Shadows of WCG Next Generation

EVERYBODY Thinks they are right.

Especially when it comes to religion!

Have you ever noticed that the biggest divisions in world history have been in the subject and field of world religion? Of course you have. Because everybody thinks that they know what is right. Everybody believes that they have a corner on knowledge that other people – or other groups – simply don’t have.

It could be the way a verse of scripture is interpreted in whatever holy book or teaching they feel is right. It could be the way a message from a “holy person” is interpreted from person to person. It could be in an action or it could be in a deed. Whatever the case may be in religious worldview, Everybody thinks they are right.

There is one thing that is for absolute certain: In religion there is no unity. And in religion there is only division.

This is the case in Armstrongism. This is the case in Christianity. This is the case in other world religions. This is even the case in atheism, if you want to call atheism a form of “religion” because it takes a faithful belief in “no” god or gods. This is the case in any religion you can possibly think of. There simply is no unity because everybody thinks they are right.

This is not theory – this is fact and this is reality.

And those that profess Christianity are the most divided of them all.

Let’s focus first on Armstrongism, then move to mainstream Christianity.

Under the dictatorial rule (and that’s exactly what it was) of Herbert W. Armstrong, was there unity? No. There was PERCEIVED unity because actual opinions about many aspects of the Worldwide Church of God were SUPRESSED. True unity occurs if all are of like minds. Yet we all know that deep within the thought patterns and processes of all the members there was not like-mindedness. To express a different thought or opinion – if you were a lay member or a minister – was grounds for termination of either your employment or your “membership”. And once Herbert Armstrong died in 1986 and then Joseph Tkach destroyed the doctrinal uniqueness of the Worldwide Church of God in 1995, all that perceived unity was blown to bits as people ran to and fro with those who they thought were right.

Not that there weren’t other groups who thought they were right even before that. Global split off from Worldwide because they “thought they were right”. Philadelphia split off from Worldwide because they “thought they were right”. After the 1995 fiasco, United split off. Then others, and still others. And we can’t forget about Restored and other small groups. They all think they “are right” and invariably they all think they “are right” because God gave them the “reality” that “they” are the “ONLY” continuation of the one true work of God. Now, over 700 splinter groups with lay members with probably 700 different opinions per congregations tolerate each other with the unblastable opinion that “they are right”. And if the opinion of a member’s “right” thoughts differ from the church he or she is attending’s “right thoughts” then that person will just leave for another COG church that is “right”.

They all think they’re right.

Now moving on to Mainstream Christianity.

We have the Adventists. Catholics. Brethren in Christ. Episcopalians. Evangelicals. Full Gospel. Mormons. Lutherans. Mennonites. Methodists. Missionary churches. Pentecostal Churches. Presbyterians. Baptists. Unitarians. Fundamentalists. Full Gospel. Charismatics. And on and on.

And they all think they’re right. Each and every one of them.

Now in each of these groups are subgroups of each of these main categories. You have many different forms of Catholics. Many types of evangelicals. Many types of baptists groups, and many different Lutheran organizations. You have many different splits and schisms and branches of sub-group after sub-group that branch off into the thousands. And each one claiming, of course, that they are RIGHT.

They will say, with zeal, fervor and conviction, that that is why you should join THEIR Church.

Many will believe that God will change the world through THEIR Church because THEY have the truth.

Now let’s move on to WORLD Religion beyond Armstrongism and even still beyond Christianity.

We have over 7,000,000 Baha`is. Over 300,000,000 Buddhists. Over 6,000,000 Confucianists. Hundreds of millions of Hindus. We have hundreds of thousands of Jains and Jews. Over a BILLION active and believing Muslims. Shintoists (2,000,000 of these), Sikhs, Spiritists, Taoists, Zoroastrians… and over 150,000,000 atheists all make up the non-Christian religious world viewpoint.

And they all think they are right.

Let’s analyze fact, shall we? World religion is one of the most divided, confusing aspects of human socialogy that can ever exist. World religion defines morals, ideals, beliefs, both in this life and in the afterlife – and the beliefs are as different as night and day. This is solid, straightforward, complete and total world division. There is no unity whatsoever in the wide world if world religion.

There is no unity whatsoever in the wide world of mainstream Christianity.

And there is no unity whatsoever in the infinitesimal ratio of those who believe Armstrongism.

For what can you take from this? You have all these people who think they are right – yet have no unity whatsoever. This is what I can take from this – that following a group of people who think they are right usually would indicate to me that they are not right.

In Christianity, there is a teaching that God is the head of the Church. Churches use that scripture all the time to back up their divine origins. Yet – think about this – if God is the head of the Church – then God is a God of division because the reality is that the Churches are totally and completely divided in every way, large and small! So then, it can’t be the man-made organizations that God is the head of – including Armstrongism! God is not the author of division or confusion, right?

Of course not. Well, you could then turn from Christianity altogether and look at all the other major world religions who think they are right and you could find that they too are greatly divided one to another. Same headache, same situation, same division. Each believing they are right, each doing their own thing.

