Dr. Stavrinides died the other day and just like clockwork the ravenous wolves of Armstrongism started peeing on the ground marking their territory as they sought to malign his character and his faith.
Most of this bad-mouthing has come from self-appointed stinking turds masquerading as faithful men of God who in rebellious fits of vile impertinence decided they were better than everyone else and started their own little cults.
Castrated from the very start by Herbert Armstrong's very own words condemning their actions, these little men struggle to find position and honor in their tiny little apostate communities as they continually lash out at others who are better than they are.
This brings us today to our great Bwana Bob Thiel, the chief overseer of the improperly named "continuing" Church of a lesser "god". Nothing pops his holistic cork more than COG and former COG members being more successful than he is and having a better relationship with God than he does.
After he read the notice I put up on this blog and copied the exact information I posted on this blog, he set about maligning the character and faith of Dr. Stavrinides. Dr. Stav's religious knowledge, his historical knowledge, and his ability to debate and examine issues of importance make the superficial crap that was spoonfed the Great Bwana Bob by Armstrongism and his spiritual daddy, Rod Meredith look like baby pablum curdling on the highchair. Dr. Stav could have wiped the floor with Bwana Bob's so-called intellect many times over, but he was too good of a person to do that. Not so with Bwana Bob.
The Chief Overseer of Feculence starts off by claiming Dr Stav's church, where he was a Greek Orthodox priest, said he was God. Can Bwana Bob really be THIS stupid? Godly men who practice their faith will always be said by their associates, members, and others as God sent to them. In no manner whatsoever do any of these people claim the person is God. That is blasphemy in almost every branch of Christianity except in Armstrongism and Mormonism which both teach humans will be God.
Bwana Bob says:
No, Orthodox church, he was NOT “God sent to us as a church.” That is a blasphemous statement.
His parish wrote in his obituary:
We are truly going to miss you. We have learned so many things from him. He has taught us to love and respect each other.You were God sent to us as a church. Not only we got the best priest, we also got a very educated priest who just loved to teach and guide us in the right way. He never gave up on us. He always remained committed to the church, even having to endure a two-hour drive plus traffic from Glendora to Saint George Orthodox Church Hesperia. We are extremely grateful to meet you and spend lots of time with him.
No matter how busy things got, he always made time for the people he cared about, and showed us that family always comes first no matter what. Everyone who knew him knew how proud he was of the people he loved,
He stressed the significance of attending church and emphasized the need to prioritize it. He used to say, (We always should put God first before anything)
Father Alexander had the Bible memorized. Any question you ask, he would say go to this verse and chapter.
Here we have a group of people who recognized the God-given attributes that Dr. Stav epitomized and practiced to all around him. He epitomized godly attributes as all REAl Christians are supposed to be doing (except for Bob Thiel, apparently). He was not God on earth or sent as a God to his church. Greek Orthodox Christians would be appalled how some small-minded iniquitous man such as Bwana Bob would say this.
Bwana Bob continues on trying to malign him.
Dr. K. J. Stavrinides had been a member of the old Worldwide Church of God.
After Herbert W. Armstrong died and the Tkach Administration was in place, he rose from being basically a little known teacher to being one who tried to persuade the membership to change and embrace the Greco-Roman trinity that was enforced by Emperor Theodosius.
Dr Stave was not a "little-known" teacher. He was highly respected by students, faculty, and church members for his intellect and his Biblical knowledge, something that Bwana Bob is greatly lacking in. He wrote numerous articles for church publications and was sought out by other institutions for his knowledge and expertise.
Next, the Bwana tries to smear his name by attaching him to Tkach jr and the God Is... booklet. The God Is...booklet was a wake-up call for many in the church to examine how we understood God.
Bwana Bob then tries to smear him one more time by stating he taught at Azusa Pacific University as if this is some kind of great blasphemy. APU is highly rated for its education, nursing, religious, and other teaching areas. It has also been in existence since 1899, something that Armstrongism was never able to accomplish with its three colleges or even its church!
Dr Stav's students rated him highly, something that Bwana Bob has never accomplished. Imagine at any point from this moment forward that anyone and I repeat ANYONE would EVER say this about Bob Thiel:
It is those who truly hold to the original faith that are called, chosen, and faithful.
Sadly, Dr. Stavrinides, Hank Hanegraaff, Joseph Tkach, Jr. and many thousands who had at least some affiliation with the old Worldwide Church of God fell away from being faithful.
Do not follow their poor legacy.
Dr Stavrinides will be remembered for a long time. Bob Thiel, not so much.
