COGWA has started a new outreach program similar to the old AICF activities. Why cannot any of these men ever come up with anything original? Are they so embarrassed about their message that they have to have a "worldly" front to their church?
Since HWA could not talk about
The new COGWA charitable trust is Foundation Outreach International. They will be working with Jordan, Ghana and Zambia, among other nations.
While helping people in these nations is greatly needed, it will be COGWA members who will be called upon over and over again to give as much money as possible to get this "ministry" going. Armstrong’s foundation never made money and costs multiple millions of tithe dollars. Gerald Flurry's foundation is also spending millions in tithe money in yet another unprofitable adventure. The members of these groups never have any say so in these "foundations." It's always the ministers at higher levels who want these things in order to bask in more glory and accolades.
Our Mission
Foundation Outreach International is organized and operated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit according to U.S. tax regulations and is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt organization. We are committed to the idea of good works. We plan to be a light in a very dark world, where works of kindness seem drowned out by sadness and catastrophe. Our focus is on humanitarian projects and the development of leadership and character in the lives of all people, but especially among the youth and young adults around the world.
Our Mission Statement summarizes our goals as a nonprofit:
The mission of Foundation Outreach International (FOI) is to provide assistance, support, and volunteers for humanitarian and educational projects around the world. The emphasis is on projects that build character, develop leaders, and promote a better quality of life, especially for youth and young adults.
20 comments:
Been done, being done by the CoG7.
You'll doubtless keep us updated on this group's FOI-bles. :-/
"If false prophet Thiel really wants people to sit up and take notice of him and his little group then why don’t they get out there and feed the homeless and the poor?"
Damned if they do damned if they don't. you're a bunch of pukers.
In COGWA's "Our Mission", it states,
We are committed...
Yes, they should be committed. It's sad but true.
-Norm
"We are committed to the idea of good works."
Just like many charities, they're committed to the idea, but not necessarily the performance of good works. The guy who said "Be warmed and filled" was committed to the idea of good works.
"We plan..."
Once again, a very tentative statement. We plan on it, but don't be too surprised if we don't follow through.
"...to be a light in a very dark world, where works of kindness seem drowned out by sadness and catastrophe."
These guys get off on preaching darkness, sadness, and catastrophe. The "good news" is catastrophe for everyone except us, so, all aboard the good ship S.S. Armstrong!
"The emphasis is on projects that build character, develop leaders, and promote a better quality of life, especially for youth and young adults."
The concept of "leadership" is a weird one in COG circles. It is certainly not being used the way it typically is in business circles. Ministurds either use this concept to find ambitious volunteers who are anxious to suck up to "god's government" to do their work for them for free, or else it is used as an acceptable euphemism for what evangelicals and catholics call volunteer missionary work. At any rate, there's no opportunity in Armstrongism for leadership for anyone who isn't a card-carrying member of the elite ministurdial club.
Also, "quality of life" does not mean the same thing in COG circles either. It doesn't connote the happy life of a free, functional, and fulfilled human being. It means the forced smile of someone who has been sold into the slavery of Armstrongism. It is inconceivable that you would not be happy living "god's way" because it he will be "blessing" you. You will be tacitly coerced at every turn into maintaining your denial of the fact that you are not free, functional, or fulfilled, but are in fact, miserable. Unlike the outward shows of piety, like showing up at church dutifully every saturday, honesty was never important.
In Jordan at least, they are not attempting to talk about Christ, since proseletyzing for christianity is not permitted in that muslim country. There will be no gospel-preaching there. I had a conversation with the guy who is responsible for that project a few years ago (this is just a thread that has continue to run from WCG days) and he literally said "It's not about the gospel...it's about being different." (in the eys of the jordanians, I guess). LOL. Actually, he just likes hanging out with the Jordanian royalty who he thinks care about him. He doesn't consider that they'll talk to any americans who are coming with free workers. Pathetic.
I wonder if the poor suckers funding the projects know it's not about the gospel? I bet that part doesn't get disclosed.
Yeah, sure, it's not about "the gospel." It's about being "different." Well, what's different about them? Two words: the gospel, (or at least an Armstrongist version of it). "My quality of life is higher than yours because, you're probably going to die a horrible death when my messiah returns, and I'm not! Who's the sucker now, bitches? By the time I go home, you're going to wish you were just like me, even though I never a said a word!" They're proselytizing by "being an example" and "letting their light shine." Sure, it's not about the gospel. Everyone is just supposed to notice how Armstrongism automatically makes you into happy little "leaders" with a higher quality of life. And with that, hi ho hi ho, hi ho, it's off to volunteer work we go...
The craziness never stops, does it? The Muslim countries have outlawed Christians proselytizing the faiths of the Western world. The Western world is afraid of Muslim terrorists...
Does anyone, other than me, see something ominous forming in the world? That is, something besides a German headed United States of Europe?
But, there's money to be made off all that fear and hate, isn't there? And, you can bet the con-men will be getting their share of it.
The fictional Hyacinth Bucket insists that her last name is pronouned "bouquet." I insist that FOI be pronounced "phooey."