Of course many have seen this factual evidence of confusion and division and thought to themselves “God can’t be in this” and many have even deduced that there is not a God and thus comes another branch called atheism. Others just aren’t sure if there is or is not a God and here we have another group called Agnostics.

So in World religion we have atheists, agnostics, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus, all divided amongst each other, each believing something totally different, and each thinking they are right and the other group is just plain wrong. Every one of them believing THEY have “the plain and real truth.”

For this reason alone – and for the fact that most who attend a group calling themselves whatever they are do not live up to what they proclaim they believe – many have simply abandoned religion altogether. And how can one really blame them for all the things we have seen come out of world religion. How can one blame them for seeing televangelists get up on a tv screen and promise wealth for giving money to “their cause” because “they are right” and use the money for whatever physical fortune they can get their hands on. How can one blame them for getting involved with a religious group and seeing their lives come to ruin because they are in the hands of a dictatorial, controlling and manipulative pastor. How can one blame them when they have to choose between thousands of different opinions – with each pastor saying “Come to our group, WE are the ones who God is working with.” And this happens in and out of all segments of world religion.

Maybe, just maybe, “Come out of this world” means far more then what the old Worldwide Church of God gave that statement credit for. Maybe, just maybe, it means come out of RELIGION altogether. The confusing, divided, man-made wreck of world religion has done nothing but caused harm through generations and generations. You can’t ignore what Early Christianity did in the Dark Ages. This was the fault of religion and Christianity. You can’t ignore the harm that Armstrongism caused tens of thousands on so many levels. You can’t ignore what RELIGION did on days of mass destruction and human harm. You can’t ignore how families have been divided right and left due to religion. Religion – RELIGION – has caused so much harm that I am TOTALLY AGAINST RELIGION.

To me, religion is the wide road that leads to destruction.

Perhaps the answer then is to find the “narrow road”.

Perhaps the “narrow road” is akin to a narrow connection between you and God. A road with no division. A road of unity. A road where God – if you believe in God – gives you an order and you do it. Perhaps it is all about relationship. Perhaps moving away from man made organizations – or the “physical” aspects of religion – and moving to the spiritual – perhaps this is the “narrow road”.

Perhaps world religion has complicated what is so divided and complicated from what is so, so, so simple.

Love God and Love Man. A scripture, in fact, divides true religion from false religion. The scripture says:

“True religion is this: to look after widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world “

Perhaps the “world” is false religion that pollutes one from practicing TRUE religion. Looking after widows, and distressed orphans – simply loving God and loving each other.

Everything else simply means nothing in the big picture. Perhaps this is why Paul said arguing over the law is simply useless. Also, if you love God and love each other, the manifestation of that is doing what God says to do anyway – which no one needs to quarrel over regardless. If one truly loves God and wants to keep the Sabbath, then that is between them and God. If one truly loves God and wants to abstain from eating “unclean foods” then that is between them and God. If one truly loves God and wants to please God in these ways, if their heart is right, God will accept it but if their heart is wrong, God will not. Perhaps this is what is meant by the scripture “the Kingdom of God is in the hearts of men” – if what you are doing is with a pure heart. I am convinced that God does not look at the actions – God looks at the heart behind the actions.

I have determined it is not up to me to try to convince people of one way or another because by doing so I may be breaking their “narrow road” they have with their God. Yet I will still voice my opinions, and it is up to you to determine if I am correct, or if I am wrong, based on what YOU know.

Just a thought to ponder in the Christian mindframe: The Bible says the name of Jesus is the only way to Salvation – the name above names. If Jesus is God – and God is love – wouldn’t it make sense that LOVE – love to God and love to man – that LOVE is the only way to salvation? Was not Jesus LOVE personified? Thoughts to ponder.

Perhaps if you cut out the NOISE from wolves and wannabe prophets and wannabe “men of God” and the NOISE from televangelists and the NOISE from committees and the self-righteous and the NOISE from this and that and the NOISE of world religion – perhaps if you tune all those frequencies out you just might be able to maybe, maybe, MAYBE hear the voice of God – or Love?

Then again, I say this thinking “I am right”, and if I didn’t think I was at last halfway right I wouldn’t be blogging this. And many of you will disagree with me thinking I am wrong and you are right.  Can’t shake human nature can we?

Wishing everyone a great weekend and stay safe.

In this post I want to continue my series on the Law, Herbert Armstrong, and the Apostle Paul. I will compare the exact words of Paul as stated in the book of Galatians with the teachings of Herbert Armstrong. It will be up to you to decide if Herbert is wrong, or if Paul was wrong. I am writing exactly as was taught by both persons. If you don’t believe what I am saying is accurate, read Galatians. I’m totally and completely accurate, as I have taken the scriptures directly from biblegateway.com.

Herbert: Lawkeeping makes you righteous.

Paul: You are justified by faith, not the law.

