Leave it to the Edmond Oklahoma cult to make the Armstrong version of Passover into a story about their church, Mystery of the Ages, and the intense persecution it faces daily. I honestly do not think Flurry has an original thought in his alcobol-riddled mind.
Baptized members of the Philadelphia Church of God observed the Passover, a memorial of the beating and death of Jesus Christ, on the night of April 14. Let’s consider the persecution that God’s one true Church has endured to preserve the Passover.
After the PCG beats and kills Christ at their annual ceremony he is left to be swept up with the crumbs and tossed outside for another year.
Flurry leaves his Christ in the dust and proceeds to tell the story of his imagined cult history and warns everyone that there are not many true Christians out there and thus it is easy to prove they are true Christians
Just a few decades after Christ’s death, a dark curtain fell on the history of God’s Church. Concerning this time period, Herbert W. Armstrong wrote in Mystery of the Ages, "Already the curtain was rung down on the history of the true Church. You read of it in the book of Acts, but it doesn’t go much beyond that. But the curtain seems to lift, and we begin to get a little bit of the history in about A.D. 150. There we see a church calling itself Christian, but it’s a totally different church, as different as night is from day, down from up, or black from white. But it called itself Christian."
Notice what Edward Gibbon recorded in The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: "The scanty and suspicious materials on ecclesiastical history seldom enable us to dispel the dark cloud that hangs over the first age of the Church." Mr. Armstrong often referred to this time period as "the lost century" because in secular history, as he wrote, "the history of that Church was lost."
The book of Acts ends abruptly, several years before Paul’s death. John wrote his epistles and the book of Revelation around A.D. 85 to 90.
Continuing from Mystery of the Ages: "Scholars and church historians recognize that events in the early Christian Church between A.D. 50 and 150 can only be seen in vague outline—as if obscured by a thick mist." (This is the same "lost century" he referred to in The Incredible Human Potential as occurring from A.D. 70 to 170.) Some Bible authors who wrote after A.D. 50, such as Peter, Jude and John, provided some details of the A.D. 50 to 90 period of Church history. But the primary purpose of their writings was not to chronicle events of the day, so the history of that period remains obscure. And the obscurity grows far thicker after A.D. 90.
Mr. Armstrong quoted from a book titled A Handbook of Church History, by Samuel G. Green: "The 30 years which followed the close of the New Testament canon and the destruction of Jerusalem are in truth the most obscure in the history of the Church. When we emerge in the second century we are, to a great extent, in a changed world"(emphasis mine throughout).
We do have some insight into this obscure time from secular sources. However, an element of caution must be used when studying secular history regarding the first- and early second-century Church. It is extremely difficult to tell who was a true Christian and who was false. As historian Edward Burton wrote, "The fugitives from Jerusalem … while some became true disciples of Jesus, others, as in the case in spreading of new opinions, may have imperfectly learnt, or ignorantly perverted, the real doctrines of Christianity" (Lectures Upon the Ecclesiastical History of the First Three Centuries). From secular history, the one measure we can safely use to determine which people were part of God’s true Church and which were not is the doctrines they taught.
One must use their mind like a detective at a crime scene in order to determine what group is most likely the true assembly of Christ. Will Durant wrote how the Roman pagans perverted the truth by taking Christian doctrines and Holy Days and twisted them to resemble the teachings of their gods.
ReplyDeleteDespite the talk of mists and vague outlines, COGlodytes never seem to have a problem telling us what they're sure went on in that period.
