One thing the Church of God movement has been good at is milking its members of their money as much as possible. They have made tithing into a salvational issue where if you do not tithe then you are disappointing their god. Their god expects to be kept fat and happy with your money. After all, everything you have belongs to it! It owns everything and you have no right to any of it. You only have things because it has allowed you to have it.
Members are expected to send into church headquarters their 1st tithe, save a 2nd tithe for the annual convention they claim is a "Feast". Then they expect you to tithe off of that amount and also give them your excess 2nd tithe, then there is the 3rd tithe that is supposed to go towards the widows, orphans, and those who need temporary assistance from the church - which 90% of the time is diverted into other uses. Then, after all of that, you are expected to fork over money on church-appointed "holy" days that are supposed to be "free-will offerings". Then, there are the co-worker/member letters guilt-tripping members into sending in more money.
In Church of Godland it is far more important to keep the church leadership in fancy homes, buy them jets and pay for their use and upkeep, build monuments to dirty rocks, build extravagant campuses and fancy gardens, fund concerts, Irish dance productions, and buy horses and properties. That is the real main purpose of the membership of the church. Instructing members how to be followers of Christ and the New Covenant is NOT something most of them even try to do anymore.
Money is the foundational doctrine of the church that weighs far more heavily than any salvational teachings or even Jesus himself. Considering that tithing is NOT a New Covenant command, it's no wonder they enforce it as their foundational belief in the New Covenant is non-existent.
Exit and Support Network has the following letter up about Gerald Flurry's Feast of Tabernacles.
October 1, 2023
‘The Feast’ is underway, and it is not about what to eat, but whom, and who is eating whom? The PCG may call it the “Feast of Tabernacles” and it is true that tabernacles are being swallowed up by that false religious organization, especially the dwelling places of their members, whose livelihoods are steadily quaffed up, paycheck after paycheck, all year long, not only during “The Feast.”
The real focus of that “feast” is on forking over as much tithes and offerings as can be wrung out of the flock, who are deluded to believe they are being fed “spiritual food,” but there is a certain spirit that is eating them alive as the main course. When it’s time for the money-extracting ‘offeratory’ messages, the bottomless maw of HQ opens wide, saying “Feed me, feed me!”
A first, second, and third tithe have already broken the poor families, but now they are coerced into handing over the “tithe of the tithe,” and guilted into giving up “excess tithe” at the start of the Feast before it has ended. Whose “excess?” What is “excess” according to HQ? Does that somehow put a limit on how much joy a member can experience at the Feast and how much they can enjoy life all year long?
“Feed me the excess!” growls the belly god of HQ. What is truly excessive is the smell of greed rising up to high heaven out of that place. With all the tithes that are already in place and enforced with a vengeance, you would think that would satiate the need to ask for any more members’ money, but, no, HQ must establish fund, after fund, after special fund. Isn’t the true excess in begging for all those special funds? I suppose GF can contort a few verses and their meanings in the Bible to justify the excess funds as “biblical” and therefore mandatory.
Hey, how about this one in the next Royal Vision? “New Revelation: There is a Fourth Tithe!” I know GF can pull that one off! Hallelujah! (The PCG hates it when people say that word.) Let’s not talk about “excess tithe” but how about excessive tithes. Excessive extortion. Excessive control. –Former PCG member (name withheld)
25 comments:
"Money is the foundational doctrine of the church that weighs far more heavily than any salvational teachings or even Jesus himself. Considering that tithing is NOT a New Covenant command, it's no wonder they enforce it as their foundational belief in the New Covenant is non-existent." ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, NO2HWA!
What a contrast to the way Paul handled his ministry among Christ's disciples in the First Century! An APOSTLE of Jesus Christ (a REAL one) worked to support himself so as not to be (or perceived to be) a financial burden on his flock. I'd like to see more of these ACOGs following Paul's example! For Paul, it was ALL about Jesus of Nazareth, and what he had done FOR all of us!
Another dynamic entirely kicks in when an ACOG the size of a large metropolitan church still believes it has a Herbert W. Armstrong-sized global commission, and that the pastor general and ministers deserve WCG-level compensation. Since the church has weird-assed beliefs that don't lend themselves to growth, the leaders put the huge financial burden on the few people they actually have. Most of the members believe that the leader and ministers are entitled (the leader and ministers share that belief!), and so it goes.
