There is a private Facebook group that has the following post up:
God Is in Charge: Today, many assume that there is no God and that human beings and human governments must therefore determine their own future. However, the Bible reveals that God does exist and that He alone determines the future of people and nations. The book of Job records that God “makes nations great, and destroys them” (Job 12:23). The prophet Daniel wrote that God “removes kings and raises up kings” (Daniel 2:21) and that “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses” (Daniel 4:25, 32). The Scriptures reveal that nations and individuals will reap what they sow—those who obey God will be blessed, and those who reject God, ignoring His commandments, will be cursed (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28; Jeremiah 2). We need to remember these valuable instructions as we watch world events in the days ahead.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
18 comments:
It amazes me that these cog groups all say that they represent the Most High, yet they do not use His Name nor do they even know it. Strongs Concordance uses three pages listing references that tell us how He thinks about His Name.
These bodies/assembles that boldly proclaim how we ought to worship Him don't even know His Name. How crazy is this? They use the word God/god to describe Him failing to understand that only pagans use that term when speaking about Him.
Well allow me to reveal that the ancient ones used the term Elohim for they understood that only the pagans used that term. As to His Name and the Name of His Son, it is Yahweh and Yahshua. These two Names were used by the ancients when referring to the two Holy Ones.
Another person added this:
found out it was problems with people and not being kid-friendly.
If this alleged accusation is true then problems with people (bullying?) and not being kid-friendly is the death knell.
LCG not kid friendly? Hogwash. LCG has some “leading” ministers cover up for the creeps that are a little too “kid friendly”
Can you post last Saturday’s announcement?
Winnail writes: "He alone determines the future of people and nations"
Kind of strange, because this LCG group and the group they splintered from like to attempt and determine the future of peoples and nations on their own. That's one of the many "problems" that the LCG faces. They got all the israelite nations determined, assyrian nations determined etc.
We will have to see what comes out of this. At the present time it sounds very much like another social media rumor. They may be grappling with some issue, but leaping all the way to "falling apart" demands clear explanation.
"He alone determines the future of people and nations."
That remark is worthy of debate and expansion. We know from simple observation that there is a certain randomness to existence. So, we know that God allows for random events to affect all of us. According to the laws of probability, sooner or later, badness will befall a predominantly good person, or goodness will come upon a despicably evil person. I have never witnessed lab condition purity of only blessings coming to the good and obedient, or its counterpart, curses exclusively upon the bad or evil. Of course since we humans are all a mixture of good and evil, one could argue that this is responsible for the randomness in blessings and cursings, but that would be an oversimplification which does not stand up to rigorous test.
You have to factor in percentages to determine proportionality
I believe that the advance point Winnail is attempting to make is that if a schism is imminent, God will side with LCG (in Doug's parlance, "God's Church"), and with "God's Ministers" (his euphemism for the ministry of the LCG), and, oh by the way, you'd better watch out, because God will punish those who challenge the authority of either.
You'll never hear an ACOG minister claim that their group is in the wrong and is being punished by God. Outsiders might blame the invisibility of such groups, their lack of growth, and negligible power, on God's punishment, after all, every single one of the splinters began when they left their parent group. And, this goes back to Herbert! Actually, further than Herbert.
What seems to be the case, is that God is not the micromanager whom Armstrongite ministers believe Him to be! He allows us to experience the randomness of creation, to live life in such a way as to learn important lessons. Ministers such as Doug Winnail believe that you learn life's lessons by doing whatever the heck the ministers say! They just love to reserve that power for themselves. But we all know of many cases in which members did exactly as they were told by these ministers, and badness was the result. What I'd like to know is why has Armstrongism never found a way to be observant in all of the legalism in such a way that generates good karma towards fellow humans? Their whole system is based on using the law in such ways that nearly always punish or at the very least inconvenience others. It's as if they sit around and try to find ways to make love for God hurt or exclude their fellow man! The TGCOL are supposed to compliment one another, to be mutually the same, not to be used against one another!
Not only was Armstrongism time and date stamped. It was also a defective product which cannot be improved or reformed without destruction of its core essence!
BB
Sweetblood777 it is true that the Old Testament Hebrew scriptures say Yahweh, and this is obscured by English translations.
But, when we get to the New Testament scriptures in Greek, it doesn't say Yahweh. What do you make of that?
Reading Doug Winnail's comment at face value, it sounds as though it's intended in the context of US presidential politics, Israel, Ukraine, etc. It doesn't give hints that it's a veiled comment about any internal LCG dramas.
Also, knowing Doug's track record, he probably releases the same comment again every few years. Nothing new to see here.
Interesting, 4:00. We could use a couple of new clues! There's a commenter who tracks Winnail's comments and tells us when the most recent comments were recycled from. It would be interesting to know if this one is truly new, or recycled.
Attention: Monitor of the Winnail comments. Is this new, or recycled?
BB
In my church area, most of the teens have left and no longer attend. The majority of the remaining members are 65+, and the church is down to around 40 people. The sermons are the same thing I have heard ever since being part of Global when Mr Meredith split off to start it. I do not think our minister is capable of coming up with an original thought or interpretation of a Bible story. It is so depressing going to church that I rarely attend anymore.
Anon @ 6:24:22 PM PST
Your comments are sad and telling.
This probably happens in all the Armstrong splinters.
The reality for many is that ‘pages’ like here at Banned have more substance and insight that we would receive from any of their pulpits.
Well, 6:24, somebody gave a similar report to us maybe fifteen years ago on another forum. When these blogs and forums began, most of us were what I call "class of 1975", having left following the Great Disappointment. We were accustomed to small WCG congregations in our era being 200+ members, and the churches in major metropolitan areas being substantially larger. F/T sites were 5,000+.
We gradually began to see refugees from "class of 1995" appear in discussions in the early 2,000s, bringing us tales of ongoings in the mother ship, and the then new splinters. We also learned of the "nonaligned" or independents, who kept the original practices in their homes and listened to Ron Dart. When members began to share details regarding the sizes of the congregations, and the ages of the members it was shocking, because the figures were actually far below the HWA minimums required to raise up a new church area back in the early 1960s! And, apparently, they have not grown or regenerated from that point forward.
BB
Yep, back then some congregations were so large that many locations had two services. Different times back in those days. As the years go by we all get older. It has to do something psychological to witness something that big and substantial, then when one is older see something dwindled down like that.
I encourage my LCG brethren to please listen and pay close attention to this sermon by Ronald L. Dart. May it strengthen all of us and orient us to God. Fear not. The link is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq6eueN7DvY&list=PL5oUr6326C_99a1n2_lZCIf_6JNELI5Hl&index=29
Anon 12:49:33 PM PST
It seems from many sources that people are voting with their feet and departing from LCG and Armstrongism in greater numbers than before.
That you posted here is interesting. How many others are reading this blog and doing the same?
The holes inherent throughout the theological foundations of the cog movement are glaring and cannot be hidden now in this information age. That many are coming to Jesus Christ now, unshackled from the chains and lies and abuse of Armstrongism is indeed something we can all rejoice in. For He is our hope.
Anon 12:49,
that's a solid sermon by minister Ron Dart. What we find interesting is that while there are some anointed in the Old Covenant who may have turned aside or people aside we have it recorded. We have thousands of years of history when reading the OT. What we don't know is are the numerous anointed ministers in thousands of years in the New Testament Era. And the NT is only about a century worth of timeframe. It's sort of the unknown.
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