Thursday, December 16, 2021

LCG: Is It A Sin To Donate Online To Them After Sundown?

 



Things just get stranger and stranger in COGland as they pull crazy rules out of their a..... hats.

Year-End Donations (U.S. only)—Repeat Announcement
Please be reminded that all U.S. contributions dated in December and postmarked on or before Friday, December 31, will be counted as a donation for 2021 and may be tax deductible in 2021, even if we receive it in January 2022. For those who donate online, the deadline for online contributions is 11:59 p.m. on December 31. Keep in mind that December 31 is a Friday this year, and sundown times will vary depending on your location.

So are we to assume that if a member decides to contribute some money after sundown on December 31st that LCG will refuse it out of Christian obligation to not accept money transactions on the Sabbath?

Well, we all know the answer to that one....

Gerald Weston Is Excited That 1 In 30 Of Recent Tornado Victims Know About LCG Magazines

This isn't something that I think many people would find space to brag about. However, this IS a COG we are speaking of: 

Greetings from Charlotte, 
 
Many of you have wondered how our members fared when a series of tornados cut paths across six states last Sabbath. Two towns hit hardest were Mayfield and Dawson Springs, Kentucky. Mayfield is a town of about 10,000 residents and is not close to any congregation, but we have one recently baptized member there. Mr. Darrell Lovelady wrote this encouraging news: “She is well. No damage to her property. She has water; however, her biggest issue is no power, which impacts heating and freezer. She said she doesn’t have any immediate needs.” In checking further, I found that we have 54 Tomorrow’s World magazine subscribers in Mayfield (population 10,000) and 39 in Dawson Springs (population 2,600). Figuring conservatively with two people per household, that means as many as one in 30 residents in Dawson Springs is acquainted with our magazine. Please keep in your prayers all those in the areas affected by the tornados. On another note, Rodger Bardo, our minister for Southern California, and his lovely wife Betty are celebrating 50 years together in marriage this Sabbath. Congratulations!—Gerald Weston

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

PCG: "God needs you to be a godly Renaissance man!"

 


When you look at the Philadelphia Church of God and what it teaches you are never surprised to see who their latest idol is that they have. For the last year or so, Winston Churchill has been the right example to follow, after Herbert W Armstrong, of course.

Brad McDonald has a new article up about how the youth of the Philadelphia Church of God need to learn to be Renaissance men.

He writes:

Any high school student has probably heard the word “Renaissance.” The term, which means “rebirth,” is used to describe 15th-century Europe—particularly Italy—at a time when art, literature and science were “reborn.” Most students have probably also heard a common phrase used to describe the men of that era: “Renaissance man.”

During the Renaissance, there was a revival in learning. Individuals were artists, musicians, scientists, inventors, philosophers. Today, the term “Renaissance man” describes the man who is competent is multiple fields—the man who has a rounded personality. A Renaissance man is an athlete and an academic, a warrior and a poet, an officer and a gentleman.

I think this is hilarious, particularly for someone in the PCG to be writing this considering how many of the Renaissance men of history were gay, which is pretty much like PCG today.

The Retrospect Journal had this to say about the Renaissance men in the "realm of carnal debauchery".

Renaissance Italy is popularly portrayed as a realm of carnal debauchery. One only needs to watch Tom Fontana’s Borgia (2011-2014) to understand common conceptions of Renaissance Italy as a realm of brutal acts, orgies, and affairs. Yet, is there any truth to these depictions? On the subject of sexual activity, Michael Rocke has argued that fifteenth century Florence was awash with sodomy. He suggests that two thirds of men were officially implicated by the age of forty. In the final four decades of the fifteenth century, 17,000 Florentine men had been accused of sodomy by the Office of the Night (an institution founded to investigate homosexual relations). These statistics seem to substantiate our popular conception of the Renaissance. However, sheer statistics undermine the complex dynamics of homosexual relations in fifteenth-century Florence.

This was not only a story of licentiousness. Men grappled with their “carnal” desires and scrutinised them through the intellectual tools available to them. One of these tools was Neoplatonism, the revival and re-interpretation of Plato and the Neoplatonic texts, most associated with Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) and his informal Florentine Academy. Understandings of Ancient Greek thought provided a framework for Florentine men to engage with homosexual relations, creating a discourse that could both justify and condemn their actions. Homosexuality in Renaissance Florence: The Ambiguities of Neoplatonic Thought

McDonald quickly moves on to PCG's masculine hero-worship of Winston Churchill:

Many of the great figures of history could be described as Renaissance men. One example is Winston Churchill. He was an avid reader, an outstanding writer and an influential philosopher. He memorized poetry. He was an artist who loved painting. At the same time, he loved to build, to develop, to get outside and work with his hands. He loved polo and fencing. Even as he got into his forties and fifties, he still loved getting outside and working with his hands. In fact, he was a good brick layer.

Ask yourself: Is a godly leader a Renaissance man?

McDonald wants the men of the PCG to realize their true masculine potential:

The point is, godly leaders are well-rounded. They are balanced. They love reading and studying, art and music; they enjoy museums and the theater. But they are also not afraid to get outside and “get their hands dirty.” They play sports; they landscape; they hunt and fish. They work with their hands. They are intellectuals, but they are also warriors.

