Every time I click on the COGWA home page the above image pops up where they make the hilarious claim they "don't do watered down" religion.
It's pretty hard to water down something that is already watered down and ignores Christ and the New Covenant. Being double apostates and professional Juadizers is not spreading a gospel message.
The "standards" that built the COGWA empire were one of rebellion and deceit, not something that real Christians practice.
These are the same people that meet with Kubik and others to form the United Church of God while still employed by the Worldwide Church of God and while being paid by them to be loyal ministers. We watched as they all came and went from Kubik's South Orange Grove Apts in the months leading up to their rank apostasy. Then, once they had enough numbers in place and guaranteed income, they jumped ship to start UCG, ensuring their comfortable lifestyle continued on.
Then, in another rebellion, they took over half the ministry and members of UCG with them to form the Church of God a Worldwide Association splinter group. The same corrupt men who had a chance to start something new in UCG took the old ways of management and legalism with them to continue on doing what they were comfortable with and what benefited them the most.
Substitute the word "churches" below with "COG's" and you have a perfect description of the COG movement today in 2023.
14 comments:
At a Christian conference in Britain, the question came under discussion as to what made Christianity different from other religions. There was much discussion, and it did not seem that the discussion was moving to resolution. C.S. Lewis walked in late and was asked this same question and he responded immediately with the word "grace." This settles the question for most followers of Jesus Christ.
In Splinterland, the doctrine of grace barely exists. The only mention of grace in the MOA is on page 52 where it is not explained in detail but connected to Simon Magus. This is what I call thoroughgoing watering down. And it is what makes a clear separation between Armstrongism and Christianity. HWA wrote is Opus Magnum and ignored the heart and soul of Christianity. If one wants to keep laws alone in order to qualify for some kind of state of approbation, there are all kinds of religions in the world that provide that. Why remodel and dilute Christianity?
Great comment 5:49!
I like this often repeated saying:
What’s the difference between all other religions and Christianity?
All other religions, including Armstrongism, demand do, do, do.
In Christianity, it’s done!
Grace is so much bigger than the limited play it gets in Armstrongism; their watered-down Jesus is too weak to save anyone alone and the love of their watered-down God is limited.
Am I the only one that when they see COGWA , their mind jumps to CLOG WAD??
So we have this:
1. They water down Jesus.
2. They water down the doctrine of God.
3. They water down grace.
4. They water down love making it only keeping the commandments.
5. They water down history and science, for instance, advocating British-Israelism.
6. They exalt, not the law of Moses as found in the Bible, but a selection from the law as determined by the old WCG Church Administration - an exaltation of something watered down.
Ater all this watering down, their statement fancifully suggests that real Christianity is what is watered down. It is time for Splinterland to go back to the drawing board on theology. They have had a couple of decades to do this since HWA's death. HWA was the man who stood in the gap when it came to preventing the gravely needed revision of WCG theology. They have had a chance to transform booklet theology into a real systematic theology and all they have done is double down on booklet theology.
Watering Down the Laws of God
The world's churches have always tried to water down the laws of God. They try to make God's laws out to be bad, oppressive, burdensome, obsolete, and done away with. They try to turn grace into a license to sin. Without the good laws of God to guide them they do not know right from wrong,
A newspaper article quoted one homosexual as asking “Why should we obey God's laws?” and saying that “Christians” (meaning Catholics and Protestants) do not obey God's laws. The homosexual specifically mentioned “Christians” keeping Sunday rather than the Sabbath and eating pigs.
As if being full of fornication and adultery was not bad enough, many of the world's churches now are even going along with the LGBTQ+ agenda to show their “love,” as well as to avoid getting charged with “hate crimes.”
Perverse males now self-identify as female so they can go into the dressing rooms of young females. If anyone complains to the police about this in the USA they get told that it is a “sensitive social issue.” Up in Canada the current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accuses such complainers of “anti-trans hate.” Too many people vote for openly perverse politicians who support the same bad causes that they do, but then end up confused by the results.
Some women were protesting outside a women's prison because male criminals were self-identifying as females so they could be transferred to the female's prison and rape them. Then the men self-identify as lesbian women who “love” other women. The protesters did not like this happening, but got totally stumped when asked about the rights of trans people, since the protesters themselves also believed in the LGBTQ+ agenda. Remember that one of the curses for disobedience to God's laws is confusion of the mind.
10:02 —- Right on!
Not only that, several posters on this site talk about not making the Messiah, love, grace, etc. prime. And that the Bible research of the cog groups is badly lacking!
Oh, really?
Then WHY aren’t those posters, and others, on. This site expressing those things themselves? Usually all critics are hypocrites.
Water down love? Then why does the Bible itself say… for this is the love of God that we KEEP His commandments? Don’t you folks believe the Bible, or would you prefer to ignore it? And criticize what you never proved yourself? I thot so.
10:02, we have some who post here who have the same take on God's law, who think that they can do anything while being under grace, just as Jude warned when he wrote that these types turn grace into lasciviousness or unrestrainedness (a license to do whatever one wishes; v4). At bottom, they simply hate God's law, not knowing what it is, being indoctrinated by demons and tradition into believing that there isn't anything good from God's law, that God gets angry at people who try to keep it along with faith in Christ, as though the two are incompatible (contrary to Ja 1:25), as though God is like a man who feels envy or ill-will toward someone who dares regard a law that came by Moses through angels. (Gal 3:19) They twist certain scriptures from Paul to support lawlessness while totally ignoring his declaration that "we establish (stand up) the law" (Rom 3:31). They think that they can love without the law when John says over and over again that love is about keeping the commandments. (1 John 2:3-4 and other places in 1&2nd Jn)
If you don't want God's law, God will give you a lawless society at your doorstep.