Herbert Armstrong taught that you are made righteous through lawkeeping. This is documented fact in many articles written by Herbert Armstrong on the internet. The Apostle Paul stated that you are not, repeat, not justified by the law, you are only justified by faith. Therefore, if you take the belief that the Apostle Paul was really an Apostle of Jesus Christ, then you have to conclude in this teaching that Armstrong taught the opposite of Paul, and was not in agreement with Paul whatsoever.

Paul: Through the law I died to the law so I may live for God.

Herbert: Through the law I am righteous by the law so I may live for God.

The Apostle Paul taight that through the law he died to the law so he may live for God. The reason why he said this is because if you are focused on the law you live for the law – you are so focused on keeping and obeying every aspect of the law to be in “the good with God” that while doing so you cannot live for God – you are living for the law and not God. Being free from the law sets you free to live for God. This is Paul’s words, not mine! Herbert Armstrong taught that being made righteous by lawkeeping is the way of living for God. Again, Herbert was in complete and total disagreement with the Apostle Paul.

Paul: All who rely on keeping the law are under a curse.

Herbert: All who rely on keeping the law are made righteous.

Paul was very clear. Those who put their emphasis on lawkeeping (and how can you tell me the Churches of God don’t do that!) are under a curse. Cursed! Yet Armstrong taught that obedience to the law doesn’t curse you, it makes you righteous! Who is right? Armstrong or the Apostle Paul? Of course if you are a Christian you KNOW it has to be Paul, right? So then again, Armstrong? Wrong again.

Paul: The righteous shall live by faith.

Herbert: Lawkeeping makes you righteous.

No brainer here. Armstrong was in complete contradiction with Paul, again.

Paul: The law is not based on faith, if you keep the law, you live by the law.

Herbert: Obedience to the law makes you righteous, the law helps you be faithful.

Again, Herbert Armstrong completely ignores the teaching of the Apostle Paul. The law is not based by faith so if you keep the law, the law is what you live by, not faith. If faith makes you righteous (Which is what Paul teaches), and you do not live by faith, yet you keep the law, are you righteous? The answer would be no. Yet Herbert taught that if you obey the law, you are righteous, and keeping the law increases your faith. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! It’s not me saying it’s wrong, it’s comparing what Paul taught with what Herbert taught! Who do you agree with? Paul or Armstrong?

Paul: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law.

Herbert: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law.

Both taught Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. Herbert however watered this down saying he only redeemed us from the law’s penalty while obedience to the law makes you righteous, again, a wrong teaching if you believe Paul was an apostle of God.

Paul: The law was added until Jesus Christ came.

Herbert: The law is in effect forever.

Paul taught that the law was added until Christ came. This was nowhere taught, and is not taught, in the churches of God. Therefore the Churches of God are against the teachings of the Apostle Paul. In addition, the Churches of God love to quote the verses that indicate “forever in your generations” as some sort of proof the law is in effect forever – ignoring completely the other “forever in your generations” in the book of Leviticus that are not observed. Look it up yourself. The law was added until Christ came. This is not taught in the Churches of God. The Churches of God took liberty to separate the law into different units and then teach that portions of the law are valid and portions are not – an unbiblical and errored teaching.

Paul: Before faith, we were held prisoners to the law.

Herbert: Obedience to the law makes one righteous to the law.

No brainer.

Paul: The law was put into effect to lead us to Christ.

Herbert: The law can only be kept if one is called by Christ.

Here’s one of the big differences. The Apostle Paul is crystal clear that the law was put into effect to lead people to Christ. The Churches of God taught that the law can only be kept properly once one has been called by Christ. With that said, how can the law lead you to Christ if Christ calls you so you can keep the law properly? Senseless!

Paul: We are no longer under the supervision of the law.

Herbert: We are under the commands of the law.

Paul was clear. Read it for what it says. We are no longer, read, no more, under, or held by, the supervision of the law. The law does not supervise the Christian. You do not have the law hanging over your heads telling you what to do and how to do it now! This is against what Paul taught! Completely against what Paul taught! Is Paul correct or is Armstrong correct? If you are a Christian, you believe Paul was an Apostle of God, therefore, Paul’s teaching is obviously right, Herbert’s teaching is false.

Paul: You are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Herbert: You are all sons of God because you keep God’s Law.

Paul 1. Herbert: 0.

Paul: It is for freedom that Christ set us free. Do not be burdened again by the yoke of slavery.

Herbert: Christ only set us free from the penalty of the law. We are still held by the commands of the law.

This is as clear as it gets. Christ set us f-r-e-e and we are not to be burdened again by the burdens of the yoke of slavery – the law. Christ set us free from the burdens of the law to be free to live for God.

Paul: If you let yourself be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you.

Herbert: Babies must be circumcised on the eighth day according to the law.

Read that for what it says. If you let yourself be subject to the law, Christ will be of no value to you.

Read that again. If you let yourself be subject to the law, Christ will be of no value to you.

