Why is it that COG members STILL need to be told what to do, think and believe?

A reader here made the following observation about church members who sit back and let the ministry abuse them.  These people have the need to be told what to do and have no idea how to step out and make a decision on their own.  They remain fearful of the ministry over them.  They have seen what happens to rebels who take a stand.  Its never been pretty sight to behold.

People still look to fools like Malm, Thiel, Pack, Flurry and Meredith to give them the answers.  The world is a safer place when a person is told what to believe than it is to dwell in the questions.

Pack,Flurry, etc have blown their minds with power and self involvement. 

I think anyone in that organisation knows it but is afraid. 

The C of G is filled with people who are not self starters. By and large the membership is teeming with people who need to be told what to do and when to do it.  

It is a cult and attracts cult minded people and rebels who are rebelling against their family and friends and society. 

Procrastination is the church motto. People quit and take jobs because ministry tell them to. 

They marry and divorce as the ministry tell them to. 

Those who won't go along with the micro control (the rebels) have 'bad attitudes' because they think for themselves. 

I often wondered if HWA thought that people were gaining experience for the kingdom by being automatons. 

These groups think they can buy salvation with deeds. The good works don't come from the heart but from the desire for salvation and saving their own skin. 

This is the difference in a Christian whose heart has the law written in it and the members of the WWCG who read it off a stone tablet.

Eternal Church of God: Eating Out On Sabbath Will Bring Death Just Like Eve Died For Eating That Apple

The Eternal Church of God is one of the many hundreds of little splinter personality cults that has popped up over the decades.   It is also one of the more uber-legalistc groups out there that seeks to control much of everything its members do, in much the same way that James Malm does with his Pharisaical lies.

One of the ECG biggest pet peeves is COG members who dare to eat out on the Sabbath.  This is utter blasphemy and is equivalent to jabbing the spear into Christ's side at the crucifixion.  Every time you eat out on Saturdays, God puts another black mark in your book of life. There can be no greater blasphemy.

Apparently Eve ate that apple on the Sabbath and when you eat out at Denny's on the Sabbath you too shall die.

Warning
Nearly 6,000 years ago Satan told Eve to disobey God and “you will not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). She ate the forbidden fruit and ultimately perished. Today there are some who teach God’s people that it is acceptable to go to restaurants on the Sabbath. In other words, eat and you won’t die. However, God clearly stated that if we choose to violate His Sabbath we will pay the ultimate consequence. 

Having a Big Mac is also condemned by Nehemiah:

Engaging in business with food services, as either the retailer or the consumer, is the very conduct that inspired Nehemiah’s righteous indignation. With this in mind, here is a question to consider. Would Nehemiah think differently about buying and selling today? 

Later this comment is made:

Those who dine out on the Sabbath are breaking every aspect of God’s command with respect to eating and resting on His sacred day. Consider what they do. They acquire food on the Sabbath. They have it prepared for them on the Sabbath. They go outside the community of faith to procure the food as well as to consume it. Then they engage in a business transaction by paying for the meal and tipping the server. Tragically, many of God’s people rationalize every one of these practices. Even more tragic is the fate that awaits them if they fail to repent of this sin. 

Yep, the lake of fire is ready to fry those poor hapless fools that stop by In-n-Out for a burger.

Those that dare to eat out are accepting the Mark of the Beast.

The question is which mark do we carry? One of the most obvious displays of God’s mark is our behavior on the Sabbath. The Church of God must realize that when people choose to frequent restaurants they are rejecting God’s authority, they are refusing to accept His mark, and giving way to the mark of the beast! 

Then they attempt to use Jesus, that most inconvenient man to ever confront the Church of God.  Jesus obviously would have cooked for his family, but the New testament never mentions that he did, therefore you should not cook for yours on Saturdays!   That is perfect Church of God logic for you!

Although Jesus undoubtedly provided meals for His family during His lifetime on earth, there is no example of Him doing so in the New Testament. However, one example does appear in the Old Covenant that speaks volumes about how God approaches that which is holy. 

Herbert Armstrong never considered eating out on Saturdays to be an issue.  Nor did he feel it was an issue to pay his cooks to cook him breakfast, lunch and dinner on Friday nights and Saturdays.  This is a major burr under the saddle of professional Judaizer's like James Malm and the ECG.  To get around that mess the ECG attempts to blame lazy ministers for starting the trend.

