Tomorrows World: What It Means to Be Equal With God

"We will counsel and advise our Creator Father - we will have suggestions and opinions which will actually help God the Father"

Unbelievably, this is what we taught as the truth. That we would be EQUAL with God. And this was our aspiration - to rise to the level of which we had the ability to counsel God. 

Robert Kuhn wrote this article in 1971 in the "Tomorrow's World magazine". In the article Robert argues:

• Human beings would become individual personalities in "the God Family". 
• We were born with the express purpose of becoming equal with the Creator of the Universe
• We will become qualitatively equal with God, not quantitatively equal with God. 
• Being equal has nothing to do with power, intelligence, authority
• We will be changed into new, individual "God-Beings"

Read the entire article here: What It Means To Be Equal With God

Let's discuss this. 

Do you feel this was blasphemous? On track? Was this Satan's sin, or was this some kind of new inspiration? When you see this title, what is the first thing that comes into your mind? 

This doctrine was at the core of Armstrongism and is still taught by some of the Splinter groups today. As such, it's worthy to delve into. 

submitted by SHT

When Unconverted People Drop In, Let's Talk About All The Bad Stuff Going on!

Oh, the pangs of trying to keep the Law exactly. 

Unconverted friends (well, that's the first problem, isn't it) come over on the Sabbath. And the first thought is to dismiss them. But no one wants to do that. So, they do what every good COG person does - writes headquarters. 

The first suggestion? Guide the conversation to be constructive - like talking about World News. 

This had to have gone over well.

"Hi, Marcia! We'd just thought we'd drop over and see how your family is doing!"

"Oh, HI, Karen! We're doing great!"

"Good to hear! Hey, did you watch that episode of ______ Thursday night? What a hoot! When Billy Bob went...."

"Oh, Karen, yes, but let's talk about Beirut. Did you see what happened in Beirut? What an incursion!"

"...why would I want to talk about Beirut? Anyways, Billy Bob was SO funny! he..."

"Sixty five troops stepped over a mine and, oh yes, did you hear about the..."

I guess it'd be fun to see how that one went, wouldn't it? 

"Hey, did you hear about that episode of _____ Thursday night? What a hoot! When Billy Bob went...."

"Oh yes, he did go to the bar, I remember. And in the scriptures, it talks about the appearance of evil. See, it's right here, look here...."

Yes, it's keeping the Sabbath that sets you apart from everybody else, they teach. So no one needs to know this - tell your guests only the minimum about it. Can't have everyone set apart - they won't understand it anyway. But do tell them it's just not the day to socialize. 

"Hey did you hear about that episode of __________ Thutrsday night? What a hoot! When Billy Bob went..."

"Yeah, I heard about it, hey, this really isn't the day to socialize, I'm sorry, why not come back tomorrow..."

"We believe in the Sabbath, so yeah, I don't want to see you today."

This is my command, that you love one another, Jesus says.  

Just not today. 

(Letter Answering Department, 1961)

guest writer: SHT

Duplicity and Double Standards In The Church

article submitted by SHT

The Duplicity and Double Standard of Herbert Armstrong was prevalent in the life of Herbert Armstrong and his subjects in the Church. To illustrate the example of Herbert's "It's OK for me, but not for you" standards, allow me to illustrate two examples.

The first example I wish to bring forth is Herbert's divorce from Ramona back in the early 1980s. Herbert went through quite the ordeal with his short marriage with Ramona. But it was not unlike the many divorces that were not permitted in the church by others who had much of the same common situations as Herbert. 

Let's look at the culmination of the marital struggles with Herbert's acknowledgement of the situation to the brethren from a Co-Worker letter that was sent to the church. 

EXAMPLE 1: Divorce. 

