It is well known that Mark Armstrong had no desire to take over daddy's church when Garner Ted died, but his mother made him do it in order to keep the income stream alive. This also was documented on several websites over the years.
Almost all of the present-day COG leaders will talk about anything except Jesus. That dude seems to embarrass the hell out of them all. Talk about the law, talk about prophecy, talk about sin and grievous punishment and they can wax eloquent, but rarely does the name Jesus ever dribble out the side of their mouths.
To them, Jesus is an effeminate weak man who is powerless in their sight. They can't get past the image of a long-haired white effeminate looking man and that's all they see when they see or hear the name, Jesus.
Say Christ to them and they immediately see a bearded, sweaty, masculine, carpenter toiling in the hot Palestinian heat as he builds some furniture or is walking down the dusty road to preach his next sermon or perform some miracle. These things turn them on, but not so much his preaching and very much not what was accomplished at the resurrection. Grace, justification, sanctification, and mercy are the things that the effeminate Jesus does. COG leaders need a pissed-off Christ leading an army of loyal COG followers just itching to destroy half of humanity.
So what is left to talk about when the law topic has been used up? For some COG leaders, like Mark Armstrong, Gerald Flurry, and Bob Thiel, it is prophecy and politics. Though with Mark Armstrong it is politics, politics, and more politics. It is easy to see where the leaders in the mother church, Church of God International, got their sermon topics from! Daddy's legacy lives on!
In Friday's update to his dwindling small flock, Mark Armstrong he had this to say:
August 13, 2021
Weekly Update
Greetings from Tyler,
Real life has become a science fiction thriller that we wouldn't even watch. It's too predictable, not believable, and hokey beyond description. It has ugly proponents who think they're movie stars, telling us what we should and should not be doing, They might change their minds in a day or a week, but we're supposed to hang on their every word, ESPECIALLY when they make no sense!
Two governors in particular are in the crosshairs of the media, the CDC and authoritarians everywhere. That would be De Santis of Florida and Abbott of Texas. Who do they think they are, saying that there will be no mask mandates or “vaccine” passports in their states? They apparently realize that their citizens have had about enough. We've been chased around over the last two years, many are willing to do just about anything to make it stop. Take the shot, present papers, whatever. People want their freedom back, and the ticket (we're told) is to fulfill whatever requirements are demanded.
Both De Santis and Abbott are standing in the way of the tyranny that is promoted as if for our own good. Not so long ago, we were considered responsible enough to look out for ourselves. But not anymore! No, we have been told, scolded, prodded and then punished. Our representatives will look out for us. Except they seem to be reeling with newfound power that has turned into a game of Simon Says. Whether it makes sense to you or not, YOU WILL COMPLY if you want to access any number of goods and services. It's not the mark of the beast, but may be a precursor. The “let no crisis go to waste” crowd has determined that they'll make life miserable and block participation in commerce unless all requirements are fulfilled. Where it ends, if it does, is anybody's guess.
Who knew the CDC had all kinds of law-making power? Apparently, they can order everybody to do whatever they say. Otherwise, you'll be in line for some kind of punishment, yet to be determined. The current administration is working on that, and they have nearly every recognizable corporate entity to do their bidding.
You can hardly believe your eyes as you watch French policemen randomly check diners' proof of “vaccine.” Unbelievable. You don't suppose this nonsense is coming here? It's already here. How in the world is anybody expected to accept all the bullying we're being subjected to, while tens of thousands of third world refugees are being shipped into American cities and towns? That's the argument many are making. Busloads are transported to cities and towns to take advantage of whatever the local church charity has to offer. Half a million have come in since May according to the mainstream news. The government is in effect paying “charities” to infiltrate the immigrants into American society with no requirements whatever. Meanwhile, citizens have mandates.
Rand Paul says, “They can't arrest us all.” He's urging people to stand against the “petty tyrants” and just say “no.” If you think the vaccine is a good idea, get it. But don't do it because some bureaucrat says you “have to.” If some business says you “have to” in order to have access, let them know they just lost a customer. Well, you might have guessed, Senator Paul has been “deplatformed.” That's but a small example of what we've been talking about. A medical expert, Dr. Dan Stock gave a succinct six minute speech that apparently went viral, having been forwarded like crazy. He said that we're getting federal agency advice that contradicts science. He said “vaccinated “ people can get and transmit the virus without becoming “symptomatic.” He said several other things that are contrary to the party line. At the end, he offers to become an expert witness should anyone find themselves in a legal scrape over the “mandates” flung out across the land. Youtube has deleted his video for violating “community guidelines,” though it's still available at certain websites you never heard of. It's gone “viral” already. The mainstream news knows nothing about it.