If the occasional frog jumps out of the boiling water, he says to himself, "Man, those dingleweeds were really screwing us over!". Those whom he tells respond with, "Ya think???"
Pretty much agree with you assessment, Lonnie. A piece of advice—— quit putting exclamation marks after almost every sentence. We get your point whether we agree with you or not.
4:36,
LOL - point taken. That one did have a lot of exclamation points. I guess that's one more holdover from my Worldwide days - it was Herbie's favorite punctuation mark.
That looks like HWA!
Just today, attending a UCG site but not a member, a minister said begin saving your 2nd tithe right after the feast.
Yes so that the wise astute presiding councils or elders or overseers can amass your "excess" 2nd tithe/"common" in 2024 to use more merchant marine container ships to send more bibles & used laptops overseas where they can be pawned off on Etsy & ebay...then after that, the grateful recipients can "look a gift horse in the mouth" & drag him to court and sue ya.
oooooooh, a 4th tithe! that is the new one for squandered laptops & bible gifts
847
Yes they do that, but how many times have they asked for your excess 2nd tithe the very first night of the feast? I guess they need to cover those $5000 ministerial checks!
When G. Flurry dies, what item will be the first thing sold: A. The "campus" in England or B. the Gulfstream jet
or C. : ocean front property on the 14400 block of S. Bryant Rd. in dusty suburban Edmond, OK
Miller Jones/ Lonnie Hendrix wrote:
4:36,
”LOL - point taken. That one did have a lot of exclamation points. I guess that's one more holdover from my Worldwide days - it was Herbie's favorite punctuation mark.”
Lonnie, use caps and !’s all you want. Don’t listen to the same critics who slam HWA for using them. Their ignorance of that kind of writing should not keep you from EMPHASIZING your points. Advertising writing gets results, pablum doesn’t. That’s why HWA got results that no one here can even come close to. They use pablum to try and criticize advertising properly used.
Someone or ones decided that all CAPS should NOT BE USED on the internet because it means SHOUTING!!! Absolute nonsense.
I don’t agree with most of what you write, but don’t let others here do what they try to do to HWA.
Besides, HWA was an advertising man, and he used it to influence thousands to read their Bible. Why? Simple, he followed Numbers 24:14,
“And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will ADVERTISE thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.”
Advertise = to inform, etc.
Oh, anyone know why he pounded on his body before each radio broadcast and other speaking events?
Another biblical example he followed.
How many know how twice a year he spent two weeks fasting? That’s four weeks, and critics here can’t seem to do one day a year without complaining. Why is that?
I have other questions, but for later, MAYBE!
I always wondered how HWA became so morbidly obese. Thank you for enlightening us, MR. BLINDERS!!!!!
3:28 that was NOT a very nice response. You missed the whole point. Nice.
Who missed the point, 1:37?
Speaking totally hypothetically, what if a man were committing a horrible sin for ten solid years, one that ruined another person's life? Would
God choose such a person to reveal his truths to because that person diligently fasted for four weeks each year? If a man's going to distort his obedience like that, how could God trust him not to distort the applications of His truths? How could God be certain that that man wouldn't just make up a bunch of stuff about a hypothetical date, like say 1975???
6:19 you are, as usual, assuming too much into it, and then assuming your assumption is the correct one.
Ever thought about the fact, assuming the rumors are true, that deep repentance would drive a man to do what none of you on this site seem to be able to do.
So far, the critics can’t even stop eating for 24 hours it seems. Nor does anyone here, as far as I have seen, take into account why most people turn to religion in the first place. They want to change their miserable lives. When they find out that they themselves must work on it, they quit and blame others for their own failure. Especially when they see the other human teaching them also has sins and other human problems too. So, an easy scapegoat appears. Why it’s the guy that told me to repent is succeeding and I’m not. It’s his fault. Sad commentary on human nature , don’t you think?
Real love understands, carnal human nature, which we all have, cannot understand without spiritual help. And, it is available to us all, if we sincerely ask for it.
6:19 your hypothetical premise fails at the start.
Let’s see, David, Paul, and many others committed murder, adultery, etc. etc. and were used by Yahweh in spite of them.
