UCG: Don't Go To The Radicalized News Sources But Come To Us Because We Have The Real Truth. We Have The Logos!

Those fun boys in Cincinnati are back letting us know that they are the best source for unbiased news that there could possibly be! With their claim that 57% of Americans distrust the news, they want you to know that they are the best source of news you could ever possibly need. 

It’s important to note that these numbers represent journalists and media on both ends of the spectrum—liberal and conservative. And government doesn’t fare any better. 

 

What is disturbing about this for us in the Church of God fellowship? Follow-up research conducted a few weeks ago found that a majority (57 percent) of Americans interviewed noted that divisiveness is so extreme that they believe the United States “is in the midst of a cold civil war.”

Then the boys say this:

Consider these parallels: even before he was president, Abraham Lincoln saw similar issues. Back in 1858, he declared: “If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it” (Lincoln’s emphasis). When he spoke this, the United States was bitterly divided. He famously then paraphrased the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 12:25: “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” 

 

Today, this is more important than ever. In this current crisis of mistrust, we need to recognize that people on both sides have become radicalized. 

 

As Lincoln stated, “what to do and how to do it” are critical. In this world where credible, reliable and trustworthy information is all but lost, where can people turn for real truth?

Hmm...let me guess...just where are people to turn to for real truth? Hmmm...I wonder where that could possibly be? 

The biblical answer is found in John 17:17: “your word is truth” (English Standard Version, emphasis added throughout).

Imagine that, the "truth" found in a Church of God, particularly the United Church of God. Who knew! 

Remember, these are the same guys who plotted and schemed, behind the scenes, while still employed as ministers of the Worldwide Church of God. This went on for many months with them meeting in the SOG apartments and off-campus to figure out how they could start a new church, take as many people as possible to fund a new organization that would keep them all employed as ministers. And while they did this they were actively kicking out WCG members left and right who disagreed with the changes. Depending on how well they liked you and if they thought you had a lot of money, they would then pass on to these people to wait and a new church would be formed and they could join it. 

Yes, these are the men now asking you to trust them with the "truth".

Never mind that though, the boys want you to imagine that they answer to a higher power. 

But consider this. There is a certain Greek word that refers to vocabulary. The phrase for vocabulary that is simply translated “word” in English is lexi (from which we get lexicon). 

 

But lexi is not the Greek word that is in the inspired prayer from Jesus to God in John 17:17. This is a critical point: Jesus uses the Greek word logos—the verse actually reads: “your logos [Word] is truth.” 

 

Why is that Greek word logos important? Beginning a few hundred years before the coming of Jesus as the Messiah, many philosophers claimed and used the Greek logos to refer to the ability to think, as a means to persuade, as reasoned discourse, as the difference between humans and beasts. Logos was the center of many teachings.

I guess Logos is as good a word as Jesus, or getter actually. UCG, like most COG's do not mention Jesus that much. Its law, law, law. Or, law, tithe, government, hoy days, and a little Jesus. 

If we now revisit the entire prayer of Jesus in John 17:17, we then see Jesus praying for us today! “Sanctify them [set apart for holy service] in the truth; your word [logos] is truth” (ESV). This Logos—Jesus Christ as the Word—must be living within us (Ephesians 3:17). 

How can Jesus be living in the COG when the church has basically ignored the dude for decades? These are the same men who were embarrassed to even say the name Jesus for many years. Today it is cool for the more liberal COG's to say the name Jesus more as it makes them think they are appealing to real Christians in the world.

Think on this: if we indeed are to fulfill our personal individual mission of being lights to this darkened world (Matthew 5:14), a world darkened by mistrust, we must fully know, understand and be living the precious truths that we hold. We must be anchored in faith and active in trust! People in the world should see that Word of truth openly living in us. 

 

As we approach the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, I call upon each one of us to revisit the spiritual trunk of the tree and hold it fast. A most crucial part of this trunk of the tree is the precious plan of God, highlighted by the knowledge and application of the Holy Days.

Jesus, plus the holy days. That's how it works. In the COG it is always a "+" god that needs to be affirmed. Something always needs to be done to placate the angry god they actually follow.