Members once knew that eating at a restaurant on the Sabbath was wrong, but many have compromised this truth. It occurred slowly at first. The ministry once suggested that there might be times when eating out on the Sabbath was appropriate. No doctrinal studies were done, no papers were produced, and no official changes were ever made. As time went on, more and more people began dining out with greater frequency. Men began to take their wives out to dinner Friday night. Eventually this practice became habitual. 

Then the ECG tries to explain how Herbert Armstrong was wrong and he had been "tripped up" by a question he had never had time to think about, take to the Council of Elders for advice, nor have time to study deeply into at home...or apparently at the library in Eugene, OR.

One large organization published an article stating that dining out on the Sabbath has always received a stamp of approval by the Church. They claim that the Church of God has “consistently taught that eating in a restaurant on the Sabbath was permissible.” In an attempt to justify this belief, they quote Mr. Armstrong who said the following prior to a Bible study. 

“Now if you go out to a restaurant on the Sabbath, that restaurant is going to be there and that food is going to be prepared whether you go or not and the other people are going to be working anyway. They don’t keep the Sabbath. They pay no attention to that. Now I had never thought until .this evening when the question was brought up to me about whether it’s wrong to go to a restaurant to eat. I know when I travel, I have to do it or do without. And so I do.” 

Before anyone can claim that Mr. Armstrong approved of this practice, we must first understand the context of his statement. When asked about this issue, it was five minutes prior to a Bible study he was to give on a separate subject. His reply came from an “off the cuff” perspective. He did not take the question home and study it before responding. He did not present it to the council of Elders and produce an article to the Church changing this doctrine. This fact is obvious from the words “I had never thought until this evening when the question was brought up...” 

In addition, Mr. Armstrong traveled the world visiting various leaders and dignitaries. In his case, he believed it was necessary to occasionally visit restaurants during the Sabbath or he would have to do without any food. Therefore, because he did it on occasion, he felt that it was probably permissible under certain circumstances. His unusual set of circumstances likely motivated his statement. However, over the years, these words led many brethren to believe that they can do business at a restaurant any time they want. This is simply human error. 

We must recognize that the only man who was ever perfect was Christ. While Mr. Armstrong was an apostle, he was not faultless. All of the apostles have made mistakes. 

God's apostle obviously made a mistake, even though Jesus personally worked through him 24/7.  The dance that COG member make to get around things and justify their stances are actually quit comical at times.

In like manner, the apostle of our age modified his teachings as he came to a more complete understanding. Over decades he made changes to the church position on the doctrines of government, the destiny of mankind, divorce, remarriage, and Pentecost.
The Church of God is one of the only churches that admits wrong and changes when it finds the truth. We are told to prove all things, and hold fast to what is true (1Ths. 5:21). Our process of growth and understanding was not meant to stop when a leader died. Therefore, we are convinced that if Mr. Armstrong would have lived to this day, he would have changed on this doctrine. Eternal Church of God: The Sabbath Test

No he would not have!  To say so is a lie!  Cooks, housekeepers, chauffeurs, secretaries, Auditorium stage crew, support staff on church jets, and those that travelled with him all did work on Saturdays, bought things whenever the boss said to and were paid.  Even his Doctor was paid to visit him on Saturdays! The Ambassador Auditorium was allowed to be built on Saturdays as were many other campus buildings.  Feast sites were also built on Saturdays.

Certain COG leaders have this same issue because they can't get past the physical etched stone 10 commandments.  Their entire emphasis is placed upon the law and obedience while they ignore everything about Jesus and the new covenant. Legalism puffs them up so they can feel superior to everyone else.  They are God's called out.  The Chosen.  Kings and Priests. Afterall, THEY have the "truth." Legalists are always looking at the outward visible signs of obedience.  It is important to be seen doing "right" so they can click their tongues at those stopping off at the DQ for some ice cream.

All of the Malm's, Thiel's, Meredith's, Pack's, Flurry's and others out there infecting COGland  with their needless rules and regulations need to do us all a favor and follow Paul's exhortation to emasculate themselves.  Maybe then they would shut up and stop lying.