But with deepest regret I have to say to you now, Mrs. Ramona Armstrong has refused to be at my side here in Pasadena headquarters or in further travel, but has insisted on living separately in Tucson. It has been determined by events, facts and fruits that I am not spiritually bound by God and only by man's law of this world.  Circumstances now render it ill-advised that I condone the continuation of the legal marriage, both from the Church point of view and of my own. It was my hope and effort to resolve the matter, and with the least publicity possible, for the benefit of the Church, for her and for myself. All attempts to do so have failed. It has therefore become necessary that I accede to the advice of Church legal counsel and file the necessary legal proceedings. I assure you every effort has been made, at cost of heavy stress on me personally, to avoid this.

   God HATES divorce. So do I. I have gone to every effort to prevent this. It would be inappropriate at this time that I state all the facts, but if necessary and proper later, I will reveal more.

   This matter of marriage and divorce has been of very serious concern to the Church, and to me personally. I had never known of a divorce in my own family as far back as I have record or knowledge. I lived 50 years with the wife of my youth — happily. I have made every effort to avoid this action that I hate. You may be sure, of course, that it is not taken except after every effort, continuous heartrending prayer, and completely in accordance with God's Word and teaching, and the teaching of God's Church, especially I Corinthians 7:12-lS.

   This determination SHOULD NOT BE USED AS A PRECEDENT TO ENCOURAGE OR JUSTIFY OTHER DIVORCES IN THE CHURCH.

With this example, Herbert's marriage to Ramona was deemed as "not spiritually bound by God". However. It is clear that if the exact same situations were to occur in marriages within the Church, then this decision "should not be used as a precedent...to justify other divorces". That's the definition of a double standard right there. It's ok for "me", but if you end up in the same situation, to you, it's sin.

I used the word "sin" because if someone goes against the minister and does it anyway, then it's rebellion against Government, rebellion against Church doctrine, and could get you in "trouble" for divorcing anyway if you were "advised" not to. 

Thirdly, if it is completely in accordance with God's Words and teaching, then why is it not precedent? 

Let's now look at the second example on baptism. 

Herbert Armstrong was baptized in a Baptist Church. Herbert says that through that baptism, he received God's Holy Spirit. 

Let's keep in mind that Herbert Armstrong regarded Baptist Churches as deceived, satanic, and cut-off from God. This, and of course, all other protestant, catholic - even Seventh-Day and Jehovah's Witnesses included in this mass judgement. Yet he, Herbert's baptism was deemed valid. But the official teachings of the Church taught differently:

EXAMPLE 2: Baptism

 However, notice that the one performing the baptism ceremony was a representative (though not necessarily an ordained minister) of the true Church of God in every New Testament case. This was the Church Jesus founded (Matthew 16:18).(All About Water Baptism)

If this was true, then Herbert was the very first exception to the rule, wasn't he? No Baptist minister was a representative of what Herbert considered an ordained minister of the true Church of God. 

   Yes, SATAN HAS SUBSTITUTED A FALSE CHRIST AND DIABOLICAL CUSTOMS. THOSE WHO OBSERVE THESE PAGAN CUSTOMS AND REJECT THE TEACHING OF CHRIST SHOW BY THEIR ACTION THAT THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT SALVATION REALLY IS! Satan has substituted a false baptism — a mechanical act which does not signify the burying of the old self. He has perverted the teaching of God that man must repent. - C Paul Meredith, Counterfeit Baptism Today

Here, the argument is made that Satan has substituted a "false Christ" by those who "Observe these pagan customs". 

There can be no argument made that the Baptist Church is most certainly classified as one of the churches that Herbert would regard himself as a church that "observes pagan customs". Therefore, by the Church's standard, Herbert was baptized in what the church taught, and what he considered a pagan church with a false baptism - especially since the Baptizer was not representative of "the true church of God". 

