The Sourpuss Church of God

 

I was reading yesterday about the recent death of John Rittenbaugh, founder of the Church of the Great God splinter group. Browsing through their website I noticed the following article,  Is God Playful? by Mike Fuhrer. To many in Armstrongism, particularly those with a literalist belief in the Bible and God, finding humor in Scripture is anathema to God's majesty and power. How dare anyone find something funny in the Bible! Just look at Song of Soloman, it's a gigglefest of sexual innuendo from start to finish, but I digress.

After spending over 30 years in Pasadena, far too many there were such dour sourpusses. Nothing ever made them happy and they seemed to make every effort to make all those around them miserable too! Thankfully there were lots of happy people to counteract those grumpy people who later left to start many of the splinter groups we have torturing people today.

Fuhrer writes:

At a previous church of God fellowship, while standing around after services, eating cookies, and drinking coffee, I told a joke. One man listening to my joke later cautioned me that we should not tell jokes "because they are not the truth." I have pondered his statement for quite some time now. 

 

Does everything we say or do have to be "truthful"? By that, I mean, is fiction in any form—even in the service of good—forbidden to us? Certainly, we should not break the ninth commandment (Exodus 20:16; Deuteronomy 5:20), which covers intentionally speaking falsehoods to deceive as well as committing perjury. Nor should we step over the line into harmful practical jokes (Proverbs 26:18-19). But are there times when something fictional, made-up, lighthearted, or playful could be okay for a Christian to say or do?

It was always a trip to watch ministers in Pasadena get infuriated by students joking around and being playful. How dare they! They were at God's West Point and needed to act like it!

Fuhrer continues:

We cannot go too far astray if we allow Jesus Christ to be our Example in this area of life as in all others. Does Jesus have a sense of humor? The clues all point to the answer that He does! The Bible tells us He is the Creator (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2), and as such, He created humans and their laughter too. Eight billion people, each with a unique sense of humor, tend to support the idea that their Creator has a sense of humor too. 

 

The name of one of the patriarchs, Isaac, means "laughter." And his mother, Sarah, who was in her nineties when God told her she would have a child, laughed (Genesis 18:12). Perhaps God exercised His sense of humor, a grin on His face, when He named her son "Laughter."

Don't forget the talking jackass! No, I'm not talking about Dave Pack, but Balaam's ass.

Our Savior was not above having a little fun with the disciples, either. In John 21, the disciples, having been skunked after fishing all night long, saw Jesus standing on the shore. He casually asked them the question every fisherman has been asked: "Catch anything?" Are we to believe that He did not know? Of course, He knew! He is the One who set up the situation!

Another thing that infuriated the dour ministers and members was people who told stories that were totally fictional. They claimed this was lying. Yet, the Bible is filled with hundreds of parables that were made up of stories. Totally fictional and yet told a truth.

How dreadful our lives would be without at least a little playfulness and laughter! If we cannot tell jokes because they are not strictly "the truth," we should neither read novels nor watch movies because they are fiction—not the truth. By the way, we should take scissors to our gospel accounts because they are chock full of Christ's parables, made-up stories by which He taught His disciples vital spiritual lessons they—and we—needed to know. 

 

We should also be wary of history books because, as it is said, history is written by the victors. They alter the facts to depict the winners—themselves—in a heroic light and portray the defeated as villains. Beware of the daily news, too, because it may well be fake news leading us down a dangerous path. For good measure, we might want to quit reading opinion pieces because they are just that—opinions from the corrupt minds of people saturated with the knowledge of good and evil. 

 

In the end, on the question of whether we should tell jokes, William Shakespeare might have said, it is much ado about nothing! Like the parables, fictional stories—even jokes—can have positive qualities that a wise person can use to convey a piece of wisdom, offer a refreshing perspective, or simply lighten the mood to help others relax. A well-written book of fiction or a movie can impart valuable life lessons or trigger helpful emotions that lead us to think deeply about an issue or situation.

He ends with this:

Yes, God can be playful, and He no doubt enjoys a good laugh from time to time (see Psalm 2:4). Studies have shown that laughing reduces stress, a finding the Bible supports (Proverbs 17:22). But our higher priority is to please God by being a good and faithful servant and one day entering the joy of our Lord (Matthew 25:21, 23)!

