Some of you will ask the obvious: WHY NOW? Why can’t bygones be bygones?
- Three big reasons:
1. This man never apologized to the immense wrongs he did to thousands in Minneapolis.
2. He continues to do the same old, same old, reincarnating himself in Raleigh, North Carolina.
3. Justice needs to be done.
It is about time folks! Thirty years plus is a long time. Note, I have Pastor in “quotes” because, first, it is a self-acquired title. Second, the title “Pastor” is associated with qualities which Earnest O’Neill does not posses. Qualities such as love, caring, empathy, and honesty. It is an insult to humanity to call this man a “Pastor.” I will be calling him O’Neill. Remember, one way how deceivers acquire respectability is to add titles to their names. Religion gives respectability to scoundrels by such title as “reverend,” “pastor.” “holy” and so forth.
This is a tactic to subconsciously put your mind in a “respectful state.” This allows religious office holders to obtain undeserved respect. Additionally, such titles before one’s name protects them from criticism or just plain human scrutiny. After all who but an arrogant fool will question the “holy father!”
Therefore, this or any other “reverend” does not awe me.
This was not the state of my mind when I was deep into religion. Thank goodness, I am free. Which is why I am concerned about truth. Which is why I have decided to use the blessing of the internet to expose this man.
HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY
I know many of you realized who Earnest O’Neill is. You have told me so personally. Which is why you did not follow him to North Carolina when he ran with all the loot. Nevertheless, many of you have told me that you have left this human tragedy in “God’s good hands.”
With all due respect, crimes cannot be left in “God’s good hands.” Which is why we have a justice system. O’Neill’s crimes were worse than what ordinary criminals do. Not addressing them is a crime in itself. I am guilty of that myself. Because I have remained silent. To leave such human affairs of this earth into “God’s hands” is an easy and, to be honest, a lazy way out. IT ACCOMPLISHES NOTHING.
Judgment or no judgment. We already know that in real terms O’Neill will never pay for his crimes. The greatest satisfaction he has is that he smugly reestablished himself. This is his proof that he did nothing wrong.
“O’Neill, you have hidden yourself behind the garb of religiosity and behind your enablers. Your days of hiding are over O’Neill.” Thanks to the Internet. O’Neill, you can no longer hide.
THE DECEPTION
O’Neill’s deceptions can fill an encyclopedia. O’Neill’s number one tactic is deceiving the young idealists who are looking for a higher purpose and spiritual fulfillment. Using hypocritical dramatic acts and generating a narrative about himself accomplishes that. So may of us fell for that narrative. O’Neill talks of his intense, personal, spiritual experience he had years ago while he was a young man. This “experience” changed his life. The believability is imparted by the fact that when he had this “experience” with God, he was a Methodist minister. This experience revealed to him the hollowness of the organized churches such as the Methodists.
O’Neill decided to leave the organized church but not until he got permanent resident status in USA through the Methodist church. He had no compunction in betraying his sponsors who enabled him to come to America! No one ever questioned that because the young, idealists who are themselves disillusioned with organized churches, cannot see O’Neill’s betrayal to the Methodist church. Clever as he is, O’Neill actually used this to bolster his spirituality claims. The first deception worked.
O’Neill never had to worry about paying his monthly bills. The methodist church sponsorship helped his spouse get a green card. O’Neill made sure that he has an earning spouse. His wife is dentist. Therefore, if anything were to happen financially she was O’Neill’s financial fall back. Having himself put in financially secure circumstance, O’Neill has always been ready to play with other people’s life. From here on, O’Neill would not think about anybody else’s financial circumstances.
O’Neill always had the credit cards for himself, which he could easily obtain because of his spouse’s income. To the rest he would offer the God card. It worked! Here is how.
O’Neill founded the Campus Church in mid seventies. This was the post-Vietnam era. It was a time when many young persons were seeking spiritual comfort and healing. In other words it was the right time for spiritual deceiver. Snagging a few hundred idealist, young men and women, was not at all a problem for O’Neill. Campus Church prospered. So did O’Neill. He bought a lovely home in Wyzata, an expansive suburb of Minneapolis and drove a luxury car. What about the rest? They lived in improvised, sub-standard housing and got by with clunkers!