Do we consider that this Word, this Logos spoken of by John, who is today our Elder Brother who stands ready to help us, is the One who both gave the Holy Days we observe and also lives in their meaning? Does the understanding of these Holy Days live and manifest itself in our daily lives?

It is always important to do something to make the angry god happy. Do a lot of works and God will be pleased and then it may drop a few spoonfuls of grace upon you. The Jewish holiday s were vital to the identity and growth of the Children of Isreal to gain their identity. These laws were to them alone and not for anyone around them. Contrast that with what most Christians understand, that with Jesus, grace overwhelms everyone and everything, not just a certain group of people.

But then again, this is a COG and the law must reign supreme. The Cincinnati boys want their members to pray about their message during the upcoming holiday instead of placing their focus upon that dude that embarrassed them. the dude who can give them rest, comfort, and distress them from the rigamarole of everyday life.

Allow me to address one more issue: as we approach the upcoming Holy Days, I would also ask you to consider and pray about the fact that the message of the Church must endure and prevail in this turbulent environment of mistrust. We don’t speak for the Left or Right—we openly declare the reality of the coming Kingdom of God! We contrast the truth of the Bible with the events of the day, “crying aloud” (Isaiah 58:1) and proclaiming a warning message to repent of national and personal sins. 

One of the COG's biggest fear tacts was to constantly whine about a "famine of the word". For two millennia there have been Christians who have fought and died to preserve the word they claim as too important to keep let die.  These martyrs who died knowing the truth they found never once believed that it was going to disappear at some point in time. Their God was more powerful than that. Not the god of the COG's though. It was so impotent that it let its message disappear for 1,800 years till Herbert Armstrong discovered it in a public library. 

We should solemnly consider that the Bible warns of a coming time of spiritual famine, “of hearing the words of the LORD” (Amos 8:11). That time is not yet, but in a time when research confirms that media and government leaders are “purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false,” we must double down in prayerful vigilance, holding fast to the spiritual trunk of the tree.

For decades the COG has misled people with what they call the "truth". A truth that many of them don't even actually believe because that truth needs to focus upon Jesus and that just pisses them off. The COG in 2021 places more emphasis upon sacred rocks, double blessings, dreams, and visions of apocalypse as the god they look to than it does at any time upon Jesus and what Christianity knows and understands.  Some day the COG might catch up to that understanding.

From Personal from the President Victor Kubik

So...How Did You Come Into the TRUTH? ...and is it possible you may have missed some?

So...How Did You Come Into the TRUTH?

...and is it possible you may have missed some?

I grew up in the Presbyterian Church and I don't believe I ever heard anyone use the words "the truth" when speaking of their beliefs. It was just beliefs. You know, the ones passed on from generation to generation and being Presbyterian, no one in the local church ever would think to question any of it. It didn't matter. Behind the scenes, one could believe what they wanted and it was all so generic and nice that I can honestly say I never remember one issue coming up that maybe needed to be looked at, or anyone uttering the words, "new truth." Old truth was just fine and who cared.

When I discovered, as a teen, the really true Church of God, that seemed to me to be concerned with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, that's all we heard about. People were asking each new member "So how or when did you come into the truth?" It was a nice way to say ask how long they had been in the church and from what error had they arrived. The word "truth" was thrown around a lot by that church. Everything had to do with "the truth." We kept the true sabbath, the true holydays, understood the truth about being born again and the truth about unclean meats and how to have a happy marriage. There were the true seven ways to be happy or be a leader or study your bible. You could be called into the truth and you could be dismembered for falling away from the truth. There was the truth about tithing and the truth about not tithing. There was the truth about who God has chosen and who He had not chosen and who He now loved and who he was pissed off with. There was the truth about the end times, which of course, we were living in and Jesus second coming simply has to be in the very near future. In my lifetime in fact! We evern knew the Plain Truth about everything from trade wars to crime and queer men. Never heard much about the truth of queer women though.

