Hellbound? Lake of Fire Bound?

Michael Camp, author of Confessions of a Bible Thumper, has an entry on his Deep Thought Pub blog about an upcoming movie that has been made about the concept of hell.  For COGers that would be the "Lake of Fire."  The COG has loved to throw that phrase at anyone who disagrees with it, it's doctrines or it's ministers.  Disagree with HWA and you are damned to the lake of fire for being in rebellion.  Buy a hamburger on Saturday and you will fry in the lake.  Keep Christmas or Easter and you will be assured to go there.

In Armstrongism the threat of damnation has always been a weapon.  It holds great power over members who are live in constant fear of being separated from their God for even the slightest mistake.  Parents have used this against their children when they do something really stupid.  Flurry uses it against his present members if they dare have contact with lapsed family members who have left the Church.  On and on it goes.

The concept of hell has always been used as weapon.  The difference now, in the 21st century that it is also a marketing tool used to sell books, bibles and other things promoted to help save one's life.

Camp writes:

Miller and co-producers David Rempel and Brad Jersak just didn't lay out a case for rethinking hell but forced viewers to face the conventional dogma of eternal damnation head on. We heard straight from the mouths of conservative pastors and evangelists (from the whole spectrum--right-wing wackos from the infamous Phelps church to hip but hyper-conservative Mark Driscoll to moderate-sounding theologian Kevin DeYoung), without interuption, where the notion of hell leads. They let the doctrine speak for itself, in other words. That's when the emotional disconnect between everlasting punishment for one half to 99.99 percent of the human race (depending on who was defending it) and an unconditionally loving God hit viewers like a ton of bricks, kiln-fired to 2000-degrees Farenheit. Huh?, was the unspoken response, just as Rob Bell had asked.

But Miller and company don't leave you there. Just when you were thinking, there must be a better way, through theologians, scholars, and studied authors,* they piled on the preponderance of evidence that hell is a modern misinterpretation of religious narratives anchored in an ancient history we know little about. Gehenna, erroneously translated as "hell" in the New Testament, is a metaphor for judgment in this life, God's justice is restorative, not retributive, the term "everlasting" is mistranslated, and much of the early church embraced the idea of universal reconciliation. The overall impression the film leaves is inspiring and redemptive. Cries of heresy by convervatives are misplaced as should be a sense of superiority by Universalists. So much of this stuff is a mystery. The question boils down to, what kind of God do we think we serve?

Run, don't walk, to see this film. It's an important commentary on our religious divide. It fairly lays out a continuum of positions. It opens up a vision for the nonviolent paradigm Jesus espoused.

Why Does The COG HATE Doing Good For Others?

James, on the Painful Truth blog, has a letter up from a reader discussing Mother Teresa accompanied by a great picture which is above.  I have always  been fascinated by Armstrongism's hatred of this woman.  That hatred ran deeper than the fact that she was a Catholic.  I think the problem really was is that the ministry was horrendously embarrassed that here was a little poor woman doing a great work while they, rich and increased with goods were doing nothing for anyone.  I can see why they were embarrassed!

...I was the recipient of a long discourse relating to mother Teresa (MT), where he expounded how FALSE the faith of MT actually was - - Now, this is NOT original, since I remember discussions in world-wide about how MT’s faith would NOT be accepted by God, since she was a daughter of the Babylon Whore, the Catholic church. So, apparently giving up your life for the service of the poor is somehow “not acceptable to God”, even though the bible says “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

Read the letter here.

Living in Fear With the Living Church of God

Living Church of God has an article up by Charles Knowlton that I assume was meant to be encouraging to LCG members, but instead just blatantly exposes the fear based belief system that it is.

It's about Knowlton's family during the great depression and how they were despised by neighbors in the community.  Knowlton says those same times are soon to be upon us. In other words, prepared to live in fear.

