Do COG Leaders Possess Insights Like No Other Men On Earth?

Apostle, prophet, Chief Overseer, Pastor General, President, Coordinator General, and lots of other self-appointed self-aggrandizing titles have been used by leaders in the Church of God-Armstrongist movement for decades. It is meant as a psychological tool to impress members and to keep them in church under the iron hammers of church government and control.

The other thing their titles were meant to convey to us is that they wanted us to believe that they possess special insights from God that no other human has ever had. Most of the time they try to make us believe that God speaks directly to them and delivers all kinds of fantastical tales and utterances, which actually 99.99% of the time is utter bullshit.

All of these bumptious "men" have proven to be nothing more than vomit-producing loudmouths who have no real understanding of the Bible and the New Covenant, nor do any of them have a real relationship with Jesus, that rascally dude who constantly upsets their applecarts yet is the one who they claim to follow, but actually do not.

Each one of the splinter leaders employs different manipulative catchphrases that are psychological tools to keep members engaged with the mountainous piles of crap they dish out daily, which ultimately have no benefit or bearing on the spiritual life of their followers. Sadly, far too many are still enthralled by cocksure bleatings by these buffoonish men.

Exit and Support Network had this up about Gerald Flurry's manipulation.

Adept at Using Copious Psychological Methods:
May 28 2024 

 

GF and his evil so-called “ministers” are extremely adept at using copious psychological methods in their literature and videos to pique people’s interest to pull them in. Words such as: lost, lost secret, God’s secret, key to, key of David, unlocks, what is truth, mystery, important message, miracle, end-time bible prophecy, world events, God’s true church; free booklet, etc., etc. 

 

One of the biggest lies I think I’ve read was in a 2016 article where they said: “Mr. Armstrong possessed insight like no other man of his time because he didn’t speak from his own mind, but from the mind of God—through the truth revealed in the Bible. Before his death in 1986, he accurately prophesied of many world events that were to take place—and they have or are coming to pass today. [Read: Did Herbert Armstrong Set Dates?] … Today, Gerald Flurry continues the same work…” (i. e., the same con game.) 

 

It’s uplifting to hear many have been brave enough to leave this cult. Gerald Flurry’s final day of reckoning is coming and hopefully soon! –R. O.

Crackpot Prophet Has Publicly Declared It Is Ok To Say Amen At End Of A Prayer!

 

Amen, Bro!

Back in 2017, we reported how Ron Harmon had a meltdown over the use of the word "amen" and disassociated himself from the House of God group. (see: More Upheaval In the COG: Pastor Resigns Over Use of "Amen" at End of Prayers). Harmon had a fit because he says the word "amen" means you are asking the sun god "Aman-Ra" from ancient Egypt to bless your prayer.

We ran another article in 2020 where this idiocy was brought up again, this time claiming the use of amen has Egyptian roots, again rooted in the deity Amun. (see: Saying Amen is Wrong? Missing the point all together.)

Never fear though if you do have concerns, Since the Great Bwana Bob Mzungu Thiel has to weigh in on EVERY jot and tittle he has thus declared saying amen is perfectly ok! 

The Great One says:

While some may say that saying Amen sounds too much like Amon (or that the sun-god’s name is also sometimes pronounced as A-men), we do not stop using words just because they have a similar sound in English as pagan deities.

For an example, one of the main Egyptian deities was Ra. People from certain parts of the USA pronounce the English word “raw” as “rah.” When one is speaking about something that is raw, one is not invoking a pagan deity. Ending prayers with Amen is also not invoking a pagan deity.

Interestingly, after I wrote all of that for the prayer booklet, my family and I actually visited an Egyptian museum in Northern California last month. And there, I was also able to confirm that the way we say ‘Amen’ is not the way that the Egyptian god is addressed. Those who claim otherwise apparently have not looked at this in sufficient detail and/or have dismissed Hebrew and Greek scriptures.

It is appropriate to end prayers with Amen.

So let it be written, so let it be done! 

When all of this stupidity was coming out, a person on Facebook said this:

Thought this was funny. What if we said Amen all those times heartening back to the “pagan” god of Amun in a church SO careful not to do anything even remotely of such origins??! I grew up in South Texas and we took a church youth field trip to a museum where we learned that tortillas were originally round in worship of the Sun god in Aztec culture. No ministers stopped chowing down on tacos. 🌮 Tacos continued to show up at every potluck and church picnic where I was from!! My point I guess is that the true roots of a lot of things are convoluted. Many hands have touched, for instance, what a cross means. It’s a very common symbol I’ve see engraved and sculpted by many cultures as I’ve had the opportunity to travel the world. Mrs. Armstrong saw what she thought were Easter eggs engraved in the walls in Egypt and HWA declared them pagan because something that looked like them decorated Ancient Egyptian ruins - I’ve seen those same engravings when I travelled there. Tour guides of multiple cultures have given me so many explanations for the meaning of the exact same symbol. The WCG/COGs not only are hypocritical in this, but they miss the point all together. I think things, symbols, and words hold the meaning we give them. Facebook

 

Martin Treptow and the COGs

 

Martin Treptow and the COGs

Aristophanes

During WW1, MartinTreptow was a young solider in the 168th infantry of the 42nd Rainbow division.

The division was involved in fierce combat against the Germans at the Croix Rouge Farm
in France. During the assault on Hill 212 a volunteer was needed to deliver a message to a platoon of American infantry. Treptow willingly stepped forward to serve as the messenger. Tragically as Treptow neared the besieged platoon he was cut down by a barrage of German machine gun fire.

After the battle American soldiers found in Treptow's blouse his diary. Under the flyleaf there was a handwritten pledge by Treptow dated December 31, 1917. The pledge stated:

"The end of a long
Journey
...
America must win this war
Therefore I will work,
I will save,
I will sacrifice
I will endure
I will fight cheerfully and
do my utmost as if the
whole issue of the struggle
depended on me alone." 

Treptow's commitment and sacrifice was mentioned by Ronald Reagan during his first First Inaugural Address.

“The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin Treptow and so many thousands of others were called upon to make. 

It does require, however, our best effort and our willingness to believe in ourselves and believe in our capacity to perform great deeds, to believe that together and with God’s help we can and will resolve the problems which confront us. 

And, after all, why shouldn’t we believe that? We are Americans.”

Given all the suffering around us, it is time we all commit ourselves to truly love our fellow man. It is time especially for the COGs that are so vocal about being “God's people” to turn from their hypocritical selfish ways, and to truly love others. Treptow's example calls us all to a better path.

References:

Pvt Martin August Treptow

Military Hall of Honor