If you wanted to know the truth, just ask the Church, preferably on the local level by way of the minister, who knew all the truth there was. We knew the truth about evolution and the truth about the flood. Often we knew the "plain truth" which is the truth stripped down to the really core truth of the truth and was so simple to understand. However, simple as the truth might be to understand, God still had to open your mind to the truth, or you were never going to understand or know the truth. But it was simple after that. I later found out that "God has to open your mind," meant that one who came to the same conclusions as the Church and leadership had indeed had their mind opened by God. Those who disagreed or only saw some of it were still in the grip of Satan or at best had a bad attitude.

Gosh, we knew the truth about life and death. No one knew how consciousness or quantum physics worked, but all things God, just ask! We knew where you went and where you didn't went. We knew when you went to where you were going and how to get there and who wasn't going along with you because they had yet to discover the truth. We knew when they would discover the truth and, while not as good as when I discovered the truth, it was not bad at all. What's a thousand year difference compared to eternity? Nuttin! We knew who was in the right Church, which would be us, and who would be in the wrong Church, which would be all not us.

We knew the truth about the God of the Old Testament and why he was so freaking mean and loved killing both animals and humans. We knew the truth about the New Testament and how the Son of the Old Testament God was the nicer of the two and canceled all the stuff His Dad liked. We knew that the truth was that this bachelor son lived alone with His Father, after everyone that loved him the week before killed him. We knew they lived somewhere and the Father never had a wife or female to keep him company. But that was just the truth. God was a He and if you were a she, then you still had to be a "son of God" just the same, because that was the truth. Of course, I was uncomfy with me, a male, being the Bride of Christ, ewwww, but that was the truth too, so I had to rejoice in it.

Wow, we knew it all. Just ask! But once in a great while we discovered "New Truth." I can't tell you how amazing new truth is to discover. Now I may have been hoping that we would have discovered the new truth about the actual origins of man and the evolution of life over millions of years as opposed to the truth of everything being around 6000 years old, the story of Noah's Ark and the Tower of Babel, but that was not up for discussion. I thought maybe there was some new truth on why so many of the stories in the Old and New Testament are either scientifically incredible or historically impossible and unprovable, but no luck there either. I thought maybe some new truth might have to do with how the Gospels aren't harmonious eyewitness accounts of Jesus life, nor written by the men whose names appear on the books. But no banana there either. I thought maybe we'd get some new truth about why Paul never mentions Jesus' life, teachings, miracles, life events, birth or stuff like that, including why he never quotes him, but no, wrong again.

What really would have been nice would have been some new truth on how the local minister was just a guy too and didn't know everything and that was ok, but nope, nothing like that either. And it really would have been nice if, as a minister, I could suspect there was such a thing as "new truth" out there that maybe those in charge had missed to, but whoa baby, don't even think about it! New truth had to come from the top down and only agreement came from the bottom up. That's the way all churches area really. Top down, not bottom up. Bottom uppers are an endangered species in any church.

Recently a friend of mine told me the guy at the top of her church made a really good point in her church. Seems the minister fired the music director of 25 years without permission from the people. He said he was the guy at the top and it was his call. One guy at the bottom asked to speak and was given permission to do so. He reminded the minister that that is now how things are done and that he was wrong to do this firing on his own. Then the really good part comes up. The son of the minister walks up the isle and decks the guy opposing his father's actions. Police are called and it's all good! The bottom uppers won because decking the good guy never pays. I love the truth!

Once in a great while New Truth did come to the Church of "all Truth all the Time." But alas, it was always something like, "The New Truth About Make-up" or "The New Truth About Divorce and Remarriage." I learned these truths came from God when leadership was being  given a hard time about make-up by God's leading wives or some of God's leading wives left their leading husbands and the leading husband wanted a new leading wife. We did have the New Truth about Healing as well as leaders aged, needed care that they didn't need when younger and rethought the idea of only trusting God for healing etc. I'm glad that was old truth to me but I managed to keep that to myself and members in my care who asked.

But over all, New Truth just doesn't make it's way into Churches very often. They don't love to tell the old old story for nothing! As Mark Smith says in "Damn the Truth."

