UCG Struggles With COVID As It Prepares For Feast

Below is the latest letter to UCG members regarding COVID, the Feast, and about showing love to one another in the church.

The facts are plain. A fresh surge of coronavirus infections—driven by the Delta variant—has created a new set of challenges for much of the world. Its impact has been felt keenly within the Church of God community. Many of you know that Beyond Today TV host Gary Petty and his wife, Kim, both came down recently with the virus, as did a number of members in the Tennessee congregations they serve. Mr. Petty’s case grew severe, and he had to be hospitalized. 

 

Thankfully, he is scheduled to be released soon, but will require time to fully recover at home. As he told me by phone, his personal experience with COVID-19 confirms that it is “a bad disease.” None of us want to experience it. Other groups within the Church of God community report several cases—mild and severe alike—among members and ministers. This virus respects no human.

Like the Living Church of God, UCG is sending their children off to summer camps, even after one of its camps had some serious issues with children being infected. 

There are some issues that we need to consider over the coming weeks. I believe that God helped us all get through a successful camp season for our church youth. With the exception of one camp where there were many who came down with the virus, we mostly were spared. In addition to God’s amazing protection, no small measure of thanks goes to the intensive planning and execution of safety measures.

Kubik goes on to talk about members getting vaccinated and members who chose not to get vaccinated. Neither he claims is wrong, IF they have a good attitude.

What I am about to write about is a delicate and solemn subject, but one that we must face head on, especially as we near the Fall Festival season. I write here of the issue of COVID-19 precautions and safety measures, and yes, that includes the available vaccines. 

 

As well documented in our doctrinal study paper (streaming.ucg.org/files/papers/UCG-papers-Divine-Healing.pdf), the United Church of God believes in and teaches divine healing. The paper rightly states that “We will never understand in this life every step in the process which leads to the healing of our illnesses. We must rely on the clear scriptural statements for our doctrine . . . We believe that divine healing is a promise from God and we claim that promise through faith.” 

 

We also understand and positively teach that seeking medical treatment—including the administration of vaccines—represents a personal choice. We positively teach that it is not a sin to seek such services. 

 

During this year and a half of pandemic, we have all faced various trials and tests. We have watched and personally experienced the intense polarization of America and the politicization of virtually the entire spectrum of COVID-19 issues. When it comes to our members, our relationships, and our choices, what are we to do? 

 

Our direction is crystal clear! We read it every Passover evening, and it should be front and center in our everyday lives. Here’s what our Savior and coming King Jesus Christ proclaims to each one of us: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35, emphasis added throughout). 

 

In the Church, the issue is not about vaccines or whether or not someone wears a mask or takes other precautions. The issue is about attitude. 

 

We are to show love and respect. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31).

Throughout the COG movement right now there are bitter camps of pro-vaccination and anti-vaccination. The ant-vax COG members are adamant that those who get vaccinated are without faith and fail to trust God to keep them free of the pandemic and its variants or heal them if they get sick. This has been a COG tradition handed down for decades to the erroneous and at times dangerous attitude to avoid doctors and medical assistance. Certain COG movements look down upon anyone that has been to see a doctor and especially those who have gotten the vaccinations.

Kubik then goes on to say this:

Apart from those who are licensed physicians or other medical professionals within the United Church of God, we recognize that we are not medical experts. As a spiritual assembly, we do not offer medical advice or diagnostic suggestions.

But here is an important point: Since we arrange and oversee the meeting together of many thousands of members in public areas on a continuing basis, we do hold a very strong interest in positive public health and public safety. Even outside of COVID-19 issues, we must regularly plan for and attend to many issues in the realm of public health. Many biblical passages direct us to be good stewards, which includes creating safe places for worship and fellowship.

As UCG prepares to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles next month, they are making COVID plans. With widespread issues with the Delta variant hitting some states and cities really hard, UCG faces the fact they may need to cancel services in some areas.

We are but weeks away from the Festival season. In America, two of our Feast sites are in Florida, currently the state with the highest number of new COVID-19 infections and related hospitalizations. Some cities—like New York City—have already adopted a vaccine mandate and are now requiring proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, gyms, and other gathering places. Unless the surge abates, we may face changes in how we conduct the Feast. For example, we may need to suspend in-person meetings in favor of off-site webcasting if COVID-19 case(s) are widespread at or near a site, but almost a certainty if that infection is confirmed among attendees (hence the extreme need for everyone to take precautions). 

 

We are carefully monitoring the developing situations around all of our Feast sites and all of our church congregations.

Kubik ends with this:

My message and my request are this: please pray fervently for God’s protection, God’s wisdom, and God’s direction. As Paul directs us, “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2, New Living Translation). Be tolerant and supportive of each other, including the posting of messages on social media. Please pray for our older members and those with various conditions, as they may be more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection. 

 

In summary, now is a critical time. Now is the time to really show love for one another. Now is the time for understanding, of appreciating the spiritual and physical challenges that we face. Now is the time for action, of taking precautions and promoting safety for all, even if it is inconvenient. Let us come together, let us speak together, let us worship together “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:2-3 ESV).

It will be interesting to see how forthright COG groups will be after the Feast and if they will warn members about COVID infections as a result of Feast attendance.

Is Bob Thiel Setting the Scene to Declare Himself "The Elijah to Come" AND One of the Two Witnesses As Well?

It is quite possible I am reading a bit too much between the lines. So I just ask the question. I learned how to do this from Bob the Prophetic Fudger. But when Bob Thiel notes that HWA was definitely NOT the Elijah to come but...

