Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Church of God Magazines And Their Angry God



The 7th Day Churches of God site has a sub-column that highlights COG news and also lists several COG/Sabbatarian monthly publications.

It is quite interesting to browse through them occasionally. Some are more Christocentric than others. Some could be sold on newsstands as competition for NewsMax or other "far-right" publications that are constantly bemoaning the state of the world. 

One would imagine that for some Church of God groups that place so much heavy emphasis on a kingdom to come that their public articles would be more focused on what a glorious world it will be and how to bring those concepts into life today as a foretaste of that kingdom. But death, disasters, human tragedy, moral decay, and every other negative thing they can find to write about are far more important than ever mentioning Jesus or putting into practice what he taught and how he acted. 

God the Father is eternally pissed off and can't wait to unleash armageddon on the world. When church members are constantly confronted by this angry pissed-off god in its own publications it's no wonder so many have mental health issues or end up leaving the church.

These publications are:

The July-August 2023 issues are now on-line:

Bible Sabbath Association : Sabbath Sentinel

Church of God 7th Day (Denver) : Bible Advocate

Church of God 7th Day (Salem) : Advocate of Truth

Church of God International : International News

Church of God a Worldwide Association : Discern

Living Church of God : Tomorrow’s World

United Church of God : Beyond Today

COG7 (Denver) is the most Christocentric publication of them all. Grace, sanctification, and justification are talked about a lot.

COG7 (Salem) is far more legalistic than COG7 Denver. One can quickly see why there was a split between the two groups decades ago. Law trumps everything.

CGI's magazine could be a rebrand of NewsMax. If there is a negative story in the world this publication will be sure to highlight it. Grace-focused articles are few. Angry God and Jesus God seldom meet.

COGWA and UCG's magazines tend to be more like the old Plain Truths that took current world events, dissected them, and then had to begrudgingly mention Jesus in the last one or two paragraphs. Angry God still tends to dominate.

LCG's magazine continues the doom and gloom of Rod Meredith's era with a few angry Jesus things thrown in occasionally. Here, angry God the Father predominantly dominates.


24 comments:

  1. I notice how the rags of Thiel and Flurry are left off the list! Well done for that!

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  2. So many magazines to read. No time to read the Bible.

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  3. I think Theils magazine is only seen by his very small church membership. His church is shrinking everyday.

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  4. PCG has a funny article up right now touting Africans as "the fastest runners in the world". Presumably they refer to the Zulu regiments (often credited with travelling up to 50 miles per day as opposed to the British's 20), but its a big blanket statement for an entire continent!

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  5. Seems to me there is as much, or more, anger expressed on this site than any expressed in any single cog. What is this constant paranoia over the dead of years ago. Perhaps a little more of the “JESUS LOVE” needs to be applied right here first. What’s it really look like in living practice, for it can’t be seen here.

    Anybody, show us how it really works. Then, tell us about the faults of those now dead and gone, and those who are alive now.

    Love to see the difference, but doubt anyone here can show us.

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  6. Im surprised that any group is still producing magazines and have not gone 100% digital. Even folks in Africa often have cell phones.

    Playboy , MAD Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Martha Stewart and many more, have all stopped print editions. The cost to print and mail a copy is likely in the range of $1 each or more, and the internet has just simply replaced newspapers, and print of any kind as a vehicle of information.

    Come on folks, join the 21st Century!

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  7. When you see how the people who go to the various different so-called COGs actually behave in real life, you might lose heart and not feel like bothering to read their magazines. The magazines do not seem to do any good at all.

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  8. Tonto at 4:43 PM said...“Playboy , MAD Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Martha Stewart and many more, have all stopped print editions. The cost to print and mail a copy is likely in the range of $1 each or more, and the internet has just simply replaced newspapers, and print of any kind as a vehicle of information. ”

    Do not tolerate that sort of cheapness from them.

    Tonto, CANCEL your Playboy, MAD magazine, and Entertainment Weekly subscriptions at once!

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  9. "Tonto, CANCEL your Playboy, MAD magazine, and Entertainment Weekly subscriptions at once!"

    Well, the evangelists in the various COG's need to set an example first. I housesat an Evanglsits home once on Waverly Drive. Laying on the shelf of the husband's nightstand was a Playboy. On the shelf of his wife's nightstand was a Playgirl.

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  10. NO2HWA,

    Sadly, these days the evangelist husband might have the Playgirl magazine and his wife might have the Playboy magazine.

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  11. 3.28pm. The "dead of years ago" like HWA and similar, are still to a good degree ruling their churches from the grave. So discussing them and their doctrines is to be expected.

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  12. "Sadly, these days the evangelist husband might have the Playgirl magazine and his wife might have the Playboy magazine."

    This is so true!

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  13. Remember, this is the new millennium! These days, the ministers' wives are probably checking out Blackdogue!

