Various Churches of God love to declare days of fasting and prayer several times a year. They also love boasting about it and how by fasting and praying they can cause God to do something they want to happen.
Fasting and praying for something, especially during times of war, are common throughout Christianity. However, the Churches of God, particularly the Thielites, discount these actions as empty, shallow, and useless. God apparently ONLY listens to COG members' prayers and honors their fasting.
The Church of England is asking for a day of prayer and fasting, as is Pope Francis. Will the Churches of God humble themselves on their knees on this day and join in this worldwide event? Will Bob Theil set the example and shut down his homeopathic drug peddling shop to join this? Will Gerald Westin have Living Church of God members do the same, especially since Westin loves to declare days of fasting and prayer several times a year in LCG? Will Dave Pack and Gerald Flurry join in? Will the United Church of God? This group above all others should be joining in this event since they love to boast about the Ukrainian Sabbath-Keepers they are associated with there.
31 comments:
COG leaders and many members will refuse to do this because they think God only listens to Church of God members. What a pathetic church! I am so glad I am gone from it.
Listen whatever happens is God's will.
I'm sure the splinter groups will be praying for Ukraine as they are always praying for others.
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Ukraine is Russia's bread basket. They need it to survive, especially once the beast power bursts onto the world stage very shortly. Putin is a wise man in taking over the place. The pope and the archbishop of England are clueless fools.
Also, how about SuperDave-Pack and his 'Incredible-Shrinking-RCG'
"The Church of England is asking for a day of prayer and fasting, as is Pope Francis. Will the Churches of God humble themselves on their knees on this day and join in this worldwide event? "
You seem to be under the delusion that The Church of God worships the same being as the Church of England and Pope Francis. Why would The Church join hands with Satan for anything? I'm sure that the average Joe on the street means well, but being deceived, they know not what they do.
God's Church prays for peace continually. We don't need a special day set aside for that, and certainly not a day set aside by Satan, the one causing all of the grief in the first place.
II Corinthians 6:14
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
Whatever the ACOG's choose to do or not do, I have been praying for the people of Ukraine and will join my brothers and sisters in Christ in doing so on Wednesday. May God bless the people of Ukraine, and may he frustrate Putin's armies - Amen!
Concern for the Ukrainian people would be both altruistic and empathic. Some people actually do respond in that way, but most wonder how the situation is going to effect themselves in every day life. What about gas prices? Is this going to cause more supply chain issues? Will it fuel inflation? Etc.
From an Armstrongite perspective, I can imagine questions about how this is uniting and making Europe stronger, and noting that Germany was first to jump right in, providing massive aid. I would have to imagine that Vic Kubik, with his background, would perhaps be the most likely ACOG leader to be truly empathic, but that remains to be seen. Regardless as to what these little pissant organizations say, think, or do, there is a horrible human toll being paid as this unfolds, and it will present a series of geopolitical and economic changes.
At last you mention the Ukrainian situation.
Church of England? And this blog is supposed to be run by middle American's?
Interesting that it's the "Worldwide" Day of Prayer and Fasting...
For the COGs, the intention should be on helping our neighbors, in this case specifically, those suffering in the Ukraine. One non-COG pastor also called for help in Moldova, suffering what might be called collateral damage.
The emphasis (as I understand it) is on prayer and fasting -- not fund raising. That would cost the COGs nothing. HWA (usually via AICF) would donate (our) funds to worthy (?) causes - when it made him look good. We also did the prayer and fasting...
My guess is that Armstrongists don't have the philosophical chops for this kind of thing. Their focus is on the "countdown" to the end of the age. The more disruption and catastrophe the better. It makes you wonder if down deep there is a joy they find in geo-political tragedy because it is on the critical path to the Millennium. At the same time, they pray for peace but in the coming Kingdom. Yet, Jesus spoke of acting now. (Matt 25:36)
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For nearly everything that happens in the world, our input or influence as an individual is virtually nil.
About all we have control over is ourselves, and even that is not as much as we imagine either.
After 911, as an example, people rushed to give blood around the country, although there was no need for blood whatsoever. Wearing pink ribbons, or using pink baseball bats really doesn't do anything about breast cancer.
It seems that there is some kind of societal need to "self flagellate" when bad things happen, in order to gain some sense of "control", or to give the sense that "Im joining the suffering too". The fasting call for this, in knee jerk reaction to a crisis, is in that genre me thinks.
It sucks that we are so impotent to do much in the world, and dont get me wrong, I appreciate that people care. Focus on what you do have control over in life, be the best you, and IF YOU CAN make a material difference in some way , then do it. However, throwing dust up in the air in angst, solves nothing. There is a God, and Im not it. We have to patiently just give many things to him, and trust that he is ifully n control.
Bob Thiel would never do this. He is a little beta male who doesn't have the guts to take a stand on anything. He is too passive and subservient to other men to do anything worthwhile. Bob had to look at Meredith as his ideal masculine man for validation so it is no wonder Bob is such a messed up guy.
"Bob Thiel would never do this"
Bob's BNP spiel on Ukraine seemed to be about the genealogy of the people to find their place in Bible (or non-Biblical) prophecy, even looking for "clues" from Josephus.
And, yes, he apparently did foresee the current situation, but without specifics - somethin's gonna happen, don't know when, but it's gonna happen (or not).
