| Hobart Freeman |
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EARLY LIFE Hobart Edward Freeman was born in Ewing, Kentucky , and grew up at St. Petersburg, Florida , where he became a successful businessman after studying at Bryant And Stratton Business Institute , despite being a high school dropout. "Biblical Thinking and Confession: The Key to Victorious Living 365 Days a Year" By Hobart E. Freeman, Faith Publications, Warsaw IN 197?, back cover. He also contracted polio, John F. MacArthur in ''Charismatic Chaos'' says that (p237) "Hobart Freeman’s theology did not let him acknowledge that polio had left one of his legs disfigured and lame. 'I have my healing' is all he would say when anyone pointed out the rather conspicuous inconsistency between his own physical disabilities and his teaching." and in later years "... walked stiffly ... with an obvious limp." "Never Far From Home" by Cindy Barnett, Selah Publishing Group, Surprize AZ page 72 Freeman was converted to Christ in 1952 at the age of 31, and baptized into the Southern Baptist Church . Shortly before Freeman received "the baptism in the Holy Spirit", he survived a heart attack. He "claimed" his healing, disposed of his medications, and almost immediately suffered a series of angina attacks, which eventually subsided. "Biblical Thinking and Confession: The Key to Victorious Living 365 Days a Year" By Hobart E. Freeman, Faith Publications, Warsaw IN nd, pages 49 & 50. Freeman was called to the Ministry , and educated at the Georgetown College with a Bible and History major, and then at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (A.B., Th.M.) with an Old Testament major. In 1961, he earned a Doctorate of Theology from Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana with a thesis entitled "The Doctrine of Substitution in the Old Testament" Co-authors of this thesis included Richard Michalak, Charles Ware, George Brost, George A Brost and Kevin Magde., and was appointed a Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament Studies, and Philosophy and Ethics . "Biblical Thinking and Confession: The Key to Victorious Living 365 Days a Year" By Hobart E. Freeman, Faith Publications, Warsaw IN 197?, back cover. TEACHING AND PREACHING According to John Davis, Freeman came to be "deeply influenced" by 1983 , page 1a However Freeman explicitly rejected their Doctrine of Identification, which asserted that Jesus died spiritually, "Did Jesus Die Spiritually? Exposing the JDS Heresy" by Hobart E. Freeman, Faith Publications, Warsaw n.d. and he also repeatedly warned his congregation about the leaders and their teachings. "Died Jesus Die Spiritually?" by Hobart Freeman, tape number 332, n.d. Freeman's opposition to that doctrine was confirmed by Daniel McConnell."A Different Gospel: A Historical and Biblical Analysis of the Modern Faith Movement" by Daniel R. McConnell, Hendrickson Publishers Peabody MA 1988 page 131 However McConnell also described Freeman as a "renegade preacher of the Faith movement""A Different Gospel: A Historical and Biblical Analysis of the Modern Faith Movement" by Daniel R. McConnell, Hendrickson Publishers Peabody MA 1988 page xix who "eventually broke with the other Faith teachers"."A Different Gospel: A Historical and Biblical Analysis of the Modern Faith Movement" by Daniel R. McConnell, Hendrickson Publishers Peabody MA 1988 page 82. While the exact details continue to be debated, it is not unreasonable to include Freeman within the orbit of the Word of Faith Movement, as he also taught that healing was "promised in the atonement", ''Healing in the Atonement'' by Hobart Freeman, tape number 115, nd and in ''Faith for Healing'', where he also taught that "Confession brings possession, for what you confess is your faith speaking." "Faith for Healing" by Hobart E. Freeman, Faith Ministries and Publications, Warsaw IN nd page 10 These latter ideas aroused much opposition within the Seminary, and Freeman was asked to leave in 1963. However Freeman said, while giving his testimony, that he was asked to leave the seminary due to his conservative view of scripture. See "Testimony of Hobart Freeman" by Hobart Freeman, tape number 111, n.d. Freeman established his own Congregation with Melvin Greider in 1963 in his own home at Winona Lake in nearby Kosciusko County , and built up a loyal following of over 2,000 members, not including some 15,000 in daughter congregations elsewhere in Indiana, Illinois , Kentucky , Ohio , Michigan , Missouri , Tennessee and Florida , as well as in England , Australia , Canada , Switzerland and Germany . For many years, Freeman put in "15-16 