Replies

Esther's Girl at the End of the World follows her upbringing in a network of about 50 or so fundamentalist fringe congregations once known as The Assembly, led by her grandfather, George Geftakys.

What makes The Assembly "fundamentalist"?

George Geftakys attaches a special significance to this word. According to him, by "taking the place of sonship" we gain eternal glory and privileged participation in the "life of deity"....In summary, we must "live the very life of Christ" (page 131), preparing and training ourselves each day for "enlargement of capacity" (page 139). We must do the equivalent of what Christ did. Only then will God enthrone and exalt us. Only by a perfect life of obedience, obeying all the commandments of God, will we possess this glorious inheritance.
"This is not automatic... Sonship is for all believers, but all believers do not avail themselves of this privilege," (Jesus is the Son of God, chapter 8, "The Faith of the Son", page 137).
But isn't this supposed to be why Christ came in the first place -- to live a sinless life and to give up that perfect life as a spotless sacrifice so that we might be declared righteous before God? Why is it necessary for us to repeat what Christ has already done? Instead, according to George, we are to live a sinless life and even die on the cross in order to receive a glorious inheritance as Christ did. Why is Christ's life of obedience and death on the cross necessary at all? Christ, then, did not actually save sinners. Christ is only an example of how it ought to be done. Christ only made salvation possible for us; we must achieve our own salvation through self-effort, following Christ's example. .
-- from the article Sonship, at Reflections on Cultic Christianity