Cutting It Off...

Spanky Meredith and Dr. Bob were captured recently discussing circumcision:

The Prophet Thiel is ecstatic that the California Governor signed into law that circumcision cannot be banned in the state:

http://www.cogwriter.com/news/church-history/california-permanently-legalizes-ancient-practice-of-circumcision/

Some of Dr. Bob's desire to cut it off is based upon this excuse:

The early 20^th century theologian J.J.L. Ratton reported:

The early Church at Jerusalem, retained most of the distinctive customs of the Jews, such as circumcision, kosher meats, the Jewish Sabbath, the Jewish rites, and worship of the Temple. Our Lord, Himself, lived the exterior life of a Jew, even so far as the observance of Jewish religious customs was concerned. The early Church of Jerusalem followed His example. The Jews looked upon the Hebrew Christians in Jerusalem simply as a Jewish sect, which they called the sect of the Nazarenes. (Ratton JJL The Apocalypse of St. John: a commentary on the Greek text, 2^nd edition. R. & T. Washbourne, ltd., 1915. Original fromt he University of Michigan. Digitized Jun 12, 2007, p. 4)

But then those dirty, filthy pagan worshiping catholics came on the scene and circumcision was done away with:

Now, it should be mentioned that in the second century, non-Nazarene professors of Christ, like the heretic Justin, did not practice circumcision.

One of the inquisitors in the Middle Ages found that a certain type of “heretic” (in his mind) uniformly observed the Sabbath and sometimes (though apparently not always) observed circumcision (Davis, Tamar. A General History of the Sabbatarian Churches. 1851; Reprinted 1995 by Commonwealth Publishing, Salt Lake City, p. 88).

Thus, it seems that circumcision was (and still is) often practiced by many trying to be faithful Christians. And because of “Judeo-Christian influence” (like from the Bible), this may be why there have always been a relatively high proportion of circumcised males in the USA (though this may be changing).

While the Bible does not list health benefits that come from circumcision, it would make sense that the Creator of the universe would only recommend physical practices that were beneficial for His human creation.

Those damn Catholics!  Where were they when Moses needed them?

Unconverted Heathens Camping On The Big Sandy Campus!!!!! (Revised)

Poor Dr. Bob!  So many things seem to upset him anymore!

The folks that bought the Big Sandy campus are having a camping weekend during the COG's Feast of Tabernacles.  Chiro/naturo/prophetic visionary Thiel is none too happy.  Those spiritually blinded people should be keeping the Feast of Tabernacles instead of camping out!

5 October 2011

ALERT Academy Family Camp Slated Next Week

By REBECCA HOEFFNER

Families will gather at the International ALERT Academy in Big Sandy next week for its 11th annual family camp…

Three guests also will speak at the event.

Dr. Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary…Mark Cahill is author of “One Thing You Can’t Do in Heaven.”…Internationally known speak-er and horse trainer, Lew Sterrett…http://www.tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011310059982

The biblical Feast of Tabernacles begins next week (sunset Wednesday) and that is what used to be observed on the grounds of Big Sandy.  Big Sandy once was a campus of Ambassador College when it was part of the old Worldwide Church of God (the campus was sold several years ago).

But getting back to the main point of what this post is supposed to be about, God’s Holy Days used to be kept at the Big Sandy campus, but are no longer.  We in the Living Church of God believe that God’s Holy Days help better reveal God’s plan of salvation.  A message that tends to not be understood by the Protestant groups.  Simply utilizing the grounds of the Big Sandy campus for a family camp will not restore the truth about salvation to them.

For some reason the last of his comments never made it up here.  Why waste you time camping and roasting marshmallows around the campfire when they could be doing this:

But studying the Bible, observing the Holy Days, prayer, and careful consideration of these matters might.

I can only imagine hell as sitting in an LCG service studying their interpretation of the bible and listening to god-awful sermons on their so called "holy" days. That alone would send any sane person running as fast as they could the other direction!

Freedom

This is what it felt like for me to leave Armstrongism. Breaking free, dancing with delight with the amazing world around me!

Sculpture by: Zenos Frudakis "Freedom"

"The moment you can visualize being free 

from the things that hold you back, 

you have indeed begun to set yourself free."

Unknown

Which Is Better: Critical Thought or Blind Faith?

LCG Not Guilty of Recreating HWA In Their Own Image?

Wallace Smith (LCG) has  a beef with those in various splinter cults that "recreate" Herbert Armstrong to fit the image they seek to portray even to the point of adding their own words to HWA's comments.  I find it kind of hypocritical for LCG be saying such a thing considering the fact on how they worship and exalt all things related to HWA.  HWA has been recreated to fit the mold of LCG and it's doctrinal viewpoints.

Recreating Herbert W Armstrong in their own image

Click on link above to read entire article 

 

One thing I appreciate about the Living Church of God — and something that I do not find anyplace else I have looked — is an effective dedication to the Bible above all else and to the proper respect for the teachings and work of Herbert W Armstrong.

Yet, our (very appropriate) love and fondness for Mr. Armstrong, a man we rightly believe to have been a modern day apostle, is used by many to turn some away from the truth — and even from what he, himself, taught — in subtle, deceptive ways. They do this by recreating Herbert W Armstrong in their own image.

Many do this these days. Tellingly, they do not agree with each other. I remember driving down Central Expressway once in Dallas (actually, it could have been the 635 loop–it’s been a while!) and almost running off the road when I saw a giant billboard with Mr. Armstrong’s face on it. I actually exited the highway, looped around, and got back on to look at it again. It was an advertisement for some sort of public presentation by one of the many “pretenders to the throne” (“graspers of the mantle”?) out there claiming to stand for what Mr. Armstrong preached and taught and claiming that a man who can no longer speak for himself would completely endorse what the pretender had to say.

This fellow is not alone. Many like to parade an image of Mr. Armstrong and claim his posthumous endorsement. Logically they cannot all be right, given how much they despise and disagree each other, yet logically they can all be wrong. The latter would be the case. (Some reading this may disagree. “Well, welcome to my blog,” he says, with emphasis on the word “my.”)

What they do is recreate Mr. Armstrong in their own image. They tend to take the things he said that they wish to emphasize and highlight those things (often with a great deal of bluster and chest thumping), while they tend to diminish, minimize, or explain away those things he said that clearly disagree with their personal doctrinal obsession or their justification for self-promotion. They do this in a variety of ways.

Another way they deceive those who love Herbert W Armstrong and recreate him in their own image is to “enhance” his own words with their own personal commentary. I’ve seen at least one hilarious version of this taken to a ridiculous extreme, in which an incredibly clear statement made by Mr. Armstrong concerning the fullness of the gospel’s content is twisted by inserting the deceptive teacher’s own words and explanation into Mr. Armstrong’s words so as to make Mr. Armstrong’s original writing incoherent. Even today, more than 25 years after his death, Herbert Armstrong remains one of the clearest writers I have ever read — there’s a reason he called his magazine the Plain Truth! Yet this one deceptive “augmented” quote I have in mind would have us believe the man couldn’t put two sentences together without our needing him to explain why the two sentences are self-contradictory. Unbelievable. (And, frankly, a sign of how desperate and self-deceived some people can be.)