The Blurred Lines of Vic Kubik/LifeNets and His Office As President of United Church of God Are Causing Issues With People Today Due To His Fundraising Activities On Facebook

November 1999 we begin our 21st year as a charity.

LifeNets last annual report is posted on line at www.lifenets.org. SOON we will be finishing year 2019 and with that we are entering our 21st year as a charity. Our mission is to help those in need with college scholarships, fresh water, cattle and many other projects. Our mission is to promote self-sufficiency. Please help us celebrate and take advantage of this opportunity to DOUBLE YOUR DONATION at the same time.

Please donate $10, $20 or MORE for TWENTY years as a charity. Help us celebrate our goal of helping others. Beginning 8 AM Eastern standard time and 5 AM Pacific time, WHATEVER you donate on that day, December 3rd will be matched by FACEBOOK.  

CLARIFICATION ON GIVING TUESDAY FACEBOOK MATCHES:

The matching funds from Facebook only apply to donations given on Tuesday, December 3, 2019 after 8 am Eastern Standard Time. .Please donate early as the match will close when Facebook has reached its $7-million-dollar mark.

Thank you for making LifeNets your charity of choice.

Beverly Kubik
President LifeNets

The convoluted messy boundaries of the leader of the United Church of God and his personal charity, LifeNets, are causing a lot of questions on Facebook and elsewhere.

In July of 2016 we had an article about this blurring of the lines between UCG and Kubik's charity, especially when he is the president fo the organization.

Vic Kubik's LifeNets Church of God 

Many in UCG have always felt large discomfort with the blurring of the lines of UCG with LifeNets, the pet "ministry" of Vic Kubik.  Many question the man running two organizations that are suppose to be separate, but are they really?  LifeNets presents itself as a "humanitarian organization" to woo in the public while failing to disclose it is a Church of God related tool to encourage people to come over to the dark side.  Is Kubik and UCG too embarrassed to to say UCG is behind it and that it is a recruitment tool for  its "god", much like HWA started Ambassador Foundation because he was too embarrassed to say he represented the Worldwide Church of God?  While it has undeniably done some good, its motives are questionable.  

The article contained this: 

Those in Australia need to know (as do those in South Africa and most international locations) that their ‘church’ is not really an extension of the UCG in the USA — instead they are what Cincinnati calls the “LifeNets” churches –they are not funded by UCG any longer, have to be self-sufficient, and Kubik travels to them on LifeNets funds, not UCG money. This is why the moment the “airy” sermon is over, Kubik launches into a 45-minute LifeNets presentation to the congregation. Legally he has to do this because he is on LifeNets money which is being audited. The members are not in a Church, they are just laborers in a commercial LifeNets exercise, even thought they don’t know it. Council members who did not want Kubik as president (took the most re-balloting ever ) finally acquiesced over the information that it would save UCG money since Kubik was the only only one who could travel internationally on another budget (namely his private Corporation Sole LifeNets, which has made him the wealthiest Council member, and which he built in competition with the Good Works program, since that one wasn’t going to earn him anything personally).  

And yes, we are all supposed to give up our various ‘cultural backgrounds’ to put on the culture of Christ, but this man Kubik still can’t disconnect himself from a Ukrainian village he has never really lived in, now bending the truth to accommodate a small Pentecostal and trinitarian group there that clearly for over 20 years has shown no interest in joining with UCG. But,like the populism of Brexit and Trump, it’s beginning to all blow up: we have what we call the “parking lot church” in our congregation — it’s about what is said when everyone goes to their cars so the minister can’t hear them, and it’s about 50% of the congregation now that meets this way — outside. The moment someone stands up with some integrity and calls UCG out on all of this, the following is in place and ready to move.

Independent COG Members: Are You Willing To Place Your Salvation In The Hands Of This Man?

One group of people in the Church of God that has endlessly frustrated various self-appointed modern-day splinter group leaders are those people who declare their selves as "independent" COG members.  They hold fast to what they have learned over the years as the truth they have come to believe and this frustrates the various upstarts to no end.  

These people have not joined any of the top splinter groups and choose to instead stay at home, meet in small groups in various places, listen to tapes, or visit various COG's any time they want to do it.  Sadly, it is a vast group of people that all of these splinter leaders see as potential money streams, and nothing more.  

That brings us today to our favorite buddy of this blog, who is none too happy that these independent thinkers have not joined up with his a little group.  They deliberately stay away from him and this concerns him.  Because they refuse to join him they will not know when to flee to Petra!  Only by joining up with him will they be told the correct time to flee.  By joining up with him they will then become the TRUE Philaldphian church and will no longer be independent Laodiceans.

