Life assurance, not fire insurance by Annette Hunsberger Presley

(Editor’s note: Here’s a bit of a break from the UCG vs. CGAWA debacle. Current author and inspirational  speaker Annette Hunsberger Presley(who was also a member of WCG many moons ago) discusses the “love of God” for humanity. I have called her the George MacDonald of the 21st century and there is good reason why I said so and it is my hope she will go far in her gospel of  the love of God that George MacDonald never gone before.)

Christianity as a whole believes its mission is to preach the Gospel to keep people out of hell. That approach is fear based and gives us a God who doesn’t really like us; a God who is mad at us and wants to punish and torture us if we don’t get our act together. Jesus never told us to fear people into believing the Truth. I think we miss the heart of God when we turn the Gospel into fire insurance instead of a new and permanent lease on life.

 

Ephesians 1:4 tells us that before the world was even made, God loved us and choose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. What we need to see here is that God created out of love, just like the love of a husband and wife produces life, so God’s love produced life. God is the example for parents. He loved his children, dearly. In our world, we often see parents abusing their children and we think God is like that with us, but God’s parenting skills are far above and better than ours. God is kind to his children and patient with them. God does not resent his children. God does not brag about himself to his children. God is not rude to his children nor does he demand his way with his children. God is not angry with his children. God does not record the wrong doings of his children or bring up past mistakes. God does not delight when evil things happen to his children. God rejoices when his children grow, learn and become who they were meant to be. God protects his children and trusts them. God hopes the best for his children and will do whatever it takes to abide eternally with them. God will never fail his children. So, God loves us, he wants us and he desires to be with us first and foremost. Everything else we believe must fit in with that love.

 

God’s plan for us has always been good, pleasing and perfect. He did not want robots or slaves, though, so he gave us a choice. He put two trees in the Garden of Eden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. Because of his great love, his desire was for us to choose the tree of life, so he warned Adam of the consequences of each choice. One tree led to death, the other to life. He set the tree of life up as the better and more desirable choice hoping Adam would make that choice and live.

 

Despite God’s best efforts to help Adam see the truth, Adam fell for the lie that God did not have his best interests at heart; that God was keeping something valuable from him; that God did not really love him. If we are honest, we still fall for this lie. We don’t really believe God loves us, wants us or desires us. We don’t believe God’s plans for us are good. We are just like Adam; we have all fallen for the lie.

 

Growing up, I was always taught that God was angry at Adam for disobeying him and eating from the fruit of the tree of knowledge, but that is a lie also. When God came looking for Adam that day in the garden, he came as he always did, for the regular evening stroll in the garden. God did not come looking for Adam in anger or with lightning bolts ready for the kill. God came for relationship but Adam could not see that God. He could only see an angry judge which made Adam afraid. We are all afraid of the ‘angry judge’ God and are hesitant to engage in a relationship with that God.

Adam’s sin and fear did not make God angry, it grieved him greatly. Now, there was no hope for relationship. In Adam’s mind, God was now an abusive husband rather than a lover; he was an angry judge rather than a loving Father. Adam was no longer able to receive God’s love because he could not see God the way God really is. Adam missed the mark and plunged the entire creation into death. We died the day we could no longer receive God’s love because it is his love that gives us life. Without his love we are dead.

 

But, there was still hope because God was the kind of parent who would go to great lengths to be with his beloved children. God had a plan ready and waiting. That plan was Jesus. God would send his own son to us, to be one of us, to be with us, to forge a union that could not be broken between God and man. Jesus did not come to absorb God’s wrath and anger in our place, he came to undo Adam’s mistake; to undue Adam’s warped mind, blindness, bondage and inability to see God the way God really is that led to his death. He came because the Father loved his children so much he could not stand for them to be separated from his love forever. Since we have all inherited Adam’s warped mind and blind eyes, his bondage and death, Jesus came to give us a new mind, to make us see again, to set us free, to raise us from the dead.

 

The Gospel is Good News and it sets the captives free, raises the dead, gives sight to the blind so they can see God the way he really is, heals broken and disbelieving hearts so they can receive God’s love, and makes the deaf hear so they can hear the truth over the lies; the truth of God’s ‘I love you, I want you, I desire you, you are precious to me’. Those of us who have been raised from the dead and set free to receive God’s love get to participate with Christ in raising our brothers and sisters from the dead so they also can receive the love of God and live. I cannot imagine a greater joy in life than that.



