Living Church of God has always been eager to provide a comforting word for its members.
Not!
As usual, its very pissed off god is angry at the world around them. Everyone is mean and nasty because of those gays and cross-dressing straight men that are eating bacon and shrimp. That's why the world is such a mess. Everything is always dark and evil to them.
Why do we never hear anything positive and enlightening about the beautiful world around them?
Where are the articles about teenagers going to nursing homes and brightening up the day for lonely none LCG members? Where are the stories of neighbors cooking for neighbors? Where are the life-changing stories of people who go to homeless areas and provide food or do their laundry?
Why is the Living Church of God so afraid to be a light in the world and put into action a foretaste of the world to come they so long for? Instead they sit in the ivory towers bellyaching about the world falling apart around them while not lifting a finger to do a damn thing. Oh wait, they spend millions of dollars on cable and TV stations to broadcast shows that no one watches. Yep, that is really showing love.
A Time of Reckoning: Today, many assume—or live—as if there is no God and have little knowledge of what is in the Bible. Our modern generation blames climate change, viruses, and corrupt politicians for our problems and looks to science and medicine for solutions. Few see any connection between the fires and floods, droughts, famines, and insect infestations, and now epidemic and pandemic diseases that are striking our world and the biblical laws and prophecies contained in the Scriptures. However, the Bible reveals there is a God (Psalm 14:1) who is going to judge the world (1 Chronicles 16:33) and that Jesus Christ is going to return and eventually save the world (John 4:42). While science and medical technologies can help identify and treat physical problems, the real need today is to make a connection between godless behaviors that are causing our problems and repent (change). The Bible plainly reveals that when people obey God’s laws there will be blessings, but when we violate those laws there will be consequences (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28). Today, around the world, we violate God’s instructions about marriage (Genesis 2:24), homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22), cross-dressing (Deuteronomy 22:5), diet and health (Leviticus 11), abortion (Jeremiah 2:34), and many more. Millions are unaware of the biblical promise that we will be blessed for obedience to God’s laws (Exodus 15:26). Today, many are also totally unaware that there is a judgment coming—a time of reckoning—on a world that has forgotten, or never knew, the true God (see Jeremiah 2:17; Hosea 4:9–10; Isaiah 24:5). As we approach the Passover and as we see climactic events that point to the end of the age, we need to examine ourselves (1 Corinthians 11:26–32) and draw close to God (Isaiah 55:6–7) so we can point out why these events are happening and offer real hope—the Gospel—to a confused and dying world.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
22 comments:
Are you condemned if you drink HOMOGENIZED milk in the LCG too?
Are you condemned if you drink HOMOGENIZED milk in the LCG too?
You're supposed to drink it PASTORIZED.
only after you have been lobotomized.
Jim-AZ
Doug said, “we need to examine ourselves and draw close to god so WE can point out why there events are happening and offer real hope-the gospel-to a confused and dying world.”
Aren’t the members of LCG close to God yet? They have been praying and fasting now for over 25 years. They have been crying out and beseeching God over and over. Rod used to call fasts, telling the members to cry aloud and beseech God. Yet Doug keeps the same message going. The same one Herbert talked about. The gun lap,that the church was in for over 40 years. Please tell me when they, any of the ACOGs, are going to get close enough to god that they can warn the world.
What are they waiting for. Gerald, Doug, Rod or any of you. What are you waiting for? Go ahead point out to this confused and dying world why there events are happening.
Why do the ministers always tell the members THEY have to get close to God. Why aren’t the ministers close to God and if they are go ahead and preach aloud and spare not.
When are the members going to get tired of hearing “if only they would get close to God.”
This message has been preached by various ACOGs for over 85 years. It’s always soon, within the next, 2, 3, 10 years. It’s away events are speeding up, the end is near,
Good grief, Draw close to god and preach this end time world shaking message!
Jim-AZ
PLAGUES STILL COMING FOR DISOBEDIENCE
Many people in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries are doing the exact opposite of what God said in the Bible. It has gone beyond the serious sins of ham-eating and Sunday-keeping. They want pornography, fornication, adultery, abortions, homosexuality, transvestitism, complete gender confusion, witchcraft, and every other abomination they can think of. They want the Bible and the Ten Commandments to be taken out of schools and courtrooms. Instead of God's ways being taught, they want their own abominable ways to be taught to everyone's children. Instead of judging by God's laws, they want to call evil “good,” and call good “evil.”
The Bible gives examples of God sending plagues on people for disobeying him. Many people laugh at those Bible stories and talk about how people used to be superstitious for believing that plagues were sent by God. They claim to have evolved and to be more modern and advanced and scientific now and to know all about viruses and how to deal with them.
Interestingly, millions of people now have sexually transmitted diseases. Millions of people have died of AIDs. Millions of people are getting cancer. The new Chinese virus from Wuhan (sometimes called COVID-19) has many people frightened and locked away in their houses. It looks like people still are not able to escape the plagues that their own bad behavior brings on themselves and others.
