Church of God International: The Obsession Continues

The Obsession Continues

Those who are familiar with Armstrong Church of God culture will remember the late Roderick Meredith’s obsession with the subject of homosexuality. If, however, you thought that part of the ACOG’s legacy would die with him, you thought wrong! And the obsession with all things LGBTQ continues in the most unlikely of places – the “moderate” and “sane” Church of God International! In the latest edition of their International News(Spring 2020), there are three articles that prominently address the topic.

The lead article by CGI Chief Executive Officer Vance Stinson warns church members to “Beware of False Gospels.” He writes: “These false apostles who proclaim this particular false gospel would have us believe that Old Testament laws forbidding and condemning homosexual behavior are not for Christians under the New Covenant. They claim they hold the moral high ground , and they tend to see themselves as spiritually, morally, and intellectually superior to those of us who cling to the old biblical/traditional standards regarding sex, marriage, family, and gender roles. To them, we’re bigoted holdovers from the dark Ages—closed-minded, Bible-thumping fundamentalists who are a danger to society. Their false gospel is just a modern version of a very old heresy, but today’s mutated form of this ancient virus has infected virtually all mainstream churches and has spread all over the Western world.” He goes on to bemoan the awful treatment Franklin Graham received at the hands of the United Kingdom because of his anti-homosexual rhetoric.

Mr. Stinson concludes his treatise with the following statement: “The media—from mainstream “news” organizations to the entertainment industry to social media—are fully on board with the LGBTQ+ agenda and are bombarding our minds and the minds of our children with their ungodly message. If we’re not on guard, we, too, can fall in step and begin calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20)!

In keeping with the theme, Pastor Bill Watson offers his own commentary on the subject in “Isaiah Defines Leaven for Our Day.” He writes: “The world impacts all of us differently. The effect it has on some of us is often determined by just how close we are to God and our awareness of His terms of right and wrong. There are many Christian churches today that have become very ‘liberal’ in their approach to the gospel of Jesus Christ. They will ordain active homosexual men and women ministers. They will endorse and marry homosexuals, claiming these are approved marriages in the sight of God. Regardless of what the Bible might say about certain habits of eating, dress, worship, or other lifestyle matters, they will ignore the plain commandments and insist on having it their way. And, unfortunately, due to the vast majority and legalized legislation of the land, they adopt the inappropriate and wrong way for being right and good.”

Mr. Watson continues: ““How do we wrap our minds around affording practicing homosexuals—men romantically (sexually) involved with men, women romantically (sexually) involved with women—the right to legalize their relationships? Or perhaps a future President of the USA kissing his husband on stage as candidate Buttigieg did at a campaign stop? How do we wrap our minds around transgenders reading to 5-, 6-, and 7-year-olds in libraries as a public reading with the parent’s approval? Or how about a mother that encourages her 6-year-old son to dress like a girl, or visa versa, with the father’s approval that ultimately results in biological ‘gender reassignment’?”

And, just to make sure their readers got the message, Mr. Stinson takes another stab at the subject in the “Questions and Answers” section of their paper. His answer to the question “Did Jesus condemn homosexuality?” was as follows: “Today, it is not unusual to hear arguments such as this one: ‘Jesus did not say anything about homosexuality. He taught much on love, forgiveness, mercy, justice, and refraining from judging and condemning others, but said nothing about homosexuality. Since the matter was not an issue for Jesus, shouldn’t it be a non-issue for those who claim to be His followers?’ It may be true that Jesus never specifically mentioned homosexual practice in any New Testament account, but why should we assume that Jesus approved of every practice He did not specifically name? Many sinful practices may be grouped as a specific type of sin; so when Jesus condemns the type, He condemns all sinful practices included in the type.”

Pastor Stinson then proceeds to give a short treatise on how the Greek word “porneia” includes homosexual behavior. Without citing any evidence for this assertion, he says that its inclusion is implied in the “sexual immorality” to which the word clearly refers. He goes on to cite the apostolic decree referenced in the fifteenth chapter of Acts as evidence that homosexuality was included among the things prohibited to Christians because Leviticus 17 and 18 “almost certainly forms the underpinning of the apostolic decree.” He concludes his answer with the following assertion: “It is true that the Gospels supply no record of Jesus specifically condemning homosexual practice. But then, there is no specific mention of bestiality in the Gospels or, for that matter, anywhere in the New Testament. The lack of specificity says nothing about whether the unnamed act is sinful. Had the push to legitimize homosexual practice been a reality in Jesus’ day, as it is in ours, you can rest assured that Jesus would have openly opposed it through sound teaching and a call for repentance. His followers today must do no less.”

