Here are two different Church of God videos made by two different COG's.
The first is by the Great Bwana to Africa and Chief Overlooker Bob Mzungu Thiel. If you can make it through the first three minutes without laughing or shaking your head in confusion, then more power to you. The Great Overlooker should have spent some of that $2,000,000 he has dumped in Africa over the past many years on setting up a real studio in his home, or at least investing in some quality curtains and desk chairs that don't bounce. He also could have found better AI sources to make his animations.
The second video shows a slick presentation by United Church of God that attempts to be all hip with the presenter wearing his snap back trying to appeal to millennial/Gen Z potential converts. It's slick and well-made, though filled with heresy just like the Great Overlooker's animation.
One is an obvious comedy routine worthy of derision and the other a more subversive one that subtly slips in Armstrongist doctrines as truth, denying the Holy Spirit and true divinity of Jesus. It is another subtle attempt to promote the idea of the Armstrongist "god family" where true church members can become gods and join them in some kind of mystic union
ruling planets and galaxies right alongside them as co-equals.
13 comments:
Mystic union? Who ever heard of that?
The UCG presentation is certainly slick. Yet if any outsider visited one of their congregations, they would find that the church is very different to its public image. The two are worlds apart.
Objects of heresy and comedy gets my vote!
One phrase caught my ear and that was the mention of "the unpardonable sin," which like the phrase "the second coming," still cannot be found in the Bible.
One thought that came to mind was when the "woman" said she remembered something as a picture in the background showed a Bob Thiel booklet cover picture of Ambassador Auditorium and I wondered: "Where is Ambassador Auditorium today? In fact, where is Ambassador College today?"
Ambassador College, like the phrase "unpardonable sin," also still cannot be found!
Will "the unpardonable sin" (2 Cor 5:19) for human beings, and "the second coming" (John 20:17-23; Acts 1:3; I Cor 15:4-6), and/or Ambassador College ever return again?
Time will tell...
John
The dude with the hat lost me at "Early councils like the Council of Nicaea should not determine the nature of God. Scripture should."
The Council of Nicaea is certainly the one that rolls off everyone's tongue, but there were others (Hippo and Carthage) which had a part in the canonization process which determined or confirmed what New Testament scripture was. So, the statement above is an oversimplification of a chicken-egg process. As for Bob Thiel's animation, I don't even know where to begin, but even a baseball cap would not have made it semi-relatable.
One of my hobbies is binge-watching TV programs which are available on DVD, for sale, or available at the library. These are produced by studios, networks, and other sources, and have various characteristics based on who creates them. One source is the Hallmark organization. As a general rule, the characters in these Hallmark productions are wooden and squeaky clean, and the plots simplistic and similar to TV programs of the 1950s. As such, they are tedious to watch because they lack the depth of productions from other contemporary sources. They are easily recognized as an anomaly, and would be skipped over by the general movie or TV watching public who is accustomed to more gripping and realistic fare. The problem with materials produced by Bob Thiel, or any of the ACOG organizations is that they are not nuanced in the areas required to garner or hold modern audience's interest. Like the Hallmark productions, they inadvertently target a very small portion of the viewing audience. They do not "pop" or reach out and grab an audience who is accustomed to something on an entirely different level.
HWA and GTA had the ability to captivate listeners' or viewers' attention in the same ways in which Art Bell or his successor George Noory have been able to do. While the ACOGs of today may utilize video media, times have changed, the bar has been raised, and they fail to
comprehend how to do it effectively. They tend to imitate mainstream Christian media, or to latch on to the popular left and right fear mongering political messaging which seems to resonate with large segments of the population. They are simply clueless as to how to produce and market their message in a way that resonates, and the two examples provided confirm this. They cannot and do not close the deal, and will not get the feets walking towards the seats!
Well, I gotta give UCG credit for breaking away from aping the old WT format at least.
(Bobs bad attempt is just dull and boring)
Booby's videos are BELOW the level of production of the "Dick and Jane" books we all read in the first grade, ie....
See Bob Flail
FLAIL, FLAIL , FLAIL
Bob is a Fake
FAKE, FAKE, FAKE
See Bob Fail
FAIL , FAIL, FAIL
The UCG flick is well produced, but I get a flash of a UPS driver coming to the door, whenever I see the baseball cap dude!
There's something vaguely creepy and unsettling about baseball cap guy, who looks like he might be keeping Jelly chained in his basement.
Yeah, 9:34,when I first saw that, my thoughts were "Did Michael Moore get a haircut?"
Anyone realizes that if you want to be taken seriously these days, you wear your ball cap backwards! That's just basic Street 101! I don't know what famous MLB catcher the hip hop guys were idolizing when they started that trend, but it just is what it is! I borrowed their trend because I found that if you ride a motorcycle, wearing your hat backwards keeps the wind from blowing it off, too.
Don't forget deceit.
Old news John.
Anon, Friday, November 24, 2023 at 2:12:00 AM PST, said"
"...Old news John.
******
From Mystery of the Ages:
“…Education and Religion Tomorrow
When Jesus Christ returns to earth in the full supreme power and glory of the Creator God, he is coming, this time to save the world, spiritually. When he sits--on the throne of his glory, in Jerusalem, all nations composed of flesh-and-blood mortal humans will be there before him. He shall begin dividing the "sheep from the goats." To the sheep, on his right hand, "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:34). Those converted, now, are heirs. We shall inherit the kingdom at Christ's coming. The dead in Christ shall be resurrected, rising first--changed to Spirit immortality. We that are then alive, in Christ, shall be instantaneously changed to Spirit immortality, and caught up with the resurrected ones, to meet the descending Christ in the air. We shall then be separated by immortality from the mortal humans on earth. Wherever Jesus is, from there, we shall be ever with him. Where, then, will he be? His feet shall stand that same day on the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4). It is after this that he separates the sheep (those who repent,) believe, and receive his Holy Spirit) from the goats (those who rebel). This separation--this educating of converts for God's kingdom--will continue throughout the entire thousand years of Christ's reign on earth. Christ will give to all nations a new and pure language: "For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent" (Zeph. 3:9). The pure truth of God will be proclaimed to all people. No one will be deceived any longer. But "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Isa. 11:9).…”
******
Now, that's old news! And it still all isn't true.
Where is the proof that: "...this educating of converts for God's kingdom--will continue throughout the entire thousand years of Christ's reign on earth. Christ will give to all nations a new and pure language..."
When those saints meet Jesus in the clouds, why would Jesus come back down to earth? Why wouldn't those saints just stay grounded in the first place? Why waste time? Why go on a needless trip?
Here is some "new news:" when Satan exits the pit after 1,000 years he will prove how fruitless Jesus' educating of converts turned out to be. It should be obvious that the establishment of God's Kingdom on earth will be such that war will not be learned again.
Old news? Jesus is coming very soon to reign on earth 1000 years.
New news? Jesus is coming to reign on earth with the establishment of God's Kingdom and the establishment of a pure language later: after Satan exits the pit...and is killed.
Will Education and Religion Tomorrow occur "very soon" during 1,000 years, or considerably later than we have all been taught by HWA in that MOA? Or, will that 1000 years on earth by like that presented in Amos 8:11-12, while the saints returned with Jesus to His Father's dwelling for more education and training for at least 1,000 years?
Oh, is that old news too?
Time will tell...
John
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