hours a day, seven days a week" with seemingly indeflatable energy, "Biblical Thinking and Confession: The Key to Victorious Living 365 Days a Year" By Hobart E. Freeman, Faith Publications, Warsaw IN 197?, page 21. and at one point visited Israel itself. "Biblical Thinking and Confession: The Key to Victorious Living 365 Days a Year" By Hobart E. Freeman, Faith Publications, Warsaw IN 197?, pages 51 and 52. A two-story meeting hall for the congregation was built in 1972 in neighboring Noble County , which Freeman named the "Glory Barn." Hundreds of people would line up for hours to be sure they would get a good seat. The local Press belittled them as the "Glory Barners." Like many charismatic congregations, the "work of the Holy Spirit " was emphasised - with claims of miraculous healings, Testimonies , Speaking In Tongues and believers being " Slain In The Spirit ". Freeman's teaching emphasized the "deeper life" in the Spirit, overcoming all things, separation from the world and its ways, trusting only in God for all things, the crucified life, and the true meaning of discipleship, as seen in the topics covered by his teaching tapes and literature. ''Christianity Today'' was less charitable and overly simplistic, saying that "According to Freeman's faith-formula theology, God is obligated to heal every sickness if a believer's faith is genuine. Faith must be accompanied by 'positive confession', meaning that believers must 'claim' the healing by acknowledging that it has taken place."''Christianity Today'', November 23, 1984 This understanding was more or less accepted by the pastorate, with the wife of one recalling that "Dr. Freeman taught that it was always God’s will to heal in response to our faith, and that God would do it without the aid of doctors or medicine." "Never Far From Home" by Cindy Barnett, Selah Publishing Group, Surprize AZ 2005 page 86. In consequence, doctors and medicine came to be disparaged and reviled. John F. MacArthur in ''Charismatic Chaos'' says that (p237) "Freeman and the Faith Assembly congregation utterly disdained medical treatment, believing that modern medicine was an extension of ancient witchcraft and black magic. To submit to a doctor’s remedies, Freeman believed, was to expose oneself to demonic influence." In a more mild but troubled manner, Cindy Barnett in ''Never Far from Home'' says that (p153) "I had struggled for years with what Dr. Freeman had taught about divine healing. It wasn’t that I doubted God would heal, but I questioned the way medical science was put down and discouraged. I was always trying to build up my faith, looking at it from every angle, reading books, and asking God about it. I would stare out the window wondering where all this would lead." Hobart Freeman did write that "... we must practice thought control. We must deliberately empty our minds of everything negative concerning the person, problem, or situation confronting us ..." "Biblical Thinking and Confession: The Key to Victorious Living 365 Days a Year" by Hobart E. Freeman, Faith Publications, Warsaw IN nd page 20. The first part of this quotation was deleted in the subsequent edition. And he continued writing that "Sickness often can only be overcome by maintaining a positive confession of God's promises in the face of all apparent evidence to the contrary." "Biblical Thinking and Confession: The Key to Victorious Living 365 Days a Year" by Hobart E. Freeman, Faith Publications, Warsaw IN nd page 49. CONTROVERSIES From the beginning, Freeman's congregation was the subject of controversy. At a meeting of the County Board of Health on were not taking their Insulin and pregnant women were receiving no pre-natal or post-natal care. ... They are laying dead babies and live babies next to each other on the altars and praying over them to get the live babies to bring life back to the dead ones. There was one woman in our county praying over a baby for four days before the funeral home got hold of it." Warsaw (Indiana) Times Union, 24 October 1974 Clouse's concerns were later supported by local hospital statistics for 1975/6, which suggested that women from the congregation who gave birth at home were over 60 times more likely to die than those who gave birth at hospital under medical supervision. Deaths of several women, infants and babies were reported, and the local media blamed Freeman's teachings as medical treatment had been declined or refused. Warsaw (Indiana) Times Union, 10 July 1976 Deaths continued to be reported to the frustration of county law enforcement officials. Warsaw (Indiana) Times Union, 10 March 1980 Shortly after they were