Convert or Kill the "Infidels"

Iraq violence: IS bombing kills 125 Ramadan shoppers in Baghdad

Submitted by Homer:  Sunday July 3, 2016 – 7:30 AM CDT

Just saw in the news of another bombing where nearly 100 people were killed and nearly 200 injured by ISIS in Bagdad. There was a post on Facebook Friday which discussed a possibility as to why certain Muslim groups feel it is necessary to convert or kill “infidels” or unbelievers of Islam or other Muslims who do not accept their interpretation of the Qur’an. Below is that facebook post.

When anyone makes a post on FB, there is a question in the box which asks, “What’s on your mind?” The following has been on my mind for sometime but may not be received well by some folks. However, it is something I have considered for several years. Since September 11, 2001 thoughts have entered my mind about why radical Islamic terrorists would want to conquer the world. Where did Mohammed get the idea that all people on earth should convert to Islam and kill all infidels / unbelievers? Several months ago, I told my sister and brother-in-law my reasoning and a possible answer to that question.

Back in the latter 70’s I took several courses at a local community college in North Carolina where I lived; courses such as “Religion in Modern Society” - “Old Testament” – “New Testament” and “Religions of the World” along with other courses such as trigonometry, psychology, golf, etc. One of the final requirements of each course concerning religion was to write a summary about the course and what was learned. Those papers were kept through the years and were found in a box a few weeks ago. Written in one of those papers was found a possible answer to the question above concerning Mohammed and Islam. Below are four excerpts of what was written nearly 40 years ago, the details of which I had not remembered until those papers were found.

1. Mohammed was born and raised in the city of Mecca. . . . a prosperous trade center & peoples of many different customs & traditions . . . . It was also the site of many of the pagan Arab tribes [&] shrines. [Mohammed] had the opportunity to observe . . . religious practices of the pagans as well as the Jews and Christians. He came to dislike the idol worship of the Arabs and [developed] a great admiration for the one God concept of the Jews and Christians.
2. Mohammed insisted that he was not divine – but just a prophet or spokesman for the one God, Allah.
3. The merchants of Mecca were outraged at [Mohammed’s teaching]. . . . it began to hurt the trade because Mohammed spoke against idol worship & paganism. All the while promoting Allah. [Similar reaction to Paul by Demetrius and the silversmiths as outlined in Acts 19:23-28.]
4. . . . Mohammed became not only a religious leader but also a great political leader. He was a firm but fair leader, with a proper combination of justice and mercy

Note: The word Allah is very similar to the Hebrew word, אלהּ, transliterated to English as Eloah, the singular form of what we call God; the plural form being אלהים, transliterated as Elohim, the Hebrew word used the vast majority of the time for the term God in the Old Testament (OT). Since there are no vowels in Hebrew as in English, vowel sounds may become subject to cultural tradition, language enunciation and spelling such as the Islamic name Yusef, the Hebrew name Yosef and the English name Joseph. Could Mohammed have used the writings of the OT to base his teaching?
 [As an interesting comparison about Yusef in the Qur’an and Yosef in the OT, check out the following link. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_in_Islam ] However, what about all the killings by radical Islamic terrorists? Where and how did they get this idea? I have been asked the following question many times through the years by my two sons, ‘How and/or why does a supposed loving God condemn so many people to death because they don’t understand the way of God?’ I had, for many years, difficulty in answering this question. I would generally respond with something like, ‘I don’t know, but God will handle it.’ Could there be more to this dilemma than is apparent by reading the Bible as a literal, historical book. There are many killings recorded in the OT. Generally, these killings are caused by “God” or by those instructed by “God” to kill the “heathen” men, women, children and their animals. Is it possible that the words which are read by many have a meaning other than literal? Could these acts of death have a more personal, allegorical meaning other than the literal killing of people? [BTW, “heathen” is not necessarily bad. It simply means a nation or group of folk different than one’s own.] It is written that Jesus spoke in parables and said in Luke 8:10, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables, that seeing they might not see, and hearing, they might not understand.”  Note: the phrase “might not” is used rather than the phrase, will not; there is a big difference. Also, Luke 8:10 is a general quote from Isaiah 6:9 in the OT.
 It is also written that “parables” and “dark sayings” are used in the OT.  Could it be that those “dark sayings” are written for us to consider with a possible hidden meaning? (“dark sayings” means difficult to understand, not evil sayings) Is it possible that all the killings in the OT is allegory and meant for us as individuals to “kill” or eliminate the wrong thoughts and actions we have which are contrary to the way of our creator, the source of all that exists? This possibility may be something to consider. If Mohammed used the OT as a base for his Qur’an, (which I am suggesting) did he take the writings of the OT as literal, or did he understand an allegorical meaning? Or - do his followers take Mohammed’s writings as literal, the way most people understand the OT, without considering a possible allegorical (hidden?) meaning. Personally, I don’t know about Mohammed’s thoughts. It is extremely apparent what his radical, literal thinking, followers think.
 By happenstance I came across the following two part video (in one link) and was viewed for the first time shortly after the vast majority of the comments above were written. (The information about the name Yusef, Yoseph & Joseph was added.) Some of the comments, by both participants, may be worthy of consideration while others, maybe not so much. However, it was found to be a most interesting discussion before an audience, between Richard Dawkins and a Muslim journalist. Based on the accents of each and the audience, the discussion probably took place in England and was published on Jun 21, 2016.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0jA6VsivBE
 

