When I started this blog it was never a project that I took seriously. How could I really do so when the various COG ministers and leaders constantly run off at the mouth and say some of the most idiotic things imaginable. When Dennis and I speak on the phone we spend a lot of our time laughing at the craziness of the church. So many of these men take themselves so seriously that that they come off looking like bumbling fools when they react to people criticizing them. Today was no exception to the foolishness that permeates the church Internet guru's.
Michael Germano threw down the gauntlet at James Malm the other day and the sniveling Pharisee and his Wiccan side kick did not take too kindly to it. The spittle was flying so fast out of the Chief Pharisee and Michael Germano that my computer screen was wet!
Watching this smack down is like watching a heavy weight fighter slap a whiny little light weight crybaby on the cheek. As much was we have derided Michael Germano's decision to leave grace and freedom behind for legalism with Rod Meredith, Germano is no light weight with the education he has. He far surpasses any of the legalistic lightweight bullshit that Pharisee James Malm vomits out daily. Even with that knowledge, it boggles my mind how Germano went about doing what he did.
Here we have a high ranking Living Church of God minister and the President of Living University, the official educational arm of the Living Church of God, lashing out at Malm and Constance. Even if all of his accusations are true, which they are, why did he do it in the way he did? His words will be forever immortalized on the Internet. Are these the actions that a "converted" long time COG member would do? Living Church of God members as well as followers of James Malm are equally appalled at Germano's reactions.
The Chief Pharisee is incensed that Germano has called him out on his "right" calendar nonsense.
Germano sent this to Malm's sidekick Constance:
Ouch! I feel the butthurt all the way here in Pasadena!
And thus the Chief Pharisee responds:
Notice that he claims that I slander him, but he does not mention what has been said which he claims is a slander; in fact I quoted his own words directly from his own papers. Where is the slander or defamation in that?
Further he has never contacted me in obedience to Jesus Christ as per Matthew 18 to correct me or to rebut. For the record Michael has not contacted me in any way and if I have said anything in error about him it is his own fault for not obeying Jesus Christ and correcting me.
Finally Michael is absolutely and very easily provably wrong on the Calendar.
Today’s Jewish Calendar was NOT in use during the first century. It was first developed over several hundred years and finally formalized, finalized and accepted in 1178 A.D. Ask ANY Rabbi or better still ask Hebrew University’s Calendar expert Dr Roy Hoffman when today’s Jewish calendar was established.Malm's Pharisaical nonsense on the calendar is worthless. Just because he and so many other in the church wrote a paper on the calendar does not make him an authority on it any more than Bob Thiel is an authority on the Mayans, the Catholic church, church history, grace, justification or prophecy.
Every time this FOOL spits out that COG members have no zeal, that they lack faith, it is actually a personal attack by Malm against all COG members. All of the Ekklessia could car less about Malm's calendar issues, and rightfully so. No new covenant Christian needs to concern themselves about the new moons and calendar issues.Michael, get informed about what I really teach before launching unwarranted attacks. Solomon had something to say about judging things you know nothing about (Proverbs 18:13).YOU have attacked me; and YOU have challenged me! Put up, or apologize and admit the truth.Now the ball is back right square in your camp! Read the material, do the research and then send me your biblical or historical factual proofs of any error.Indeed have your entire doctrinal committee take the matter up and have the whole LCG team work on the matter. Even invite the other COG corporations to join you. All of you believe the same thing so why not get together and prove me false by the Word of God!All of the Ekklesia is waiting for – and is entitled to – a scripturally and historically accurate answer. Take the time you need; do you need a year? Hopefully sooner than that.My address is jddm3@hotmail.com
I call all of LCG and all the COG groups to witness that Michael Germano has declared that he will theologically destroy me, and has challenged me on the Calendar issue, and I have accepted that challenge.Michael, I will not be bullied and I will not allow you to bully Constance; I fully expect you to “put your money where your mouth is” and do a proper, spiritually honest and scholarly study on the subject of the Calendar in the Holy Scriptures and in the facts of history; which I will gladly publish for all the COG community to see. You can win me over with the truth but you cannot intimidate me with insults and vain bluster.By the time the sun sets on the next Sabbath, most of the brethren across the COG constellation will be aware of your challenge on the Calendar.
