Richard Ames: How Dare You Give Christmas Gifts When You Should Be Tithing On That Money To Us!

It is that time of year when Churches of God moan and groan about the date of Christ's birth and how everyone goes into debt buying gifts.  They are conveniently quiet on how COG members go into debt each year in order to travel to exotic Feast sites that many are still struggling to pay off.  It is more important to malign Christians than it is to see their own excessive spending habits, but that is another story.

Richard Ames has written a letter to the co-workers where he chides them on buying gifts for family members when they should be sending on that money to the Living Church of God or sending all of that money in so LCG can do its ministry.

Most of this end-of-year shopping is supposedly done to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, even though we know from the evidence of Scripture that He was born several months before December. Imagine how powerfully we could reach the world with the true Gospel message if even a tithe of that misguided holiday spending went instead to God’s Work!

In our Tomorrow’s World personal appearance presentations, I often emphasize the sins of America, Canada and other nations, including the national sin of robbing from God. The prophet Malachi indicts our Western nations for their selfishness and covetousness, and their choice not to honor God for His abundant national and individual blessings. “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation.” (Malachi 3:8–9). 

Another uplifting co-worker letter! it is more important to make his readers feel like the worthless worms they are instead of being grace-filled. Oh, wait.  There is a reason for that...sigh. Damn inconvenient dude!

Notice that the penalty for robbing God is not only individual, but national! We have been warning our Western nations that there is a cause for every effect, and we will reap what we have sown nationally and individually (Galatians 6:7). We can be thankful for the time being that the U.S. economy has been healthy, even with a third-quarter slowdown and volatile stock market. While the European Union unemployment rate remains above 8 percent, unemployment in the United States earlier this year reached a 49-year low at 3.7 percent. Yet, we know from God’s word that the situation will be reversed, as social and economic devastation in the U.S. and British-descended nations contribute to a “famine” of the preaching of the Gospel. The prophet Joel records a plea for repentance during a future time of scarce resources (Joel 2:12–17). And eventually our work of preaching the Gospel will come to an end, leading to a famine of the word (Amos 8:11) just before the two witnesses powerfully prophesy during the three and one-half years leading up to the seventh trumpet proclamation, announcing the Kingdom of God on earth (Revelation 11:15). As our Lord Jesus Christ said, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). So, we must fulfill the Great Commission while it is day! Many of God’s people are now being blessed financially and choosing to contribute generously to the Work, according to their means. Thank you for your continuing support in spreading the light of God’s truth!

You worthless worms!  Some of your fellow co-workers are sending us their money, but you are not, They are generous, you are not!

You dumb Christians!  REAL bible scholars only reside in the Living Church of God!  Everyone knows that but you!

As all reputable Bible scholars know, Jesus Christ was born in the autumn season and not on December 25. Many professing Christians do not know, or do not care, that the Christmas date was based on the celebrated birthday of a pagan sun god. 

When will these faithless Churches of God ever step out in real faith and stop demanding people tithe of their hard earned money?  If people are truly blessed by their work, then they will freely give.

We all saw how well that worked when the Worldwide Church of God freed its members from the tithing requirement! They expect money to flow in from people who were richly blessed by its message. LCG and the rest of the tithe demanding COG's prefer to lay the unscriptural demand of tithing on their members as a requirement as they know that they refute the tithing command, they too will be bankrupt.

PCG on Disciplining Children in Church

Joel Hilliker is back again telling Philadelphia Church of God member show to discipline their children and train them to be submissive in church.

During Sabbath services in a congregation with children, life happens on two levels. One carries on at the adults’ eye level. But there is another world happening a few feet closer to the ground. 

If you’re not paying attention, this very active world is easy to overlook—until its sounds and possibly its fury rise to the level of breaking your and others’ concentration on the sermon or interrupting your fellowship. 

Every member of God’s Church should try to bridge the gap between these two worlds. Children need regular, positive interactions with adults who show interest in them and include them within God’s spiritual Family. 

But the ultimate responsibility for children at services lies squarely on those of us who produced these children. We must avoid becoming so engrossed in our adult world at services that we lose track of what our children are doing. 

Each parent must ensure that his or her child upholds God’s Philadelphia standards at Church services. This requires diligence, consistency and firmness, as well as some creativity and understanding.

Notice these are not Godly standards but PCG's expectations.  The word "firmness" is not something to dismiss, given the track record of child-rearing teachings of the Armstrongite COG movement.

Hilliker trots our Apostle Paul as the standard to measure up to:

What would the Apostle Paul say if he walked in on one of our Sabbath services? 

He wrote that members of God’s Church should know “how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God” (1 Timothy 3:15; Revised Standard Version). 

