No one could possibly forget his utterly appalling (and let's be honest, vile) reaction back when grace-filled Christians in the local community quietly erected crosses to honor each Living Church of God member slaughtered by Terry Ratzmann in those tragic Milwaukee murders. While others grieved, Bwana Bob couldn't resist spewing his disgust at the very symbol of the faith he claims to follow.
You know, verses like Proverbs 16:18—"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall"—or maybe James 4:6, where it says God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Funny how those get skipped when you're busy declaring yourself the one true prophet while everyone else is apparently blind.
But sure, keep ranting about pagan crosses and end-time disasters—nothing says "humble servant of God" like turning every post into a mirror for self-admiration. Priorities, right?
And here we are in 2026, and surprise, surprise—he's still just as spiteful and repulsed by the cross as ever. If you're a genuine Christian, even considering this guy as a legitimate teacher or leader, that should be flashing red lights and blaring sirens.
One can only imagine the sheer delight it must bring him when he sees Islamic extremists tearing down Christian crosses and demolishing churches—he probably equates it to some glorious sign of the times. After all, Armstrongists like Bwana Bob treat the Book of Revelation like their personal validation playbook; they desperately need every disaster, plague, and apocalyptic horror mentioned in it to actually happen so they can finally scream, "See? We were right all along!" How convenient for their endless nuttiness.
Many people have pointed to various aspects of modern technology as being related to the ‘mark of the beast’ of Revelation. And while the final Beast power will utilize technology, could something as familiar as some type of a cross be a mark of the beast?
Like many other Armstrongists, Bwana Bob's eyes glaze over at the mere thought that Emperor Constantine slapped that pagan-tinged symbol on his military shields—the infamous labarum with its chi-rho "cross" thingy—turning what should be a simple execution stake into some militaristic talisman for his troops.
Because nothing screams "true Christianity" like a Roman emperor repurposing a heavenly vision to win battles and push his version of the faith forward, right? Clearly, that's the hill Bwana Bob chooses to die on—repeatedly—while conveniently ignoring how the real cross has meant comfort and remembrance to actual believers for centuries. But hey, who needs historical nuance when you've got prophecy-fueled disdain to fuel the annual rant?
In 312, the Roman Emperor Constantine I the Great was in Trier, Germany where he had an unexpected vision of a cross that appeared in the sky…Constantine’s soldiers, the majority of whom were pagans, placed the sacred image of the cross on their shields (Mangan C.M. In This Sign You Conquer, 10/15/03 Copyright © 2004 Catholic Online).
Oh, of course—those stupid, ignorant, pagan heathens dared to use the cross, so naturally it must be forever prohibited. Bad pagans! Shame on them for tainting the symbol with their filthy history.
Real True Christians (read: Armstrongists) would never, ever allow a cross anywhere near them—gasp!—because, as everyone knows, the Antichrist is definitely going to be making you get one on your forehead or hand. Better safe than sorry, right? Can't risk associating with anything that might accidentally look like that thing Jesus actually died on. Priorities, people. Priorities.
If the cross is a symbol of the future Antichrist/Beast power as Priest P. Huchedé indicates it will be (and it is in a book with an official imprimatur), perhaps those who come from faiths descended from Emperor Constantine should be concerned about their religion now–before it becomes even further removed from the original faith. The Bible indicates that the true Christians will NOT have the symbol/mark needed to buy or sell when the two beasts of Revelation 13 are in power, but only those that will follow those beasts will (Revelation 13:16-17)–and while crosses may not necessarily be required everywhere, other Greco-Roman Catholic writings suggest that in certain places, they will be.
Bwana Bob goes on and on about all kinds of things just to pump up that massive vain ego of his, yet he very conveniently chooses to ignore the following from the Bible:
You know, verses like Proverbs 16:18—"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall"—or maybe James 4:6, where it says God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Funny how those get skipped when you're busy declaring yourself the one true prophet while everyone else is apparently blind.
But sure, keep ranting about pagan crosses and end-time disasters—nothing says "humble servant of God" like turning every post into a mirror for self-admiration. Priorities, right?
Instead of despising the cross, like Bwana Bob does, perhaps he needs to look at how his sacred Scriptures present the opposite view:
...the cross is central to salvation, to be boasted in (Galatians 6:14), preached boldly, and regarded as the ultimate demonstration of God's love and power.
The message of the cross is described as foolishness (or seeming absurd/nonsense) to unbelievers like Bwana Bob, but it is the power of God to those being saved.
1 Corinthians 1:18 — For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.1 Corinthians 1:23 — ...but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles...
This shows that unbelievers (Jews expecting a triumphant Messiah without suffering, or Greeks seeking philosophical sophistication) naturally reject or scorn the idea of a crucified Savior. Paul calls this a "stumbling block" (skandalon, scandal/offense) and "foolishness," but he affirms it as divine wisdom.
Jesus Himself "endured the cross, despising the shame" — not despising the cross as evil, but treating the shame/humiliation associated with it (public execution as a criminal, nakedness, mockery) as something to disregard because of the greater joy of redemption and exaltation ahead.
