The Chruch of God has a rich history in disdaining and mocking higher education. It was always labelled higher education as Satan's education in Satan's colleges and schools. Part of that disdain came from Herbert Armstrong being ridiculed by his peers for not having a college education. In his proud, arrogant and boastful mindset, he set about to prove them all wrong by spending countless hours parked in public libraries when he should have been out working at a job and providing for his family. Armstrong also felt that by associating and being seen with highly successful business men, interviewing them and emulating them, would make him look more educated than he actually was.
Church members were conditioned to look upon the Ambassador Colleges as God's colleges and therefore anything outside of Ambassador was Satan's colleges. The teachers at Ambassador went out of their way to reinforce to the students that they were at GOD'S COLLEGE and that their education was something more special and elite than anything they could ever receive in the outside world. That was why they called the Pasadena college the Church of God's version of West Point.
Today in 2017, with several of the splinter groups running one room school house "colleges/universities" in their office buildings, that mindset still prevails.
Doug Winnail is determined to stop that way of thinking, at least in the Living Church of God. Like everything in Armstrongism, there is an ulterior motive to his thinking. With church members being educated in worldly colleges/universities or attending good trade colleges, members would have higher incomes and therefore have more money to send into HQ. Church members should never forget that Meredith and McNair boys need to have expensive yearly paid
The Value of Education: Over the years, some have concluded that getting an education is of little value to Christians. Since Satan is the god of this world, and Christians are commanded to come out of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4; 6:14-18), some have assumed that getting an education in this world is ungodly and/or a waste of time. Such ideas overlook how God has used individuals who were schooled in this world. Moses was raised as a prince in Egypt and was “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” (Acts 7:22). Solomon was knowledgeable in many areas (1 Kings 4:32-34), and he collected wise sayings in the book of Proverbs. Daniel was one of several intelligent young Jewish captives who were educated in Babylon “in the language and literature of the Chaldeans” before they were used by God (Daniel 1:3-4). Paul studied at the feet of Gamaliel, the leading rabbi of his day (Acts 5:34-39; 22:3), before being used by God to write 14 books in the New Testament. Numerous studies show that more education and training in a trade result in larger incomes, and this enables Christians to provide better for their families and support for the Work of the Church. Christians who understand the Truth of God and the Plan of God should take advantage of the opportunities to gain an education and marketable skills that will help them prepare to serve others now and in the Kingdom of God. This is one of the reasons why we developed Living University—to help God’s people prepare to lead and teach in Tomorrow’s World.Have a profitable Sabbath,Douglas S. Winnail
It's always about the money.