Herbert taught physical circumcision and that you must be obedient to the law to be righteous. And Christ was of no value to the Church – Christ was not even taught in YES lessons to the children of the church until lesson 7 or 8. The law was immediately. This is why. And this was WRONG.

Paul: You who are trying to be justified by the law have alienated yourself from Christ. You have fallen from grace.

Herbert: You are made righteous by the law, keeping the law is the way to the Father.

Whoa! Did you read that! YOU who are trying to be justified (made righteous) by the law (as Hebert taught observing the law makes you righteous) have made yourself ALIENATED from Christ and FALLEN from Grace! Can you get much clearer? Plainer? Is it crystal? Don’t try to twist Paul’s teachings to what you have been taught by COG ministers! I will be plain. The COG ministers are wrong. Paul is right. If you try to make yourself righteous by law keeping you are alienated from Christ and you have fallen from Grace. That’s it, and that’s that. PERIOD.

Paul: In christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.

Herbert: Obedience to the law (circumcision) is what has value.

Understand this! IF you are in CHRIST, then whether you keep the law or do not keep the law has no value whatsoever! What has value is this teaching by Paul:

Paul: The entire law is summed up in one command: Love your neighbor as yourself.

Herbert: The entire law is summed up by keeping the old testament commandments properly.

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. This sums up the entire law in one blanket command. By loving your neighbor as yourself you are obeying the law all bundled into one spiritual command.

Paul: carry each other’s burdens. This fulfills the law of Christ.

Herbert: Keep the Sabbath and Holy Days. This fulfills the law of God.

CARRY EACH OTHER’S BURDENS. This fulfills the law in one blanket command. By carrying each other’s burdens you fulfill the law as Christ carried his burdens for you when He died for you. By loving your neighbor as yourself you are in full obedience to the law as it is bundled in one spiritual command.

This is why the law is good – because it is summed up in loving your neighbor and carrying your neighbor’s burdens because you love them and you love God. Arguing and nitpicking about the aspects of the law that are obsolete are useless because that is not of a spirit of love. Keeping the sabbath and the feast is useless if it is not a spirit of love. Giving tithes is useless if it is not a spirit of love. Being an elder or a minister is useless if it is not a spirit if love. And on and on and on.

After all God is love – so isn’t it perfect sense that God’s Law is now – through the freedom that Christ gave us when he died for us – and set us free from the burdens that were impossible to keep – a yoke of slavery that magnified sin -is all encompassed in one full commandment – LOVE? IS THIS SO HARD TO FIGURE OUT?

Afraid so, for those in the COG’s.

Someday, you COG people will take this all up with Paul (regardless if you believe in the resurrection and/or any other method). You argue with Paul about it when you meet him (though I’m pretty sure he won’t argue.) . I challenge you. Then I challenge you to argue with Christ about if you are or are not alienated from Him (these are scriptures speaking, right?) and if you are or are not fallen from Grace (more scriptures speaking) because of your focus on lawkeeping and not faith (this is what Galatians says – not me.) and see if Christ says that He Himself agrees with Paul’s teachings. Oh -  And if you have to take the clear writings of Paul and twist them and turn them around to meet what you believe, then don’t you think there’s a problem there?

Your life, your choice.

According to the blog Living Armstrongism, LCG Evangelist Richard Ames is to succeed current leader Roderick Meredith in the COG movement known as the “Living Church of God” upon the death of Roderick Meredith.

Roderick Meredith reportedly states advanced age as a reason for this appointment.

According to Wikipedia, the Living Church of God  reported it had 294 congregations in 44 countries – and over 7,100 members.

Richard Ames is a long time evangelist and former World Tomorrow Presenter with the original Worldwide Church of God, and since has been a presenter for Living’s “Tomorrow’s World” television program.

This information was reportedly confirmed by LCG member and prolific blogger Robert Thiel.

As of this writing, Roderick Meredith continues to be the leader of the Living Church of God.

In a comment on the previous post a commenter, Questeruk, made this statement that really raised my eyebrows. Questeruk stated:

”

You are stating that “Observance of the law will not justify you.” Fine – yes I agree completely with that. But who is suggesting that observing the law WILL justify you? That is the crux of the question.

I don’t believe that people in WCG were taught that keeping the law justified you.”

Herbert Armstrong taught the following:

“Righteousness is obedience to God’s law”

Really! Is this really scriptural truth?

First, I will state that a number of  COG’s do teach that you cannot earn salvation by keeping the law – yet still say the law is commanded. For instance, this quote by the United Church of God:

“We cannot earn salvation by keeping a law or a number of laws.”

Good! This is correct. You can NOT earn salvation by keeping a law or a number of laws.

Yet Herbert Armstrong plainly and clearly went against scripture by teaching that righteousness is obtained by lawkeeping.

In Christian theology, the definition of justification is this:

“justification is God’s act of declaring or making a sinner righteous before God”

And Herbert Armstrong taught that righteousness is obtained by obedience to the law.