       After baptism in a worldly church, such people don't immediately begin to study and UNDERSTAND the Bible. They just continue to go along with the customs, the ways and the traditions of their friends and of this world. Their lives are not actually CHANGED. They don't come to personally KNOW GOD! Such people have NOT TRULY REPENTED, and their baptism was probably not valid! Their's was only a ritualistic "dunking" in the water. If you are wondering about your baptism, ask yourself WHY you were baptized in the first place. Were you baptized simply because many of the members of your family were baptized, and you felt looked down upon, or had that "left out" feeling? Did you stand in the water and go through the ordinance of baptism simply to "join" the group with whom you had been fellowshipping? Were you baptized because you temporarily thought it was the "right thing to do?"    If you were baptized for ANY of these reasons — YOUR BAPTISM WAS PROBABLY NOT A VALID BAPTISM,

The only reason in this missive why they had to add the word "probably" was because they were well aware of the fact Herbert was baptized in just such a church. Yet, because the belief was Herbert was the only one who understood, changed, and repented, his was deemed valid. However. I can find no example of any other person who was baptized in a "worldly church" who's baptism was deemed valid - except Herbert Armstrong. 

Yet, what was said to those with questions from the staff of the Plain Truth (ministry) who had been baptized into a worldly church?

You need to really repent and be baptized into Christ by a true servant of God in order to receive the Holy Spirit and be added to the body of Christ — the true Church (I Cor. 12:13).- Plain Truth Staff (The Bible Answers Short Questions From Our Readers)

Which goes back to what was quoted earlier - they according to the Church, there has never been an example where the baptism ceremony was not conducted by a representative of "the true church". 

Except Herbert Armstrong, the first one to do so by being baptized in a Baptist Church by a Baptist Minister. 

By the Church's own doctrine, then, Herbert should have been judged to have been baptized by what he considered and taught as a false, satanic, pagan church, breaking the entire baptismal succession of true ministers in the true church baptism according to the New Testament, and received a "false christ" in a "false baptism". 

Of course, since it's Herbert's Church, he was the exception to the rule, just like with the divorce from Ramona. 

This didn't stop just with these two examples. There have been many documented examples of the same duplicity in many other examples. So what was a person to do if they caught Herbert doing something that he told everyone else not to do? 

Say nothing, turn around, support Herbert Armstrong, and above all - tread carefully. 

Could this be why the current crop of Splinter Leaders think they can get away with so much? Because Herbert did it, and since Herbert did it, it must be okay? Following Herbert Armstrong as an example is a sure way to go down the road of wickedness and corruption. An idolatrous and hellish way to go - a rotten way and an attitude that Jesus himself warned repeatedly against.

"Think I'll Go Home Now..."

It's time.

With the recent, ironic to me and tragic death of my sister and a few other realities that came calling, I have come to realize it's time to move on. When the student is ready, the teach will come and all that. 

Fifteen years of messy, painful and costly transitions are enough. The losses have been great and the consequences of my own decisions in life are ever with me.

 I've gotten my life and mind up into the present which is all there really is and that's something for me as a minister who soaked in two and three thousand year old texts, as if they knew  and "prophecy come alive", again, as if they knew, taking me into another's vision of the future. Neither location is real and not places to spend one's real time, the present,  in our short lives.  

Our regrets give credence to this being so. 

  What inspires my life?  This does...

It's been a trip. The stages of grief played out in full and ending now in acceptance of what now is what is the most healthy for me to recognize.  

Thank you all for allowing me to get to know you, your stories and perspectives. Thank you for listening to mine and while we may all have come to different places in our journey out what I have seen as pious convictions based on marginal information, it's in the sharing and compassion for the experiences of each and not the agreeing we find our common ground.

Thank you Gary for giving me a place to process my journey as member, minister and man and for exposing us all to the experiences of others. We'll say in touch of course.  

I am at peace here in Portland and have come full circle now in my journey into and out of the WCG. My best wishes to ALL of us. I have learned much from you and hope that in someway you have learned something of value from myself and the interests I put on hold or was simply in denial over when towing the party line of religion...

Live, Laugh, Love

I'm content with these things being so and as they are. It is truly amazing and, to me, of much greater inspiration than having to live with all of you guys in the Wonderful World Tomorrow  LOL  :)

Don't miss your actual life ...

