I wonder how many more need to die in the Philadelphia Church of God under Gerald Flurry's perverse teachings before people finally wake up?
This is from the Exit and Support web site:
July 23, 2015
ESN, Many thanks to you for the good work you're doing! This concerns the PCG teaching on health and healing. Our family is dealing with loved ones in the PCG who are resisting medical treatment for some very serious conditions. They have placed blind trust in PCG leadership believing that if they can repent more, have more faith, and increase allegiance to PCG health guidelines then their diseases will be healed. In the meantime, their children are torn between what they've been taught, watching their loved one turn a blind eye to reality, and the realization that it could cost them their life. It's frightening to say the least. When pressed about these beliefs, they espouse the teaching almost verbatim from articles such as "Principles of Healthy Living" by Stephen Flurry.
The subtle deception in this article is frightening.
It's immoral and dangerous to teach someone that it's their lack of faith or sinfulness that causes their illness. They are left to live in a constant state of guilt and striving, all towards a goal that is unachievable. It's wholly unbiblical to teach that God promises us perfect health if we live according to the guidelines in this article.
This is how deception works--mix error with enough truth to make acceptance palatable. It's this type of deception that binds people physically and spiritually to error, encourages misplaced loyalties, and results in a lifetime of regret once they realize their error.
Sincerity of belief does not make something true. Unfaltering faith in something that's untrue will not result in the promises made by folks who wrongly attribute them to God. We can positively affect our health by making wise life choices. But we cannot rid our lives of disease and physical ailment by striving to comply with a set of guidelines falsely promoted as God's panacea.
We're praying and working diligently to see the eyes of our family opened and for their physical protection in the meantime. --Impacted by loved ones in PCG.
8 comments:
....and let's not forget to put the blame for most fundy-mentlist delusions about divine healing right where it belongs...with the Book that promises it. "James 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven."
Twist it around or even apologize for it, but it says what it says and provides more than enough of an alternative to getting help medically and all the other fall out associated with the implications of this teaching in the NT. Couple this with what Gospel Jesus is alleged to have done in the realm of healing and sitting around waiting for your miracle feeling guilty if you "trust men" is just the way it is going to go.
I laid hands and sent "anointed cloths", which is another strange custom spoken of in the NT to hundreds and hundreds and can report that NOT ONE person, to my knowledge was ever saved, healed or spared the ravages of a life threatening disease or illness that they did not either die of or get better over a long time if that was possible. There were NO instant or next day healings of any kind based on James formula for success. Of course, the flu, injuries and the common cold, all subjects of "send me an anointed cloth" came and went nicely in their own time.
I also buried a lot of kids "whose angels" were evidently on vacation when they needed them to watch over them.
The first human being I ever anointed for healing with all the naive faith I could muster was my own brother after I got home from the Feast when ordained an "Elder" at 23 (how's that for a laugh). He is blind, deaf and cannot speak. All excellent Gospel and NT maladies for healing. I anointed him....he looked at me like.."what the hell are you doing...I waited a few moments...laughed a bit and have to report that 43 years later, he still cannot see, hear or speak.
Whoever ended up "doing greater works than these" than the Jesus story provided has escaped my own detection. The Benny Hinn Circus is a scam. It's not going to be Dave Pack either. All the leaders of the COGs, will die like everyone else ever has or will. Like Paul who went from just knowing he'd be changed and escape it all to "oh well...I fought a good fight...bye bye now" so will ALL these men die sooner or later and most sooner as they reach the high end of a normal lifespan.
Now ..someone tell me "God's ways are not my ways.." or "There is way that seems right to a man but..." or "The wisdom of man is foolishness with God..." or "God moves in mysterious ways.." or "You have not because you not and when you ask you ask amiss..." or "your prayer of faith was weak..." I've heard it all.
To live is to die and if we agree somehow to show up, we agree to leave.
Note:
Every NT character who just knew he'd not die is dead...
Herbert Armstrong is dead
Garner Ted Armstrong is dead
Stanley Rader is dead
Hermann Hoeh is dead
Raymond McNair is dead
RCM is almost dead
Dave Pack is never before understood on the high end of dead.
Gerald Flurry is approaching dead
Bob Thiel will get a double portion of anointed when his time comes and be twice dead.
These are my experiences. Perhaps others had more spectacular results, but over 40 years, I can see the pattern.... Call 911 or your doctor when you need help and no parent has the right to exhibit "faith" for a child but that's another topic.
