The latest issue of The Journal is out. The lead article is about Herbert Armstrong's perception of "godly hierarchy" in the church, with him the human leader, of course. The article is based upon a letter that a church member wrote to HWA asking for him to answer some questions regarding new moons, church hierarchy and other topics.
The part that I found interesting is the last couple of paragraphs. The church always told us that various men were always trying to get doctrines changed. In this letter, he blames a lot of this on women!
I have taken considerable time on this, because we have a history over 45 years of individual women trying to upset the whole Church by wanting to change God’s Festival dates. Especially we MUST ALL SPEAK THE SAME THING, and what we speak is put into the Church by JESUS CHRIST, through His chosen apostle.
You did right in bringing this directly to me, and I trust I have made clear what we are all to speak in regard to this. But you MUST NOT carry this as a personal hobby to others in the Church, lest you come under Romans 16:17. Christ is now setting His Church back on the track of UNITY, rooting out all division. Nevertheless, I’m sure your research on this has given you experience.
The front page also includes a short article about the Texas community that as shattered by the church shooting in November that killed 26 people and injured 20 others. COG members know some of these people. Another article is on page 3 about the shooting and the heroes and the people first on the scene.
The second page has a snarky comment from Fred Coulter, the COG phrenologist, happy to see that The Journal is shutting down.
Page 3 also includes a story on, "How do churches protect members?" also in response to the church shooting. It includes a list of 18 other church shootings over the last 11 years, including the Living Church of God shootings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Page 5 has more from Dixon Cartwright on why he is shutting down The Journal. It includes the reasons he started it and why he published some of the things he has over the years.
We were different from In Transition in that John’s aim was to have two of his trusted friends check out articles before they were published in In Transition for correctness of doctrine.
The friends were Ron Dart and Leon Walker.
Doctrinal opinions welcomed
I did not share the view with John that that was an appropriate consideration for my newspaper. Rather, from the beginning I welcomed creative essays, even those advocating unorthodox versions of doctrines, and did not feel the need to make sure they were correct or for me to agree with them As a result, we printed many such opinion pieces—editorials, letters, essays—with many of them disagreeing with each other, frequently in the same issue of THE JOURNAL.
My main consideration was that writers deal politely with each other in their doctrinal and political discussions, especially since people with different interpretations of Scripture can all reasonably prove their varying doctrines from the Bible.
In the beginning I believed my publication, at least my reason for publishing, was almost a necessity: if not a necessity then something that I thought would be a worthy service to the brethren.
I still think that it is a worthy service, but not a necessity. Thinking THE JOURNAL was almost a necessity was presumptuous and naive. I can further make this point by mentioning my opinion about salvation.Later he has this to say:
I do get some flak from some of the anti-Armstrongism bloggers for supposedly being an “enabler,” as one of my critics likes to say. (He also likes to say I’m insane.)
However, I’m not trying to enable anybody. I’m trying to provide a forum and an avenue for fellowship.
I’m not concerned about supporting or refuting, for example, Herbert Armstrong or other preachers.
If I enable people to communicate and fellowship and voice their opinions, then I guess by definition I am some kind of enabler.While I have questioned some of the crazy articles submitted by COG leaders, I have never called him an "enabler."
Page 5 has another story regarding the Texas church shootings. Page 5 also includes a letter defending William Dankenbring. It includes a story on how a bunch of mean ministers ganged up on him in Australia which led Tkach to start a witch hunt spurred on by these mean ministers who intensely persecuted Dankenbring.
Reg Killingley has an article on the Protestant Reformation, which is far more informed than Rod Meredith take on it in LCG's latest magazine article.
Check out the full issue here: Issue 200
ReplyDeleteHWA: "New Moons were not holy days, or
days set apart from religious service,
but for special sacrifices and offerings
that ended at Jesus’ death."
Ahh, so when it's convenient, HWA mimics SDA interpretation, throwing out New Moons!
He just got through saying SDAs shouldn't separate elements mentioned in Col. 2:16!?
What a contradictory charlatan!
HWA: "PS—I have just received from Pasadena
your complete file, and I notice you...."
Controlling bastard running snooping dossiers on members.
Herbert Armstrong was a controlling p.o.s. For years he claimed the COG7 was "dead Sardis". But in fact his cult is now dead and the COG7 is still very alive!
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed fascinating that the so called "Sardis Church" aka The Church of God 7th Day, has more than 250k members, who meet in unity, peace and harmony, whereas the Philadelphian era COGs , with supposed "brotherly love" have as a combined total, no more than 25k persons between them all, and who are at each others throats with splits, controversy and chicanery.
ReplyDeleteHierarchal church government, with centralized control, centralized money gathering, and unelected ministry and leadership is the main reason for the disparity IMHO.
HWA wrote:--But you MUST NOT carry this as a personal hobby to others in the Church, lest you come under Romans 16:1
ReplyDeleteHerbert Armstrong though was allowed any type of "personal hobby" that fit his personal fancy. Whether it was jet planes with gold leaf sealing and gold bathroom knobs, or dichondra lawns, or AICF concert series with Luciano Pavarotti or the Vienna Boys Choir no "hobby" was to be restrained from HWA in his role as Elijah/Apostle.
Not to speak of his eclectic hobby collection of hundreds of classic paintings, silverware of kings and Czars, and his obsession with Steuben Crystal! ALL AT THE EXPENSE OF HARDWORKING AND GENERALLY POOR DONORS WHO WERE THREATENED, COERCED AND HARANGUED CONTINUALLY TO GIVE IT!
With the Journal shutting down, what will Jan Young and Alton Billingsly do to get their message out? How will Dave Havir extend his reach beyond Big Sandy?
