Gavin writes in The problem with The Good News magazine:
There is really no way to successfully negotiate with such people. Whatever they agree to is merely to buy time to prepare for the needed world conflagration.Where's the balance here? This is a petulant piece by a man with - please correct me if I'm wrong - zero expertise in this subject, and who has one suspects been spending far too much time on the sofa with Fox News and WND.
UCG Iran "expert" Robinson
What's the allure of this kind of rant? Why won't the GN provide some sort of sane overview of the situation - which is what it would claim to be doing but clearly is not. Why are they incapable of even hinting at an optimistic assessment of the Iran deal... even if only to provide some much needed balance.
It just doesn't fit the narrative.
The narrative, based on a profound ignorance of what the Bible is (and isn't) has the world going into an irrecoverable tail spin. Things might look bad right now but they're going to get worse. And there's nothing you can do about it but belly-ache and moan. This constitutes "warning the world", which (don't laugh!) constitutes preaching the gospel.
Almost all of the various splinter groups seem to get giddy at the thought of world wars, famine, disease and human suffering. It has to happen because Herbert told them that it would. Almost none of these men have any education outside of Church of God institutions or circles of insular thought processes.
Almost all of the men in UCG leadership positions are men who apostatized from their mother church in an act of rebellion in order to keep their salaries in tact.
One reader on Gavin's blog, whom no one ever agrees with, had this accurate comment about UCG:
UCG is a political organisation, which was started by a pack of hirelings, to fleece the gullible out of tithes and offerings! In civilian life, these men couldn't get proper jobs, to maintain the lifestyle they were accustomed to in WCG. So they started their own chuch, and now paid 6 figure salaries for talking and writing nonsense! They should all be in prison!
Church of God leaders and various ministers have set themselves up as authorities on all kinds of world news and events. From the Philadelphia Church of God to the Restored Church of God, poorly educated men rely on Fox News and WorldNetDaily for their news, though only as long as the news fits the COG perspective and can be used to prop up pet fantasies (prophecies).
Most of the aspects surrounding the ACOGs are not fashionable or trendy. But, for people who pride themselves on having secret, insider, news, it is indeed trendy to cite non-mainstream resources that most thinking individuals recognize as being "kooks". It that way, the ACOGs are right in step. There is only a Kafkaesque existence possible as a result of their supposed "insider" information. If I were a teenager in one of todays ACOGs, I'd probably be Goth.
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"poorly educated men rely on Fox News and WorldNetDaily for their news..."
ReplyDeleteWhat the Fox bashers will never understand is that poorly educated people rely on ANY mainstream news.
"needed world conflagration"
ReplyDeleteThis mentality is psychotic. Who "needs" a world conflagration? Half-wits like this who desperately seek validation for their deranged little doomsday fantasies.
so I guess the fact that they were chanting "death to America" while "negotiating" with us is irrelevant?
ReplyDeleteMany "movements" have a form of "end of the world" as some type of motivator. The whole manmade global warming myth (note the word "manmade") is one for example. There may be global warming, but there always has been climate change, going back millions of years. Volcanoes, Sunspots and other non-man factors are multitude many times more important factors to weather changes over the millennia. The movement is all about bringing down the USA economy and its military might, and followed by useful idiots who believe they are "saving the earth".
ReplyDeleteAnother was that HIV/AIDS was going to "end the world" and have Billions infected. This movement was motivated by the Homosexual movement and third world countries (who greatly inflated infection rates) so that both groups could receive disproportiate funding for their own agendas. " End of the world" bombastic rhetoric allowed the issue to go (pardon the pun), viral.
Armstrong used gun lap end of the world rhetoric too, especially during the heightened fear of the cold war to create a following. Subsequent fruit shows, that building a following based only upon fear and Petra, did not produce Chrisitian conversion or long term enlightenment.
Movements, to be successful over the long haul, must be based on truth and positive factors/motivators and not fear. There may be a short term "rush" or success using "end of the world" motivators, but they are not long term sustainable, in any arena.
While I can agree with the takeaway sentiment in your final paragraph, your decrying of fear rhetoric immediately after positing a conspiracy theory tying global warming proponents to a plot for the downfall of the US economy/military was quite the facepalm. :)
ReplyDeleteWess
ReplyDeleteHey, Connie “Paranoia" does equal “Wrong" .
“Climate Change Science” is appearing as flawed as ACOG theology , when subjected to non political peer review !
I may have been fooled again ?
Read widely, WESS
Don't you know that Henry Kissinger has him on his speed dial to consult with him? Yes, Dr. Kisasinger is among many former Secretaries of State who call on him on a regular basis. Soon he will be invited to speak to the United Nations to share his profound wisdom.
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