Be that as it may, this is not about sub-standard housing or clunkers! This is about making right.
RIGHTING IT FOR O’NEILL BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE FOR HIM
O’Neill never made it right. He never expressed any regret to anyone that I know. He never to this day has apologized to the erstwhile elders of Campus Church such as Mark Behlen, Scott Colomb, Leighton Carlson, Bob Richardson (My apologies for misspelling some names — but you know who I mean).
THIS IS WHAT PROVES THAT O’NEILL IS A GUILTY MAN. This lack of any regret, even a hint of apology. No sir, a self-righteous man never apologizes.
I am under no delusions, that this man who never expressed any regret, let alone an apology, to his close circle of friends who sacrificed and worked hard for him will ever say anything meaningful to anyone else.
Vile men are known to have pleasant persona. Once O’Neill knew that he could fool hundreds of young, spiritually inclined American with his pleasant persona he became an exploiter. Ask any one who has been in a “leadership” position. They will tell you upfront how easy it is to manipulate those who are willing to listen.
Especially when the listeners are waiting to hear the “word of God.” Deceivers know how to tap into this vulnerability. O’Neill, from day one, know how to exploit this vulnerability.
Which is why I have come to expose this man. Some will say let bygones be bygones. Others, still mired in in mind numbing religion would say, “Let God take care of this man on the day of judgement.”
To them I say NO. Bygones are bygones where there is regret, where there is sorrow expresses, where there is sincere apology.
O’NEILL HAS NO SUCH REGRET, NO SORROW NO APOLOGY TO THOUSANDS HE HARMED IN MINNEAPOLIS AND TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THEIR UNSPEAKABLE SACRIFICE.
To the religiously inclined there might be justice in the other world. For me that is a blank check that no one has ever cashed.
My objective is two fold. 1. To let O’Neill know that he has not been able to fool all forever
2. To expose this man and ask him to fess up and apologize.
THIS IS NOT FOR ME. IT IS FOR O’NEILL. THOSE WHO HAVE SYMPATHY STILL FOR O’NEILL SHOULD CARE FOR HIS SOUL. HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT THIS MAN IS OK IN THE EYES OF GOD WHEN HE DID SO MUCH HARM TO CHRIST’S FAMILY AND CHRIST’S CHURCH IN MINNEAPOLIS? DO YOU NOT WANT THIS MAN TO BE MADE RIGHT BEFORE HE SEES THAT DAY FROM WHICH THERE WILL BE NO RETURN??
Come on Christians! Do you not care for the soul of O’Neill? Would you let him face the judgement thinking that he is OK just because he swears by Jesus Christ? Is that enough?
As far as I know for Jesus Christ the biggest sin was hypocrisy. This man needs to be saved from his hypocrisy. His group of followers and enablers who did not demand accounting from him are the ones who are making sure that O’Neill goes to hell deluded that he is the favorite of Jesus Christ.
But how can O’Neill be right with Jesus Christ? If he was would he had abandoned Christ’s children in Minneapolis and not shed a tear? Can you not see the contradiction here?
Even if none of you replies to me. Even if I do not get a single reaction. It is not going to stop me from exposing this vile man and his wrongs for which he has never expressed regret and has never sincerely apologized.
UPDATED: JULY 6, 2007
[June 12, 2008: This is my first post on this subject. I will be posting more soon. If this shows up in your search, then please by all means leave me a comment. I will love to hear from “ex-Campus Churchers,” who like me, were deceived by Earnest O’Neill and his enablers. Yes, in due time, I will also be exposing O’Neill’s enablers. This pathetic bunch of “believers” have stuck with him in North Carolina and London. These enablers are equally responsible for the crimes of this man.]
EXPOSING Rev. "PASTOR" ERNEST O'NEILL 
Contact me … above email. O’Neill resides in my neighborhood, Raleigh, NC.
