There They Go Again
The late Ian Boyne of the Church of God International rejected Herbert Armstrong’s British Israelism. Unlike most of the leadership of the Armstrong Churches of God, Boyne rejected the prophetic model created by Herbie and was even unafraid to stop by this blogsite on occasion and share his disdain for those teachings. For Mr. Boyne, CGI represented an organization that had outgrown the foolishness of Armstrongism and had embraced a more mature and defensible version of Armstrong’s theology. Unfortunately, his views on British Israelism now appear to have been out of sync with the organization to which he devoted a large part of his considerable talents, energy and life.
Like the dog who has returned to his own vomit, there can be no doubt that the Church of God International has embraced the teaching of British Israelism whole hog! In their most recent Armor of God program, Pastor Bill Watson resurrects God’s promises to Abraham and runs through the story of how Israel separated from Judah. He then proceeds to assert that the birthright promises devolved to Manasseh (the United States of America) as the “great nation” and to Ephraim (the British Commonwealth) as the “company of nations.” And, while this stuff may sound absurd to the average listener, it will no doubt sound very familiar to those who have had any experience with Herbert or Garner Ted Armstrong and their now-defunct Worldwide Church of God.
Despite the abysmal record of prophetic failure racked up by both Armstrongs, Watson insists that the voice of the prophets comes alive when one understands and accepts British Israelism. Despite the fact that our modern understanding of DNA has excluded any possibility that the peoples of the United States and Britain could be the physical descendants of Abraham, CGI persists in promoting the teaching that they are. Despite the history that disproves their understanding of the migration of ancient peoples and the survival of the Davidic dynasty after its biblically recorded demise, CGI insists that history is wrong. Despite the fact that the majority of Christianity recognizes that the promises to Abraham and David will find their complete fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the Church of God International continues to pedal the heresy that those promises must be fulfilled in the here and now – in this world.
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an intellectually satisfying version of Armstrongism. CGI has demonstrated that there really isn’t any room for deviation or dissent from Herbert Armstrong’s core teachings – British Israelism being one of the most distinctive of those. And I can’t help but wonder what Ian Boyne would think about CGI’s latest offerings to the public.
Miller Jones
19 comments:
More worried about what Ian thinks than your own father? Typical of the self-righteous.
Here's a good one!
We are Jacpb!
https://www.cgi.org/weeklysermons?sapurl=LytxNWdtL2xiL21pLytidDczcWp0P2VtYmVkPXRydWU=
CHURCH HISTORY
Remember what was actually taught in the past.
Remember that those who joined the REBELLION of Garner Ted Armstrong against his own father Herbert W. Armstrong ended up out of the Worldwide Church of God and into tiny little rebel groups like the Church of Ted, International and the even smaller Intercontinental Church of Ted that came later.
Remember that these rejected rebels in the tiny little rebel groups were no longer considered to be part of the one true Church of God that was led by Christ's chosen Apostle.
Remember that the WCG began to grow again after GTA got expelled from it.
Remember that neither of GTA's tiny little rebel groups ever amounted to anything.
The minute the current pandemic acquired the nickname "coronaapocalypse" I knew that these fools would begin hammering their British Israelism with renewed vigor.
It wouldn't surprise me in the least if some weak-minded ex-members who had gotten free and clear of the Armstrong problem decades ago weren't suddenly wondering where the church was, so they could turn themselves in, endure a dressing down, and then feel they had "qualified" for protection or the place of safety. Good luck wading through all the splinters, as if there actually were a "right" one standing out as being the one blessed and growing, and in control of the place of safety. What's this I hear about the cure being more devastating than the disease? That would certainly be an accurate description of any cure an Armstrongite church has to offer!
BB
"coronaapocalypse"
If one wanted to tie BI to the coronavirus (which is a world-wide, not "Anglo" pandemic) they may bring up one of Rupert's other tomes, "The Yellow Peril". After all, the epidemic appears to have originated in China, and the US has the highest incidence rate.
Yes, BB, I was expecting it too. And, yes, to the folks who have referenced the fact that my own father supports this teaching - that's true. Nevertheless, based on my own experience within that organization, I believe there are still a good number of people (including some of the other leaders) who are NOT on board with pushing this teaching. Like many of us on the outside, they have determined that this teaching is absurd and has led to a very flawed perspective on prophecy and current world events. In other words, Ian Boyne was not alone. I'm just wondering if any of those folks will follow their conscience and will resist this push by the people who still support pushing it out to the public. I don't see any evidence that it's being successful in winning them any new converts.
Hey Anonymous @ 10:44. I grew up in Worldwide and although GTA had his faults, he was nowhere near the horrible person that HWA was. It was well known in all HWA's own relatives what he did to his own daughter, plus his own moral failings, false prophecies and his bilking of church finances. His trips to Communist China were worthless frauds and he had sex with Ramona prior to his marriage. He was a false apostle and caused more people to lose their faith. GTA himself spoke to a friend & said when HWA died he had cirrhosis of the liver. Believe you bogus truths if you want but HWA did not meet the standards of a prophet laid out in Scripture. There was no "rebellion" as you shovel it out, it was HWA was jealous that he was no longer the center of attention. If you have the backbone you should read Tangled Web & Jack Kessler's letter.
