People still love to cover up the inherent racism that Herbert Armstrong used against African Americans. Some thought it is quaint, and others say it is just the thinking of his time and to let it go.
submitted by SHT
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Reg Borrow: CAN A PERSON LOSE THEIR SALVATION?
CAN A PERSON LOSE THEIR SALVATION?
By Reg Borrow
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
There is one subject that the COG's have absolutely failed to teach their congregants
If there is one subject that the COG's have absolutely failed to teach their congregants properly is the great reconciliation that shocked the Church in the New Testament in the book of Acts.
Of course, it was the Church's beliefs on the differences between Jew vs. Gentile and who compromised "Spiritual Jews" or "Spiritual Israelites" that literally muddied the waters when it came to just how huge of a big deal it was back in the days of the beginning of the Christian Church at and shortly after Pentecost.
In the Worldwide Church of God's alternative facts, the story-line was completely different. Jesus came not for the world, but for a select few called "the Church". The "Gentile" line went off the deep end, ignored the "true" Gospel, which, according to Armstrongism, laid dormant and powerless for centuries - save for an infinitesimally small group of observant Christians who kept the Jewish Law throughout six different eras - up to the "Philadelphia" era which, of course, was started, and ended, with Herbert Armstrong.
What this different chronology does is shocking to the standards of orthodox Christianity, the work of the Spirit, the inclusion of the Gentiles, the lessons of Acts, the epistles of Paul, and actually, the entire framework and network of the New Testament. That framework being the freedom in Christ with the inclusion of the Gentiles into the Church that came with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
We pick up the story at Acts 15: (NIV) (emphasis in bold mine) (my inserted comment in brown)
Of course, it was the Church's beliefs on the differences between Jew vs. Gentile and who compromised "Spiritual Jews" or "Spiritual Israelites" that literally muddied the waters when it came to just how huge of a big deal it was back in the days of the beginning of the Christian Church at and shortly after Pentecost.
In the Worldwide Church of God's alternative facts, the story-line was completely different. Jesus came not for the world, but for a select few called "the Church". The "Gentile" line went off the deep end, ignored the "true" Gospel, which, according to Armstrongism, laid dormant and powerless for centuries - save for an infinitesimally small group of observant Christians who kept the Jewish Law throughout six different eras - up to the "Philadelphia" era which, of course, was started, and ended, with Herbert Armstrong.
What this different chronology does is shocking to the standards of orthodox Christianity, the work of the Spirit, the inclusion of the Gentiles, the lessons of Acts, the epistles of Paul, and actually, the entire framework and network of the New Testament. That framework being the freedom in Christ with the inclusion of the Gentiles into the Church that came with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
We pick up the story at Acts 15: (NIV) (emphasis in bold mine) (my inserted comment in brown)
15 Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute (AHA! Well, this wasn't expected at all, was it?) and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.
Let me interject here what it must have been like at this point. Paul and Barnabas were at "Sharp Dispute". I bet you hands were flying and spit was being spat, and they obviously did not come to a solution or a conclusion - both held their ground. The only thing to do was for them both to be sent up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and the elders to talk about what to do. I can imagine that both were absolutely and completely set in their ways (What else is new?? This was a prospect of huge change, great for Paul, nightmarish for Barnabas!) BUT - they both could not deny the fact that the Gentiles had been converted. And for them, this was a Game-Changer - a Very Big Deal.
3 The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.
Until a section of believers felt that the Gentiles must now become Jews in practice:
5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7After much discussion, (something tells me that this was a major understatement!!) Peter (NOT Paul, NOT Barnabas, but Peter!!!) got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
Shocking words!! Just look at the first four words in the next verse:
12 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13 When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. 14 Simon] has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. 15 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:19“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”
I think it's good to point out here that you can definitely see the difference of opinions that are existing within the different personalities at this point. We have Paul, who is championing Grace and Freedom for the Gentiles. We have Peter, who is adamant that placing the Law of the Gentiles would be too much for them to bear and that salvation is by Grace through Faith. We have Barnabas, who is championing the Law of Moses and Circumcision for the Gentiles. We also have James, who seems to be thinking that eventually, they'll come around to the law of Moses. Oh no, it's a split decision! It's sometimes difficult to see the human reasoning within scripture, but we have to remember, these were humans - men - just like us - with thought and reason and rationale just like what happens when a group of us get together. What then was the end result? We read it in verse 22.
The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers
22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers. 23 With them they sent the following letter:The apostles and elders, your brothers,To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:Greetings.24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul (THIS IS SIGNIFICANT, since both had very divergent opinions!!) — 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.Farewell.30 So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. [34] d]" data-mce-style="line-height: 0;">[d] 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.
That wasn't the end of the disagreements between Paul and Barnabas - two totally different opinions on Law and Grace and Church Administration, the Law of Moses and the Gentiles. Look what happened in verse 36:
Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas
36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
It doesn't take a lot to see that there were hard feelings between the two who had completely different opinions on the path that they thought the two were supposed to take. Doesn't this all sound familiar? A huge shift had just happened within the Church. The Gentiles were included as believers without the inclusions of circumcision and the observances of the Law of Moses.
