Van Robison on "Trafficking in Man-Made Religion"

Trafficking in Man-Made Religion

There have always been those who take advantage of others for their personal ego, for the love of power and the love of free $money.   For whatever reason, many human beings have willingly submitted their lives and their pocketbooks to those who falsely assume authority unto themselves. 

Man-made religion is as old as human beings from the beginning of human history.   The assumption that religious gurus have some magical power is as old as dirt and it is always based upon fear.   Superstition has played a major role in human behavior for ages.

Is belief in "Holy" books really a superstitious belief?  We may all poke fun at and ridicule the superstitions of human beings who think rocks have spirits or that mountains have spirits, or that it is a curse of the spirits if it does not rain or a thousand other superstitious beliefs, but few see what they consider "sacred" as superstitious.    It is easy to look upon the superstitions of certain human cultures in this world as childish and juvenile, all the while thinking that what we believe is "mature" and "sensible."

Is it really sensible to submit your life to some human priest or pastor, as if they commune with God on a daily basis?   If in fact the gift of the Holy Spirit is for all individuals, then is it not sensible that every human being on earth has the potential of a direct relationship with God, without the interference of self-appointed religious rulers?   No pastor of any church on earth communes with God Almighty directly and in fact everything he or she preachers is simply personal opinion and nothing more.   Pastors have no authority, no special calling and no particular knowledge about God, that makes them over, above, and in authority over another human beings.

You may read in some verses in the New Testament that God gives authority to certain individuals and that they are to be "obeyed", but that is simply intentional deception by those who penned such words.   Did God really "inspire" some men to pen or write what is called "the Bible?"   If He did, then He is of all people a very confusing author who contradicts Himself in countless ways.   

Believing strongly in what one thinks is "truth", may be very sincere, but sincerity is no gauge or qualification of truth.   Anyone can believe deeply that their convictions are right, all the while not discerning that they may be very wrong.

Members of all Worldwide Church of God splinter groups are programmed by superstition that they are to follow and obey their church rulers, pastors or elders.   That is nothing more than religious superstition and has no basis in the truth of who God Almighty is.   Herbert W. Armstrong was and is no more, yet many still bow and worship at his grave as if he was a spokesman for God.   HWA was a spokesman for no one other than himself.   And all WCG splinter group heads who think HWA was God in the flesh are either complete con-artists or so naive and so gullible that they are juvenile in their mentality.

HWA no more spoke for Jesus Christ than the fake "apostle" Paul did, or for that matter any or all of the countless thousands of other church groups who make the pretense of representing Jesus Christ.

If it were possible and all human beings on earth suddenly and permanently stopped supporting all pastors and all churches and all 501C3 "not for profit" religious organizations, the world would change dramatically and immediately for the better.


Van Robison

Turn thou from Dave Pack

Good morning brethren. Turn with me in your Parody Hymnals, and rise, to page 76, right off of I-76, that is, to a song that is Wadsworth your time, I mean, worth your time, Turn thou from Dave Pack. Page 76. 

All together.......

Turn thou from Dave Pack, do what is good,

Seek truth pursue it earnestly.
Upon your cash are the eyes of Pack, 

His mind is closed down unto their cry.
But the Eternal's face is against

Self Centered leaders, doers of wrong.
He lets you run from the midst of them, 

Starting all over, a new rebirth.

When righteous men cry, God answers back; 

For He delivereth them from Pack.

Near unto them of a broken bank,

Not for a penny should he dost thank.

Many afflictions that Pack dost lend,

Troubles there be of shackled men;

But the Eternal delivereth

From Pack's afflictions the running man.

Turn thou Dave Pack, do what is good,

Seek truth pursue it earnestly.

God keeps the heart of the running man,

Not one of them shall broken be.

Tho Pack deceives and changes his mind,

Running from Pack such freedom you'll find;

But God redeemeth the soul that's His,

None shall be desolate trusting Him.

submitted by SHT

Philadelphia Church of God says "unprecedented bloodshed" may soon break out in the United States

One thing for sure about Armstrongism, it LOVES to scream bloodshed and destruction.  Nothing will please the church more than seeing 3/4 of humanity blotted off the face of the earth in order for them to be proved right.

With the massive corruption and endless attempts to take down the President by the Democrats, the PCG sees a civil war arising.