I’ve always suspected Earnie’s old lady was into spanking. If so, sign me up for a session.
Hi, Kush.
You say:
“O’Neill made sure that he has an earning spouse. His wife is dentist. Therefore, if anything were to happen financially she was O’Neill’s financial fall back. Having himself put in financially secure circumstance, O’Neill has always been ready to play with other people’s life.”
And you say:
“Campus Church prospered. So did O’Neill. He bought a lovely home in Wyzata, an expansive suburb of Minneapolis and drove a luxury car. What about the rest? They lived in improvised, sub-standard housing and got by with clunkers!”
It sounds like you may be saying that you would like Mr. O’Neil to divide his wife’s income with you and any member of the church. It sounds like his wife’s income bought a house and a car for him thirty years ago and continues to do the same at this time.
We long for someone who dies for us, who divides all his income and life for us. Someone who will be healthcare and life itself for us. This would be the ideal shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.
Hugs.
When I was a part of the London operation, I thought that it had become very insular and inward looking with some members questioning other members spirituality and relationship with God. Support came accross as condemnation not love and ther was no one outside the group to talk to.
I left as did others.
Pauline
Pauline, I always admired you for your knowledge and wisdom. Many wish they were as wise as you who discovered the deception of O’Neill and his enablers at just the right time. What is surprising is that his chief enablers in London such as Myron Kliewer, Greg Leitchu and Dan Shafer are still sticking with him. This is in sharp contrast to the former Campus Church “elders” who were with O’Neill in Minneapolis. I do not know of any elder from Minneapolis who is still with O’Neill. While all these enablers who were in London and Taiwan, and Thailand have stuck with him. Don’t you find that strange?
I fully agree with you that these people are very judgmental. Plus the London group in that big house remind me of the Catholic monks in ancient monasteries!! They are so insular that they have lost all capacity to interact with normal human beings. The same appears to be the case with people in North Carolina. The irony being they advertise themselves as an “international business group” when there is nothing international about them.
You can check things out here….
http://www.trychurch.com/
Hi all,
I am interested in talking to anyone who can help me and my Siblings with this London Grp. I cannot post the person of topic here though will if you call (“Pauline”).
We may need help and direction in our attempts to help out loved one. Please send me contact info.
LT, I have sent you an email. I will be happy to do whatever I can to help your siblings if they have been taken in by this group. Please write to me along with details. Thanks!
You have some of your facts wrong. He was pastor of Bethany Presbyterian before founding Campus Church.
Thanks for the correction. The point, however, was to point out that O’Neill worked as a clergy for a Church, the very establishment that he later criticized.
I fail to understand how Christian it is to creat a totally dependent human being unable to function on their own. Isn’t this member security (employee security and hence financial security for you and for a select few in the group)? Makes it very hard to leave the group or to be successful after a member does leave. If anyone wants to know what it’s like to be shunned they just have to watch these so called Christians reject, actually turn their backs on, the very member’s they say they have loved and with whom they have lived for years. When mentally ill just kick them out as defective and evil. Is this a caring group or selfish, self centered, egocentric’s? Christ rejects no one who accepts him as their savior….no one has the market on GOD or Christ. NO ONE! A personal relationship with God is just that, personal between the believer and Christ. Christ would never turn his back on anyone who loves him and believes in him as savior and lord.
Money? That is exactly what this group is about…in the name of the Lord? Right!
How do you mix finances, wealth, salvation and rightousness. I believe the bible tells us that we cannot earn our way to heaven by good deeds…or otherwise. Surley no matter how hard we work or how successful in business we are we still are not guaranteed a place in heaven. What a trick O’Neil. Yes I refuse to call you pastor! O’Neil you operate on guilt and shame because that is all you have! You have stolen lives and for that you will answer to God. I can wait! Until then I pray our sweet savior leads your follower’s to the truth.