My favorite "scripture"

“Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing”

Thomas Henry Huxley

Thank you once again and may peace go with you all in your continuing journeys. 

It's A Different "World Tomorrow" Than We Anticipated in 1985!

It's Almost Feast Time Again for many. But It's A Different World Than It Was in 1985. And what we all expected never happened. 

We've heard it all our lives. We're all going to enter into the Wonderful World Tomorrow. Lions will be tamed, peace will be everywhere, everyone will keep the Law. The Worldwide Church of God will rule the world under Herbert Armstrong, and all the church members will rule and reign with him for a thousand wonderful, amazing, utopian years, keeping the Law and the Holy Days and forcing all to do so with a rod of iron. Well, Until that was made absolutely impossible for that to happen in just a couple of decades from September of 1985. Boom goes the dynamite, and the Church ran like melancholy sparrows or lonely pelicans smacked by a volley of roman candles. 

Things are different now. There's no Worldwide Church of God as we knew it. Herbert's long gone. Scattered remnant ministers continue to try to make a work, work, and some remnant members who try to be ministers try to make a... well, whatever they're trying to do. I still haven't figured out what that is. I'm not sure they have either.

of course, we all are aware that we are very fast approaching the annual Feast of Tabernacles for those who celebrate the Fall Holy Days in the Churches of God. Many people will be going to and fro to extremely diverse locations, meeting in various hotels, homes, campgrounds, and living rooms.A few might get a hall! One or two, a BIG hall! It was a far different picture decades ago when we met at large sports arenas, conference centers, islands and cruise ships - all 140,000+ of us, all in one church, all looking forward to ONE World Tomorrow under ONE apostle in a church body called the Worldwide Church of God that we believed as a physical corporation the gates of hell could never prevail against (see the Receivership of the late 1970s to early 1980s to get this picture.)

(Photo from the Envoy, 1970s, 

Lake of the Ozarks, Feast of Tabernacles) 

At that point of time, many of us believed that Herbert Armstrong would miraculously recover and would not die, that Gerald Waterhouse was speaking fascinating, deep truths (ok, a few of us thought that), and that Jesus was delaying his return because the brethren were just not ready. Nonetheless, it was an exciting, festive, and unforgettable convention for so many of us - particularly those of us who were tenfold bought into the Armstrong Theology System.

Many were teenagers at the time. Many regarded Herbert Armstrong as God's Apostle. And many regarded the ministry as the authoritative word of God. So what exactly were the teenagers of the Worldwide Church of God told in the last few months of Herbert Armstrong's reign in the Worldwide Church?

The teenagers were told that the World Tomorrow was for the Children of the Church in 1985. An article was written in the Good News of September 1985 by Frank Nelte - which set up entirely incorrect expectations for the teenagers of the time. I'll quote some paragraphs. 

"The members of God's Church will then be Spirit beings. We'll be part of God's Family, assisting Jesus Christ in governing and teaching that perfect world. We will see to it that Christ's instructions are carried out to the last detail. But we will not be the ones to do the physical building of that society, nor will we be the ones who will benefit most from the ideal physical environment."

Here, we have the statement that the then-current (in 1985) members of the Worldwide Church of God would be transformed into Spirit beings - managerial assistants who's job is to "see to it" that the instructions of Christ are carried out to the exact detail. I can see in my mind glorified, brightly-shining spirit entities sitting on little thrones, legs crossed, holding a spirit drink and a spirit microphone, watching down below as they bark order after order received from upper management. Wait! I think I did see that actually... Wasn't that what Dave Pack was doing wearing a white shirt staring down at his workers, barking out order after order in his office up high? Of course, it was! After all, that was the Church's teachings!

"The actual restoring of the old wastes, the planting and reaping of bumper crops, and the beautiful homes and cities will be carried out by humans. And the teenagers from God's Church are destined to be among the leaders and beneficiaries of that society".

