PCG: "God needs you to be a godly Renaissance man!"

 

When you look at the Philadelphia Church of God and what it teaches you are never surprised to see who their latest idol is that they have. For the last year or so, Winston Churchill has been the right example to follow, after Herbert W Armstrong, of course.

Brad McDonald has a new article up about how the youth of the Philadelphia Church of God need to learn to be Renaissance men.

He writes:

Any high school student has probably heard the word “Renaissance.” The term, which means “rebirth,” is used to describe 15th-century Europe—particularly Italy—at a time when art, literature and science were “reborn.” Most students have probably also heard a common phrase used to describe the men of that era: “Renaissance man.”

During the Renaissance, there was a revival in learning. Individuals were artists, musicians, scientists, inventors, philosophers. Today, the term “Renaissance man” describes the man who is competent is multiple fields—the man who has a rounded personality. A Renaissance man is an athlete and an academic, a warrior and a poet, an officer and a gentleman.

I think this is hilarious, particularly for someone in the PCG to be writing this considering how many of the Renaissance men of history were gay, which is pretty much like PCG today.

The Retrospect Journal had this to say about the Renaissance men in the "realm of carnal debauchery".

Renaissance Italy is popularly portrayed as a realm of carnal debauchery. One only needs to watch Tom Fontana’s Borgia (2011-2014) to understand common conceptions of Renaissance Italy as a realm of brutal acts, orgies, and affairs. Yet, is there any truth to these depictions? On the subject of sexual activity, Michael Rocke has argued that fifteenth century Florence was awash with sodomy. He suggests that two thirds of men were officially implicated by the age of forty. In the final four decades of the fifteenth century, 17,000 Florentine men had been accused of sodomy by the Office of the Night (an institution founded to investigate homosexual relations). These statistics seem to substantiate our popular conception of the Renaissance. However, sheer statistics undermine the complex dynamics of homosexual relations in fifteenth-century Florence.

This was not only a story of licentiousness. Men grappled with their “carnal” desires and scrutinised them through the intellectual tools available to them. One of these tools was Neoplatonism, the revival and re-interpretation of Plato and the Neoplatonic texts, most associated with Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) and his informal Florentine Academy. Understandings of Ancient Greek thought provided a framework for Florentine men to engage with homosexual relations, creating a discourse that could both justify and condemn their actions. Homosexuality in Renaissance Florence: The Ambiguities of Neoplatonic Thought

McDonald quickly moves on to PCG's masculine hero-worship of Winston Churchill:

Many of the great figures of history could be described as Renaissance men. One example is Winston Churchill. He was an avid reader, an outstanding writer and an influential philosopher. He memorized poetry. He was an artist who loved painting. At the same time, he loved to build, to develop, to get outside and work with his hands. He loved polo and fencing. Even as he got into his forties and fifties, he still loved getting outside and working with his hands. In fact, he was a good brick layer.

Ask yourself: Is a godly leader a Renaissance man?

McDonald wants the men of the PCG to realize their true masculine potential:

The point is, godly leaders are well-rounded. They are balanced. They love reading and studying, art and music; they enjoy museums and the theater. But they are also not afraid to get outside and “get their hands dirty.” They play sports; they landscape; they hunt and fish. They work with their hands. They are intellectuals, but they are also warriors.

Now, does not this describe PCG ministers accurately or COG leaders as a whole?

When have we ever seen real godly leaders who were well-rounded? When. have we ever seen a balanced COG leader? They are usually so wildly crazy that they are off the charts. Balance is not a Church of God cherished word.

What about you, young men? Where do you fall on this spectrum of masculinity? Do you like to read, to think, to engage your mind? Do you like art, poetry, fine music? If so, do you also work hard, pushing yourself to your physical limit?

McDonald then trots out David as a shining example of what a renaissance man is:

To see what a godly Renaissance man is, we can look to the Bible and find one of the greatest examples in King David. 