In those congregations blessed to have children, the behavior of those young ones can make all the difference in whether the services really represent the name Philadelphia Church of God. That is, whether they uphold the Philadelphian standard; whether they befit the very elect, called-out ones; and whether they honor the Being whose name we represent.

No fussy kids in church, no crying, no passing notes to friends, no laughing at stupid comments by the preacher. Nothing, other than sitting there and being submissively quiet. The key word is submission.  If a child is not submissive in church then the child is not being trained right at home.

Paul said a leader in the Church should be “one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence” (verse 4; New King James Version). Every parent should be striving for this godly, loving discipline at home. Our children’s Sabbath behavior is an excellent indicator of how well we are living up to this biblical admonition. 

As usual, PCG kneels at the altar of Herbert Armstrong's writings as if God actually spoke them. They quote HWA and his abusive tactics of child-rearing enforced by his son Richard.

“[M]any of our brethren … may not fully realize the seriousness of strict training and vigilant enforcement of the behavior of children at Church services,” Herbert W. Armstrong wrote in the Good News magazine, May 1981. “God is holding every one of you parents responsible!” 

For his article, Mr. Armstrong reprinted a 1958 letter that his son Richard David wrote to Church members in one congregation where children were misbehaving at Sabbath services. “I do not think my son really wrote this letter, except as God’s instrument. The living Christ, I feel, actually authored it,” he explained. “But it contains a dynamic sermon on the responsibility of parents for the training and the behavior of their children at Church services.” 

What an endorsement from Mr. Armstrong, God’s end-time Elijah! This Christ-authored letter is instruction we parents must study closely.

Lest you forget, here are the words of Richard Armstrong and how he expected children to behave in church.  Its no wonder Garner Ted come up with his nonsense later on, he had two abusive teachers!

“[A]ll the children without exception have been too noisy, have been left to run free to themselves at services, and this must cease,” wrote Richard Armstrong. Reading these words makes me wonder just how bad those children were by our society’s loose standards. What would Mr. Armstrong think of the behavior of our children at services today? 

Emphasizing that the Sabbath commandment includes “thy son” and “thy daughter” (Exodus 20:10), Richard Armstrong wrote, “The Sabbath is holy time, sacred to God, and as such our children should not be allowed to run loose like so many wild animals. … Your children must be in church, and they must keep the Sabbath holy the same as you do.”
This is the overarching principle we must remember as we govern our children’s behavior on the Sabbath: This is holy time. Isaiah 58:13 commands that we all—including our children—refrain from doing our own pleasure to ensure the Sabbath is “holy of the Lord, honourable.” 

This means no running, throwing objects, noisily rolling cars around, or being overly loud. Boys are especially prone to such behavior. We must direct them toward appropriate alternatives. 

At the same time, this verse in Isaiah shows that God wants the Sabbath to be a “delight” for the whole family, including our children. Twenty-four hours of being expected to be quiet, sit still and do nothing won’t be a delight to even the most mild-mannered child. We must train our children to uphold the standard—while we provide suitable activities and opportunities that fulfill the purpose of the Sabbath and that they will enjoy. 

Be sure to give your children appropriate ways to make this weekly holy time special and enjoyable for them, whatever their ages. Spend extra time with them. Read Bible stories and books about creation together. Talk with each other about God, His way of life, His laws, His creation, His plan for all mankind. Walk down the street or through a scenic place together. Make Sabbath meals special with foods and decorations you don’t usually have during the week. Have special quiet toys, dolls, books or activities that children get to enjoy only on the Sabbath. Make the ride to and from services enjoyable by discussing God’s creation. Present them with a nice backpack, handbag or briefcase for their supplies for services. 

Be sure they understand what is appropriate at the meeting hall and what isn’t. “Of course your children can play with the other children when services are over,” said the August 1965 Good News. “They should look forward to and enjoy the Sabbath when they see all their friends again. But this is not license to sail airplanes out of restroom windows, wrestle on the floor, or bang chairs around ….”

Can you imagine Jesus ever doing this when he gathered the little children around him as he had them set on his lap?  PCG has to have higher standards.  Members are to not be distracted by a gurgling baby or a happy child during those SERIOUS church services. Nothing can be more important that the words being spoken by the preacher! It is more important for members to listen to words that drive them to suicide than it is to be bothered by a happy child in services.

Teaching your children how to behave during the Sabbath service itself requires special effort and attention. And your expectations must fit your children’s ages and maturity levels.

When you have very young children, your first goal is to ensure that you and others around you can receive the instruction during services with as few interruptions as possible.
To that end, very young children must be blanket trained at home. Select a time and set the blanket on the floor. Tell the child that everything beyond the blanket is “no.” Train your child to play silently on the blanket without getting off. Discipline quickly when the child tests these boundaries. Establish a routine so the child can fall asleep by himself on the blanket even while someone is speaking. These habits simply cannot be taught at services.

