Is the CGI Jamaica Showing the COG's How To Really Do Church?

Ian Boyne, from the Church of God, International based in Jamaica, has sent in the following story about his Jamaica congregation.

We have reported on many instances how many COG congregations are losing members.  Ian wants to demonstrate that this is not always true for some COG congregations.  He has stated in the past that he is preaching "Reformed Armstrongism," an improved way of doing church without all of the negative aspects that weigh down most all the various splinter groups today.

While many of us may feel that the best reform Armstrongism could have is to be totally disbanded, there are some who see otherwise.  If the legalism, abuse, and control of members lives are eliminated and true spiritual growth can be had that allows doubt and questions to have a place in members lives, then perhaps there is a chance for something good to develop.  If that is the case then it needs to totally sever ties to Armstrongism by acknowledging the past with all of the mistakes and pledging to never allow it to happen again.  Good fruit only comes from good trees.

317 ATTEND CAMPAIGN IN KINGSTON CGI CONGREGATION

BY IAN BOYNE

“Should You Keep the Sabbath?”  was  the campaign topic which brought out 114 visitors last weekend, in the Kingston  Church of God, International congregation, making it a total   attendance of 317.   I spoke for two hours(sure to draw comments here!)  with everyone sitting in rapt attention and  afterward I answered questions for another hour. 

We are certainly bucking the trend reported here of low  attendance figures at COG  campaigns. 

We went Facebook live with the campaign, pulling in initially over 2,000 views.   Much  interest had been generated in the campaign following the dramatic resignation of a former  high-ranking Seventh-Day Adventist  scholar , and professor ,Dr. Clinton Baldwin, who was  trained at the SDA’s leading seminary, Andrews University  in  Berrien Springs,  Michigan . He had announced his resignation on my popular television show Religious Hardtalk, which features controversial religious topics. 

Baldwin, an Adventist for over 50 years who pastored 33 churches,  had challenged Adventists on the issue of the Sabbath and stirred quite a controversy in the SDA church, which is Jamaica’s largest  denomination.  We  used the opportunity of this interest to arrange a campaign which drew out  many prominent Adventists,  including ministers and elders who wanted answers to counter Baldwin. It was also an opportunity to present the holydays to this audience,  as this Sabbath (June 3)  there will be a follow-up presentation on “Why you Should Keep the Holydays”. 

On Monday night I  had  a follow-up to the Sabbath presentation going into Col 2: 16, Galatians, (particularly Galatians 4), Romans 14 as well as arguments about the Resurrection appearances of Jesus and  the first day  in  Scripture. I quoted from a number of scholars, all non-Sabbatarians,  to  to question traditional anti-Sabbatarian exegesis.   

Last  Sabbath I dealt with  the main lines of arguments against Sabbath-keeping, providing a detailed reply to them and making a  strong  case that the use  of Sabbatismos in Hebrews 4 argues convincingly for the continuity and restatement  of the seventh-day Sabbath. Many commented to me that they were very impressed with the quality of the argumentation. 

On Pentecost we will also have another campaign and  will host an entire congregation of Church of God 7^th Day believers  for them to  hear  the case for why this is not  the only day of salvation and  how the feast days  picture  God’s plan of opening up salvation to all. CGI Jamaica  is excited about  its  evangelism  thrust    and  the bretheren are on fire  to share  the true  Gospel.  

Bob Thiel weighs in on the death of Batman

Adam West has died.  West was the  Batman that most of us grew up with...unless you had some asswipe of a minister that said it was dancing with demons to watch his show.

Almost-arrested Elisha, Elijah, Joshua, Famous Amos, Habakkuk, Second witless witness, future martyr, and the most disappointing "son" Rod Meredith could have ever had, wants to assure every one of us and all of the deceived people of the world that Adam West will have a place in Thiel's kingdom.

Elijah Theil relates a story where he and his wife saw Adam West speak years ago and then goes on to wonder if West was a Christian.

While I rarely post about the death of American celebrities, since it has been a long time since I did so, I thought I would today.

