LCG has a long history of focusing on "disaster" in order to prop up its doctrinal stances and to keep its members in a constant state of fear. Nothing makes for a better prophecy cover story than for some natural disaster or a man-made event that shocks the world. This is titillating stuff for the prophecy keepers of the church.
LCG also has a long history of delivering "fake news" when it comes to prophetic predictions, bible interpretations, and absurd proof-texting by the ministry. The end product is always a fake news story. No one needs to worry about fake news in the world when one's own church is filled to the brim with it!
I recently recorded a telecast titled “2022 in Bible Prophecy,” giving Bible-based predictions for the year ahead and elaborating on Ezekiel 7:26. That verse tells us that disaster upon disaster will come on the house of Israel, but there is another prediction in the verse: “and rumor will be upon rumor.”
It is easy to focus on the “disaster” part of the sentence and not consider the part about rumors. Was there ever a time when rumors were more prolific than they are in our day? Rumors thrive in times of instability, and social media is a rumor mill on steroids, spreading false information among countless millions. “Fake news” was a political slogan used against the news media, and not without justification, even though the man who made the mantra famous had his own problems propagating fake news. Conspiracy theories have been exacerbated by the politics of the pandemic. Foreign governments and unprincipled individuals routinely post made-up stories for the gullible on Facebook and Twitter, creating confusion and division. Our angry, divided world has become angrier and more divided as a result of the pandemic—all fueled by worldwide electronic media.
This is a challenge for us. As God’s elect, we must strive not to be taken in by rumors. We must not allow ourselves to become polarized over political issues. We must remain objective, not mind-made-up ideologues who take sides, favoring one worldly evil over another. Being convicted about the truth of Scripture is a good thing, but polarization over worldly issues creates an atmosphere where one rashly judges some individuals as evil and always wrong, and others as good and always right. If we do not remain objective, we may immediately latch onto reports that reflect our worldview and tune out those with which we disagree—one political party becomes good, the other bad.
No matter how sketchy the source, anti-vaxxers are quick to spread dubious reports on the evils of vaccines, while those in favor spread flowery reports promoting the jabs. Conspiracy theories thrive in this atmosphere, and objectivity is a casualty. In fact, every side deals in lies and fabrications. The same is true in discussions regarding gun rights, protests and riots, border policies, the efficacy of masking, and the lives of politicians and celebrities.
Sadly, this worldliness even seeps into the Church. Some members are little different from their neighbors in this regard. We all have our personal opinions, which is not inherently wrong, and I am happy to say that the overwhelming majority among us are fair-minded, accepting that a brother or sister in Christ may have a different opinion and still be our beloved brother or sister. Sadly, though, in our current atmosphere of division, some forget who is behind the anger, lies, and divisiveness (John 8:44). Truth really has fallen in our streets, just as the Bible foretold (Isaiah 59:14).
Some rumors seek to titillate, tempting us with juicy tidbits about people, and we are drawn to tales that bolster our world-view over someone else’s. Other rumors are based on fear or a lack of sound-mindedness. Paul’s statement to Timothy can be instructive: “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). We are to insulate ourselves with God’s Spirit against shadowy and outrageous conspiracy theories, such as those of QAnon. Those of us who have been around for many years have seen such conspiracies come and go—even among members of God’s Church.
16 comments:
I always have had a quiet chuckle whenever the Biblical temple product "SHITTIM WOOD" is read in services!
For Weston to pretend that the Demon Rats are no worse than the Republicans is foolishly blind. Yes, all members in Congress are sinners, just as we all are. But to ignore the vast difference between the past administration and todays insanity in DC ridiculous.
As Christians we are expected to tell the difference between good and evil. And today, all you see coming out of this Satanic administration is pure tyranny and evil.
Well, he's not necessarily wrong, but it is funny to see him say "this is bad but only when it doesnt come from 'headquarters'."
Armstrongites have always been susceptible to rumors and conspiracy theories, and if they had been allowed to vote would have voted straight Republican. It is hardly surprising that LCG members would be taken in by all the fairy tales being spread to retain power. HWA controlled his entire church using his own set of gnosticism.
When these people see what actually happens, it's going to be another 9/11 awakening. For years, Armstrongites were told there was nothing to fear about the Russians, or Chinese, or Arabs, because it was the Germans who were going to get us. Also, that Republicans in power were a sign that Christ was delaying His coming so there would be more time to "do the work". Many of them were probably actually rooting for the insurrection. Thank God that Mike Pence ended up being such a strong Christian!
As a Christian I have never been a political person and I certainly don't listen to "conspiracy theories". The problem with Christians is they spend entirely too much time worrying about worldly affairs instead of letting the light of Christ shine.
Not taking sides in political disputes is sometimes regarded as mature and sophisticated. But sitting on the fence when an evil government is in power amounts to siding with evil. Christ condemned the Pharisees, pointing out their evil beliefs and behavior.
Gerald also does the usual ACOG rant against anger and division. Both need to be honored as natural consequences to sin, rather than evils in themselves. And in HWA-land, both are used as clubs to beat down those who question church teachings.