Doug, after all this negative tripe, ends with the classic ", and happy, "Have a profitable Sabbath"
Reminds me those ending services with "My Friend and Guide" and "death shall them seize and to the tomb ALIVE they shall go down..." SMILE BRETHREN! coached the song leader! Of course, we could always "climbing through the windows leap and break through weapons each unharmed" or if really needed for a boost "We are not divided, all one body weeee, one in hope and doctrine...one in chariteee" yeah right. lol
Is there any place on the planet that can suck out your soul, brain and love of one's real life than a Church of God setting the stage for Jesus and the Wonderful World Tomorrow, where we'd get to spend eternity with these folk?
Hide me in the grave until thy wrath be past and then remember me if that's an option...
Living Church of God isn't the only Armstrong Church of God that is putting out this tripe! Notice this from the Philadelphia COG's "Trumpet" -
Speaking of how the prophecies in the sixth chapter of Revelation relate to current events:
"This is discussing a worldwide effort that will occur during the Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord. Angelic beings are already being positioned and instructed for these catastrophic events! But God is in close control over exactly how much devastation these beings are allowed to unleash. He is not destroying indiscriminately: He is punishing the world in love and in measure—to help mankind turn from the paths of destruction to the way of truth and peace! God will allow the diseases and other afflictions represented by these horses to affect mankind to precisely the degree needed to help them repent—no more, no less."
From the latest edition of the COG International's, "International News" -
"The world impacts all of us differently. The effect it has on some of us is often determined by just how close we are to God and our awareness of His terms of right and wrong. There are many Christian churches today that have become very “liberal” in their approach to the gospel of Jesus Christ. They will ordain active homosexual men and women ministers. They will endorse and marry homosexuals, claiming these are approved marriages in the sight of God. Regardless of what the Bible might say about certain habits of eating, dress, worship, or other lifestyle matters, they will ignore the plain commandments and insist on having it their way. And, unfortunately, due to the vast majority and legalized legislation of the land, they adopt the inappropriate and wrong way for being right and good."
Does anyone really believe that God is punishing everyone for the sins of a few? What does the story of Sodom, and God's conversation with Abraham teach us about such a notion? What does Christ's statement about disasters during the era of his personal ministry tell us about linking these events to societal sinfulness? If God is as pissed off as they say "He" is, then "He" is being very inefficient and ineffective! Let's face it, Almighty God has a lot more effective "punishments" at his disposal than a couple of earthquakes or a corona virus pandemic!
Interestingly, while we often talk about the diseases Europeans transmitted to Native Americans, the Natives returned the favor with syphilis.
What was the great sin of the Jews that caused millions of them to die in the Holocaust?
What were the great sins of Europeans in the Middle Ages that caused so many to die of the black plague?
Bad things happen.
This is the world we live in. Wonderful most of the time for the free world, but not always, and not for all people.
Our catastrophes today are so much better than they used to be - we can be thankful for that.
Trump was asked in a press conference why he's calling the COVID-19 virus, the Chinese virus. He replied that he's calling it that because it came from China. I agree with him. They are to blame with their eat everything that moves culture.
By contrast the label Spanish flu is unfair. The Spanish press was the only free press at the end of WW1. So it gave accurate figures about the number of infections and deaths, while the other nations hid the truth. This gave the impression that it originated in Spain rather than most likely, the WW1 trenches.
One of the problems this discussion evinces is that Armstrongism lacks a credible Theodicy (the relationship between God and evil).
1. The Armstrongist view on Theodicy is that nature is principally a vehicle for the wrath of God. God is always angry and always ready to strike at sinful mankind. Envision the shaking jowls of a livid HWA. When one sees a natural disaster, one should see the face of God. The source of God’s anger is mankind’s ineffective law-keeping. This LCG statement that hearkens to the OT is an example: “The Bible plainly reveals that when people obey God’s laws there will be blessings, but when we violate those laws there will be consequences (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28).” (Compare with Ellen G. White’s belief in earthly perfection.) Unfortunately, humans are incapable of perfect law keeping. Not even the splinter group leaders rise to that level. So this theodicy does not comport with the Christian understanding that God is love.
2. The naturalist view is that the earth is full of planetary processes that include some things beautiful and some things horrible and destructive. The mountains are beautiful. Tornados come and people die. But in either case, the earth is without emotion or intention. This is all just impassive geology and meteorology. And we need to squeeze what good from it we can however we can. There is no God an there is no evil.
3. The Christian view is that there was a great breach between God and man. And we live with the aftermath. God has nothing to do with the disasters that beset the planet. We should not see the face of God in disasters. And this world is ruled by Thrones, Principalities and Powers. But Christ came and overthrew them and provided for our rescue. But we live in the time of "already but not yet." Christ already overthrew them but his Kingdom is not yet implemented. We live in a world of warring kingdoms. And our rescue is in God and his charity.
The subject of Theodicy is large and this is just a brief look at the issues.