As far as Adam West goes, I do remember him when I was very young playing Batman on television. A couple of years ago, essentially by accident, my wife and I saw him live at an event in San Luis Obispo we were attending. He spent time discussing his life and his career. He also discussed that he played the Batman character the way he did because Batman was simply a comic-strip character and he felt he portrayed that angle in his acting. I do not recall him mentioning anything about religion, but do remember him wanting to have a ‘star’ on the Hollywood walk of fame. At the time he did not have one. As it turned out, he later got one, and by chance my wife and I saw it when we stopped in Hollywood on our way back from a trip to San Diego a few months ago. 

As I mentioned, Adam West did not discuss religion when we saw him. Perhaps he had some type of Christian faith, perhaps not. 

If not, is he and the others like him  doomed? 

No. 

He then jumps to one of the most idiotic comments he could make about West.  Thiel speculates that West may or may have not blasphemed the Holy Spirit.  Who in their right mind thinks of that kind of stuff when they hear someone has died. Only a self-righteous Church of God hypocrite, apparently.

Jesus taught:

31 Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come (Matthew 12:31-32).

It is reasonable to conclude that Adam West (and most others who have already died) did not commit true blasphemy against the Spirit, so can be forgiven.

The only people I have ever seen "blaspheme the spirit" have been self-appointed Church of God leaders who lie and claim that God has personally set them apart to be his right-hand man.  These men claim that through dreams, visions, and nightmares, that their god speaks to them by the power of the Holy Spirit.  I can state for a fact that no "Holy Spirit" has ever spoken to these men or guided them.  When they lie like this, then who really is the one blaspheming the Spirit?  It certainly is not Adam West!

He then ends his Thiel spiel with this:

My prayers go out to his family. 

Initially, I was not going to cover Adam West’s death at this page, but then decided that some might be interested in understanding how we in the Continuing Church of God view the fate of for those that died and are not part of the true Church of God.

The greatest blessing Adam West has to his credit is to have never been a part of the Church of God or to have ever heard of Bob Thiel and his personality cult.

What Does Bob Thiel and Timothy Kitchen Have In Common?

It is always fascinating reading the shear nonsense that various cult leaders and members post on their Facebook pages and websites.  The COG has always had an inner cabal of members who thought they had the inside track to secret knowledge.  That secret knowledge led to some crazy people over the decades saying and doing a lot of weird things. These weirdos also attracted equally weird followers, just as they still do today.

We have Bob Thiel, who after a couple of nightmares brought on by some bad Mexican food, declared that God spoke to him in those nightmares.  God apparently had run out of men to run yet another COG so he had to resort to Bob Thiel to be his end time man. After stabbing his "daddy" Rod Meredith in the back, Thiel declared he was a prophet and Chief Overseer of the best Church of God in this end times.

Then there is the Kitchen clan who have elevated Herbert Armstrong and his writings right up there beside Jesus and the Bible.  No man in human history has ever been used more mightily than Herb Armstrong.  No book in the history of civilization has ever been written that is as powerful as The Mystery of the Ages.  It sits right next to the Bible in its importance.  No human writings are worth preserving more than Herb's.

So what do these guys all have in common?  They both believe that The Nevada County Scooper is a legitimate source of news and truth.  Almost-arrested Bob Thiel got all giddy with excitement last week when he reported how the Bilderberg's were meetings in Sierra City, CA so that they could visit the grave of Adolph Hitler, who was reported to be buried nearby.   Days went by as he was mocked by scores of people for falling for such stupidity.

Now we can add Timothy Kitchen Jr. to the Nevada Scooper fan club! Tim Kitchen Jr. is reporting that President Trump has finally put an end to the jets flying over the country and leaving those evil chemtrails.

Kitchen writes that Trump is ending the chemtrail spraying and that they will now turn off all the"smart meters so we can bake from the sun."   Kitchen even invokes the Bible to support this belief.

Both of these numbnuts apparently do not have the common sense to understand that the Nevada County Scooper is a satire site.  Satire, boys...satire.