That magical god of Armstrongism is constantly being called forth by the many COG false prophets and getting blamed for any recent natural disaster to hit the world, but particularly if it happens in the United States, and even better if it happens in California.
Brad McDonald, a Philadelphia Church of God minister, let the "god is angry" spittle fly once again when he had to talk about the recent fires and landslides in California.
McDonald writes:
Perhaps you’ve heard that Southern California this week is experiencing terrible flooding and mudslides. Whenever a catastrophe like this happens, it’s easy to simply note the particulars and move on, not giving much thought to the human suffering. For me, it was when Johnson said, “We don’t know where [the baby] came from.” Imagine a sleeping toddler swept from its crib (and family), carried away violently, and eventually deposited in an unfamiliar place under four feet of cold, wet mud.
This is California. One month it’s drought and massive wildfires; the next it’s torrential rain, flooding and mudslides. Peppered in between are crises like the Oroville Dam crisis, enduring drug and crime problems, and debilitating debt. Meanwhile, the tectonic plates beneath the state continue to creak and groan, hinting disconcertingly that another massive earthquake is imminent.
With each crisis, one question comes further into focus: Is California cursed?
A strong case can be made proving that California’s demise began in the late 1980s. On Oct. 17, 1989, a massive earthquake rattled Northern California. The Loma Prieta quake caused 63 deaths, more than 3,500 injuries, and billions of dollars’ worth of damage. It occurred during Game 3 of a World Series that, interestingly, was between two California teams. The game (and earthquake) broadcasted live to millions of Americans.
In a sense, the “World Series earthquake” was a sign to the nation of the disasters, tumult and suffering that was to become routine in California over the next 30 years. It was a national sign that California was cursed. In May 1992, Los Angeles erupted in the worst riots in United States history. On Jan. 17, 1994, the Northridge earthquake killed 60 people, injured 9,000, and inflicted $20 billion worth of damage on Southern California. Both of these crises were “historic.”
Since the late 1980s, California has experienced one colossal—in many cases, “historic”—crisis after another: floods, drought, wildfires, mudslides, mass shootings, economic crisis, protests and riots. Exactlyone month ago we published an article on California’s historic wildfires, the worst in state history. In 2017, nearly 9,000 fires burned 1.2 million acres of California, destroying more than 10,000 structures and impacting tens of thousands of people.
As the wildfires raged, it was common to hear people—average, nonreligious people—discussing the fires in apocalyptic terms. Many seriously wondered if the fires were a sign from God, or a sign that the world was about to end. But now that the fires have died down, most people have moved on. California’s apocalypse, many believe, is over (unless you live in Southern California).
But is it? from You Need to Know: Is California Cursed? January 10, 2018There is a method to his madness as to where he is going with this. California has always been the COG's favourite whipping post. From liberals to gays to everything in between, the church found fault with everything. All of that pales in comparison as to the real reason California has had several crises over the years. The reason CA is in such a mess is because it attacked the Living God when it launched its lawsuit against the corrupt administration of the Worldwide Church of God when it tried to seek accountability to the millions and millions of dollars flowing through the church coffers that was being squandered on all kinds of things.
According to Gerald Flurry, when the State attacked the church, they attacked the Living God himself! When that happened, Flurry's god got really really angry and started punishing the citizens of the state in revenge.
Gerald Flurry writes:
In an overt attack against Mr. Armstrong, the state of California, through the attorney general’s office, launched a massive lawsuit against the WCG in 1979. On January 3, that office initiated a sudden, armed assault on the Pasadena headquarters, in an attempt to claim ownership of the Church’s property and assets as well as its continuing income—in violation of the U.S. Constitution. A receiver, secretly appointed by the court, tried to take over and operate God’s Church. Completely false, outrageous and baseless allegations of financial mismanagement were made—despite financial and all other required records having been regularly and voluntarily filed. No evidence of wrongdoing was ever found, and on October 14, 1980, the attorney general dropped all charges and dismissed the case. Later, the higher appellate court ruled that the lawsuit was without foundation.
California is the only state that ever attacked Mr. Armstrong and his work. Actually, it attacked a lot more than that. California really ATTACKED THE LIVING GOD!