Next Germano publishes this on his own Facebook page:I know that you must be a very busy person, but the brethren in LCG and across the COG community will expect a timely, scholarly, intellectually and spiritually honest research paper on the Biblical – Rabbinic Calendar subject; without personal rancor.
For all of my Facebook Friends that have been bombarded on the News Feed with the phony gospel of the unbiblical calendar guru James Malm, I would like to share a photo of his lovely headquarters. The drive needs a little work. You can call him on the phone and tell him what you think of his heresy at 1-604-941-5807. His basement headquarters for his false, deceptive unauthorized ministry is 1735 Morgan Ave, Port Coquitlam BC V3C1J6, Port Coquitlam. This humble clapboard shack needs a little maintenance, don’t you think? Maybe James should spend less time writing religious propaganda and defaming people on his computer and go out and work at something physical. It would be more profitable. Poor old fool!
James Malm then responds:
This shows the quality of Michael’s research. I moved from that rental house into a small rented apartment almost seven years ago, I do not even live in the same town! The Phone number is wrong as well. May we see a pic of the Germano home please, I expect that it is no humble dwelling.
I never cease to be amazed at how so many of these fools take themselves so seriously. Put down your damn concordances and Bibles and get outside and enjoy the creation around you and live life instead of parking you butt in front of a computer and commenting on every single scripture and writing your own interpretation of it. That is all the calendar issue is to the foolish Pharisee and his acolytes, his own distorted interpretation that God no more cares about than he does Gerald Flurry buying his own jet. These fools lie to their followers leading them off into useless and unnecessary legalistic tangents that serve no purpose other than puffing up leaders vanity.
Was Germano right in doing what he did? I do not disagree with anything Germano says, but really is this the kind of leader a church needs as its public face, even if he is right about the lies of James Malm?
The Church of God comedy stream is never ending!
This type of bull sh*t just doesn't happen in the Church of God (7th Day).
ReplyDeleteThis is reminiscent of an incident that happened years ago in my drafting class at Pasadena City College. Two minority classmates decided to have an argument over which one was an (ethnic slur). I felt embarrassed for both of them, because the discussion didn't validate or enhance either one of their reputations with the class. It shocked the rest of us that such a discussion could even take place. Other members of the same minority realized what was happening, and declined to participate.
ReplyDeleteAs for the specifics of the Malm-Germano argument, I believe they both may need to do a bit more research on Hillel II, and the fixed (as opposed to observed) calendar. They may also want to consider the merits (or lack thereof) of ad hominem attacks.
As Gary said, this is all Armstrongism, and it's all laughable, but this is a particularly ridiculous example for leaders to be presenting to "the world"
BB
It is just awful how these Armstrongites exploit Jewish festivals and the Hebrew calendar to puff up themselves and insist that I am right and all those other peoples are wrong. They should just leave these festivals alone. There is no need for Christians to observe those festivals. We should respect those festivals by leaving them alone.
ReplyDelete"The Great White Throne Judgment is not going to go well for you two."
ReplyDeleteApart from this site I would have never heard of this Malm fellow, who seems to be a complete delusional buffoon, but one has to chuckle at this quote by Germano.
Without threats of the afterlife, what would they have.
When we all get resurrected mommy's gonna whip yo-a ass, boy.
How could the true church ever have this kind of animosity going on in it? Where is the brotherly love that everyone always claims to have?
ReplyDelete'tis a dangerous thing to declare that someone is not part of the Church....
ReplyDeleteIs Germano going to be told to sray home as a member would surely be told,.
ReplyDeleteWhat a very poor example this is, do something Mr Weston.!!!!!!
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteHow could the true church ever have this kind of animosity going on in it? Where is the brotherly love that everyone always claims to have?
