Its interesting to see both United Church of God and Living Church of God seeking to legitimize their "college/university" in the eyes of the world. I remember back in the 70-90's when Ambassador College sought long and hard to be accredited. The first time the accreditation process went down the rabbit hole when Herbert Armstrong went into a screaming fit over it. He felt that the college was giving up too much of its uniqueness and would have to conform to the standards set by the "pagan world and its educational system." Then a while later they were seeking accreditation again. Then it was off again, then it was back on and this time the accreditation committee saw the blatant hypocrisy in the process on the side of Ambassador College/University.
After that epic failure and the rapid collapse of the Worldwide Church of God into numerous splinter personalty cults, accreditation went out the window for good.The Worldwide Church of God faced problems in obtaining accreditation for its ‘Ambassador College’, under the direction of Michael Germano, who was unable to carry out all the changes necessary for accreditation, as he was not given full authority to do so. On refusing its second application in 1970, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges commented that, “The basis of ‘truth’ for Ambassador and its faculty is whether or not facts, information, or ideas agree with their Biblical interpretation ... Science has ‘advanced’ by constant self-criticism. Such a direction does not seem to be open for Ambassador faculty, however. This borders on academic dishonesty.”
Several years later though the three largest splinter personality cults established their own "colleges" Usually nothing more than a couple rooms and a few library books on the second floor of one of the church HQ buildings. Now with flippant arrogance on their side two of these groups are seeking to have their "college/university" accredited.
United Church of God is seeking to have their "college" accredited so that international students can attend. Why they would want to is a mystery when there are other more highly evolved theological institution in the world than UCG's.
Viktor Kubik announced to the General Conference of Elders that the church is considering accreditation for Ambassador Bible College. “Ambassador Bible College will be further developed as a place of biblical learning and training in service and leadership. We’re looking into it being accredited for international students to be able to more easily come and learn as well.”
Living Church of God is also seeking to have their "university" accredited. Michael Germano is heading up this process. After ruling over two previous failed attempts with Ambassador College/University it will be interesting to see if he pulls the rabbit out of the hat this time. This is also the same guy who spoke out debunking British Israelism and now pretends to believe in it. Meeting Rod Meredith realigned him to the truth. or so it seems.
I will be interesting to see how these accrediting committee's enforce broader teaching and scholarship than UCG/LCG are used to. It will be fun to see how they treat evolution instead of trumpeting out idiotic booklets from WCG's glory days as proof it never happened.The Living Church of God’s Living University, under the presidency of Dr. Germano, has gained limited accreditation, so it offers resources that “Living University does not necessarily endorse ... nor vouches for their accuracy.” Church of God News
Intellectual stimulation is not something that the Church of God is known for. Thinking outside the box and reading books outside the COG norm are frowned upon.
Herbert Armstrong had this to say about worldly colleges and education which LCG and UCG are trying to get as close to as possible.
I'm telling you what the world is like. AND CHRIST CAME TO CALL US OUT OF THIS WORLD AND TO BE SEPARATE — NOT TO GO ON INTO IT FURTHER.
Why is it that not only have we found that those students that come here that have had a university education are handicapped? And they are! And they're not humble like they should be. And that we find that those who graduate from here, never having gone to another university, if then they are encouraged to go and get additional degrees, right away they become so very self-important. And they look down on us and they look down that way on Ambassador College — it is of nothing.
University of Southern California, that's very big, that's way up here, UCLA that's way up here, Stanford they're way up there, Harvard, oh, that's bigger yet, Oxford and Cambridge. Ambassador College, oh, that little 'ole thing over there, they believe in Jesus Christ. Well you know if they believe in something like that, that's not scientific. Even God isn't scientific. You know science refers only to those things that are physical and material and Christ is not physical or material neither is God. So what do they think of God? They have nothing but disrespect and contempt for God and for Jesus Christ. AND THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE TAUGHT AND THEY COME TO HAVE THAT ATTITUDE. I'M TALKING OUT; I'M SPEAKING OUT HERE TODAY. THAT'S THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN THIS WORLD.
Real Accreditation
There's one college that has real accreditation in this world and that is Ambassador College in Pasadena, California. And if Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas goes on to be a four year college it'll have that same accreditation.
Well, Jesus started the church by starting with twelve people. How's He going to start the Kingdom of God, that great family of God, that ultimately is going to consist of billions of people? He is going to start that through the church. He is going to start that through the church.
So here we are near the end of Satan's world that started back in the days of Adam, and they started a certain educational system. They started certain kinds of government. The first record that we have so far as I know is that of Nimrod after the flood. And we had, first city states, government of a certain city, and the wars from one city between one city and another. And finally we got into certain nations. And we had the nations of Egypt and Babylonia and of Greece and so on. And then a man named Nebuchadnezzar got a lot of those nations together in the first world empire and government came to be empirical. That was succeeded, it was called the Chaldean Empire or Babylon after its capital city. It was succeeded by the Persian Empire and that by the Greco-Macedonian Empire — split up into four divisions after Alexander died prematurely in a drunken debauch.
And then came the great Roman Empire, it fell in 476 AD and in 554, the Pope at Rome brought Justinian from Constantinople on over to Rome to start the Holy Roman Empire as they called it. That was a sort of resurrection, a rejuvenation of the old Roman Empire. In the meantime there had been the Vandals and the Ostrogoths and the Heruli and they sort of disappeared. We don't know what ever happened to them. The Bible says they were plucked up by the roots and a plant plucked up by the roots is gone. You can't find any record of it any longer and that's the way it was, and that came from Constantinople.
Now I had an experience just on this last trip, just about two weeks ago. In Jerusalem the patriarch, he's younger than I am, but he's the patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church, the Greek Catholic Church. And he came to my suite in the hotel to see me. I thought he might come and I was prepared and I had a gift of Steuben to give to him, but he came with a gift for me. And he presented me, I didn't think; I might have brought it with me and I could show you here today. I think maybe we will show it; I don't know whether to show it or whether to throw it away. Well now, I don't mean any disrespect, I want you to understand what I mean. What he gave me he regarded as something of very great honor. It was a medal that had first been given by, oh what they call him, the great Constantine wasn't it? From Constantinople way back in those days about the fourth or fifth century and it is a fairly large gold cross and it comes with, well I believe it's a ribbon, that will hang around the neck and you can wear it. Course I'm not going to wear it, because it's a pagan symbol that's what I meant, but he doesn't look on it as pagan. And he looks on it as something very great and God does look on the heart. As far as he knows he isn't looking on it as anything wrong now you understand, I don't mean any disrespect and we should respect certain offices even though they are wrong. I tell you I respect the office of Satan, believe it or not, I respect it because I fear it. There is power there.
But so few of those have ever been given. From the first one they have a record of every one ever given. Way back since about the fourth or fifth century or something like that. I think it was Constantine the great who gave the first one. That will go back to the fourth century, 321 AD — 321. And that's the time of the Nicene Council, and the one I have is the, let me see, the one hundred and twenty-first wasn't it, or was it the one thirty-first one that has ever been given in all these years. Well I think that probably we shall put it in our collection of souvenirs and things that have been given, and of perhaps of decorations that have been give me and things of that sort. But anyway, I just thought I would mention it. It was looked upon as a very great honor and I'm sure he meant it that way, so I don't mean any disrespect. I think you understand that.
Armstrong's take on "wordily" education is one of appalling ignorance and outright idiocy. Even so, apparently UCG and LCG prefer to whore themselves out to the "world" they claim to not be a part of.
There is one thing that the Church of God has always been good at - never "doing" what they "preach". Hypocrisy is the name of the game.
