Waldensians in Their Own Words
Nathan Barker, like many other historical revisionists, tries to establish an apostolic source for the Waldensians and then extend that idea into the Truth Fellowship. Although he rejects historical Catholic writings on the Waldenses as unreliable, he contradicts himself by quoting highly questionable and biased sources in support of his erroneous presuppositions.
When challenged, Nate never actually interacts with objections to what he says. Instead, he usually says something like "you have your information and I have mine, so let the reader decide!" I heartily agree with this approach; however, as the saying goes, you're always entitled to your own opinion, but you are NOT entitled to your own facts. What better source of information, then, could be the Waldenses themselves? All Nate, or any objective researcher, needs to do, for example, is link to the American Waldensian Society Web Site to find out what they say about themselves. After all, who knows more about their origins - Nathan Barker, or the Waldenses?
Below are just some of the statements on their website which destroy Nate's theory:
"Was born in the twelfth century in Lyon, France"
"This society was “founded in 1906 in New York City”
“spiritual descendants of Valdesius [Waldo] and his followers”
“served as the seed for many of the concerns that drove the sixteenth century reformation”
"Regarded by historians as the “Mother of a Reformation”
"The earliest continuing Protestant experience"
Nate chooses to ignore the plain words of the American Waldensian Society web site which claims its origin from Waldo, not the apostles. I thought it might be interesting to post what a historian, who was himself a member of the Waldensian Church, said about this subject. The following are quotes from Emilio Comba's History of the Waldenses in Italy, written in 1889:
"It is quite possible to conceive that such an uneventful existence - if such could be - might well have gone unnoticed; what we deny is that such an existence was possible." (preface)
"We find the first authentic source appearing with Waldo, and the disciples whom tradition has called by his name." (preface)
Comba calls the Italian Alps the "birthplace of the Waldenses" (pg 1)
"...the existence of such a community, from the time of Sylvester to that of Waldo, cannot be demonstrated." (pg 8)
"...no reference to the isolated existence of any particular religious sect, and not even to their creeds; but solely to the vow of poverty, which Waldo certainly did not invent, but merely re-established." (pg 10)
"...but Waldo is the source, properly so-called, and therefore with him the narrative must commence." (pg 12)
Furthermore, the Waldensians do not resemble the Truth Fellowship in many ways, not the least of which is in outreach programs and organization. For example, the site explains that "In 1979, the Waldensian and Methodist churches in Italy were federated". The church has a national board with a Chief Administrative Officer and hosts a theological seminary to train its clergy. The Friends & Workers have nothing even coming close to the same amount of energy these Waldenses expend reaching out to others. In Italy there are 50 specialized ministries which include schools, hospitals, publishing, hostels, homes for children in crisis, homes for the elderly, and more. Similarly, in Latin America, the Waldensian Church which was "born out of the mid-nineteenth century emigration from Italy" has "fifteen specialized ministries" and claims to have a "commitment to interfaith dialogue".
Do these things sound similar to the Friends and Workers? I don't think so. Nate has two huge flaws in his logic. First, I've proven from two separate Waldensians sources that they themselves deny apostolic succession. Second, the current Waldensians do not resemble the current Truth Fellowship anyway, so claiming a link to them means that Nate has to prove further evidence from the Waldensian Church to today. After all, it's Jesus Christ, "yesterday, today, and forever".
|back|