UCG and the Tithe of the Tithe Con Game

 

For decades the church looked for ways to get more money from the membership and the tithe of the tithe was one of those con games. The mother church, the Worldwide Church of God was bringing in sometimes a million dollars a day in tithes and offerings from members who struggled to make ends meet. That money went to pay for lavish homes, gold, silver, fine art, concert series, and building three campuses. One would think that the church should carry on with that process and pay for Feast site locations through those tithes or with offerings taken up on the two holy days of the Feast. Not content with raking in that money, they wanted more and the tithe of the second tithe was instituted as the 4th tithe church members had to pay.

UCG found a subtle way of taking the word tithe out of the equation in order to make people think they were giving an offering instead. Today in 2023 some are looking to bring back the tithe of the tithe. and the Council now is looking into it again.

The next time COG leaders try and guilt you into paying a tithe on your second tithe take that money and instead take your family out to dinner inviting some widows/elderly, singles, and those you know that are struggling financially or better yet, give THEM the money. The church does not need it and God certainly does not!

Chairman Martin then turned the floor over to Brain Shaw to lead a discussion on the possibility of a policy statement concerning the subject of the Tithe of the Tithe.

Mr. Shaw began by explaining why he wanted to have this discussion. He mentioned that he has been approached by members who have asked if the Church still requires the members to give a tithe of the second tithe in order to pay for facilities at the Feast of Tabernacles. He commented that we used to have a statement on it in the Feast brochure, however, it seems that the policy has been inconsistent. Is it optional? Is it not optional?

Mr. Shaw said that it’s clear that it’s not a biblical command, but a policy that was put into place years ago in order to help pay for festival cost. Mr. Shaw added that, as a pastor, he would like to see us have a policy or clarify our stance on this matter. He then opened the floor for discussion.

During the discussion it was mentioned that the term “Tithe of the Tithe” is not used anymore and has been replaced with the term, “Festival Fund.” Chris Rowland reminded the Council that a resolution concerning the Tithe of the Tithe was passed by the Council on February 12, 1997.

Chairman Martin made a motion for consent without resolution to remand this to the Education Committee for the purpose of examination of the 1997 Resolution and report back to the Council in the August meetings with their suggestion. Eleven Council members supported the motion, one abstained.

UCG Has Discussion On The Most Astounding Gospel Witness Ever For A Church of God!

 

One would think in 2023 with all the homelessness, broken families, food disparity, and other societal issues that face the neighbors of the United Church of God and its members, that a UCG would step up to the plate and make a public proclamation that as a church they would help bring relief and kindness to people so in need of it. Sure they have Kubik's pet charity to make them look good, but as a church getting involved in their local communities should be a priority. What better way to witness for the gospel than that!

The Council of Elders met recently and they had a long discussion. Not about helping others and showing God's grace and mercy, but about whether or not they need an official church logo. WTH?

President Shabi began by giving a quick background of the logo history and issues. Sense (sic) the new logo was rescinded at the February 2023 meetings, the administration has worked together to assess the problem. He added that after much consideration he has concluded that UCGIA does not need a physical symbol to represent the Church. Moving forward the administration and staff have discussed ways in which artistic design can be utilized to bring unity to our different forms of media. He feels that those ways will actually be more effective than a logo. President Shabi then stated that this is where we are, and then opened the floor for further discussion, questions and suggestions.

Then, the next day they brought it up AGAIN!

Chairman Martin called the Council to order and then turned the floor over to Clint Porter to address the follow-up discussion concerning a Church logo.

Mr. Porter began by explaining how the Media and Communications Services department can bring unity across the UCGIA platform without the use of a logo. He then demonstrated how this can be accomplished through the use of text type, color schemes and wording. He presented the “NC State University” website as an example of how this can be achieved. After a quick demonstration, Mr. Porter opened the floor for comments, suggestions and concerns. After a further discussion addressing a few questions and concerns, Mr. Porter then turned the floor back over to Mr. Martin.