Do not allow yourself to accept the deception that you should be an independent Christian or one not truly truly part of the Philadelphian remnant.

Only by joining up with the Great Bwana will you become a Philadelphia Christian! Utter tripe! 

The Great self-appointed Bwana writes:

Who does God want to gather together? 

As stated before, the end of the age Christians. Notice what Jesus stated and something the Apostle Peter wrote:

19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. (John 15:19, NKJV)
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10, KJV) 

This is a peculiar people. These are people who the world does not desire. These are Philadelphian Christians. 

How do we know that Zephaniah 2:1-3 is related to Christians? Because the decree is for the end time and because of what else God inspired Zephaniah to write:

3 Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. (Zephaniah 2:3a) 

The above is a reference to Christians as they are to be the “meek of the earth” (Matthew 5:5) and to Philadelphians who “have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility.” These are Philadelphian Christians who understand that church leaders need to have integrity and be willing to be humble enough to accept the authority of a church led by a low-level prophet in the absence of a clear apostle (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11-15). They are humble enough to not think that they should remain ‘independent,’ as many who once were part of the old Worldwide Church of God, during this Laodicean time, have done.

Excuse me while I clean up the coffee I just spit out..........

Humble Church of God leaders???????  Where??????  Who???????  Well, hold on to your Mystery of the Ages folks, it is none other than our self-appointed prophet of Arroyo Grande,  Great Bwana to Africa, Bob Thiel!  Woo Hoo! He is the most humble self-appointed church leader the church has ever seen!  How can he not be humble when he is doubly blessed?  How can he not be humble when people dream dreams about his greatness?

Independent COG members and Laodicean church members should be able to look at this humble man and see God at work in him.  People should be so amazed that they immediately join up and send in their checks.

The Great One says:

God inspired the Prophet Zephaniah to write the following:

1 Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation, (Zephaniah 2:1) 

Do you understand what is being taught? 

This is a command for end of the age Christians!

Although it has certain misunderstandings, the Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary realized that the gathering together was intended for a religious group or assembly:

Zephaniah 2:1

Gather yourselves together – to a religious assembly, to avert the judgment by prayers, (Joel 2:16, “Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders,” etc.) (from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

When are they to gather together?

2 Before the decree is issued, Or the day passes like chaff, Before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you, Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you! (Zephaniah 2:2) 

Nothing excites the Church of God self-appointed false prophets than dire warnings of the end times. Their one hope and desire is to see humanity blotted off the face of the earth in order for them to be proven "right." Who can ever forget Rod Meredith getting all red-faced with veins throbbing as he pounded the podium with dire warnings about Germans coming to hang us all on meat hooks in concentration camps, that our youth would be shipped to Europe to be slaves to the Europeans, and that parents would be eating their children due to starvation from famine. He would be so excited he would be panting. These fake self-appointed false prophets demand that their god do this for them. 

However, there was an escape route and that route was only available to a highly select few that would heed the admonishments of the self-appointed false prophets.  They would be that small remnant, the Philadelphian church.

As stated before, the end of the age Christians. Notice what Jesus stated and something the Apostle Peter wrote:

19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. (John 15:19, NKJV) 9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10, KJV)

This is a peculiar people. These are people who the world does not desire. These are Philadelphian Christians.

In 2019, just who are those Phialdlephian Christians?  Dave Pack says his small group of followers are. Gerald Flurry says his group is.  Ron Weinland says he, his dingy wife Laura, and his minuscule band of followers are. COGWA believes they are.  LCG believes they are the one true remnant. And there is our very own self-appointed and doubly anointed prophet, Bob Thiel.  Woo Hoo!

Bwana Bob he not happy that independent COG members have refused to sign up with his little band of chosen ones.  To the great Bwana, they are sitting on the sidelines and will be ill-informed as to when it will be time to flee to Petra or maybe Pella where he will turn over the reigns of his church, in great humility, to that other true end-time self-appointed prophet, James Malm.

Independent COG members and members in various splinter groups need to be reminded that their salvation is at stake because they will not join up with Bwana Bob.

Do not allow yourself to accept the deception that you should be an independent Christian or one not truly truly part of the Philadelphian remnant.

Why have I written that Zephaniah 2:1-3 has to do with Philadelphian Christians?

Because they are the only ones who will actually ‘gather together’ as they should.

Why?

Because it is they who will lead the final phase of the work and it is only to the Philadelphians that Jesus promises to protect from the coming hour of trial, also referred to as the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord...

 ----

The decree to ‘gather together’ will be repeated in the area of Judah just before the time of great destruction.