 

May the prisoners be set free!

While we are now three days in a new year,  I have always wished those who are entrapped in what we call Armstrongism will be set free and it is my hope that 2011 will be different in the fact that there will be a significant number hitting the road. Douglas Becker in his latest article in The Painful Truth website agrees:For 2011, expect more people to be wising up and leaving the venue of the Armstrongist community. In ligt of what has and is happening with the UCG and CGAWA, 2011 should have a revolt of the members. Ministers just had theirs this past year. What about the tithe-payer who supplements their salaries? Isn’t it time they get a voice too? Yes, there will be some who want others to do their thinking for them but we’re not talking about them (we all know they are a lost cause)—we are talking about those who want to get of the treadmill and on to something else. Douglas Becker has still offered the alternative to Armstrogism in the form of  the Church of God Seventh Day and if anybody wants to keep the Feast of Tabernacles WITHOUT the Armstrongism, they have the chance to do so with a  Seventh Day Church of God  based in Idaho having their Feast in Washington state later this year. I can only support Douglas and say to those who pondering the idea, “GO FOR IT!”  This Church of God has been celebrating the Feasts, according to Becker, since 1920—approximately 13 years before a Radio Church of God came on the scene.

Douglas Becker also says in his post in The Painful Truth,”Expect to hear more about Jesus Christ than you would at the standard Armstrongist CoG Festival and the participation is a lot more Scripture oriented..” I say “Amen” to that!

In light of the spirit of a revolution for the tithe paying member, I will leave you with some clips of the last episode of the 1960’s British TV series The Prisoner. Yes, one of the most highly complex and metaphoric episodes I ever seen of the series or any TV show. You might be perplexed by it but I hope all will enjoy it.

A VERY Intelligent Quote of The Day

“We live in hard times, not end times.”

—The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart , on October 30, 2010 at his Rally to Restore Sanity. Good advice for all XCG’s out there.

May all enjoy 2011

As most of the world’s time zones have by now entered the year 2011,  I wish all a prosperous, happy, healthy and successful new year for all. For those who are caught in the United Church of God vs. Church of God: A Worldwide Association debacle, it is my hope, wish and prayer that many members who are caught in the crossfire will take this year to ask a lot questions, read a lot of stuff with an open mind without the approval and dependency on whatever minister which includes a re-reading their Bibles  and yes, be introduced to a real relationship with Jesus Christ and the freedom that He provides. When this materializes, it will be time for ego and money hungry ministers to find a real job in the real world like the rest of us. God speed that day!

Many in the XCG’s will at this time have their silly rants about how pagan New Year’s Day is but here is what Reformed scholar, Kenneth Samples found from a book where historic Christianity (2000 years mind you)shared a different view about New Year’s Day than the paganoid Armstrongite view (only 75+ years):

“For centuries Christians saw New Year’s Eve as a symbol of what awaits all human beings at the end of their life cycle and therefore a reminder that they should always be prepared to meet their Lord.” Alvin Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World, p. 379.

This view, I like a lot better. For those of us who believers, we are one year closer to our eternal destiny and reward with God. Let it all the more inspire us to live a holy life and be a blessing to others.

Bill Maher’s Christmas message

Yeah, yeah he’s an atheist, whatever. Listen to what he has to say. He’s right. For those who are celebrating the holiday, I hope all will take this heart. What I like about the Eastern Orthodox, Christmas is treated like a “holy day” not a mere holiday. We can learn from them and Bill at the same time. The North American religion is truly “greed” and it seems The Great Recession has  not altered people’s mentality. One can hope and pray that there will be a change of heart.

A VERY Intelligent Quote of The Day

I’m so sick of  all the messes the ministers have made through out the years because of their discord, dis-unity ,dissension  and struggles for power.
Their misuse of scripture about government in the church …….to hold onto that power ……is appalling and members should wake up and quit depending on men to steer them through those scriptures and  start their own independent study  and allow the Holy Spirit to be the guide.

