Of all the people in the Philadelphia Church of God for some reason, Dennis Leap is the one who writes about children the most. This time his is expounding on the PCG's stance on children of members and their standing with the god of PCG. Like almost every article that PCG publishes, Leap uses old worn out comments by Herbert Armstrong is if they were some kind of "gospel truth."
Unable to ever make a theological decision on their own, they have to rely on HWA's public library training as the foundation for their "truth's."
PCG believes that their children and only their children have access to God. All other children who have the misfortune of not being born into the PCG are cut off from access to God, or at least the god of the PCG. Even then there is a qualification for PCG members, only children of TRULY CONVERTED PCG members have access to that god.
All of those cute little babies of UCG, LCG, RCG, COGWA and the improperly named "continuing" Church of God are damned to utter destruction during the end times for not being PCG. The god of PCG only loves PCG babies and none others. Even Bob Thiel's double blessing cannot save his follower's children.
We need to take in the significance of what Christ has established through Mr. Armstrong. This truth holds incredible meaning for our children. Our children are not cut off from God. They have access to God. This means that our children are in a different category than all other children on the planet! Of course, God loves all the children in this world—John 3:16 tells us that—but God is only working closely with our children at this time.
Mr. Armstrong wrote, “While other people—not members of the true body of Christ—and all other children are cut off from access to God, your children—if you are a truly converted member of God’s Church—can believe in Christ—are not cut off from God—and much of God’s truth, even though as yet too young to be converted. But they are a special treasure to God!” (ibid). Do we get what Mr. Armstrong is teaching here? Children of members can have a relationship with Christ and come to understand God’s truth because of their parents’ calling. Mr. Armstrong adds that they are a special treasure to God. How inspiring, exciting and thrilling! Do we realize what a sacred treasure our children are? Our Sacred Children: How well do you understand what God has given His Church concerning child rearing?Part of the reason so many children are cut off from God is that Satan entered their mind as soon as they were born and now controls everything they do.
Here is the revealed knowledge necessary to deeply understand child rearing. Mr. Armstrong continued in the same article, “To understand, you need to know all about the spirit in man and how it operates. You need to know precisely what is human nature. You need to know how Satan operates—especially on children. You need to know in what manner God has set you—and your children—apart from this world.
“You need to know at what age Satan gets into your child’s mind. You need to know whether your child has access to God ….” You will not find these truths explained in any book from a bookstore. These are the deep thoughts of God that have been graciously given to us to use (1 Corinthians 2:10-12). We must study, believe, think about and learn to apply each of these in our family life.The "deep thoughts of God?" Seriously?
Mr. Armstrong stated, “Now see how that applies to the children of converted parents. It does not mean they may be converted while still too young. It does mean they are not, like children of unconverted parents, cut off from God. It means that they may be taught about God by the believing parent” (ibid). Teaching about God and His purpose for mankind is the most important aspect of child rearing. Let’s expend some effort to understand the magnitude of this statement.
Here’s the point. Why should our young children be taught about God? Because God makes it possible for them to understand the truth! Do we get it? Our children can grasp the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Our children can know that God is a family into which they can be born. Our little toddlers can be taught to realize that God is offering them the opportunity to rule the universe. People in this world have such great difficulty accepting these wonderful truths of God because their minds are full of religious error. When parents faithfully do their part, a little child is able to grow up without being subjected to Satan’s religious deceit. Keeping our children’s minds free of error gives them an incredible edge in preparation for the Kingdom of God.
Mr. Armstrong continued, “Your children are in a special (consecrated) category. You may teach them about Christ—about the things of the Bible. Their chances of being converted when sufficiently mature are multiplied!” (ibid). Are we giving our children the full advantage that God wants them to have? We must never leave this kind of teaching to chance, or expect that our children will somehow get it by themselves. It takes vision, preparation and effort. All parents must have an organized plan for instructing their children.I guess no parent outside the COG can teach their children about Jesus and God. More idiotic malarkey. I know a gay couple who's kids know more about Jesus than 99.9% of the PCG members do.
Even with all of their self-righteous chest thumping, PCG admits it is unable to keep all of its youth in the church:
From time to time we are confronted with young people who leave the pcg. This is a hard thing for parents and the ministry alike. We must all examine ourselves to see where we can do a better job. It is true that every child will not necessarily come into God’s Church. God has given every human the freedom to make a choice. Yet we must ensure that our teaching is not the cause. We are the last-hour generation. It is the time of Satan’s greatest wrath (Revelation 12:12). We witness the evil of man coming to its full expression, bringing tremendous pressure on us and our children. It is not an easy time. This is reality.Their solution to this is to publicly mark the children or teen or tell its parents to take it to the mall and leave it behind.
Yet there is still marvelous hope. Mr. Armstrong wrote, “Although Satan is going to influence your children, almost from birth, toward his selfish and rebellious attitude, you may counteract this by teaching your children the truth about God! And when sufficiently adult they will be called. None of this is true of children outside truly converted parents!” (ibid). We should be as positive as Mr. Armstrong. Let’s never forget that we have the power of the Almighty God behind us and our children!
Being the last-hour generation gives us some incredible advantages. With so many prophecies being fulfilled and such excitement in the Work, we are not at a loss for rousing examples to teach our youth. We can easily demonstrate how God works both in this world and in His Church. Do you see that we have a unique opportunity to make God real for our children?How can a personality cult like PCG claim to make God and Jesus real to their children when they ignore Jesus as a church?
Dennis Leap's nonsense is just as big a lie as the one promoted by HWA and others that claim there are no real Christians outside the Church of God movement. Sadly many COG members to this day still believe this malarkey.
