COG's Battle Over Children's Playground At Liberty Bell Park In Jerusalem

Remember back in the glory days of old when Herbert Armstrong made a big deal out of giving tithe money to finance a children's playground at Liberty Bell Park in Jerusalem with the express purpose of Jewish and Arab kids playing together?  Loads of tithe money was dropped on this wasteful adventure.

The interesting thing about the Liberty Bell Park is that it is the largest in Jerusalem and gets lots  of use.  It is also huge tourist attraction.  One would assume that HWA would have played a more prominent role in the park. Instead he helped pay for a sand pile exposed in the glaring sun.  That being said, the tiny children's play ground is NOT a huge draw.  That hot sand pile is so unused that weeds grow out of its walls.

Tkach Sr. wisely stopped paying to maintain this useless sand pile.  This of course sent Gerald Flurry over the edge.  Gerald had to step in and give money to have his name put on  little piece of marble on a side wall.

double click picture to enlarge

When you enlarge the picture above you will see the deceptive dedication on the marble.  Flurry tries to make it seem as if Herbert was the founder of Philadelphia Foundation.  Herbert Armstrong would be appalled at the asinine stupidity coming out of the Philadelphia Church of God and Gerald Flurry.  HWA would no more endorse Gerald Flurry than he would Rod Meredith. That makes no difference to Flurry though.  The more he can imitate HWA the better he feels about himself.

Now,  lets look at another group that has also dedicated the same dirt pile to Herbert Armstrong.  This is a group out of the Philippines, who at one time halfway endorsed Flurry, but now consider him a liar and a heretic.  That group is called the A.R.K of God Foundation. The long version is this: 

Armstrong Remembrancers and Keepers of God Foundation

is an independent community foundation dedicated to reviving the legacy of the late Herbert W. Armstrong in Jerusalem and in the whole world through an approach centered on remembering his teachings on God’s give way of life that will bring about peace among the peoples of different races, ethnicity or belief; and also to keep the covenant that God made with him.

This is another group that feels that the legacy of Herbert Armstrong is not being preserved and that it is their duty to do so.  To them, Gerald Flurry and the PCG are apostate, Irish dancing, heretics.  

They too have paid to have their name engraved on another price of marble and installed on the wall of the dirt pile.

double click picture to enlarge

They are not happy that Flurry shut down his Jerusalem office and moved it to Edstone in England.  According to the A.R.K. folks, Jerusalem is the seat of the action in the end times, not Edstone.  They are particularly incensed that Flurry thinks he is going to find the Ark of the Covenant buried in a dirt pile in Ireland.

The A.R.K. folk have this to say:

The Millennium will all be about Jerusalem and none else. We ought not to compare Bricket Wood or Ireland to be the gauge or measuring stick to picture the Millennium. It should only be Jerusalem! Or else we are already committing SPIRITUAL ADULTERY! It is even comparable to marrying strange wives as the Jews did in 408 B.C.! (Nehemiah 13:23, 26, 27). The Ark of the Covenant will be found in Jerusalem and not in a SECRET PLACE in Tara Hill in Ireland as suggested by PCG Regional Director Brad Macdonald!

You can read more of their silliness here:  Mt Zion Dig

The craziness that infects the Church of God seems endless.  Every year there is a new "true leader" popping up on the scene claiming they are the truth and light. Every one of them keep getting weirder and weirder.  Petra is going to be one nasty cat fight when all of these morons show up and claim ownership.

Finally I will end with this.  This is even more absurd than anything Bob Thiel writes:

According to the A.R.K. folk, Hollywood released a movie this past spring that was made especially for the Philadelphia Church of God.

THE BATTLE FOR ETERNAL LIFE BEGINS

 A movie inspired to be made 

for the 

Philadelphia Church of God

What the hell is wrong with these people?????  When will the blatant idolatry of Herbert Armstrong ever cease?  Just like all the other COG sites, you have to read long and hard to find Jesus mentioned anywhere.  That guy is the most inconvenient thing the church has ever encountered.