When Christ died the Temple veil was rent …Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom
No longer was a priest ( minister) needed to give the people access to God……

It’s time the people of God take advantage of that access.

 

—a poster from Worldwide Church of God Alumni’s take on the United Church of God debacle and the rise of Church of God America

Another new splinter. Oh joy. NOT!

Tip to NO2HWA and his blog Banned from HWA. Out of the United Church of God is Church of God America formed by Leon Walker and Larry Salyer. How is the NEW splinter going to make a difference? Will it make new believers or new disciples? Will people have transformed Christ-centered lives?  Will it heal the sick, raise the dead, feed the hungry,clothe the naked, give shelter to homeless? Or will personalities as usual be the focus of this new organization? I think we all know that it will be the latter than the former and this is sad.  As I posted before on the blog that those caught up in Armstrongism seem to be akin to drug addicts. Strong language and I meant it. I will even go so far to say that they ALMOST make crack addicts look respectable. Like drug addicts, Armstrongites need their fix and yes, those members who are currently in the UCG, planning to join this Church of God America are looking for their latest stimulation—only to find a few years later that this new high will no longer satisfy.

On the other hand, there are some who are looking for a detox and healthier alternatives. Douglas Becker had some constructive comments on my old blog as we were giving advice to one UCG member about his membership:

United doesn’t just have some problems: Somewhere along the line, it fell into being weird and creepy, totally unhealthy. The Good News started out to be a beautiful encouraging magazine for about a year and then it descended into the same tacky British Israelism based death, devastation, destruction as the old Plain Truth. Someone somewhere made a decision to go flat out secular. Howard Davis told me, “The Good Newsis horrible! Just horrible”. And he is right. It is.

The UCG website is a mess, often with little podcasts about how you can overcome mental illness by being happy instead of getting real help from mental health professionals and taking your meds — and their teachings are based upon the preachments of a mentally ill minister [to whom I have spoken] who hasn’t figured out how to take care of his own mental illness — a real case of denial.

It should also be noted that alcoholism is also rife within the ranks, although it is somewhat better than the other xcgs amongst the ministers. That is why I talked with Dennis Luker at the end of December 2006 after services and promised to write an article he could use about Alcoholism. I hope he will take it forward and get the head of so many ministers in the xcgs out of the bottle. It is truly disturbing to be at dinner with an xcg pastor who tells you after the third glass of wine, “I am a wicked, wicked man: Help me”.

Something Draconian has happened to UCG and it cannot be fixed.

The suggestion Felix made concerning returning to the Church of God Seventh Day makes sense for you. They have a style of the Feast of Tabernacles back East, so you lose nothing there. They are warm friendly people without the rancor of Armstrongism. They actually treat Jesus with great reverence and respect just as if they expected to be his bride at his return — they already love honor respect and cherish him in a personal way. It is not a bad choice. Many in United have fled for the CG7 and are quite happy there — they have told us they will never return to United.

And there is something you should think about: Herbert Armstrong rebelled against the Church of God Seventh Day. He went ballistic when they didn’t adopt his views of British Israelism. It wasn’t about the holydays! It was about something which is not just false, but the fruit of it has been false prophecy, dissension, anger and even hatred — it has produced nearly every evil work, ending in divisions. Herbert Armstrong was a very evil man just for rebelling against the CG7 leadership because of his childishness. All of us have suffered because of his sin of rebellion. And United is keeping a portion of that evil alive.

Felix is right. Now is the time to hit the road — and not the road to Dallas, Texas. It is time to find a group of godly people who are loving and not divided by their common roots.

This was commented by Douglas in 2007 and it still relevant as we enter 2011 in less than a couple of weeks. The more things change, the more things stay the same. Stay tuned for a Bill of Rights for members of the UCG. They sure need one and need one NOW. As one who rightly pleaded on Worldwide Church of God Alumni message board: Please people look to God and Jesus Christ……….and quit looking to church organizations and ministers…….they will fail. Tragically some will ignore this advice to their own peril. What stupidity.

Another good video

…because I’m Christian. Confronting the stereotypes of Christians of the evangelical variety.

Turning Christianese!!!