One additional consideration to the above post. The New Testament is generally a book of how to live a life of peace and harmony. Did Mohammed realize this as well and separate the Qur'an in two parts similar to the Bible? If so, that might explain the difference between what is considered, by some Muslems, a Qur'an of peace and harmony while others consider it a book of absolute conversion to Islam or suffer the consequences. I admit this is conjecture on my part on this point.

Why Being Told You Are Special And Called Out Has Devastating Consequences On Your Mental Health

One of the things things that so many who leave the Living Church of God, Philadelphia Church of God or other Churches of God experience is how devastating it can be.  Due to the continual bombardment by church leader with cliche sayings that make the membership fell special and set apart from the rest of the heathens around them, it is a devastating blow to find you were  nothing more than pawns in the manipulation of men like rRd Meredith, Dave Pack, Bob Thiel and James Malm. 

The last time you shared a nice steak dinner with your family, or if you are more adventurous, went on an exciting hike, or maybe did some exhilarating sky-diving, chances are, you were not thinking about a neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger in your brain, called dopamine. In a normal human brain, dopamine affects the brain processes which control movement, emotional response, and ability to experience both pleasure and pain. It has been found that illicit stimuli, such as cocaine or methamphetamine, can temporarily increase the amount of dopamine in the synapse, or gap between one’s nerve cells, thus causing euphoria, or a prolonged sense of pleasure. The unfortunate consequence of this temporary pleasure enhancement is that the use or abuse of such drugs will ultimately disrupt the balance of dopamine in the nervous system, by desensitizing the nerve cells to what would be considered normal levels of this neurotransmitter. So, when an addict is in recovery, as the brain attempts to normalize, there is usually severe depression in the initial stages. The recovering addict is caught in a state where he or she, until normal living skills are re-learned, temporarily finds little or no pleasure in life. Regaining normal brain balance and function often requires years, during which the addict knows that a false sense of relief is just a snort away. I have observed the day to day struggles of such individuals, and although I’ve never been an addict myself, believe that I understand the struggle these folks must go through.

The Worldwide Church of God parallel is self-obvious. The enslaving teachings of one Herbert W. Armstrong have acted as a type of spiritual dopamine inhibitor in most of our brains, and many exiters have had to deal with very real, severe depression along with cult-recovery. Herbert W. Armstrong, if nothing else, was a brilliant salesman, and he had the dope for you! He knew the classic sales formula, which is, expose a need, magnify the need, and then offer a solution. To create or expose the need, he first smashed everything in your little world which you found to be of value or pleasure. With great authority, from the power of his radio microphone and TV camera, he told you that the world as you knew it was coming to an end. There would be war, famine, disease, pestilence, and you couldn’t do a thing about it, period! From a standpoint of sheer shock value, what could be more devastating to your feeling of happiness and well-being than this? Talk about altering neurotransmitters! Suddenly, nothing in this world was worth your time, because everything you saw around you would soon come to an end. While you were attempting to recover from the disorientation of this all, he came in for the kill. He told you that now that you had this special knowledge, you were having your chance. Your life could never be the same. You had an opportunity and needed to act immediately, because you see, if you repented, accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, and were baptized into His church, you could be spared the cataclysmic events soon to descend on the world. You could not have become part of the Worldwide Church of God without undergoing this painful initiation.