Herbert Armstrong taught, thus, that justification is by the law and not by faith.

This is completely contrary to the Bible, to the writings of Paul, and to the teachings of Christianity.

Herbert Armstrong said righteousness is obtained by lawkeeping.

Paul states:

“²¹ For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. ²²But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.”

Herbert Armstrong was completely and totally wrong. Not only did he prophecy falsely and incorrectly, he went completely against the writings of Galatians stating that righteousness is obtained by lawkeeping. Righteousness is by faith, not lawkeeping.

The Edmond Sun reported:

“Until the auditorium is completed, the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation’s performing arts series will again be on campus at the John Amos Field House.

“Our field house is a very intimate place,” Granger said. “You are really getting up there close with the artist.””

This was confirmed by going to the Armstong Auditorium website where it was posted:

“NOTE: Events will be held in the John Amos Field House until construction is complete on Armstrong Auditorium later in the season. (Ticket prices for the 2010 season reflect this difference in venue.)”

There was no specific timing when the actual opening would occur.

NOTICE: This is a Christian-based post. Read with this in mind.

The Churches of God have a question they must consider, and they must consider hard and truthfully. Which is priority? Is it law – or is it faith? Which of these two will justify you in the eyes of God?

Will Sabbath keeping justify you in the eyes of God? This is part of the “law”.

Will Holy Day keeping justify you in the eyes of God? This is part of the “law”.

Will abstaining from “unclean foods” justify you in the eyes of God? This is part of the “law”.

What does Paul have to say? Quite a bit, actually = looking at Galatians.

Faith or Observance of the Law

1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

This causes quite a series of questions that must be considered. :First of which is the following: What does observing the law do for a Christian today?

First, clearly, observing the law is not a way to receive the spirit of God. Then what happens after you receive the spirit of God?.

Paul says a shocker, doesn’t he? Those who receive the spirit of God and then try to go back and observe the law – what did Paul call these people? He called them foolish. They accepted a university education and then tried to step back into elementary school and sit in a first grade desk and chair. Foolish! If you saw a bunch of high school graduates step out of graduation and then try to go back to elementary school would you not think of them as being absolutely foolish? Would you not be incredulous as to why they would go back to something so fundamentally basic? It was elementary school that led them to graduation – so why would they go back? In the exact same manner, look at what Paul is saying. If you were given the powers of Superman, would you really try to stop a train with your own human power? Trying to observe the law is trying to do things in your own effort and by your own power and strength. Believing in faith – that takes the spirit of God to do and that is what connects you to God – NOT lawkeeping!

6Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[a] 7Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”[b] 9So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

So we know that believing in faith is what connects you to God and that credits you as one who is righteous – so much so, that Paul states right here that those who BELIEVE are the children of Abraham – the father of faith! Paul says that the scriptures saw that God would justify the gentiles not by law keeping at all – but by faith! If this is correct and if you are to believe it, then why do these Armstrong Churches keep trying to justify themselves by law keeping? Those who have faith are those who receive the blessings – not those who try to observe the law!

10All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”[c] 11Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”[d] 12The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”[e] 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”[f] 14He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Can this get any clearer. Any clearer at all! We’ve already clearly seen that you cannot justify yourself as righteous by observing the law. But Paul goes a step farther and says that everyone who relies on – or focuses on the observances of the law are what? They are cursed. They are cursed because they are trying to do something that is clearly impossible. By trying to observe the law they fail miserably because they cannot do it. And the more they try, the farther they fall short. So no one can possibly be justified by the law because no one can do everything contained in the law. This is why Someone had to come and redeem us from the impossibilities of trying to observe the Law and transition us from law-keeping to faith-living.

15Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,”[g] meaning one person, who is Christ. 17What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.

19What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.

You can not – repeat – you can not get any clearer than this. This is the law in a nutshell, folks. It was added because of sins UNTIL – read – UNTIL – Jesus had come. This indicates the temporal nature of the law. It was for a specific people at a specific time, for a specific reason. It was an elementary teaching to prepare for the advanced teaching of faith.

21Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

Look closely. The law could not impart life. Not a chance. If the law could impart life, or give life, then you could look to the law to be right in the eyes of God. But forget it. This is not the way it works. The whole world is a prisoner to sin – and the promises of Abraham are given not to those who try to observe the law – but to those who live by faith.

23Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ[h] that we might be justified by faith. 25Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

Look closely. Before Christ, they were imprisoned by the law – locked up, in jail, no escape, do not pass go, do not collect 200. The term of the imprisonment was firm until faith was revealed to them. And what happened? Once faith had come – Christians are no longer under any supervision of the law whatsoever. The law is no longer supervising the Christian! What does that mean?

When you turn into an adult, are you under the supervision of your mom or your dad any longer?

The parental laws consisted of the basics. They went like this in the most basic form.

• Do not hit your sibling.
• Do not spill your drink
• Go to bed at 9 PM.
• Eat your spinach.
• Turn over and go to sleep.
• Do not talk back to your mother.