One of my favorite scifi programs in contemporary setting was Eureka, where the town sheriff had to deal with the outcome of scientific developments gone bad. He usually was given a method to undo the disaster by one of the scientists, who would then say it would work "in theory". Hearing the words "in theory" was the big disappointment.
BI, church eras, place of safety, whatever- all seemed great, "in theory". Upon critical examination and practice, they all seem to fall apart, just like most of HWA's prophecies.
Let us go over this British/Israelism link once again.
First there is no link. Understand that.
The goal of “Communism” is identical to that of British Israel and they emanate from the same source and serve the same masters.
I'm a PK, too, Lonnie. And my parental units believed BI right up until the day they died.
Hopefully, with the continued failure of the "understanding", more and more of the Armstrongites are becoming blase with the theory, so that it is no longer the manipulative hook that it once was. Anybody who believes that their ACOG leader is actually the gatekeeper for their so-called place of safety is in for a very rude awakening. Only the members of the deity know the heart, and can determine what is in the best longterm interest of their children, and whether to give shelter from the storms, or some sort of lesson.
BB
Miller:
While British Israelism seems to have to do with innocuous topics such as kings, thrones, and prophecies, I believe in another way it is corrosive to spirituality. I will make the next statement without any real research, just observation. I believe that British-Israelism diminishes the role of Jesus Christ in spiritual restoration. As a corollary, I believe that people who have a weak connection to Christ and his role in their personal restoration fall victim to ideas like British-Israelism that exalt the flesh. And once in the quagmire, they have a lot of trouble ever getting out.
Paul wrote:
"For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit."
When I was around Armstrongists, and was an Armstrongist, it seemed like they gave some small acknowledgement to Christ in personal restoration but assigned a much larger role to their putative physical descent from Israel. The role of Christ fostered thanksgiving and the role of Israelitish descent engendered pride - and these two were perpetually in conflict.
For that reason, I think of British-Israelism as a kind of weakness or addiction that has utility for controlling people. So Armstrongist ministers pull it out of their tool kit whenever they need it. As long as there is Armstrongism I believe there will be British-Israelism. Thinking out loud.
NEO,
I agree with you about how corrosive this concept is to the spiritual life of a Christian. In my opinion, the entire New Testament focuses on how Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of everything that God has promised to mankind and is the culmination of God's plans to bless the entire world through Abraham's Seed. In short, the focus on the physical takes our eyes off of the prize - salvation through Jesus Christ.
And the pride that you mentioned is completely inconsistent with the humility which God expects of "His" children. The entire purpose of the Israelites in the first place was 1) to provide an example to the rest of the world and 2) to serve as the conduit by which God would communicate with the rest of mankind (once again, ultimately through Christ). They weren't blessed because they were God's favorites or because they deserved or were entitled to special treatment. Those blessings were intended for the purposes stated and were never intended to be a source of selfish pride or feelings of superiority.
It was frankly nauseating to hear Bill talk about what a blessing the U.S. and Britain have been to the ignorant and backward peoples of the rest of the world. There was no mention of the exploitation that has occurred or of the fact that such a small slice of the world's population consumes the majority of the resources that this planet produces. Look at how good, great and kind we are to the wretched masses - and some folks don't think that this crap is racist?
Finally, I hope that you're wrong about this addiction. I'm encouraged by the fact that many Armstrongites (currently still active members within one of the splinters) have cast off this teaching. Progress is progress. If we can help to kill just this one, we will have done a very good thing!
Oooooh the sky is falling
The Anglo Zionist empire is over once the European Union markets implode and the times of the gentiles is upon us as China ascends from Covid.
ORRRRR
It'l be summer soon and all will be well after nature shed a few old timers.
Nck
Church of God International never used to believe in the place of saftey belief. Garner Ted used to point out the flaws of Petra.
The day is nearly here where the disease known as armstrongism will abruptly stop replicating.
The 'hook' of British Israelism will fade into history along with these cults who promote such drivel. Only the mentally ill, the sick, the dying are joining the armstrogist based cults. Of this I am convinced.
I am also convinced that not only do the armstrong-cults attracts the mentally ill, they suck in the irresponsible, the cowards, the un-educated and ignorant among us who cannot deal with life and seek to escape its consequences. Armstrongism is a mental disorder.
3.16 AM
Of course there's no place of safety with Garner Ted. No one's wife or daughters are safe with him around.
He's been dead since 2003. Don't cha think you should move on Anon 7:22. How about sins closer to home. Or is living in the past the only place you can be found ? Don't you look to the future at all? Is the past a jail?
During one of GTA's departures (temporary or permanent) from WCG, HWA wrote about some of his disappointment in GTA. Skirting the real issues, he scolded GTA for not agreeing with the place of safety and church eras doctrines, and perhaps a few fringe doctrines. We know how HWA blamed him for reversing the makeup doctrine, even though there were witnesses and documents to show that HWA canned it himself. At least "in theory".
9.05 AM
The sins of the Bible greats such as Moses and David are there for all to read. It goes with the territory of being a public figure. This is one of the inherent negatives which go hand in hand with fame and fortune.
Is the past a jail? The reality is yes. I've had poison tongue attacks made against me by toxic church members. I expect the lies to follow me throughout eternity. I know this since they have already followed me to my gym. Is it just? No, but it's the way it is.
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