Church of God News has a post up about how Living Church of God's Rod McNair claims the office of Peter passed from Herbert Armstrong to Meredith and then upon Meredith's death it passed on to Weston.
COGNews is correct in pointing out that Herbert Armstrong found great umbrage in Rod Meredith's actions and treatment of members. Herbert Armstrong never passed on any authority to Rod Meredith and certainly never intended for him to start two different splinter churches. HWA received countless reports about how Meredith was mistreating members and finally took action banishing him to Hawaii for a year.
But more importantly was the claim that Herbert Armstrong assumed he could bind and loose earthly things in heaven, particularly when it came to doctrine or church traditions. The biggest example of this was the change in the date that the church kept Pentecost on. In an instant, it went from Monday to Sunday. The same could be said about other doctrines of the church, including the make-up doctrine. One minute it was on, and then the next off, and then on and then off again all bound and loosed in heaven, over and over again.
On September 8th a video by Rod McNair, ‘Peter and the Key-Man Principle’, was uploaded onto both the lcg.org and Facebook websites, and also YouTube.
In an interview with Jeff Booth in 1980, Herbert Armstrong declared:
“The title, and the keys, passed from chief apostle to chief apostle, from Peter to Peter. Each chief apostle was the new Peter.He said, ‘Now I am the chief apostle, and I am the Peter’.”
“Whatever I bind is bound in heaven, and whatever I loose is loosed in heaven.” “The Day of Pentecost is now on Sunday. But, since I had made the decision to observe Pentecost on Monday, for years the Day of Pentecost was actually on Monday.”If Herbert Armstrong held the office of ‘The Peter’, as he believed, did he pass it to Roderick Meredith? Herbert Armstrong wrote to Roderick Meredith (later in 1980), rejecting him as a possible successor:
“Rod, in frankest candor, JESUS CHRIST will NEVER put any one at the head of His Work on earth who is competitive, covetous of power and status, and self-righteous. In brutal frankness, you lack the charisma to lead God's work. You do not attract - as I said before, you REPEL people. You are a harsh taskmaster over those under you. THAT IS YOUR RECORD!”
How then can the ‘Peter Principle’ have passed ‘the title and the keys’ from Roderick Meredith to Gerald Weston - giving him the power to bind and loosen biblical doctrine?COG leaders who have started various splinter groups have all take this "binding and loosing" to themselves and who feel they are God's only vehicle to do this. Dave Pack takes it as far as claiming that he is able to know whether God has forgiven people for their sins or not.
“…and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven…” Some will say that this verse gives men the power or authority to change what God has said in the Bible. This is absolutely not the case! No man can change what God has said! The true ministers of God have been given the authority to bind only that which is in agreement with God’s laws. That, then, would be backed up—bound—by God. When God’s ministers make a decision, it is based on Scripture—based on God’s will. But this in no way is giving ministers the power to forgive sin. Only God can and does that (Mark 2:7). God does give ministers the ability to discern when a person has repented of certain sins, thus concluding that God has forgiven them.No Church of God minister has the qualifications to discern any such thing. COG leaders have always placed themselves between their members and God. COG leaders no longer have any control over members lives because not a single one of them received any authority from Peter that supposedly was held by Herbert Armstrong. HWA could neither bind nor loose any doctrine or belief any more than any present-day COG leader can. Whether it is Gerald Weston, Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry or Vic Kubik, none of these men have that power handed down to them from Peter. It is an impossibility.
12 comments:
Herbert Armstrong was a false apostle, false prophet and NOT the "end time eliyah"!
Rod McNair is a dictatorial jack ass and reminds me of a Stepford wife.....
Wow! By Herbert Armstrong's reasoning regarding Pentecost, apparently one of the Peters actually would have had the power to change another holy day ~ the sabbath to Sunday. Guess that's one more great mystery solved!
BB
Byker Bob, that's a key point! If HWA can change a holy day, so can any other "Peter" -- in which case the Sabbath has been on Sunday for nearly 2,000 years!
The depositions in the Scarborough lawsuit exposed Rod McNair as a liar, as many current and former Charlotte LCG members already knew. Any church that considers Rod McNair a "minister" is a Church of Man, not a Church of God.
Oh, it gets very deep, 5:41! I've said for years on these forums and blogs that Herbie only understood 2/3 of God! Isn't it ironic that he got the day that symbolizes the descent of the Holy Spirit totally wrong? If the early Christian church had gotten that day wrong, guess what? They would have missed out on receiving the Holy Spirit! So getting a date right or wrong clearly was not a keys of Peter thing! Herbie and the wrong day = Herbie's church missing out on the Holy Spirit! And we even had to wonder what was wrong with the church???. Compounding his error, Herbie got the date wrong for the descent of another 1/3 of God (Jesus) and God proved that it DID matter whether the date was right or wrong, by not honoring Herbie's date for the return of Jesus Christ ~ 1975! How can anyone NOT know how bogus HWA was???
BB
Rod McNair is committing spiritual cunnilingus on the bride (church).
Pentecost was on a Monday because he said so....hmmmmm,
what happened to "don't believe me, believe your bible"???
and I'm not aware of anywhere in the Bible that Peter is considered the chief apostle, head honcho, grand poobah, or anything else other than a follower of Jesus who was sent out to spread the good news.
This is the only Peter Principle that applies to those jackasses.
5:41 and BB, Great comments!
They misinterpreted the rock which was to be built upon. They built Peter up to being -the- rock upon which the church was to be built. Christ is that rock. In the interpretations of these misguided / power hungry men, they have placed Peter into that position of being the one who the church is built upon, that the rock is Peter and that there is some special fairy dust that gets passed on from one man to another.
In their misinterpretation, through ignorance, or being deliberately obtuse or otherwise, they have all claimed God's place. The place that is Christs alone. That they themselves are "that rock" by chain of succession is not so. Is this why their doctrines/teachings are so shaky. Not 'rock solid'? They are built on a wrong foundation. They are not "that rock" / the chief cornerstone through any so-called succession or in their dreams. Their delusion does not serve them well. They have built upon sand (one of the little pebbles/ a piece of rock).
Anyone who seriously believes that the "key man" went from the Apostle Peter, to HWA to Rod Meredith to Gerald Weston is so far indoctrinated and dangerously ignorant that I truly fear for them.
Very sad.
Every time I check the comment on this feed I am forced to see the face of the man who's tyranny and wickedness ultimately caused me to leave Armstrongism.
I'm happy to be free but Rod McNair's face still causes emotions to run through me that are very difficult to process.
Sometimes I wonder if I will every be okay in this regard...
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