Ruined someone’s life over ten years?
Really? You know that how? Did you know the person involved? Were they destitute? Etc., etc.?
if you did you may have a right to speak. However, from my experience you are speaking from wishful thinking, not actual contact and being there in person.
And, that's why we call you Mr. Blinders!
But, you have the right to believe as you choose, or as makes you happy. It's also my right (or anyone else's for that matter) to call B.S. when I see it.
Question: The Bible requires at least the males, to attend a feast at Jerusalem three times a year. Now, instructions are given that these feasts are to be carried out in Jerusalem and Passover is given as an example of carrying this out. Now, why does the COGs not obey this instruction?
Now some of you will articulate that this instruction was only for those of the Old Covenant, then why does Paul write that he must arrive in Jerusalem to attend a feast? How did HWA not see this? Or did he see it and hope that no one else would put it all together? Why did Yahweh state that the feasts must be kept in Jerusalem? The answer is that Jerusalem is in the Holy Land which Yahweh states is His. For all these years most, including myself, did not notice these plain instructions. This is a clear example when one does not take the time to deeply examine scripture.
What say you?
There is a sinister side to following the Torah, in general, and the tithing laws in particular. It is an error that is based on valid logic but that does not acknowledge the character of God. It is an error that I think some in Armstrongism and Christianity, particularly fundamentalist Christianity, fall victim to.
It is based on the Deuteronomic History contained in the early part of the Old Testament. It portrays a transactional relationship with God. The logical propositions are simple:
P1 - If you obey, then I will bless you.
P2 - If you disobey, I will curse you.
The Book of Job sounds a strong counterpoint to the Deuteronomic texts. It is interesting that the early Hebrew language in which the book is written indicates that it may have been the first book of the Bible. So, the Bible may have started out being non-Deuteronomic. That is a different topic but it plays into this topic.
The problem arises when some people see this spare logic as a system that can be used to control God. It is best expressed in a slightly modified version of P1 above:
P3 – If I do X, then God must do Y. (Example: If I tithe, God must bless me.)
This leads some people to believe they can manipulate God. When they tithe, when they observe the FoT or whatever, they believe they have God by the short hairs. He must render up blessings – like the genie in the lamp. Herbert W. Armstrong referred to and employed the idea of “holding God to his promises” or controlling God in his Autobiography. This error is based on the failure to recognize 1) God’s perfection and our imperfection 2) complexity of conditions due to God’s active and constructive participation in human events. For example, in P3 above, can any of us really perfectly, with a perfect heart, do X? Further, is it possible that X is not a simple proposition but a complex proposition influenced by God’s orchestration of many factors to achieve a specific purpose? We think we can do X but we do not understand the full nature and context of X.
The upshot of this is that there are some people sitting in FoT services today, that believe that what they are doing is controlling God’s behavior. They have concluded that they have obligated God to bless them through their behavior. This concept may even pour out of the pulpit. And this is an unintended consequence of seeing a transactional system as a logical construct separate from the nature of God. To correct this flaw, we may re-write P3 above as follows:
P3’ – If I do X with a heart of faith, then God in his grace may do Y.
Without this recognition, tithing becomes “investment tithing”. Tithing is seen as a way to control God. And this is why Christian preaching should be permeated with the themes of grace and faith. If these themes are not abundantly present in what you are hearing at the FoT this year, I believe you need to reflect.
Krischan
Sweetblood,
At FOT time today there must be alternatives to keeping the feast other than going to Jerusalem, at least for now until God's kingdom arrives: Paul observed the FOT, apparently at least in spirit, in Rome when he was confined there for 2 years.
It may have been from the potlucks where non-nutritious worthless cake flour secretly got slipp'd in 🍰
It's been said that you can keep the feast by camping in a tent out back if travelling to official site is not feasible (feast-ible)
also options of checking in a motel/airbnb/hotel locally
or even use sleeping bag in other rooms at home to get the travelling booth feel of it
so Jerusalem tickets from Kayak.com are not a salvation issue
Amy Allwine's life was ruined after her crummy hubby surely spent 10 years pretending to be almost sinless
people gave a lot of credit to guys who abused it
Fourth tithe? Ooh! Sign me up!
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