This part of the reason so many have difficulty in leaving the church, even though they know they are being abused, such as what Rod Meredith does to most of his members.   Then, once you make that incredible freeing leap, you quickly how sick and debased the leadership of the church was, which then sets into string of realizations that  your life was truly incomplete.

A good salesman often will re-sell the value of his product to you, and Herbert W. Armstrong was no exception. Every Bible Study, every Holy Day service, and every Sabbath service, he or his henchmen resold you on the product. The magazines and booklets were a constant reminder to you of what was soon to transpire, and he even had you reselling yourself on the product thru your daily prayer and Bible Study. You sat there in Sabbath Services, waiting anxiously for your fix! It’s the only thing that made it all work. If you just had the so-called knowledge of the end of the world, without the system of religion, you would have been totally depressed. Of course, you didn’t find this out until you began painfully considering leaving, or had that choice made for you. Upon exit, you were hit with the impact of your actions from years previous in which you had gradually alienated yourself from your blood relatives, old friends, and neighbors, as you became ever more enmeshed in this dastardly cult. Worse, when you left or were disfellowshipped, you even lost your surrogate family, as the brethren could no longer associate with you. At about the same time, you began to realize that your health might not be what it was supposed to be due to years of not seeing your doctor, your career had languished because the effort you might have put into it all went into the church, your children had become nerds because you had sheltered them so severely, you had no retirement savings, your house had been mortgaged to finance a Worldwide Church of God emergency, and all of your clothes were hopelessly out of style. See the parallels with recovery from substance addiction? If you’ve never volunteered at a mission or halfway house, try it sometime. The homeless and recovering addicts are facing these same challenges, brought on, of course, by an entirely different type of addiction.

Read the entire article here:

Dopamine, Depression and Disfellowshipment

Millions Are Reading Meredith's Word's...But No One Heeds His Message

In Rod Meredith's May June "Tomorrow's World" he has an article up Are You Willing to Change?  He makes the bold claim that his messages are literally reaching millions of people.

With each passing month, thousands upon thousands more are encountering this message for the very first time. They are reading the strong, plain-spoken Bible articles appearing in the Tomorrow’s World magazine, and have studied our booklets and articles, showing the truth about the existence of their divine heavenly Father— the Creator—who gives them every breath they draw. 

They have seen the utter ludicrousness of the evolutionary fantasy and other false teachings.

They listen, they read and they talk. Perhaps they talk to family members, or friends, or people at the office. Perhaps they talk to people at church, or at school.

Already, these millions listen, and they read, and they talk.

Yes, they listen, and they read, and they talk—but what will they do? 

Meredith's big disappointment is that these millions have not joined up with him. They ignore him. He just doesn't get it.  How can they not see the glorious unified true servants of God at work in the world today?

He writes:

What is it going to take for you to know, personally, that true servants of almighty God are speaking to you over the Tomorrow’s World telecast? 

What is it going to take for you to heed and act on the knowledge you are receiving through the Tomorrow’s World telecast, magazine and Web site? 

How can it be that Living Church of God is the most powerful work on the earth today, and so many are not heeding its call?

True Peace of Mind Can Only Be Found If You Support Living Church of God

Did you know that if you support Rod Meredith and his church that you will have true peace of mind?  God still apparently deals in bullet pinots to get her message across.

Key 1: Take Part in the Great Commission! 

Your Bible gives a mission to every human being on earth. It should be the number-one  goal in your life. The Messiah, Jesus Christ, gives us a major key to tranquility and peace of mind: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). 

The Kingdom of God is coming soon to this earth! Are you praying daily, as Jesus taught us, “Your Kingdom come”? When we see all the evils imploding upon the world around us, we yearn for the Kingdom to come. Do you have that as your mission? Notice what Jesus said in the next verse. When you seek a cause greater than yourself, you can find peace of mind. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (v. 34). 

Yes, Jesus came preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God. You can read about that in Mark 1:15–16. Do your part to support that great mission. Seek to have a cause greater than yourself! 

How can anyone truly support a cause that is in such disarray as the Living Church of God is?   How can a church claim to be doing the great commission when it treats its own members with disdain?

