Crackpot Self-appointed COG False Prophet Doubles Down On Tithing

The Church of God's greatest con man is back trying to make his followers believe that tithing is a New covenant command. Nowhere in the New Covenant is tithing commanded. Jesus never instructed people to do it and none of the apostles did. Yet, the con men running various COG's claim that is a requirement. They do so because it keeps their so-called ministries alive and for most a paycheck being deposited into their bank accounts.

The Great Bwana to Africa and 100 Caucasians has to rely upon old discredited Worldwide Church of God booklets and articles printed as an attempt to force members to tithe.  We have come to expect such things from the Great Bwana because he apparently is unable to come up with an original thought in his head when it comes to doctrines and church teachings. None of it is ever scriptural but is instead cut and pasted from WCG authors.

Also, as usual, the Greatest self-appointed prophet the church has ever seen in 2,000 years got his delicate butt hurt by a previous article here on tithing.

A while back, the anti-COG site, calling itself Banned by HWA, ran an old letter purportedly written by former WCG member Harry Eisenberg opposed to tithing. Here are some extracts:

I was a paid researcher on the staff of Ambassador College for over four years. Generally speaking, my work involved providing “proofs” for the pet concepts and theories held by Mr. Herbert Armstrong and/or his son, Garner Ted. … 

 

In January 1973, I was asked by my supervisor, Brian Knowles, to research the subject of tithing. In particular, Mr. Knowles was interested in learning who paid what to whom and how in ancient Israel. 

 

And so I began a systematic study of the tithing doctrine by listing each Biblical verse which in any way refers to tithing. What followed was a study of commentaries, encyclopedias arid various historical sources. The result was inevitable! I came to see that the tithing concept as promulgated by Ambassador College and the Worldwide Church of God was contrary to both the Old and the New Testaments. 

 

Scripture makes it plain that the right to collect tithes was given to the Levitical priesthood in exchange for their service in the Temple. There is no evidence that this right was ever passed on to the New Testament Church. … 

 

Harry Eisenberg 

Apparently, there were not enough butthurt salves stocked in the local pharmacies in Grover Beach and Arroyo Grande to soothe the pain the great Bwana felt and still feels.

Bwana ButtHurt continues:

But are all the claims in that letter accurate?

No. 

 

Furthermore, the New Testament teaches that tithing changed from the Levitical priesthood because of Jesus (Hebrews 7:4-16). Early Christians understood that they were to tithe.

It does nothing of the sort!

The Old Covenant command that Armstrongites look to was an obligation. A requirement in order to gain salvation (along with a myriad of other useless demands). The New Covenant asks people to respond from their hearts. It is an act of worship to give as one sees how they've been blessed. Giving as an obligation accomplishes nothing but hinders them into thinking they have done enough.

The required tithes were in addition to other religious obligations mandated by the Mosaic law including the first fruits, first born animals, redemption money for the first born child, offerings required for the release of vows, the annual half-shekel temple tax, the annual wood-gathering, and free will offerings. F. C. Grant concludes that “the sum total of religious obligations levied upon the people by the various Old Testament codes was nothing shore of enormous” (The Economic Background of the Gospels, p. 97).

All Bwana Butthurt needs to do is look at 1 Cor. 16:1-4 where giving is to be done regularly (on the first day of the week), Giving is to be part of the believer's regular worship. Giving is always proportionate. Those with less give less, those with more give more. The amount is NOT important but what is on the heart of the giver. Giving was always to be done without pressure. Paul asked for offerings to be taken up BEFORE he arrived in cities so that people were not compelled to give because he was there.

The Great Bwana continues:

For those unfamiliar, let me state that the old WCG (Worldwide Church of God) taught three tithes. 

 

That is what the Bible teaches as well. 

 

What about historical evidence? 

 

Well, it exists–historical evidence supports the idea of three tithes like the old WCG taught. 

 

It does not matter that Harry Eisenberg purportedly claimed otherwise.

No one, not even Eisenberg ever disputed that it was taught in Old Testament times. It was a command for the Israelites only. Once that connection ended with the New Covenant Christians were no longer under the command or the law. No matter how much Bwana Bob wants to wave his little arms that tithing is commanded. It is not. That is a fact he cannot dispute.

