Grumpy COG False Prophet Upset Over Philadelphia PA's Mummers Parade

Bobby Downer is back with his prophetic bloomers all in a twist today over the New Years Day Mummers Parade in Philadelphia PA. Bitter Bob Thiel says all of the men. women and children who dress in costumes to have fun on a cold winter day are all worshippers of Saturnalia.  I'm pretty sure Almost-ordained Bob imagines them sacrificing those children on fires afterwards.

Of course, those who have looked into the whole ‘Christmas/New Years’ season realize that Jesus was not born on December 25th and that the dates and many observances were modifications from pagan practices. Mummers parades seem to be an offshoot of that. 

Those who have looked into the Bible realize that neither Saturnalia, Mummers, Mithras, or Christmas observances are biblical. Because of their connections to paganism and distortions to God’s plan as revealed in His Holy Days, they should not be kept by Christians. 

Early Christians did not even celebrate birthdays of any type, and certainly none to honor sun-gods or other pagan deities.

Almost-arrested Bob also had this to say about Christmas the Church of God Feast of Tabernacles:

In ancient Babylon, the feast of the Son of Isis (Goddess of Nature) was celebrated on December 25. Raucous partying, gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were traditions of this feast.

I have seen more raucous partying, gluttonous eating and drinking and gift giving at the Feast of Tabernacles than I have ever seen people in my neighborhood or at church do.  Having worked ministerial dining rooms in Pasadena and other Feast sites I can testify that the COG ministry LOVES its alcohol! 

Elijah Amos Thiel needs to get this own house in order before he starts condemning others for perceived imperfections.  Lying that God has set him apart from all other COG's to start a new church that has the only inside track to salvation or Petra, is far worse than some playful fun on New Years Day.

Jamaica Gleaner: The Miracle of Ian Boyne

Ian and his family

See: Ian Boyne...30 Years of Profile

"Boyne was excited to share the discovery that ‘Profile’ may possibly have the distinction of being the second longest programme with a single host in the world."

"With ‘Profile’, Boyne emphasises that especially in today’s crazy and chaotic society where selfishness and self serving individuals are almost the norm, people need an outlet where they can see the other side. Where they can witness stories of individuals who are philanthropic; who beat their demons; who rise about their circumstance and are winners in their own right and chosen field of endeavour. This is why after three decades, ‘Profile” still has such immense appeal."

Editorial | The Miracle Of Ian Boyne

Published:Tuesday | December 19, 2017 | 12:02 AM

A week ago, having emerged from an induced coma and appearing to be on the mend from a heart attack, Ian Boyne, a man of deep religious faith, declared himself to be a miracle. It was for the fact that he was alive and looking forward to return to his job as a journalist.

Mr Boyne, 60, died yesterday. Some people might claim that he spoke prematurely. But from the perspective of a secularist, he may, indeed, have been a miracle - in the sense of being a man of deep and varied intellectual interests, with a capacity for sustained and concentrated effort which, for more than 40 years, he shared with Jamaicans through his journalism.

There were two critical elements to Ian Boyne's journalism, especially in the columns he wrote for The Sunday Gleaner and the discussion programmes he hosted on television: he was laden with facts and, generally, was open to debate. He may have been intellectually vain, as some will no doubt argue, but his larger aim was to stimulate discourse, hoping it would redound to the benefit of Jamaica.

Ian Boyne was not partisan, but ideological, in the sense that he brought to his journalism a specific, and, in many respects, a distinct perspective. At one level, he is a product of the times in which he came of age: the ideological period of the 1970s, when the Left and the Right contended for primacy.

Of a fashion, he was of the Left. His pronouncements were empathetic to a state that intervened on behalf of its most vulnerable citizens, and against the notion that the market had all the best answers to the organisation of an economy. So, in recent years, he often inveighed against the Washington Consensus.

But his was an ideology that wasn't the outcome merely of rational, secular empiricism. Mr Boyne, too, was a Christian scholar and pastor who ran a church. His viewpoints were shaped as much by the Bible as by the writings of the philosophers, humanists, ethicists, foreign-policy analysts, and others he so readily imbibed and often quoted in his columns, which often elicited playful ribbing from follow columnist Gordon Robinson, who conferred on his the sobriquet, 'Booklist Boyne'.