Why a decree?

Apparently, to make it easier for people who read what Jesus said to better be able to understand that Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14 and Daniel 9:27b and Daniel 11:31 had been fulfilled.

By whom will the decree be made?

The Bible says:

7 Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
8 A lion has roared!
Who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken!
Who can but prophesy? (Amos 3:7-8)

The prophet may make the decree personally and/or pass it on to another authority in the church to make.

Which is the only Church of God in the 21st century to teach all of this?

The Continuing Church of God.

If you are not with the group that is leading the final phase of the work will you really be able to flee if you wait until the last moment? While that may be remotely possible for some, remember that God inspired Zephaniah to admonish God’s people to ‘gather together…before the decree is issued.’

Most will discount this and many will scoff. Most COGs do not have any they consider to be a prophet, and those other than the CCOG who claim to, have prophets that have been proven to be false (e.g. PCG, CGPFKG, TPM). 

The Continuing Church of God has the same mission and the same commitment to fulfilling Matthew 24:14 that Herbert Armstrong advocated. Matthew 24:14 is a PROPHETIC MESSAGE and it does tie in with world news and the condition of the world.

NO, IT DOESN"T!  Herbert Armstrong would have bitch-slapped Bwama Bob out of the church so fast he wouldn't know what hit him. No self-appointed vainglorious upstart ever pulled one over on HWA.  They all got spit out incredibly fast.  So for Bwana Bob to claim he is continuing HWA's teachings is a lie.

The ever so humble self-appointed Bwana Bob continues with this:

Since no later than 2007 I have written that Zephaniah had to do with Philadelphians being ‘gathered together’ so that they would be protected from the coming trial that will hit the earth.

We in the Continuing Church of God “have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19, KJV).”

The improperly named "continuing" Church of "god" does NOT have a more sure word of prophecy.  Maybe a certified liar, but not a prophet, and certainly NOT a "sure word." 

 We in the Continuing Church of God boldly teach the need for Philadelphians to be ‘gathering together’ today. Will you heed God’s instructions as the Prophet Zephaniah was inspired to write? Would you possibly like to be protected? If so, will you ‘gather together’?

So, would you place your salvation in the hands of this self-appointed upstart?  

Let the self-appointed prophet know why.

Adult Sabbath School: "Well whatever the context is you have taken that out of it!"

CONTEXT!

From Wes White: Mad at the System Posting

Anonymous said...

"The system was from the tree of good and evil. Therefore it was doomed from the start. The splinters repeatedly try and regrow the system and blatantly ignore the tree of life way. The way being Jesus Christ"

Picky I know, and we get the point being made, , but  it is "the tree of the KNOWLEDGE of Good and Evil" in the context of scripture. One can make an analogy of anything but when using scripture, context must come first. Many a Church of God minister gives whole sermons and personal counsel to members completely out of context of the original meaning and intent of scripture. Dave Pack and Gerald Flurry are masters of this disaster. 

 The issue in the Garden of Eden tale is that the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil, as well as eternal life, were just for the gods and not humans. Just knowing the difference between good and evil, for humans, was risky and upsetting to El and the Council of the Gods (the Elohim) That is why they were not to partake of them. It is why when they did God is quoted as saying...

Gen 3:22  And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."

"...Out you go!"

As well, in the story, humans were not only to ignore the Tree of Life, being eternal life, but they would die in the day they ate of it, which they actually did not.

And no cheating by using 2 Peter 3:8 as an apologetic!  That would also be out of context. 

8 Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice:  With the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day."

This issue was over the delayed coming of Jesus that observers, i.e. "scoffers" were inquiring about from the Apostles who said it was shortly and soon but was evidently not. 

CONTEXT!

"Yeah, well Methuselah only lived to be 969 years old and so he died "in the very day" as do all humans now because of sin. He didn't live to be 1000 which is just one day with God."  Ugh!  The story is not about Methuselah and "in the day you do eat" was a threat about Adam and Eve dying, as if they knew what that was, that same day they disobeyed. It was the instant penalty for not knowing they should have listened, which they couldn't know...aw never mind!  No wait! this needs exploring!... 

I personally never could see what the problem was with humans having the knowledge of good and evil as it seems like it would come in handy, but I didn't write the story. But the idea of it certainly spooked Elohim and the Council of the Gods.  And too, if Adam and Eve did not know good from evil before actually partaking of the tree of it, how can they  be blamed for not understanding the instructions not to?

As a side note to the story, the Serpent, who only later evolved into "the Satan" of later fame, was correct in the CONTEXT saying...

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."

