UCG: Because we are such great communicators, we need to take advantage of a captive audience with people homebound because of COVID-19

Those fun boys in Cincinnati are excited to get their message out to all of the people of the world who are homebound and stressed out because of the COVID-19 pandemic. After all, the more stressed people are the more receptive they are to UCG preachers. WUT?

President’s Report—Victor Kubik

President Victor Kubik greeted everyone and answered submitted questions from Council members through this section of the meetings. President Kubik commented on the coronavirus health issues and also the concern for the economy. We need to be aware of this and prepare for possible consequences as a Church.

How is the United Church of God (UCG) reacting to the coronavirus crisis? The safety of our brethren has been our number one priority and we are striving to keep our members from danger.

Here are some of the questions submitted to President Kubik:

What has the administration seen during the coronavirus that the UCG should give more attention to?

Answer: We have done well canceling services when we did. We had a meeting with pastors and are staying in tune with government officials in regards to reopening.

What is the UCG doing well during this coronavirus?

Answer: We are doing well in communication.

What can the UCG do better?

Answer: We can have better contact with the community.

What are some opportunities during this time?

Answer: We can preach the gospel in a more stressed environment which is usually more effective. We need to preach all aspects of the gospel message that are seen in Acts:3:19-26.

We cannot have a studio audience for the Beyond Today episodes at this point, so it may be a good time to look at a different format to point to God’s truth. We shouldn’t waste this opportunity. We know God is leading His Church.

We need to look at ways to cut finances when and where possible for best case and worse case scenarios.

President Kubik concluded by mentioning that the home office continues to function effectively during this time even though only a few were there in person.

Faith of Our Fathers: A Racist Legacy

FAITH OF OUR FATHERS: A RACIST LEGACY

A friend forwarded me an article today that appeared in The Atlantic at the end of last month. White Christian America Needs a Moral Awakening by Robert P. Jones encourages Christians to confront "their faith’s legacy of racism." Unfortunately, this article will not be well-received by many of the folks it was intended to address. The notion that their forefathers' spiritual views were tainted with racism - a racism which influenced the faith that was passed on to their descendants - is anathema to many of them.

Nevertheless, Jones is on a firm historical footing when he talks about the overt support for (or ambivalence toward) black slavery and notions of white supremacy which existed within most Christian denominations of the 18th and 19th Centuries. Moreover, this racist underpinning was not confined to Protestant denominations - European Catholics were convinced that it was their mission to convert the ignorant black and brown heathens of the world and save them from roasting in hell. In short, the notion that white Europeans were specially favored by God was widespread and extended to all areas of human endeavor (be they cultural, political, economic or religious).

Of course, this is not the history that has been taught or emphasized in most American classrooms. And Jones points out that this fairytale version of history has not been confined to the narrative we tell ourselves about our nation as a whole - that it has also extended to the story which these denominations tell about themselves! He writes: "Underneath the glossy, self-congratulatory histories that white Christian churches have written about themselves—which typically depict white Christians as exemplars of democratic principles and pillars of the community—is a thinly veiled, deeply troubling past. White Christian churches have not just been complacent or complicit in failing to address racism; rather, as the dominant cultural power in the U.S., they have been responsible for constructing and sustaining a project to protect white supremacy. Through the entire American story, white Christianity has served as the central source of moral legitimacy for a society explicitly built to value the lives of white people over Black people. And this legacy remains present and measurable in the cultural DNA of contemporary white Christianity, not only among evangelicals in the South but also among mainline Protestants in the Midwest and Catholics in the Northeast."

Jones goes on to underscore the fact that these racist proclivities continue to exercise a powerful influence on white Christians of today. Is there any hope of changing this dynamic? He writes: "Today, 400 years after the first enslaved African landed on our shores, and more than 150 years after the abolition of slavery in America, a combination of social forces and demographic changes has brought the country to a crossroads. We white Christians must find the courage to face the fact that the version of Christianity that our ancestors built, “the faith of our fathers” as the hymn celebrates it, was a cultural force that, by design, protected and propagated white supremacy. We have inherited this tradition with scant critique, and we have a moral and religious obligation to face the burden of that history and its demand on our present. Inaction is a tacit blessing on white supremacy’s continued presence as a Christian habit and virtue. Doing nothing will ensure that, even despite our best conscious intentions, we will continue to be blind to the racial injustice all around us."

Many of our forefathers worshipped together regularly and thought of themselves as Christians. They didn't see any irony in doing so while simultaneously taking land away from Native Americans and enslaving their black brethren. Like them, white Americans of today often fail to see the incongruity in proclaiming their faith in Jesus Christ and accepting and supporting the system that their forefathers created. The entire thesis of Jones' article is that white Christians must eventually confront this incongruity for the sake of their own souls.

