Are Living Church of God members ever able to do anything right? Even after baptism they still cannot do what is right in Gerald Weston's sight. For 80 years now the church has been preaching down to its members. The god of Armstrongism is a hard one to please and because of that member's salvation is always at risk. That god is just itching to cast them into the lake of fire for every imaginable indiscretion. This is unless you are children of the Meredith, McNair and other upper echelon families. They get a free pass on everything. Members, not so much so.
To savor the things of God requires studying God’s word from a humble and deeply respectful heart (Isaiah 66:2). Our nature, even after baptism, must continue to convert to a new way of thinking (1 Corinthians 2:9–11). When the prophet Jeremiah tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” he is speaking to all of us (Jeremiah 17:9). When God tells us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death,” we need to take notice (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25). As we saw earlier, even though were being directly taught by Jesus Christ for three-and-a-half years, the Apostles could still be deceived. So where does that leave us? We must learn to savor the things of God, not the things of man.
We are confronted every day with an array of decisions. Whether to watch television and if so, what programs to allow into our minds (Psalm 101:3), and also, what is an appropriate amount of entertainment when balanced against Bible Study, prayer, physical exercise, genuine interaction with family, and more. How much time should we spend on social media, and what is appropriate communication and interaction with others? Frankly, some of the things that come to our attention do not reflect the mind of God.
We will not tell you everything you need to do, but you had better do what we tell you to do!
There has always been a desire on the part of members and ministers alike to have every question spelled out as “right” or “wrong,” “okay” or “not okay.” Consider this however: God is not creating robots. He is creating children who think as He thinks. He gives us basic principles. Some are spelled out, as in the Ten Commandments. Statutes and judgments also help us to understand His mind on an array of issues, but He also wants us to learn to think as He thinks in an ever-changing array of circumstances. This requires not a never-ending list, but a mind that discerns—that savors—the way He would choose.
Laodiceans seem to have a problem with compromising. In other words, they are not very discerning when it comes to the nuances requiring righteous judgment. They do not savor the things of God. This is a challenge to all of us. Can we look past a list of do’s and don’ts to discern the mind of God in matters that are not always clear and spelled out? Can we willingly apply His standards, without always having to be told what to do? Our lives may depend on it!
29 comments:
Gerald seems to be craving the old days of majoring in the minors with authority not reason with a touch of let me mind your own business
Many of us feared this would happen when Weston had full reign. He has tended to be an extreme legalist incapable of grace and mercy. Every congregation he has been in has breathed a sigh of relief when he got transferred out.
When your children leave home, entering an arena in which they must process everything around them, deal with existing circumstances, and hopefully making a majority of decisions with positive consequences, that is the point at which the values with which you have imprinted them should kick in, and they begin functioning on an adult level. We call this character.
Unfortunately, Armstrongism does not allow this same process for their members. From all of the recent Weston posts (this time around) it is appalling how many of what should be personal matters are predecided by all of the pharisaic dos and don'ts and the police-like role of the ministry. The members simply cannot ever grow up under that type regimen. How can they learn to make good decisions? It's the classic Herbie game of keeping the dumb sheep suppressed as dumb sheep. Yet somehow, the dumb sheep refer to this as "qualifying".
BB
And now the church is back on track again, finally...for sure
I'm not disputing the comments made to this post, but Gerald seems to be saying that he wants people being able to make decisions without being micro managed. Did I misread something?
Gerald is a tyrant. Fuck him.
Weston can run off at the mouth all he wants. As for me and my family, he will not dictate to us what he expects in matters that we make ourselves as our family. He needs to stick to the major things and stop sticking his nose into minor things that he has no business sticking his nose in.
Gordon Feil at 12:49 PM asked:
Gerald seems to be saying that he wants people being able to make decisions without being micro managed.
He is saying that he knows what's right and wrong, and is tired of members not independently coming to the same conclusions he has already come to. He is saying that he wouldn't need to micro-manage people if they instinctively did what he wanted them to do.
Compromising Laodiceans? Wasnt that more accurately descriptive of Pergamos? Oh, but it wouldnt make so good a threat...
BUT... dont most of the people new to the Living Church of God come about because of watching---- err---
TELEVISION???