    Also, the biggest change I noticed as a child when my parental units became ensnared in Armstrongism was that the God I had come to know as my friend as a young Methodist boy, became this angry, anxious to punish monster, in whose name I had holy hell beat out if me several times each day! Imagine the shocking changes this brings when God suddenly morphs into a reflection of the mind of HWA! Considering that, I believe we can all be forgiven for the anger we occasionally display here towards the dastardly organizations that warped our minds, with what they so quaintly referred to as "the truth"! Actually, there isn't enough anger possible to express in a lifetime against our spiritual rape. It'd be nice to receive healing for that, but the anger is the natural byproduct of systemic and institutionalized brainwashing. One never fully recovers, despite diligent effort.

    So, kiddie kiddies, your cult caused what you see here. The fact that you can't understand how or why speaks volumes about your own psychological and spiritual condition. Think about that!

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  14. These magazines are very important to the sponsoring denominations. They not only indoctrinate but are an organizational distinctive. When I was a kid I really wanted a subscription to Boys Life. I had a brief engagement with the Boy Scouts. My sperm donor was not in the habit of doing anything for his children so I struck out. But a subscription to Boys Life was like an emblem of belonging. It made you feel like you were a part of the tribe.

    Overall, I do not think these magazines, however, have the gravitas of the old Plain Truth Magazine. For many people their first contact was through the PT and it occupied "life line" status in their lives. It was a rite of passsage for me to discard my big box of PT magazines years ago. They are now at the bottom of the county land fill. The only thing I can say about the incident is that I was a little surprised at how often HWA's face appeared on the cover. It should have been called the "HWA Magazine".

    The Angry God is a part of the Armstrongist business model. That is how they leverage the wallets of the people in the pews. The Armstrongist leaders want you to be afraid of them so they can control your behavior. Nobody can control anyone by teaching a gracious God.
    That's why there is all the hype about world calamities. They want you to feel a perpetual sense of impending doom because it loosens your grip on personal autonomy. The business model is clever but not very successful. The Armstrongist base seems like it is going to be permanently tiny.

    What happened with the PT magazine has always been a mystery to me. I never thought about it for years and assumed it was defunct. Then, out or curiosity, I looked it up on the internet recently and there it was. I don't know if it has any affiliation, formal or informal, with a denomination at all. I don't know if Greg Albrecht is even a member of a denomination. When the PT magazine required a subscription payment, my subscription lapsed. I have not seen a copy of the magazine since. It is no longer a distinctive associated with anything that I can tell. I don't know what kind of people the PT subscription base is comprised of. Something that was so prominent is now just a mystery.

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  15. The various news agencies from around the world RADICALLY disagree on even basics facts regarding events that took place in the last 48 hours. Go listen to them. These church magazines contain nothing but junk news and junk analysis. Their news and analysis is junk because it is based on biased junk and lies from biased and lying newspapers.

    Secondly, how the heck are we supposed to believe stories from 2000 years ago when most people don't even know what is going on today, despite all our superior knowledge and mass communication? Who can really expect anyone to believe such things?

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  16. Will the Flurrys do an article on Sinesd O'Connor, her untimely death, and her significance in prophecy?

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    1. 8:32, I was actually looking through my favorite QAnon nutbag sites earlier to see if they would credit O'Connor with being a "white hat" who fought against child sexual abuse in the RCC. So far, though, no.

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  17. The angry God is the God of Adventism. The Adventists were convinced that God was going to come back in 1844. Well, he didn't, but all the Adventist groups hung on to the angry God who was going to smite the world soon. They looked with great anxiety on every world event as a sign of Jesus's soon coming. Some, like the JW's and the WCG were foolish enough to set dates. Regardless of whether they set dates or not, the angry god is still going to come soon to smite the world. Their whole message is bow to the angry God, join us, lest you be struck down by his wrath. Preaching a God who is loving, merciful, and wanting to forgive repentant sinners is foreign to them. Such a sad way to live!

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  18. @Tonto 4:43

    Yes Tonto, but not everyone likes to read from phones and computer screens. I still like printed materials, magazines, and books. Just because it's the 21st century does not mean that everything has to be tech related, including all manner of reading materials.

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  19. Yeah I print the articles out myself at home that I want to read in draft mode b/w. If I find paper that has just writing on one side of the paper I’ll save it (I actually now have two boxes full of such secondhand paper) and then reuse it by printing on the blank side. This way I save on paper and ink too. Like 6:37 I prefer hard copy to digital as I get ocular migraines if I stare at a screen for too long.

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  20. This has been investigated. There's a psychological difference between reading a screen or the print version.

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  21. None of these magazines are as angry as this blog. Nope none.


    Fingers pointing right back at you athiest's disguised as 'Jesus focused christians'.
    You NEVER preach about Jesus Christ. NEVER.

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  22. Loma speaks to me through my 8ball, and says you're all hazy

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