"Christians, unlike scientists, hate any and all evidence that goes against their theories. Theologians have a very hostile and oft times irrational attitude towards any evidence that would even suggest their theories need to be changed to fit the facts. To a Christian, a faulty theory is like an old member of the family whose mind has seen better days- something to warmly embrace and shield from all criticism. Christians, rather than being disinterested seekers of truth as they oft times pretend to be, are thus shown instead to be preachers of established dogma, opinions firmly set in concrete, with their minds already made up for them two thousand years ago by a Jewish rabbi. To a fundy Christian, there is no "new truth" to seek out or be discovered. So rather than seeking out new truth, they instead only seek out new ways to defend their old "truths". This is the reason you'll never see a "Research and Development" department within a school of theology. It is also the reason why, in defense of Christianity, no argument is too circular, no appeal to emotion avoided, and no straw men are left unconstructed."

He goes on to ask if a genuine new Gospel of Jesus were ever found, would it be added to the current New Testament? The answer is, of course, "NO" because all the truth there is, is already in the Bible. Besides, they have already found really great new Gospel writings, but one says the Disciples got miffed at Jesus for kissing Mary too often on the lips. When they asked Jesus why he loved her more than them, he came back with, "why does she love me more than you?" Great answer!!! Lousy Gospel. You'll never hear it in church.

One of the other problems out there when it comes to "The Truth" is that it gets suppressed a lot when someone who knows finds it. After all, it did take the Catholic Church 450 years to apologize to Galileo for noting that the sun was the center of the solar system and the earth revolved around it, not it around the earth. I personally think that 450 years between learning the truth and applying the truth is too long and certainly too long between apologies. Now the Catholic Church is not so sure about unsaved babies going to Limbo and may, in fact, get to go to heaven like baptized babies. Cool huh? Like they know, but isn't that amazing how something that was so much "the truth" for millions in the past, is now probably not after all...oh well.? This is great news for babies, if retroactive which I suppose it is or at least we can hope. Now those who thought one thing can think something else more comforting. Gosh, I hope this new truth does not only apply after a certain date. Bummer! All kidding aside, that kind of truth is just opinion because of questions raised about the state of certain categories of humans that die in certain states of being according to the Church. Don't mistake any of that for truth. We must not forget that Church Father's of the past were not above adjusting the truth to fit a real need. As Gibbon noted,
"The gravest of the ecclesiastical historians, Eusebius himself, indirectly confesses that he has related whatever might redound to the glory, and that he has SUPPRESSED all that could tend to the disgrace, of religion...(he has thus) so openly VIOLATED one of the fundamental laws of history." (On Christianity, Edward Gibbon, Prometheus, Buffalo, New York, 1991 pp. 131, 132)

Even Paul made a big deal about being duplistic. He would be a Jew to a Jew, a Gentile to a Gentile etc. which always left me wondering just what and who Paul really was. He said so often in the New Testament that he wasn't lying, I wonder why he felt he had to say that so often? Sounds like lots of folk thought he was.

So ask yourself, when was the last time my church found out there were more truths to understand than the ones they have in all their booklets and tracts? And I don't mean the Plain Truth About Eating Out After Church! I bet you'll have to say never. Church's don't really deal in truth as much as tradition and control of how those traditions are defended and apologized for. Church apologetics really are that you know. They are apologies for the fact that there are those times when we can see that something about the Bible or a "truth" as explained by a Church just does not fit the facts as we know them in this day and age, and yet we will not examine them. Sorry, the old truth is THE truth and we simply are not admitting any new ones at this time. Churches don't do new truth, but are good at doing new ways to defend old truths, which might not really be true.

This attitude of all churches and religions really should be your first hint that something is very wrong with it all and perhaps it really is all about tradition, not making waves, money, control and keeping the old old, yet inaccurate story alive so we all feel better. Most are afraid they or others will be disillusioned if "New Truth" rears it's ugly head, but when it comes right down to it, do you wish to live your life based on illusions? Actually many do which is why they never question anything.

Dennis C. Diehl

DenniscDiehl@aol.com

So Where Were You When God Called You into the Belief---I mean Truth?

So Where Were You When God Called You into the Belief-I mean Truth?