"1. The Armstrongist view on Theodicy is that nature is principally a vehicle for the wrath of God."
I disagree. While I have no desire to defend Armstrong the Theodicy of the WCG was that God gave man free will and allowed him to choose evil. God doesn't cause evil to happen but he allows it to play out since that's what mankind has chosen.
Just because some in, or once in, the WCG teach that evil comes from God, that doesn't make that the official teaching.
km
Bible theodicy is easy.
Look at the actions of YHVH. By any reasonable standard, they are evil. YHVH is a source of evil in our world.
What remains to be debated is whether or not there is a "good God" above the evil YHVH, or whether there are other gods, as the Canaanites taught, and YHVH may be worthy of praise for being less evil than some of the other gods.
NEO wrote,
Unfortunately, humans are incapable of perfect law keeping.
So the whole Garden of Eden thing was God trolling Adam and Eve? He set them up to fail and then punished them for failing? If you're forming a theodicy, you're back to the problem of an evil God.
km:
I am glad you caught this. I made I sound like the whole of Armstrongist Theodicy was about natural disasters. This line should have read:
"According to Armstrongist Theodicy, nature is principally a vehicle for God's wrath."
The whole scope of Armstrongist Theodicy would cover some statement concerning free will and other aspects of the relationship between God and evil.
I believe you are correct in your statement about what Armstrongists believe about free will. But I do believe that Armstrongists are wrong about this concept. Adam and Eve could hardly be considered to be acting out of free will. They were influenced by many other factors including the presence of a sentient serpent.
Anonymous (1:15):
Yes, God knew that Adam and Eve would fail. For one, He is omniscient and is not bound by time. And, also, as it says in Acts 15: "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” It was not an act of trolling but an act of pedagogy that will eventually be corrected.
You can research the rest.
Anonymous (1:14) wrote: "By any reasonable standard, they are evil."
You cannot assert this and leave it hanging in the air. You need to do something to underpin it. Otherwise, it might be just chalked up to weak exegetical skills.
If you are who I think you are, you probably cannot even provide a cogent definition of the term "evil".
1:14pm and 1:15pm Wow!
Just wow!
"This LCG statement that hearkens to the OT is an example: “The Bible plainly reveals that when people obey God’s laws there will be blessings, but when we violate those laws there will be consequences"
That statement in no way says that God purposely grants the blessings for law keeping, nor does it say that God purposely causes the consequences for violation.
It merely acknowledges the fact that by God creating us as physical beings there are certain physical laws that apply. If you jump from a building you either die or are badly injured. God didn't cause this. You challenged the law of gravity.
If you eat bat/snake soup you get COVID-19. God doesn't cause it.
Even if you obey God's laws of clean and unclean, once others who disobeyed those laws get the virus going you can get it whether you yourself ate that abominable soup or not. God didn't cause this.
However if you obey God's food laws, and obey God's quarantine laws there's a good chance that you won't get the virus. That "blessing" comes without a direct intervention from God.
This is what the WCG taught. Again, I'm not defending the pervert nor his cult, but facts are facts and a deliberate attempt at lies about what was taught won't stand.
I know for a fact that some taught as NEO says, but that was private interpretation by various spiritually immature "ministers" and believed by immature members.
That kind of thinking, that God causes blessings and cursings, is in the Evangelical world too, that doesn't mean the majority believe that.
km
km:
While you are right about some laws, I think most laws do not fall into the category you define. I believe you are drawing a parallel between laws of physics and chemistry, for example, with spiritual law. This is somewhat like the category of laws HWA identified a "physical laws of health." It led him to believe, erroneously, that breaking physical laws caused illness. Of course, one cannot break physical laws. Tripping and falling and skinning your knee does not involve the breaking of any physical laws.
If there is a cause-effect connection between a law and its various consequences, such as the law of quarantine preserving health by obviating infection, one may conclude that the law itself generates benefit without the intervention of God. Like you wrote.
But for spiritual laws, such as the law of tithing in the OT, the benefits transcend the scope of cause-effect. Recall in Malachi God saying, regarding tithing: "see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing." I do not think we can logically connect tithing with the myriad of diverse blessings it is supposed to produce. And it appears that God believes that he is doing the blessing. The blessings are not just a natural outcome.
I think the laws of the OT are mostly like the tithing law rather than the law of quarantine. Honestly, I never got the impression that the WCG ever taught that observing OT or NT laws produced particular blessings that were natural and automatic outcomes with no involvement from God. WCG seemed to focus on the fact that the laws, taken as a whole, defined a way of life blessed by god that transcended the way of carnal man.
6.35 PM
My experience while I attended services, was that the WCG taught blind rule following, as if members were children. Members acting through understanding would reduce ministers power level, so it was a no, no. The church's "if you break God's laws, it will break you" was vague and mainly window dressing. One liners always means that the church is hiding information and playing games with it's members.
The reason we didn't receive the blessings of tithing promised by God is that Malachi wasn't written to us. Tithing was for Israel, not us.
km
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