Crackpot Bob Thiel Touts Raymond “Buffy” McNair’s Tired “Fiery Trials” Sermon: More Proof Armstrongism Loves Suffering More Than Grace
Once again, the ever-reliable Crackpot Prophet Bob Thiel has dug up an old Raymond McNair article to “prove” that real Christians must endure constant “fiery trials,” severe persecutions, and endless pressure just to qualify for the Kingdom. Because nothing says “Good News” like being told your loving Father designed your life to be one long stress test.
McNair’s piece, titled something along the lines of “You Need To Know Why – Fiery Trials are Necessary,” is classic Worldwide Church of God boilerplate. It claims trials are mandatory blessings in disguise, compares spiritual birth to the pain of physical childbirth, trots out David, Paul, and Peter as examples of those who had to suffer mightily to “qualify,” and warns that without enough tribulation you’ll end up spiritually flabby—or worse, a “bastard” son whom God rejects. Comforting stuff.
Herbert Armstrong himself reportedly called Raymond McNair “Buffy McNair,” a jab that spoke volumes about how even HWA viewed his loyalty but limited brightness. McNair wasn’t exactly the sharpest lightbulb in the ministerial chandelier, and this article shows why. It’s a mishmash of proof-texting, stretched typology, and legalistic fear-mongering that turns the normal hardships of life in a fallen world into a mandatory qualification program for elite Kingdom positions.
What the Bible Actually Teaches
Yes, Scripture is clear that Christians will face tribulation. Jesus Himself said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33). Paul told the disciples they would enter the Kingdom “through much tribulation” (Acts 14:22), warned that godliness brings persecution (2 Timothy 3:12), and Peter spoke of the “fiery trial” that tries faith like gold in the fire (1 Peter 4:12-13; 1 Peter 1:6-7).
Hebrews 12 discusses God’s fatherly chastening, and James 1 talks about the blessing of enduring temptation. Paul’s own catalogue of sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11 is sobering. No serious Christian denies that following Christ can bring opposition, refinement, and hardship. God does use trials to conform us to Christ’s image, build endurance, and draw us closer to Him.
But McNair (and Thiel parroting him) turns these realities into a crushing system. Not every believer is called to Paul-level shipwrecks and beatings. Not every trial is a special “fiery test” from God to prove your worthiness. And suffering is never the means by which we earn or qualify for salvation or high office in the Kingdom. That’s where Armstrongism goes off the rails into works-righteousness territory.
The New Covenant Difference
Under the New Covenant, our standing with God is based on Christ’s finished work, not on how many fiery trials we’ve racked up. We are accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6), complete in Him (Colossians 2:10), and perfected forever by His one sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10-14). Trials test and refine existing faith—they don’t create it or serve as a performance review for future rulership.
The childbirth analogy McNair leans on is strained typology at best. Being “born again” is the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit through faith, not something we achieve by enduring enough pressure. God promises to limit our temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13), work all things for good (Romans 8:28), and deliver us from many afflictions (Psalm 34:19). He also gives peace that passes understanding and invites the weary to find rest in Him (Matthew 11:28-30; Philippians 4:6-7).
Armstrongist leaders loved weaponizing these passages to keep members anxious, tithing, and submissive. “God is testing you—don’t be lukewarm!” became code for “Stay in line or you’re out.” It fostered fear, guilt, and spiritual exhaustion rather than the freedom Christ promised.
Buffy McNair’s recycled ramblings, now promoted by Crackpot Bob, reveal the deep sickness at the heart of Armstrongism: a theology that magnifies suffering and human striving while minimizing the grace, rest, and finished victory we have in Jesus Christ.
True biblical Christianity does not demand that believers manufacture or seek out endless fiery trials to prove their worth. Life in this fallen world already supplies plenty of trouble. God sovereignly uses those difficulties for our growth and His glory, but He does not run a cosmic obstacle course where only the most bruised and battered contestants win the crown.
The New Covenant offers something far better: a loving Father who disciplines us as sons and daughters, yes, but who has already declared us righteous in Christ. Our endurance flows not from gritted-teeth determination to avoid being labeled spiritual bastards, but from abiding in the One who has already overcome the world.
This is the glorious freedom of the gospel. We do not have to live under perpetual pressure to qualify for something Christ has already secured for us. Trials will come, but they are not the proof of our sonship— the indwelling Holy Spirit and our faith in the finished work of Calvary are.
Reject the heavy yoke of Armstrongist fear-mongering. Rest in the grace of the New Covenant. The true Kingdom is entered not by those who suffer the most, but by those who trust the Savior who suffered once for all.
Thank God we are no longer under the bondage of “fiery trials” as a lifestyle requirement. In Christ, we have peace, purpose, and the sure hope of glory—without needing Buffy McNair or Bwana Bob’s distorted proof-texts to tell us otherwise.
Freedom in Christ beats endless tribulation theater every single time.
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