It seems El was fibbing and the Serpent was telling the truth of the matter, go figure. 

Personally, the story seems more an explanation by the Priests who wrote it as to why the people must not decide what is right or wrong themselves and think freely outside that which the Priesthood was introducing as the way all must be and the things all must do. This story is, after all, close to the first one in the Pentateuch which indeed are the instructions on how the people must live and who is in charge and it's not them.     It was a bit of a warning to toe the line and stay within them. That's just me and snakes can't really talk. 

Anyway, CONTEXT! CONTEXT! CONTEXT!

It is a concept that still escapes many of my former colleagues in ministry when declaring with authority how it all was, how it all is and how it all shall be. 

LCG: Trust and OBEY!

Not exactly the best juxtaposition of a picture and wording, but it essentially nails how LCG operates.  Members MUST trust their ministerial masters for guidance and then MUST obey at all costs!

If you want to view the dull video, it is here.

from a Facebook page...

Wes White: Mad At the System

Mad At the System 

By Wes White

There are many, many reasons why a lot of us on “Banned...” left WCG.  One of the main reasons for my departure was that I recognized the SYSTEM was bad!

The WCG system was an imperial dictatorship.  The system abused people.  It betrayed them.  It promoted lies.  It was based on the end justifies the means.

I have varying degrees of respect for those who left that organization because they recognized the system was bad.

However, when I look at guys like GTA, Meredith, McNair, Flurry, Pack, etc, I see guys who loved the system.  And they left it because they were mad that they couldn't be IN CHARGE of that system!  

These lovers of the old system are not just the leaders of the wackadoodle COGs. These lovers also permeate the leadership of the supposedly more “moderate” COGs.  

And most Armstrongite members are not aware of this because they don’t want to know.  A lot of these geezers love fellowshipping with their old friends from the old days.  Attending church services with other geriatrics is all they have to live for anymore.  

Yes, Armstrongism is in a state of hospice.  “Let’s just keep the patient comfortable.”

But I Am A Prophet! I Am! I Am! Says Bob Thiel

What a glorious day to be alive in 2019!  It is a beautiful crisp fall day here in Pasadena with cold temperatures and snow on the mountains.  After sacrificing newborns on the altar of Moloch at church today and worshipping the sun and Satan, I thought I would sit down and have some fun.

I woke up to a flurry of text messages and emails about a post that my dear friend in Arroyo Grande, the great Bwana to Africa and the Chief Overseer of the improperly named '"continuing Church of "god"' posted about the lies that this blog and others spread about his doubly-blessed and god ordained appointment to the Church of God in these end times.  God saw that the church was in such a mess after the implosion of that other one true church, the Worldwide Church of God, that He needed to send a special doubly-anointed leader to redeem the church back to Him.

Over the eight-plus decades, the Radio/Worldwide Church of God was in existence, it has seen an appalling number of men break off from the church to start their own "new and improved" church that was holding on to the "faith once delivered" and the amazing teachings of Herbert W Armstrong.  The number of splinters has been said to be between 400 - 700 different groups.  What an appalling thing to see!

None of us had any idea what would happen after the WCG imploded and the various larger splinter groups set themselves up as the true heirs to the WCG experience.  Every single one of these groups has proclaimed that God personally anointed them and set them apart to rescue the church and restore the teachings of the one true apostle Herbert Armstrong.  How can this one true God they all claim to follow be sooooooooo confused and keep forgetting He had previously set up another man to lead His church?

Thanks to this confused god, we now have men like Dave Pack, Ron Weinland, Gerald Flurry, Rod Meredith/Gerald Weston, David Hulme, Vic Kubik, Jim Franks and the one and only doubly blessed Bob Thiel.

Only one of these men surpass all the other false prophets/leaders of the splinter groups and that is Bwana Bob Theil. The Chief Overseer of the improperly named "continuing" Church of 'god."  The second Elijah, Elisha, Joshua, and endless other self-appropriated names of scriptural legends.

God has apparently never worked with a human being before as much as He has in setting up Bob Thiel as the one true prophet to the nation of Africa, the Catholic Church and the deceived Laodiceans of the British Israel nations still parked in various COG's.  From double blessings to visions in dreams, God has been working overtime in proving the legitimacy of the one true Bob.

As the one true prophet to the church and the world, the great Bwana is NOT happy that we mock his vainglorious attempts to prove himself as the legitimate end time representative of his god.

The Greatest COG leader since Dave Pack has devoted another column to me and this little blog. How dare we mock his prophethood status! 

Mock not God's anointed!  

Fun times!  

I can hear the hissing all the way down here.