This group has after all taken their clue from “Pastor” O’Neill who has love for NO one, including those inside the group. As I have pointed out here, O’Neill is the same, self-centered, looking-out-for-himself only guy. His practice of making himself the Pope of this group has not changed. He needs these “poor souls” to run his operations.
The proof lies in the fact that he owns Fish Enterprises. The group is still paid minimally (which in turn reduces their social security payments) and there is no indication that he has a succession plan. As soon as O’Neil goes kaput z, the group will fall apart. Most of these people are now approaching retirement age. O’Neill has not disclosed his finances and we do not know who he going to leave his million dollar plus estate.
LT you are right. Your observations are on the money. Whatever O’Neill is he is definitely not a “pastor.”
I still, after reading numerous comments, fail to understand what Mr O’Neill did that was so wrong. His doctrine is really sound and i have found listening to the material online that you were, as he says numerous times fortunate to live in that period of time and that amazing Campus Church to hear God speak through His servant. All I have gathered is that he moved away. Is that all? Seems to me that a lot of you did what he urged you not to do and worshipped him instead of your lord. A lot of the q/a sessions were based on the premise that all men are equal and he never exalted himself above anyone else. Even I, all these years later managed to understand that he spoke about this “special time” and implicitly was letting you all know it wouldn’t last forever but just a season. Nobody on this site seems to get that. Go to world invisible and listen to the legacy that you helped to build because it still is changing lives today.
Sorry, Pablo, but were you there? I was. I loved O’Neill. I was personally counseled by him for 3 yrs. But, I was always hesitant to embrace the “business” side of things. It seemed a little too cultish – which proved to be true. I was good friends with many of the leaders and “fishies” (so called because the business was called Fish Enterprises) of the church and I can tell you that things went horribly awry just before O’Neill cut bait and ran. The elders started questioning his tactics (he felt he didn’t have to conform to certain laws regarding construction) and they were told in a fit of anger that they should be willing to follow him to the gates of hell! Sounds a little megalomaniacal to me. My husband and I saw the writing on the wall and left but we still received letters and from our friends in London. eventually they weren’t allowed to contact friends or family in the states. A married couple wasn’t allowed to leave the country together to assure they wouldn’t “escape”.
You say that his doctrine is sound. Well, if you think hammering away at a single chapter of Romans for 7 yrs is sound……well, what can I say. His whole spiel was death to self, and let me tell you, after hearing only that for 7 yrs you are no longer spiritually balanced. It all became a who’s more dead to self contest. Now you may say that that’s the congregants fault not O’Neill’s but when you’re talking to impressionable, idealist (this was the 60’s and 70’s) young college students and street people, this is to be expected and O’Neill knew that and took advantage of it.
It took me years to deprogram and even though it’s been 35 yrs I still have recurring nightmares of O’Neill (though not as frequently). I dream he is still doing his thing and people are still swallowing it. I guess it’s reality. I actually called Raleigh to see if he could be contacted. I was given an email address. I sat and stared at the cursor for about a half hour before I simply typed, “Wow, different city, same scam.” I signed it (he knows me well) but I never received any acknowledgement from him at all. If he felt any remorse whatsoever he would have responded. Even if he believed he was being wrongly accused don’t you think he would have lovingly responded that he was sorry that that was my feelings? After all, we were all his “loved ones”.