These are basic examples of basic elements of “The Law for Children” – which is in effect until maturity has come. Once maturity comes, you are no longer under the supervision of these laws, are you?

Once you are mature, do you operate in childhood laws or in adult maturity? Do you need to be told when to go to bed, what to eat, when to eat, how to dress, where to sit, when to stand, every single detail of your life under strict parental regulation? Is that not foolish? Of COURSE it is foolish! It is extremely foolish to believe that after learning the law and living the law of childhood and then graduating to adulthood that you would ever have to go back to the laws of childhood!

Yet that is exactly what so many in Armstrong Churches of God do. They go back to the Law to try to make God happy because they do not understand or see that faith super-cedes observance of law. They do not understand or see that reliance of the law puts them under a curse with no chance of justification to God. They think they are being righteous by sabbath observance and feast keeping and tithing because these are how they believe they are observing the law – yet by relying on the law they only curse themselves. They are still trying to live in spiritual basics and are not living in spiritual maturity. They are operating on milk, and not on meat. They are trying to hold to the ABC’s and 123’s as adults sitting in a first grade classroom thinking this is pleasing to God when in actuality this is, as Paul said, absolutely foolish.

With that said, is it wrong to keep the Sabbath? NO! But don’t try to justify yourselves as better then other Christians or as righteous because you do and others do not!

Is it wrong to keep the Feast as worship to God? NO! But don’t try to justify yourself as better then other Christians or as righteous because you do and others do not! Don’t justify yourself by how you keep the Law! You’re not supervised by law anymore, what you do is out of your own faith and convictions, and what others do is by their faith and convictions.

Is it wrong to abstain from “unclean foods” because you feel this is right? NO! In fact, it’s proven to be healthier! But don’t try to justify yourself as better then others because you do and they do not! Don’t justify yourself by how you keep the Law! What you do is by your own faith and convictions, and what they do is by their faith and convictions!

They – and you -  if you hold to Christianity – are only justified by faith – that’s it, and that’s all. Your choice of how you worship your God is your business and your choice and if your worship is genuine and your faith is real, why wouldn’t God accept that? But if your attitude is one of justification by lawkeeping – you have missed the mark, brother. And those who do not rely on lawkeeping – they are justified by faith just as you are, even if they do it totally different then you. Even if they are – gasp – protestant.

Those in the COG’s do not see what justifies themselves is on a higher plane. They are grown. Faith has been revealed, and they do not need to sit in a first grade classroom reading first grade reading books and then thinking they are the spiritual experts trying to “proclaim the gospel” of reliance on the Law to those who operate by faith. It’s much like watching a first grader trying to teach a professor their version of algebra. Sad, humurous, and foolish. And the Churches of God wonder why their efforts on radio and tv are so futile.

Observance of the law will not justify you. The only thing that makes you a son of God is by faith – not law observance. Christians are to clothe themselves with Christ.

What the Churches of God do not understand is that the ten commandments are just the ABC’s and the 123’s of a much more advanced spiritual law and code – operating on the principles of the spirit and not the physical – on the plane of faith and not ordinances. Relying on observance of the law gets you only a curse. Living by faith makes you a child of God.

26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

One of the oldest running anti-armstrongism websites has started a new blog.

Feel free to access the blog here.

This blog will be run by a variety of guest editors – which is a very good idea to serve a wide variety of different theologies. Shadows supports this effort completely.

This month’s guest editor is Ralph Haulk.

On John Carmack’s COG Blog, a commenter posted the following:

I have heard at least one minister basically state that when church members are asked to jump by those in authority, the response should be “how high?”. I think that there are others with that same wrong mentality. Well, as you point out, the COG is not the army. Yet I hear of ministerial “rank”, no doubt an allusion to the military. The Eph 4 listing are offices, not ranks, and offices to serve others humbly not to bark out commands. While this was probably more true in WCG than today (with exception of PCG and maybe some others)it remains a problem IMHO. The military (and corporatism) no doubt has its hands in church leadership and how they pastor. We need a new paradigm methinks.

Methinks as well. I’m glad to see COG people start to use their heads and think instead of just jumping “how high”.

In the same blog, John writes the following:

Are you part of GCI?  Come out of her!  Are you part of Ronald Weinland’s group?  Come out of her!  Are you part of PCG?  Come out of her!  You are following men!

There are at least 397 other groups to choose from!  Surely, you can find at least one that comes closer to the truth than that!

Yet with this thinking I see a problem. John sees problems with GCI, Ron’s group, Gerry’s group, and says that if you’re in these groups you are following men.

I say if you are in ANY of those 397 plus groups you are following men. If God was really working with all COG’s – 397 plus – how different are they from the 3 mentioned above – and beyond that, if God really was working with them all, would not they all be unified and not divided?

Knowledge is power.

