Members Told Not to Take Satan’s Bait:
March 19, 2021
Roger Brandon recently gave a sermonette where he told members not to take Satan’s Bait. (Comments by L. S.)
He threw out the question, “Have you ever wondered what Satan is doing during the days leading into Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread?”(Comment: This causes the members to concentrate right away on Satan.)
It has always amazed me at how much more powerful Satan is to Church of God leaders and members than the God they supposedly are following. This is just one more legacy of the church shoving Jesus to the back burner and ignoring all that he accomplished. When the emphasis in the church is placed upon gaining favor from God by keeping the law, the COG ignores or deliberately lies about Jesus. This, in turn, lets Satan become all-powerful and always out to destroy gullible or backsliding church members.
Then he told them Satan is getting them to “leave the church” and “bait them into sinning” and if they do those things, he can “slowly erode their faith.” He quoted from HWA more than once. (Comment: Brandon doesn’t mention that even though Satan tempts Christians in many ways, “we are not unaware of his schemes” [II Corinthians 2:11] and we can take up “the shield of faith” to “quench all the fiery darts” thrown at us [Ephesians 6:16].
It is always Satan's fault that members leave the church. It never seems to be the abusive and vile leaders and the garbage they preach. People will only take being treated like dirt for so long and then they will leave. After decades of lies about prophecy, some are deciding to leave PCG now. Others leave because they are sick of the "no contact" perversion that the Flurry's and their jack-booted ministry teach.
He talked about Satan “broadcasting in attitudes and moods” and “sometimes we can’t resist that bait.” (Comment: This is referring to how HWA always said Satan had some sort of “wavelength” that he sends out through the air broadcasting bad attitudes. This is the opposite of Ephesians 6:10-18, a passage which talks about more than “Satan” having some sort of “bait.”)
We have discussed before on here the epitaph that COG leaders regularly throw out at members who they deem to be in "bad attitudes." This epitaph is a direct way of silencing critics. Members who have been accused of this are then deemed to be in direct rebellion against God, which is a lie.
He quoted I Peter 5:8 and said, “Satan is “always on the job” and” Satan is out to destroy us.” (Comment: These words do nothing but concentrate on fear.)
Fear is the best message COG cult leaders use to keep members under control. Fear of Satan taking over their minds. Fear of not going to the place of safety. Fear of the great tribulation. Fear of disfellowshipment. On and on the list goes. The church has made Satan more powerful than anything Jesus ever did. They never mention when Jesus says to "rest" in him and not worry. Let him carry your burdens and worries.
Then he laid guilt on the members, by saying, “When we fall it’s because we’re not close enough to God.” (Comment: It’s because we are not depending wholly on Christ and standing fast in His grace [I Peter 5:12 and Colossians 2:5, steadfastness in Christ, which Brandon didn’t quote because he left outgrace and Christ as our Helper.)
If you are a Christian and have been taught to understand the things Jesus accomplished it is just as L.S said above. Being steadfast in the comforter makes it a lot harder to fall, and even when one does, there is no need to worry about ultimate damnation, the fake damnation that the COG loves to scare COG members with.
Matthew 11:28-3028 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
He told them there is “grave danger” in getting their minds on themselves. Because then they “can’t really comprehend Passover or conquer the Devil.” (Comment: It is Jesus, not us, who is the one that goes forth to “conquer” [Revelation 6:2]. Also read: How can I observe Passover if I’ve left the group? from our Q&A which also talks about Passover).
The COG has made a business out of training members to focus upon themselves and not on Jesus. Keeping the law correctly as interpreted by COG leaders forces the members to constantly look at themselves to see how they are doing. That is the emphasis that the COG places upon members at the COG version of Passover. They are to spend weeks beating themselves up over all their indiscretions over the last year. Are they worthy? Are they in the right attitude? Have they deleavend their home, car, and office properly? Have they deleavend their mind so they don't sin anymore? Blah, blah, blah. When they do this they have let sin trump redemption letting Satan once again become more powerful than that wimpy Jesus COG leaders love to mock.
