LCG: Just Who Are The "Real" Christians Being Persecuted?

Today, the Living Church of God had their weekly newsletter go out and one of it's headlines is persecution of Christians in the middle east. That might be eye catching to mainstream Christians who read this, but this is the Living Church of God who does not consider  anyone outside the Living Church of God to be true Christians.  Anyone who is not a Sabbath keeping, holy day keeping, kosher eating Christian is NOT considered to be a true Christian.  Just look at the drivel Bob Thiel writes and you will see this teaching is quit predominate. All I can say is THANK YOU Bob Thiel for being the OFFICIAL mouthpiece for the Living Church of God. Thanks to YOUR writings the truth is out there!

So who is LCG really referring to in this post?  Is it the Coptic Christians in Egypt who are being murdered?  Iranian Christians? Egyptian Christians?  LCG's own self -righteous prophet damns all these people as fake so-called Christians which immediately puts them outside God's protection. So just WHO is LCG talking about here since they call these people "so-called Christians?"

Why doesn't the Living Church of God include a preface in their "news report" and clarify that there are no Christians outside the Living Church of God and that the  Christians being discussed here will actually be LCG members at some time in the future.  Armstrongite teachings clearly states that Satan hates the true Christians in the Church of God and will attempt to kill them until they are taken to the place of safety. Regular Sunday Christians are mere dung in God's sight.

War against Christians in the Middle East.

Source: CIA World Factbook

Newsweek magazine recently reported that "Terrorist attacks on Christians in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia increased 309% from 2003 to 2010." The article described how Christians in the Middle East are being attacked and suffering for their religious views. The author's rhetoric is more alarming than one would expect from the mainstream press. "Christians are being killed in the Islamic world because of their religion. It is a rising genocide that ought to provoke global alarm... [it is] the conspiracy of silence... Nothing less than the fate of Christianity--and ultimately of all religious minorities--in the Islamic world is at stake... It is a spontaneous expression of anti-Christian animus by Muslims that transcends cultures, regions and ethnicities" (Newsweek, February 13, 2012). The Bible reveals that Satan's society at the end of the age will hate followers of Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:9). In fact, Jesus said the world would hate His disciples, because they are of Him (John 17:14). The prophet Daniel reveals that in the last days, a predominantly Muslim King of the South will "push against" a predominantly "Christian" King of the North but will be overcome by the King of the North (see Daniel 11).
The recent surge in violence and intolerance against Christians could be one of the ways the King of the South will attempt to "push against" the North. This aggression against Christians in the Middle East will likely generate a backlash from the future Catholic European Beast Power. For more information on this long-prophesied confrontation, please review our booklet, The Beast of Revelation.

"If The Vision Is Big Enough, Then Facts Don't Matter!"

I don't think this is a splinter group of the old WCG, but just a group that took WCG's name and incorporated into theirs.

Nor do I think they realize how appropriate their web page banner is in it's description of Armstrongism.  Though HWA's vision was grand, it is quit obvious now that facts NEVER mattered!  Though Dave Pack's and Gerald Flurry's vision may be big, facts have never mattered.

Oh wait, that seems to be what's wrong with most of Christianity!  Facts never matter. Fluff, literalism, speculation, false prophecies, bigotry, homophobia, racism, stupid apostles and aberrant doctrines do.

It sure sounds like a happening group!  One Accord Worldwide Church of God, Inc.

"Apostle Wesley is a SPIRITUAL PARAMEDIC that helps resuscitate them back to life by providing a healing and delivering WORD of GOD.

"In January 2012, Friendship Worldwide Fellowship Ministries merged with One Accord Holiness Church; thus creating One Accord Worldwide Church of God, Inc., where the Presiding Bishop is Dr. John D. Wesley and Apostle serves as the Diocesan."

"

New Book: The End Will Be Graphic: Apocalyptic in Comic Books and Graphic Novels

There is a new book being published that discusses the graphics used by different illustrators to portray the end of the world.  One of those artists featured is Basil Wolverton.  Wolverton is the one who created teh nightmare inducing graphics for the children Bible Story books for WCG.

More info is here:  The End Will Be Graphic Apocalyptic in Comic Books and Graphic Novels

The End Will Be Graphic
Apocalyptic in Comic Books and Graphic Novels
Edited by Dan W. Clanton, Jr

This collection is based on the premise that apocalyptic imagery and themes pervade not only cultural products that employ specifically biblical imagery, but are also found in media that do not purport to impart biblical or even religious messages. Comic books and graphic novels are the focus here because, it is suggested, they are the medium that comes the closest to the imaginative malleability found in the history of biblical interpretation.

In Part One, the focus is on Indie/Creator-Owned works. Emily Laycock demonstrates the overwhelming influence of Herbert W. Armstrong and his apocalyptic Worldwide Church of God on Basil Wolverton’s work, especially his biblical art. Aaron Kashtan then introduces us to Kevin Huizenga’s short story, “Jeepers Jacobs,” in which the title character—a theologian whose main area of research is the Christian doctrine of Hell—tries to convert an acquaintance with odd and fatal results. In her chapter, Diana Green examines Alan Moore’s Promethea, a character whose purpose is to initiate an Apocalypse but whose journey is much more complicated. Finally, A. David Lewis engages humorous and profane examples of apocalyptic imagery in the recent Indie comics Battle Pope and The Chronicles of Wormwood.

Part Two examines more mainstream works and begins with Terry Ray Clark’s adroit examination of how Kingdom Come utilizes both the functions and forms of ancient apocalyptic literature. Greg Stevenson then analyses a variety of texts—including X-Men: The Age of Apocalypse and issues #666 of Superman and Batman—to discern the way(s) in which the mythological language of apocalyptic and the mythology of superheroes interact. And finally, Greg Garrett provides a broad and thoughtful rumination on the two most widely read mainstream comics that deal with the End of Days: Kingdom Come and Watchmen.

This is a volume in the series Apocalypse and Popular Culture (see Howard, Network Apocalypse, Gribben and Sweetnam, Left Behind and the Evangelical Imagination, Walliss and Quinby, Reel Revelations, Partridge).

Dan W. Clanton, Jr, is Assistant Professor of Religion at Doane College, Crete, Nebraska.

Mike Swagerty Thesis On Decline In Church Attendance

This may interest some here.  I have not read through most of it.  Mainstream Christianity has been going through a gradual decline over the last several years.  Evangelicals are the latest taking a hit.  People are tired of the hypocrisy, bigotry, legalism and other things they see wrong and are jumping ship.

While Swagerty claims to have written this geared towards all churches who are suffering from this decline, I have to wonder if the main reason for this paper was the continuing decline of the GCI/WCG membership.

It was thought for many years that the church would grow dramatically after the dust had settled after the changes.  People would be in awe of us and want to join.  It hasn't happened.  A few years ago GCI/WCG was closing down a church a week.  What membership it has now, is made up of current and former members who may be returning.  New ones, with no connection to Armstrongism, are few in number.

I don't care to weed through his thesis, but some may.

Mike Swagerty: Church Growth in America: Whose Responsibility Is It?

Theological House of Cards

Check out this story of a woman who went through the WCG changes, left the church came back, spent ten years in GCI and then left again.

Sandy Blank went through the big doctrinal changes in the Worldwide Church of God, became thoroughly disillusioned, and walked out. After having a powerful conversion experience she went back to Worldwide (now Grace Communion International) to try to make a difference, but left again after 10 years. In “My Theological House” she describes her experience using a punchy metaphor that captures the feeling of desolation that comes from leaving a Bible-based cult.

Her entry is here:  My Theological House