“Challenge accepted.” That's Amazon promising to save the planet. There are now “global warming” commercials that feature young children leering disgustedly at the camera, and they're madder than Greta Thunberg. They know that unless all transportation goes to re-chargeable batteries, the future will be horrific. Nobody seems to care where that charging energy comes from. We're just subjected to dirty looks from children, angry about global warming. They know best and they're none too pleased. Thanks for “accepting the challenge” Amazon. Major corporations are lauded for having “accepted the challenge.” They're going to save the planet ten years early, no less. Nothing has to make sense, you just do what they say and you'll be fine. You'll still be able to access the business community as long as you've jumped through all the hoops. Otherwise, let's just say things will be difficult.
There's no way to candy-coat the news coming out of Afghanistan. As American forces withdraw, the Taliban floods in, killing those they don't like and taking slaves of the women folk. Everything was telegraphed in advance. The Taliban was ready to roll in as soon as American forces departed. Whatever brave talk there was about the Afghan army maintaining civility is out the window. Twenty years of arming and training the Afghanistan army and now those guns and vehicles are in Taliban hands. Afghanistan is about to be back where it was before 9-11, and that's the depressing reality. Those Afghans who cooperated publicly with American forces are being flown to the United States. The rest of the population is in trouble. Which explains why they're so happy and excited when the Taliban shows up. Whoever has the guns is an honored guest. It's a cultural thing.
Is China about to annex Taiwan? That's a rising concern . Who's going to stop that from happening? At this point I wouldn't blame you if you gave up reading this Update. The fix we're in domestically and internationally is horribly depressing. Sometimes maddening. When Arnold Schwarzenegger this week said, “Screw your freedoms,” it elicited a response that I'd rather not have. But that's in essence a tenet of the indoctrination we're being told to accept before they figure out how to force compliance. Maybe a mark in the hand or forehead?
Mark
While this plays right into the NewsMax crowd, where Thiel, Mark, and Flurry gather their news, it has absolutely nothing to do with anyone's path towards God, finding rest in Jesus or salvational assurances.
11 comments:
I haven't been to the ICG website since it was revamped, where I used to read Mark's weekly update. My interest was his continuing denial of climate change, and his "sources". Only once did I notice a reference to an academic study - I believe this was a paper from Duke University that showed the convergence of various natural cycles that provided a credible non-anthropogenic argument. The cycles reminded me of the old "biorhythm" fad...
Where to begin? Mark Armstrong represents the dying gasp of a failed religious dynasty. It should not be surprising to anyone that his messaging is more negative, extreme and secular than his father's or grandfather's ever dared to be. In a bizarre and surreal fashion, one is able to trace the grotesque evolution of the messaging through three generations of the men in this family. In a twisted and very dark way, it almost seems like a logical progression from Herbert through Garner Ted to Mark.
It began as a quasi-religious message that placed the white, English-speaking folks of the world as the focus of the Bible and God's plans. Over the years, it developed into a message about the decline/deterioration/corruption of those nations. And, in more recent years, Mark has clearly identified political liberalism and the influx of nonwhite immigrants into those nations as the chief causes of that decline (a nod to his grandfather's similar fixation on the "evil" of liberalism within the Church). In short, the message has always been conservative (after a fashion), xenophobic and authoritarian. Mark's messaging is just the logical and ugly conclusion of what his grandfather began so many years ago now.
In more recent years, it should also be noted that this Armstrong phenomenon has evolved on a kind of parallel track with the development of Trumpism in the United States. It is NO coincidence that Mark Armstrong's messaging has steadily supported Trump and his agenda over the last five years. Hence, it should also come as no surprise to us that Mark would support the work of Trump's political successors (DeSantis, Abbott and Paul).
Likewise, it is not surprising that he parrots their messaging about authoritarianism - which itself is full of hypocrisy, irony and gaslighting. It is simply too rich to have these men talking about the authoritarianism of "liberal" health officials when they are the ones who have denied local school boards and businesses any say in developing their own policies relative to masking and vaccination. They seem oblivious to the authoritarian implications of this centralization of power in the hands of an executive (the governors of Florida and Texas), and the imposition of the executive's will on the other institutions within those states and the mass of their citizenry. They all (Mark included) scream about infringements on THEIR rights while trampling all over the rights of anyone who disagrees with their views about Covid-19 policy.
As for Jesus, it is no wonder that he is never mentioned - His teachings are the antithesis of almost everything these folks stand for! Jesus Christ was all about serving and caring for others - about denying the self and putting others before the self. Jesus Christ taught compassion, mercy and forgiveness and demanded that his followers LOVE each other, but that's just syrupy nonsense to these folks (another vestige of Herbert's thinking). Yes, unfortunately, there is a straight (or would crooked be more appropriate?) line between Herbert and his grandson's messaging!
