Dennis On: "Oh Me of Little Faith" James 5

^{James 5}

¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

 

^{Ok, let's get right to it.  While this teaching, so plainly stated and seemingly unambiguous is not directly that of Jesus, it is by James and includes Jesus name as the talisman that brings results.  One can proof text themselves all over the Bible from Genesis to Revelation to find what one thinks this REALLY means, or how it REALLY is to be understood, or how one REALLY is to understand it, but I am taking each questionable teaching in it's given context without all the apologetics that get hunted down to explain why this teaching will work if properly understood.}

 

^{I think it goes without saying the misery and heartache this simple teaching has caused sincere Bible reading Christians all over the planet and in all ages since it was uttered is without parallel.  All humans get sick and sickness leads to death at times.  We will all die for lack of breath at some point and as we have seen in past postings, God evidently knows and has planned the hour of our deaths anyway.  So I suppose I even question why we would ask for healing since if it is time, it is time.  If it is not time, then I will get better anyway right?}

 

 ^{Sometimes I think one author in the Bible is oblivious to what other authors say and can't match their teachings into one coherent teaching.  I guess that's why we proof-text until we find the answer we need for ourselves and can say, "the Bible tells me so."}

 

^{As well, I know how tempting it is to blast WCG or any church that teaches divine healing, anointing and prayer as per James 5:14-16.  I know the horror stories. But we need to back up a bit and realize it is the BIBLE , the APOSTLES and the EARLY CHURCH that teaches this.  We are just reading it as the inspired word of God, so to speak, and trying to figure out how to apply it and what it means.  Does it mean get anointed, trust God, avoid medical care because it is either or and cannot be both, or what?} 

 

^{Does our standing with God depend on our faith in such matters?  What does this scripture expect Christians to really do and not do?  And since we KNOW in our heart of hearts that the implication of this is IF you do A the B will happen.  When it doesn't, then we agonize over the reasons listed in an earlier posting as to why God did not answer our prayer.  No matter...it is OUR fault and never the fault of the Deity.  He wanted to help but we just didn't hold our mouths right when we asked or something so the answer is no.}  

 

^{Also, I am pleased for those who can feel or know that God healed them of this or that.  A minister distracted me once with a job offer that caused me to miss a flight from LA to Boise Idaho. The plane I missed was hit by a fighter Jet and all died.  Luck?  "Intervention?"  I don't know, but it sure was a cruel joke to save me to go through the rest of the WCG minister experience.} 

 

 ^{Anyone who gets better after asking for healing is not going to dare not to credit the prayer of faith and such with the healing.  We are happy for you.  You can't prove to us you did not luck out or get better anyway.  After all, most don't die anyway each time they get "sick."   I was often asked to anoint for colds and such which of course I did but didn't want to.  I never got anointed for a common cold.  You know the cycle.  I would only get anointed if I felt my sickness could really get out of hand and after all, I was young and did want to live!  I'm still here.} 

 

^{The faithful tend to die in such times and stinkers live forever...}

 

 ^{I had a ministerial assistant once, who announced to the Church during a sermonette that he would either anoint you for sickness OR visit you in the hospital but not both.  I made him take it back and told him he'd be doing both if he was going to work with me. If not, we could arrange for him to work elsewhere.  I always did both and sent many a person to his doc, ER or Hospital for help that was readily available.  I guess my Presbyterian background saved me from some of the more profoundly stupid mistakes others made having grown up in a much smaller theological box as they must have.}  

 

^{However, my point is and what I want to point out is not "how could we be so stupid as to believe Armstrong on this issue," etc...but recognize that it is a very bad teaching of the Bible itself.  It leaves little to interpretation really even though many denominations teach it every way from being a nice idea and quaint to absolute Bible truth that God will judge your faith over.  But it is in the Book.  It is not a confusing statement.  It seems to say what it says and mean what it means.  James does not tell us if that is all we do or just a part of doing all else we can do.}   

 

^{So, to me, and having seen the hurt, fear and shock this teaching not being so as stated has caused, I vote this a bad teaching.  By its fruits I believe we can know it...}

 

Dennis C. Diehl

DenniscDiehl@aol.com

 

Spanky Is Not Happy His Message Is Being Ignored By The World

Davy Crockett from LCG has written an article where he is upset that the world is not paying any attention to Spanky Meredith's message through  LCG's broadcasts and literature.  In his view the world is too stupid to see the truth when it is right before their eyes.

He starts off by quoting Winston Churchill, a favorite of Spanky and COG leaders.

Many wonderful quotations are attributed to Sir Winston Churchill, the great British Prime Minister who had such a profound effect on the 20th century. His irrepressible sense of humor, his tenacity in the face of great danger, his oratory and his writing ability set him apart as an influential historical figure. One quote he is noted for is, “Most people stumble over the truth, now and then, but they usually manage to pick themselves up and go on, anyway.”

Crockett goes on to write about all of the millions of ignorant people in the world who ignore Spanky Meredith and his cult's teachings:

It does seem that Churchill was correct in his assessment—as we so often see when people come into contact with the eternal truths found in the Bible. Millions of people see, hear and read the message of Scripture that the Tomorrow’s World telecast, magazine and Web site present to the world, proclaiming the Gospel of the soon-coming Kingdom of God. This is the same message Jesus Christ taught and the Apostles and earliest Christians spread, and we spread it by Christ’s instruction: “‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Our television program is now seen in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and we now are beginning to reach the Chinese people with television from Hong Kong. Yet, only a relative few people actually respond to these matters of spiritual importance. This was true in the first century, and remains true today.

Perhaps it is because you have absolutely nothing that is worthwhile for humanity to hold on to! Ever thought of that?????

But never fear, the COG bogeyman is ever present and is out to stop the TRUTH from being preached by the "one and only true church restored to earth after 1,970 years." Satan is one busy dude!

Not only do most people ignore or reject Christ’s message, the messengers are often met with resistance and even persecution. The Apostle Paul was harassed and finally arrested and imprisoned for carrying out this commission.

LCG ministers and leaders will soon be imprisoned for preaching Spanky's message.  That is actually what Davey is saying here.

Then he ends with this warning:

Even the most wonderful knowledge is of no value unless it is both recognized and acted upon. How about you? As a viewer and reader of Christ’s message, are you “almost persuaded”? Or, will you muster the courage and conviction to join with us in fulfilling the commission given to us by the Messiah just before He ascended to be with the Father?

If you do not allow yourself to "be persuaded" by LCG then you are turning your back upon their "god" and this thing they call  a "jesus."  You destination is the tribulation!