Gerald Weston Wants To Know Who Is Reading LCG''s Literature

Gerald Weston is locking control of LCG even further.  Gone are the days of the public reading LCG magazines on the Internet without first resisting their names and email addresses.  Weston claims that the church is facing a great difficulty in not knowing just how reads their rags.

The Internet is an exciting tool the Church uses to preach the Gospel to the whole world. At the same time, it presents unique challenges. We have always presented the Truth free of charge and will continue to do so; however, when we post everything we have on our Web sites, with no means of knowing who is reading our material, this creates some difficulties. 

This is the excuse he offered.  They cannot create data bases on who responds to their materials so they can contact them later when they get kicked off TV stations due to their heretical content (which has happened.)

For example, we were on television for over four years in Hong Kong until the station ceased operations. During that time, we had thousands of people responding to the telecast by going to our H.K. Web site. And without a cost-effective telephone service, we were not able to capture names, addresses, etc., except for a few hundred that signed up for a monthly e-mail newsletter. We embarked on that initiative as an act of faith, because we are commissioned to go to the whole world. We knew that we would not be able to do things in Hong Kong or China like we do in the “Western” world, but the result is that we have no idea who these people were and no way of contacting them. If we had their e-mail addresses, we could have informed them of a new offer, a new station, or a Tomorrow’s WorldPresentation. The same is true in India, where our primary source for people responding to our telecast is by means of our Web site. 

Several from LCG have written to me stating that this is another form of control of the members.  This tells LCG brass which church members are exactly reading their material.  Weston has always been about control.  Now that Meredith is out of the way, Weston has achieved his goal.  Rough days are ahead for LCG members.

Dave Pack and His Jesus In Wadsworth Scenarios

Dave Pack has been subtle as he inserts into his endless sermon series comments about his Jesus Christ coming to Wadsworth, Ohio where his earthly headquarters will be where he will run the First Dominion along side Dave.

Why would Jesus come to a town in Northern Ohio that is known for nothing more than its blue tip matches?  Of all the places onto entire earth and he picks Wadsworth to return to.  That is about as stupid as claiming JC is returning to Arroyo Grande where the true remnant has its headquarters.  Since both men are lairs, why would Jesus go to either place?

We learned that Christ’s kingdom starts small. He couldn’t start it in a place where He was going to create a giant fire. He started it in the cold, gloomy north and then He’s going to relocate that tiny kingdom that has now grown to Jerusalem, so it can be a world government. I don’t know, brethren, why I read all those parables…I can’t speak for all the other ministers who are not here…I don’t know why I read all those parables, or Mr. Armstrong read them, that say the kingdom would start in a tiny, concealed way and didn’t see it for what it said.

Is the CGI Jamaica Showing the COG's How To Really Do Church?

Ian Boyne, from the Church of God, International based in Jamaica, has sent in the following story about his Jamaica congregation.

We have reported on many instances how many COG congregations are losing members.  Ian wants to demonstrate that this is not always true for some COG congregations.  He has stated in the past that he is preaching "Reformed Armstrongism," an improved way of doing church without all of the negative aspects that weigh down most all the various splinter groups today.

While many of us may feel that the best reform Armstrongism could have is to be totally disbanded, there are some who see otherwise.  If the legalism, abuse, and control of members lives are eliminated and true spiritual growth can be had that allows doubt and questions to have a place in members lives, then perhaps there is a chance for something good to develop.  If that is the case then it needs to totally sever ties to Armstrongism by acknowledging the past with all of the mistakes and pledging to never allow it to happen again.  Good fruit only comes from good trees.

317 ATTEND CAMPAIGN IN KINGSTON CGI CONGREGATION

BY IAN BOYNE

“Should You Keep the Sabbath?”  was  the campaign topic which brought out 114 visitors last weekend, in the Kingston  Church of God, International congregation, making it a total   attendance of 317.   I spoke for two hours(sure to draw comments here!)  with everyone sitting in rapt attention and  afterward I answered questions for another hour. 

We are certainly bucking the trend reported here of low  attendance figures at COG  campaigns. 

We went Facebook live with the campaign, pulling in initially over 2,000 views.   Much  interest had been generated in the campaign following the dramatic resignation of a former  high-ranking Seventh-Day Adventist  scholar , and professor ,Dr. Clinton Baldwin, who was  trained at the SDA’s leading seminary, Andrews University  in  Berrien Springs,  Michigan . He had announced his resignation on my popular television show Religious Hardtalk, which features controversial religious topics. 

