Gerald Weston: "... proved to myself then—and still can today—that God exists. I proved to myself, and still can, that the Bible is His word. And when it comes to the true Church, I know what the Bible says and cannot deny where God is working" Weston then goes on to use one of the favorite scriptures used to keep the members in line. Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”Church members were to always have faith. Faith in the leadership, faith in the church, but not much faith in themselves. Members were constantly being berated that they lacked faith and that God was eternally pissed at them.
Hebrews 11:1 has been turned into a weapon. Members are in constant fear that they do not have enough faith. Gerald does though, he has reached the maximum amount of faith a human can achieve. Dumb members still struggle to even come close.
So that no one misunderstands, we should not have blind faith, as so many in the world have. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 admonishes us: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (KJV). Yes, we must prove all things, and that is why we routinely instruct individuals seeking baptism not to believe something because that is what they always believed (or assumed). They need to prove to themselves the existence of God, that the Bible is His instruction book to mankind, and that this is the true Church. These things are provable! It is not good enough to have “always believed in God” or that “I grew up in the Church and know it to be the true Church.” Many atheists sincerely believe there is no God, Muslims sincerely believe truth is found in the Koran, Protestants sincerely believe their form of Protestantism is the religion of the Bible, and Catholics sincerely believe they are the “true Church.” Believing something and proving something are two different concepts.Many times over the years, when events became difficult or confusing, I personally went back to review these three pillars of faith. I proved to myself then—and still can today—that God exists. I proved to myself, and still can, that the Bible is His word. And when it comes to the true Church, I know what the Bible says and cannot deny where God is working, based on what it says. It does not matter to me what others believe; I KNOW what I believe and why!So I am not advocating blind faith, but Hebrews 11:1 is not talking about evidence-based faith. Notice again what it says: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Yes, faith is the evidence! It is not based on evidence, but isthe evidence.
32 comments:
Jerry Weston is of kindred spirits with Gerald Flurry and Dave Pack.
This is good news. He's going to alienate people and they'll leave Armstrongism. More people will be safe.
Let the attrition begin!
BB
Would someone shut this moron up!!!!!!! Weston has the chance to lead LCG into uncharted territory, but all his doing is dragging us back into the hell hole of the past. Why is it that no COG leader is a visionary? You have to give that much to HWA. He had a vision and made it happen. Weston and the other splinter group leaders flounder in the past and have no vision or goal in front of them. Please just shut the hell up and leave us alone.
I doubt the LCG will make it for more than six months from today....and I'm doing all I can to make that happen...
Jabberwocky
Susie
Yes HWA had a vision and made it happen. The vision is a clone of the dystopian 1984 where Big Brother ministers from the Ministry of Truth micromanage members lives. Mission accomplished.
Weston claims that only his LCG is the true church. None of the other splinters are Gods church or part of Gods church. Putting it diplomatically, I doubt he believe this.
True Bread wrote:
I doubt the LCG will make it for more than six months from today....
Weston could make LCG solvent simply by firing all the Meredith family members, but he won't do that because he owes his job to them. He could earn God's favor by firing liars like Rod McNair and Wile E. Ciesielka, but he won't do that, because those men know enough "dirt" about LCG's inner workings as to ruin Weston if they ever told what they know.
The good news is that Weston seems to be serious about the ministry "speaking the same thing." LCG used to be notorious for its ministers having their own pet "doctrinal babies" that they would teach in contradiction to official LCG teaching. Weston may finally put a stop to this, but doing so will cost LCG some members... and a minister or two.
The ACOGs used to admit that the COG7 was a true Church of God but that the Philadelphia fruits of WCG proved that COG7 was Sardis. If HWA's word is gospel to you, you'll still think that, but if you do what the Bible says and you judge by the fruits, isn't it the WCG splinters that look like Sardis, while COG7 has a couple hundred thousand members and is known for the Philadelphian love among its ministry and members. If Weston can "prove" that LCG is the only church, or even the main church, where God is working, then he must worship a confused, contradictory, sin-loving God.
Mr. Weston is WRONG! Seventh Day Baptists is where truth is being taught!!
There is a strange psyche in the leaders of the ACOG,s that they must lead by fear and punishment. Gerald Weston leads by beating down. You don't have to prove over and over your beliefs. You lead by example. You lead by showing love, mercy, and compassion. There is no joy, no enthusiasm, no spring in the step of LCG members. They are made to wallow in their misery of never being good enough. I never read about anything inspiring in LCG, RCG, RCG or any of the others. All I read about is follow me cause I have the truth what ever that is. Wouldn't it be great to see just one leader roll up his or hers sleeves and do something inspiring. Cancel services and take the whole congregation down to a homeless shelter and serve them dinner. Let their minister be on the front line dishing out food or in the kitchen cooking the food. The leaders need to shut up and do something anything worth while.....just do..... and shut up.
Jim
I would rather have a tooth pulled than sit through a sermon by Gerald Weston. The same old crap week after week, how inspiring. Listen to me cause I have God's truth, do this or do that cause I have god's truth.....
Hebrews 11:1 simply translates as "now faith is the stuff we hope is true based on absolutely no evidence that it is actually true". Faith, no matter Hebrews is not evidence. Religious faith is blind by definition and practice. Faith is often believing what you suspect might not be so.
Well, I'm sure that vague comment will convince someone...
It just hit me. Weston is probably thinking that all of these critiques are just horrible persecution which Satan has deliberately orchestrated to attack "God's Church" during the Feast of Tabernacles.