Before passing judgement, it'd be interesting to see what types of humanitarian efforts they plan to become involved with. COGwa came out of UCG, the organization Vic Kubik is a key part of, and we know that Kubik has been a believer in some of the same types of charity practiced by mainstream Christianity. Just maybe one commendable innovation has been started in the otherwise wacky world of ex-Armstrongism.
If we're looking at some activities such as Habitat for Humanities, or Street Lights (to assist prostitutes wanting out of that lifestyle), or some sort of volantarism involving the homeless, who would find it objectionable? If it is something like the AICF, on the other hand, then it would be same ol' same ol', and reprehensible at best.
BB
"Are they so embarrassed about their message that they have to have a 'worldly' front to their church?"
The worst thing about christianity, islam, hare krishnas, and others, is the fact that they think they need to meddle in other people's business and try to convert them from one mythology into their mythology. They believe they're helping these people out, but they're not. They achieve their extraordinarily high level of certainty in their mythology based upon nothing more trusting other people who don't know jack squat combined with the abdication of their faculties of reason. I know. Been there, done that. (And that's fine if that's what an individual chooses to do, of his own free will, within the sphere of his own life, but it's an entirely different level of responsibility when you start meddling in other people's lives.) It's not that they're embarrassed about their message, it's just that people already know that christianity is about trying to brainwash others into something they haven't, and probably don't want to choose for themselves, and they have erected some defenses against these unwanted attacks. So, religions like christianity are notorious for either their brute force techniques like the inquisition, or else underhanded, deceptive tactics like AICF, all in order to get past the defenses of wary and suspecting individuals. FOI is, as the OP said, an unoriginal rehash of HWA's sneaky and surreptitious tactics. Deception is okay, just so long as you're doing it for god.
I guess, when you get right down to it, christians believe god wants to trick as many people as he can into heaven, kicking and screaming, in the hopes that when they get there, they'll decide it wasn't as boring as they had feared. But what they're really doing is deceptively attempting to mess with other people's lives for no good reason.
Oh yes, and passing it off as "good works." I have to admit, there is a certain level of genius in their propaganda. One man's horns are another man's halo.
People generally become
Christian because they want to. Not because someone backed them into a corner by "winning" an argument, or told them about Jesus.
Now, as to why they might "want to", you have to look at a number of factors. One of the most subtle, but effective examples of personal evangelism I've ever heard was provided to a troubled person by one of my bowling buddies. He simply told the person "Ask God to walk with you."
That pretty much says it all, because it leaves the next step up to the first party. It wasn't an attempt to scare someone into bogus tithe slavery by prophesying the tribulation, evoking the spectre of Germans, and citing British Israelism, it wasn't threatening someone with a grotesque concept of hell, and it wasn't proposing some sort of unbelievable silver bullet. Not even a "Hey, wanna come to church with me?" Just a simple suggestion that a fellow human invite God to be part of his life.
Of course, that one's for the choir. I fully realize that even making a laid back and understated subtle suggestion as that would be considered bad dinner music by some.
BB
Anonymous.8:07 has it right. The Armstrongist gospel is a Jonah message. We all know how well that worked out for him. Way to go, guys. Lots of love and fruit of the Spirit.
"Since HWA could not talk about Jesus Christ openly he had to talk about a "strong hand from someplace."
This was only to (secular or non-Christian) world leaders. Armstrong always talked about Jesus Christ as the living Head of the Church, TO THE CHURCH. Whatever the splinter groups do or do not say about Jesus as the Head of the Church is on them, not on what the Church actually taught.
Of course, the highly Evangelical GCI now teaches that the only important thing about Jesus is that He's dead (seriously, they never preach the resurrection at all anymore, it's all about the crucifixion only)....which is convenient for them, because they would hate to have to actually listen to, or be held accountable by, the ACTUAL, living, resurrected Head of the Church, for their lies and their apostasy.
" People generally become
Christian because they want to. Not because someone backed them into a corner by "winning" an argument, or told them about Jesus"
I agree with you Bob. With the caveat that, one's mind must be opened to the correct choices to make, before we make that choice, of our own free will.
Which is heretical as all get out, as far as the professing Christians (falsely-so-called, the ones who try to win arguments, or who travel land and sea to convert one proselyte, and make them twice as much children of hell as they are), but eh. What can you do?
I would also add, that those who are not called in this age, far from being condemned as the commenter above me indicates, ALL will get a second chance to see God face to face, and to choose at that time, whether or not they want to follow. Because even after the Kingdom returns, people will still have free will.
No comment on CoGWA, I really don't get my head wrapped up in the splinter groups of the Church anymore.
A good way for the COGs to show Christian charity is to tell their membership that they no longer have to tithe.
Velvet said:-
"I really don't get my head wrapped up in the splinter groups of the Church anymore."
But GCI/WCG is one of the splinters!
It's certainly departed further from it's origins than most of the other groupings that came out of WCG.
RE: "COGWA Starts New Money Draining Charity"
Not only will the COGWA ministers' personal paychecks come at their followers' expense, but even their supposedly good deeds will now come at their follower's expense too.
I remember one WCG minister in the past who had noticed that some people's idea of doing good was to meddle and arrange for others to do things for other people. The minister said he had this saying: "Let him who would do good do it at his own expense."
I expect to skip this particular drain.
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