Next true peace of mind can be found in prayer:

Key 2: Pray About Your Worries 

Share your anxieties with God in prayer. Suggest solutions to your problems. 

Everything about being a legalistic church is trying to do things to please its god.  This all make logical sense to them when they make the comment above. To them it is great to pray but it is also your responsibility to suggest solutions that will change the mind of God.  If you already know what needs to be done then why haven't you acted on it?

Then it is this:

Key 3: Seek Wise Counsel 

The book of Proverbs contains some of the greatest and wisest counsel available to us as Christians— counsel from God Himself. God Almighty tells us: “Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom; I am under- standing, I have strength. By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice” (Proverbs 8:14–15). 

When you read the book of Acts, you find that the early New Testament Church was unified as a spiritual family. We need one another, and we need one another’s help. Seek counsel from those who have true wisdom; long-time faithful and genuine Christians who have strong biblically based character. “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise” (Proverbs 12:15).

Seek God’s counsel by reading your Bible every day, and seek out wise counsellors who have demonstrated stability and biblically based character. 

This could possibly be the most dangerous thing a Living Church of God member could do!  Chances are high that you will be abused spirituality by the minister you confess to.  Chances are even higher that you will be kicked out of the church and chances are even higher that you will be mocked from the pulpit by the very minister you counseled with.  None of these men have professional training in counseling and mental health issues.  Their "wisdom" comes from  Meredith and the endless booklets and literature of the church, not from real sources and the still long held belief that demons cause mental health issues.

Like a good Church of God article it is important to talk about exercise. Because Daddy HWA talked about it, it is important for ministers to do it today.

Key 4: Do Not Neglect Physical Exercise
Hundreds, if not thousands of health reports and studies show the benefit of physical exercise as a tool for reducing stress. Years ago, I wrote in my personal book of life-lessons, “When depressed, go out and jog or run.” 

The best exercise a Living Church of God member could do is to RUN as fast as they can away!

Key 5: Maintain a Positive Mind
We all experience stress in our modern, fast-paced, information-overload world. How can we cope? We must clearly understand that, to an important degree, our mental health is a matter of choice. You can choose to maintain a positive and tranquil mind. 

How can a positive and tranquil mind be found in the Living Church of God?  From the terrible abuses by Rod McNair who finds demons in the elderly to Rod Meredith smearing peoples names and reputations in the pulpit?

Key 6: Count Your Blessings
One way to help maintain a positive frame of mind is to remind yourself of the many blessings God has given you. Is your life perfect? Do you have every success you have hoped for? Probably not. But if you focus instead on the many blessings you do have, you may come to see that the life you have is perfect for you right now, and that you can be grateful for the circumstances God is using to help you develop His very character in your own life. 

Jesus reminded us to choose the spiritual over the material. He made it plain just how much God loves us; He can easily provide all our physical needs. But to receive this blessing, we must first seek God’s Kingdom, and then all our material needs will be provided. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things [all our physical and material needs] shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). 

How can all physical and material needs be met when you are giving 30-40% of you income to leaders who have never worked an honest day in their lives?  How many of these men have ever actually had their hands dirty?  Its the same magical god that the prosperity ministries bow down to  Please it and it will give you everything you desire, piss it off and its a fast trip into the lake of fire.

Can true peace of mind ever be found in the Living Church of God?

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Dennis Leap: Blanket Training Still Church Doctrine; Wives and Children Must Come When Called

Anyone that ever grew up in the church in the 50's - 70's know all about "blanket training" of infants and small children   Parents were supposed to force their child to lay on a small piece of fabric on the living room floor for 2 hours straight without making a noise or crying.  If the child cried thy were to be spanked and put back on the blanket.  This was to be repeated endlessly till the child could fully complete 2 solid hours of quiet time. 

If a child cried in services or made loud noises they were to be taken to the restroom and beaten till they stopped.  

Growing up in the Cincinnati church in the early 60's, under Carn Catherwood, the child abuse that went on then was appalling.  Spokesman Club sold paddles that were one inch think with holes drilled in them to cut down wind resistance.  I remember vividly when I was 5 or 6 watching one father take his child out to be spanked and the child saying loudly so that all could hear, "Daddy, please no!  No Daddy, don't spank me!" Other kids cowered in silence as they watched him walk down the aisle with the frightened boy. Catherwood used to tell parents that he wanted to hear the paddle hitting their kids and to hear them cry when spanked.  He wanted to hear them cry as he preached.  20 swats, no matter what.That "blanket training" is still church doctrine in the more aberrant COG's, particularly the Philadelphia Church of God.