He said Satan has the “right bait” for each of us and it might be to: not pay our tithes, control our temper, lack of patience, lust of the flesh, or words we hear from others and how we react. (Comment: Tithing and offerings have always been a major doctrine in PCG, especially during the holy days. Read: “Tithing and Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing.”)
Fear, fear, fear. Satan's bait is always more powerful than Jesus. Not tithing is never going to cause anyone to be taken over by Satan, especially since it is not a new covenant command. Losing one's temper, have a lack of patience are not salvation issues.
One of the worst things he said was that God won’t even hear our prayers (he quoted Isaiah 59:2) and added that “Our sins separate us from God.” (Comment: This is seriously in error since God has forgiven all our sins through Christ Jesus. Read: “The Sin Question.” PCG ministers are known to constantly quote from the O. T. which was the old covenant and Christians are not under the old covenant.)
This has to be one of the stupidest comments I have heard a minister make, well, at least in the last 30 minutes or so. The fact that Satan is so powerful that he can put up a force field between COG members and their God when it comes to prayer is idiocy. This also says that the prayer of Christians and others around the world are going unheard while the prayers of COG members are the only ones getting through. Apparently, Satan is too weak to stop those prayers from ascending on high.
There was so much emphasis on striving with a focus on Satan in this sermonette. (Comment: Brandon does not want to emphasize that we who have trusted Christ and his free gift of eternal life are overcomers because “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). He does not focus on Christ and what He has already done for us. –PCG source (additional comments by L. S.)
14 comments:
It was my observation that members who exhibited some of Christs traits were persecuted by other church members, and especially by the ministers. So the unstated, under the table teaching is: avoid sin and resist Satan, but not too much. Otherwise we'll make you suffer.
The thesis of this post (that the Armstrong Churches of God have assigned Satan a preeminent role in their theology) is absolutely correct. One of Armstrong's favorite passages was that Satan has deceived the whole world. He also loved to point out that Satan is the "prince of the power of the air," and that he broadcasts his evil to a humanity that is tuned to his frequency. Satan is even given the primary place in Armstrong's interpretation of the symbolism of the Day of Atonement (all of the Old Testament Holy Days point to Jesus Christ, and his work on our behalf). And, yes, Armstrong and his followers blamed Satan anytime someone within or outside of the church had the temerity to call out any error or malfeasance on their part (talk about a scapegoat).
The "PLAIN TRUTH" is that Christ has defeated Satan (past tense). Paul understood just how complete that victory was/is. Speaking about what Christ has done for his followers, he wrote: "What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, 'For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.') No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:31-39)
Another group that is heavily into the "Satan is continually stalking us" fear mongering is the Glendale California Faith Center (University Network) headed by Melissa Scott. Both her, and the recordings of her late husband Dr. Gene Scott, trumpet this Satan thing repeatedly, and how their followers are engaged in never-ending spiritual warfare. I once heard GS claim that Satan's wrath is directed primarily towards the Faith Center church simply because their shortwave and satellite broadcasts cover every square inch of planet earth, and consequently, Satan is ANGRY!
Great article.
Like Flip Wilson's "the devil made me do it". The way COGs deal with things, Satan can be a convenient cover for their own blunders.
Even a local outspoken non-COG preacher guy here blamed COVID on Satan (and too many just blame China). But some ramp it up to look like Satan is one-up on God - this preacher leaves it up to man to find a cure, and then to thank God for telling the doctors what to do. It doesn't sound like divine intervention, does it?
“Why Is Satan the Supreme All Powerful 'god' of the Church of God?”
Well, Satan started the PCG.
Satan set up Gerald Flurry to mislead the PCG members.
Satan does have a certain right of ownership.
Armstrongism has a very weak Christology. While counting pages in a book is not definitive, it can be indicative. In Armstrong's flagship "Mystery of the Ages", there is about a 40 page chapter devoted to the "Mystery of Angels and Evil Spirits." What we might consider Christology has no chapter. The Armstrongist Christology is a subpart of the chapter on the "Mystery of the Church" and occupies about six pages (pp. 210 to 214). There are other incidental mentions of Jesus but the ineluctable conclusion is that Jesus is a bit player among the dramatis personae on the Armstrongist stage.