"Am too!"  "Am too!" 

Bwana Bob writes:

Gary Leonard, the webmaster at the Banned By HWA site (an anti-Church of God website), continues to post lies about me. He is a false accuser of the brethren that does not take Proverbs 6:16-19 seriously.

How can I be a false accuser of the brethren when these self-appointed liars have set themselves up as deceivers of the brethren?  There are a lot of good sincere COG members out there that love God and seek to do what is right, according to what they have been taught, so to see these sick men claim to be god's anointed and then turn around and abuse them is disgusting and appalling.

Bawana Bob  continues:

First, I am NOT self-appointed. The Bible states that God appoints prophets (1 Corinthians 12:28) and that He speaks with them through dreams (Numbers 12:6). Furthermore, it was the late evangelist Roderick C. Meredith who repeatedly stated (beginning on October 3, 2008) that God may consider me a prophet–years before I left LCG (which happened on December 28, 2012). He also said (Jan/Feb 2009) that if he raised himself to the office of apostle that he was considering ordaining me as a prophet. Although he did neither of those, God ended up having LCG minister Gaylyn Bonjour lay hands upon me and pray that I would receive a double-portion of God’s spirit on December 15, 2011.

I can state for an absolute FACT that God did NOT speak to Bwana Bob Thiel through any dream and most certainly did not use another false teacher (Rod Meredith) to legitimize Bwana Bob.  Deluded minds with psychotic wild imaginations will lead all kinds of people into thinking some being they call god is speaking to them. 

Second, I did not pull out scriptures only after the formation of the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) to point to my position/dream, etc. Gary Leonard’s assertion in relationship to me is a flat out lie. I cited various scriptures and fulfilled predictions to the leadership of the Living Church of God when I was still part of it and had no intention to depart from it (I only departed after Dr. Meredith essentially informed me on 12/28/12 he would not keep his promises to correct doctrinal and prophetic errors he had previously agreed to).

Church of God false teachers have always gone searching for scriptures to legitimize themselves AFTER THE FACT.  The scriptures that Bwana Bob quotes no more describes him than it does my prophetess cat laying in front of the fireplace right now.  It makes no difference whatsoever that Bwana Bob went to Rod Meredith spouting scriptures.  Not one single thing was fulfilled in Living Church of God, in Rod Meredith or in Bob's testimony.  NOT ONE SINGLE THING!  Living Church of God was yet another splinter set up by a self-appointed man who thought he was better than anyone else and that his god also set him apart in his rebellion.  The lies and damage Rod Meredith did while in the WCG has left a trail of destruction in his wake over the decades.  Broken marriages, suicides, and even murder! There is NOTHING godly in that and therefore CANNOT transfer off any godliness onto Bwana Bob Thiel!

Third, the Bible does teach that God would use dreams and prophets in the last days as Acts 2:17-18 states. Furthermore, it was not just me and one other (that I did not know prior to the dream) that had confirmed dreams related to me and/or CCOG. At least seven associated with CCOG have had confirmed dreams (for details, see Dreams, the Bible, the Radio Church of God, and the ContinuingChurch of God). For more related to Acts 2, check out: Does the CCOG have the confirmed signs of Acts 2:17-18?

Given the ABYSMAL track record of lying false prophets in Armstrongism over the last 8 decades, why would God even dare to send another COG fool a dream setting them apart to lead the church?

I can again state for a FACT that God did NOT send dreams to Bwana Bob Thiel or anyone else associated with his personality cult.  We have seen these same wild boastings from others over the decades and there is absolutely NO REASON anyone ever gave them credibility.  These simpletons have made God into their pawn, to be used at their whim and command.  That god is portrayed as an incompetent doofus that could not do what he needed to do without the help of these self-appointed vainglorious, narcissistic men.

Frequently, Gary Leonard has called me a liar, certified liar, or something else to attempt to challenge my credibility.

And I still do.  The vast majority of the Church of God members and ex-members know this to be a fact.  There is absolutely NO CREDIBILITY in the self-appointed of Bwana Bob to his position as a splinter group leader.  None whatsoever!

But the problem is that he cannot stand the idea that God has intervened in my case and what I speak is the truth.

The “lie” he seems to claim I make is that I received a double-portion of God’s Spirit after Gaylyn Bonjour anointed me.

As it turns out, I spent several hours with Gaylyn Bonjour on November 28, 2019. He, again, confirmed many events related to me, including his prayer for me to be granted a double-portion of God’s Spirit.

We also went over some of the falsehoods that Banned posted about me in the post I am mentioning here.

