"Grace But's..." in the Church of God

 

I wasn’t addicted to crack; I was addicted to religion in a vain attempt to get God to like me, bless me, or at least spare me from hell when it was all over. It’s funny how one can talk a good grace game, but for all practical purposes live by the law. I’ve learned that the ‘grace but…’ mentality is as lethal as anything you can sniff, toke, or shoot up. If it’s grace, there are no conditions and no exceptions. Anything else is only masquerading as grace. Don’t take it – it will kill you. – 

Jim Palmer, Divine Nobodies: Shedding Religion to Find God (And the Unlikely People Who Help You).

You want to mess up the minds of your children? Here’s how-guaranteed! Rear them in a legalistic, tight context of external religion, where performance is more important than reality. Fake your faith. Sneak around and pretend your spirituality. Train your children to do the same. Embrace a long list of do’s and don’ts publicly, but hypocritically practice them privately …yet never own up to the fact that that it’s hypocrisy. Act one way but live another. And you can count on it emotional and spiritual damage will occur. Charles Swindoll 

 

Grace comes to us in 2 dimensions, vertical and horizontal. Vertical grace centers on our relationship with God. It is amazing. It frees us from the demands and condemnation of the Mosaic Law. It announces hope to the sinner – the gift of eternal life, along with all its benefits. Horizontal grace centers on our human relationships. It is charming. It frees us from the tyranny of pleasing people and adjusting our lives to the demands and expectations of human opinion. It gives relief–the enjoyment of freedom along with all its benefits. It silences needless guilt and removes self-imposed shame. 

 

Legalism is an attitude, a mentality based on pride. It is an obsessive conformity to an artificial standard for the purpose of exalting oneself. A legalist assumes the place of authority and pushes it to unwarranted extremes. 

 

Legalism: the manufacturing and manipulation of rules for the purpose of illegitimate control. Perhaps the most damaging of all the perversions of God’s will and Christ’s work, legalism clings to law at the expense of grace, to the letter in place of the Spirit. – Daniel Taylor

Quotes from “The Grace Awakening” by Charles Swindoll

 

"The Passover Plot" James Tabor and Greg Doudna

There is a fascinating article up on James Tabor's blog about the author of the Passover Plot and its ties to Herbert Armstrong and Greg Doudna.  

James Tabor is a former Church of God member who is a prolific writer of numerous books on the Bible, church history, archeology and modern interpretations of biblical ideas and events. He runs an internationally recognized blog site here: TaborBlog.

Greg Doudna is the author of this fascinating book,

"Showdown at Big Sandy: 

Youthful Creativity Confronts Bureaucratic Inertia 

at an Unconventional Bible College in East Texas"

Tabor says:

On a personal note, Hugh Schonfield died in 1988. I never met him but it was my privilege to carry on a lovely correspondence with him by post during my graduate school days at the University of Chicago in the early 1970s. He was one of the most gracious individuals I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and I was quite taken, and still am, with his ideas expressed in The Politics of God, one of his last works, which has now been republished. I also highly recommend Owen Power’s wonderful dissertation on Hugh Schonfield, now published as a lovely book, Hugh Schonfield: A Case Study of Complex Jewish Identities. My friend Greg Doudna traveled to the UK and interviewed Schonfield in his London flat in 1985. His notes on that extended conversation, which he has given me permission to publish are fascinating. Schonfield’s work is now being carried on via the Schonfield World Trust Service which seeks to promote his vision of a “Messianic Servant Nation,” an idea he developed from the inspiration of studying the historical figure of Jesus.

Tabor includes the interview by Greg Doudna of Schonfield in his article. Doudna says this:

I have always appreciated former members and members who have their understanding or beliefs challenged. Learning new ways of understanding and not being afraid of those viewpoints is mind-expanding and leads to deeper, richer understanding. It doesn't mean you have to agree with things, but you will now have an understanding of different viewpoints. Armstrongism left everything bound up tightly in booklets, never allowing for fresh ideas, questions, or rejection.

The entire article can be found here: 

Hugh Schonfield and the Passover Plot–A Retrospective

 

Fighting Spiritual Warfare with Cox

 

The Apostle Paul said that the Christian's war was against spiritual sources in high places. Successful prosecution of war requires good intelligence about enemy strengths, weaknesses, and tactics. This Facebook channel is purposed to provide that intelligence from careful respect for the Word of God.

Armstrongism just loves a catchy phrase, as they think it will draw people to them. Usually, it has the words "church of god" added to it, but not this time. We are fighting demons now, people!  We must be BOLD! DIRECT and POWERFUL! Though, if it is fighting COX at the helm leading them into battle, history says to be very careful in situations like this.

Sadly, I doubt very much that this battle will include how Cox and other COG leaders have been committing spiritual warfare against Church of God members for decades.

Check it out here: Demonic Spiritual Warfare Tactics