Amen, Dennis.
It is my understanding that the passage in James, when it speak of anointing, refers to a therapeutic anointing, which was a form of medicine back then, not a spiritual anointing, dealing with the Holy Spirit. The passage might be better understood as saying, "Get the best medical treatment and call upon the elders for prayer." Paul's use of anointing clothes is described as an extraordinary thing. Perhaps it was temporary and very limited to him since he was once an enemy of the church. I don't think it means the practice went beyond that person, time or place. When Jesus said that the disciples would do "greater things" I think he might have been speaking only to the disciples then, not referring to the entire church in time to come. They did greater things in that their ministry lasted longer and there were more of them. As for the circus that we see on TBN, they are con artists. HWA was poorly educated in Theology and a con artist, as well as a great salesman. A very dangerous combination, indeed. Have you seen the You Tube video where James Randi exposes Peter Popoff?
Dennis,
You wrote: "...Every NT character who just knew he'd not die is dead..."
And I suppose we could add all of the OT characters too. For example, Jeremiah, one of the OT Prophets, is dead.......but, he was inspired to write the following:
"Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise." Jeremiah 17:14
There is no evidence that Jeremiah has been saved. He is not alive on earth someplace. He hasn't been resurrected. Was he ever healed of anything? He didn't like being up his "lower lip" in some sewer-like dung pit. Now, that would make me sick!
So, after death, then what? Paul told us:
"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" Hebrews 9:27
After the judgment? What's that? Do all human beings need to die once first, and then some judgment comes? Does everyone need to be resurrected first for that judgment?
And if resurrected, then they will all have been healed, but all saved too?
Or, might that only apply to Jeremiah, speaking for himself, when he said:
"Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise."
Well, Jeremiah was confident that at least one would be healed/saved, but if that judgment were to really happen it appears that it was something that only the "LORD" could accomplish.......and time will tell!
John
Thank you for the Plain Truth Dennis! Your post is a like a magazine of understanding!
More personally, your comment, "Bob Thiel will get a double portion of anointed when his time comes and be twice dead", gave us all a good chuckle. Glad you still keep your sense of humor.
Richard
" "God's ways are not my ways.." or "There is way that seems right to a man but..." or "The wisdom of man is foolishness with God..." or "God moves in mysterious ways.." or "You have not because you not and when you ask you ask amiss..." or "your prayer of faith was weak..." "
... the religion equivalent of all-purpose cleaner, or all-temperature detergent.
Meighen
"It is my understanding that the passage in James, when it speak of anointing, refers to a therapeutic anointing, which was a form of medicine back then, not a spiritual anointing, dealing with the Holy Spirit."
That really doesn't matter because --- like so much of the Bible --- the meaning is vague and open to interpretation, so men such as Armstrong and Flurry use it to mean spiritual anointing and teach that to others, which results in the damage done. Why is the Bible so open to interpretation? Why is it --- as the old saying goes --- you can prove anything by the Bible? There's only one of three answers: 1) The Bible is a collection of books written by men with no divine inspiration, so trying to "interpret" is like trying to nail Jell-o to a tree 2) God means for it to be vague and he periodically sends various gurus such as Armstrong to explain it to the rest of us and establish the "one true church" 3) God expects us to use our brains and draw from the Bible positive principles which enrich our lives, which means there will naturally be different traditions and approaches to the inspired text, which means that human beings will congregate in different churches with different beliefs.
“Philadelphia Church of God's Immoral and Dangerous Teachings On Medicine”
Gerald Flurry's PCG cult has immoral and dangerous teachings on just about everything. Even worse than advising people to avoid doctors, GRF also teaches people to cut off all contact with family members who had been in the WCG but did not join his PCG. GRF appears to want to cut them off from all contact with anyone who could possibly help them in any way. If anything can be perverted and taken to a wrong extreme, you can count on That (False) Prophet to do it.
While Herbert W. Armstrong was still alive, the application form for students wanting to attend Ambassador College included a medical form to be filled out by a doctor. In his old age, HWA even mentioned in his member and co-worker letters that his doctor was impressed that he was still working. Someone said that HWA advised Roderick Meredith to go ahead and have a doctor repair his detached retina rather than go blind. Someone else even claimed that HWA was on all sorts of medications at the end of his life. Obviously, HWA was not against all doctors and medicines at the end of his life, even though he was critical of some of them.
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