Furthermore, Gaylyn stated that he tells those who ask that he says:

I have known Bob Thiel since 1986. He has always been honest, dedicated, and sincere.

And that includes what I have written about him and the prophet matter.

I have no doubt that Bwana Bob may be a dedicated and sincere person.  As Herbert Armstrong said many many times, "They may be sincere, but sincerely WRONG!"  Using Gaylon Bonjour as a prop to one's prophethood is no proof at all.   Given the disgusting process Living Church of God went through to reach its present state by apostatizing from the mother church and then stabbing Global Church of God in the back while stealing money and members in order to start up, does not make LCG a legitimate Church of God or its minister's legitimate representatives of God.  If Herbert Armstrong were alive he would have kicked them out of the church so fast that their heads would still be spinning.

Bwana Bob goes on with more grandiose excuses as to why he is anointed, and then says this:

Gary Leonard does not want to accept that I have the fruits of a prophet and meet the biblical and COG criteria for that

One thing both Rod Meredith and I agree upon is that Bwana Bob is NOT a prophet of God and that he set himself up in that position.  Despite all of his own narcissism, Meredith was able to see through the fog and call out the deceptions and lies of Bwana Bob.

People like Gary Leonard say all kinds of evil against me falsely–this is one way they persecute.

Scores of people, besides my self, see through the lies of Bwana Bob.  They and the vast majority of the Church of God know Bwana Bob to be a false prophet and a false church leader.

Sadly, Gary Leonard and many other opponents do not care about the truth and think that they are getting away with their lies and falsehoods.

For some reason Bwana Bob, as do many other false prophets of the Church of God, feel that their opponents will come to naught for daring to expose their lies.   That has been a myth that COG leaders have loved to dish out any anyone who dared to oppose them. They have claimed people would die, that their god would strike their oppressors down with painful cancers, and other myths that have never happened to people in the 80 some years of the existence of the church.  And who can forget the snarling they all do, claiming that those who "persecute" them will suffer great pain in the tribulation and ultimately be fried to a crisp in the COG version of hell, the Lake of Fire.

I do not fear the god of Bwana Bob, or of Dave Pack, or Gerald Flurry, Ron Weinland of the other morons that have threatened me over the years. 

As regular readers at the COGwriter.com website are aware, I provide scriptures and many facts and reasons to back up my writings. Gary Leonard and others should ask themselves if they can accept the truth or if they prefer dismissive conceit. 

Gary Leonard is an accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10), and often a bearer of false witness (Exodus 20:16). 

Gary Leonard has had a chances to come clean, confess his errors, and move forward. 

But so far, he has chosen Satan’s way. Jesus spoke about people like him:

I have no one to confess to other than Jesus Christ and my standing with him is secure.  That is what those that bastardize the law cannot understand.  That is why I do not fear Bwana Bob's fear monger god or the god of Neville Stevens that was supposed to have killed me on Passover night 15 years ago.  Whether I die today, tonight or in 5-10-20 years from now, my standing with God is still secure. No whiny self-appointed lying COG leader can ever take that away.

Sadly, various ones have let the anti-COG people “take their crown”–did not “endure to the end” as they should have. They allowed people once considered to be brothers to betray them spiritually–and yes it will also happen physically

What a load of self-righteous crap.  No COG member's crown has ever been stolen by someone who has exposed them to the errors and lies of certain COG leaders.  It is these very people who are destroying lives and ripping their spirituality lives apart. I am quite sure many of the people in Africa that claim to follow Bwana Bob are sincere and certainly have great faith in the God they want to follow.  The sad part is that many of them are heading down a path of legalism that ultimately leads to misery.

The captives that these sick leaders in Armstrongism have enslaved with legalism and led into bondage need to be freed with the filth of these sick men.

You can read the entire screed by Bwana Bob here: Let’s Deal with Some Lies from ‘Banned by HWA’

And for more entertainment, check out his latest response to Gavin Rumney's expose on Bwana Bob's Indian diploma mill education here:  Banned, Ambassador Watch, Living University, and my Ph.D. and Th.D.

The Remarkable Story of The Mysterious ThD and Subtle Deceptions of Bob Thiel

The late Gavin Rumney has several expose's of Bob Thiel's ever-changing story on his site.  This by far is the best rundown on the subtle deceptions Thiel uses to impress the world and his African members.

From: Ambassador Watch

The story of Bob's acquisition of a Doctor of Theology degree was a major source of curiosity on AW back in 2009. Bob has since gone on to assert further remarkable personal claims. Perhaps we can gauge how seriously we can take these by Bob's ThD track record. Here's how it unfolded.