 

King David, even as a teenager, was a tough, brave warrior. He lived outside; bathed in creeks; slept by the fire and under the stars. He hunted for his own food. He was absolutely deadly with a sling shot and sword. He fought lions, bears and giants. He was the ultimate tough guy.
And yet, at the same time, David was an absolutely brilliant musician. He played the harp, and probably other stringed instruments. He wrote poetry and songs. He loved knowledge and learning. He was a terrific public speaker. David was a Renaissance teenager!

Sadly the COG has had a lot of men like David. Some have spent years banging other men's wives, stalking women, molesting children, and eventually killing members.

After extolling the virtues of David, McDonald says this:

Mr. Gerald Flurry writes about this in his book The Former Prophets: How to Become a King: “Several times throughout his life, David said that God was with him. That was like the motif of his life. That’s the most important statement that you can make about a person: That God is with him.”

The ultimate source of David’s admirable character traits was God’s power working with and in him! 

 

What about you, men? When people look at you, do they see God? Do they say, “Wow, there is something special about that guy”? This is the characteristic that will really set you apart. The first five characteristics of a Renaissance man can be developed by anyone. Plenty of people appreciate culture; there are brave and strong men; there are men of action; there are men who love education; men who take care of themselves physically. You can develop these characteristics separate from God. But with God, and with the power of His Spirit working with you, these characteristics can become a hundred times more effective! In many instances, the power of God will actually empower you as you develop these characteristics! 

 

Young men: God needs you to be a godly Renaissance man!

 

PCG Takes Delight In "Torturing" Church Teens At Summer Camp

 

As we come to the end of 2020 I would think that we should never be appalled at the disgusting things COG ministers say, but then along comes Brad McDonald of the Philadelphia Church of God cult.

McDonald has an article up on the latest Trumpet on PCG's website about the youth summer program it runs in Edmond Oklahoma each summer. If you have ever been in the midwest and especially in Oklahoma in July and August it is not a pleasant place to be at times due to the heat and humidity. McDonald loves that kind of weather so that church teens can become "utterly exhausted, physically."

This past July, 120 teenagers descended on the campus that houses the Philadelphia Trumpet offices in Edmond, Oklahoma, and participated in our 17th annual youth camp here. This camp, sponsored by the Philadelphia Church of God, is designed to ensure these young people go home mentally charged and focused, their attitudes and spirits refreshed and renewed.

They also tend to arrive home utterly exhausted, physically.

For three weeks, these teens spent their days mountain biking, canoeing and practicing archery, as well as playing basketball, water polo, soccer, softball, volleyball and flag football. They walked, and often jogged, between activities, as well as to breakfast, lunch and dinner. In the evenings they often engaged in other taxing activities, including a track and field event and camp dances. And if all that activity wasn’t strenuous enough, much of it occurred in daytime temperatures that hovered in the mid 90s.

Then McDonald goes on to claim the god of the Philadelphia Church of God takes pleasure in this suffering and finds this "...three-week display of physical strength and endurance was glorious and honorable!"

For some, just reading that paragraph is enough to make us sweat. Personally, as much as I love sports and the outdoors, the thought of spending six to seven hours a day out in the sizzling Oklahoma weather—chasing balls, paddling across lakes and biking through ravines—isn’t nearly as appealing as it once was. But to the teens who attended camp, God says this three-week display of physical strength and endurance was glorious and honorable!

You can read His admiration in Proverbs 20:29: “The glory of young men is their strength.”

Of course, it’s true that physical health, strength and vitality in any person is praiseworthy. Isn’t it interesting though, that God identifies explicitly physical strength and energyas a defining and glorious quality of youth? In God’s mind, being a physically fit and healthy teenager—a young man (or woman) with strength and agility, someone who is robust and energetic—is a splendid and honorable accomplishment.

It’s also a state of being that God wants all teenagers to experience!