This evil spirit of demons has been around for a long time and it has destroyed the church, resulting in our scattering. Moreover, we deserved it because of our many sins that gave them an inroad. Now, all hell has broken loose but only for a short time until the Lord separates the good from the bad and they quit believing "the lie" (2 Thess 2:11).
So we are in a catch-22 situation until the Lord ends this madness and completes this separating of the church.
The Lord may not end it quite the way you think there COGaWA friend! I hope you have a contigency plan to cover that possibility!
If the COG supporters would post links to what their church preaches about grace and justification, perhaps we could learn something.
It would also be helpful if they would post links to their teachings on how they have the authority to cherry picked their law favorites, and how they decided which laws were better to snub.
I often ask my COG associate to provide such links, but all I ever get is preaching, with a superior attitude, about how lawless and uninformed we Christians, falsely so called, are.
Gender Confusion
The hatred of God has gone so far these days that many people are now even rejecting the idea that God created mankind male and female. They say that there are 57+ different genders. The most important thing seems to be to tell all the boys that they are actually girls, or should want to be girls, and to tell all the girls that they are actually boys, or should want to be boys,
Surgeons can operate on young people and make the boys appear less like boys and more like girls, and can make the girls appear less like girls and more like boys. However, the surgeons are not actually able to turn boys into girls or girls into boys. All they can really do is mutilate the boys and girls so that they can no longer reproduce.
Perverts passing themselves off as teachers warp the minds of students, social workers do the same, and surgeons get to mutilate the children for money.
One cannot help wondering how this happened in a country that is supposedly full of so many Catholics and Protestants. Don't they know anything at all?
1002 and 1219,
Could you please identify those posters that say they can do anything while being under grace. I suppose you believe lying is wrong?
"for this is the love of God that we KEEP His commandments" The greek word used there is "entole" which means commands or teachings (as used here, it is Jesus's teachings). He is not referring to the Law. Every single time John refers to the Law he uses the greek term "nomos".
Consider the commandment/lawkeeping of a Baptist compared to those following cogwa dogma. I suspect the only laws you can proudly point to as a cogwa member to show your superiority (er, special calling) over the Baptist is primarily the weekly sabbath, holy days, and not eating pork.
Both you and the Baptist ignore rules on 1) how to build a tabernacle for the Feast, 2) women separating from the family during her period, 3) wearing prayer tassles, etc.
Some common laws you both presumably keep is not worshipping a pagan god (A Baptist observing Christmas/Easter is not worshipping santa or Ra so don't foolishly say that), not bowing to Graven images, taking God's name in vain, stealing, murder, adultery, false witness, honoring parents (probably more likely by the baptist), coveting (most do this and those in cogwa are quite prone to do so).
The remainder of the 613 laws are generally ignored and probably kept no better by the cogwa-ite than the Baptist. Neither keep them as well as the Messianic Jew.
Anyway, considering the commands (entole) Jesus gave such as walking a mile with another, or giving your cloak too I suspect the Baptist is more consistently generous with the community and those that are strangers.
In the end, it seems the actual difference in the practice of following the commands, teachings, and laws of the Lord are really very similar in number. 613 old testament laws and with the addition of the New testament teachings and commands I suspect there is about
at most a .5% difference in command and law keeping between the cogwa member and the Baptist. The cogwa member just believes their seventh day sabbath, holy day, and food law observance is more important to God than a generosity of spirit and of material goods displayed by the Baptist.
This recognition that the COGs only observed a few laws more than the Baptist and neglected other new testament commands better observed by the Baptist showed how silly the exclusivism of the COGs is.
The COGs would not exist if they did not lie and distort what others believe about obedience and grace.
The COG model is based on demonizing other Christians while puffing up the Armstrongites as being superior in obedience and knowledge.
You would expect that the “true church” would at least have the honesty, knowledge, and special insight to be able to correctly articulate the beliefs of those who practice of profess faith in Jesus as their Savior.
To the confused one who wrote about gender: thank you for shining your light on COG-odd logic!
I believe your example is helpful to those contemplating a future in a COG.
You wrote:
“The most important thing seems to be to tell all the boys that they are actually girls, or should want to be girls, and to tell all the girls that they are actually boys, or should want to be boys,”
Where did you get this bizarre “most important” shit?
This is COG-odd logic on display - full of distortion and lack of awareness of what’s going on in society.
Yes, God created us male and female… yet, hermaphrodites have always walked amongst us.
So too, there have always been people experiencing gender from different points across a very broad spectrum.
COGs show no love or compassion for those who may experiencing confusion, distress, or mistreatment regarding gender issues.
The contempt of the COGs toward those who are hurting does not bring anyone to know and follow Jesus.
You also wrote:
“One cannot help wondering how this happened in a country that is supposedly full of so many Catholics and Protestants. Don't they know anything at all?”
Catholic and Protestant voices have loudly addressed this issue from many angles.
What is not part of the public discussion on this topic is the COG voice.
Should the COG perspective ever gain a voice, it would be more effective if it was rooted in grace and truth.
Prayer for the people of the COGs:
Holy God, make these people holy; let the world see your love in the way they care for the suffering, the “least” among us.
Holy God, cause your holy grace to flow from these people to those neighbors who need your redemption.
Let these people become the hands and heart of Jesus, embracing the ones Jesus gave his life for.
Amen, amen, amen!
Anonymous Monday, March 13, 2023 at 8:20:00 PM PDT said...“Catholic and Protestant voices have loudly addressed this issue from many angles.”
Mostly from the wrong angles. President Joe Biden in the USA and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Canada are both Catholics and both officially support utter depravity.
Post a Comment