25 September: Bob's been busy

Not only in writing books but now articles for examiner.com. Here's the bio:

Dr. Bob Thiel has studied theology and prophecy for decades, and possesses a Ph.D. (UIU) and a Th.D. (TCU). He has also traveled extensively, and has visited sites of religious interest in Rome, Greece, Central Europe, Asia Minor, Cappadocia, Constantinople (Istanbul), Africa, Asia, North America, and Latin America.

Bob has a ThD from Texas Christian University? When did that happen? Bob doesn't mention it in his COGwriter bio.

26 September: Bob's ThD

What do we make of the claim that Bob Thiel holds a ThD from TCU? ... Inquiries have been made by concerned AW readers. Leonardo is one:

...in the endeavor to "prove all things" I called the Registrar's Office (817-257-7825) of Texas Christian University located in Ft. Worth, Texas – and talked to one Kristi Harrison at the Registrar’s Office. She informed me of the following facts: First of all, Texas Christian University does NOT have a doctorate of theology (ThD) program. They do have a Masters of Theological Studies program, a Master of Divinity program, and a Master of Theology program – but not a ThD program. And second, the name of Bob (or Robert) Thiel does NOT show up on ANY student listing the university has. They have a computerized file dating from 1984 forward – and Thiel is NOT on this one. And they have a microfiche file for students who attended before 1984 – and Thiel doesn’t show up on this one either.  

I've always found Bob a scrupulously honest person, so it will be intriguing to follow this as it develops.

26 September (2): Bob's ThD... revised edition
Just a few hours ago Bob had this to say on his website:

...I have studied graduate level Early Church History from Fuller Theological Seminary and other schools. A doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree was earned from the Union Institute and University where I studied various biological sciences and research methodologies. I also have other degrees/training, and have studied theology, both formally and informally.

Now there's a new, edited version:

...I have studied graduate level Early Church History from Fuller Theological Seminary and other schools in and out of the USA like T of CU, where a Th.D. in Early Christianity was earned). A doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree was earned from the Union Institute and University where I studied various biological sciences and research methodologies. I also have other degrees/training, and have studied theology, both formally and informally.

Uh... T of CU? Anyone have any idea what this means? TCU seems to know nothing about Bob (see previous posts.) And, accepting what Bob now says on face value, fancy him forgetting to mention his excellent doctorate in theology till now...

11 October: Doctor of Thielology

The Last Great Day has been and gone, and thousands of Feast-goers are toddling their weary way home. The "best Feast ever"? Well, maybe.

I'm looking forward to Bob Thiel at last having time to share the details on his acquisition of the Th.D which suddenly appeared on his resumé, so to speak, just days before the Feast. This may seem a bit obsessive, but I think it's important that we all can feel Bob's honesty is not in question here. We may disagree with Bob, but nobody has had reason to question his sincerity and integrity before.

As late as March last year Bob didn't seem to know about his own Th.D. Here's what he wrote in answer to a critic on another blog (you can read the whole rebuttal here):

I do have a Ph.D. and it is from the Union Institute & University. And Union is regionally accredited (the highest accepted accrediting standard in the United States for universities and colleges). I also have a Master of Science degree from the University of Southern California (which, of course, is also regionally accredited).

I believe Bob unreservedly, and these qualifications are not in question. But note, no mention of a Th.D from TCU (or anywhere else.) Has Bob acquired his prestigious doctorate in theology since then? If so, how? If Bob wants to continue to be regarded as credible, he needs to come clean on this, and sooner rather than later.

23 October: A Case of Beams and Splinters

Over at COGwriter, Bob Thiel is busy nuking some guy called James Malm. It's completely justified, as Malm has been slagging off Thiel. Never a dull moment in the sandpit.

What this clearly demonstrates is that Bob is quite capable of standing up for himself, and assuming a posture of peevish outrage. The current entry is entitled "James Malm Continues to Mislead."

Instead of repenting for being a false accuser of me, James Malm remains an accuser (cf. Revelation 12:10) as he continues to attempt to mislead people about me and my writings... The Apostle Paul faced false accusers as well who could not prove their false accusations (Acts 24:13).

Well, bully for Bob. But isn't it interesting that Bob has still failed to respond to questions about the legitimacy of a claimed Th.D from TCU. These claims are in his bio at Examiner.com, and on his own website. Hardly a good look to accuse someone else of misleading while being unable to provide the most rudimentary documentation for one's own claims. A case of beams and splinters? 

The thing is, Bob gets a lot of traffic on his site, but where does it come from? Have a look at this breakdown from Alexa.com.

