Vidal: Big Bad Meanies Are Persecuting The Restored Church of God

Brother Vidal is back from Dave Packs reeducation camp with more tales of woe and persecution.  The persecution of the Restored Church of God seems to be particularly horrendous at this point in time.  Even though they live in nice homes, have plenty of food on their tables, travel freely around the country in the latest model of car, have tens of thousands of dollars in the bank, they are being persecuted for their beliefs. Really!  I have not read about their Masonic Lodges getting blown up for having church there, or the Elks Lodges, or the high school gyms. I haven't read about any car bombs going off in front of RCG's church services or gunmen  storming their meeting halls and killing their members.

I've got news for Vidal and Davey; THIS is what religious persecution looks like for REAL Christians:

So what kind of terrible persecution is Vidal and his cronies going through at the Restored Church of God at this time?

 This is the big bad meanie persecution they are suffering from:

It is not surprising that after this website was launched, haters of God started attacking every minister posting here. The spate of attacks vividly brought to my remembrance a foundational scripture: “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death” (Phil. 4:10). This verse has truly come alive!

This is particularly galling to hear coming from Vidal when he comes from Africa where Christians are being killed at a horrendous rates in some nations. But then COG logic dictates that these "so-called Christans" are not real Christians because they are not sabbath keepers, followers of Dave Pack or Herbert Armstrong.  It is disgusting for this moron to even assume he is being persecuted!

He continues:

But contrary to what these enemies of God may be thinking, we are utterly grateful to God for giving us the wonderful and exceptional opportunity to share in a tiny fraction of Jesus’ sufferings. For us, it is a great pleasure to gladly submit ourselves to this situation rather than receive the vain attention and praises or commendations of men. 

I can guarantee that if real persecution came to the Restored Church of God, Dave Pack would be the first one high-tailing it down the freeway as he leaves his staff to bear the brunt of the persecution.  HWA did it when he fled to Tuscon and Dave will do it too.


These are what Vidal and Davey see as great persecutors of the Restored Church of God:

If Vidal and Davey think that this blog and others are agents of persecution then they certainly follow a weak, impotent little god.

Blogs and web sites filled with snarky little comments is persecution!  Who knew!

By all of us being snarky and making fun of their stupid assumptions; they see this as PROOF they are God's greatest gift to the universe.

...the evil reports that have been circulated about us since we started this site validate us. If haters had commended or agreed with us, then something would have been wrong. Christ has made it clear that any such commendation would be to our shame. But the fact that they do not speak well of us is as it should be. Again, it is such evil reports that validate true ministers! “Blessed are you, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake” (Luke 6:22).

That we are detested gives us comfort that we are doing the right thing and are in the right place. In reality, we are better off when they defame, rail at, chide, taunt and try to represent us as evil.

Then Vidal take a giant leap into absurdness.  He equates their persecution with Jesus being tortured an killed:

Being offered the opportunity to taste a tiny sliver of what Christ went through, what His apostles and true servants have gone through over the millennia, what Mr. Armstrong went through in His 52-year ministry, what His 21^st century apostle has been going through, and what other faithful ministers of His are currently passing through is a unique privilege, and we are thankful to the Father for having us go through this process, and making it possible for us to truly count it all joy (I Pet. 4:13).

Their own words damn them.  Stupid little people.

You can read Vidal's silliness here:  Evil Reports Validate True Ministers

Nathan Albright on the "20th and 21st Century Experience Church of God

Nathan has another great article up about the experience of the 20th and 21st century Church of God member and they way we think/thought. And how that thinking has made the COG so dysfunctional. He goes through some of the conditions that caused the church to form some of the rigid ideas it had and still has in various splinter groups.

It is encouraging to read Nathan's articles which give cause for celebration because he has some various honest insights from an insiders point of view  into the Church of God than many refuse to even look at today.  There are plenty of us now on the outside looking it, but rarely do you have present members questioning things so sincerely.  It is more comfortable to go with the flow than to rock the critical thinking boat.  Nathan does not shy away from it.

In his a article today he asked these questions:

The question is: what came first, dysfunctional people or a dysfunctional culture and system within the Church of God? Or, to put this another way, were people screwed up by the systems of the Church of God or did they come this way, attracted by some weirdness within the existing culture....given such evidence as is available we can at least find areas for future investigation that are likely to lead to more definitive solutions, and at least rough proportions of where the responsibility and blame for the dysfunctionality of the Church of God culture belongs.

It is customary for the Church of God to think itself separate from the world, but even a very basic understanding of the larger generational and political patterns that the Church of God has experienced will show that the Church of God has been greatly influenced by the greater society it has operated it, whatever its claims to the contrary.

Most COG members never stop and consider this reasoning at all.  Nathan is right that Armstrongism has always considered it's self separate from the world.  Yet, it was deeply entrenched in it.  The world invaded every aspect of the church.  From our literature and television programs.  Our ministerial training tactics.  Our architecture in our buildings which was meant to awe and astound people. Our worship of money reigned supreme.  Our scandals mirrored the scandals going on in most televangelist organizations but many times to an even darker level. Our addictions to alcohol, sex, drugs, food, money, possessions mirror the world around us.

Nathan continues with these brilliant observations:

"There are really two fundamental outside influences here. First, early experiences (and dissatisfaction) with loose organization, along with the influence of isolationist and pro-fascist 1930′s culture, seems to have encouraged the early Radio Church of God to take a much more authoritarian stance, as right-wing thought was moving in a more authoritarian direction during the 1930′s. The period of greatest growth for the Church of God was during the beginning of the Culture Wars of the West, where a large group of conservative, traditional-minded people came into the Radio/Worldwide Church of God, seemingly looking to escape the doctrinal and especially cultural liberalism of the age. As right-wing political culture moved more in a libertarian direction and as authoritarianism was discredited in the post-Cold War period, it is little surprise that the Church of God as a whole has been in a permanent state of crisis at this time, given its tension between the influence of right-wing political worldviews and expectations from outside society and its generally traditionalist mindset, which fiercely defends traditions that are only a few generations old."