BB
He doesn't believe in serving old wine in new wine skins. Maybe a new package would help though.
Dennis
I have faith in gravity and all the laws of physics and chemistry. Can I see them and point to them? No. But I can prove that they exist. So faith is not blind as you claim.
You keep giving us your atheistic interpretation of the bible, together with your 'how to fall away and lose your eternal life in ten easy lessons.'
Anon
You just said to Dennis, how to fall away... fall away from what? Are you referring to the garbage HWA taught?
9.53 AM
I meant falling away from trying to live by the ten commandments and having a relationship with Jesus Christ. I thought this obvious.
HWA has nothing to do with this.
Why do people insist on fusing Christianity with HWA.
1051
Yes me too because gravity, chemistry and physics work every time. They pass reproducibility. Faith can't turn litmus paper blue nor is it predictable. I've buried too many faith filled adults n children
PS. And FU for your thinking you can judge my heart, perspectives hard earned and future.
We may not fuse Christianity with HWA in our present personal lives, but it's difficult to troubleshoot and discuss our past as COGlodytes without doing so just for the limited purpose of discussion.
BB
Mark Twain said,"Faith is believing what you know ain't so." I am unable to improve on that particular quote. From what I have seen in my life experiences, faith is the beginning of deception.
No one can "fall away" from Armstrongism. You can only grow away from it. It is one of the worst forms of Christianity ever invented/imagined. I once had "faith" I had proven many of Armstrong's doctrines. Boy, was I a fool? Yes, I was, but never again.
Considering the COGs have been threatening and moaning at their members over "falling away", and this is a thread of ex- and current COG members, the need for the question was obvious.
I refuse to believe anything that I can't perceive with my 5 senses. It seems that faith is believing something to be true without any evidence that can be perceived by the 5 senses. Therefore I have no faith because faith contradicts the scientific method of thought, which is that conclusions can't be made about any matter without concrete evidence to back it up. A guess or an emotional feeling is not good enough.
Dennis
The body of evidence easily proves that God does not heal every time. The simply fact that God rules from His great throne should tell people that He has the right to say no to healing. That healing is a service owned by God should tell people that God has a right to say no. The problem with healing is lying ministers who try to manipulate/enslave God into heal every time so that they can be worshipped like God himself.
Judge your and others heart? Yes I can. It's the 'you shall know them by their fruits' thing. There are only so many human reactions. After seeing them over and over and over, you learn through association.
Anon 622. I never in my life met a minister who layed hands on anyone as per James 5:14 with the motive of manipulating and enslaving God to hear EVERY time so they can be worshipped like God himself. That is one of the more stupid glittering generalities I have ever heard . An I got great fruits and you have no business , experitise or insights that qualify you to judge anyone. You are exactly the kind of literalist most people I know would rather not spend eternity with. Your pretense in knowing the mind of God and how a God can do what it wants is simply apologetic for what you can’t possibly know. You are rewriting James 5 to fit the reality you also no doubt see when it comes to asking and receiving. Even Jesus is said to have said, “Ask anything in my name and I will give it to you.” (Jn14:14) Aside from this being a formula for human disaster, it also is not real or reasonable. However it does not say “Ask anything in my name and I’ll think it over and get back to you.” Now you say....” But you ask amiss.....”. I’ve heard it all.
Dennis,
Actually, if you read your bible with a open mind, the 'ask anything in my name and I will give it to you' does in fact mean 'ask anything in my name and I'II think it over and get back to you.'
Insisting on the literal word for word meaning is nothing more than childish manipulation of 'but you promised daddy, you promised.' It's the get-something-for-nothing nanny state projected into the bible.
Dennis
It's true that younger/naive and better natured ministers don't try to manipulate God to heal on on every occasion in order to be worshipped. But it is definitively true of the old fart leaders. They know the truth from cold experience. One example, look at the embarrassing self exalting titles they give themselves. They want to be worshipped. So trying to bully God to heal on every occasion is one of their ploys.
Maybe because this is a blog called Banned From HWA, Not Banned from Jw or Mormons.
10.08 AM
You have lost me. Please explain.
All of these titles are simply over-compensation. If we read about the lives of the Bible prophets, and other leaders, we learn that God made no mystery of it. He was willingly and purposefully constantly validating them as required to make certain that people knew they were working for Him. This not only would have made the hearers accountable, but the hearers would have also known that they were accountable, either bending to the will of God, or hardening their hearts.
Contrast that with giving oneself a Biblical-sounding title and then threatening everyone around you with the Lake of Fire. Which carries more weight? Having the witness of God supporting you, or spewing forth your own scary rhetoric or even more pathetically, complaining that nobody respects your prophethood?
The credibility bar has been set by skeptics at such levels as regenerating a missing limb, or restoration of a Down's Syndrome child. God knows He'd have to do that to validate His messenger(s) today. Somehow it just ain't happening for people named Thiel, Weston, Pack, Malm, Flurry, or Electrolux. That tells us all we need to know!
BB
LCG was founded by a liar who asked people to mortgage their homes and then stole their money.
LCG headquarters is filled with lying, back-biting ministers who feel it's okay to ignore what the Bible commands them to do if it involves in any way admitting that the church or one of its ministers is wrong.
Not to mention the lack of love and mercy.
Then there's that nagging lack of growth/ blessings.
Oh, and the wholly ungodly superiority complex.
LCG is so very clearly NOT the COG.
"Jerry Weston is of kindred spirits with Gerald Flurry and Dave Pack."
So true.
Funny that LCG thinks they are better when they are the same.
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