Now, does not this describe PCG ministers accurately or COG leaders as a whole?

When have we ever seen real godly leaders who were well-rounded? When. have we ever seen a balanced COG leader? They are usually so wildly crazy that they are off the charts. Balance is not a Church of God cherished word.

What about you, young men? Where do you fall on this spectrum of masculinity? Do you like to read, to think, to engage your mind? Do you like art, poetry, fine music? If so, do you also work hard, pushing yourself to your physical limit?

McDonald then trots out David as a shining example of what a renaissance man is:

To see what a godly Renaissance man is, we can look to the Bible and find one of the greatest examples in King David. 
 
King David, even as a teenager, was a tough, brave warrior. He lived outside; bathed in creeks; slept by the fire and under the stars. He hunted for his own food. He was absolutely deadly with a sling shot and sword. He fought lions, bears and giants. He was the ultimate tough guy.
And yet, at the same time, David was an absolutely brilliant musician. He played the harp, and probably other stringed instruments. He wrote poetry and songs. He loved knowledge and learning. He was a terrific public speaker. David was a Renaissance teenager!

Sadly the COG has had a lot of men like David. Some have spent years banging other men's wives, stalking women, molesting children, and eventually killing members.

After extolling the virtues of David, McDonald says this:

Mr. Gerald Flurry writes about this in his book The Former Prophets: How to Become a King: “Several times throughout his life, David said that God was with him. That was like the motif of his life. That’s the most important statement that you can make about a person: That God is with him.”

The ultimate source of David’s admirable character traits was God’s power working with and in him! 
 
What about you, men? When people look at you, do they see God? Do they say, “Wow, there is something special about that guy”? This is the characteristic that will really set you apart. The first five characteristics of a Renaissance man can be developed by anyone. Plenty of people appreciate culture; there are brave and strong men; there are men of action; there are men who love education; men who take care of themselves physically. You can develop these characteristics separate from God. But with God, and with the power of His Spirit working with you, these characteristics can become a hundred times more effective! In many instances, the power of God will actually empower you as you develop these characteristics! 
 
Young men: God needs you to be a godly Renaissance man!

 

God's Protection or Satan's Punishment?

 


As we have all been watching the news about the horrific tornado devastation that ripped through over 200 miles of the midwest the other day, we cannot escape the immediate crowing by Church of God leaders about members who escaped destruction. They gloat many times over how fortunate their righteous members are as their neighbors who suffer horrendously.

Those backslapping platitudes work wonders till church members are hit with destruction or suffer along with their neighbors around them, then the tune changes rather quickly. It was Satan's punishment that God allowed in order to wake them up. Someone must have done something wrong and needs a wake-up call or worst of all, God has withdrawn his protection.

Bob Thiel and Gerald Flurry are the worst offenders of this kind of gaslighting. These two also immediately start bellowing it out as a sure sign of the end times. The malarkey gets deep with these two.

Sunday, December 12, 2021

"The Two Witnesses" Podcast




"The Two Witnesses" podcast, where two former AC students discuss the beginnings of the WCG and different ways the hosts joined the cult

This podcast is a new idea by a couple of older Ambassador College graduates, myself and former WCG member and student Ralph. The first 2 episodes are now available to listen to, for those who may find it interesting.

The basic idea is to express in audio format some of the experiences we had, and how Herbert W. Armstrong's inimitable style hooked people into and indeed kept them in the Worldwide Church of God cult.

In addition, since we both eventually left the WCG (before many of the current WCG splinters were born), in future episodes we will discuss how we managed to leave, but first things first!

Episode #1 ("Unto Us A Cult Is Born") is more introductory, certainly nothing new to anyone who has ever been a member. We try to explain some of the history of the WCG, as well as the HWA mindset and formula that led to what would eventually be a church with members numbering in the 6 digits, and a multimillion-dollar, worldwide multimedia corporation. This cult leader with no credentials or political following would also somehow manage to get himself personal audiences with many of the world leaders of the 1970s and 80s. What was it about him that managed to attract people and create the Worldwide Church of God? Why do so many of the splinter groups, even now, follow and virtually idolize this man and his teachings?

(Apologies for some aspects of the audio in this initial episode which came out a little rougher around the edges than planned.)

Episode #2 ("Fifty Ways To Join a Cult"), focuses more on how the two hosts managed to find themselves in the cult: one by hearing HWA as a young man, which led to his coming into the church "cold turkey" as a new prospective member. The other by being born and raised in it on his mother's knee. We also touch on some of the well-known evangelists like Rod Meredith and Gerald Waterhouse with clips from their old sermons.

We don't know where this idea will take us, if anywhere, in which direction ultimately, or indeed even how many episodes. At some point it would be great to focus on some of the current splinters, which are in fact the living legacy of HWA's empire. Certainly merely a shadow of the original organization but not irrelevant by many measures.

For those interested please feel free to listen at your leisure, and of course non-trolling comments are welcome (a contact email is on the website). I will also try to check Banned semi-regularly.
There is a general plan to post at least 2 more episodes after this, with anything beyond that yet to be decided.

We hope some may find this entertaining, informative or nostalgic or, which would be best of all, even helpful.

Michael