Is God now intensely cursing California for its attack against the living God’s work under Herbert W. Armstrong?
“Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Rom. 12:19). Is God now taking vengeance against that state for what it did to His work? Yes, He is! And California is only the beginning.
The sooner we repent, the sooner the curses will end. From Is California Under a Curse? December 2003 TrumpetMcDonald also includes this absurd comment about how his god may get really pissed on January 16th, the date of Herbert Armstrong's death.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if California was pummeled again really soon; maybe even around January 16 or 17? (the anniversary of the death of Herbert W. Armstrong).
It’s far more likely that all the crap that has happened to California is due to all the Armstrongism present there. God hates false prophecy, and false teachers.
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So God is vindictively lashing out at the state of California for its 'attack' on the church, but He's not reacting to the horror stories of abuse within the church.
ReplyDeleteA strange God, no?
Again teenage ministers who believe that God is a teenager as well.
Both California and Oklahoma are being punished for allowing two apostate COG false prophets to have their HQ in their states. Get rid of Bob Thiel and Gerald Flurry, NOW!
ReplyDeleteAs usual "the church" is the center of everything in COG minds. Climate change and climate patterns have nothing to do with it. All is magical. Nothing is due to logical physical forces. I'm glad I escaped that stupid mindset.
ReplyDelete"Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
ReplyDeleteAnd they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good." Ezekiel 16:49-50...
is not cali guilty of the above; is not God the same yesterday today and forever? shall not cali suffer as one guilty of the above?
8.49 PM
ReplyDeleteThe Lord smite thee as well troll guy.
okay, so the fact that i comment on californias treatment of the poor, and post a Scripture that shows evidence that such behavior has historically enraged God to the point where He uses the elements of the earth to destroy such a society makes you say "the Lord smite thee"???
Deletesurely, you jest...
The State of California attacked the church in 1979, and God attacks California with an earthquake ten years later, and fires 38-39 years later. Earthquakes in California have happened long before the WCG ever existed. Southern California is a semi desert climate, dry brush and woods burn. The Santa Ana winds spread the fires. Now if the earthquakes and fires happened the instant the State of California raided the WCG headquarters a case could be made for divine judgment, but not 39 years after.
ReplyDeleteThe Churches of God provide wonderful examples of confirmation bias, as well as other errors in critical thinking. They always find proof for their beliefs by selectively reading into Scripture what tends to support them and ignoring other passages that donm't. I should use this story in my psychology class. Believing an authority figure is another mistake members make. I recall a Dr. Linus Pauling promoting the idea that Vitamin C can prevent or cure the common cold and cure some forms of cancer. After all, he is a "Dr." and he had TWO, not ONE, Nobel Prizes. Do you have a doctorate? Have you earned a Nobel prize? Who are you to question the brilliant Dr. Pauling. Well, his degree was in Chemistry, not medicine and his research was found to be invalid and unreliable. Most of us recall the Rev. Jim Jones. He was the pastor, so he must know what he is talking about. How did that turn out? Prove all things . . . Search the Scriptures to see if what they say is true. Still good advise.
ReplyDeleteThis is a technique that the Armstrongists share with their brothers, the Branch Davidians. The false leaders seek energetically to characterize current events as being prophesied by the Bible. Often these events are just really a "tempest in a teapot" but they are mapped falsely into the text of the Bible with great pseudo-erudition and big voice volume at the lectern. It stirs up and mesmerizes the base and increases the flow of funding. It is a technique of crass and cynical manipulation.
ReplyDeleteDavid Koresh manipulatively convinced his followers that the events that were happening at Waco were prophesied in the Bible and heralded the end of the age and the Second Coming. Really ear tingling for the base.
I saw one of Koresh's followers interviewed on TV, somewhat glassy eyed and with a beatific smile, stating that Koresh had prophesied that the Government was going to attack the Waco Compound and it happened just as he said.
Duh! If you shoot up the Texas countryside up with automatic weapons and order crates of hand grenades by mail order, you are going to attract the attention of the ATF. There is no prophecy involved. Just a lot of stupidity. But can you imagine how it excited the base for them to have a ringside seat on the wrath of God and the supposed end time events, events in reality precipitated by Koresh himself. Unfortunately, David Koresh got many of them killed - some burnt alive.