Tip to Father Ernesto of OrthoCuban. Thank you sir! For those who have a sense of humour feel free to watch this video. For those who are serious and think they are God’s gift to the world, one can kindly skip it and go somewhere else.

Commentary on the UCG crisis: People matter, organizations are at best secondary

I did say that I was going talk about the current crisis in the United Church of God. I actually had a post about Richard Burkard’s “personal” crisis over certain hymns that he couldn’t sing to the audience. J of Shadows of WCG has his own take with his emphasis on his very firm belief in New Covenant Theology (I hope recognizes there are many other interpretations of law and grace and Christendom and that his is one of many, not the only interpretation) and “NO2HWA”  has chronicled the latest resignations, firings and shenanigans in the UCG in his blog Banned By HWA.

I have in the past given suggestions of where the UCG could go. My friend Douglas Becker gave me a reality check of  would anyone there (particularly the ministry) would ever listen. I knew anyway that the ministers from all the XCG splinters are poor listeners (they believe in the art of ignoring people) and their members are selective listeners (where they cherry-pick what they want to hear from others).

There are people whom I know personally who are in the United Church of God. I believe some are very decent people. They are sincere in seeking God. What I think the people of the United Church of God need to do is simply need to go directly to God. Forget HWA, forget the Council of Elders and I dare them to forget their own church literature. These things have just as served as bureaucratic roadblocks. Nothing more.  This is a scary step but a very necessary step if they want a radical change in their spiritual pilgrimage. It is time for ALL in the UCG, whether member or minister to recognize that the vehicle is NOT working. It is time to get a new vehicle.

I am not talking about a new splinter either. It can be guaranteed that if a new splinter takes place, sometime down the road some wild-eyed dreamy preacher (or wannabe preacher) will have some more eccentric ideas and create another split (how many times do I have really mention Ron Weinland?). What about the split from the split? Who’s legitimate? Again, splinters are ego focused and takes the focus off the real head of the invisible Body of Jesus Christ (Jesus, of course). It doesn’t take a rocket scientist that splinters are about following man and for those who angrily object are simply in denial.

Frankly and bluntly, those who are caught up in Armstrongism are just like addicts on hard drugs. They need a fix. The fix is an Apostle who is directly sent from God—or the fix is prophecy—they are so eager the world to end and be destroyed. Well God has for whatever reasons not ended the world yet (and believe me with the wickedness and injustice that run rampant in today’s world, I still have yet to understand God’s mercy). We all have to cope with that fact. It seems those in the XCG have the most difficulty doing that. They need that fix. This is why some very few would even go to a Seventh Day Baptist Church or a Messianic Jewish Congregation (with the exception to infiltrate that place with Armstrongite doctrines as been proven). The XCG’s just provide that boost—putting that person in a constant state of alertness and restlessness. Sad indeed, but the truth.

What would be my current wish for the people of the United Church of God? Note I emphasized people. I don’t care much of the organizational structure of that church. One UCG blogger wonders if the organization will last next year? Is this really a bad thing? If  it could create more independent thinkers I’d say it’s a good thing. If it could produce people who can innovate and think outside of the box, it’s also a good thing. Well what would be the best alternative for some to go?  Probably it is the best the thing for the people of the United Church of God to leave mass exodus from the organization and start knocking on the door of The Church of God (Seventh Day), where it may not be perfect but there is a centrality of Jesus Christ and His Gospel. The CG7 does believe in celebrating the Seventh-Day Sabbath (and have grown up in recognizing some let’s say 21st century “ox in the ditch” situations), celebrates the Lord’s Supper (Passover) on the 14th of Nisan, believes in a 72 hour death,burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ,  believes in conditional immortality, premillennialism and other similarities without the stranger and ascetic peculiarities of Armstrongism. If a good chunk of the people do this, I will be doing cartwheels. This is not to say that one’s spiritual pilgrimage may end there. It may lead you to places and ideas unexpected.  Sadly there are those who are scared of using their own minds and wanting to be told what to do. My prayer that these people will be in the minority and may they only serve as a museum piece making no impact on the world scene being nothing but an object of humour in which the rightly deserve.  The rest who desire freedom and to recapture true sanity, need our support more than ever before. This is no time for tea but a time for action. May it be sooner than later.