ReplyDeleteThis 'lost century' thing is total balderdash! The Ante-Nicene Christians left plenty of epistles, poems, hymns, and books that tell us what the church was really like. If the various Armstrong sects would gather up enough courage to look at 1st and 2nd century 'dissident literature' they would discover a church that was Catholic in its beliefs snd doctrines! The name Catholic for the Church is even used for it as early as 107 AD by Bishop Ignatius of Antioch, who died a martyrs death in Rome. This history disproves the Armstrongite idea that the church was a Judaizing sect. In all the literature the early Christians left us, the keeping of the Old Covenant laws is spoken of as a thing that is past. The only people who adhered to the Mosaic law were the members of the Judaizing sects that arose from time to time. If you want to read a history of these groups, I highly recommend Rabbi Louis I Newman's Jewish Influence on Christian Reform Movements. The so-called 'reform movements' are the Judaizing sects that arose from time to time in the church. This bok can be ordered from lulu.com
ReplyDeleteThe issue of the obscure history of the church in the decades following 70 AD, I believe, is mischaracterized by Armstrongists. The implication is that the true church soon went underground, and the mainstream church became pagan, until God restored the true church centuries later through HWA in the Des Moines Public Library.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is the New Testament and church dogma survived that period of obscurity. The Church still had its charter and constitution in the writings of Paul and others. The lack of history for that period does not abrogate church life and dogma. All the followers of The Way needed to do back then is crack open the New Testament to find the foundation of the church. And that is all we need to do today.
Armstrongists seem to believe that not only the Church but the New Testament also disappeared along with, say, the ministry of the Holy Spirit and people's ability to read. The scenario Armstrongists seem to have adopted is like those post-apocalyptic movies where after centuries the few remaining descendants of a once advanced nation are found to be worshipping a washing machine. That's Hollywood not Church History.
Paul's condemnation, for instance, of the Circumcision Party which seemed to be a faction within the Jerusalem Church, for heresy is just as valid after this obscure period as it was before. Keeping the Law of Moses (instead of the New Testament code of morality) as a part of the formula for salvation is just as much a heresy now as it was in Paul's day, the obscure period notwithstanding. This controversy is documented in the New Testament. The Church had the data and methods by which to navigate. So, I am not sure what all the arm-waving is about and why anything had to be restored through HWA.
(Sidebar: The doctrine of the Circumcision party, in short, the diminishment of Jesus and the retention of the Law of Moses, survived beyond this period of obscurity and is found among the Ebionites and the Cerinthian Gnostics. It is persistent and seems to emerge from time to time.)
Maybe this conduced to all the arm-waving. There was an undeniable change. The Church expected Jesus to return right after the watershed changes of 70 AD. And he did not. The Church then had to then learn to live in this world. A byproduct of that was dealing with the politics of living under national governments - some of which "adopted" Christianity. Another byproduct was the great rise of nominalism. There was then a loss, not of doctrine, but of the innocence that characterized the original First Century church in Palestine that functioned for a while in relative isolation.
This could get long. In brief, HWA back in Des Moines "solved" a problem that did not exist.
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"HWA in the Des Moines Public Library"
ReplyDeleteWasn't that the Portland public library?
One thing that is easy to do is to IDEALIZE the early Christian church. It was a mess, maybe as whacky as you find now in the COG universe.
ReplyDeleteWithin the writings of the Bible itself, we see drunkeness at the Passover, incest , factionalizing between the rich and the poor, doctrinal debate, legalism, Apostles fighting amongst themselves and not getting along, Gnosticism , and more.
Within just a few years we see a Calendar debate with Polycarp and the Bishop of Rome. We also see docetism, Montanism, adoptionism, Sabellianism, Arianism, Pelagianism, and others.
A difficult time for sure.
My family went Catholic for Easter today – because locally, it was the latest start time for an outdoor service.
ReplyDeleteMy family does not do early mornings and although we don’t prefer Catholic services, the seaside setting preached its own inspiring message (so much more persuasive and God-like than the COG’s use of a school gym or Masonic Lodge).
The simple, pure Gospel theme for the day was Romans 10:9:
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Such a simple Gospel is never preached in Armstrongism.
Indeed, Armstrongism denies Romans 10:9 is the Gospel.
Instead, COGlodytes add so many law requirements to their gospel while scoffing at those who preach belief in Jesus, as the way to salvation.