"I don't know anything that gives me greater pleasure, or profit either, than talking or listening to philosophy. But when it comes to ordinary conversation, such as the stuff you talk about financiers and the money market, well, I find it pretty tiresome personally, and I feel sorry that my friends should think they're being very busy when they're really doing absolutely nothing. Of course, I know your idea of me: you think I'm just a poor unfortunate, and I shouldn't wonder if your right. But then I don't THINK that you're unfortunate - I know you are."
(Plato)

"The difference between a man who is led by opinion or emotion and one who is led by reason. The former, whether he will or not, performs things of which he is entirely ignorant; the latter is subordinate to no one, and only does those things which he knows to be of primary importance in his life, and which on that account he desires the most; and therefore I call the former a slave, but the latter free."
(David Hume, 1737)

What happens when one is faced with the reality that ones truth is not really true? What do Christians, of all types, do when their truth turns out to be merely a belief that has been found wanting?

Years ago I gave a sermon using the then new and fascinating 3D art form where one had to practically go into a trance, release the fixation on the wavy pattern of nonsensical forms and let the mind sense another way of looking before one could see that, indeed, there was a 3D picture of ships and sharks staring you right in the face. I had this picture on a tripod by the lectern during the sermon which was on "Can you see it?" I suppose the point at the time was seeing the truth etc. What was fascinating was the crowd that gathered around the picture after the sermon to try and see what I saw and indeed, was there to be seen.

Some saw it right away and gave themselves a big pat on the back and acted like it was no big deal. They became the instant experts at helping others "see" it too. They pontificated on how to look, how to stand, how to relax ones eyes etc, and to their dismay, most could not do it with the pressure they were putting on them to "see it." The one or two who did received a great congratulations which was really the zealot congratulating himself for being such a good teacher.

Others were quiet, not needing help, nor wanting it. They would figure it out. Some quietly did and some did not and just wandered away perhaps feeling a bit dumb for not being able to see it or wondering if everyone that did see it was nuts. Some rejoiced when they finally could see the ships and sharks and some got mad when they couldn't and never did. It was fascinating and I learned more about how we see the truth of something after the sermon than I did in giving the sermon.

The fact is that a belief is just that and not necessarily a truth or the truth. We all have believed many things that turned out not to be so true from the not so reality of Santa Claus to the idea that perhaps I was not a part of the one really really true, only and exclusive Church of God. But belief goes further than that and mere belief in something does not make it truth by any means, or there would not be so much disagreement, for example on the doctrines, history, meaning and intent of God, the Prophets, Jesus, the Disciples, Paul, and all the so called "early Church (which Church?) Fathers.

Other impediments to the truth are the following beliefs. It should not be such a threat to question these core beliefs, but in fact, one might never come to see anymore truth if one gets stuck in these erroneous beliefs.
The Bible says it, I believe it, that does it for me"

To which we might add. "Darwin said it, I believe it, that settles it." If you think this is a silly reason for accepting evolution, you know why "The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it" is a silly reason for accepting Creationism. But the evolution side does not use that argument: the Theory of Evolution is based on evidence, not Darwin's authority.

The Bible is literally true

To which we might add...There are many things in the Bible that are not literally true or did not literally happen. Yet to even hint at this is to raise the ire of fundamentalists. Joshua did not really raise his arms and stop the earth from rotating which is what stopping the sun from going down for "about a whole day" really is all about. Yet we struggle with thinking we simply have to believe that is literally true or God will be angry at us and label us as weak in the faith. Ok, well it won't really be God letting you know that, but it might be your Pastor.

The Bible says it is true

To Which we might add the Bible also calls a bat a bird which we know is not true or that snakes and donkeys can talk at times and do. It tells us humans can survive ovens, Fiery Chariots pick up the good guys so they can skip death, iron floats, fish deliver loose change and hundreds of other things that it is not my intention to remind us of, but you know them well. It also says women come from men and not men from women and I KNOW you don't believe that..at least not literally.

Prophecies prove the accuracy of the Bible.