Attempts to remove United States President Donald Trump from office are tearing America apart. The president is closer than ever to being impeached, and prominent figures are openly discussing the possibility of “civil war.” On September 24, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi announced that she was initiating a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump. She accused the president of violating the Constitution, betraying his oath of office, and endangering national security by enlisting a foreign power to tarnish the reputation of a rival. 

Whatever the case, the 2020 U.S. presidential election is set to be extremely divisive. Bible prophecy foretells that this division will soon escalate into unprecedented bloodshed unless the nation as a whole turns to God in repentance! 

In The United States and Britain in Prophecy, the late Herbert W. Armstrong explained how modern Britain and America descended from ancient Israel. The Bible records that in the time just before Jesus Christ’s return, Israel’s sins will lead to government corruption and violent revolution.

How many decades have we heard this same screeching by COG leaders?  It has been the Germans, the Russians, the Chinese and the Muslims.  Add to that famine, disease, natural disasters, and one big old pissed off god, and things look pretty bleak for most people in the world, but especially for Americans, Britons, Canadians, and Australians.

Get your bags pack and be ready to flee to Petra, Pella or Bozrah.  Depending on which crazy Church of God leader you follow, you will be going to a special place to receive your final training, that is, if you survive the catastrophes that the COG desires to happen.

Just another day in the Church of God.

hat tip: Living Armstrongism

Wheat or Chaff? Which one are you? Living Church of God has the answer!

Dexter Wakefield of the Living Church of God has an article up talking about The Wheat and the Chaff.  Anyone who has even limited contact with the Church of God movement, knows immediately what he is talking about.  Non-COG members and backsliding church members = chaff; diligent COG members = true Christians and are the real wheat.

Now that the Church of God has imploded into hundreds and hundreds of upstart movements, all claiming they are the "true wheat" it is pretty difficult to do anything but laugh at this silliness.

Wakefield writes:

There is a recurring theme in the Bible of God’s separating out the good fruits from the bad, and our Father has both the will and ability to do just that. The annual Holy Days and their timing within the harvest cycle of ancient Israel work together to picture elements in the plan of salvation, and it is good to remember this great harvest theme during this season of the year. 

Jesus totally upends his comment above, but that makes no difference to him or most of the other COG's.

It’s important to remember that the good and bad often grow in close proximity to each other. Referring to the Father, Jesus said, “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). In this age, the unrighteous often prosper more than the children of God living among them, but the time will come—pictured by the Feast of Trumpets—when God will separate out those who are His good fruits. 

It is interesting how the COG loves to focus upon weeding out the undesirables, but Jesus, once again, upends their nonsense by welcoming tax collectors, prostitutes, eunuchs, Samaritans, and even the thief on the cross, into the 'good fruits" of God's love.

Wakefield goes on to make a very specific claim directed to all COG members, who are the chosen ones:

At the spiritual harvest, when God’s begotten children enter His Kingdom, there is a separation involved.

The COG has always been giddy about seeing people removed from God's presence so that they, and they alone can bask in the glory of God as they are made into gods themselves.  This disgusting chaff will either be burnt to a crisp or if their god is merciful, it will give them a second chance to head the call of Herbert Armstrong's message.  It truly boils down to HWA's message instead of the message of Jesus.

Wakefield continues:

God says that we are to be patient while He works out His purpose in this age, but sometimes His children can become discouraged because they have manifold trials while the dishonest seem to prosper. During the long wait between the spring and fall Holy Day seasons, it’s good to remember that while the world loves its own, God loves His own much more. He has a desire for the work of His hands (Job 14:15) and will surely perform what He has said, separating the wheat from the chaff by making His children immortal. Our job is to be His faithful, fruitful, obedient servants until our Lord comes. He left us some good advice:

Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place…. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming…. Therefore you alsobe ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:32–34, 42, 44).

How can COG members ever been encouraged when all around them abusive ministers make their lives miserable.  They watch as one group after another breaks away to start a new COG while claiming they are the only true access to God. They watch as hard-earned tithe money is blatantly wasted on the church elite and their progeny. They sit in church, week after week, getting lambasted about one thing after another that they are doing wrong.

One has to stop and wonder as to just WHO is the chaff in the church and WHO is the wheat?