Grumpy Legalists

Why Jesus Hates Legalism (Luke 11:37-54)

The Naked Gospel: The truth you may never hear in church 

The Sabbath in Crisis

Twisted Scriptures: Breaking free from churches that abuse

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Gerald Flurry, Hill Tara, and the Coronation Chair

Coronation chair, Westminster Abbey

Gerald Flurry is again promoting the "fact" that Jesus will return to earth to sit in this very chair.  Of course you will notice that the Stone of Scone is missing.  Not for long though.  The Philadelphia Church of God will take possession of the stone from Scotland and return it to its rightful place in Westminster Abbey so Jesus can sit on it.  This will happen around the same time that PCG will dig up the Ark of the Covenant buried in Hill Tara in Ireland.

Hannah knew about the prophecy later recorded in Luke 1: “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest [the Father]: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (verses 32-33). This is about an eternal family, and it has to do with David’s royal family throne. It is about a family forever—a royal God Family vision. 

Again, Samuel actually helped to originate this throne. That throne is still on this Earth as Hannah’s prophecy continues to be fulfilled—and you can see it with your own eyes! It is located in Westminster Abbey in London, England. It is the very throne which Jesus Christ, the Son of the Highest, will sit on at His return. He will rule with His bride to expand God’s Family over all this Earth, and He will restore all things. 

This is about you! God will exalt your horn in that day. We shall be His kings! He will give strength to His kings and priests! Jesus Christ soon will thunder out of the heavens to usher in His Kingdom to restore all things to the Earth! Hanna Explains: Why the Feast of Trumpets

Here is what Gerald Flurry has to say about Hill Tara:

Irish annals show that when Jeremiah migrated to Ireland, he brought with him more than just the princess of Judah who carried on David’s throne. “Besides the royal family, Jeremiah brought with them some remarkable things,” Mr. Armstrong continued, “including a harp, AN ARK, and a wonderful stone called ‘lia-fail,’ or ‘stone of destiny’” (op. cit., emphasis mine).

The “stone of destiny” is also called “Jacob’s pillar stone.” It is the stone the patriarch Jacob set up to memorialize the promise God made to him in Genesis 28—that his descendants would become as numerous as “the dust of the earth.” This stone remained with the nation of Israel throughout its history. And when Jeremiah fled Jerusalem, he took this stone with him.

We know where this stone is today: It is in Scotland, in Edinburgh Castle. In recent years, faithless critics have tried to discredit the origins of this stone—but for hundreds of years its true origins were widely accepted and understood. Queen Elizabeth was crowned over it, as was Tea-Tephi’s royal son anciently.

Notice that along with that stone, Jeremiah brought the ark of the covenant on his journey to Ireland! 

This knowledge, too, was not uncommon until relatively recently. F. R. A. Glover, who ascertained that the British monarchy was aware of its linkage to King David, wrote extensively about these objects having made their way to Ireland with Jeremiah. His book England the Remnant of Judah and the Israel of Ephraim records this history.

Glover stated that the grave of Queen Tea-Tephi lies in the Hill of Tara, the origin of Irish history. In his research, he found that she had been buried with the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, along with the ark of the covenant. Finding the Ark of the Covenant 

Then, following in HWA's linguistic missteps he has this to say about the word Torah and Tara:

Note that! Tara comes from torah—God’s law! There is a well-known connection between the famous Tara Hill and the law of God! 

According to these archaeologists and historians, these tablets were buried with Tea-Tephi in Tara Hill! Why don’t we hear more about this history? It is clearly recorded in Ireland’s history books. This simply cannot be chalked up as a “legend” or “myth” of Irish history!

Don’t you think it might galvanize a lot of people if the ark were found, and the Ten Commandments on those two tables of stone were inside?  Finding the Ark of the Covenant

Flurry then says that scripture points to Hill Tara and the Ark of the Covenant as the focus that should be upon humanity.

Prophecy shows that God is going to do some dramatic things to warn this world of the Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord just before His Second Coming. The period leading up to Christ’s return is going to be the worst suffering in human history. That is the horrifying end result of mankind’s vile sins! God wants to warn people in advance to help as many as possible to repent before that time comes so they don’t have to experience it.

If the ark were discovered, wouldn’t that be a powerful witness to the world? I believe it would be. Proof that the biblical chronicle is accurate could help lead some to repentance. The ark’s discovery would even point people to where God’s message was being proclaimed, and help them to realize that even though they heard it and didn’t act on it, that message was right and was from God. Finding the Ark of the Covenant

If you follow in the slightest Christian beliefs a person quickly sees that Flurry has placed the focus upon created physical things and not on Jesus.  Jesus be damned as they dig up Hill Tara in a few years. They need the physical things that the law condemns them with instead of the One that sets them free.