No one should allow the Old Covenant law of tithing to become a stumbling block. New Covenant Christians are to embrace the behavior of generosity.

In Matthew 22:15-22, Matthew 23:23, and Romans 13:1-7, Jesus was only referring to the Old Testament command on tithing – not advocating for the return of the requirement. This totally escapes the little minds of self-appointed prophets and church elders.

Romans and Galatians just frost the butts of the Old Covenant legalists in the church demanding that specific laws be kept.

Rom. 6:14–15

New International Version

14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Slaves to Righteousness

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!

Romans 7:5-6

New International Version

5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh,[a] the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

Galatians 3:15 -  4:7.

 The Law and the Promise  

15 Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,”[i] meaning one person, who is Christ.17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. 

 

19 Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one. 

 

21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. 

 

Children of God 

 

23 Before the coming of this faith,[j] we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of Godthrough faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. 

 

Galatians 4:1-7
New International Version

4 What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2 The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces[a] of the world. 4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.[b] 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,[c] Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. 

Don't get conned by the lies of Bwana Bob or the rest of the COG ministry who command tithing. It is not a New Covenant command. Never was and never will be! 

When Christians are instructed to give to the poor, they aren’t commanded to give “the poor tithe.” Instead, they are instructed to be generous in helping those in need (Acts 2:43–47; 4:32–37; 11:27–30; Gal. 2:10; 1 Cor. 16:1–4; 2 Cor. 8:1–9:15). For example, 1 Corinthians 16:1–4—a passage often cited in popular circles in support—doesn’t mention tithing; it relates to a one-time gift for poor saints in Jerusalem. 7 Reasons Christians Are Not Required to Tithe

Although the original apostles were all Jews, obligated to tithe under the law, there is no word from them or anywhere in the New Testament that Christians are to tithe under the New Covenant with God. The tithe is not even used as illustrating a helpful method concerning how one may give to the church. The Apostle Paul calls on believers to use a completely different method when presenting their offering to the work of the church. Are Believers Obligated to Tithe to Their Church?

TITHING PUTS THE WRONG EMPHASIS UPON GIVING.

Tithing emphasizes your obligation to God; New Testament giving, as we shall see, emphasizes your willing, loving response to God’s grace. Furthermore, tithing limits giving by making a person feel that he has paid his dues (so to speak) and thus nothing more is required, when, in fact, much more could be done. Tithing has a tendency to put a person on a legal basis with God, rather than a love relationship. It’s the wrong emphasis.  Why You Should NOT Tithe

Generous grace giving is the New Testament standard.

When you say “grace,” a lot of people, unfortunately, connect it with hang-loose, undisciplined living. But that is not grace! Nor is grace the balance point between legalism and licentiousness. Rather grace (as a system) is totally opposed both to legalism and licentiousness, which are two sides of the same coin.

Legalism and licentiousness both operate on the principle of the flesh. Legalism is an attempt to earn standing with God through human effort and leads to pride or condemnation, depending on how well you do. Licentiousness casts off restraint and lives to gratify the flesh.

But God’s grace is His unmerited favor based on Christ’s sacrifice. The motivating power in grace is the indwelling Spirit of God. The person under grace responds out of love and gratitude to God and depends upon the indwelling Holy Spirit to conform his life to what God requires. With that basic understanding of grace, let me spell out some things that grace giving is not, and then some things that grace giving is. Why You Should NOT Tithe

GRACE GIVING IS BASED ON ...

(1) God’s example in Christ (2 Cor. 8:9). Aren’t you glad that God did not just give a tenth! He gave all. The Lord Jesus Christ was infinitely rich. He dwelled in the unimaginable splendor of heaven, apart from the sin and corruption of this world. But He gave that up, laid aside His privileges, and took on human flesh. He could have chosen to be born as a prince in palatial splendor. But instead He was born and lived in poverty. He ultimately impoverished Himself to the maximum by taking upon Himself the sin of the human race in order that we might become rich (2 Cor. 5:21).