And then there is the Westboro Baptist Church. Too early in the morning for me to go there.
The “State of California” did not attack “God’s church” and “God’s Apostle Mr. Herbert Armstrong”. Those statements are complete fabrication to begin with.
ReplyDeleteSome members of the Armstrong cult who had observed flagrant fleecing and fiduciary malfeasance brought these facts to the attention of the legal authorities and petitioned for relief and redress. These authorities responded in much the same ways as would police officers if someone had reported a crime, and they were launching an investigation to discover the truth leading to the meting out of justice and redress.
The crimes were covered up, however, and massive obfuscation took place. Friends of the cult in influential places created new laws which allow such crimes to continue and flourish even today.
Had the church organization been completely innocent, and had nothing wrong or even questionable been done, then the statements of Gerald Flurry that have been parrotted would be true, meaning that there would have been an injustice, and the actions of the state would have been persecutory rather than prosecutory.
It appears to me as an observer that since the secular authorities He had put into place were hindered from performing their jobs, God punished the WCG by introducing Tower of Babel level confusion into a once vibrant “work”, dividing it into splinters and confusing and diffusing its message. Financial irresponsibility and malfeasance still exist in these splinters even today, as their leaders never repent of their “Apostle’s” sins.
BB
yes, which is why the courts sided with the state, right?
DeleteBB 7:10 says, "Friends of the cult in influential places created new laws...". My memory is that Stan Rader dredged up some ancient law that went back to when California was ruled by Mexico and was never repealed after the USA took it over. That happened a few months before Rader was fired, disfellowshipped and marked. The rumor was that he and Ramona were found to have hatched a plot to take over the church.
ReplyDeleteRader negotiated a contract that paid him a sizable sums of money every pay day. His wife used to come and collect the checks. This went on till the day he died.
ReplyDeleteLOGIC LESSON 101...
ReplyDeleteJust because "B" follows "A", it does not mean that "A" caused "B".
It just that simple!
ReplyDeleteIt has been scientifically proven that natural disasters are not getting worse.
https://hwarmstrong.com/church-of-god-info/Natural-Disasters-Not-Worse(Church-Of-God-Prophecy).htm
Why is anyone with a different opinion despised and labeled a troll? Is narrow-mindedness our objective? Berating people into PC views only? Is talking to Armstrongites below our dignity? Is it contrary to the purpose of the site?
ReplyDeleteWow! What will happen in Pennsylvania if the Eagles and Steelers both make the Super Bowl?!!!
ReplyDeleteFor those ACOGgers who are superstitious about dates and times, notice that it will have been exactly 40 WEEKS since the death of Rod Meredith as of:
ReplyDeleteThursday, February 22, 2018
Will something happen on that date to validate Gerald Weston's first 40 weeks as Presiding Evangelist? Or will something happen that will serve as a sign for current LCG members to move on to some other group where God is working without the same degree of corruption as is found in LCG?
Maybe this Brad McDonald dodo has learned that histrionics work quite well on dumb sheep. There is a lot of it going around. Its the same hysterical fake outrage the progressives shove down our throats every "news" program. The PCG has its own version of political correctness and the higher ups have a way of talking about how "offensive" or "shocking" your words or actions are whenever you have an opinion of your own or take an action they did not give prior approval for. When they can't actually find a scripture to back up their views they just claim to be "shocked" yada yada yada by things nobody outside their church would think twice about.
ReplyDelete"Climate change and climate patterns have nothing to do with it. All is magical. Nothing is due to logical physical forces. I'm glad I escaped that stupid mindset."
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't learned how fake man-made climate change is you are still deluded.
Why how could you say such a terrible thing on the internet, 7:02? Aren’t you listening to anything troll guy has been saying? Why, how shocking!
DeleteBB
Flurry and the PCOG are some of the most accomplished liars in any form of religion. His messiah is and always has been HWA, not Christ. Don't send tithes to this selfish, false charlatan. Send your donations to the red cross or your local humane society. At least there it will do some good to some unfortunate people or mistreated animals.
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