Letter to Mr. Tkach from Jules Dervaes
Copyright © Jules Dervaes
December 25, 1986
Dear Mr. Tkach,
Enclosed please find a copy of Mr. Salyer’s letter of December 23. This is just a note to inform you, at this time, that there are flagrant errors contained in his letter to which I hope to respond in more detail later.
There still remains the central issue that you have chosen not to consider. I have requested over and over again from the ministry that the Bible be the basis of deciding the truth. And you must realize, of course, that by this I mean the ENTIRE Bible.
Regarding my previous letter, then, you have not shown me that the “theological viewpoints” (Mr. Salyer’s words) are in error. It is absolutely vital to NOW understand this crucial concept: To remain silent can be considered CONSENT.
I plead with you again to take the necessary steps to resolve the issue of what is the plain TRUTH. To refrain from considering this on WHATEVER pretext is a dereliction of duty on your part. There is no excuse before Christ for failure to speak out against error OR for unwillingness to embrace truth.
This policy of abdication is abominable; it can only lead to spiritual suicide. I have been willing to bring this to you and to you alone. Only my wife knew the contents of the material that I have submitted to you since last Passover. All this time I have NOT sought to inform anyone else; I have been faithful to the guidelines of the Church. And those guidelines culminate in Acts 5:29! May I now respectfully remind you that you are only a man.
Because you (through Mr. Salyer) have refused to respect my own Christian responsibility as SPELLED OUT in the Bible, I cannot accept the conclusions contained in his (your?) letter. I am truly sorry that you yourself have made it impossible for me to follow you since you are not following Christ in this matter.
Without any “hate” (Mr. Salyer’s judgment, and his apparent condemnation?), I will distribute to others the material which I had first submitted to you. This situation has occurred as a direct result of your continued silence.
Please refer to The BULLETIN, August 14, 1974, “How to Handle Doctrinal Problems,” by Mr. Raymond McNair, pages 396-99. Also, please read the AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG, Volume 1, “The Dual Test,” pages 359-61.
So that you know where I stand, I am stating to you that I will continue to support you as the human head of God’s one true church organization. I will not interfere at all with any legitimate rights that you possess for running that organization under God.
What I have to do is to share the truth with others and to warn them of the impending peril. In doing this I do NOT wish to hurt anyone; nor do I seek the support of any person. ALL that I do need is God and HIS support!
It is, indeed, very sad that this has become so twisted—so perverse—that you now perceive what I am doing as “fighting against God,” when what I am really doing is just speaking the PLAIN TRUTH.
May God open your eyes to the truth.
Jules Dervaes