It's church tradition and practice anon.
"Were The Twelve The Others Who Paul Warned Preached "Another Jesus"?
Paul was actually concerned that some were preaching about a different Jesus than the one Paul preached about:
For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough (2 Cor. 11:4, NIV)
Paul says the Christians at Corinth were easily putting up with teachings about "another Jesus." Paul recognized that the believers were swayed to believe someone else had claimed to be teaching Jesus' teachings that were different and distinct from those taught by Paul.
Some understand in this passage that Paul was saying there was an imposter Jesus being taught by others. "2 Corinthians 11:3-4 exhorts us to beware of imposters named 'Jesus.'"
Could Paul have in mind the teachings about Jesus by the 12 apostles? Yes.
As explained below, in 1 Corinthians 9:5 and Galatians ch. 2, Paul speaks disparagingly about the 12 apostles, in particular about Peter. As J.K. Elliot explains in Essays and Studies in New Testament Textual Criticism (Bloomsbury Publishing 2015) at 132:
[Paul speaks] of the pillars of the Jerusalem church [in Galatians ch. 2]. Paul is against them -- see especially Gal. 2:11. Paul speaks against them with ill-concealed sarcasm in the repetitve words "reputed to be something," and "those of repute" (Gal. 2:2,6,9). Several commentators on I Corinthians argue that the Kephas [i.e., Peter] party (1 Cor. 1:12 [Cephas]; 3:22) are the judaising party in Corinth -- Paul disapproves of this faction. Similarly at 1 Cor. 9:5, Paul speaks disparagingly of Kephas [i.e., Peter] and the brothers of Jesus, i.e., the Jerusalem pillars....The rivalry between Paul and Peter is most strongly apparent in these chapters of Galatians and 1 Corinthians...."
Based upon Paul's put downs of the 12 apostles in Galatians 2, discussed in detail below with Luther's obvious concurrence, it is fair to infer that in 2 Corinthians 11:4 Paul is aware that the 12 preach another Jesus than Paul teaches. Rather than believe the Jesus Paul met was an imposter, Paul was implying the twelve were following an imposter. It is self-evident Paul assumed the 12 were following the wrong Jesus because Paul boasts that he did not desire to learn about anything which their Jesus taught them. Paul speaks of the "false apostles," and then denigrates learning anything from the "apostles" at Jerusalem -- referencing Peter, James, John, etc. Paul in the same context denigrates those "false apostles" preaching a conditional gospel -- that requires more than just faith alone. Because Matthew's Gospel clearly matches that so-called 'false gospel' per Galatians, there is little doubt Paul thought the true 12 were the "false apostles," and that they preached an "imposter" Jesus rather than Paul ever suspecting he, Paul, is the one who met the imposter Jesus on the Road to Damascus."
http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/recommendedreading/436-paul-knew-the-12-taught-another-jesus.htmld
Perhaps Dr. Germano is frustrated that Gerald Weston, who has little or no actual academic or theological training was appointed by Meredith to succeed him? After all, Dr. Germano actually does stand head and shoulders above most if not all LCG ministers including Rod Meredith . We always had a nice relationship in the past and I found him to much more interesting to talk with than anyone else around. Only God knows, and he may not yet know himself, why the people put in charge were put in charge.
ReplyDeleteBut rather than withstand Peter...I mean Gerald and Rod , face to face for they are to be blamed, he projected his frustration and anger onto poor Mr. Malm?
Attend LCG, and know that if you upset your minister he may post your address and phone number on the Internet, while mocking the quality of your home.
ReplyDeleteTo me, Dr Germano lashing out at Malm is another example of ministers not understanding the real world. They live in a ivory tower, and they don't even know it. The persecution that many genuine Christians daily endure, makes Maims writings, a non issue. It's below the radar of offences even if one disagrees with him. Germano and similar don't know what difficulty or real persecution is.
ReplyDeleteDennis
ReplyDeleteI would have thought that character and temperament is more important in a church leader than academic or theological training.