"Now, presuming Jesus will return within the next couple of decades, then that ‘Elijah’ would need to be alive now. And he would be part of the church that places the highest priority on the truth."

...I have to wonder what he's implying.

Could It Be Me Who is to Come?

(Ok, that's my title for his title)

"PCG claims Herbert Armstrong restored all things, but he did not, nor did he ever make that claim. HWA's writings show he was NOT the Elijah to come"


"Herbert W. Armstrong never claimed to have restored ALL THINGS (Mark 9:12). Neither did he nor the Bible define ALL THINGS as Joel Hilliker has.

Since the Bible does teach that there will be an ‘Elijah’ who is alive right before Jesus returns (Malachi 4:5-6), thus it is not possible that Herbert W. Armstrong was the prophesied final Elijah.

Now, presuming Jesus will return within the next couple of decades, then that ‘Elijah’ would need to be alive now. And he would be part of the church that places the highest priority on the truth.

Yet, most Christians seemingly refuse to accept that."

"....Consider also that the Bible indicates that it is likely that the ‘Elijah’ will be one of the two witnesses."

Why Do the Members of the Restored and Philadelphian Church of God Cults Stay Gyrating in Their Seats?

How Authoritarians Leaders Get Away with It

The one psychological move that frees followers from doubt.

How Authoritarian Leaders Get Away With It

(read the complete article here)

Excerpts from the article:

Experimental psychologist Bob Altemeyer spent his entire career studying authoritarians, both the leaders and the followers. In 1998, he wrote:

“Wanna-be tyrants in a democracy are just comical figures on soapboxes when they have no following. So the real…threat lay coiled in parts of the population itself…ready someday to catapult the next Hitler to power with their votes.”

His and other’s research yields this list of conclusions about authoritarian followers whether they follow tyrants on the left, right, religious, spiritual, whatever:

1. They are highly ethnocentric, highly inclined to see the world as their in-group versus everyone else. Because they are so committed to their in-group, they are very zealous in its cause. 

 

2. They are highly fearful of a dangerous world. Their parents taught them, more than parents usually do, that the world is dangerous. They may also be genetically predisposed to experiencing stronger fear than most people do. 

 

3. They are highly self-righteous. They believe they are the “good people” and this unlocks a lot of hostile impulses against those they consider bad. 

 

4. They are aggressive. Given the chance to attack someone with the approval of an authority, they will lower the boom. 

 

5. Their beliefs are a mass of contradictions. They have highly compartmentalized minds, in which opposite beliefs exist side-by-side in adjacent boxes. As a result, their thinking is full of double-standards. 

 

6. They reason poorly. If they like the conclusion of an argument, they don’t pay much attention to whether the evidence is valid or the argument is consistent. 

 

7. They are highly dogmatic. Because they have gotten their beliefs mainly from the authorities in their lives, rather than think things out for themselves, they have no real defense when facts or events indicate they are wrong. So they just dig in their heels and refuse to change. 

 

8. They are very dependent on social reinforcement of their beliefs. They think they are right because almost everyone they know, almost every news broadcast they see, almost every radio commentator they listen to, tells them they are. That is, they screen out the sources that will suggest that they are wrong. 

 

9. Because they severely limit their exposure to different people and ideas, they vastly overestimate the extent to which other people agree with them. And thinking they are “the moral majority” supports their attacks on the “evil minorities” they see in the country. 

 

10. They are easily duped by manipulators who pretend to espouse their causes when all the con-artists really want is personal gain. 

 

11. They are largely blind to themselves. They have little self-understanding and insight into why they think and do what they do.

Why would people be like this? Lots of reasons that are hard to distinguish. There are probably evolutionary origins beta males subordinating themselves in species with alpha males. Upbringing and social context play a role. We could list benefits of being a follower, for example, that self-certainty is fun. We could also list the costs of the alternatives, for example, that self-doubt, changing one’s mind, or admitting you’re wrong is uncomfortable.

Then there are those who aren’t choosing to be followers but can’t help it because they actually can’t think hard enough to make their own big choices. And then there’s an often overlooked factor: The more complicated the world becomes the more appealing it is to give up on thinking and put trust in an authority who speaks with confidence.

We need to know what motivates authoritarian followers in order to figure out how to deal with them. Demanding that someone think harder will backfire with people who can’t. Calling them con-artists when they’re simpletons or simpletons when they’re con-artists will backfire too. Still, it’s hard to discern true motives, especially with authoritarian-followers, people who don’t know their own motives and so couldn’t or wouldn’t report them.

Here then, rather than focusing on what motivates them, I’ll focus on how they can justify and rationalize believing anything their leaders say and do. I’ll call their approach "machine envy.” They act like they think life’s questions can be answered by a machine that they have discovered and become. Input anything into the machine, you get the one reliable true output.

An algorithm is basically a reliable machine made of numbers, for example, 1+X=Y. Whatever you put into X, you’ll get a reliable output for Y.

Authoritarian followers pretend life is reducible to machine-like cause and effect algorithms. It is the alternative to thinking, defined as doubting, wondering, struggling with ambiguity and ambivalence. Computers may be “intelligent” by some definitions of the term, but they do not think as defined here. They don’t strive to discern differences as though their lives depended on it. Humans think, not that we love having to do it. Still, our lives depend on it.

With authoritarian followers, the thinking is already over. They’re not guessing at what’s true. There’s no interpretation left to do. They and their leaders have already done all the interpretation necessary. They discovered the truth, embraced it, internalized it, and now only have to act on it like machines. They see reality clearly, truly and purely through their unambiguous mechanistic world view.