Hi Patti,
I joined CCI in 1983, just after I got out of the U.S. Navy. CCI was my first and to date only venture into Christian Ministry and it lasted 26 years. I stayed with CCI far longer than many who have posted here, and I pray the others who are left will eventually see where Ernest O’Neill has wandered from The Way. I am saddened that as former members of CCI we really don’t have a place where we can all meet (virtually that is, or otherwise) and share our experiences, both the times in CCI and what we have done since. I have been able to pick up some relationships with brothers and sisters from my Minneapolis days, but no one from London will communicate with me. My leaving London was a divorce to some and rebellion against God to the O’Neills. He made a big deal out of not wanting to let me go after 24 years, but he and Irene would not speak to me for the entire week that I was finishing my business with CCI and getting my personal items taken care of. And they would not allow anyone to drive me to the airport. And believe me, it was very hard to get on that airplane, when only one or two you have known for the past 24 years supports you. There was fear that I might be going against God’s will and I would lose Him. But I did have some peace about it because I felt in my heart that if I didn’t leave then I would be back at the same spot in 3 – 6 months. (My big sister, for whom I will always be grateful, was a great help to me during this period, and the owner of this web site did also contribute, though Kush has sadly made shipwreck of his faith. 1 Tim 1:19)
Why did I leave CCI? Mainly because I found grace. My friends in London were surprised when I said that, because they thought that O’Neill had always taught grace. But O’Neill does not teach grace as “free, unmerited favor.” He teaches grace as God’s help to make us free from sin. As many have shared here, and probably elsewhere, in practice at CCI, this teaching of O’Neill’s seemed to lead to depression in that body. Why? Because we all loved our sins and hated being told God expected us to be free from them? No, I beleive it was because no matter how much all of us tried to be free we found ourselves constantly failing. O’Neill constantly tried to encourage us by saying that “the saint is not the one who never falls, but the one who gets up and get’s going again.” And although that has a lot of truth to it, the constant teaching that we could be free of sin and the finding ourselves always short of that goal made most of us depressed.
In all my time in CCI I saw no one who was free from sin. For a time I was in awe of O’Neill and thought that he was a picture of what that meant. But I began to see after a while that he really wasn’t as free as I thought. For a time I thought that I could understand some of his reactions to questions about his authority because I “could see how the other person’s actions made his responses justifiable.” However, about 10 years into London I began to notice the anger that others have spoken about began to surface – anger that seemed to be not to be justified. Indeed, in one incident he did apologize for his anger. But where he spent less than one minute in his apology he spent at least ten minutes saying how the “sister had been the cause of his sin.” That didn’t seem balanced to me. And it didn’t quite ring true to his teaching on holiness. And I can only name two people there who ever have said that they “had the clean heart.” O’Neill and one other. I know that they both still struggle with sin. The Holy Spirit showed me many verses that contradicted the theology of O’Neill (which by the way, coming from a Methodist background is Arminian), but the verse that I held onto was 1 John 1:8, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” O’Neill likes to quote 1 John3:9, “No one born of God commits sin; for God’s nature abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God.” These two verses seem to contradict each other. But the Bible never contradicts itself. If you look at verse 9 in the ESV it says, “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s[b] seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.”
It wasn’t however, only O’Neill’s theology that gave me trouble. I began to suspect that his claim to be a good business man was not all that he thought it was. Our company was struggling to make a success of it’s jewelry business and O’Neill put a lot of pressure on us as sales reps, and to some extent seemed to blame the poor results of our sales on us. I am not arguing, I was not a great sales rep and never made my goals, while my sales manager always made her’s. So I should take some of the blame. (I am, by the way a successful retail store manager and I have very good retail sales.) But what I didn’t get was why he saw the business failing and yet he only spent about 8 hours in the office when he came to London from Raleigh, spending the bulk of the month or two that he was with us, either visiting gardens and coffee shops with his wife in London, or driving around Europe visiting the sites and going to visit famous yacht manufacturers in France. It didn’t make sense. And the more books and tapes I read or listened to by Jeffrey Gitomer the more I questioned my companies director – O’Neill. By the way, when he was back in Raleigh he really wasn’t in Raleigh. He was either at his apartment in Florida or sailing his 36 foot yacht up and down the east coast of the U.S. (I hope I am not sounding like a disgruntled former employee, because I am not and don’t want to be.)