It is with this perspective that one must read the Pauline Epistles, as Paul went from church to church writing the congregations trying to explain to those who sided with Barnabas' opinion about Law about why the Law existed, what it was for, what it did, and the new way of faith in Christ and Christ in you in such books as Galatians. It is with this background that one can understand why Paul wrote exactly what he wrote, and went into such lengths and details about such issues - because he was dealing with people who could not accept the decisions of the Jerusalem Council, and that the Gentiles were not subject to the same yoke that they spent their whole lives observing. This did not change the fact that the decision was done and the Gentile Church WAS the Church - even though they did things and observed things differently.
And here is where Herbert Armstrong could not reconcile that the Gentile Church was as much a part of the Church as the Jewish Christians were, 1900 and some years later. Instead, Herbert Armstrong condemned the Gentile Church as a wayward, backwards, pagan people who did not operate on faith but had become absorbed in apostasy. His mindframe was that the Gentile Church must act as the Jewish Church acted in the first Century - as the earliest Christians had to act. His mindframe was that the Gentile Church had to be subject to the Law of Moses. In short, Herbert Armstrong defied the authority and judgement of the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 and made the unilateral decision that the Gentile Church WAS bound to observe the Law of Moses and even circumcision. Herbert Armstrong was in rebellion to Paul, to Peter, and to the entire Jerusalem Council. Herbert Armstrong sided with Barnabas, and put a yoke on Gentile Christians that was too hard of a yoke to bear and distracted them from grace and faith in Christ. THIS is the reality of what happened, and this is the reality of where Herbert stood in relation to the authority of which the Council's decision was made.
In fact, Herbert Armstrong was rebellious to anybody who made a decision that was different than he thought. It didn't matter if it was Peter, or Paul, or Herb's own ministers, or Herb's church before he started his own. Herb had no respect for the Church, for the Decisions of the Council, for the Gentiles, and the list goes on and on. The reality is that what was in Herb's mind was a methodology to use religion - specifically taking the position of Barnabas - to attempt to revive the inclusions that had been outlawed by the council upon the Gentiles for his own personal benefit and gain. Such actions were mutinous, disrespectful, and against the very Spirit who inspired the decisions of the council in the first place.
Just because the Gentiles did things differently did not eliminate, and does not eliminate their faith and their belief in Jesus Christ and does not eliminate their prospects for salvation nor their inclusion into the Church of God. This is the hardest pill for the Churches of God to swallow - and it all stems from the great reconciliation and acceptance of the Gentiles by God in the Spirit at the day of Pentecost.
Will the Church of God recognize the decisions of the Church of God made at the Jerusalem Council? Will the Church of God accept the decisions of Peter, Paul, and all the Apostles? Will the Church of God stop trying to imposing yokes and burdens on the Gentiles that are too hard and cumbersome for them? Will Thiel and Malm and others take the decisions of the Jerusalem council and humble themselves and obey their spiritual authorities and stop imposing Jewish Law on Gentile Christians and creating more hardship than they can bear distracting them from CHRIST?
It is with this perspective that one must read the Pauline Epistles, as Paul went from church to church writing the congregations trying to explain to those who sided with Barnabas' opinion about Law about why the Law existed, what it was for, what it did, and the new way of faith in Christ and Christ in you in such books as Galatians. It is with this background that one can understand why Paul wrote exactly what he wrote, and went into such lengths and details about such issues - because he was dealing with people who could not accept the decisions of the Jerusalem Council, and that the Gentiles were not subject to the same yoke that they spent their whole lives observing. This did not change the fact that the decision was done and the Gentile Church WAS the Church - even though they did things and observed things differently.
And here is where Herbert Armstrong could not reconcile that the Gentile Church was as much a part of the Church as the Jewish Christians were, 1900 and some years later. Instead, Herbert Armstrong condemned the Gentile Church as a wayward, backwards, pagan people who did not operate on faith but had become absorbed in apostasy. His mindframe was that the Gentile Church must act as the Jewish Church acted in the first Century - as the earliest Christians had to act. His mindframe was that the Gentile Church had to be subject to the Law of Moses. In short, Herbert Armstrong defied the authority and judgement of the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 and made the unilateral decision that the Gentile Church WAS bound to observe the Law of Moses and even circumcision. Herbert Armstrong was in rebellion to Paul, to Peter, and to the entire Jerusalem Council. Herbert Armstrong sided with Barnabas, and put a yoke on Gentile Christians that was too hard of a yoke to bear and distracted them from grace and faith in Christ. THIS is the reality of what happened, and this is the reality of where Herbert stood in relation to the authority of which the Council's decision was made.
In fact, Herbert Armstrong was rebellious to anybody who made a decision that was different than he thought. It didn't matter if it was Peter, or Paul, or Herb's own ministers, or Herb's church before he started his own. Herb had no respect for the Church, for the Decisions of the Council, for the Gentiles, and the list goes on and on. The reality is that what was in Herb's mind was a methodology to use religion - specifically taking the position of Barnabas - to attempt to revive the inclusions that had been outlawed by the council upon the Gentiles for his own personal benefit and gain. Such actions were mutinous, disrespectful, and against the very Spirit who inspired the decisions of the council in the first place.