He wrote: "If we are finally going to live into the fullness of the promise of liberty and justice for all Americans, we will have to recover from our white-supremacy-induced amnesia. Confronting historical atrocities is indeed difficult, and at times overwhelming. But if we want to root out an insidious white supremacy from our institutions, our religion, and our psyches, we will have to move beyond forgetfulness and silence. Importantly, as white Americans find the courage to embark on this journey of transformation, we will discover that the beneficiaries are not only our country and our fellow nonwhite and non-Christian Americans, but also ourselves."

Miller Jones

United Church of God: Spreading The Gospel With Jelly

The state of the Church of God today and its "gospel" message.

Get ready for the thousands of new members.

Gerald Weston: If You get COVID Was It Because You Tempted God?

Many of us have read and meditated on Psalm 91 during this COVID-19 pandemic. This beautiful psalm promises protection for those who put their trust in God. Review the whole psalm, but note especially verses 3, 6–8, and 10–11. We certainly appreciate this protection today, but as I pointed out earlier, this does not mean we should walk about foolishly tempting God. Verses 11 and 12 were the very verses Satan quoted to encourage Christ to tempt God (Matthew 4:5–6). So we must not be foolish. We must see the big picture. While it is evident that God has been very merciful to His children during this time, we must face the fact that He allows some of us to get sick, and we will all die from something at some time (cf. Psalm 103:3; 2 Kings 13:14).

We can only address the problems and challenges that we are truly willing to face. Let us face the truth that many people fear: It is true that this pandemic is our enemy and has the potential to kill. Yet, it is also true that God gives us this wonderful promise: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:57–58). Do we truly believe this?

How easy it is to see only the here and now, to become fearful over what we see around us, and to fail to see the big picture of God’s plan and how we individually fit into it. Notice this most encouraging passage: “The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works” (Psalm 33:13–15). Wow—He fashions our hearts individually! He knows you and me, and He is working with us individually as He knows best. He is a Father who is intimately involved in rearing His children.

Most of us will come out on the other side of this pandemic just fine. Some of us may get sick, but most who do will recover. We believe God is our Healer (Exodus 15:26). Nevertheless, we lose members every year from a multitude of causes and illnesses—as of this writing, only one of our members has died of COVID-19—but we can be assured that, no matter the cause, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” (Psalm 116:15).

Take courage, brethren. Don’t live foolishly. There is a threat out there, but look to God and trust Him that He knows you individually—He is your caring Father. If a sparrow does not fall to the ground without Him knowing it, how much more valuable are His children in His sight!

What Do Gerald Flurry, Bob Thiel and Brian Davis Have In Common?

For several decades the rumours about Herbert Armstrong's past have swirled around from various sources with a lot of fiction and fact mixed together. One of the biggest accusations against Herbert was him committing incest with his daughter Dorothy.

The Philadelphia Church of God with its endless quest of making Herbert out to be the most incredible man in human history, so much so that he has become an idol to the Flurryite empire. In their eyes, the man was incapable of doing no wrong, whether it was from running a church, writing articles, preaching, or committing unspeakable acts.

In their church propaganda rag, Royal Vision, July August 2020, Brian Davis has emphatically DISPROVED all the rumors about Herbert. DISPROVED, I tell you!  DISPROVED! So let it be said, so let it be done.

Brian Davis, the bumbling buffoon, and wannabe right-hand man to Gerald Flurry says:

Can't get their stories straight?  This is hilarious coming from a church that is founded upon lies and led by professional liars, including the bumbling power-hungry Brian Davis.

The real reason Davis is wetting his knickers is that to discredit HWA is to discredit Gerald Flurry and all church teachings.  We can't have that now, can we?

Enter into this Bwana Bob Thiel. Davis quotes Thiel in his article.  This is a wet dream come true for Thiel. to have a heretical COG quote his as a legitimate source, he gets his name out to a wider audience and that audience has always looked at Thiel as LCG did, as an arrogant self-appointed blow-hard.

So, there you have it, again, Bwana Bob did extensive research and says it is not true. No real Christian would ever dare criticize or question the Great Bwana's, Afterall, he is THE AUTHORITY upon EVERYTHING!

How can anyone, knowing how these men have lied their way to the top of their cult churches, lied about their leadership roll as a supposed appointment from God, lie about dreams, visions and revelations from their gods.

Bwana Bob has written about this article and adds this:

The fact that Bwana Bob quotes Bob Petry as a source of "truth s laughable considering how crazy Petry has been over the years.

Given the track record of abuse dished out in the Worldwide Church of God under Armstrong's leadership and the minions under him, the appaling documented abuses of Philadelphia Church o God leaders against members, and the outright lies of Bob Thiel and his self-appointment and false blessings, is there ay reason for us to take these three men at their word? But now we are supposed to.

You can read Davis article here as a pdf of Thiel's page. Charges Against Herbert Armstrong-DISPROVED!