Please forgive me if I take a moment to do just a little math. The teenagers from the Church back in 1985 (13 to 19) are currently aged 46 to 52 years of age. Those who read this and believed this back in 1985 have children, and grandchildren, and are actually approaching retirement. They've got GREY HAIR. Think about this: The Young Ambassadors of those days could now nearly attend SENIOR CITIZEN LUNCHEONS!  May we now, at this point, say, without any degree of reasonable doubt, that the author of this article was just a little bit incorrect? 

"When other people at the beginning of the Millennium find out that a teenager' s father or mother is now a member of the God Family -when they discover that the teenager attended God's Church or studied the Church's teachings in this age -then they will look up to that teenager to show them the way. Those teenagers who strive now to learn God's way are then going to be in high demand"

The idea going through a teenager's mind, in 1985, was simple: Feast Flings. No, I'm joking. Not really, I wish I was. But what was going through their minds spiritually was something like this:  After the hellish World War 3, in just three to five years, the Millennium would dawn. The Worldwide Church of God would then surface from Petra or wherever, and they would then rule the world under Jesus Christ, and the teenager is still on earth. Others without knowledge of the Worldwide Church of God would suddenly be awestruck at the realization that their parents ARE NOW GOD UP IN THE SKY and would be in awe! The teenagers would be superstars! And, likely, MINISTERS - HUMAN MINISTERS like the WCG Ministers of 1985! What a GOAL! (Except the feast flings - that was their real goal.) 

"The surface of the Earth will be dramatically changed. Mountains will be brought low. Land will appear in many deserts covered by oceans. Deserts and polar ice caps will become fertile and habitable. The surface of this planet will receive an incredible face-lifting." 

Now, our mid-1980s teenagers will, presumably be 1995, expect to see the nuclear-torn, war-ravaged Earth suddenly go through a Genesis Project transformation that makes Star Trek look...wait, it IS like Star Trek, isn't it? - The only thing missing was the Enterprise with Kirk at the helm wrestling the Genesis Effect Machine from the hands of the villain! Of course, in the COG world, the Villain was Garner Ted, not Kahn.... But I digress...

"And then God will need thousands of pioneers! Have you ever envied the pioneers of yesteryear? - Like Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo, Vasca De Gama, Captain James Cook and David Livingstone to name a few? Well, the achievements of the pioneers of tomorrow, which are being trained today, will pale into insignificance anything accomplished in past ages." 

Yes! Now we are telling our teenagers that their names will be as important and etched in stone as the next Christopher Columbus! The next Marco Polo! The next Vasca De Gama or Captain Cook! What a reward! Now our teenagers will really be somebody! They'll be important! Yes, you teenagers will be what you envy!!  Envy is a Ferengi trait, not a Christian trait. Sorry, another Trek reference. I'll stop already. Someday. Moving on.... 

They'll build farmlands and industries in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and on the top of Antarctica! Oh, what's that? 

"Some will have to set the example in establishing family units that practice God's Way of Life. Some will have to set the example by living in accordance with all of God's Health Laws. With guidance from God, thousands of inventions are just waiting to be discovered... trendsetters will be needed!"

YES! Make it SO, we'd think, gleefully.  

But it could not be made so. 

Then, this is said...

"That's a big responsibility. God is very selective in the foundation He builds. The teenagers associated with God's Church today are being offered a part in that foundation. God is not going to make any mistakes. So teenagers in God's Church are being tested as to whether God will be able to use them....

Often the teenager may be the only one in the whole school who knows about God's truth. To reject the way the other kids do these things means to be rejected by them, and none of us wants to be rejected or ostracized. Yes, it's often tough, but it boils down to this: Either they seek the approval of other kids by being just like they are, or young people seek God's approval and possibly face a certain amount of persecution, but then look forward to pioneering God's Way of life in the incredible future." 

