It's Friday around noontime and things are kicking into gear for the weekly Friday Night SmackDown of LCG members who just can NEVER seem to do anything right.
Week after week it is one thing after another concerning things LCG members are doing wrong. This week, for some reason, LCG members are not being "respectful and patient" with one another, or more precisely, with the leadership. Is the patience that members are supposed to have running thin with leadership and how they treat members? If members are fed up with leadership how can the WORK get done?
In a previous comment in this newsletter Gerald Weston made the following comment:
Last Sabbath Carol and I were in Tampa, Florida, for a Tomorrow’s World Presentation where we had 54 (give or take one or two) guests. Mr. James Sweat will be giving the first of several follow-up presentations this Sabbath. Please remember to pray for these efforts, as we can preach the word but only the Father draws one to Christ.
Then at the end of the same paragraph, Weston writes:
The new television season began last week. This week’s telecast is “The Greatest Friend of All” by Mr. Richard Ames, advertising the booklet What Is a True Christian? Let us all pray that God will call many to understanding and action as a result of this encouraging telecast.—Gerald Weston
If God is the one who draws people to Christ in the LCG, and people are not showing up, then maybe, just maybe, LCG needs to examine why Christ is never in the picture so that people can be drawn to him? When it's the law all the time, ALL THE TIME, when is there ever any time for Christ to pop up?
The Blessings of Unity: We live in an increasingly divided world, yet David wrote, “How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Psalm 133:1). Jesus Christ prayed for His disciples, “that they may be one just as We are one” (John 17:21–22). The Scriptures reveal that while the disciples had different perspectives (Acts 15; Galatians 2), they learned to work together to achieve their mission (2 Peter 3:14–16). This is why we must be patient and respectful with each other and endeavor “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” so we can do the Work (Ephesians 4:1–3). As we are led by the same Spirit, we will see divisions diminish and we will be more “perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10). The peace, harmony, and unity that is possible among Spirit-led Christians can be a blessing and an inspiring light in a troubled world.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
The good news for LCG and many other COG members is that many of them are blessings and inspiring to those around them, with or without LCG or some COG group backing them up. They take care of neighbors and help in their communities, unlike the leadership of the COG's. Real Christians are always a light, you don't need Weston, Winnail, Thiel, or other COG leaders telling you how to do things right.
Tell me why the elites in lcg , don't respect the regular people! It seems it's all about them. Jesus did not have a hierarchy.
ReplyDeleteOctober 2010. August 2011. December 2012. Probably more reruns than that.
ReplyDeleteMr. Doug, you don't gain people's respect when you demand much from LCG ministers while showing yourself to be so lazy week after week.
I’m surprised to see Richard Ames as a LCG telecast presenter. Wasn’t Ames one of the three original world tomorrow telecast presenters following HWA’s death? He’s got to be getting up there in age.
ReplyDelete1.46 PM
DeleteIt's the Living Fossils Church of God.
The problem is that peace, harmony, unity etc are consequences of members respecting one others rights, especially the right to be treated justly and be free from abuse. But rights are taboo in ACOG-land. In their alternate reality, the big people and their minions have all rights, and the little people have no rights.
ReplyDeleteI suspect Douglas knows this, but the church's moral burka doesn't allow him to articulate it.
"I’m surprised to see Richard Ames as a LCG telecast presenter."
ReplyDeleteHe still is on the telecast. He needs to be retired. Its the same boring stuff he has preached for decades. He has no new material to speak about
Anon 8:04 PM
ReplyDeleteWell, Richard Ames, I remember him from decades ago, and still going?
‘He has no new material to speak about’……and I think that sums up the cog movement.
Closed off and with closed minds and suffering from tunnel vision. They are the churches of deminishing returns and will soon fade into obscurity as their members age and pass away.
Jesus gave us a message of hope and drew crowds for His message.The message they ‘proclaim’ is just not resonating with the masses.
Perhaps there is something wrong with their message?
The spectre of the divisive leader seems to be one of the primary elements haunting our times. One characteristic of divisive leaders is that they proclaim that they want unity. Unity in belief, united front against real or perceived enemies, unity in loyalty or unity in patriotism. But, the unity they envision is unilateral. It is unity as they define it, being not all that we could be based on knowledge, human decency, and facts, but instead striving towards the lowest common denominator to meet an agenda.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is some of these words are loaded... unity means conformity to what the leadership says, not how the bible teaches unity as a function of love and mutual respect working through the spirit.
Delete"This is why we must be patient and respectful with each other and endeavor “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” so we can do the Work"
ReplyDeleteExcept Sheldon Monson, and pretty much anyone who disagrees with us.