Crackpot COG Leader Getting Ready To Die For the "Truth?"

It is never dull in COGland with one self-appointed apostate church leader after another trying to set himself up as a martyr for the "truth.  None is more blatant in his desire to see death and destruction than our very own Bwana Bob Thiel.  He spends several hours a day searching out one idiotic scenario after another to bolster his warped beliefs that he can use to deceive his African members into believing he is a prophet sent by God.

The Great Bawna continues to search out Catholics and ex-Catholics to bolster his nuttiness. Of course, he found one to support his desire to be seen as a martyr:

Mike Gendron’s lead article in a past newsletter was titled Telling the Truth May Get You Killed. Here is some of what it said:

Have you ever considered why religious people plotted to kill the Lord Jesus 2000 years ago? Why would devout Jews, who had a zeal for God, kill one of their prophets? It was not because He was so merciful (Luke 23:34). Nor was it because of His abundant grace and sacrificial love (John 15:13). So why did the religious leaders seek to have Jesus crucified? This may surprise you. It was because Jesus told them the truth (John 8:40). He proclaimed the truth about Himself and the truth about who they were (John 8:44). As the personification of truth, He declared His Word to be the truth (John 14:6; 17:3). He told them that He came from heaven to testify to the truth (John 18:37). He did not come to be a man-pleaser, but to do the will of God. This truth angered the Jews so much they plotted to have Him killed.  The self-righteous Jews became incensed when Jesus said, “Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). Their religious pride, a powerful tool of the devil, had blinded them from the truth (2 Cor. 4:4). It is no wonder the proud oppose God, and God opposes the proud (Jas. 4:6). In one of the Bible’s curious paradoxes, people were put to death for telling the truth, but made alive for believing the truth (John 5:24). (August 2016)

Mike Gendron is a former Roman Catholic.

Of course, this is all the Great Bawna needs to prove from scripture that "true" Christians will be killed.

Let me add that Jesus made it clear that His true followers would face persecution:

12… they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake (Luke 21:12).
20 If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you(John 15:20).
2… yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. 3 And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. 4 But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you (John 16:2-4).

The Great Bawna then goes on to mock real Christians claiming that they will not be killed because they are "so-called" and deceived, while he is his little band of merry Africans are the true believers.

Now, does this mean that in the end times, all who claim to be Christian will be killed? 

No. 

But all who are real Christians will be subject to persecution. And telling the truth can get you killed. 

Notice the following prophecy:

25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time. (Daniel 7:25)

The Great Bawna then rattles off a list of things what may be what get him and his followers killed:

In the past, Christians were persecuted because they:

• Taught the truth about Jesus

Well, the Great Bawna will not need to worry about this one, since he denies Jesus and anything he accomplished.

• Kept Passover on the 14th

Nor this one since it is not required in the New Covenant

• Refused to eat unclean meat

Nor this one as it also is not required in the New Covenant

• Would work on Sunday

Especially this one since this is not an issue either

• Had false accusations railed against them

What false accusations have been railed against Bwana Bob?  The fact that he lied claiming God worked through a cult member of the Living Church of God to "double anoint" him as a prophet?  Or that his dreams validate his self-appointment?  Nope, those aren't going to get him killed but may be locked up in the looney bin.

• Were binitarian

Not an issue either.

• Kept the Sabbath

Not a New Covenant command.

• Kept the Fall Holy Days

Certainly not a New Covenant command, either.

• Were not trinitarian

Not an issue either

• Taught that the pope was an Antichrist and precursor of the final Antichrist

If that is true, then what does that make Herbert Armstrong?  He lied and told so many false prophecies that he too is an antichrist.

• Having and teaching from the Bible

Since when has a COG minister ever done this properly?

The Great Bwana continues on with his nuttiness:

• Rejected papal authority
• Did not accept idols
• Had different teachings than the Church of Rome
• Had writings Rome did not like
• Rejected Roman sacraments
• Objected to the dress of the Roman ministry
• Considered Rome to be the prophesied Babylon
• Taught that in the time of the final Antichrist that some would fall away
• Had practices that Rome considered Jewish
• Refused to baptize infants
• Did not participate in carnal warfare
• Teaching the millennium
• Taught the Kingdom of God
• Baptized adults

Total nonsense.