03/09/2026
https://web.facebook.com/share/p/14k9tfMRJGd/
There are moments in life when I find myself looking back and realizing just how far the journey has taken me.
For me, one of those moments is remembering 2012.
That was the year I made one of the most difficult decisions of my life. After years of believing and defending the message of William Branham, I reached a point where I could no longer ignore the questions, contradictions, historical evidence and things I had discovered about the message and the ministry. I knew that walking away would come at a tremendous personal cost, but I also knew that I could not continue believing something simply because I had once been taught that it was the absolute truth.
So I walked away.
I did not walk away because I hated anyone. I did not walk away because I wanted to hurt anyone. And I certainly did not walk away because I had stopped caring about the people I had known and loved for so many years.
I walked away because I had become convinced that I had to follow truth wherever it led me—even when following it meant standing alone. And, for a while, it felt very much like I was standing alone.
The reaction I encountered after leaving is something I will never forget. I received some of the nastiest remarks, horrible curses and deeply hurtful words imaginable. Some people told me I was going to hell. Others predicted that God would judge me and that I would be dead before the end of that year. When those predictions failed, similar predictions continued into subsequent years.
Those experiences were painful. But they also taught me a great deal about people, about religious conviction, and about the difference between defending truth and defending a belief system.
Yet today, when I look back, something rather remarkable has happened.
The very people from whom I once experienced so much hostility are, in many cases, now the people who welcome me with open arms.
When I meet message believers today, I am often received with kindness and warmth. I have had opportunities to speak with message people and, on a couple of occasions, even to address them directly. They listened to what I had to say, and I am grateful for the respect they showed me.
Even more meaningful to me is that I remain in contact with some old friends who are still in the message, including people who are influential and highly respected within their circles.
And honestly, I appreciate that more than words can express.
It reminds me of something I have always believed: people are more important than arguments.
I may vehemently disagree with what you believe, but that does not mean I have to hate you.
I may challenge your doctrine, but I don't have to become your enemy.
And perhaps that is something worth saying after all these years... I am not your enemy, and you are not my enemy. The devil is our enemy.
My opposition to the teachings and doctrines of William Branham has never been personal. My intention has never been to attack people or destroy relationships. My purpose has been to bring information into the open—information that I believe was previously withheld from sincere and trusting believers—and to allow people the opportunity to examine that information for themselves.
What you do with that information is between you and God.
I don't expect everyone to agree with me. I don't even expect everyone to change their beliefs. What I do believe is that every sincere person deserves the opportunity to examine evidence honestly, ask difficult questions and reach their own conclusions without being threatened, cursed, ridiculed or condemned.
I have spent many years standing against what I believe to be error. But I don't want to spend the rest of my life standing against people. There is a difference.
I can oppose a teaching without despising the person who believes it.
I can expose what I believe to be deception without wishing harm upon those who have been deceived.
I can disagree with you deeply and still shake your hand, sit at your table, talk with you, laugh with you and call you my brother or sister in Christ.
And perhaps, after all these years, that is the place where I have finally arrived.
I left the message in 2012. But I did not leave Christ. And I did not lose my love and respect for the people who remained.
To every message believer who has shown me kindness, hospitality and respect over these past years: thank you. I genuinely appreciate it.
To those who still disagree with me: I respect your right to disagree.
And to those who may still regard me as an enemy because of what I believe and teach, I simply want to say this: I am not against you.
I am simply following the convictions of my conscience and sharing the information I believe people have a right to know. What you do with it is between you and God. As for me, I choose to continue walking in love.
We may disagree about the message, but we don't have to hate one another.
May God help all of us to seek truth sincerely, treat one another with dignity, and above everything else, continue walking in love.
Your brother in Christ,
James Manuel