Baldwin, an Adventist for over 50 years who pastored 33 churches,  had challenged Adventists on the issue of the Sabbath and stirred quite a controversy in the SDA church, which is Jamaica’s largest  denomination.  We  used the opportunity of this interest to arrange a campaign which drew out  many prominent Adventists,  including ministers and elders who wanted answers to counter Baldwin. It was also an opportunity to present the holydays to this audience,  as this Sabbath (June 3)  there will be a follow-up presentation on “Why you Should Keep the Holydays”. 

On Monday night I  had  a follow-up to the Sabbath presentation going into Col 2: 16, Galatians, (particularly Galatians 4), Romans 14 as well as arguments about the Resurrection appearances of Jesus and  the first day  in  Scripture. I quoted from a number of scholars, all non-Sabbatarians,  to  to question traditional anti-Sabbatarian exegesis.   

Last  Sabbath I dealt with  the main lines of arguments against Sabbath-keeping, providing a detailed reply to them and making a  strong  case that the use  of Sabbatismos in Hebrews 4 argues convincingly for the continuity and restatement  of the seventh-day Sabbath. Many commented to me that they were very impressed with the quality of the argumentation. 

On Pentecost we will also have another campaign and  will host an entire congregation of Church of God 7^th Day believers  for them to  hear  the case for why this is not  the only day of salvation and  how the feast days  picture  God’s plan of opening up salvation to all. CGI Jamaica  is excited about  its  evangelism  thrust    and  the bretheren are on fire  to share  the true  Gospel.  

Bob Thiel weighs in on the death of Batman

Adam West has died.  West was the  Batman that most of us grew up with...unless you had some asswipe of a minister that said it was dancing with demons to watch his show.

Almost-arrested Elisha, Elijah, Joshua, Famous Amos, Habakkuk, Second witless witness, future martyr, and the most disappointing "son" Rod Meredith could have ever had, wants to assure every one of us and all of the deceived people of the world that Adam West will have a place in Thiel's kingdom.

Elijah Theil relates a story where he and his wife saw Adam West speak years ago and then goes on to wonder if West was a Christian.

While I rarely post about the death of American celebrities, since it has been a long time since I did so, I thought I would today.

As far as Adam West goes, I do remember him when I was very young playing Batman on television. A couple of years ago, essentially by accident, my wife and I saw him live at an event in San Luis Obispo we were attending. He spent time discussing his life and his career. He also discussed that he played the Batman character the way he did because Batman was simply a comic-strip character and he felt he portrayed that angle in his acting. I do not recall him mentioning anything about religion, but do remember him wanting to have a ‘star’ on the Hollywood walk of fame. At the time he did not have one. As it turned out, he later got one, and by chance my wife and I saw it when we stopped in Hollywood on our way back from a trip to San Diego a few months ago. 

As I mentioned, Adam West did not discuss religion when we saw him. Perhaps he had some type of Christian faith, perhaps not. 

If not, is he and the others like him  doomed? 

No. 

He then jumps to one of the most idiotic comments he could make about West.  Thiel speculates that West may or may have not blasphemed the Holy Spirit.  Who in their right mind thinks of that kind of stuff when they hear someone has died. Only a self-righteous Church of God hypocrite, apparently.

Jesus taught:

31 Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come (Matthew 12:31-32).

It is reasonable to conclude that Adam West (and most others who have already died) did not commit true blasphemy against the Spirit, so can be forgiven.

The only people I have ever seen "blaspheme the spirit" have been self-appointed Church of God leaders who lie and claim that God has personally set them apart to be his right-hand man.  These men claim that through dreams, visions, and nightmares, that their god speaks to them by the power of the Holy Spirit.  I can state for a fact that no "Holy Spirit" has ever spoken to these men or guided them.  When they lie like this, then who really is the one blaspheming the Spirit?  It certainly is not Adam West!

He then ends his Thiel spiel with this:

My prayers go out to his family. 

Initially, I was not going to cover Adam West’s death at this page, but then decided that some might be interested in understanding how we in the Continuing Church of God view the fate of for those that died and are not part of the true Church of God.

The greatest blessing Adam West has to his credit is to have never been a part of the Church of God or to have ever heard of Bob Thiel and his personality cult.