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Or one can take ten minutes to view a nice overview of what the scriptures actually say about "the Satan" and it's evolution throughout the scriptures into the familiar character of Lucifer to this day.
All this, of course, compliments of the imagination of men seeking to explain why anyone would disbelieve them in their knowing all things about the true God or why they would reject their teachings in time.
It can't possibly be that they were never correct in their teachings to begin with or that once hooked, someone could wake up, do their homework into the origins of such things, question and leave them as sadly mistaken in their beliefs. Rather than take personal responsibility it is much easier in a religious setting to blame outside forces rather than be accountable for their mistakes or admit that time and chance happen to all men.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRurrgwT7rY
I'd also recommend Ellaine Pagels "Origin of Satan" (How Christians demonized Jews, Pagans and Heretics) for an in depth view of the evolution of Satan in the scriptures and the minds of men.
Dennis,
The link which you provided in your comment to the YouTube presentation "The Origins of Satan" provides a brief synopsis of the evolution of the Judeo-Christian conception of Satan the Devil. And, as that narrative suggests, much of our modern concept of Satan was drawn from extra-biblical sources. Hence, isn't it just a tad disingenuous to place all of the responsibility for Christian notions about Satan on The Bible?
Moreover, the only folks who would have a problem with admitting that the concept of Satan developed over time would be modern Fundamentalists. We all know that the Judeo-Christian Scriptures were composed by multiple human authors over the span of about one thousand years. It is, therefore, no wonder that many concepts developed over time, or that later characterizations drew from (and interpreted) earlier depictions. In fact, most of us would characterize a high degree of uniformity about this (or any other subject) throughout such writings as a miracle (or, at the very least, an exceptional anomaly).
Also, many of the Christians who believe in progressive revelation have no problem with subsequent authors interpreting earlier writings in a manner which is consistent with their understanding of the subject. Even so, I found the presentation to again be a little disingenuous regarding its discussion of the Serpent in the third chapter of Genesis. Many students of the Bible (including myself) see a great deal of symbolism and allegory in the first few chapters of Genesis. In fact, I find it hard to believe that the actual author of this chapter of Genesis believed in the presence of a literal talking snake. Likewise, many Christians see in this passage a reference to the great struggle between Christ and Satan reflected in verse 15 (where God doles out the Serpent's punishment for what has happened). And, while I certainly understand that John's statement in the book of Revelation doesn't do anything for atheists, most Christians find his equation of the Serpent with Satan compelling.
In similar fashion, most Christians find the book of Job's depiction of an accuser who has access to God's throne to be remarkably consistent with the concept of Satan found in the New Testament. And, while it is certainly possible to make an intelligent argument that the fourteenth chapter of Isaiah and the twenty-eighth chapter of Ezekiel have nothing to do with Satan, there is also much there to commend the interpretations of those who do see the fallen angel in these passages. After all, the language about falling from heaven, a morning star, being cast down to earth and exalting his throne above the stars of God is extraordinary - not the kind of language that we would normally associate with a human! (see Isaiah 14) Likewise, how often has God described a human as sealing perfection, being present in the Garden of Eden, as having been anointed as a guardian cherub, being present on the holy mount of God or walking among the fiery stones? (see Ezekiel 28) We can say that the prophets were describing the human kings of Babylon and Tyre, but we cannot escape the extraordinary nature of the language employed to describe them.
Finally, from a philosophical perspective, it is hard to argue against the presence of both good and evil, or the human impulse to personify them. The notion of these opposing forces is almost universal in the human experience of spirituality and religion - it is hardly peculiar to the Judeo-Christian tradition (even Eastern religious traditions have their yin and yang)! Thus, while I'm sure that some folks are inclined to dismiss Satan as a figment of our imagination, many of us will continue to see some wisdom and logic in the notion of a spiritual adversary.