This will be a long post. I hope you don’t mind. The thoughts below are my opinions – and not based on any scientific fact or thesis. Take it for what it’s worth, I don’t claim to be always right, but my opinions are just what they are. Enjoy reading -J

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It is one of the hardest facts of living in this world, in this generation.

People hate change.

It’s a very simple statement, but an extremely accurate statement. It is a statement that is realized in all aspects of life – in relationships, in the business world, and yes, the religious world. People are repelled by the thought and aspect of change.

Today, I want to explore the issue of change in the personal viewpoints of religion – and explore why people do what they do without regard to logic, and with great incredulous reaction from others.

On a physical level, it is true that the brain becomes “hardwired” into patterns based on repetition. This “hardwiring” makes it extremely easy for neurons to pass through a “well connected path” from one area of the brain to another area of the brain. Think of it as carving out a superhighway based on repetition inside the masses of neurons and cells within the brain’s massive network. The more that a particular pattern is repeated, the easier it is to perform that particular pattern because the path is carved – a superhighway for that one particular task has been completed.

It is of great interest the influence that others have on creating a particular pathway within the brain. The brain has a very unique feature – a very unique way of interpreting information to decide which path to follow – the feature called “decision making”. During the period of indecision, the brain attempts to figure out which path is best based on tens or hundreds of different variables. These variables include: Past experiences, stories of other’s past experiences, facts from history on such an experience, and future ramifications if that particular path is chosen by the Brain. The brain will then lean on other’s opinions and weigh that data based on other factors including the level of authority that that individual has on that subject, the level of experience that that individual has on that subject, and the level of trust that your brain has on the person plus the level of authority and experience that that individual has. Then, the brain will take all the information available to him or her, assimilate the data based on his or her level of knowledge, and putting it all together, make a decision to enact the plan or reject the plan.

Once the plan is enacted, and it is successful, a new path is carved – a path of “this works, so I should do it again to maintain the success.” if it is unsuccessful, the path is stored in memory but not enacted again because it simply failed.

In religion, there is a little bit of a different process. In religion, the equation of the level of authority is extremely high – especially in the COG’s. What do I mean by this? Simply this: The equation of fact that is normally data-crunched in the brain is usually overridden by the “authority factor” of a person giving information to the lay member. Meaning that simply because of the individual’s perceived authority, the reality of a fact not being true is overriden by the authority of the data-transferrer – and the brain proceeds to make the path anyway based on “he said it is true, so it must be true”.

In religion, it even goes a step further. Those with this “high authority factor” in the Churches of God have also taken information and data – such as what can be found in books such as the Bible – and retranslated it to their opinions and beliefs – and then download that data into the lay member. The lay member then believes the one with the “high authority factor’s” opinion because of the same equation I outlined earlier: Experience + Authority = Override own’s opinion and accept opinion of the other regardless of own opinion of fact.

If the individual has a high enough authority factor – combined with a high experience factor – that individual can convince lay people of opinions and translations and cause entire groups to believe something as fact that simply is not fact. Yet the brain – based on the perceived authority and experience – will work around solutions to attempt to accept that fact until a reasonable compromise is reached and they simply accept it anyway. Otherwise, the only other option is to reject that person’s “authority” and “experience”.

When this happens, pathways are carved in the brain that become easier and easier and easier for neurons to travel – and accepting a belief becomes easier – and eventually, everything revolves around that carved belief. Why? because that carved belief is now the “fact” that everything else revolves around – and everything else – even if it is in reality actually true – can actually be perceived as false.

It is at this point where “change” becomes uncomfortable at best and next to impossible at worst.

Whole networks of pathways in the brain surround the one superhighway of doctrinal belief. Whole belief systems gather around the main pipeline. Friends are made who have also accepted the same beliefs around the main pipeline. Aquaintances are made, and plans are made around that main pipeline. That pipeline is the whole reality of that individual – it is what is truth to them. And the more “carved” that pipeline is, the harder it is to change.

The natural tendency at that point is this – if confronted with the option of change, it will be repelled severely and swiftly. The brain path is too carved! It would have to take convincing of a massive scale in the fact of reality by many, many, many people to carve the new path in the brain – and carving a new path is tiring, it is agonizing, it is stressing, it is exhausting – no matter what the new path is about. In religion, it is ten times worse because religion is not just about what happens in this life – it is the perception of what happens for all eternity and beyond.

Now let’s take all of this and look at the people who have accepted the Church of God theology.

in 1994, an individual with a high level of “authority” and a high level of “experience” – Joseph Tkach – the Pastor General of the Worldwide Church of God – spoke to 140,000 people over video sermon who had well-carved brain paths on the doctrines of Armstrong theology. Sabbath keeping? Well carved superhighway – done it every day for 50 years, sone would say. Don’t eat unclean meats? Well carved superhighway – never touch it. Unleaved bread? Go to tabernacles? Don’t keep Christmas? Well carved superhighway. Listen to the ministers no matter what? Well carved superhighway. These members had pathways in their brains carved out so well those neurons could travel slick as ice when it came to the doctrines of Herbert Armstrong.