Dennis Leap is back laying down the law when it comes to children and church. He has 4 major rules that must not be broken, otherwise the child may not make it into the kingdom due to the fact that they have become rebellious cigarette smoking, drug addicted fornicators that end up in heavy metal bands playing songs dedicated to Satan.

Dennis Leap writes: Teach Your Child Self Control:

Rule 1:    Blanket training

Teaching a child to sit and play quietly or sleep on a blanket during Sabbath services has been a tradition in God’s Church for decades. This training not only stops noisy interruptions during services, it is also a foundational plank for building self-discipline in children. 

Failing to apply this blanket training makes the teaching of self-discipline more difficult as children mature. Not blanket training shows a lack of love and respect for the brethren attending services with you and your family. God’s people need to attend services in undisturbed surroundings where they can hear God’s messages without regular interruption. Granted, there will be times when a disruption is unavoidable. Yet it is the parents’ responsibility to make sure noisy interruptions by their children are infrequent and dealt with immediately.

Practice each day by spreading a blanket on the floor and having your child sit on it quietly for about an hour. My wife always did her Bible study at the same time. Be sure to sit next to the child. When your child attempts to move off the blanket or makes noise, tell him “No!” once. Move the child back onto the blanket or give him a hand signal (forefinger against the lips) to be quiet. When your child moves off the blanket or makes noise a second time, discipline him or her. Continue the process until your child accepts the fact that he or she must remain on the blanket and be quiet. This is self-control in action. 

In the next rule from Leap he discusses that children must be taught to come when called.  Men re to use their wives as an example.  Wives are to come when called so that the children will come like Mommy.

In the church there was a far more sinister reason for this, one that I heard repeatedly growing up   "You need to learn to come the moment I call you r name, because it may be the time we need to flee and you will get left behind if you do not come immediately "   What could be more sickening that to tell a child that!

Rule 2: Teach your child to come when called (just like your wife does)

Start teaching your child to come to you when he is walking securely on his own. If you have done blanket training, you’ll know that your child understands you. 

My wife and I generally waited until our children were about 18 months before we began “come here” training. We set aside an evening to do this. We called them “come here nights.” I’ll be honest—this is a tough one.

Once children are up and running on their own, they do not appreciate being interrupted from what they are doing. To command them to come to you requires them to give up what they want to do and do what you want them to do. Children want to be their own authority. To submit to your authority requires self-discipline. 

There is great advantage in teaching this skill at an early age. Your children will find it difficult to submit to God’s authority if they do not learn to submit to yours. Their physical and spiritual safety depends on obedience to direct commands. 

The same fearful shit is being pounded into kids!  

On “come here nights,” I told my child to come here. I allowed my daughters a brief amount of time to hear, think and respond. If there was no action, to make sure she understood, I would ask either my wife or an older sister to come here, and she would do so, to demonstrate. Then I would repeat the command to the one I was working with. If I did not get the appropriate response, I disciplined her. I repeated the process until I received an immediate response. Depending on the child, some “come here nights” were short events—others were not. Be prepared to invest considerable time if necessary.

After you beat your child, it is important that they appreciate the spanking.

Rule 3. Teach your child to respond positively to correction 

When you discipline your child, make sure he responds with a good attitude and right behavior. Make it your goal to not finish a correction session until your child demonstrates a good attitude, repentance and right behavior. This requires love, patience, strong teaching and time—a lot of time—on your part. It will be worth all your effort. As Paul says, there will be great rewards when you meet this goal. Your child will be happier and on the road to real success. Remember, positive response to correction will help your child forever.

Next in is important to make you children work or do activities, especially memorizing the bible. 

Rule 4. Encourage your child to take on activities that build self-discipline

Memorizing scripture is also a valuable self-discipline builder.

Then to instill more fear into parents an children, he ends his article with he following comment:

This year we traveled to the Feast on an airplane, with a Church family with small children—and there was peace and tranquility! I was actually able to study and reflect on the most important Feast days of the year. What a pleasure it was to be in the company of well-trained children. 