The peaceful town we lived in had become a place of fear. The reason: we were the subject of jealously and hatred was because my father had one of the few jobs in town. People were suspicious of each other and there was some violence. The situation called for self-preservation. This was the beginning of the Great Depression, which was to last for nearly a decade and would dramatically change our country. During the ensuing years the U.S. was to take a giant step backward when it came to personal behavior, family unity and an honest interest in self-preservation. The interesting thing is, that piece of history is going to be repeated in many of our lifetimes by troubles on the horizon, described by the Bible as the Great Tribulation and the great Day of the Lord.

In typical COG fashion it is all about wars, famine, pestilence and earthquakes and how they are increasing with rapid pace in this end times. Then it's about our neighbors turning us over to the authorities because we are sabbath keepers. True Christians (i.e. LCG members only) will be despised and hated because of their beliefs.  Because this is going to happen to LCG members, it will also happen to the rest of the world. 

The Bible reveals this in Matthew 24, in what is called the Olivet Prophecy. Christ gave this prophecy to His disciples, and explained it to them in detail. He talked about the events of the end time—wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes. These will happen over time and become very intense. Jesus states, “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My Name’s sake” (v. 9). He goes on to explain the effect this will have on human relationships: “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of may will grow cold” (v. 12). Now if this is going to happen to future disciples of Christ, it is going to happen to everyone. The Bible has many references to the coming tribulation and what it will be like—and why.

Then it's food shortages, war and the end of the world.  So uplifting!  So grace filled.  It warms my heart! 

In Daniel 12:1 we see one of these references: “At that time shall Michael stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered.” There are other references in the Old and New Testaments about a time when everyone is going to experience the hardships of a world in trouble: food shortage, war and ultimately the end of civilization.

Never fear!  Jesus is coming back to spank the world into submission.  Nothing about a loving shepherd coming back for his lost sheep.  Nothing about redemption and unconditional grace. Nope!  Jesus is just some lackey that is a small part of the puzzle that LCGers and COGers have to put up with in order to make their god love them more than others.

However, the Bible also promises a Deliverer (Romans 11:26-27). Jesus Christ will return and not only redeem the remnants of Israel’s descendants (including the English speaking peoples) but will straighten the whole world out (Revelation 19:14-16; Revelation 21:3-5). Jesus Christ and His disciples referred to this time as “the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33; Mark 1:14; Luke 4:43; John 3:5; Acts 14:22).

Be assured though, if you are good COGer and "living in the world though not part of the world," you will be able to see the problems coming upon the world and you will prepare yourself.  You will be doing all kinds of things in order for God to save your sorry ass.

If a person is alert and not too deeply engaged in this present evil society, they might see that distress and upheaval are coming. Many live in denial, and choose not to acknowledge that hard times will become worse times, but one thing is certain from the Bible: it is going to require more to survive than protecting your money and carrying a shotgun (Matthew 24:22).

Next,  Knowlton eagerly reminds you on how 2/3rds of humanity will be destroyed for their unfaithfulness.  A small remnant will be left after suffering horribly for three and half years from famine, disease, plagues, concentration camps.

In Ezekiel chapter 5, the prophet describes how one third of the modern descendants of ancient Israel will die of the troubles, one third will be affected by war, and one third will be scattered—and that God would bring these calamities as part of His wrath on their disobedience. The Great Depression never came close, but it left us with a glimpse of things to come.

Another Church of God article that discusses nothing about Jesus.  Nothing about what he is supposed to have accomplished.  Nothing about finding ones "rest" in him and not having to live in fear anymore.  Nothing about unconditional out-flowing grace. Nothing about living water. Nope.  Jesus is only used in this article as an inconvenient prop.

Is that the kind of god that appeals to you?  Do you even want to know it?  I've seen it first hand and it left me empty.  Armstrongism's god is a god of fear.

So, until they find Jesus, they want you to know that they and they alone have the only answer you need. Don't worry about that Jesus dude, he is inconsequential to the bigger picture. Salvation is only through the Living Church of God and it alone knows the way.  Order it's books and save your life.

If you would like to know more about how to truly prepare, order our free booklet Armageddon and Beyond and Revelation: the Mystery Unveiled! Do not delay—your future depends on understanding God’s plan for the times just ahead.