of 45 years. Since you wanted me to know your background, let me share mine with you in a nutshell. I was born and raised a Lutheran in Europe (American citizen by birth) under the true Lutheran religion which was taught in schools and the state/church. I came back to the US at 16 alone and began my journey trying to find my Christian roots. The first church came through mail order, yes, it was called a church?? Not knowing much of anything spiritual, I had contacted the most intense occult system that I could have possibly contacted. From there I never got out of the gray you speak of until age 62.

I listened to hundreds of sermons on radio and television, audios and VHS tapes and read books to find my way out of darkness but it was going nowhere. I know all evangelists in the circuit and most organizations out there because my focus was the Gospel. What I found was anything but the Gospel. The last and longest stay was the Mormon church for 20 years which was of course the greatest deception man has ever developed. Believe it or not, God was watching and when I offered myself to do ministry 100% of my time, He heard my prayer and had me out of Mormonism within 6 months. To come out of darkness everything I had ever done had to be turned to dung.

I had to realize that I had to start over from scratch and build the Gospel into my heart word for word alone with the help of the Holy Spirit and without interference from human beings before God could use me. I spent four years with the Bible daily for many hours a day and have the notes to prove it. I spent two years in tears repenting in deep sorrow over what I had done to Jesus Christ in my rebellion against 'God having a hell.' I could not reconcile that concept with a God who is called LOVE. Of course when I came into the Light and realized that I had been ripped off by Satan like I had, I could understand fully that there needed to be a place where God could contain a personage like Satan. Okay now, for anyone to be in a Discernment Ministry which is the front line of all ministries, they would have had to have been on a similar road that I was on and they received a strong dose of righteous anger which drives us to do this task.

We cannot have any fear because Satan would use that against us. We are exposing lies and Satan doesn't lay down for that. If you have any notions that we have any time to play or have an easy road, you are completely off base. There are only a handful of these ministries World-Wide with a population of 6 billion people, which means all of them are on overload automatically. I have been working 24/7 for eleven years this month without a dime of contribution from Internet. That means my own personal retirement income is used to fund this ministry. We have 60 websites to update and serve a great number of people with newsletters and updates.

My husband, before he passed away, was the head of the ministry but not being skilled in computer was unable to participate in that capacity. So who do you think was doing all the work of building websites, and gathering information for people like me. I just added a young man to the ministry to carry on when I leave this planet which has added another layer to my workload. We have 300,000 hits a month now on one website alone which produces emails, purchases of audios and VHS tapes which have to be produced and books. Our biggest problem is technical problems which Satan delights to create and I often wish I could write a book to show the many ways Satan uses to wear us down.

It is constant, daily, minute by minute. What we have found out is that the Bible is true because what we are experiencing is written in the Bible word for word. We don't dare give it up when people complain that what we are doing is not good enough because God is not a respecter of persons. Like Nicholas Stivers says, we have a duty to God to serve Him no matter what the obstacles are that we are presented with and there are many.

Now to your complaint that you have not received adequate cooperation from ministries like ours to foster discussions that you are seeking. I cannot speak for other ministries and to tell you the truth, I agree, I have not been treated appropriately myself by most of them. I did come to the conclusion that they all have the same Satanic attacks that I have had and have a code that they live by to curtail some of the pain that they have to endure. They do not answer my mail even though they know me and know what kind of work I'm engaged in. There was one condolence when my husband died from one young man even though I shared the news. I truly believe that these ministries have no choice but to remain insulated to stay the course.

Judging from what I have learned over the years by doing it, they have to be more compassionate than anyone who is not engaged in the Lord's work because the return is zero. We have a policy to answer every letter with as much compassion as we can muster even if at times it means engaging in long research and conversations but sometimes there is a lag in time in replying because there is never enough time to get everything done.

We provide thousands of pages of material to the public free and hope that they realize that they need to get engaged in reading to get educated like I had to. There was nobody there for me to spoon feed me anymore and to tell you the truth that didn't work for me all those years. That is why I was so lost. I'm sure you have learned over time that most of our tasks better be 'do it yourselfers' or they don't get done correctly. To toy with eternal life is not a good idea. I was totally convinced that I was a Christian from age 14 when I was confirmed and made my decision to live for Jesus Christ. At 62 I found out I was anything but that. To my amazement I had failed the test completely.

Jesus told the seventh church which is likened to this present time: Revelation 3:14-21 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."

What denomination did Jesus belong to? Where is His church? We can turn this world upside down and not find it. Why? If you havn't pondered those questions it is high time you start. May the Lord give you an overpowering desire to learn the truth and continue to draw you unto Himself unencumbered by anything or anyone.

In Christ Jesus, Rita Williams