Grace giving looks to the nail-pierced hands of the Lord Jesus, who gave Himself so that we might be rescued from the wrath of God, and says, “Lord, You gave all for me! What can I give back to You?”Why You Should NOT Tithe

When the hundreds of splinter groups split off in the great apostasy, there is one thing they all carried with them, tithing. They did not take Christ with them, but tithing. Without which they would never have survived. No one in their right mind would give willingly to most of the splinter groups.

 

Crackpot COG False Prophet Back Again Making More Ludicrous Claims

It is another cloudy day along the coastal regions of California as June gloom spreads across the region. The cloudiness has also had an impact on the mind of our illustrious self-appointed prophet, the Chief Overseer of Africa, and 100 Caucasians. Once again his little mind believes that he is soooooooo important in the field of religion and so reviled by the Catholic Church that they, inspired by Satan, will create "deep fakes' of his sermons and make him say things he never said in order to discredit him. Frankly, he does a great job of discrediting himself every time he opens his mouth and does not need to worry about someone "deep faking" him. Besides that, the technology is not advanced enough yet to have a deep fake that has its arms and wrists flailing about as he bounces in his chair. Heck, I doubt if the technology could even fake his crooked bookcases and faded curtains!

Ever since he was a gleam in the eye of God BEFORE the foundations of the world were laid out, the Great Bwana has set himself up on a pedestal like no other Church of God leader ever has. From devilish nightmares to fake double blessings, no one man has ever been so doctrinally pure than our great Bwana, at least in his own deluded eyes.

One of his latest outlandish claims is that the videos of his fake evangelist in Africa that we posted recently were a deep fake. Bwana Bob is a liar. Those videos were NOT fakes and came straight from his own people in Africa. Bwana Bob got humiliated by the actions of his corrupt so-called evangelist Ochieng.

Yes, computer technology and artificial intelligence can make very convincing fakes. 

 

More deep fakes are coming. Some will be used for purpose of deceit and character assassination.
In May of 2021, I posted:

I expect that the time will come when deepfake technolgy (sic) will be used to make it seem like I, and others in the CCOG, say and/or do things, that we did not say or do. 

 

Earlier this year, I had to denounce a deep fake report against CCOG evangelist Evans Ochieng. 

 

Sadly, we can expect more deep fake technology to be used against one or more of us in the Continuing Church of God. 

 

Our littlest prophet continues with this:

Jesus taught that God’s prophets would be reviled and spoken evil of. 

There are no COG prophets today. There is no need for them. That is a fact. 

He also warned that the devil was a liar that worked to take the word of God away from those who heard it. 

We have seen more liars in top leadership positions of the church than we could have ever imagined. Even to this day, they continue to spread their filth deceiving people with subtle slick lies and half-truths.

The Apostle Paul warned that “evil men and seducers would wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13, KJV). 

See above 

He also warned that letters purported from him with false messages were an issue. 

Here the littlest prophet tries to discredit the families and brethren in Africa that had denounced Bwana Bob and fake evangelist Ochieng for spiritual misdeeds.

COG leader Serapion of Antioch denounced a gospel falsely attributed to the Apostle Peter as pseudepigrapha. 

Speaking of using fake letters and writings, quoting discredited works by Herbert Armstrong, Dibar Apartian, Herman Hoeh, Rod Meredith and others is doing the exact same thing he whines about above. Bwana Bob has been the biggest peddler of fake letters, false news, poor biblical research, and outright heresies for several decades now, but especially when he started his own splinter group. 

With the internet, lies can spread faster than before. 

Sure does! Look at what Bwana Bob writes! Oy vey! 

With technology, like artificial intelligence, can we expect to see deepfakes that will make it look like Christian leaders say or do things that they did not? 

Get over yourself Bwana! Who in their right mind would want to imitate you? You are NOT all that!

Do you, “prove all things” so you will not fall from the coming increased deceit? 

Deceit has reigned supreme in Bwana Bob's land since the day he dreamed up his little group. 

Will YOU hold fast to that which is good or be one who “loves and practices a lie’? 

Bwana Bob has not held fast to anything. He jumped ship three times in order to please his vanity. Apostatizing from the Worldwide Church of God he went to the Global Church of God and then joined up with Meredith when Living was formed. Then, in his greatest apostasy ever, and in the spirit of rebellion, formed his own group so he no longer had to answer to anyone. 

