Continuing Church of God...Things are not as rosey as Bob Thiel wants us to believe

 

Things aren't pretty in paradise

Its no longer rainbows, unicorns, and lollipops

 

From a reader and one of his members:

As for the Continuing Church Of god and its leaders' credibility and counseling abilities, as a longtime COG member and a believer (in general terms), I did attend with them. I saw their people and their increasingly fixated and marginal work such as it really is. What of one of their foremost leaders, Richard Close? Years ago Richard was ordered to divorce his wife because his church minister--forcing some church policy--said he had to divorce her if he wanted to be a baptized church member. So, snap like that, he divorced his wife. Richard Close, now a leader in CCOG, chose to put his corporate minister's orders above the Bible's command in Matthew 19:6 which says: "So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must never separate." He put a minister's word above God's holy Word. some years later when the church's policy on d&r changed, Richard Close's minister gave him his permission to remarry his ex-wife. So, he did. This is not simplistically just a case of love having won out. It is an avoidable, tragic example of a man caving into ministerial hegemony--spiritual bullying-- as the so-called "government of God" having been placed above God himself and God's holy Words. If Richard Close had not been given ministerial permission to remarry his ex-wife, he would not have remarried her. what kind of a COG leader is this? ( Like the plodding, dutiful, and obedient Boxer from Animal Farm.) this is not railing and nastily throwing someone's mistakes at them in a mean-spirited way. For, nothing, in essence, has changed. Consider the implications of such men in church "over" God's laypeople. LCG and other churches are really no different.

What of yet another of CCOG's top leaders, Steve Dupuie?

 

Steve comes across as being not unfriendly, but he is insecure and therefore pretentious and hollow about his church intellect and his knowledge. Therefore, he has been so desperate to prove himself intellectually and in the field of knowledge that he completely minimizes and excoriates the very best and the nicest and most gentle of people who raise points, even by way of friendly discussion.

 

In one case, Warren from Ontario--a good and gentleman in whom is no guile--merely raised a friendly possibility of an idea being extrapolated and not directly stated in the Bible. Immediately, in public and on CCOG's e-mail group, Steve Dupuie accused Warren of being a force of dissension and discord among the brethren. Steve does this regularly to anyone who can out-do him in church writings, knowledge, and Bible studying, which could include everyone. He can't get his way and be the foremost, so he slights and belittles others who are far better than he, and of whom the world is not worthy. the good news is that neither Steve nor anyone has to be seen as being superlative in knowledge and church intellect. Insecurity. Consider the implications of such a man in the church "over" God's laypeople.

I could write of more ... for instance of the CCOG leader I know well who petulantly hacked another COG member's e-mail account and put a trace on it, and taunted him, because he was sore at the member.

Aside from their superficial, fizzling claim to continue the teachings shown by god through Mr. Armstrong and doing "the Philadelphia work", how do these CCOG leaders show Jesus to others? If some read this, perhaps they can explain and help us to understand.