The first day of the Armstrongite Feast of Tabernacles has arrived, and the improperly named "Continuing" Church of God wasted no time identifying the most important theme of the day: your wallet. Of course they did!
James Martenet gave the offertory.
Giving an offering is an act of worship. Give faithfully and you honor God with your resources. Walk by faith, not by sight. The Feast pictures the millennial kingdom, when God will dwell with humanity. Also, here is the mailing address in Grover Beach, California. PayPal works too.
Nothing says "walk by faith and not by sight" like a street address and a donations page dropped into the same paragraph as the coming Kingdom of God.
This is not an accident. It is straight from the Armstrongism playbook. Holy days in this tradition are not merely commemorations. They are collection days. Deuteronomy 16:16-17 said males were not to appear empty-handed three times a year at the pilgrimage feasts. Armstrongism stretched that into seven annual holy-day offerings, plus first tithe, plus a second tithe saved to spend on yourself at the Feast, plus (in the classic system) a third tithe in certain years, plus building funds, plus member letter appeals, plus tithe of the tithe. The Bible never commanded seven cash extractions nor all of these extra money grabs. Convenience and revenue did. Even some former insiders have said the quiet part out loud: more holy days means more offerings.
New Covenant Christians do not need any of this.
The festivals were shadows. The substance is Christ. Paul said so without embarrassment: "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ" (Colossians 2:16-17). You do not keep camping in the shadow after the Person has arrived. You do not send the shadow a check.
Galatians 4 is even less polite. Observing days, months, seasons, and years after coming to Christ is not "restored truth." It is turning back to weak and worthless elementary principles. The Galatians were congratulating themselves on seriousness. Paul called it bondage.
The old covenant is obsolete (Hebrews 8:13). The Levitical calendar, the pilgrimage requirement, the "do not appear empty-handed" rule, and the whole sacrificial apparatus belonged to a covenant made with national Israel at Sinai. Gentiles were never parties to it. The Jerusalem council did not add "and keep Tabernacles and mail an offering to headquarters." Jesus kept the feasts because He was born under the Law. He fulfilled them. He did not commission the church to reenact them with hotel ballrooms and PayPal."
God will dwell with humanity." That is already the Christian confession. "The Word became flesh and dwelt [tabernacled] among us" (John 1:14). The Spirit already lives in believers (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19). Revelation 21 describes the final dwelling of God with man. None of those texts instruct you to picture it by taking a week off, sitting through sermons about Herbert Armstrong's 1981 feast message, and making sure Grover Beach can process your card.
Giving is not the problem. Cheerful, voluntary generosity is New Testament Christianity. Scheduled holy-day offerings framed as worship, tied to a calendar God never bound on the church, and immediately followed by an address and a donations URL-that is a different animal. It turns the first hours of a "spiritual" festival into a fundraising opener. The Kingdom of God is coming. In the meantime, please honor Him with your resources. Faith, not sight. Also Venmo.
A New Covenant Christian can rejoice that God tabernacled in Christ, dwells in His people by the Spirit, and will dwell with redeemed humanity forever. None of that requires a booth, a second tithe, a holy-day envelope, or a reminder that the most important theme of the first day is cash. The substance already came. The collection plate for the shadow can stay in the museum.
What is the difference between these cretins and the tax collectors, business people at their tables in the Temple, or the Pharisees of Jesus' time demanding tithes of cumin and mint? There has always been the attitude of Gehazi in the ACOGs, the desire to get rich from serving God. To be one of the magnates, the big poohbah. They make the gospel commercial, even eschewing the ethic of the humble artist who applies his talent for the sheer joy of others.
ReplyDeleteI well remember during the service, after the offering, and the counting had finished we were told what was ‘collected’ I mean the offering total was. And that was funnily, the high point of the service. Quite a buzz was heard around the hall where we were gathered, if the offering was up etc etc etc. It meant that their salaries were intact and the WORK could continue etc etc etc. I did enjoy the feast I admit. Having cash for 7-8 days to blow, I mean to spend wisely was great. Eat drink and be merry. And we did and were lol. But of course any leftover tithe was sent to the church coffers, sigh. At least the ministry could drive around in new cars, while us sheep banged along in our 10, 15 or 20 year old bombs lol. Mine was 20+ years old. Never a boring moment in the old wwcog.
ReplyDelete"Cheerful, voluntary generosity is New Testament Christianity."
ReplyDeleteWe were constantly harangued with the cheerful giving message, yet in my congregation, it was the same members doing all the giving and another same group doing all the getting. The getters were the minister bootlickers, and the most vocal. It was just wealth transfer dressed up as charity.
The most important thing some old bird asks is: "Why are we here"?
ReplyDeleteInteresting and predictable how churches ask for money to be given either freely or expected, with all the coercive scriptures, but when congregants need money, they tell you to pray about it and see if God doesn't open the windows of heaven for you. Of course, there are no windows and He doesn't. As my niece said when she left WCG, "My God doesn't need money: LOL. I always felt that since the gods owned the "cattle on every hill and the wealth in every mine...", they could just sell some of them and it when funds ran low :)
ReplyDeleteHow can someone honor/worship God when they don't even understand what they are doing? Armstrong and his followers have never understood that the Feast of Tabernacles points to Jesus Christ (as do the Sabbath and other festivals), and HE fulfilled it!
ReplyDelete"and HE fulfilled it!"
Delete******************************
Think not I am come to destroy the law.....
I still have visions of a rebop. Wouldn't it just be a gas if the whole enchilada could be revamped and repurposed into a nautical theme? Being fishermen was an integral part of the daily lives of Jesus and the disciples. Sailing became an important part of Paul's mission as well. Why not celebrate and embrace that? HWA took the old, superceded Sinai Covenant and simply inserted Jesus into it, repurposing the original intent of it, so why can't we do the same?
ReplyDeleteI'm envisioning the "Feast of Barnacles", a week in which church members converge in harbors and marinas, their temporary dwellings being ships, boats, and yachts! If carefully planned, the meetings could be held in staterooms of historic vessels such as the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA, a city which served as an early Feast site of the old WCG! I'm sure that Jekyll Island, GA could also be adapted. For those looking for an historically authentic feast experience, the Holy Lands would be an excellent choice! Retrace Jesus's sailing routes! And, just imagine Jamaica! Cuisine for the Feast would be confined to the fish caught on the daily excursions. There are references in the gospels regarding the feeding of the crowds who came to hear Jesus's message, and fish were always part of that. It's partially why those two intersecting parabolas have been used as the international symbol of Christians for millennia!
Considering what HWA already did to the feasts from Torah, this is not as gauche as some may think! It is a way of keeping these oracles fresh and relevant, and any of the dozens of those who have equated themselves with HWA by ordaining themselves as apostles could order it! Think of the potential this would have in attracting youth to the splinters! The ministers might not like 1/10 of the daily catch as their tithes, but, you know, if they can't take a joke...........! Uh oh! Just killed the dream, dead as a door nail, right there!
Excuse my ramblings. Just had Elvis's comeback song, "If I can Dream" playing in my head, and thought I should share!
BB