Sweet mystery of life, nearly 15% of Bob's click-through traffic comes from - gasp! - AW! No other source, search engines Google and Yahoo excluded, sends more visitors through for a dose of Bob's "Th.D" fueled Biblical expertise... Most of those would go directly to the COGwriter "news" page, while most of the search engine hits would go to one of the countless ratbag pages of opinion Bob has up on things like "Catholic prophecies," Mayan calendars, and whether Barack Obama is the Antichrist. If that's the case, most of Bob's upstream traffic would come from curious and confused nutcases outside the COG fold, which means the news blog - the part of Bob's site most of us are familiar with - has been hugely overrated in its influence.

Yes brethren, I'm very tempted to rain on Bob's parade by withdrawing all links to his site... after all he doesn't link here. But that would be boorish and small-minded, so I guess he can continue to hang out in the apologists' section of the side bar.

But there'll be no more direct links from blog entries until Bob explains that alleged Th.D.

Question: Exactly which institution issued the Th.D? Full name required, as the obvious candidate for "TCU" is Texas Christian University, and they don't seem to know anything about it.

24 October: In Search of... Bob's ThD

The mystery of Bob Thiel's Th.D may be solved, and it's a pretty strange tale.

Bob may have acquired a mail order degree from Trinity School of Apologetics & Theology in Kochi.

Kochi?

TRINITY??

Following up on an anonymous tip in the previous comments section, a web search revealed that Trinity is a fundamentalist institution in India which has a Calvinist orientation, and offers "Free Apologetics/Theology Graduate Distance Programs." It's listed in places like Conservapedia and Creationwiki, and is sited next to Cochin University, but from what I can tell is definitely not part of that institution (although to read the Trinity website you might assume it was!) T of CU would then mean Trinity of Cochin University, which seems to be a clear misrepresentation.

Here's what Walston's Guide to Christian Distance Learning has to say about this institution (see graphic).

Not exactly positive.

And lo and behold, there is a Bob Thiel listed under "graduation news" on the Trinity site.

Now let's recap.

(1) If this is the source of Bob's Th.D, one can only wonder at his choice of an institution which wears its trinitarianism on its sleeve.

(2) To all intents and purposes, the accreditation that this institution claims is highly dubious.

(3) Bob has misrepresented it by calling it TCU. The correct acronym is TGSAT. The impression that he has graduated from Texas Christian is highly misleading. The impression that TGSAT is part of Cochin University is also misleading.

It appears that Bob's Th.D - if this is its source - isn't worth the paper it's printed on. No wonder Bob has been less than forthcoming about its provenance: it's a huge embarrassment.

However, on the positive side, Bob was being at least partially truthful. He does have a piece of paper with a recently minted Th.D., the quality of which is fully commensurate with the quality of his scholarship.

16 November: The disappearing ThD

Bob Thiel seems to have expunged mention of any Th.D from his bio page. No explanation given, but I guess it amounts to a concession to his critics. Here then are the three versions of his qualifications that Bob has promoted this year.

Version 1: ...I have studied graduate level Early Church History from Fuller Theological Seminary and other schools. A doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree was earned from the Union Institute and University where I studied various biological sciences and research methodologies. I also have other degrees/training, and have studied theology, both formally and informally.

Version 2: ...I have studied graduate level Early Church History from Fuller Theological Seminary and other schools in and out of the USA like T of CU, where a Th.D. in Early Christianity was earned). A doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree was earned from the Union Institute and University where I studied various biological sciences and research methodologies. I also have other degrees/training, and have studied theology, both formally and informally.

Version 3: ...I have studied graduate level Early Church History from Fuller Theological Seminary and other schools in and out of the USA). A doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree was earned from the Union Institute and University where I studied various biological sciences and research methodologies. I also have other degrees/training, and have studied theology, both formally and informally.

Now you see it, now you don't. It remains to be seen whether Bob has done irreparable damage to his credibility by fudging on this issue. 

2016 Postscript. Bob's alma mater admits that it is indeed not accredited, no big surprise, so it seems his PhD is indeed only a pretty piece of paper, a vanity qualification. Vanity is one of the seven deadly sins, isn't it?

As late as September last year Bob could write: "And, yes, I have a Ph.D. and Th.D. among other degrees. The Th.D. is in Christian Apologetics, with a speciality of Early Church History." [source] On his website he now states: "I have studied graduate level Early Church History from Fuller Theological Seminary [no details] and other schools in and out of the USA [no details], and after a lot of writing, was granted a foreign Th.D. in early Christianity [no details]." Apparently that's as much a concession as we're likely to get.

Would you buy a used car from this man?