Whatever one believes about the immorality/morality of homosexual behavior, we are left with the distinct impression that The Church of God International is obsessed with the topic. Indeed, the only other topic that comes close to competing with this one for attention in their newspaper is leavening (Thank God for the Spring Holy Days!) As CGI continues its slide into oblivion (it is NOT unique in this regard among the Armstrong Churches of God), they may want to rethink their priorities and reorder their focus and attention. I may be wrong, but I’m thinking that this obsession is only going to succeed in getting them stuck with the label of being homophobic!

Miller Jones  

Tithing is still required during Coronavirus Pandemic

UPDATED: Gerald Weston Finally Makes A Statement...Kind of....

From the fearless leader who has been in the forefront of leading his COG through the coronavirus pandemic. Of course, forget the virus, it is important to let the disillusioned followers know that attendance and income were up around the world. What????

And he STILL cannot make a public decision on whether LCG members should be in church every week.

Greetings from Charlotte,
The Council of Elders meetings began Thursday morning, and regional reports centered on positive trends and challenges we face going forward in a very uncertain world. Attendance and income were up in 2019 in most areas around the world. One challenge that came up from a number of men was how to handle interested Spanish-speaking people here in North America. These are individuals who have limited fluency in English, and many come from a Catholic or Protestant background. We do not currently have resources everywhere we have interested people, to effectively communicate to them the subtle nuances of doctrine. In the days ahead, we will be discussing with our Spanish Department how best to handle this challenge. The coronavirus was obviously a major topic and will be discussed in greater detail regarding how to handle Church services and various programs such as Tomorrow’s World Presentations, social events, and even the Feast, if the problem carries over to that time of year. Regarding Church services, we have advised that if you are not feeling well, please stay home. If you are not comfortable being in a group, you can stay home and listen on line. —Gerald Weston

Weston cannot tell church members to stay home from church but cancels other gatherings.

No BRiC Weekend in Charlotte This Year

Charlotte will not host a BRiC weekend for singles this year on the Memorial Day weekend. This was decided to be the safest course to take, given the uncertainty of how the coronavirus pandemic may play out.

Then he has this to say about the Feast. More impotence.

Feast of Tabernacles

Care Regarding International Travel for the Feast

COVID-19, the coronavirus, has now been declared a global pandemic. One of its greatest dangers is that it is highly contagious, and the general population has no immunity to it. It is a killer to a small percentage of those who contract it, and about a fifth of those who contract it become seriously ill. The rest may have mild, flu-like symptoms, but still spread the illness as they continue to go about their normal activities instead of seeking medical assistance or quarantining themselves. Therefore, this is something to take seriously and, as we know, it is causing disruptions all over the world. We cannot predict what conditions will be like seven or eight months from now for the Feast of Tabernacles. We will keep the Feast, but we may need to cancel or limit travel to some sites. Governments, at any time, may ban group gatherings where they deem necessary. Therefore, please do not make reservations or final travel plans until we see how this is going to shake out. You may even want to consider attending your locally assigned site this year rather than traveling halfway around the world by air. As the scripture counsels us, we should take precautions when we see trouble on the horizon (Proverbs 22:3). 

Can Christian Love Be Found In The Church Of God?

One thing many of the Churches of God love to do is mock Christians who talk about love.  They hate that word.  They claim it is because they see the hypocrisy in those who practice love.  They also seem to believe it is a word that gives people a license to sin.

The sad thing is that when you look at most of the Churches of God's leadership and those in power you see absolutely NOTHING that equates to Christian love.  The church is now filled with some of the nastiest men we could have ever imagined. They abuse members spiritually and mentally.  They dream up draconian evil rules and demands that they impose on their members.  They steal tithes for their own use. They self-appoint themselves to grand titles of apostle, prophet, Elijah, Elisha, pastor generals, chief overseers, and zealots for the church. Salvation is only available to "true" Christians through their group.

All these men have done is to leave a trail of destruction in their wake.  Broken marriages, families torn apart, suicides, horrendous child abuse, rapists, stalkers and even murders.

The disgusting thing is watching these legalistic spiritual perverts impose their garbage on the youth in their groups.