Until Joseph Tkach spoke.

Sabbath? Not mandatory! Oh man, Neurons hitting the walls! Back up! Not on the path! New path trying to form!

Unclean meats? Not mandatory! Neurons hitting the walls! Not on the path, not on the path! New path trying to form!

And on and on it went for over 2 hours that day as one with a “high level of authority” and “experience” suddenly attempted to download data into a brain in areas with no carved paths and totally against the ingrained beliefs of so many years of “doing it Armstrong’s way”. The attempt at change had begun. And the results were horrible.

You might ask why were the results so horrible! Here’s the simplest explanation. Joseph Tkach did not allow new pathways to be created slowly to allow time to assimilate the new information. As I said, the brain creates new paths and accepts these paths once it has assimilated the information based on all different variables until a decision has been made – which usually takes much time and thinking. What Joseph Tkach did was rammed a bulldozer into the pathways of the brain and attempted to just tear down the superhighways in 140,000 people’s brains and force a brand new superhighway 100 feet to the left which is totally different then the first – all in 2 hours. The brain, predictably, with that kind of brute forced information download, in so many, shut down and simply rejected the information outright. Not to mention the information download itself was not by any means a smooth download. The informational “sermon” was fragmented, confusing, and mixed at best.

And the brain’s superhighways became a confusing mess of jumbled and webby pathways in so many. There was no longer a “clear path”. The information was not clear enough to effectively carve a new path. So, what happened was this:

Many rejected the new path outright and set out to reinforce the old pathway. They did this by leaving WCG, rereading Armstrong’s literature (reinforcing the old path) and cleaning out the old path so old traditions and doctrines could flow free again. For these people, this was the most comfortable – and these are the ones that will stay with Armstrongism until their dying day. Once attempted change only solidifies their resistance to future change moving forward.

Others took time to analyze the new information and accepted it, closing down the old path easily – and yet others already had the new path in their brain the whole time and all Tkach’s sermon did was throw a track switch in their brains. These easilly accepted the new doctrines and had no problems either staying in the WCG or even further yet, couldn’t wait to smooth down the new pathways even more and moved on to a mainstream evangelical church.

Still others analyzed the information thoroughly and in their mind realized the old path didn’t make sense, the new path didn’t make sense – closed down both brain superhighways and constructed a new one based on their own thinking, choosing, and ideologies. These quit church altogether, became atheists or agnostics, or simply abandoned religion altogether.

Yet for every one of them, it was change. And it was hard, and difficult – and this is why change is so hard for so many.

With this understanding, we can see why so many stay with Armstrongism no matter what in the world is downloaded to them, fact or otherwise, that may speak differently. We can also see why so many have left, and why there are core groups still in the old WCG (GCI) itself. It all is the psychology of change. It is all on how people are wired, how their brains work, and how they have assimilated information presented to them.

With that said: We can never expect Armstrongism to die completely. Some brain pathways are just too far carved for that to be expected. We can never expect the Christian way, the Agnostic way, or the Atheist way to be fully embraced, either. We can never expect complete transition of all just because of the complexities of the sociological group profiles with the complexity of the human brain.

Yet for those with “high level of authority” combined with “a high level of experience” in every group in the COG’s – these will continue to try to teach and convert and instruct based on their perceived pathways. How well they do is based on their level of authority and experience and trust. Simply put – this means that you can expect about the same to continue. We will still have the nuts and the crackpots. We will still have the dictator leaders and the ministerial abusers. We will still have the apologetics and the armstrong believers. We will also have the fundamentalist christians and the evangelicals. We will have atheists, and we will have agnostics – all of us having the same COG background. And we will all believe what we will believe no matter what people are trying to tell us.

So what does it matter? We’ve shown why change is hard. We have concluded change is repelling – we know many will never change, and we know many have changed and some still will. We’ve shown the mistakes of the past and what causes change to happen. And the bottom line is, the variables are so great and so strong, that there’s no way to forecast what can happen with anyone in the future.

What we can do is simply use our heads and our voices, speak our minds with respect, approach each other with an attitude of love and understanding – and understand that the opinions of others are as strong as they are for reasons we can’t understand because we simply haven’t been there or lived that person’s life. We can get with those of like mind  who want to discuss and who are open to conversation and share our viewpoints – because face it, we all like to think we, individually, are correct, and are right. No one likes to admit to be wrong. We can, however, know when we are being disrespectful, lacking understanding, judging without knowledge, and displaying attitudes of hate instead of attitudes of love.

We may not succeed in changing the pathways of the brains of others who do not think exactly as we think they should think. But we can succeed in showing ourselves an example of what we believe to be right. And if there is one thing we can all do no matter how ingrained our individual beliefs are – we can show respect, and we can show love, and we can show ourselves as doers of what is good and not doers of what is bad.

Perhaps that’s what the lesson is all about, anyway.