Criticism and Controversy
There have been allegations by former members that a number of YWAM leaders, including the founders, with authoritarian personalities and cultic practices have intimidated volunteers and reprimanded those acting in opposition to the organization's vision and values. Some of the political involvements of its founders and members have also been examined by the media. It is also claimed by Christian apologists that YWAM has taught some controversial doctrines.
In 1990, cult investigator Rick Ross published an evaluation of Youth with a Mission, that cited both positive and negative aspects of YWAM. Ross concluded that he did not "recommend Youth With A Mission" or its programs. After the 2007 shootings, Ross told the Fox News Network that he continued to receive occasional "serious complaints" about Youth With A Mission, but he believed it is "not a cult" ."
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Famous quotes containing the words criticism and/or controversy:
“The greater the decrease in the social significance of an art form, the sharper the distinction between criticism and enjoyment by the public. The conventional is uncritically enjoyed, and the truly new is criticized with aversion.”
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)
“And therefore, as when there is a controversy in an account, the parties must by their own accord, set up for right Reason, the Reason of some Arbitrator, or Judge, to whose sentence, they will both stand, or their controversy must either come to blows, or be undecided, for want of a right Reason constituted by Nature; so is it also in all debates of what kind soever.”
—Thomas Hobbes (1579–1688)