Thursday, January 17, 2019

UCG: To Disagree With Them Is To Disagree with God



The cultic mindset is still alive in the United Church of God.  Remember in days gone by how far too many in the ministry said that if you disagreed with them, you then are disagreeing with God? Well, in 2019 that idiocy is still alive and well.  Apparently, when given the chance to reinvent themselves 20 some years ago they decided it was still important to still act like jerks.

This was on a facebook page, part of a longer post that is not included here.  This was written by a high ranking man in UCG that responded to a UCG member respectfully disagreeing with his comments on immigration.




Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Linda, Jesus, Our Father and His Wife Barbara



This blog has been getting hundreds of weird comments a week now, with most of them heading into the spam folder.  None can beat this personal message from Linda and God's wife Barbara.
Anonymous said...
To all of you who have rejoined us, who breath, who live. In all of your lands, you have servants of mine who have by my word resurrected you from the dead. I am Linda. With me are Jesus, Our Father, and His wife Barbara. We are one. Do not be dismayed, but live. Learn how to live from those whom we have sent to you. Some of you have never heard of Us. Some of you have in part. I know you can all see me on a device. I know you are hearing what I type in your native tongue. You were resurrected at the age you died. You had clothes on and people to greet you who you knew. All of you are loved very much. Please look to those whom We have sent to you. They represent our way of life, our love, and our desire for you to be happy, to heal if necessary, and to thrive. They will teach you how to live. I am Linda. This is my will. LIVE. Please LOVE. Be happy. Give yourself a few days to see where you are. Rest. Let Jesus heal you, for He is our Healer. We are one. In a few days, if you are old, your aging process will reverse itself and you will return to the age of approximately 30. All of you are healthy for your age. If you are young, your aging will stop at approximately 30. To connect to us, Our Servants will teach you how to pray. Our Father and Jesus will hear and answer you. My spirit will be in you or with you if you have not been baptized. You are not with held from baptism. As soon as you learn and understand, Our Spirit will enter you and you will know the purpose of your life. Please go slow and be patient. The trauma will soon pass. You will be happy with those you know. The tears will be wiped away. You will live. You will love. And you will be happy. We love all of you very much. We are no respecter of persons. Your petitions will be heard. An answer will come to you. Eternal life is in front of you. The evil is now gone. Horrible accidents will now happen any more. Animals will not be fierce. All flesh is clean to eat. You have an abundance of love and helpers. And when you learn how to live and love, your relatives will come back and you will teach them. Enjoy your food. Enjoy your friends and family. You can marry and have children. Our servants will help you in every way. If you have requests of Me, please petition Jesus or our Father. Each one of you is uniquely designed. You have each been thought out before time began. Please, choose life. With much love, Your Mother.

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

You Can Sure Tell It's the End Times! ".....And Women Shall Rule Over Them."

Because I can just smell some in the Church of God ministry and Wannabe's  chomping at the bit to write about our living in the last days because of all the WOMEN being elected to office or about to give the Trumpster a run for his money should he choose or be available to run for President in 2020, I thought I would offer the current actual historical context and theological perspective on one of the Churches of God Greatest Hits against women.

Isaiah 3:12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.





For the Complete Article

The context of Isaiah 3:12 

Isaiah chapter 3 is an oracle of judgement. It foretells the demise of Jerusalem and Judah as a consequence of Judah’s rebellion against God. This rebellion was brought about by the vices and mismanagement of its civil and religious leaders. At the beginning of Isaiah chapter 3 we read that God is about to remove the capable and gifted people from Judah, including, or especially, the ruling classes of Jerusalem. (This is exactly what happened in the early sixth century when the Babylonians invaded Judah and began deporting their best and brightest.)
An English translation of the Septuagint’s version of Isaiah 3:1 reads: “Behold now, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the mighty man and mighty woman, the strength of bread, and the strength of water” (Isa. 3:1). In the following two verses, God lists what kind of mighty men and women will be removed: “the hero and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counsellor, skilled craftsman and clever enchanter” (Isa. 3:2-3 NIV).
Israel had previously benefited from the wise counsel, leadership, and heroic actions of certain men and women, but there would come a time when only the poorest, weakest, and least skilled would be left in Judah. Anarchy and extortion would follow as irresponsible leaders gain control.[1] These leaders are described as children and as untrained in Isaiah 3:4. (This idea of children as leaders comes up again in our text Isaiah 3:12.) In Isaiah 3:5-7, God outlines some ways people will be cheated and oppressed by their leaders. These ideas may also be behind Isaiah 3:12.

So what does Isaiah 3:12 mean?



Ok...couldn't resist. This one is mine but I believe I can detect a certain Diehl tendency to stand her ground and stir pots in the future. 