If you're not called yourself NO2HWA then you'll never understand. For the COG is broadly filled with more uncalled than called and that's where all the problems usually have come from.
ReplyDeleteWeston wrote: "Last Sabbath Carol and I were in Tampa, Florida, for a Tomorrow’s World Presentation where we had 54 (give or take one or two) guests."
ReplyDeleteWeston and his boys can't get an accurate count when there's less than sixty people in a room?
And you trust him to account for your tithes and offerings?
New material from any presenter is a danger to their employment and paid retirement.
ReplyDeleteAnon, November 12, 2021 at 12:36 PM, said:
ReplyDelete"...October 2010. August 2011. December 2012. Probably more reruns than that.
Mr. Doug, you don't gain people's respect when you demand much from LCG ministers while showing yourself to be so lazy week after week..."
******
Why aren't the divisions in Doug's living group diminishing such that he does not have to continue repeating himself? Does Doug believe the members are stiff-necked like the ancient physical Israelites?
Is Doug, former WCG hireling who left his ministerial credentials behind in Pasadena (who still believes in spreading such spiritual junk food as the Mickey Mouse Millennium [MMM] expecting another Jesus to return any day now to begin a 1,000 reign on earth) really that lazy, or does he just have a great respect for the phrase "Repetition is the best form of emphasis?"
Or, are reruns (repeated "spankings" in writing), repetition, and junk food understanding of the MMM some of Doug's greatest attributes: thoughts Doug wants everyone to remember him by?
Time will tell...
John
Where does all the money go?
ReplyDeleteHint:
Big $ecret $alaries for the leadership cabal
What exactly do they even mean by unity??…. How can they preach unity in one breath and in another breath tell the brethren to avoid friends and family who aren’t sending their tithes in to do LCG’s “work” anymore (whatever “the work” means anymore)… unless you absolutely have to be around them like at a wedding or funeral… because we at LCG know better than you and have “marked” or “noted” in them (another instance of taking a word out of context and weaponizing it against fellow Christians)….. here’s the link to the article if you care to read…
ReplyDeletehttps://members.lcg.org/lcn/2021/november-december/what-does-it-mean-avoid?utm¿source=dlvr.it&utm¿medium=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3LiMAtkLYMunMKjrgXHe0AugmmV0P6mOpbuufkkLMGnbDBTqsQEo1¿S6c
Jesus did not have a hierarchy because Jesus did not exist. The Jesus myth is just the old pagan God-man reinvented by Jews like Paul and Philo for "modern times" (2000 years ago). King worship is a very old concept, going back a long way. Christ the pagan king was born at Christmas long before the Jews plagiarized the story of Moses from pagans.
ReplyDelete7:54 AM said, "Jesus did not have a hierarchy because Jesus did not exist."
ReplyDeleteMY COMMENT - There is more evidence that Jesus existed than proving the negative that he did not exist. First we have the four separate New Testament authors Mathew, Mark, Luke and John first hand witnesses. Then there is Jesus brother James who separately authored a book of the Bible. Apart from the Bible authors themselves, Jewish historian Josephus had heard of Jesus and the basic elements surrounding his death, and that he saw Jesus as primarily a miracle worker.
Josephus even wrote about James: "These things happened to the Jews to avenge James the Just, who was a brother of Jesus, that is called the Christ".
Those of us who believe in Jesus Christ take his life and death on faith, yet the above referenced authors verify his very existence. I would say it takes more faith to believe that he didn't exist since you have nothing to support your claim.
Richard
"Jesus did not have a hierarchy because Jesus did not exist."
ReplyDeleteI love it when trolls like this pop on every once in a while and make complete and utters fools of themselves saying this. It is a historical fact that is documented that he existed. But, I guess you are too dumb to ever research this. It's all out there at your fingertips
MY COMMENT - There is more evidence that Jesus existed than proving the negative that he did not exist. First we have the four separate New Testament authors Mathew, Mark, Luke and John first hand witnesses. Then there is Jesus brother James who separately authored a book of the Bible. Apart from the Bible authors themselves, Jewish historian Josephus had heard of Jesus and the basic elements surrounding his death, and that he saw Jesus as primarily a miracle worker.
ReplyDeleteThank you! You have just proved the existence of Sheldon Cooper, D.B. Cooper (probably no relation), Sherlock Holmes, James T. Kirk, Krishna, the Loch Ness Monster, and many other disputed figures about whom much has been written by firsthand witnesses!
You have also proved that Paramahamsa Yogananda and Edgar Cayce were miracle-workers. After all, we have all of this in firsthand writings from direct witnesses!
LOFCOG, I hope you understand that it is your faith experience that is driving your thought process, because your thought process doesn't lead to the conclusion you assume.