This is Gerald Flurry's latest admonishment to the youth of the Philadelphia Church of God and how their redemption will only happen IF they DO something.  Of course, never forget that reading The Mystery of the Ages solves everything.

Jesus is still that inconvenient dude that embarrasses the hell out of them all.

Follow Leadership

In Addicted to Danger, the authors highlight the need for strong leadership on an expedition to make it all the way to the top. If you are to make it to the top, you will need to look to strong leadership. You must know if someone is telling you what Jesus Christ says. Allow people to lead you away from Him, and you’ll get killed as you climb the mountain.

Now, don’t be discouraged. If you’ve found yourself slipping, God is merciful—if you repent. He will give you a chance to redeem yourself if you are serious about living the way He says.

It is up to you to earn your salvation. Do what the Dear Leader says and you will be ok. Maybe.

Familiarize yourself with Matthew 24. Most religious teachers today talk a lot about the Gospels (the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), but not much about Matthew 24. In this chapter, Jesus Christ gives a brief synopsis of the events to occur immediately prior to His return to Earth. The first warning He gives is for you to not be led away from His truth because of false leaders (verse 5).

This may be why mirrors are frowned upon by so many in COG leadership positions.  God forbid if they ever truly looked at themselves.

Verse 12 states, “And because iniquity [or lawlessness] shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Young people must learn what real love is. This magazine may be corrective at times, but only because we love you. We want to help you reach the summit. We want to tell you when you are about to slip off the mountain. But we can’t pull you up there ourselves. You need to respond to God’s leaders, accept loving correction, and continue climbing.

Oh yes, a bunch of pervert old men telling the youth how to get to the mountain top. Is it any wonder why the youth of the COG is leaving?

This world loves to talk about love. Yet, look around you. Violence, crime, war, divorce—these problems are getting worse. That is not love! But what did Christ say about this end time? The love of many will grow cold. Oh sure, people may still talk about love. They may talk about climbing the mountain, but reaching the summit requires action!

“But he that shall endure unto the end [or the mountain summit], the same shall be saved” (verse 13). Jim Wickwire states about one of the mountains he was climbing, “After about 300 feet, I determined it was safe to crampon across the mountain’s upper north face toward the colonel [Colonel Steve]. Steve and I had just begun our traverse when I heard a sharp, scraping sound. As I spun around, I saw Al on his stomach, sliding headfirst down a 40-degree slope. … Steve thought he saw Al and Dusan, still roped together, slow down before disappearing down a narrow gully. Maybe they had landed on a ledge? ‘We’ve got to descend fast if we’re going to help them,’ I insisted. Belayed by Steve, I climbed down to a dome of snow where I could see all the way to the Gilman Glacier 4,000 feet below. Shaped like a V, the steep gully had rock outcrops on the left side, snow on the right, but no ledge. No one could survive such a fall. Looking down the gully, I felt sick. ‘Dusan! Al!’ I yelled pointlessly, knowing I would hear no answer.”

The book then discusses why these climbers might have fallen. “[T]hese friends died right in front of me. As Steve and I walked away from Peak 8440, I kept asking myself how this could have happened to such competent climbers. Did Al and Dusan disdain the steps I kicked for them to use?”

An interesting observation. He kicked and chipped out steps where they could walk to make it safe for them; but, it appears, they somehow didn’t want to use those steps. And they both died.

How many people have you seen fall headlong into the worst disaster that could ever befall them? Think about that. God wants you to understand this deeply, not to just have an emotional experience.

There once was a man who kicked and chipped out steps for you to walk on. His name was Herbert W. Armstrong. He died in 1986, but you hear a lot about him in this magazine. That’s because he was a spiritual mountain climber. And we want you to follow in the tracks he left behind.

Remember kiddies, your salvation is only assured if you read the most boring and pathetic book the churhc has ever published (besides The Missing Dimension in Sex.)

If you like, we will send you your own copy of Mystery of the Ages. It’s written in a simple, straightforward, understandable way. Study it—it will help you understand the Bible. It will help you see that the Bible is not an old, outdated manuscript. It was written for today! It was written for you—to help you reach the summit. Any mountain climber needs instruction and teaching. The Bible provides that. Mystery of the Ages puts all of the pieces of the Bible together like a jigsaw puzzle. It will help you understand the Bible. Any young person serious about spiritual mountain climbing needs both—the Bible and Mystery of the Ages.