God forbid if your child ever has to sit next to Leap on a plane.  If he or she does I hope it screams for the entire flight!

 

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COG Pastor Was Murdered Over Money

More to the story about Ed Acquisto killing John Cloud in a cemetery.  Both were COG members and Cloud had his own church that he pastored.

Edward Acquisto was given a “significant” loan in 2011, Police Chief Thomas Blakey said, and an argument about paying it back led Acquisto to shoot and kill John Cloud of Kingston, Mass., in the town’s Pocasset Hill Cemetery on a Monday night earlier this month. 

Blakey would not say how much Acquisto “legally” borrowed from the congregational church he and Cloud belonged to, but did say Acquisto apparently reneged on the agreement to pay it back. 

“It does not seem that there was anything substantial paid back,” Blakey said. Newport Daily News

After Acquisto shot and killed Cloud, he then ran from the police till he was cornered and shot as he emerged from his car holding a gun.

Acquisto was killed in a driveway of a home on Ford Farm Road, across from the town cemetery, after a brief police chase about an hour after he shot Cloud in the cemetery. Acquisto drove into Fall River after shooting Cloud and was chased back into Tiverton by Fall River and Tiverton police who spotted his car about a half-mile from the Tiverton border. Acquisto was shot and killed by police after emerging from his car with a gun in hand.  Newport Daily News

Even The Drudge Report had a link to it today:  COPS: 80-Year-old Kills 81-Year-old by Grave

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Why British Israelism Is Wrong: There is NO Pure Race

UPDATED: More Turmoil in Charlotte As Meredith's Gestapo Agents Fire Well Respected John Robinson

John Robinson

The previous video here was pulled by LCG due to the mounting negative publicity over its mistreatment of the Robinson family.  The members are questioning the horrible tactics of the leadership once again and LCG is not happy at being in the spotlight with more negative publicity.

A source added today:

Due to negative feedback from Robinson being fired the official word is that he'll be working from "home". 

This reminds me of the story parents would tell their kids about the family dog being sent to live on a farm when in reality they had it put to sleep.

A thinking person would think that Rod Meredith would have learned a lesson with the Leona McNair lawsuit and the impending Scarborough lawsuit, that is to keep his mouth shut and stop his knee jerk reactions.  But no, he has to lord it over his members and treat the good people like dirt while  coddling and overlooking the dizzying array of corruption that permeates his Charlotte HQ and upper echelon ministers.  All Meredith, McNair and Little Jimmy are doing is driving the loyal and sincere members out of the church because of their unChristian actions.  Meredith no longer has the attraction of the older COG membership and is incapable of drawing in new members.   Members are leaving  daily as Charlotte sinks deeper and deeper into corruption.  The mistreatment of members continues unabated; all to satisfy the delusional desires of power in a select few men.


From an LCG source:

One of the spies within the Charlotte congregation overheard the very well-liked John Robinson make a less than flattering statement about LCG administration and reported it to the Head of the SS, Rod McNair. Rod in turn gathered his investigation team (Jim Meredith and Wyatt Ciesielka) to see that justice was served (LCG justice that is – much different than actual justice).

Undoubtedly, Robinson was doomed PRIOR to the pretend investigation because standard operating procedure for Lil’ Jimmy, Arrogant Wyatt and Lying Rod McNair is to convict and then “appear” to be working backwards to prove that their verdict was warranted. One can also assume that this crooked Gestapo investigative team asked other people about Mr. Robinson but likely failed to ask his side of things until it was too late and the accused had already been sentenced by the Rod of God who can see into the hearts of all men to make his determinations.

My guess is that Robinson’s “less than flattering statement” was about one of these corrupt men or the ever vengeful Rod Meredith himself. There is no other explanation as to the swiftness and vengefulness of their abrupt actions towards the popular and dedicated John Robinson.

John Robinson was ordained in 2010 as an LCG deacon in Austin, Texas and then was quickly fast-tracked into a minister because Rod Meredith wanted to bring him to Charlotte to work as an editor for LCG’s Tomorrow’s World magazine.

