Victor Paul Wierwille
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| Victor Paul Wierwille | |
|---|---|
 The Founding President of The Way International |
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| Date of birth: | December 31, 1916 |
| Place of birth: | New Knoxville, Ohio,  |
| Date of death: | May 20, 1985 (aged 69) |
| Movement: | Christian (non-denominational) |
Victor Paul Wierwille (December 31, 1916 - May 20, 1985) was the founder of The Way International (TWI). He was raised in and later ordained by the Evangelical and Reformed Church (a predecessor of the United Church of Christ) in 1941, and he officially left that church in 1957. Wierwille graduated from Mission House (Lakeland) College, received his Th.M in Advanced Preaching from Princeton Theological Seminary. Wierwille claimed the title "Doctor" after receiving a doctorate in theology from Pikes Peak Bible College and Seminary, a non-accredited institution.
In 1942 he started the precursor to The Way International, Vesper Chimes, which was a radio show broadcast from Lima, Ohio, incorporating in 1947 as The Chimes Hour Youth Carvan. He incorporated as The Way Incorporated in 1955, maintaining that this was the name that early Christians used for themselves basing his assertion on several uses of "the way" or "this way" in Acts. Later the official name became The Way International.
Wierwille wrote several books which were printed by the Way's publishing arm, American Christian Press. One book was Jesus Christ is Not God, in which he addressed his belief that Jesus Christ was the Son of God but not a persona of the Christian God or a pre-existent being. Believing the original New Testament was written in Aramaic, he was a supporter of George Lamsa's translation of the Bible, and used it frequently. Wierwille wrote three other works which focused on Jesus Christ and the concept of the Holy Spirit: Jesus Christ Our Passover, Jesus Christ Our Promised Seed, and Receiving the Holy Spirit Today.
After graduating from B.G. Leonard's Gifts of the Spirit class in Calgary, Alberta, Wierwille began teaching a similar class that he initially called Receiving the Holy Spirit Today but soon changed to Power for Abundant Living (PFAL). Eventually he expanded it into a teaching series, including a foundational, intermediate and advanced class. Wierwille was the President of TWI from its incorporation until he retired from leadership in October, 1982; passing the presidency to L. Craig Martindale. He died on May 20 1985 of liver cancer and cancer of the eye.
[edit] External links
- The Way International
- Profile of TWI by the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
- Profile of TWI by Jeffrey K. Hadden
- Messiah Lutheran Church's Page
- Wierwille CD's
