Bad Religion In The Churches of God

Our illustrious mountain man and true prophet, revelator and God's most might witness, E. W. King, talks today about "Bad Religion" using a letter by Herbert W Armstrong.

King seems to feel that by using this letter that he is exposing the world of non-COG Christianity, something he and Bob Thiel love to mock.

He quotes this letter by HWA:

What Has Religion Contributed?

Well, surely we should expect to find, at long last, in religion the knowledge of life's purpose, the true values, and the right ways that should make this world a better world — a happy world — a peaceful world.
  
Here, at last, we must surely find a stabilizing and uplifting influence for society.

Yet, shocking though it be — incredible though it is — if we put the searchlight on the facts, and view them realistically with an open mind, we find here the most sickening disillusionment of all. 

Yes, that sounds exactly like the current state of affairs in the Church of God.  Disillusionment reigns supreme.  Closed mindedness has stifled the growth of the splinter groups, and there is no longer a search for facts.  If it did not happen prior to 1986 it is not worth listening to, reading about or preaching about.

Reluctant though we are to recognize it, we find the established religious organizations which profess the name of Jesus Christ teaching the diametric opposite of His teachings —  condemning the customs He practiced — following, instead, the pagan customs He condemned! 

The churches of the Western world are divided and in confusion. They have not converted, saved, and reformed the whole world as they profess to have been commissioned to do. If that be their mission, they have failed miserably. 

The Churches of God are divided and in confusion.  There is absolutely ZERO unity between any of the groups.  Even exchanging preachers during this past Feast of Tabernacles has produced no unification.

Methodist Bishop Hazen G. Werner once said: "We have been dried out by the hot winds of secularism. We who are to overcome the world have been overcome by the world." 

Armstrongism has been overcome by greed and avarice.  Greedy little men have set themselves up as Popes of their little empires where they deliberately destroy lives to further their goals.  The power and greed of the world has overtaken 

"The Church," said Harvard Divinity School's Dean Miller, "simply does not have a cutting edge [it has thrown away the 'two- edged sword' — the Bible]. It has taken the culture of our time and absorbed it." 

To this, Yale's Chaplain Coffin agrees, "We church men are gifted at changing wine into water — watering down religion." 

This world's so-called Christianity has taken the name of Christ — has proclaimed to the world that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ — has preached the name of Christ with a Message about His Person — but they have rejected His Gospel — the Gospel God sent for all mankind by Him — the Gospel He taught. 

Armstrongism can't even advance to the point of using the name of Jesus Christ.  If it is about the law or some Old Testament patriarch or leader, then they know everything, but Jesus - not so much.  they cannot even talk about what Jesus did or accomplished.  They claim they are the only ones to talk about the "kingdom", but most every church I know talks about the kingdom an dhow to make it tangible for the downtrodden today.   The Kingdom of Armstrongism is about ruling with "iron rod's", wielding "swords" of power, and whipping people into submission.  Who wants any of that?

Look at the other religions of the world — Buddhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Confucianism, Moslemism, Hinduism, and the others. In most countries where these religions are embraced, we find illiteracy, poverty, degeneration, misery, suffering, despair — general unhappiness. None of them has produced a happy world. They have spawned communal wars, hatreds, and violence.

By Mr. H.W.Armstrong

In the countries and cities where Armstrongism is embraced, we find illiteracy, degeneration, misery, suffering, despair and general unhappiness.  What has the Church of God done to help alleviate that?  NOTHING!  Not one damn thing!