This is why, beyond merely seeking to make camp fun, we have our teens engage in so much physically demanding activity. Together with the high-quality meals and snacks we feed them, the slew of sports and outdoor activities serve to improve the overall physical health and strength of the teens. It works, too. In virtually every case, teens depart camp stronger, fitter and healthier than when they arrived. Beyond the short-term goal of improved health, one of the longer-term goals of our youth camps is to encourage the teens to embrace healthy and active living as a way of life—a lifestyle.

Once embraced, this lifestyle will help them develop a state of physical health, strength and vibrancy that God says will be to their glory and honor!

There is absolutely nothing wrong in training young adults in healthy ways that will lead to healthy adult lives. But, given the track record of abuse that PCG dishes out on members, this is NOT something to be bragging about when how kids are being abused by its leaders. 

As parents, the responsibility is on us to cultivate within our teens the desire to be physically healthy and strong, to be active and energetic—to be motivated to make their strength a trait worthy of glory and admiration! Read the full article here: Wanted: Healthy, Vibrant Teens!

The abuse that PCG dishes out is not confined to the physical activity in the heat of Oklahoma. but then moves inside to the classroom where spiritual torture is poured out upon the impressionable minds of these youth.

In Balance

Of course, these efforts to cultivate strong, healthy teens must be balanced. They must be complemented with similarly strenuous mental and spiritual exercises. This is why, in addition to all the physically demanding activities at our youth camps, teens take Bible classes, and classes on leadership and womanhood. It’s why we teach them public speaking and ballroom dance. It’s the reason we have them perform on stage and encourage them to play music and embrace art. And it’s why, particularly in this technology-ridden age of perpetual distractions, we encourage our teens to develop a love for reading, study and meditation.

As the 120 teens that came to camp returned home, it was our hope that amid their meditations about camp they think about the strenuous activity they engaged in over those three weeks. Not how difficult or hot it was, or how much they sweated, or how sore they were. But on the wonderful opportunity they had to develop and display physical strengthand vitality—traits God admires as the glory of youth.

 

Exit and Support Network has this up in relation to the same article: 

August 23, 2020

Brad Macdonald wrote a propaganda article about Philadelphia Youth Camp (“Wanted: Healthy, Vibrant Teens!” July 7,2020 ).  He wrote about the “wonderful” experience PCG teens (age 13-19) will have if they attend. In it he not only went through what teens will experience (endure) at camp for 3 weeks but he put the blame on parents if they don’t turn out the kind of teens he described.

They start the day with a “15-minute calisthenics warmup before breakfast.” During the day their time will be “filled” with sports instruction on every sport imaginable.

It was alarming when he said: [bolding mine]

“In the evenings they often engage in other taxing activities, including sports games, a track and field event and camp dances. And if all that activity isn’t strenuous enough, much of it will occur in daytime temperatures that hover in the mid-90s. … spending six to seven hours a day out in the sizzling Oklahoma weather—chasing balls, paddling across lakes and climbing ropes…”

Yet he says this is “glorious and honorable” to God and quotes Prov. 20:29.

How many teens will end up suffering from heat exhaustion, or injuries?

Next he goes on a rant about “strong, healthy teenagers have become a dying breed” and they “display embarrassingly little strength and vitality!”

After he says the majority of teens today have poor physical health and display “embarrassingly little strength and vitality,” he puts the blame square on the shoulders of the parents for the condition of their teen: too much chicken nuggets and french fries; the Internet, video games, lazing on the couch. The parents are “the ones failing to cultivate within our teens the desire to live a healthy and active lifestyle.”

To keep everything “in balance” Macdonald adds “similarly strenuous mental and spiritual exercises” one of which is “Bible classes” (which are sure to be reading GF’s literature) and listening to haranguing sermons.

The reality of this camp and the horrific parts are going to be left out. PYC is patterned after SEP (WCG’s summer camp) and if one remembers what it was like attending that, they have only a hint of what PYC will be like. [Note: My Horrible Experiences at S.E.P. comes close.]

This article was draining to say the least. –[name withheld]