"Jesus myth is just .. [a] God-man reinvented by Jews like Paul and Philo"
ReplyDeleteActually, the Christ Mythicists cite Philo - a contemporary of the supposed historical Jesus - for making no mention of him!
November 13, 2021 at 10:21 AM said, "Thank you! You have just proved the existence of Sheldon Cooper, D.B. Cooper (probably no relation), Sherlock Holmes, James T. Kirk, Krishna, the Loch Ness Monster, and many other disputed figures about whom much has been written by firsthand witnesses!"
ReplyDeleteMY COMMENT - You are very welcome. Glad to be of service. Laughable that you put up for your smokescreen false flag deflection more modern fictional TV characters among other characters. Perhaps that is your mindset. Each one of your examples, with the possible exception of the Loch Ness monster and D.B. Cooper, is openly labeled fictional. Sir Conon Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes series was a crime fiction writer. D.B. Cooper was a media epithet for a real person.
So if the point of your smokescreen is to lump Jesus Christ with these other characters already known to be sourced in fiction that others have written about, then your premise falls far short. Your premise is based on fiction. My premise is based on reality.
Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed historically.
10:21 AM, I hope you understand that it is your false premise which is fictional that is driving your thought process to create the smokescreen - because your thought process requires faith in fiction to believe that Jesus didn't exist since you have nothing else to support your claim. When I take your fictional characters out of the smokescreen mix, my thought process premise leads me to conclude my faith was right along.
Richard
Imagine if Doug was a serious student of the Bible and an effective pastor - he could then teach his people the principle of Unity in Jesus, instead of this weak and recycled message.
ReplyDeleteThe new birth is the basis for unity in Christ. John 1:12-13 - “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Jesus compares this unity with that which exists between him and the Father John 17:21 - “that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, …” Jesus and the Father are eternally one in their shared nature as God. When we are born again and become children of God, we share in the divine nature (John 1:12-13; 2 Pet. 1:4).
Christians share new life in Jesus 1 Cor. 12:13 - “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” This is the unity of the Spirit that St. Paul discussed in Eph. 4:3.
Christian unity in Christ is based on our common glory in Jesus (but Doug and the COGs refuse to teach about justification, sanctification, or glorification). In John 17:22, Jesus prayed, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one.”
John 1:16 adds, “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” The glory that Christ has given us is the glory of our salvation, received and sustained by abundant grace. For Jesus, the epitome of His glory was displayed at the cross (John 12:28; 13:31-32), which supremely shows His love, justice, holiness, and grace.
Jesus explains this glory in John 17:23: “I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” There are two parts to this verse:
First, “I in them and You in Me” points to Jesus’ indwelling through the Holy Spirit, who is given to all who believe.
Second, Jesus says that the Father has loved us, even as He has loved Jesus! The love of the Father for the Son is eternal and infinite (Eph. 3:18). The best picture we have of the Father’s love for us is when He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.
Unfortunately, the people of the LCG cannot get sound, mature, in-depth, consummate teachings on unity from Doug Winnail. Fortunately, if these people have any interest in learning more about Jesus than LCG teaches, if they are interested in the Christian topics of grace, justification, sanctification, and glorification, there are plenty of Christian sources that would be of value to them.
"You have just proved the existence of Sheldon Cooper, D.B. Cooper (probably no relation), Sherlock Holmes, James T. Kirk, Krishna, the Loch Ness Monster.."
ReplyDeleteAnd let's not forget James Bond, how could he not be real, he is placed in historical settings and interacts with actual contemporary figures in the past.
Anonymous 7:54 wrote, "The Jesus myth is just the old pagan God-man reinvented by Jews like Paul and Philo for "modern times" (2000 years ago)."
ReplyDeleteThere were many Jews who rose up and claimed to be a kind of messiah around the time of Jesus. Only one inaugurated a worldwide movement based on love with an intelligible and detailed theology. But there is always an alternative explanation that can be devised by non-believers. Jesus does not remotely resemble "the old pagan God-man." Philo would have no reason to invent Jesus. This is just polemic. In John there is the statement:
"For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe..."
Jesus knew that the evidence he was providing would not convince everybody. From the beginning. He knew he would be surrounded by controversy in this world and he left it that way. This datum tells us something. That he intended to work with people through another mechanism rather than the standard, human epistemologies. And he has dealt with humanity through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. This has resulted in two groups of people: the elect and the non-elect.
And the elect cannot communicate, separate from the action of the Holy Spirit, the gospel to the non-elect. There are some extra-biblical data in ancient records but it is sparse - for instance, in Josephus. Not to worry. A Christian knows Jesus, rather, based on their entire life experience. It is what it is and will only be intelligible to all in the eschaton.