As for Kush’s claims about O’Neills corruption. Well, he does own a late model Jag and so does his wife, but late model is probably the late 90’s and I know they did not pay that much for those cars. As for the apartment, it is worth quite a bit, about a half million dollars, and it is about 2400 square feet for a two bedroom unit. About twice the size of my townhouse and 5 times the price. The property in London is worth about $6 million. And the property in Raleigh is worth about $1 million. This was built by the sweat of a lot of people who gave all of their time (we didn’t do much other than CCI in London) for very low wages. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the comfort of that nice home in London for 26 years. Though for the last 10 years I got a higher salary that we ever did, but had to pay the bulk of it in rent and board. And I did get a pension which helped be get resettle here in the U.S. again and is giving me a small amount for the rest of my life. This wasn’t necessarily from the goodness of O’Neill’s heart. He was force to make us normal employees and pay us a pension by the HM Revenue and Excise when CCI lost its charity status in the UK. I think to describe Ernest O’Neill as Kush has is a bit over the top. I think that sadly O’Neill is deceiving himself as John says anyone who says they are without sin is doing. I pray that by God’s grace and mercy he and the others will come to realize that and then real change will happen.
I hope you are well Patti. Did you spend any time in London. Contact me if you would like, it would be nice to talk to someone else who knows the London team.
Joe
Hi Joe,
No, I was never in London, but had close friends who were. As I said in my last comment, my then husband and I were always a little leery of the business aspect, but fully embraced the doctrine for many years. My faith looks very different now. It is grace centered, and it seems crazy, now, to think we could have believed anything different. I have a lot of unanswered questions about Christianity in general and the Bible in particular (and probably always will), but I believe God is in control – I’ll know what I should know when I should know it! I’ve spent too many years trying to force “holiness”. I now make a clear delineation between what I believe (an exercise in faith) and what I can know. I can’t “know” much (if anything) about God…..and I believe that’s the way He wanted it. Faith is the all important key. And as far as what it is we’re supposed to do- I just hold on to Micah 6:8 “What does the Lord require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Feel free to contact me as well.
Patti
Hi Patti,
If you want, you can look me up on Facebook under Joe Selzler and we can connect through FB. Joe
Interesting. I attended Campus Church on a few occasions and thought various elements of the ministry vision/strategy to be very interesting. A very good friend was much closer and I have always been confused about the demise of the ministry; but also confused about the preoccupation with O’Neill. And even this website seems rather occupied with him.
I guess I agree a whole lot with the critics of religion, Christianity, religious leaders,etc.
It seems the critics share a lot with Jesus.
But I have never understood why the discovery of counterfeits, hypocrites, frauds, cheats, thieves, etc. discredited the real deal.
Thank you for your insightful comment. This website is to expose O’Neil’s hypocrisy. So excuse me for being “obsessed” by him. He is not gong to go away even when he goes under. But I wanted him and his enablers to know that he was unable to fool everyone. Regarding the “real deal” about Jesus Christ. That has nothing to do with O’Neil. I did not come to my humanist conclusions because of O’Neil’s hypocritical and callous behavior. It took me a while but things happen to change when I started to develop critical thinking or rather started thinking for myself. Learned many disciples such as basic statistics and epistemology and above all plain commonsense. Frankly, Christianity is so childish and bogus that one does not need scholarship to conclude it is idiotic and a fraud. For example, all you need to know is the difference between fact and opinion – something I didn’t know 20 plus years back (Yes, I was that naive). So if we begin with just, let us say, historical facts there is not a shred of historical evidence that Jesus existed. And add to this the gospel narration and other history, the whole story is manufactured. The fact that Gospels are NOT history. The fact that the Gospels were written at least 30 to 70 years after the so-called “ascension” of Jesus. The fact that none of these gospel writers were eyewitnesses… all ads up to conclude that this is fiction. And even if it is given that the account is true, the whole theology makes no sense except that it has now been imposed to make sense. Anyway, thank you for your comment. And stay in touch if you can. Regards, Kush
On Tue, May 6, 2014 at 12:17 AM, EXPOSING Rev. "PASTOR" ERNEST O'NEILL wrote:
>
Actually Kush, The Gospels of Matthew and John were written by eyewitnesses. John even says as much in the first 14 versus of his gospel. As for the length of time from the events of Jesus’ life to the writing of the gospels, many books of antiquity that are accepted as history are only know through copies that are hundreds of years after the event. See the book by F.F. Bruce – The New Testament Documents: http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Testament-Documents-Reliable/dp/0802822193.