"It is the hallmark of co-dependent institutions that they show immense rigidity. And that has been the experience of anyone who has spent a great deal of time within a vast majority of the Church of God culture (including Worldwide). If we are to assume that the Church of God is supposed to be a model of a godly family, we would recognize that a godly family is to nourish and support the well-being and gifts and abilities of its members. In addition, it would recognize that growing maturity and capability would change an initially very unequal parent and child relationship into a relationship of mutual respect. Dysfunctional institutions and families show no such flexibility. Instead there are rigid roles that have to be followed, with little or no tolerance of deviation or even the slightest bit of independent-mindedness. Even if leaders are given great latitude for their own laziness or health issues, everyone else must work without rest or release, as meaning is only found in doing and not in being or relationships (which may be actively discouraged except among elites). In addition, a dysfunctional family does not show any change in its views. There is never any way to lower the gap between leaders and followers, no flexibility in recognizing changes in what roles or places a person would be best served, and often no interest in helping people find a best fit between their own talents and abilities and the places they serve, unless that person has reached sufficiently elite status to merit such (rare) personal attention and consideration."

There is a cornucopia of other great observations in his article, so please check out Nathan's article here:  On The Bi-Directional Feedback of Culture And Membership In The 20th and 21st Century Experience Of The Church Of God

"Hey Kid!!" How Armstrongism Looks At Suffering

"Hey Kid!!  If you just do your YES Lessons, get

your folks to send in their tithes  so we can do God's work,

and pray for the kingdom to come, you'll be fine!

Hey Kid!!  Are you listening to me?  Look at me!

Jeez, you sure eat sloppy. I don't think you are ready for God's

Church at this time.  Keep reading...."

 

"Permit the little children to come unto me...for of such is

the Kingdom of God...jerks"

Andrew on Apostle Malm "Once again, out of his own mouth the Apostle contradicts and condemns himself."

Yesterday, the Apostle Malm blogged:

"Today we can be zealous for our God by keeping all of his commandments THAT ARE APPLICABLE TO US and by rejecting the wicked from our assemblies … Today we are to reject the wicked from our assemblies for God to deal with." (Emphasis mine.)

Yes, even the Apostle agrees, some of god's commandments are applicable to us, and, some of them aren't! Let's have a brief look at several examples.

1) Ex 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

These 8 words have more impact upon how a "true," "zealous," "christian" lives his life than any other. There is no length too extreme to make sure one never tramples holy time with his sandals on. The annual holy days in Leviticus 23 amplify this commandment by adding 7 extra sabbaths. Breaking a sabbath in even the tiniest of ways is sure to get your ass deep-fried in the Lake of Fire. Status: Applicable.

2) Isa 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.

Yep, new moons are basically 12 more sabbaths per year. It's not strictly commanded not to work on new moons, but if you're not too busy doing bible study to get nothing else done, it’s possible that could be a sin. "Zealous" "christians" always err on the side of caution in these matters. Status: Applicable.

3) Numbers 10:10 Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.

Yep, on every sabbath, you are supposed to toot your own horn. If you don't do that, you are NOT keeping the sabbath, and your ass WILL be fried, no question. Status: Applicable.

Now, here's a few commandments that are not applicable:

1) Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law: judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Haha, no need to look out for those "weightier matters," because everyone knows that keeping the sabbath is the weightiest matter of the law. Tithing, sure, but mercy? Puh-leez! Good one, Jesus! Status: Not Applicable.

2) Matthew 25:34-46 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me...

If you're hungry and naked, this is probably because god is not blessing you, and what's the number one reason why god might withhold his blessings from you? That's right, sabbathbreaking. [Why is the Apostle living below the poverty line?] In the words of the Apostle, we are to "reject" these "wicked" people. Like the Hell’s Angels say, “Kill 'em all and let god sort 'em out.” Better not trample the sabbath with your sandals on, but if you want to trample your fellow man with cleat boots, no problem. Status: Not Applicable. Next!

3) James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and to keep himself unspotted from the world.]

This is a tricky one. The first half of the verse is not applicable, the second half is! And how do we keep ourselves from being spotted by the world? Stay inside writing your blog (about how everyone who doesn't live exactly like you do will receive eternal damnation) where no one in the world can “spot” you. The "zealous" "christian" treats every day he can like the sabbath, just to be safe. The sabbath: a day of rest, condemnation, and gnashing of teeth. Ahh. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Visiting people in affliction? Eh, not so much. Status: Not Applicable.

Bonus) Matt 22:36-39 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, [Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Another tricky one. Some parts are applicable and some parts aren’t. Can you tell which is which? The first great commandment is all good, but love your neighbor? Never heard that one before! Besides, everyone knows the second great commandment is Ex 20:8! Haha. Another good one by Jesus! Status: Not Applicable.

UH OH! Today the Apostle went on a tear about NOT CHERRY-PICKING from scripture! Something the Apostle would NEVER be guilty of! Look at what he blogged today:

"To reject any part of God’s word as NOT APPLICABLE TO US, is to reject the Word of God; which is to reject Jesus Christ! And to reject Christ and God’s Word is the spirit of Antichrist!" (Emphasis mine.)

Once again, out of his own mouth the Apostle contradicts and condemns himself.

Andrew