Just because the Gentiles did things differently did not eliminate, and does not eliminate their faith and their belief in Jesus Christ and does not eliminate their prospects for salvation nor their inclusion into the Church of God. This is the hardest pill for the Churches of God to swallow - and it all stems from the great reconciliation and acceptance of the Gentiles by God in the Spirit at the day of Pentecost.
Will the Church of God recognize the decisions of the Church of God made at the Jerusalem Council? Will the Church of God accept the decisions of Peter, Paul, and all the Apostles? Will the Church of God stop trying to imposing yokes and burdens on the Gentiles that are too hard and cumbersome for them? Will Thiel and Malm and others take the decisions of the Jerusalem council and humble themselves and obey their spiritual authorities and stop imposing Jewish Law on Gentile Christians and creating more hardship than they can bear distracting them from CHRIST?
Monday, June 3, 2019
Let the dead bury the dead...
Let The Dead Bury The Dead:
I will call the young boy Billy. I was about 8 years old and Billy was about my age. We were friends at church. Billy was diagnosed with leukemia, prayer requests were made for him at church and a few months later he no longer came to church.
At the FOT Billy and his parents showed up. They placed him on a pallet during the double services held each day. Sometimes he stayed in the First Aid tent. He couldn't walk, very pale in color and laid lifeless on his pallet. He had been anointed and prayer requests had been made. So, he was going to be okay.
Sometime during the feast, Billy died. His parents had great faith and had totally trusted in God for healing. The minister said during the announcements, he would be healed in the 2nd Rez. He went on to say, Billy's parents decided to stay for the rest of the feast. Billy's father is allowing his unconverted parents to bury him. Citing the verse, "let the dead bury the dead."
4 or 5 months later Billy's mother was disfellowshipped from the church. She had become bitter over her son's death and was now in the 'bonds of Satan." Billy's dad was still attending when we moved out of the area.
As an adult, I often wondered what the unconverted grandparent's reaction was. Getting a phone call that your grandson had died. BTW, please bury him for us. We're not coming to the funeral. We're staying for the rest of the feast.
From Facebook, used with permission
Sunday, June 2, 2019
De-Con-Structing the Con
You have to look past the religious facade (i.e. brainwashing) to see inside the looking glass:
1. Read the Co-worker letters without bias. Recognize the trends. Blank out the "double talk". Juxtapose these letters with the actual timeline of the Church. You will find that prophecies and fear mongering rise and fall with physical projects and finances. There was NEVER any truth to the prophecies. Notice the psychological manipulation and repetition throughout. Notice how there was ALWAYS a crisis or emergency all the way up to completion of his "master plan". (Also, count on two hands how many times Jesus was mentioned - or even thankfulness to God - in each of these letters.)
2. Read HWA's Autobiography. Again. If you can bear it. Notice what is the focus of the Autobiography. You will find it is power, success, and how Herb got rich and successful. Notice how thoroughly he brags about secrets of money-making. Hobnobbing with millionaires. Desire of success, etc. etc... AGAIN, remove the religious facade and just read it for what it says.
3. Notice that the peak of the College Building project and it's financial needs co-exist perfectly with the fear-mongering of the 1960s. Also notice that as soon as the Auditorium was completed, and the building project was over, the "Lake of Fire" threats suddenly took a large decline. Pay close attention to exactly how much planning went into the construction of the Master Plan of the college and exactly what was being told to the financial arm (YOU) to keep the money flowing. Consider how much of this were lies to you and gain to him.
4. Learn what Herb actually did on his overseas trips. They were pleasure trips (around the world, etc.) masked in religiosity. Even his "World Leader Tours" were hobnobbing trips with important people with a touch of religious behavior to make it legitimate. Herb's trick was to make his funders believe what he was doing was divinely ordained.
5. The proof of all of this is in the Ambassador College Auditorium, it's story, the timeline, it's funding, and everything that led up to it. The truth is, the Auditorium was a gigantic idol - in the same idolatrous manner as the other shrines of Armstrongism. Some time ago I published a whole story about this, it might be a good time to re-run it.
6. Examine the current fruits. Look at exactly what the legacy of the entire movement has been. They are preaching from the same handbook, and sticking to the same formula. They are not successful because of a failure to adapt, selfish motives and instant internet accountability.
7. Read the accounts - all of them - that you were not allowed to read in the past. Read the Ambassador Reports.
8. Examine Herbert Armstrong. Truthfully, and honestly. Ask hard questions. Examine for yourself if he passes the "speaking presumptuously" religious test of Deuteronomy. Remember what he said WOULD happen compared to what DID happen.
9. Examine the fruits of his son, Garner Ted, and the fruits of the entire "Ministry".
10. And finally, examine and notice the strong materialistic pursuit of frivolous wealth and the treasures accumulated. If you are not sure, the link is on the banner above. You will find exactly where your hard-earned "tithe" money went.
Submitted by SHT
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