Joe
Additionally, the Gospel of Matthew was written approximately 25 – 30 years after the events, which you are suggesting is too much time to be accurate. The Gospel of Mark, written by the John Mark, the attendant and writer for the Apostle Peter, was completed at Rome in the late 50’s AD, again about 25 years after the events described. Mark recorded what Peter related to him. You are suggesting that these accounts be rejected as too far after the events to be reliable. Yet, you want your own readers to accept your account of what happened in Minneapolis 30 years after the events. Why should your readers accept your account of events and not those of the Gospel writers?
Joe
Well said Joe. Its a shame this individual allowed one man to destroy his faith in God. Now that is a travesty.
You are wrong. My idiotic “faith” was not destroyed by “one man” O’Neill. No Mam. It took me years of search and lots of reading and developing reasoning that I did not have when I accepted Christianity. Now when I look back I wonder “how could I ever believe in such primitive nonsense?” Yes, it’s a little bit of work. But Christianity is being exposed now for Centuries. They used to execute their enemies. Now they vilify and demonize because they cannot kill anymore.
For me it was simple: I just corrected my assumptions that I had unquestioningly accepted. Assumption like “god” and that human mind can receive revelations. Most of all I realized that these barbaric, primitive men did not know even the basics of this universe. Then how are they qualified to speak for us today when we have a million fold more knowledge then these men.
Reasoning has to be exercised and learned. Very easy to “accept” teachings and not try to think. But we cannot and should never give up commonsense.
That and many other reasons is what freed me from this bondage called religion, faith, or Christianity. NOT O’Neill.
Very likely because of the predisposition all men have to replace the truth with a lie. Romans 1:18-32.
what did he write?
Shelley Potter, former member of Campus Church
wow! super!
Relgious online books, mobile applications available.
This Thanksgiving morning, I spent some time praying for Pastor O’Neil, because it was through him and through Campus Church that I became a believer in Jesus Christ who is my Lord and Savior. I am a sinner–saved by grace and I am eternally grateful, for this man’s messages of grace and love. I received a “Word from the Lord” while attending service in Feb 1982 and from that moment to this I have truly felt like I am a beloved child of God. I’m sorry to hear that some of you had a different experience, and I hope you will find healing for those wounds. It was at Campus Church that I felt–for the first time, welcome in a church. It was the first time in my life I felt loved, by God. And God used Pastor O’neil to reach me. I am eternally grateful and blessed. Susan, attender from 1982-1985
When I was in my mid 20s I used to go to the Campus Church on Cedar Ave. in Mpls. I was quite impressed by the sermons of O’Neill. It met then in the Cedar Theater, I think, and was always full with people sitting on the floor. I even took notes. He seemed like a compassionate and understanding person. But I guess he was not so great. I remember once in the Minnesota Daily, the student newspaper of the U of M there was a story about him. Supposedly in sermons he said that the Jews had brought the Holocaust on themselves by not accepting Christ. He retorted, They could criticize him, but they could not criticize his French dip roast Beef sandwiches. He had set up a lot of businesses around the campus, where church members could work with other Christians. The joke referred to these businesses and was tongue in cheek. The members could also live in apartments owned by the church. At the peak of success it owned a big building was a couple of miles from campus. It looked impressive. But later they gave it up and had a smaller building on University Ave. across from Folwell Hall, I think, near fraternity row. They also had courses where members could learn about the Bible and Christianity or other skills. They even recycled glass. Since then, I have lost touch, but what I have read about O’Neill does make me doubt my wisdom in accepting him and his enterprise. It seems as though he was exploiting cheap hippie and student labor for his personal gain. Not so good after all. Although he made a good impression. A friend of mine in high school started a much more legitimate church on Franklin Ave. that still exists. He was a successful lawyer and I am sure he did not exploit church members. Anyway he has died of cancer in the meantime. Not all church startups are fraudulent.