publicised, the Glory Barn burnt down in the early hours of July 4 , 1980 . Six people escaped from the burning two-story barn. Two youngsters suffered burns before they were rescued from their bedrooms by their father Brendan Wahl. The boys' mother, Peggy Wahl (nee Nusbaum), also claims to have been involved in their rescue, along with their daughter Penny who was not injured. Fire brigades from North Webster , Syracuse and Cromwell fought the blaze for some two hours until dawn, and the fire was subsequently investigated by the Noble County Police and Indiana State Fire Marshal. North Webster fire officials described the fire as of "suspicious origin". Warsaw (Indiana) Times Union, 7 July 1980 . To date no culprit has been charged. Eventually, Hobart Freeman was charged with aiding and abetting these deaths by what was described as "negligent homicide". At least ninety members of the congregation died during Freeman's ministry,Jim Quinn and Bill Zlatos "Assembly's Message Ominious" ''Fort Wayne (Indiana) News-Sentinel'', 2 June 1984 , page 1 which Daniel McConnell described as tragic and preventable.Daniel R. McConnell in ''A Different Gospel - A Historical and Biblical Analysis of the Modern Faith Movement'' says that (p81) "For sheer volume of death and tragedy, none can match the record of Hobart Freeman, pastor of Faith Assembly, Wilmot, Indiana. Estimates of the number of preventable deaths associated with Faith Assembly itself are as high as 90. The number of deaths nationwide caused by Freeman's teaching on healing is not known." McConnell continues to say that (p96) "Besides Faith Assembly, Freeman ministered throughout the South in a network of sister churches based on his teaching. Although not to the same extent, these churches also experienced deaths due to non-treatment of sickness. The author is personally familiar with a tragic death as far south as Alabama in a church which practiced Freeman's teaching." DEATH Two weeks before this matter was to come to court, Freeman died at his Shoe Lake home of Bronchial Pneumonia and Congestive Heart Failure complicated by an Ulcerated Gangrenous leg, which in the weeks preceding had forced him to preach sitting down. He had refused all medical help,"Faith Preacher Hobart Freeman Dies" by Steven Lawson, ''Charisma'' February 1985, page 110. even to the removal of the bandages so his leg could be cleaned.Interview with Mrs Freeman, Winnona Lake 1994 This should not be surprising, for previously in ''Faith for Healing'', Freeman had said that "To claim healing for the body and then to continue to take medicine is not following our faith with corresponding action ... When genuine faith is present, it alone will be sufficient for it will take the place of medicines and other aids." "Faith for Healing" by Hobart E. Freeman, Faith Ministries and Publications, Warsaw IN nd page 11 Freeman's death was not reported for at least 13 hours due to an all-night prayer vigil for his resurrection. He was buried "in a pine box" with no public viewing and no graveside or memorial service."Faith Assembly Mourns Death of Leader" by Kathy Muckle, ''Warsaw (Indiana) Times Union'' 10 December 1984 , page 1 For many months afterwards, his wife left his suit over the end of the bed, expecting him to one day walk in and have need of it.Interview with Mrs Freeman, Winnona Lake 1994 LEGACY In June 1985, Jack Farrell, one of the two assistant pastors hand-picked by Hobart Freeman, quit the congregation, telling "The Body" during the Sunday sermon, that they were still "in bondage" to their late pastor. Warsaw (Indiana) Times Union, 10 September 1985 Some of the congregation also grew disillusioned and left. Discussion Group Others remained under the teaching of one or more of Freeman's successors. Discussion Group These successors include Joseph (Joe) Brenneman, Steve Hill, Jerry Erwin, Bruce Kinsey, Tom Hamilton, Jeff Barnett and Tim Neely, not all are generally acknowledged to be faithful to the teaching of Hobart Freeman. Continuing congregations include groups at Warsaw, Goshen and Indianapolis Indiana, Grand Centre/Cold Lake Alberta and Shelbyville Kentucky.Personal observations & [http://www.tomax7.com/thoughts/feedback.htm Discussion Group] PUBLICATIONS Freeman was the author of two books published by Moody Press of Chicago :
He later published another twelve books through his own publishing house, Faith Publications of Warsaw, Indiana , later to become Faith Ministries and Publications:
Two tracts:
And several hundred teaching tapes. Several of the books and tracts can be read online. SOURCES
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