Further down in the article this was said:

...he, for 30 years, produced a weekly television programme in which he interviewed Jamaicans who had mostly risen from poverty or other adversity to positions of prominence and power. Critics will perhaps claim that some of these interviews were filled with saccharine sentimentality, but there can be little doubt that they were mostly uplifting and offered hope.

As a theologian whose entry in biblical disquisition started in Herbert Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God and the fragmentations therefrom, Ian Boyne was willing to debate the worth and value of Christianity - and other religions - in a secular world and to put these on show in his television, programme, 'Religious Hardtalk'.

Mr Boyne had a passion for Jamaican music of the 1960s and '70s and could hold erudite arguments about the artistes of the day, even as he vehemently decried the nihilism of the lyrics of many of today's dancehall performers, who, he believed, contributed to the coarsening of Jamaican society.

Another side of Ian Boyne is that he was mostly self-taught. He would have been a fine subject of one his 'Profile' interviews, to explore the basis of his catholic interests and from whence the will, or miracle, for their achievement.

It is a rare thing for a follower of a person with ties to Armstrongism to receive such public praise.  No minister or church leader has ever been "willing to debate the worth of and value of Christianity - and other religions..."   I wish I had been able to have more contact with Ian than I did.

Ian Boyne Dies!

The shocking news from Jamaica is that Ian has died.  Ian was the only COG minister who had the integrity to talk across the aisle with those he disagreed with and also had the wherewithal to acknowledge that Armstrongism was fatally flawed and needed to be reinvented it is to survive.  He knew firsthand how Thiel, Flurry, Pack, Malm and others were ripping members lives apart with their legalism and outright lies.

I had several discussions with Ian over the last couple of years and we were both surprised at the things we agreed upon.  Many times he said he was almost getting to the point of being borderline agnostic at times.  Eh was widely read in his interests in books which included books on atheism, evolution, cults and other issues.

RJRNews had this to say:

Ian Boyne is dead

Veteran Journalist Ian Boyne is dead.

Mr. Boyne died this morning at the University Hospital of West Indies in St. Andrew.

Mr. Boyne was hospitalised earlier this month and was released shortly after.

He was host of Profile and Religious Hardtalk, aired on our sister station Television Jamaica (TVJ), as well as a columnist for the Sunday Gleaner.

In his early years, Ian Boyne worked with the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), then known as the Agency for Public Information (API) in the seventies.

He also worked for various public sector agencies, serving the Government of Jamaica in the area of public information. 

He returned to the JIS at the turn of the century and at the time of his death was the agency's Deputy Executive Director. There, he hosted the agency's interview programme, Issues and Answers.

Ian Boyne was perhaps best known as host of Television Jamaica's long running  interview show, Profile, which started in the early 80s on the predecessor station, JBC TV, and for his weekly column in the Sunday Gleaner.

His interview with eight time Olympic Gold Medalist Usain Bolt is one of his most memorable on Profile. 

A decade and a half ago, he was asked to host Religious Hardtalk, a new programme on RJR94 FM. 

Shock And Grief ... Social Media Reactions To Ian Boyne's Passing

There has been an outpouring of shock and grief on social media following the passing of veteran journalist Ian Boyne.‎Boyne passed away in hospital this morning after a brief illness. 

He had only recently suffered a series of heart attacks and was at home recovering but had to be readmitted on the weekend. 

Here are some of the comments posted on Twitter: 

@AndrewHolnessJM: It is with deep sadness that I acknowledge the death of veteran journalist and a true friend Ian Boyne. This is a shock to me. I will make a statement soon. 

@karendmadden: Even Jamaica's dancehall referenced Ian Boyne. Man crossed every walk of life. 

Cordel Green: "He held a neutral space in a polarised environment. He leaves a legacy which will serve as a solid guidance and foundation of reliable quality and substance."
@VicMelhadoDaley: A phenomenal journalist and legend has passed but has left a great legacy behind; may his soul RIP. #Condolences to his family.  

@kryticalmind: Waking up to such disheartening news about Mr. Boyne. He fed families with inspiration through the profiles of Jamaican and Black Excellence. Immeasurable impact on the psyche and aspirations of many, including my own. A life well spent and well lived, Ian.  

@yaneekpage: I can’t even process the magnitude of this loss for Jamaica. Devastated. Rest well Ian Boyne  More here: Jamaica Gleaner