John Brisby Sinks to Another Low: Calls His Members "Mentally Retarded"

From a COGE source:

In the race to the bottom in the wacky world of Armstrongism the dark horse, Jon Brisby, of the Church of God the Eternal, presented another outlandish sermon (Love vs. Tolerance) in which he spends an hour lecturing his congregation to not just be tolerant of their particular splinter's brethren, but to go a step further and "love" them. Not like those heathen Sunday churches do with their "worldly love" of feeding and sheltering the homeless or strangers, but rather love your brethren with the love that was divinely revealed to Herbert Armstrong... towards the end of his sermon at the 1:06:00 mark he laughingly calls his entire congregation; mentally retarded. Yes, mentally retarded. If I were lecturing my flock, I might have chosen different words, I would have maybe chosen to quote the Psalms and tell my congregation they are fearfully and wonderfully made, but that sounds an aweful lot like those Sunday preachers, wait a minute, maybe there's something to those Sunday churches, and their love, that Brisby is trying to scare his followers from. No in his eyes his congregants are all retards to fund his lavish lifestyle. However, it does make you question the mental state of his splinter group that would stick around after being called a retard from the pulpit.

Brisby's record of "Godly" love includes: counseling a man to divorce his wife to protect his finances, telling happily married people to separate because of his perceived idea that their marriage isn't legitimate, telling his followers not to seek medical attention, and die a preventable painful death. Yes, this is his example of love, of the god he serves. It is no wonder his church is rapidly shrinking.

 

Crackpot False Prophet: We are not into "inflicting torture for conversion"

 

 

I cannot imagine what a miserable life the Great Bwana Mzungu Thiel must live that he has to constantly find fault in everything around him. Everything pushes the buttons on this little guy. If only he put as much energy into being a follower of Christ as he does in his looney conspiracy theories and alternative news items. What more can we expect though, after all, he is a self-appointed Church of God minister.

His delicate sensibilities got into a twist over an R.E.M. song, Losing My Religion, and an article in Christianity Today. As we know by now, anything Christianity Today publishes sends the Great Bwana immediately to the bathroom medicine cabinet for that huge tube of Butthurt Ointment.

Losing Our Religion review … 

13 August 2023 

 

In his new book, the Rev Russell Moore opens a chapter, “Losing Our Authority: How the Truth Can Save”, with the words “Jesus Saves” … 

 

Moore is mindful of history, and the roles Christianity has played: “Parts of the church were wrong – satanically wrong – on issues of righteousness and justice, such as the Spanish Inquisition and the scourge of human slavery.” He is editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, a publication founded by Billy Graham. Losing Our Religion offers a mixture of lament and hope. In places, its sadness is tinged with anger. In the south, the expression “losing my religion”, popularized by REM in a 1991 song, “conveys the moment when ‘politeness gives way to anger’,” Moore explains. Losing Our Religion review: Trump and the crisis of US Christianity

The the Great Bwana Muzungu Thiel adds: 

Before going further, let me point out that the true church was the persecuted not the persecutors in the Spanish Inquisition–true Christianity has never been militaristic nor into inflicting torture for conversion, etc. 

That may be true of true Christians but not so of Armstrongite Christians.

The structure of government in Armstrongism was militaristic with the Pastor GENERAL leading the ship. It then coopted biblical titles like evangelists, pastors, elders, and deacons to take the place of Major Generals, Colonels, Majors, and Captains.

While most of the time the church never inflicted physical torture, it certainly was well-versed in psychological torture with intimidation, manipulation, gaslighting, censorship, isolation, public shaming, humiliation, and sexual abuse. All of these were tools used in the so-called conversion process of followers. The carrot constantly dangling at the end was the loss of one's salvation for any infraction.

Mental and spiritual torture sady is the name of the game in Armstrongism, especially in the aberrant splinter groups like the Restored Church of God, Philadelphia Church of God, and the improperly named "continuing" Church of "god".

It is no wonder well over 150,000 members have come and gone over the decades in Armstrongism. It has been unable to feed ht souls of people. COGs cannot hold on to their youth and longtime members leave in disgust. What did or does it have to offer to anyone anymore?

Depressed? Suicidal? Then Join The So-Called Continuing Church of God!

 

Our favorite crackpot self-appointed Church of God false prophet has been on a roll lately dumping his sermons online as if they were a solution to humanity's problems.

Never once in his little sermon summary below does he mention finding peace and rest in Christ, or even following the dude, as inconvenient as it apparently is to Bwana Mzungu Thiel. Instead, the law and the 10 Commandments will make you happy. Never once does he recommend good therapy. Of course, why should he since therapy has always been anathema in the Church of God movement by claiming it is evil and only a Church of God minister is capable of true counseling?

Americans are depressed and suicidal. What’s the hope for happiness? 

 

On December 12, 2019, the FCC approved a proposal for a nationwide suicide prevention hotline in the USA using the number ‘988’). 

 

Suicide is that nation’s 10th leading cause of death. 

 

A Harris poll reveals 72% of Americans experience loneliness. 

 

Michael Synder claims Americans are lonely, miserable, and depressed. He claims that this is a legacy of a society that has rejected family, faith, and patriotism, but instead embraces an immoral anti-God agenda. 

 

Was immorality and societal decline prophesied? 

 

Where can people find the truth? Is there any good news? 

 

What about the gospel of the kingdom of God? 

 

Do scriptures offer a way to prevent suicide? 

 

What are some scriptures that give hope about being happy? 

 

Can the Ten Commandments help? 

 

What is the meaning of human life? 

 

What about love? 

 

Will you be able to give love throughout eternity and lead a happy life now? 

 

Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.