You can focus on a few passages and come up with a caricature of any figure in the Bible. Or, you can look at all of the passages and get a more accurate view of them. We do the same with political figures. We can demonize someone or exalt someone. Just pick and choose the data you want to believe.
Miller Jones noted: "Thus, while I'm sure that some folks are inclined to dismiss Satan as a figment of our imagination, many of us will continue to see some wisdom and logic in the notion of a spiritual adversary.'
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Which, of course, is fine and a perspective many have. The Bible is rich in hyperbole and exaggeration for effect. The Book of Revelation is full of this style. Stars don't really fall down to Earth but it has a heavy duty ring to it, especially since those folk thought the Universe centered on themselves so this is where the stars would fall. Of course, they had no idea what a star really was. When you don't understand reality, hyperbole works it's magic.
Most critical scholars and thinkers about the why and how of scripture understand the progressive hindsight Biblical writers employed in their story telling.
For example, in the story of the Serpent in the Garden, there is no hint of any Satan or Lucifer. It was well understood to be the sacred counselor to the female goddess in her worship in the nations around Israel. The blame was put, in the myth, squarely on the Serpent (BTW, they don't really reason and speak and if one drops their prejudices, the Serpent in the story told the truth and the God of the tale did not) and corruption of the female was the clear signal that Goddess worship would not be tolerated. Matriarchy is out and Patriarchy, repleat with all its priests, temple service and sacrifices of meat mostly, was in. That was the message of rejection of Cain's offering of veggies over Abel's and God's preference for meat. The symbols of goddess and fertility worship, seeds, veggies, rain, reproduction, were out in worship. I have over told this simple reality in the meaning to Israel of the first four book of Genesis versus the modern Evangelical view.
That to simply say, each to their own view. I do think the evolution of "the Satan" in scripture and then from the basics to the way overblown persona of Satan/Lucifer in the Church Age is obvious. But to others it is not. And that's ok.
Dennis,
You may not have intended to do so, but your comments appear to lump all Christians together. I am a Christian theist, but (like you) I do not accept "the modern Evangelical view." I too think that the concept of Satan has evolved over time. As a student of history, I am also familiar with the intentional shift away from goddess and matriarchy to god and patriarchy (and my own view is that God encompasses all of the characteristics which we have traditionally assigned to one or the other gender - that God is genderless - no penis, vagina, breasts, etc.). I, along with many other Christians, accept science and understand that we are not at the center of the universe. In short, all Christians do not conform to the stereotypical science and logic rejecting fundamentalist theists that atheists enjoy destroying in a debate.
Based on the totality of the available evidence, you are certainly entitled to reject God, Christ, angels and the Bible. And, although I don't share your views, I understand the logic which gets you to those conclusions. I do wish that you could see that it is possible to take the exact same evidence and arrive at different conclusions from the ones which you have reached. You may not intend to do so, but you often project the image of someone who believes that logic and the evidence dictate one set of conclusions: That the Hebrew God does not exist, and that the Judeo-Christian Scriptures should be rejected as the outdated relics of a superstitious and ignorant past. And that's ok. Even so, it does not follow that all Christians are superstitious and ignorant. That is the equivalent of a Christian viewing all atheists as amoral and foolish - we get into trouble sometimes when we generalize and simplify.
In my view, one proof that there is a Satan who radiates foul attitudes, is by observing a persons or nations moral decline,
The template is that they keep gradually declining, then "drop off" a moral cliff. The dropping off is when people stop resisting Satan and fully tune in to his broadcast.
I've noticed this in some people around me. They're demonic, yet there's nothing in their background that can account for this.
And since this article is about Roger Brandon, and Wayne Turgeon, being an ass that he is, can't let the spotlight shine on another minister for a brief moment, so he has to make an arrogant piece of shit of himslef and outed what he, Turgeon, Flurry, and all PCG ministers really are; they cannot accepnt correction, based on ESN's latest transcript of Turgeon's sermon.
They're showing themselves to do really, huh? C'mon, man!
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