Dr. Thiel refers to aspects of modern technology and various scriptures to warn Christians to not be misled by what is coming.

Coming? The evilness of Bwana Bob's lies is already here. He has absolutely nothing of value that a real Christian would want. No deep fake could EVER come up with the idiocy that Bwana Bob does on a daily basis.

 

UPDATED: Bill Gothard, Institute of Basic Life Principles, The Duggars, Alert Academy, Big Sandy TX, And Armstrongism

 

On June 2, 2023, Amazon released a four-part documentary on the Duggar family, Bill Gothard, Insitute in Basic Life Principles located on the former Ambassador College Campus in Big Sandy, Texas. It is a fascinating expose of how religious fundamentalism rips apart people's lives who are involved in it.

On several Facebook pages dealing with Armstrongism and its damaging effects on the lives of former members, many are discussing how this show eerily parallels many of the things we were taught in Armstrongism, particularly when it comes to obedience, patriarchy, and power structure in the church. 

If you ever watched the Duggars show or even just saw a few clips you quickly saw how subservient the mother was to her husband, how she spoke in a soft voice, and how she dressed in prairie style colting with Puritan collars. The children were always happy with smiling faces and obedient to their parents.

Michelle Duggar dressed like many women in the Worldwide Church of God did, and how some still do in the extreme legalistic groups of Armstrongism today. I remember one Pasadena deacon's wife who always walked behind her husband when they entered the church and stood one step behind him whenever they stood together. She was never exactly beside him or in front of him. Make-up-free and no hair coloring all because of Herbert at one point in the 1980s's forbade makeup for the third or fourth time just to spite his wife he was divorcing. Her dress was always long dresses like what Michelle Dugger wears. This deacon's wife was not the only one like that in the church, there were many others and still are today in the church.

The Gothard empire had several campuses around the country that trained young people and adults in its far-right, fundamentalist, reconstructionist teachings. Many of its extreme teachings centered around sex and the proper place of a woman in the hierarchy. Victims of rape and abuse in this empire were accused of causing the problem because women tend to be harlots that lead men astray. It is always the woman's fault, much like how Armstrongism treated its women at times. Whenever problems of child abuse, rape, and sexual assault came up in Armstrongimsm it was always quickly hushed and the church never talked about it. Most of the time the woman was made out to be the problem for causing it.

A lot of the focus on the show is the arrest and imprisonment of one of the Duggar boys for child pornography and how the Duggar family covered up his abuse. Like the Gothard empire, Armstrongism had a huge problem with sexual predators in the church, from the abuse of children to sexual assaults, stalkings, rapes, and other things the women had to deal with, many times from ordained ministry! All of these things were swept under the rug and hidden from members. Incidentally, that deacon who lorded over his wife was also found out to be sexually abusing Imperial High School boys on trips to Camp River Glenn where he was to be a chaperone. This is the same guy who went on to help start the Global Church of God and Living Church of God where the leadership was all aware of his proclivities.

The Duggars, like all followers of Gothard, homeschool their children with lessons that are so far out there that it borders on absurdity. Sadly, I remember several Pasadena families that used those same lessons to homeschool their kids because Pasadena's schools were too worldly and god forbid, they taught evolution!

Gothard was sued by several women for sexual abuse and they tell of their ordeal in the show. It is also interesting to watch as they kick him out of the Big Sandy Hall of Ad building soon after all of these allegations emerged. The Big Sandy buildings are pictured frequently when it discusses the IBLP and Alert Academy - it's a pseudo-militaristic training ground for teenagers and men in the church with the goal of making them leaders in the world to change society.

It is also interesting to watch the video of the conventions this group had and still does. It looked like a Feast of Tabernacles gathering of Armstrongism with the same slick-talking preachers hoodwinking members with heretical teachings.

Like with Armstrongism, there are thousands who have left the church and they too are not afraid to tell their stories.  The daughter of the Duggars and her husband, relatives, and former members tell chilling and shocking stories about what they believed and how it was to be a member of this fundamentalist cult.

The parallels at times with Armstrongism are eerie. You will not be disappointed in viewing this program.