I think the focus of the COGs will be on Germany committing to spend more on defense - because the whole prophetic spiel requires Germany to attack us.
I predict major excitement about this - even though my prediction is not accompanied by a dream.
The old WCG answer was usually, We deal with the cause, not the effect - which could play out as not giving food to the starving poor, but buying expensive presents for their despotic leaders.
Dave Pack's answer to not helping victims of Katrina was We don't help those who God is punishing.
This would be one time I would agree to a special fast. Usually self proclaimed little Putins like Flurry, Pack or Thiel would proclaim a fast to bring an increase in tithes or offerings or to buy a jet. They are Frauds and will fail as they always do.
Russia did most of the fighting and dying during WW2. Officially it lost 27 million people, but some historians believe the number is much greater. That Putin is trying to reestablish its historic defensive boundaries by invading Ukraine and other former Soviet territories, is very understandable.
America's bungled exit from Afghanistan shows that World Cop America can no longer be trusted to maintain world peace. So countries like Russia are forced to take matters into their own hands.
Anonymous 2/28 @ 3:25,
Yes, the Soviet Union lost millions of souls during and following World War II, but a great deal of the responsibility for that horrific number can justly be laid at the feet of the ruthless man at the helm (Stalin). Your comments sound like Putin's talking points, and smack of serious revisionism! The fact is that the West won the Cold War. Hence, it is NOT unreasonable for the victors to insist that the situation within Europe and the wider world NOT revert to the status quo ante bellum. Putin is trying to turn back the clock. He may as well try pissing in the wind!
I say again: May God bless the Ukrainians and frustrate Putin's armies! Someday, the Russian people will have the peace, prosperity, freedom, and leadership that their great nation deserves. Unfortunately, that day is NOT now, and Putin is NOT that leader.
Americans who are sympathetic to Putin's land-grab need to consider that, if they apply Putin's reasoning to the United States, they should be comfortable with Mexico seizing much of the American Southwest.
Aren't COGs supposed to be neutral pacifists? Isn't that what HWA was during WW2?
Has Putin miscalculated?
He may well be entering into a long drawn out conflict made longer by the Ukrainians themselves conducting partisan warfare against Russian forces. No one wins.
This may backfire and see his downfall and even the dismemberment of the Russian federation.
We will know soon enough, but pity the Ukrainian people caught in this Russian adventure.
No one within Armstrongism foresaw this coming or even the collapse of the USSR.
We live in interesting times.
When I was on one of my numerous trips to Minsk, Belarus, I was told by someone, "The US didn't have much to do with winning WW II." From his perspective, he was correct. 60 million people died in the war, mostly civilians. Russia lost 20 mil. the US lost less than half a million. For every American killed, forty Russians died. The Russians did most of the killing of Germans and did most of the dying. Once the cold war was over the west continued to move closer to Russia by admitting more nations into NATO. I can see why Putin would be concerned and want to push back in some way. We weren't happy when the Soviets put missiles in Cuba. What if they surrounded the U.S. with military partners as we have with Russia?
No, 5:22, HWA was on the air like a kind of religious axis-Sally or Tokyo-Rose, forecasting that the war would end in Armageddon, defeat and captivity for the USA. When we won, he proclaimed that it was not over, that Hitler was in hiding possibly in Argentina, and that Germany would arise again under Hitler's return to finish the job. And, he was saying this well into the '60s!
4.47 PM
Miller Jones, Daniel 11:44 tells us that "tidings out of the East and North shall trouble hum, so he will go forth with great fury to destroy many." This is the beast power attacking Russia, China, and their allies. Russia preparing itself for this coming attack is not sympathy for Putin's land grab, but rather sensible war preparation.
For Ukraine, there are no winning moves. It will probably lose less of its population if it's part of Russia in the coming clash.
7.50 PM
HWA in one article wrote that America won WW2 because of its industrial might. Therefore its enemies will attack America's industrial base in the opening shots of WW3. The PCG has reprinted this quote in one of its articles.
My point is that I got the impression that Herb was teaching America's enemies how to defeat it in the next war. Like with 1975, HWA hankered for Christs swift return so that the church's pecking order could be frozen into the Kingdom. New comers who could displace Herb and his minions were not welcome.
HWA instructing America's enemies how to destroy it is treachery.
Last night I had to listen to some fool saying because he's a "serious Christian", he knows jesus would take him away before anything bad happened to him, unlike the people of Ukraine (who apparently arent as Christian as he is).
Its a real piece of shit viewpoint, but there you have it.
Back to the theme of this stream, support of the Ukraine during the Russian invasion. Would there be a similar reaction if the invaded country was, say, Taiwan? What happened when the USSR invaded Afghanistan? Or when the US did? Ay sympathy then?
Anyway when it's all over, there is still Climate Change to deal with - unless Russia leaves us with a Nuclear Winter.
HWA, back in the 1950s and '60s wrote of the superior technology of the Germans, and how one of our bombing raids got lucky and destroyed the weapons which would have won them the war. Give it up in your defense of HWA. Obviously you were not around during that era and have heard your information second or 3rd hand. The man made prophecies, set dates, failed, and then covered up his failures. The entire church practically worshipped the Germans, only second to the Jews, while I was at AC, 'dena during the 60s.
7.06 AM
Who exactly is defending HWA?
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