There seems to be three ways of understanding God’s words in Isaiah 3:12.
1. Isaiah 3:12 should be interpreted literally.
Some believe that the meaning of Isaiah 3:12a, as it is in the Hebrew text, should be taken literally despite the poetic nature of this verse. If so, Judah will be ruled by young and inexperienced men. This might refer to Ahaz, who was a weak and wicked king. In the year 732 BC, Ahaz began his sixteen-year rule at the age of 20 (2 Kings 16:2 cf. Eccl. 10:16). Or it may refer to later leaders.
According to the literal interpretation, Judah will also be ruled by women, perhaps the queen mother (cf. 2 Kings 11:1-16) and other prominent women in the royal court. These may be the “haughty women of Zion” denounced in Isaiah 3:16-25. The descriptions of these haughty women show that they are wealthy and, therefore, influential.
2. Isaiah 3:12 should be interpreted metaphorically.
A second possible interpretation of Isaiah 3:12, favoured by many scholars, is that metaphors are used in this verse. In this interpretation “children” and “women” are used as metaphors which signify that the leaders will be childish (i.e. inexperienced, capricious, or foolish) and effeminate (i.e. cowardly and ineffective) (cf. Isa. 3:4). In a note in the Geneva Bible (1599), Theodore Beza describes these leaders as “manifest tokens of [God’s] wrath, because they would be fools and effeminate.”[2]
As now, it was an insult in ancient times to call a grown man a “child”. To call a man a “woman” was also, unfortunately, a common insult. One example of this insult is given by the historian Herodotus where he records Xerxes, king of Persia, as saying: “My men have become women, and my women men.” (Histories 8.88.3) Interestingly, both Vashti and Esther risked their lives by standing up for their principles and defying the king’s request and ruling (Esth. 1:12; 4:16 cf. 5:2). But Xerxes’ words here are about his own men who floundered, and about Queen Artemisia I of Caria. Xerxes had a tremendous regard for Artemisia who was his ally, and who had personally and valiantly led her navy in the battle at Salamis (480 BC). Thus Xerxes refers to her as a “man”. The Greek word for courage, andreia, which is used for both valiant men and women in Greek literature and in the Bible, comes from the Greek word for “man” (e.g., Prov. 12:4; 31:10; cf. 1 Cor. 16:13).
In Isaiah 3:12a, it is not clear who, specifically, the inept leaders of Judah are, or will be. But they are certainly being belittled and disparaged in this interpretation of the text.
3. Isaiah 3:12 originally did not contain the word for “women.”
A third possible interpretation, which is favoured by some scholars, is that the word for “women” was not originally part of Isaiah 3:12, the original word being “creditors”. (There is also some doubt about the word “children” in 3:12.) The Hebrew word for women in Isaiah 3:12 is nashim (נשים). With identical consonants, but different vowel points, the word can be noshim (נשים), which means “creditors”. The Aramaic Targum of Isaiah 3:12 has nosim (“creditors”). Accordingly, the New English Bible (NEB) translates the pertinent phrase as “the usurers lord it over them”.[3]
The Septuagint was translated from Hebrew to Greek centuries before the Masoretes added their system of vowel points to the Hebrew text. The Septuagint’s version of Isaiah 3:12a (translated into English) reads: “O my people, your extractors strip you, and extortioners rule over you.” The idea of being extorted by creditors fits with the overall context of Isaiah chapter 3, especially verses 5-7, but so does the idea of inappropriate men and women being leaders. Whatever the original word may have been, it is clear that God was saying that Judah would be led, or bullied, by incompetent leaders.
Here are two English translations of Isaiah which favour different sources.
My people—children are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
O my people, your leaders mislead you,
and confuse the course of your paths. (NRSV)
Oppressors treat my people cruelly;
creditors rule over them.
My people’s leaders mislead them;
they give you confusing directions. (NET)[4]

Does the Bible show that women leaders are a bad thing?


God’s judgement for Judah’s rebellion, caused by bad leaders, was that Judah would be oppressed by even worse leaders. Some people, however, highlight that having female leaders was part of God’s judgement. They argue that having a woman as a leader is an abhorrent aberration from God’s ideal and norm of male leadership of the community of his people. Is this really the case?

The events in the Old Testament mostly occurred at a time when patriarchy was the pervasive social dynamic, and men ruled women (cf. Gen 3:16b). Nevertheless, some women were leaders of towns: civil leaders (e.g., Sheerah); and some women were prophets: religious leaders (e.g., Miriam). These women held respected and recognized leadership positions in society, and they were not regarded as odd.

Deborah was a judge and a prophet, two of the roles listed in Isaiah 3:1-2ff.

Many men in the Old Testament took advice and directions from women, and they did not see it as either a humiliating affront or as a punishment.
~ Two Israelite spies followed the directions Rahab gave them, to the letter, and they escaped from being caught by the king of Jericho’s men (Josh. 2:16, 22).
~ Barak, an army general, took directions from, and depended on, Deborah (Judg. 4:6, 8).
~ David heeded and praised the advice and prophetic words diplomatically and courageously given by Abigail (1 Sam. 25:23-31).
~ Joab, David’s general, agreed to the negotiations offered by the Wise Woman of Abel Beth Maacah on behalf of her town (2 Sam. 20:15-22).
~ Solomon bowed to his mother Bathsheba and gave her a throne at his right hand, making her a powerful woman, albeit not as powerful as Solomon (1 Kings 2:19).
~ King Lemuel respected the oracles taught to him by his mother, and recorded them. Her words still instruct (Prov. 31:1-9).
~ King Josiah sought out the advice and carried out the instructions of the prophetess Huldah (2 Kings 22:8-20; 23:1-25; 2 Chron. 34:19-33).
~ Mordecai, and others, carried out all the instructions of his niece Esther, Xerxes’ queen (Esth. 4:17 NIV).

The Old Testament women mentioned here, and others, were used by God and respected by men.

Being advised or taught or led by godly women is not an act of God’s judgement or punishment. Rather, it is the leadership given by fools and wimps, or corrupt avaricious creditors, that constitutes God’s judgement against Judah given in Isaiah 3:12 (cf. Isa. 3:14-16).