To Which we might add that both Ezekiel and Isaiah prophesied different fates for the City of Tyre and neither one of them came true and Tyre stands to this day. Prophecies about Egypt also failed to materialize and adjustments to reality are obvious in much of what Ezekiel writes about. The idea that many "prophecies" in Daniel are so accurate because they were written after the fact never crosses the readers mind and enrages the fundamentalist and apologist.

The Bible must be accurate because archaeology supports it.

To which we might add that archaeology also does not verify Biblical stories as well. No evidence has ever been found in the Sinai of millions of people having passed through specific places in the wilderness, not with ground nor satellite surveys. And many never think that real place names can be used to tell stories that are not literally true as well. The literally true place name does not make the story true. The Angel Moroni gave Joseph Smith the Gold Plates, now conveniently unavailable, to start the Mormon faith at Hill Comorah in NY. I have been to the literally real Smith farm in NY and grew up where this literally false story took place and on which millions of Mormons base their literal beliefs.

Bible's accuracy on other scientific points shows overall accuracy.

To which we can add that the Bible makes some very big blunders in scientific observation. The sun does not rise in the east nor really go down in the west as we know even though a modern apologist would insist that is only an explanation of an apparent truth just as we today know it is the earth that rotates. Well, the inspired Bible did not know that back then. To the bible characters, the earth was indeed flat. The "circle of the earth" was not a ball, it was their idea of a round plate 360 degrees around them, not a sphere. Its what they saw when they turned in a circle , not what they knew was beneath their feet. Satan could show Jesus all the Kingdoms of earth because the earth was flat and they could be "seen" from a "high mountain."

The 29,000 feet high Himalayas were not covered by flood waters and did exist a mere 4000 years ago no matter what apologetic geo-creationists come up with. That much water would drain no where and only penguins and polar bears would survive the adventure on the ark if they could breath.

The Bible is harmonious in it's presentation

To which we could say it absolutely is not. I challenge anyone to sit down with the Gospels and try to put together a coherent account of what happened at Jesus birth or death from the "harmony of the Gospels." If you think it will be easy, or can be done with the proper approach, you are kidding yourself. If you think you can explain why Jesus chased the money changers out of the temple at the beginning of his ministry in John but at the end of his ministry everywhere else, go ahead. You'd have to say he did it twice. If you think you can reconcile Luke's account of Paul's conversion in Acts, and Paul's account in Galatians, go for it. You won't the first nor come up with a satisfactory solution. Of course, some, who need the belief of inerrancy to be true will satisfy themselves but it still will not be true.

It is not my purpose to prove these points one way or the other. It is merely my point to show how these ideas are what hold a belief in place that perhaps is not, in fact, the truth of the matter. There are hundreds of sites dedicated to both the defense of the Bible as literally true and sites showing how this is not really the case. I happen to be of the "not really the case" persuasion after spending decades sincerely developing a belief that I thought was true and was found wanting...for me. In reality, I consider it neither my business nor responsibility to any longer convince anyone of anything they simply are neither willing to consider nor able to "see."
For me, the joy is in the search for meaning and, yes, I still want to know the truth as it really is. That path has never changed in me and it began when I was a very young and precocious kid.

... it's quite true that the best of the philosophers are of no use to their fellows; but that he should blame, not the philosophers, but those who fail to make use of them. (Plato, 380BC)

And isn't it a bad thing to be deceived about the truth, and a good thing to know what the truth is? For I assume that by knowing the truth you mean knowing things as they really are. (Plato)

A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive. (Albert Einstein)

'... I have a right to ask for a rational explanation of religious faith.' (Cicero)

So, how's the journey going for you personally in looking for "the truth." Is it not like that 3D confused patterned art in which someone managed to place a beautiful picture if only one could see it . Some will insist there is only that one true and obvious confused picture and there is nothing more to understand about it. Some will catch a glimpse only to have it fade and never be able to see it again. Some will see past the pattern to the 3D picture that really really is there and be amazed they didn't see it before. And of course some will just get angry and stay mad that they can't see it and that you and I are idiots for thinking we do.

Never confuse mere belief in ideas for the truth of the matter....

This is a lifelong process and we are all here to learn.

 

Dennis Diehl

DennisCDiehl@aol.com