Looking at the entire chapter of Romans 10, one unencumbered with the Armstrongism indoctrination and uncanny power to overlook much of the New Testament, can see that this chapter was written to address the needs of the Armstrongites.
Please allow me to paraphrase, a bit:
Romans 10:1
My heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Armstrongites is that they may be saved.
10:2
For the Armstrongites are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.
10:3
The Armstrongites do not know Jesus as the righteousness of God and instead prefer their own brand of righteousness based on their branded mix of law favorites.
10:4
However, Jesus is the culmination of the law and he grants his righteousness to everyone who believes.
10:10
Heartfelt belief in Jesus as the Savior is the justification Armstrongites are lacking.
10:12-13
Forget about your racist and distracting obsession with British Israelism; there is no longer any difference between Jew and Gentil for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
10:15
Forget about your silly Jesus-less broadcasts, magazines, and personal appearance campaigns, as well as your lusts for things like technology and jets, because as it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the Gospel of Jesus”
10:17
Contrary to the COG law mishmash, faith comes from hearing the message about Savior Jesus.
10:21
Jesus continues to hold out his hands to the disobedient and obstinate Armstrongites; will you seek him?
It is helpful to remember The Armstrongian methodology of research, a method which does not follow an evidentiary trail, but rather involves "proof-texting", in other words, specifically searching for what they predetermined that they wanted to find. Just as is obvious to anyone who ever read "The True History of the True Church" or the Correspondence Course lessons which led to the creation of that booklet, the "researchers" combed through history searching for groups for which there was evidence indicating that they held to similar doctrines as those taught by HWA, COG-7, the Seventh Day Baptists, etc. Some of the mistakes they made were quite humorous, such as assuming in their translations that one group of separatists were sabbatarians, when in reality that group noteworthy for wearing "sabbots", a type of shoe, a fact which real historians knew and had already noted. As the late Gavin Rumney quipped, "They were sandal-wearers!".
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed my studies of the available histories of the early Christian Church. This was a time of severe persecution for the early Jewish Christians. Peter had become so well known through the miracles and his arrests by the Romans that he had to go into exile to preserve his own life. The Christians were hiding, existing in seclusion in the catacombs, pooling their assets for survival. James, the brother of Jesus was now their leader. The apostles had spread to other areas of the known world raising up groups of followers of Jesus Christ. Paul's collections for the Jerusalem brethren underscores the fact that Christianity was flourishing amongst the Gentiles. The edict of James and the Jerusalem Council which had been solicited by Paul was their guide post, along with the Sermon on the Mount and the .two Great Commandments of the Lord. Christians were not required to first become Jews through circumcision, then qualifying to become Christian. The apostles hand picked strong ones to succeed them as leaders, some of whom are mentioned by name in the epistles, but dismissed by HWA and his researchers as being "Catholic". The Roman authorities of that day considered anyone who did not believe in their "gods" to be atheists. Jews and Christians were lumped together in this, and sabbatarian Christians were being tortured and killed right next to Sunday-keeping ones. And still, the church grew!
The reason that HWA found a paucity of information on late first-century, early second century Christians is that he narrowed his search to evidence of groups who believed exactly the same as HWA. He excluded and wrote off the very rich history of those Christians who lived in harmony with James' edict. Not requiring circumcision had extreme implications with regard to ones ability to participate in activities in the Temple. It meant exclusion from certain rituals considered essential to the Jews. This was much more than just avoiding a body modification, because it had always been regarded as a "sign".
Because history did not agree with HWA's preconceptions, he insisted with no evidence that true history had somehow been suppressed, and that Satan had used Simon Magus to raise up the Catholic Church.
Phinnpoy,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the absurdity of the "Lost Century" notion - the evidence does NOT support the Armstrong narrative about Church history.
Trooisto,
I loved you personalization of the tenth chapter of Romans for the benefit of Armstrongites - Good stuff!
I'm just surprised Gary let us get through Easter without publishing some crazy rant from one of the COGs.
ReplyDelete