Self Tarnished Reputations

The eternally butthurt Great Bwana to Africa delivered a new sermon to his African followers.

He makes a couple of absurd comments in the posting:

Ecclesiastes 7-8: Reputation, Anger Management and Walking God’s Way 

Solomon gave instructions and observations about life in Ecclesiastes. This sermon covers all the verses in chapters 7 and 8 of that biblical book. Reputation, and those who would tarnish it, are discussed. A focus of this sermon is dealing with anger. Is anger a sin? Can you be angry and not sin? Is it acceptable to sin when angry? Should you retain anger? How can you reduce anger? What do other passages in the Bible teach us about anger? Although Solomon wrote it would turn out well for those who obey God, did he refuse to follow some of the specific instructions for kings? Did Solomon fully understand God’s plan? Do you have a better opportunity to understand aspects of God’s plan than Solomon? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more in this third sermon in a series covering the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Never has the Church of God had a more self-absorbed man that Bob Thiel and his grandiose ideas of self-importance?  Even Gerald Flurry and Dave Pack, in all of their vaingloriousness, cannot compare to the Great Bwana and savior of the Church of God.  The Bible was apparently written for this time in COG history as a vehicle to justify the self-appointed of the Great Bwana as a prophet and church leader.  Never has the church seen so many people dream this guy into existence, or seek to legitimize his self-appointed prophethood status.  

in spite of all that, no man in the COG has tarnished his reputation to the extent that the Great Bwana has done.  Even Ron Weinland, after his conviction and jail time, seems saner at times than the Great Bwana does, and that is being generous!

And then there is this: 

"Do you have a better opportunity to understand aspects of God’s plan than Solomon?"

Yes, Bwana Bob, there is!  That person is Jesus, that silly man you continue to ignore and discredit every time you make one of your absurd comments about the law, the old covenant, and 99% of the other useless neo-pagan crap you think is important to a Christians walk.  Law-keeping, 10 commandment-keeping, sabbath keeping, holy day keeping, non-pork eating, and all the rest of the legalistic drivel you claim is important will not and cannot save anyone. What he did and accomplished is far greater than the trite actions of Solomon. Grace, justification, mercy and eternal rest far outshine Solomon, David, Moses, Amos, Joshua, or Ezekiel.

You try to act like Solomon and pretend you have the answer to everything, know more about history than anyone else in the church, or understand doctrine and prophecy better. Do you think the following list of topics means a hill of beans to any of your deluded African followers, let alone, your couple hundred white American members?

• Hyginus: Did this Roman leader try to change times?

• Shouldn’t All Christians Be Multi-Millionaires?

• CGFF and PCG view on ‘restrainer’ is in error

• 2020: Could this be the year?

• PCG and COGwriter on Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg

• Iran retaliates, threatens more, and Donald Trump announces more sanctions

• Apollinaris of Hierapolis: Church of God or Church of Rome?

• Catholic World Report on a Jerusalem Temple and the Millennium

• ZH: Iran Evaluating 13 Retaliation Scenarios To Inflict “Historic Nightmare” On US

• Former Global Church of God board member says that pride is the main reason Christians do not accept a prophet

• BIN: Why Some Christians Are Eating Biblically Clean

• How Long Will It Take For The US To Collapse? Could the US dollar collapse like Rome’s currency? Well, in modern times, some nations are also working to push the US dollar aside

• What was the largest empire in recorded history?

• Do you understand Ezekiel 37 better than Pope Francis?

• BIN: Iran Raises Red Flag Over ‘Messianic Mosque’ Declaring ‘End-of-Days’ War’ for First Time Ever

• BibleNewsProphecy: Should You Smoke? Would You Like Help to Quit?

When it comes down to the fact of life for them, they could care less about the rantings of a privileged white American who imagines himself as the savior of the church and who thinks he is God's final mouthpiece.  Their identity is in Jesus, who they seek to follow in their own traditional ways and not in the mindless crapfest coming out of Arroyo Grande. 

Your reputation has been destroyed by you and you alone.  Not by this blog, not by the Living Church of God and United Church of God (who rightly rejected your lunacy) nor by any other COG out there who have told their members to steer clear of you.

Of course, you are just one of many in a long history in the Chruch of God who have tarnished their reputations. Liars all.

 

Gerald Waterhouse

Stupid things Church of God members heard from Gerald Waterhouse.  

How many more can you recall?

from Facebook

Joshua 24:15 We Will Serve the Lord!

Over the holidays, two of the young adults in my family posted comments on social media that reflect very different perspectives on the principle outlined in Joshua 24:15. You know, the one that goes something like this: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." One is a member of a prominent Armstrong Church of God splinter, the other belongs to a non-denominational Sunday-observing church. Both are hard-working, devoted parents and appear to be sincere in their beliefs.

The non-denominational Christian has a plaque on her living room wall with the Joshua quote. She posted a comment on social media recounting her experience as a child whose parents believed that Christmas was pagan and did not celebrate Christ's birth. She went on to mention the fact that some members of her family still don't celebrate Christmas, but that she respects them, accepts their devotion to Christ and loves them just the same. She said that Christ was/is the most perfect expression of God's light and love and concluded that this was something that everyone should be able to rally around.

The Armstrong Church of God Christian posted the Joshua quote in his explanation of why he and his family don't celebrate the holiday. For him, his choice to not observe this holiday reflects his decision to put God's will first. In other words, those who choose to observe the holiday may not be serving the Lord.

As I read through their comments, it occurred to me that their remarks demonstrate that this scripture (Joshua 24:15) means very different things to both of them. For one of them, the words reflect their devotion and commitment to God. For the other, the same words seem to imply that we are doing the Lord's will and you aren't. Both of these young people appear to be devoted to God and their faith. Both of them give one the impression that they are sincere and good people. Both look to be following the dictates of their conscience in this matter.

For me, this family interaction perfectly demonstrates the point that Christ made to his disciples about judging each other. It also illustrates the point that Paul was trying to make to the saints at Rome and Colossae about different religious observances. If it is your personal conviction to observe or not observe a particular day, then follow that conviction. Your observance or lack of observance is not the thing that matters in the end - it is your attitude toward what you are doing that matters in the final analysis. I believe that both of these young people have exhibited the light and love of Christ in their lives, but I worry about any feelings of superiority or self-righteousness that might poke its slimy way into their hearts.

Miller Jones