They must be trained and enforced in your own home during the week.

After all, it is not about what would Jesus do, but what their law requires:

Rewards for Law-keeping

As is the case with behavior during services, the time to train our children how they should behave before and after services is during the week. Anticipate. Prepare. Establish firm rules. Tell them in advance the rewards for right and the punishments for wrong. Practice in whatever ways are possible. Do your work during those six days, and you will be able to rest on the Sabbath as your children behave appropriately.

While you are establishing these good habits, you might consider establishing a happy tradition—perhaps enjoying ice cream as a family after services—for when the children behaved themselves well in the household of God, the Church of the living God.

Let’s diligently work with our children to keep God’s Sabbath holy and honorable—and at the same time make it a delight. This will do much to bring us peace, build God’s Family, and strengthen the Church in the eyes of the world and of God. It will help life in our congregations meet God’s standard—both at eye level and at the level closer to the ground. And it will prepare our young people for a lifetime of joy-filled Sabbath-keeping!  

Of all the Churches of God out there the Philadelphia Church of God is the LAST group of people you should look to for child-rearing advice.

Do I Hate/Despise Bob Thiel?

Charlie says:

"Anonymous Charlie said...
I used to think Gary had a hatred for what Bob Thiel but it has become obvious it’s a hatred for not only what he says but a hatred for the man himself that seems to go way back and can do nothing but slam him in everything he says about him, name calling like a little child to other childish comments."
 

I have absolutely no hated towards Bob Thiel as a person.  He may be a wonderfully nice person, as some here have claimed. COG members who have been conditioned by church leaders to regard anyone who left the church as bitter or under the influence of Satan, so that is what people immediately assume.  Nothing could be further from the truth. These lies were only methods of control they used to keep church members in line and spouting the party line.  

If you read the horrific stories on Facebook groups of the vile actions of COG leaders and ministers in how they treated members, it is quite obvious God was never part of their lives or the church they represent. 

I have spent over 40 years here in Pasadena watching various men and women come and go as they set themselves up as prophets, apostles and church leaders.  Every single one of them have been inveterate liars and frauds.  I have watched as these liars have ripped churches, families, and marriages apart all for their own self-serving glory. God was no more a part of placing them in those positions than he was in doubly blessing and setting Thiel apart as a new splinter group leader.  

Rod Meredith was quite specific in ensuring that Thiel was NOT to be ordained.  He knew where Thiel’s heart ultimately lay. Rest assured, Meredith's character was not one with outstanding virtue either. We watched in Pasadena as he horrifically reigned as head of Church Administration and how he ripped marriages apart, destroyed families and humiliated ministers and members with outrageous lies and claims as he disfellowshipped people on a whim.  

There is not one single shred of evidence that God had anything to do with Theil's self-ordination or setting him apart as a leader of the end time church.  All of the dreams in the world by nice men and women do not make them God’s instruments. Sadly, the god of Armstrongism has been relegated to a position of sheer impotence as these men and women have designed him/it into what they imagine him/it to be. They have prostituted themselves out to the law while denying Jesus and anything he came to do. There have been a lot of graceless religious groups in the world over the years, but Armstrong’s hundreds of groups seem to consistently top the list.

Thiel writes about hundreds and hundreds of ultimately useless topics each week that he believes his followers need to know about. All this has done is prove he has no Godly focus other than his desire to be known as an authority on every esoteric point imaginable, EXCEPT  of course, for that inconvenient dude that embarrasses the hell out of him and most COG leaders.

The sad part is that he has conned over 3,800 African followers with his nonsense.  These are people who could care less about 99% of the silly topics he writes about every week. They face lives of struggling to feed themselves, keep roofs over their heads, and surviving tribal warfare from other groups or Muslims. Do they really care if the Boy Scouts may be headed to bankruptcy or whether the Swiss may be descended from Gad? Yellowstone geysers leading to Gog and Magog?  WTH!!!!  WHO CARES! Jesus doesn't!

Those that came into the presence of Jesus were overpowered by grace, they melted at his grace and mercy. Do you see any of that coming from Bob Thiel? Did Jesus spend his time being interviewed on conspiracy theory networks talking about useless crap? 

It is really no wonder that Thiel is only able to garner less than 200 people from COG groups in the United States, Canada, Europe and South Africa.  COG members have seen numerous other false COG leaders like him rise up over the decades and lead people astray.  It is hard enough dealing with the leaders of their own groups than to put up with the heretical nonsense of Bob Thiel.

So, no, I do not hate or despise Bob Thiel, but you can rest assured I and many others here will continue to call him out for his steaming pile of heretical crap and label it for what it truly is. 

Bullshit!