The thing members of any of the ACOG groups should NEVER do is run and tell their minister anything that is done in the privacy of their home. What I do in my personal life outside church is my business and between The Almighty & myself.
That guy is an asshole! He must be giving Pack and Flurry a run for their money!
1. There is no such thing as the holy spirit or conversion.
2. Conservatives will never be free without a civil war to liberate them from liberalism, which is just as repressive as Weston and a lot more intolerant.
Exactly. He wants the people to come to the "approved" decisions. That's the entire history of Armstrongism. Zero tolerance. The degree to which you agree with them is the measure of your conversion, and how many cities you get to rule with a rod of iron in the Kingdom.
I think some folks are in for a real surprise.
BB
Birthdays are the anniversaries of our being born into this world. Shouldn't we rejoice that we have a life by celebrating the day we where born? There is one word to describe this, that word is micro-management. I remember a sermon on which the minister actually told us that we shouldn't distract others by getting up and visiting the restroom during the sermon. In other words he was telling us when to take a crap!
Gerald does seem to be saying to make good decisions without being micro managed. But he is referring to the crumbs from the table such as what TV show to watch, or web surfing. He is ignoring that after stripping members of the vast majority of their God given responsibilities, it's impossible for members to develop good judgment.
Gerald and his ministers want to have their cake and eat it too.
Their demands are a contradiction.
Don't let the ministers find out that you watched any of the Sharknado movies.
BB
Exactly. I'm convinced that the ministers believe that they can define the millennium. They have ignored many biblical teachings such as not lording it over members like the gentiles in this life. So they think they can change the laws and rules in the next life as well. They have exalted themselves above God and his laws. They think they can define reality. This is a common problem with all governments.
These self appointed tin gods will end up in the lake of fire. They won't be missed.
I guess this means that Lil' Jimmy Meredith won't be allowed to watch the homos and brown people on Hawaii Five O and NCIS any longer.
He wants the people to come to the "approved" decisions.
Just like Dave Pack requires of his Council of Agreers.
Weston said, "Our lives may depend on it!"
MY COMMENT - GASTLY! I haven't heard that expression since my Worldwide Church of God days 50 years ago.
Don't let them know you watch Doctor Who , The Walking Dead or Game Of Thrones.
The COGs and all decent people hate Hollywood values. More and more people are learning about the intentional Hollywood agenda to destroy America through destructive morals by promoting violence, perverted sex, hate, propaganda, and crime. But few will tell you who runs Hollywood and why they really do this. The COGs are so brainwashed they actually love the creeps who run Hollywood! It's the ultimate mind control Hollywood's controllers have over the COGs.
The world is run by bullies. All bullies isolate their targets and turn the rest of the group against the target. If you disagree with HWA you get bullied out of the church, and the members turn against you. You lose your old friends. If you disagree with the USA you get bullied by economic sanctions to whip you into line, and America's allies join in to isolate you. If you disagree with the lying media you are bullied with lies and called a hater and they convince the public that you are public enemy #1 and the whole world hates you. If you disagree with the majority on some web site, it often does not matter if you can prove your points. They will likely gang up on you and call you a troll and turn others on the site into hating you. The world is run by bullies.
"They have ignored many biblical teachings such as not lording it over members like the gentiles in this life."
As a rule, gentiles are not like that. That's just some words written by Jews who say that they are better than Gentiles. The "chosen people" need to rationalize why they should rule over everyone else. Supremeicism is thinking you have the right to rule others. Racial supremeacism is thinking you have the right to rule others because you were born with Jewish DNA. Jews are racial supremecists who make false statements thinking they are better than others. British Israelism got that belief from the Jews.
So Hollywood is a monolith? No specific or different brands making up the collective? My goodness, you seem incapable of seeing things in detail! No wonder you feel as you do.
BB
So, again, all Jews are united in this? No diversity of opinion within the community?
You either don't get out much, or you are one ignorant sombitch.
BB
Man, I sure am glad we don't have any bullies around here! That would be awful, and I'd have to leave.
BB
There's a ring of truth to it.
There is a civil culture war raging.
The Weinstein story was broken by the New Yorker. I know billionaires who willingly took losses on its acquisition just to leverage american conservative ideas.
There are jews on both sides of the ongoing culture war momentarily aimed at the Democrat Hollywood donors.
Nck
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