Not forgetting, both Hitler and Churchill did poorly at school, yet look at their impact.
Now they're posting pictures of their opponent's houses? What is this, high school? What's next, "who wore it better?"
ReplyDeleteI have no love lost for James Malm, but this is the most immature thing I've seen from these guys since the COGWA/UCG split. Maybe even worse.
Gary said, "I never cease to be amazed at how so many of these fools take themselves so seriously. Put down your damn concordances and Bibles and get outside and enjoy the creation around you and live life instead of parking you butt in front of a computer and commenting on every single scripture and writing your own interpretation of it".
ReplyDeleteMY COMMENT - Great advice, Gary! I do not personally believe God gives a rats ass about studying and researching the ancient calendar in order for people to "get it right" for eternal salvation.
I did enjoy the Armstrong sliver church comedy on public display in this post. Please pass the popcorn! And to Malm, Germano, Flurry, "almost arrested for Sabbath keeping" Bitter Bob Thiel, Dave Packatolla, and all the rest - we don't care what you say, just keep us entertained! Because that is what the legacy of Herbert W. Armstrong is - a complete joke. And this exchange between Malm and Germano highlights this fact publicly.
Richard
Lake of Fire Church of God
Malm is a jack ass, but Im surprised that Germano is willing to go down ladder and try to attack someones house or where they live. This guy is supposed to be the Dean of a College and a top leader in a Church. Both of them are like a couple of school boys, saying crap to each other in the playground. PATHETIC!
ReplyDeleteWell, first of all, they are both wrong about the calendar. Nobody has it right. For one thing, none of the ACoGs keep the Lord's Supper on the right night. Yes, I know, you think I'm wrong, but frankly, Orlin Grabbe actually recognized the truth back in 1974 in his letter to mother (somewhere in those 70 type written pages). This is complete stupidity, since there was no captivity of the Israelites in Egypt and no Exodus, so therefore, the calendar is rather irrelevant as is all of both the Old and New Testaments. It is rather ridiculous to assume anything given that most of the New Testament 'books' are forgeries.
ReplyDeleteMoving on, Dr. Germano is rather disingenuous since back in 2008 he showed that British Israelism is a stupid fraud. Now he promotes the teaching of it in Living University. He's like the Levitical priesthood where they weren't a tribe, they were a profession of traveling clerics for sale to the highest bidder. (We'll prove that later -- I'm waiting for the book about Chronicles to be delivered today.) He goes around teaching what he knows is a lie. What a guy.
The best thing is that this is spectator sport. What fun. The problem is that they are both bad guys.
Who are we supposed to root for?
The answer is, always go for the winner. This underdog stuff is for the birds.
Actually, I'm hoping they will both lose because they are both losers.
And as a public figure, Germano has nothing to complain about, especially since... all that money.
Didn't Jesus Christ say you should not call anyone a fool? Didn't He also say love your enemies, bless those that curse you, do good to those that hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. And, this is coming right before the Passover?
ReplyDeleteDidn't Jesus Christ say you should not call anyone a fool? Didn't He also say love your enemies, bless those that curse you, do good to those that hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. And, this is coming right before the Passover?
ReplyDeleteNo, no, no. ACOG ministers determine OTHER PEOPLE'S worthiness to take the Passover. After fifty years in Armstrongism, you can be sure that Dr. Germano is fully convinced of his worthiness to take the Passover. Weston won't challenge him on it, either. It's a corrupt old boy's club. Germano is convinced that Malm will go to the Lake of Fire, but has no idea of his own spiritual condition. Blindness born of privilege and arrogance.
"Put down your damn concordances and Bibles and get outside . . ." and take up pistols on a sandbar at dawn.
ReplyDeleteThis drama needs a climax with violent action if anybody is ever going to buy the screenplay and invest in the production. Do warn the prop guy not to load the antique pistols with actual lead balls, though. These guys sound irritated enough to actually aim at each other when they pull the trigger. Styrofoam wads will do no more damage at twenty paces than pixels on Facebook, but the scene will be vastly more entertaining.
