This was on James Malm site this morning. You know things are bad when people are comparing Germano to Thiel! LCG watched Bob Thiel have his mental meltdown in the church before he declared him self doubly blessed and started his apostate splinter group. Now LCG members are wondering if Germano is starting to melt down also?
Many in LCG are very concerned that Germano is becoming the next Bob Thiel. He is showing signs of bitterness and rage (some have said because of the re-ordering of the LCG hierarchy) resulting in comments and behavior that is completely at odds with the tone of LCG. While so many CoGs are so very political, taking strong stances on Trump, on tax dollars spent on abortion, on Obamacare etc. with their publications causing a major headache for their congregations abroad (e.g.the UCG in Europe refusing to translate the pro-Trump drivel that came from Don Ward recently so as not to lose their entire congregations), Living Church has consistently proclaimed a higher spiritual message with global relevance with minimal focus on provincial politics. Of recent note was an article by Mark Sandor on rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s, which made the point that once we’ve paid our taxes, it’s not for us to fret about how the govt. uses the money (for war, for Obamacare policies that allow others to have an abortion etc.) However, Germano went off on a highly political Don Ward-like pro-Trump statement that threw a lot of the Living membership, even saying that a national healthcare program would be essentially Satanic. For those in LCG abroad, it was quite a slap that their own church would say they are un-Christian because they participate in such a program. It remains quite bewildering to me, and many others, that how a country chooses to administer its health-care system can be an issue of “Christianity” (UCG-ers in Canada are always offended by the editorial in the Beyond Today magazine which implies frequently that taking tax money to pay into a shared pool for health insurance is a violation of “Thou shalt not steal” because the govt is stealing your money !! (Mike Kelley’s time-worn theme). Perhaps it is the nature and result of the current state of national politics that some of these men are becoming ‘unhinged’, but the CoGs would do well to reign them in before their members run out: one leader who can’t control his daily Twittering is more than enough!
8 comments:
This is the same Mike Germano that backed EVERYTHING that Joe Tkach Jr. and company were doing back in 1995. Then all of a sudden , shows up at LCG and head of "Living University". The guy is obviously unstable and flip flops around on a base of shifting sand.
Who The Hell Is James Malm ?
Germano is a defender of the lies of Bob Thiel. That alone shows the man has no reason being in charge of anything in the LCG. Thiel is crazier than hell and for Germano to support him is disgusting. Perhaps Germano can jump ship and stat a new college for Thiel. Germano calls Malm a heretic, but then supports Thiel. WTH? Meredith and Weston need to remove Germano ASAP!
"UCG-ers in Canada are always offended by the editorial in the Beyond Today magazine which implies frequently that taking tax money to pay into a shared pool for health insurance is a violation of “Thou shalt not steal” because the govt is stealing your money"
Interesting.
In the COGs it seems, we find the same trend as in much of US Protestantism that tends to adopt a right-wing sort of philosophy across the board. Not just anti-homosexualism, anti-abortion, etc. but also in economic terms, that societies (through govt.) should not have a built-in apparatus to care for the sick, poor and less fortunate, but rather the emphasis is on self-reliance and competition as the be-all and end-all. Which distills down to a gospel of selfishness, really.
Funny how the religious believers have bought into that, despite the philosophy taught by their founder. If you take Jesus at face value as depicted in the Gospels, it was quite at odds with much of the religious right today.
These people HAVE lost their minds.
Good thing too.
They'd be more dangerous with them.
I saw an early draft of Germano's book on early Christianity in which "Jewish Christians" (as he called them) were the heroes. It was a scholarly, well researched book. Then the new teachings came out and, at a faster speed than I could have imagined, he revised his book to make gentile Christians the heroes. I've seen enough of Germano to know that he can be very likeable but he is also very political and not to be trusted. In 1995 I knew faculty members in Big Sandy who said they would resign if he were named president.
Michael, this is my observation as well. You expressed my thoughts better than I could have. Thank you.
taxes to pay for health care is stealing, UCG teaches? I thought Paul said we were to bear one another's burdens.
12.26 AM
I have spent many years viewing Tele evangelists. They are right wing when it comes to abortion, homosexuality, defence and obedience to authority. But they are definitely left wing when it comes to economics. For instance, I watched a Kenneth Copeland guest speaker teach members to pay one anothers car repayments and home mortgages. Who do you think wins in this arrangement. It's obviously left wing socialism.
I wonder whether some in UCG are teaching that 'the government is stealing your money' due to swapping dudes posts.
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