David Bercot

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David W. Bercot (born April 13, 1950) is a lawyer, author, and authority on early Christianity. He has written the book, Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up?, [1] and edited the Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs [2], as well as other books. He was central to the founding of the Scroll Publishing company. David is a conservative American Christian and lives in Pennsylvania, United States.

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[edit] Brief Biographical Background

David Bercot is an Anabaptist (Mennonite/Amish, but in David's case, Mennonite) convert. Originally raised as a Jehovah's Witness, he left when he felt they were not completely honest in their interpretation of the Bible. He became a Liberal Protestant for a brief period, but he was not sure that their doctrines were any more Biblical than the Jehovah's Witnesses. He specifically questioned eternal security, and he still felt that the Jehovah's Witness doctrine of pacifism was correct. He had access to the library at Dallas Theological Seminary, and his training as a title lawyer led him to go back to "primary sources," to examine the theology he was being taught.

In his book, Common Sense, he explains the concept of "Course of Performance." In law, he states, if the terms of a contract are not clearly set forth, the courts will refer to the "course of performance" to determine the original meaning of the contract. How have the parties in the contract carried out the terms of the contract to this point? The contract, if it does not contain specifics, must be interpreted to match that "course of performance." David Bercot chose to apply this principle to the Bible. What was the "course of performance" of the churches the apostles started? How did they interpret the Bible?

David used the 10 volume set, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, to find the answer to that question. A relatively comprehensive collection of the writings of the church from the time of the apostles until the Council of Nicea in the early fourth century, it was the only comprehensive collection of "primary" sources available in English.

His studies led him to write the book, Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up, and to form Scroll Publishing Company to publish it in 1989. He was already running a non-profit Christian bookshop in the Tyler, Texas area, so he was familiar with the publishing industry. The book crept slowly into Christian bookstores, but David was thoroughly surprised to find that it was making a huge splash in Anabaptist (Amish/Mennonite) circles. Letters and requests for more books came pouring in from conservative Mennonite, Amish, and German Baptist Brethren groups across the United States. David's defense, based on a survey of the beliefs of 2nd and 3rd century Christians, of doctrines like non-resistance, baptismal regeneration, separation from the world and a rejection of the Reformation doctrines of sola fide (faith only) and predestination backed up several of their most cherished views.

Meanwhile, David himself wrestled with what course to pursue personally. While he was excited to find out that Anabaptist groups had preserved many of the doctrines of the early church, other things about them repelled him. Most conservative Anabaptist churches had no emphasis on evangelism and some even forbad it! Nor did he see that avoiding technology had any basis in early church doctrine. Wrestling with those ideas, he decided to form the short-lived Tyler Early Christian Fellowship (TECF) in 1992. Conflicts in the fledgling church led him to seek a path with more authority, specifically an ancient church with apostolic succession.

Rejecting the Roman Catholic papacy as unhistorical and choosing the Orthodox as the more justified side of the "Great Schism" of 1054, David took thorough looks at the Assyrian Orthodox Church of the East and the Russian Orthodox Church. He finally opted, however, to join the Anglican church because they avoided the veneration of icons and offered freedom to teach and hold to the doctrines of the early church as he saw them. A few families, about half of the original TECF, joined with him. They were allowed by the Anglicans to join together as a society within the Anglican Community, and they became known as The Society of the Good Shepherd. They continued to meet in David's country side home in Tyler, TX, the original meeting place of the TECF.

David had to adjust Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up at this point, both because there were chapters in it that argued against the course he was pursuing and because it rather strongly recommended the Anabaptists. He completely rewrote the last third of the book and reprinted it (strangely, without any acknowledgment that it was revised), which he would have to do again when he left the Anglicans. (To this point, details of David's biography are provided by Paul Pavao, who formed TECF with David in 1992, and are based on David's own telling of his story. What comes after is provided by others.)

After being ordained as an Anglican priest, David Bercot eventually fled the Traditional Anglican Communion because of their Catholic practice of venerating the Virgin Mary, a practice not evidenced in the Apostolic Patristic writings until the late third century, because of their advocacy of Just War theories, and that women have stopped covering their heads. He eventually settled on a compromise with the Anabaptists as his religious affiliation since they follow some (but not all) of the Early Christian practices which he held particularly dear. Chiefly they practice: headcoverings for women, believer's baptism, regular Lord's Supper (non-sacramental Communion), non-resistance, separation from the world, including the government, and believe in faith and obedience as requisite for salvation.

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[edit] External links

Critiques of Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up?

On Patristics and the Development of Christian Doctrine