I am an LCG member. Like many others I am shocked at Germano's actions. While I have always like Germano as a person and know he is far more educated than Gerald Weston, I find his actions troubling. He has always been suspect by many in the church for his about face after the letter he and his wrote praising Tkach for the changes and then jumped on board when Mr. Meredith offered him a job leading our "university.' Many LCG members consider LU to be a complete joke and a waste of tithe money that the church should be using to spread the gospel. The church has always placed more emphasis in pet projects of the upper level ministers than it has in preaching.
ReplyDelete<a href="https://hwarmstrong.com/blog/2017/03/27/no-exodus/>And speaking of a screenplay, Moses had his chance....</a>
ReplyDeleteGermano accuses Malm of being "a false Christian, a complete and total fraud." This and others comments are nothing more than cheap verbal attacks. It is accepted church culture, and a accepted perk that ministers give themselves. But it is umbilical. Shame, shame, shame on Germano.
ReplyDeleteRetired Professor wrote: "This drama needs a climax with violent action if anybody is ever going to buy the screenplay and invest in the production. Do warn the prop guy not to load the antique pistols with actual lead balls, though."
ReplyDeleteWhy? Let them fight it out like the dems and republitards. They are just reflecting the society they live in.
Will someone PLEASE take these screen captions and share them on the LU and LCG Facebook pages? I know LCG will remove them quickly but everyone needs to see this. LCG should FIRE Germano immediately and publicly denounce this behavior. If he was just a normal member he would be marked and disfellowshipped in a heartbeat. Interesting that Germano has taken down his post but thankfully they have been captured by others. So someone PLEASE share them on LU's and LCG's Facebook page and ask WHY this type of behavior is acceptable.
ReplyDeleteAnon 5:01 wrote:
ReplyDeleteLCG should FIRE Germano immediately and publicly denounce this behavior. If he was just a normal member he would be marked and disfellowshipped in a heartbeat.
There will be NO consequences for Michael Germano for his repulsive behavior. He is an insider who knows far too much about what goes on around Rod Meredith and Gerald Weston. If Meredith or Weston fired him, he could "spill the beans" and further ruin the reputations of several LCG leaders.
Michael Germano doesn't even realize than many church members live in homes similar or worse than the supposed photo of Malms home. And these are the same members that pay his high wage. So now they know that they are looked down apon by him and other leaders. The same ones they are told to address as 'mister.' Will he also post photos of members old cars, or photos of over weight members at the beach.
ReplyDeleteI've said it before, the ministers at heart are teenagers. That was my experience with them. It's their life script. High school, then extended high school by going to AC, then treated like royalty by church members. The result is teenagers in adult bodies.
Hmm. I wonder if this is why Bob Thiel posted an article on the Hebrew Calendar? I'm still getting over my amazement that Bob correctly predicted that Guttenberg would grow a beard.
ReplyDeleteI've said it before, the ministers at heart are teenagers
ReplyDeleteFar too much credit... more like belligerent 3 year olds.
I predict one of two things will now occur:
ReplyDelete1. Germano is high enough in the food chain that he can get away with anything so nothing will happen
or
2. He will suddenly decide to "retire" and soon thereafter move away from headquarters (much like John Robinson).
LCG will make him sign something that keeps his lips shut IF he wants to receive severance (standard operating procedure at LCG). They may even let him make up is own reason for leaving/retiring as is often the case.
We all know that the LCG elite can get away with murder while the average tithe payer is never cut an inch of slack.
Uneven scales and corruption. That is what LCG is all about.
And this is why Rod McNair thinks everyone should get off Facebook. Clearly Facebook is at fault here.
ReplyDeleteOr could it be.... Satan???
Teenagers? That might not be bad if HWA had turned his members into contemporary teenagers. Unfortunately, most got turned into Victorian teenagers. If you were a James Dean or Marlon Brando type teenager or a rock n roll hood, you didn't fare too well.
ReplyDeleteBB