ReplyDeleteRichard
Women have always been in the downfall of men and the church throughout the Bible and history. Their bequiling wickedness have been the downfall of many, including the Church of God.
ReplyDelete"Not to speak of his eclectic hobby collection of hundreds of classic paintings, silverware of kings and Czars, and his obsession with Steuben Crystal! ALL AT THE EXPENSE OF HARDWORKING AND GENERALLY POOR DONORS WHO WERE THREATENED, COERCED AND HARANGUED CONTINUALLY TO GIVE IT!"
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately in a national tax system people are not able to deduct let'sa 10% from their taxes because they do not fancy the Vietnam war.
Under the Armstrongite system it was always possible to deduct 10% from general tithes if you did not fancy the AICF activities. Or another 3% if you disliked your minister or add toward 14% or more if you felt you benefitted greatly from your local ministers preaching.
Where was the wisdom. Where did people leave their brains and individual responisibility required of future Kings and Priests. Well I guess not many got HWA's message as WCG being Gods own West Point. What did people think people at West Point learn. Blind obedience. Or individual leadership.
(I know bad point. The US military is known for its blind obedience toward their leaders and detailed orders, whereas the German Army has individual commanders lead smaller units within a greater context with written orders only specifying the broad objective.)
The greatest army in the world only won wars through its sheer power. Not so much of the individual flexibility and leadership on the lower levels. Again for the umptieth time. Perhaps it was cultural. Certainly no one ever called on why your tithes dropped or increased for reasons only you and God were privy too.
nck
Maybe the Journal is folding partly for the same reason many newspapers are failing. People don't want a physical paper and they don't want to pay. I like reading a physical paper now and then, but I don't want a subscription and piles of newspapers to dispose of. I go to coffee shops where there are free newspapers hanging around and settle down with a latte to enjoy. Somehow looking at a little phone doesn't provide the same experience.
ReplyDeleteI think an online version of the Journal would be very welcome to many. I realise that it could be looked at online. The problem is getting people to pay and support it. We relied on Dixon who I think was doing it more as an act of love than anything. Thank you Dixon.
So true about women destroying the church. It started with Eve. HWA has his geisha girls then started horsing around with Romona before they married. She took him to the cleaners and provided an inside ear to Rader and others that plotted to take over. Other women hoodwinked Tkach Sr and led him astray over his wife. Other manipulative wive were scheming behind the scenes with several of the splinter groups because their husbands were so weak and ball less. They spurred their husbands to walk away from WCG and take as many people as they could with them. The wives started the backbiting gossip that wracked many reputations.
ReplyDeleteAnon 1:45 PM, It must have been Dorothy's fault when Herb Armstrong was putting his grubby hands all over her...
DeleteBlaming women for everything is a cop out. There's plenty of blame to go around.
DeleteBB
Yes true. Perhaps they should take 90% of the blame. That's fair.
DeleteWell, Peter Lavalle at the rt.com Cross Talk program is putting the lie to all the churches of God have been saying in their news analysis. I guess they weren't inspired after all, and all the junk they wrote in the Journal is just that: junk.
ReplyDeleteThunder-bitchin' 5:38. So now we're to look to someone who decided to boogie down with the Ruskies for our answers? You're just as bad as Adolf!
DeleteBB
On page 15, Mr Dankenbring is condemned for selling his books to members with the accusation "Human nature seems to want to use God, or God’s Church, for personal gain or profit."
ReplyDeleteAs if ministers are not well paid considering their light workload.
As if ministers don't stay at five star hotels during the FOT. Paid for by members, some who can't afford to get their teeth fixed. As if Herb did us silver and gold dinner ware.
How unthinkable that a member might get a best seller that could enable him/her to stay at a five star hotel as well, and afford gold/silver dinner ware.
Outrageous! The little people need to be kept in their place.
If it wasn't Eve giving the apple to Adam, all us menfolk would be immortal and eternally young. Look have women have messed things up. It's like E!vis's song 'you're the devil in disguise.'
ReplyDeleteThe Journal was important when people were still trying to figure out where they belonged in the wider world of Armstrongism.
ReplyDeleteBy now, people have mostly sorted themselves out. There will be no big new splits, just existing organizations crumbling bit by bit. LCG will dwindle rather than split, now that its members have a clear choice between viable COGWA and UCG alternatives. PCG will collapse when That Profit dies.
The one major development that keeps me wondering is GCI's 2018 move to Charlotte. Wouldn't it be a hoot if Mike Germano and Doug Winnail repented of their Armstrongism and openly allied with GCI? I doubt it will happen, as they would rather have a nice retirement package and pretend to be loyal LCG. Imagine, though, that their families arranged for them to live comfortably so they could repudiate Armstrongism and become true Christians. The way things are at present, they could probably bring a third of the LCG Charlotte congregation into GCI with them.
Winnail and Germano might not repent of their Armstrongism, but they must be embarrassed and disappointed by Weston's latest memo, which makes Jonathan McNair the new head of LCG's education initiative. That memo mentions that McNair will work with LCG education experts such as Stuart Wachowicz and Scott Winnail, but it doesn't even mention Michael Germano or Doug Winnail, who have far more college/adult educational expertise than the AC-trained McNair or the K-12 teacher/administrator Wachowicz. What a burn!
CG7 folks never give a second thought about Armstrongism. They are devoted Christians who seek to be good people in a bad world.
ReplyDeleteMany here seem to condemn, criticize or just flagrantly humor many but then defend them against others that they also condemn, criticize or humor. So much talking outside both sides of the mouth on this blog.
ReplyDelete