Not that I need to say this. But I'll do it anyway. None of this happened. It's 2018. Thirty-Three YEARS in the future. That's at least 5 TIMES further than the 3 to 5 years we were expecting in 1985, which is FORTY years later than the expectation in 1945. (Look at me sound like some kind of Church of God Date-Setting Dude). Let's be frank. None of it was true. It was entirely, totally, and completely FICTION. There's no other way around it. The teenagers are grandparents in some cases, the United States still exists, the entire generation of members in 1985 who were adults are middle-aged to senior citizens... or dead. It IS a totally, completely, incredibly different world, yes. But it's not the World Tomorrow we were told it would be. I guess you could say it's not your father's world tomorrow. But it is a World Tomorrow no one ever anticipated. All of the above I just mentioned is what they were told. And many believed it. That's a shame. A real, honest, absolute shame. We said lying to our children about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny was such a sin, but then lied to them about their world to come and thought it acceptable. It was not. 

Among countless other marvels, Computers and information have taken over the world. Smartphones, Twitter and Facebook. Instant news. Instant communication. Cell phones without cords with nearly unlimited apps. An unlimited library of videos at your disposal. GOOGLE, for crying out loud.  Music you do not have to pay for via YouTube. TV's that are flat and curved. Video conversations are every day. Everybody now has the technology to do a "Microwave Satellite Transmission" with the push of a button. And this blog has reached every nation in the world - and the thing is? That's not a big deal. A cat video reaches every nation in this world too. And so does every blogger and podcast operator and video producer. It's an everyday thing. And in ten years, everything I wrote will probably be horribly outdated. 

But because of our fictional World Tomorrow that never came, no one who was a teenager in 1985 was prepared for the REAL "World Tomorrow" which is the unthinkable-then World we know of today. Because

No matter how you slice it, no matter how you look at it, no matter how you parse history - the truth is, the Worldwide Church of God told the children to expect something that never happened. They believed it on the authority of Christ - dictated by Herbert Armstrong, the evangelists, and the pastors of the Worldwide Church of God. What did our children learn from that? How did that affect their trust in their parents? Their ministers? God? Everything? 

Nine years later from 1985, the greatest tribulation ever to hit the Worldwide Church of God hit with the force of a 1000 megaton detonation. People were left bewildered, stunned, and the Church was literally destroyed into thousands of small splinters, shards, and pieces of shrapnel. Some went left, some went right, some went - well, anywhere they could find to go. But the world around them went on. The world around them continued, progressed, developed, and became the crazy futuristic world that we live in today, beyond the dreams of anyone in 1985. A world that many of our teenagers were not prepared for, because of the fictional expectations they were told of by those who were trusted. No, it wasn't THE Great Tribulation, of course. But for us, it might've well been. 

Now, what was written above are indisputable facts. However, the following paragraph is just an opinion - so take it, leave it, or whatever, but here it is: 

As the Fall Festival Season comes for 2018 to those who continue to observe it, I hope you have an enjoyable time with family and friends - and fun. But there is a lesson learned that the teenagers of 1985 have learned very, very well. That lesson is simple:  Guard yourselves against feeding your children with unrealistic, fictional, biased, irrational and unreasonable expectations of ideas and inaccuracies of things that no one knows the date, the times, or the hours of - or can know, which will rob them of the trust they put in their parents if they imagine or teach that they do know. Instead, prepare them to have the ability to live, laugh, love, and succeed in this incredible World that no one back then could ever have expected. Teach them respect, honor, and joy. Give them the abilities to set a wonderful example for their children and their grandchildren which most are nearly certain to have. Jesus isn't interested in the propagation of untruths to his little ones. Jesus is interested in those who understand and live a life of love. Those who achieve that have achieved a better recognition than Marco Polo or any explorer or real estate developer of a worldwide scale ever could. And what happens beyond that? 

As long as we do the right thing, the true thing, and the honest thing  - we'll be more ready for whatever comes our way than if some teach what end up to be lies and deceptions unaware.

guest contribution:SHT