One of the ways of "finding rest in Jesus" is to follow his advice on not being deceived (Matthew 24:4, 2 These 2:3), which requires critical thinking and examining the so-called "reality" presented to us. I have no problem with Mark's version of that or with Newsmax, unless what you're suggesting is that CNN and this site are the only "places" we can find that truth and understand!
If you took the above diatribe and did the grade school exercise of separating factual statements from opinions, you would have maybe three or four non-opinion statements. That should tell you something.
It is strange that from a birthplace of authoritarian, non accountable, non elected, top down (church) government, that COG groups , (such as Mark Armstrong), speak about and warn against such a system existing in worldly governments and affairs.
The answer to government for a church is NOT modeling it after some type of "centralized authoritarian collectivism ", but rather a BROTHERHOOD of mutual love and outgoing concern, complete with accountability, redress, and internal self answerability.
There is an imporant political distinction to recognize here. And it is one that leads to a suprising conclusion about this and other little apocalyptic Millerite denominations that are immersed in the Old Testament. I incline toward the conservative end of the political spectrum. I recognized years ago that Donald Trump was not a conservative. He is a populist who decided to go after the Republican base and make it his own and has fairly well succeeded.
Conservatives have long used the idea of "neighborhood effects," a term popularized by conservative ecnomomist and Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman, to define political freedom. It goes like this. You can create a trash dump on your property because it affects only you, let us say. But you cannot dump the trash in the river because then it affects your downstream neighbors. Your political freedom is bounded by neighborhood effects. This a Christian ring to it - love thy neighbor.
The people who have taken a stand against vaccines and who downplay the threat of Covid are not conservatives - they are libertarians. You know, like the hippies in the last century. They believe that their freedom comes first no matter who gets hurt. As you would expect, this attitude ignores neighborhood effects and generates conflict. It is not a conservative position. It is what happens when conservatism succumbs to selfishness.
This is the odd twist. Splinterists are devotees of the Law of Moses. It is all about Moses not Jesus. Jesus is an optional sideshow. Yet libertarianism tracks closely with another idea called antinomianism - renunciation of law itself in paying homage to personal freedom. Trump was able to pick up the Republican Party from its long held conservative position on the political spectrum and plop it down in the libertarian zone and have it yet believe that it is conservative. This is a breathtaking political magic - a magic that also cast a spell on conservative religious groups. And its antinomian results slap Moses in the face.
So, Trump was also able to disrupt conservative religion in the same way. He shoved them out of the conservative zone into the libertarian zone. So now you have, insanely, White evangelicals and their ilk wanting to send their kids to school without vaccination and without masks in passionate and uncompromising protection of their personal freedom. After years of opposing abortion based on the morality of neighborhood effects, they plunge headlong into libertarianism and, in principle, now should support abortion. They are willing to cast their children to the dogs of infection in homage to their personal freed. This is nothing short of a political sea change and a wholesale renunciation of Christianity based on the dubious rhetoric of a single showy disruptor.
Go figure.
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Armstrongs message about the current affairs in Afghanistan is indeed true and sad.
Kabul will inevitably fall now within the next month or two. All of the TRILLIONS that have been spent on this debacle, as well as the 1000s of American lives lost in this 20 year endeavor have been a total waste of time, life , money and effort.
There were no Afghani's in the 911 attack, and the Taliban, as goofy as they are, had nothing to do with it either. Same can be said about Saddam and Iraq.
Indeed , the Industrial/Military complex made some great blood money in both of these situations. May the righteous rule of Jesus come soon!
What gets me is the hypocrisy of these ACOGs. They've got church tyranny down to an art form, yet they condemn the increasing tyranny in secular society. The only reason they're against government tyranny is that it will eventually get in the way of them playing church. It's the only reason. The morality/immortality in itself doesn't bother them.
There is tons of proof that climate change is hoax. Read the book by Tim Ball, for example.
Anon 1035 wrote climate change is hoax
When someone claims something is a hoax, I would like specifics: is the effect (observed outcome) the hoax, or the proposed cause the hoax, or both?
With those who claim COVID-19 is a hoax, do they mean people are not developing symptoms, sometimes leading to death, or is the cause of these symptoms and deaths from the sniffles - some existing ailment that may or may not already be curable?
With climate change, do you mean the climate is not changing, that reports are in error, exaggerated or false, or do you mean changes in the climate are not anthropogennic - that is, not the result of human activity?
With either COVID or Climate, it would be helpful if deniers state what they are actually denying: the effect, the cause, or both.
I don't know Mark Armstrong, but I imagine he is a very frustrated middle aged man. I wonder if he ever wanted to go into the family business. Does anyone know him personally, back when he was young? As we get older and reflect on our lives, I wonder what he thinks of the choices he's made.
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