Hebrews 12:2 — ...looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
This is the closest the Bible comes to using "despising" in connection with the cross, but it's Jesus despising the shame of it (not the cross itself), and He endured it willingly for our sake.
Believers are warned against becoming enemies of the cross by living in ways that undermine its meaning (e.g., pursuing fleshly desires instead of self-denial and holiness).
Philippians 3:18 — "For many... walk as enemies of the cross of Christ." (Paul weeps over this, describing such people as focused on earthly things, with destruction as their end.)
The New Testament consistently honors the cross as the means of atonement (e.g., Colossians 2:14, 1 Peter 2:24), reconciliation (Ephesians 2:16), and victory over sin/death.
Paul says:
Galatians 6:14 — "But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."
The Bible says the cross appears foolish or offensive to those rejecting the gospel (unbelievers), and Jesus despised its shame while enduring it. But true Christians are called to embrace, proclaim, and boast in the cross—not despise it—as the core of salvation. Any teaching that despises the cross itself (as a symbol or the event) goes against the New Testament's emphasis.
14 comments:
Follow the trail: you despise the cross, you despise what the cross symbolizes, so in the end you despise Christ. No surprise there, the WCG was not a Christ based religion.
I wonder how mentally stable he was able to be in the days before wireless communication? Just imagine how he would have reacted to crosses (telephone poles) being placed every so many feet down each street!
Gotta laugh when Radson gives these Pictures to Dr Pastor Bob showing less than 50 persons being fed with a few 50kg bags of Maize ,when Radson should be showing at least a 100 50 Kg bags and a thousand people at least. Bob you gotta have Radson pay the Witchdoctors more money to Replicate the Thousands you claim are in Malawi- Nobody can believe your story of thousands in Malawi- unless you call it Thursdays Lies to the Brethren as Sasha would say😉
HWA and WCG created the culture of "we are the true church because we have the truth", which created the culture of feeling triumphant about knowing the hidden knowledge that God has denied to most people, and being technically correct about various facts: 3 days and 3 nights, the date of Christ's birth, whether it's technically a cross, whether we're born again or begotten again... all things which in my experience, don't lead to bearing fruits of righteousness, but bearing fruits of Pharisaical superiority.
Meanwhile I was in a generation of kids raised in WCG who were never taught the doctrines of Christ that really matter.
It always seemed to me growing up in Worldwide that HWA and the leadership really wanted to de-emphasize the role of Christ, especially associations that might seem to be common with mainstream protestant beliefs. I remember he always talking about the mainstream Christ was a "young smart aleck." The tragedy was that he assumed the unearned title of "Apostle" and pretty much became the messiah for Worldwide and still is for too many of the spin off organizations.
I wonder if Dennis's prehistoric men drew any crosses on their cave walls. That'd probably shut the sputtering Armstrongite mouths once and for good!
I always was amused when they tried to find previous uses of crosses in history. Yeah... humans like right angles, theyre pleasing to the eye. Its not that exciting.
I guess Bob and most COGlodytes never encountered Louie Giglio explaining how laminin - in the shape of the cross - is like a protein glue that holds all the cells of the human body together, as he explains "the cross in everything".
Citing Colossians 1:17, Giglio emphasizes the cross as the central theme of Christian life, representing God's ultimate love, value, and sacrifice for humanity. He teaches that the cross isn't just a historical event but a present reality that breaks the grip of shame, defines personal worth, and holds all things together, while referencing the molecular structure of laminin.
Giglio's laminin message may be about 15 years old but it is worth looking up on YouTube. COGlodytes seem to enjoy mixing a little bit of science with religion...hope they would embrace the message of laminin and the cross.
The ACOGs train young minds to hate the cross, mock the message of the cross (as silly mainstream Christians), as idolatry and as pagan worship (weeping for Tammuz). The brainwashing and thought-stopping is real. What’s purely a Christian symbol that declares Jesus’ victory over sin and death, and is the altar on which He willingly gave His life is turned into something “evil” by these groups and that causes these people to be held captive to a false gospel and belief system. It’s disgusting
A great (x6 I think) grandfather of mine had a hunting shelter in a "cave" (more like a small space in a rock face) and carved some varying patterns of lines in the walls -killing time, I'd guess.
Over time, later people decided he was carving Hebrew, Teutonic and Phoenician characters... which makes no sense.
The cross only has a bad connotation if it is turned upside down. I feel badly for Dave Grohl, who wears an inverted cross. Seems like a good guy. I hope he's not a Satanist.
Whether it was a "cross" or an upright stake, pole or tree, the symbol is not the most important thing, neither should it be an instrument of worship. Even Jimmy Swaggart had this right. He preached that scriptures that addressed the cross (1 Corinthians 1:17-18, Galatians 6:14, ect.) are not referring to a "wooden beam", but the entirety of the " Christ event", His death, burial, and resurrection. That is where one's faith should be, and not in some physical object or image.
Well, Ive not worked with him myself and cant speak to his personal life, but he did an EXTREME act of kindness for a very good friend of mine once. Certainly more than any "Christian charity" Ive ever been witness to.
Do you actually think people worship the cross? It
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