Christian dudes: Aim for “kind man” rather than “nice guy.” Nice guys get hosed in basically all areas of life. Kind men are valued, though.
—-Evangelical Anglican and blogger of site Musings of A Hardline Moderate telling Christian men in particular that they do not need to buy into the tyranny of niceness, something that organized religion and religious bullies seem to thrive on.
There are other sects and denominations that bear the name Church of God in some form. The interesting one that is about to be discussed, The World Mission Society Church of God was founded in Korea but has a worldwide outreach which includes North America. One may think at first glance that this is a happy, healthy, normal, mainstream denomination. Don’t let fancy impressions fool you. Those who wish to erase the demarcation line of the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of cults should put aside their dangerous dreamy wishful thinking and start considering the necessity of that division and start respecting those who proclaim that necessity to protect The Body of Christ. There is a reason why I am NOT proclaiming my “progressive” and “tolerant” side on this topic and I do not plan to any time soon or ever. There are theological errors and yes, may I say that politically incorrect word “heresy”—not “abusive doctrines”, too politically correct—-which I feel only tries to diminish the seriousness of the matter. In a society that seems to be fixated and obsessed on moral relativism and moral equivalency, we tend to ignore evil and excuse wrongdoing with this limp wristed,sappy, soft, let’s all get along and love each other sentimentality (which is not true love and concern at all) makes me unleash my “inner Driscoll”! Yes, it is serious! When lives and souls are at stake, there is no live and let live mentality (Galatians 1:6-8). Courtesy Youtube, a young woman discusses her experiences with this group and thankfully, found her way out. Yes, she`s been getting nasty comments from those still in the organization but I think people who hold to the essentials of historic Christian faith must stand by this young woman. Bravely and firmly.
Institutionalists fear freedom for the individual and don’t trust God to lead individuals to make loving choices. So, it must be imposed from above.
It’s also ironic. In US politics, conservatives–a huge block being Christians who support such institutions–are always rallying around the cry for freedom. But in their churches, they squelch freedom.
—Progressive Christian blogger Michael Camp of Deep Thought Pub giving his two cents on Christianity vs. Churchianity.
Most of you have heard about the untimely passing of long-time pop star Whitney Houston who passed on to the heavenly kingdom Saturday evening. Here’s a couple of tunes from a spiritual gospel angle that are a few of my favourites. Rest in peace Whitney and sing to the Lord with a cheerful voice!
“When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking.”—scientist Albert Einstein (1879-1955) giving a challenge to young minds that was never ever thought of, thoroughly discouraged (and in some instances forbidden) in the historic Worldwide Church of God.
Looking back at the Worldwide Church of God—from an Adult point of view
By Damon
According to my age, this person is classified as an adult. This article is designed to take a retrospective look at my compulsory time in the Worldwide Church of God, away from the forced parental vice grip.
This person always thought that the Worldwide Church of God was a comedic farce guided by hypocrisy and membership hypocrites. According to the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition hypocrisy is defined as “false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion”. Hypocrite is defined as “person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion”. To illustrate, a former minister described Youth Opportunities Unlimited as “wholesome activities designed to take away the pressure of high school.” One word to describe the previous statement….HOGWASH! These so-called wholesome activities had more pressure to conform to the Y.O.U standard of drunken behavior, recreational drug use and in two cases criminal activity that would result in criminal conviction. This writer did not derive any benefit out of Y.O.U activities and retrospectively, an economic waste of time.
As this person composes this article, there are some truths that this person has learned over time away from the Worldwide Church of God.
This person did not have close ties with relatives since many of my relatives did not like my parents’ overzealousness about the practices, customs and traditions of the WWCG. Back then, it was frowned upon to attend, a “worldly” institution. This person faced scorn, backlash, and criticism from the hypocrites since this person was vocal about not attending Ambassador University because Ambassador was not an accredited institution. My new core value-belief system started upon attending university. This person attended a series of student success workshops that covered the following topics: effective study skills, budget planning, how to create winning resumes and cover letters and developing/maintaining healthy relationships. The information was so valuable that this person began to see things from a universal perspective.
This person has thoughts, feelings and opinions. This was contrary to the prehistoric, pessimistic and illogically bizarre teachings of the WWCG. For example, this person recalled a time when the minister pounded the podium talking about how “wives must submit to their husbands”. Back then it was permissible for husbands to mistreat their wives. If this person was a woman in those days, a dildo would satisfy me sexually than being around grown men that had a Neanderthal attitude towards women.
Friendship is defined by the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary 11th edition as “the quality or state of being friendly.” Back then this person had convenience friendships. This person called it convenience friendships because this person won those Youth Opportunities Unlimited gold medals at track weekend. Since this person participated in track and field in high school, this person found the competition substandard. Thus, the minister’s children were the most ignorant set of children that this person has had the misfortune of being compelled to affiliate with. This person had nothing in common with the self-proclaimed “exceptional Y.O.U kids” as one minister would describe. Conversely, the friends this person had in Y.O.U were nice, however it was based on writing endless letters The Y.O.U friendships vaporized upon leaving Y.O.U Today, this person has a very small circle of friends that demonstrate a sincere kind interest that is healthy.
In conclusion, one of my favourite songs from my time in high school–PM Dawn “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss” is playing right now. Life after the Worldwide Church of God has had its positives and negatives. This person has a healthy outlook on life. Knowing that this person was not a bad person in the WWCG but seen by many as a renegade because this person did not succumb to the peer pressure and the farce of a religion that it was—that Worldwide Church of God!
By Randy Boswell
Two of North America’s leading orthodox rabbis — including a prominent Jewish scholar in Canada — are facing off over the proper place of Jesus Christ in the teachings and traditions of Judaism.
Sparked by the publication next week of the book Kosher Jesus by the high-profile and controversial U.S. rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Immanuel Schochet of Toronto is calling it “heretical,” after apparently seeing an advance copy.
Thank you Teresa Beem for finding this! The Armstrongist Churches of God (the ultra-conservative ones for sure) seem to have a masochistic view of living. Though this link is applied to Seventh Day Adventists but all the splinters of the Churches of God SHOULD read and listen to this post and for goodness sake—LIVE A LITTLE! Sadly, that’s asking the moon for some…
This is a clip from a movie called “Split Image” back in 1982. I personally seen the movie on TV two years later at the very young age of 14. It’s about a young college student who was lured into a religious cult and his family gets a “deprogrammer” to get his life back. It is interesting that the cult deprogrammer played by actor James Woods tells the cult member (played by Michael O’Keefe) , “Do You Hear Me?!” only to end up with the violent response of , “I don’t want to!!!” Reminds you of how extremely difficult in trying to reason with a person so involved and indoctrinated in Armstrongism. I have the movie Split Image on VHS but want to convert it into DVD (for some reason it is not on DVD). The movie is that good dealing with the cult experience which deals with the lying, deception, indoctrination and brainwashing. I highly recommend it to watch.
I found this on Youtube.com. Here’s “Bill” from the United Kingdom talking about his experience with the historic Worldwide Church of God and his own “post-WCG” life and theology.