******** Click on my icon for Disclaimer
According to the Einhorn thesis, Jesus was real - and crucified - being active in the Jewish rebellion of the mid-century and not c.30CE (explains why the Gospels are late, after 70CE) The proto Gospel writer, then Luke/Acts working off Josephus. Thus several events in Acts can be compared to similar events in Josephus who dates them 20 years later: Judas the Galilean and Theudas in Acts 5 - mis-dated by 'Luke' but correct in Josephus, and the "Egyptian" (the Real Jesus?) of the Acts and the "Egyptian" of Josephus also being 20 years apart. And the word translated "robbers", crucified alongside Jesus, can be translated "rebels"...
ReplyDeleteNeoTherm, November 14, 2021 at 7:13 AM, said:
ReplyDelete"...Jesus knew that the evidence he was providing would not convince everybody. From the beginning. He knew he would be surrounded by controversy in this world and he left it that way. This datum tells us something. That he intended to work with people through another mechanism rather than the standard, human epistemologies. And he has dealt with humanity through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. This has resulted in two groups of people: the elect and the non-elect..."
******
Your interesting comment fits in well with Jesus words regarding His speaking in parables:
Matthew 1313 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
And
Luke 8:10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.
John
Doug really knows nothing about peace, this guy just wrote an article about what’s behind the war on history. It’s a pathetic viewpoint. He looks at and blames solely the socialist for war and not both sides. Their view of unity is tricky as well. They have the same spirit as the old WWCG, and if you disagree with an issue that you happen to be right on according to the Bible and not their booklets or Bible study program, then your being “divisive”.
ReplyDeleteAnon, November 20, 2021 at 8:27 PM, said:
ReplyDelete"Doug really knows nothing about peace, this guy just wrote an article about what’s behind the war on history. It’s a pathetic viewpoint. He looks at and blames solely the socialist for war and not both sides. Their view of unity is tricky as well. They have the same spirit as the old WWCG, and if you disagree with an issue that you happen to be right on according to the Bible and not their booklets or Bible study program, then your being “divisive”.
******
I suspect Doug, based upon his own repetitive postings, knows no more about peace than he does about faith, both of which are fruits of God's, not Doug's, Spirit. Doug, driven by another spirit as you suggested above, preaches another gospel and another Jesus.
Yes, Doug puts too much emphasis on the flesh and he blames/judges others such that he would look at and "...blames solely the socialist for war and not both sides," because he is deceived and blind. How so?
He does not believe Paul's inspired words in Ephesians 6.
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]." Ephesians 6:12
Doug also believes in a wimpy Devil, who can only tempt and influence: not control, but Paul would add this:
"And [that] they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." 2 Tim 2:26
If Doug were Satan, how would he do it?
He would, by another spirit, preach the very soon arrival of another Jesus with the good news of his ruling with a rod of iron on earth for 1,000 years.
Would Doug have us believe he is a $profitable$ servant on those profitable Sabbath days? Would Doug have us believe that he is living up to all of those standards that he is telling us we need to be living by?
Does Doug, and those stiff-necked members doing wrong by not yielding to Doug/Weston's will every single passing week, believe the apostle John when John tells us that: "He that committeth sin is of the devil;...?" I John 3:8
For Doug, and his answers to all of those questions, time will tell...
John
Mt 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
ReplyDeleteMt 21:45 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.
Anon, November 21, 2021 at 11:22 PM, said...
ReplyDeleteMt 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mt 21:45 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.
******
Yes, those spiritually-blinded priests and Pharisees, like Doug Winnail, would very probably take it personally and think Jesus Christ was referring to the physical religious leaders, but let Jesus make it very clear that He was speaking to those spirit beings who were controlling the religious leaders and filling them with their own evil fruits.
Matthew 23:29 "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
33 [Ye] serpents, [ye] generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
34 ¶ Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and [some] of them ye shall kill and crucify; and [some] of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute [them] from city to city:
35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation."
Now, again, Jesus spoke in parables so that most would not understand what He was saying, and He spoke everything in parables.
So, did "...all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar..." have anything to do with scribes and Pharisees, who did not even exist during the days of Abel and Zacharias? Was that "this generation" Christ was speaking about? No.
What's left?
So, did "...all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar..." have anything to do with any serpents and generation of vipers, brute beasts made to be destroyed (2 Peter 2:12), Satan and his angels (Matthew 25:41, 46), authors of sin (I John 3:8), bondage (2 Tim 2:28) and death (Heb 2:14-150, etc., and lived back in the days of Abel and Zacharias?
Was "this generation" referring to one generation of spirit beings: Satan and his angels, and not to human religious leaders?
Time will tell...
John