I've noticed that HWA would muddy the waters on issues where he was partial to some evil. God condemns shepherds who do this in Ezekiel 34:18. I believe Gerald did just that with this article.
The voice of Classical Armstrongism:
"The Plain Truth is not politically affiliated. It is not "left wing." It is not "right wing."...Jesus did not enter into this world's politics, nor did his disciples. He did not try to reform or overthrow Caesar's government. He did not try to make this a better world. Rather, he preached about a radically different world to come and called his followers out of participation in this world's imperfect, humanly devised politics! He said, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36)." (Keith Stump, Plain Truth Magazine, July-August, 1985)
First, are you a Classical Armstrongist or are you not? If you are Classical, HWA's stand on politics is quite apparent. The statement quote above indicates a prescriptive apolitical stance. I recall HWA saying, and could probably find a quote if I wanted to take the time, that any time in history that the church tried to engage in politics to defend itself rather than trusting in God, the outcome was really bad. So does the shoe fit?
Second, are you a Post-Classical Armstrongist? If you believe that your committment to Armstrongism inherently implies a certain location on the political spectrum (likely somewhere around the Trumpian mark), you have forsaken Classical Armstrongism. Maybe your entire denomination has forsaken Classical Armstrongism. Maybe your favorite speaker at Sabbath services has lost his way on the bewildering Post-Classical landscape. If you can blithely modify HWA's inspired pronouncements on the important topic of politics, maybe you need to review why you believe anything that HWA ever said. Does it make sense that you believe what he said about mixed fabrics but don't believe what he said about politics?
Third, setting Armstrongism aside, the question of the Body of Christ and politics is non-trivial. Men like Dietrich Bonhoeffer lost their lives over it. Martin Luther King, Jr. lost his life over it. Others believe in standing back. While it is easy to sort out Classical versus Post-Classical Armstrongism (for anyone who cares), it is not easy to sort out Politics and The Christian Church. It is a huge topic that has no resolution even yet. I have an opinion. So does everyone else.
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Hello, Neo therm.
We follow the example of Jesus, who refused to accept the political office. (John 6:15) He taught his disciples to be “no part of the world” and made it clear that they should not take sides in political issues.—John 17:14, 16; 18:36; Mark 12:13-17.
It's not wrong to take sides on issues, 10:00. I dare say that most of us have opinions on such topics as abortion, climate change, security of our borders, social justice for all humans regardless of race or creed, right to bear arms, fairness of taxes, public health issues, gosh, there must be dozens of these topics. My problem is that my beliefs and opinions on these topics are diverse, and spread more or less equally between the two major parties. The parties, however, don't want to give you line item veto. They expect you to support their entire platform, and I just can't. And, I think this is why Christians are at their best when they remain independent as opposed to taking sides on a party level. Who represents you when you strongly support the Second Amendment, and yet you totally believe that black lives matter? What about people who are well educated in science and can see and understand climate change with their own eyes, but who see abortion as genocide? How are you supposed to support a party for attempting to curtail one form of extinction, yet give a pass to the other one?
Our system became dysfunctional the minute that facts, common sense, and consistency were subverted by both parties in favor of agenda and the preservation of power. One party is not God's and the other Satan's. These two beings are regularly and equally exploited by leaders of both parties, whenever it suits them. How is it that people can't see that?
11:47 you to comply with the church of God doctrines.
Anonymous 2:36
At least if the Democrats are in office you can vote them out. If Dumpty gets in office again, he is going to work fiercely on dissolving democracy and making himself "President for Life" like his buddy Putin. Then you can kiss your freedom good-bye.
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NeoTherm 1:25, what about the Dumpty that was before Trump ?! Are you going to sit back while the current "leader of the free world" dismantles this country piece by piece or are you going to kiss ALL your freedoms goodbye?!
Anonymous 11:47
Well said.
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1.25 PM
NEO, another case of Biden's minions projecting their evils on to others.
What a hypocrite, this minister is. Don't be rash to judge others? Don't be fooled by rumours? This coward sent me a surprise e-mail a few years ago ordering me not to attend services WHILE GIVING ME NO EXPLANATION FOR IT, leaving me to figure out how and what happened. (probably due to the denial of a new doctrine in the presence of one of the leaders in the church, who spread the rumour to him, causing him to judge me rashly) At least in UCG there is a court of appeal where your appeal can be heard.
Weston should realize that the world is more just than him because at least they allow for your rights to be declared and the charges to be specified.
Weston says there are lies on both sides of the vax and mask debates? What makes him think that he knows who is lying?
Well, one of the funniest things Ive heard recently is a claim (always from a friend who has a friend who heard from someone who used to have a roommate who heard from someone at the grocery store) that in Australia, "vaccine warriors" are shooting people with blowdarts of Moderna.
This makes no sense - thatd be a seriously ineffective delivery method for such a fragile concoction. Almost as dumb as "they're gonna track us with passive microchips".
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