John married the sister of Tess Ciesielka making him Wyatt’s brother-in-law. John and Wyatt are polar opposites. John is kind, considerate, quiet and likable  Wyatt’s character and reputation by comparison is shameful; especially for an alleged “man of God”.  Wyatt is the type of guy who would lie, cheat or steal if he thought it would push him just a little further up the LCG ladder. Ethics, truth and a humble attitude perpetually evade him. When John moved to Charlotte, he knew that he would be associated with Wyatt because of the family connection so he was quick to tell those meeting him for the first time that he was, “nothing like Wyatt”.  

John’s friendly personality, love of God’s word and humble attitude quickly earned him the love of many in the Charlotte LCG congregation (likely making the immature Wyatt jealous). The most annoying thing about John was the fact that he was a Rod Meredith cheer leader and undyingly faithful to LCG, even when they were behaving badly. John was also very involved with LCG’s youth activities and was respected as a leader among LCG’s young adults.

Last Wednesday at LCG headquarters John was fired and stripped of his rank as minister without warning. To add insult to injury, Meredith wants him gone as soon as possible.

All of this over an unflattering statement. The administration at LCG headquarters truly has thin skin. They are so puffed up on themselves that they can’t take the slightest bit of criticism without feeling inspired to annihilate the offender. 

Timing for this bully behavior couldn’t have been worse with members already upset over the recent re-emphasizing of LCG’s doctrinal “upgrades” (the rapture and the falling away of the world), the change of command to the Hard-ass Weston and the acceleration of activity in the Scarborough lawsuit.

People in LCG are starting to become more and more disgusted with the administrations over-reach of power and authority. It is precisely behavior such as this that shows the writing on the wall. We have all been through it enough at this point to know that a split is imminent. 

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Church Head Admits Atheists Are Right

Let's Get Logical By Joseph Tkach Jr. (Speaking of Life Series)

By James Baldwin

Let's understand what logic means: The study of the principles of correct reasoning. It is thinking that aims at a conclusion. It can be subject to errors and these errors can be studied to great advantage when someone is trying to foist something over on us like proving that which cannot be proved.

Today's aggressive atheists like to point out that God cannot be found through science and conventional logic, or by looking for God in the deep recesses of the universe. As believers, that doesn't bother us because we know they're right. God can't be found using those tools.

Then Mr Tkach moves onto the old evasive standby that has served religion so well, faith. Let's look at the dictionary to understand faith in this context.

Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material existence.

A modern writer describes faith as the act of pretending you know something you don't now.

God can only be known through God's own revelation of himself. The proof of God's existence is in the realm of faith, not in the realm of science. Belief in God is a matter if faith, not in the realm of science. It's a faith issue. God reveals himself to us.

Again, faith is only making believe,  lacking logical proof or any material existence.

A quotation from The Macmillan Encyclopedia of Philosophy (1966) concerning popular arguments for the existence of God reads on this wise:

It is even more common to speak of faith in God as if this were a specially compelling reason for belief and moreover, one beyond logical criticism. Faith however, is merely determination to believe and no kind of reason. (Vol 6, P 107).

So, what happened to HWA's little booklet on proving God exists? Well, after HWA passed away his successors got some higher education and advice discovering he was wrong and scrapped the booklet. Here is a comment from a highly educated leader among the Episcopalians, Bishop John Shelby Spong:

Our God has also been taken away from us. For us, however, that removal of God did not occur in a single moment of violent defeat. It rather happened over a period of centuries as the steady and relentless advances in knowledge altered forever our ability to believe in the God content that stood at the heart of our sacred tradition.  "Why Christianity must Change or Die", P. 29 (1998)                                                                                                                 

We cannot park our brains at the door of our places of worship in order to accept as real the words that were used to interpret God in years past but that can no longer today illumine our understanding of God. (P 18.)

...we already know that we can only know God by his spiritual revelation of himself, not by studying science.

Spiritual means not tangible or material.

***That won't come through science, it will only come through the Holy Spirit.

Another entity that cannot be proved.

Again, the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Philosophy has a handy explanation of the problem of proving the existence of God:

Argument about the existence of God is rare (in 1966) for religious beliefs are effectively supported in our society by means that are not principally rational. (Vol 6, P107).

This helps explain why in the early '60s i was ill-equipped to question what the WCG and Ted Armstrong were teaching. I wasn't trained to think critically or be able to do research. Today, this environment has richly changed with access to the internet and the implosion of the WCG.