Tomorrow's World and the Good News are two magazines with a lot in common.
They're free, attractively laid out, and published by competing splinters of the now defunct Worldwide Church of God.
But whereas The Good News is the domain of the rhetorical question mark, thanks to all those articles that expound on patsy questions (see this earlier post); Tomorrow's World salts as many exclamation marks as possible into its headlines.
- Resist Demons!
- Beware of False Prophets!
- When Nations Despise God!
- How Satan Seduces YOU!
- Jesus Christ is Coming to Rule!
- New Europe Rising!
- The End of the Age!
and my favourite: Become a Great Conversationalist!
Well, that's just a sample from last year. But there are enough of those cool GN-style rhetorical questions to have some fun with too. How would you respond to each of these?
A. Why Study Bible Prophecy?
B. Will Britain Leave the European Union?
C. Will the United Kingdom Break Apart?
D. How Would Jesus Vote for President?
E. Is Democracy the Answer?
F. Why Are We Here?
Feel free to send in your considered replies.
My suggestions: a. to make a fool of yourself in the same way Rod Meredith has; b. not all that likely; c. not before the Living Church of God does; d. Green; e. in most cases, definitely; f. to wise up enough to to recognise Rod's stuff for the hooey it is.
Present issue asks "Do You Believe 'the Lie'?"
ReplyDeletewherein writer Wyatt Ciesielka appeals to the British-Israel Theory (Lie)
It's all about BOLDNESS, Gavin. BOLDNESS!
ReplyDeleteExclamation marks confirm they know something for SURE!
Or else they're commanding you DO something!
Else they'd sound wimpy and wishy-washy - and what church wants to be like that?
(Whoso reads, let him understand.)
Any kind of analysis of what Armstrongites do must start with an examination of what they believe. Here I am not referring to their heretical theology but what they believe about how reality should operate. What Ambassador College taught the future leaders of the Armstrongite Movement, first and foremost, was a system for the valuation of people ("Recapture True Values"). Some people had more value than other people. Success depends on ones ability to discern,classify and capitalize on perceived human value. If you interact with an Armstrongite minister or with Ambassador College graduates, you have experienced the feeling of being assessed for your worth. Sometimes this valuation is subtle and sometimes it is blatant. The Armstrongites who are considered to be "leaders" are likely to be more blatant in showing this process. If you are the commmon Armstrongite laymember, you have very little importance to these people. The sole purpose of your existence is to fund the ambitions of the Armstrongite elite.
ReplyDeleteArmstrongites would take great exception to this, of course. That is part of the charade. But, in fact, HWA repeatedly wrote and taught that personal salvation was not important, contrary to the beliefs of orthodox Christianity. He taught that the Armstrongite's fundamental purpose was to support the ambitions of Armstrongite elite financially. He railed against people who were in the church "to get salvation." To him the average church layman was so unimportant that God might raise up Abraham's children from the stones to provide the slave-like support required by his ambitions. This theme of the unimportance of personal salvation ran through HWA's statements in publications, sermons and co-worker letters. His views on this are undeniable and can be established by any researcher. Whether you believe in God or not, you can appreciate how bizarre it is that Armstrongite leaders can claim to be Christian, claim to believe the Gospel, yet deny its central purpose and then have people be nevertheless slavishly devoted to a message that says they are worthless.
(The odd paradox is that HWA taught blasphemously that we would all become "God as God is God" yet so greatly devalued the salvation of the common laymember. I believe the reconciling principle that dampens the tension between these two views is that HWA also taught that very probably only the leaders and ministers of his church would be saved. The averge laymember would not be saved {I heard him say it in a sermon}. So the accumulated financial resources of the church and salvation itself, also, were meant only for the Armstrongite elite.)
The valuation of people and the classification of people is yet the principal Armstrongite predicate for all activity. This is why Armstrongites are able,without compunction, to ply the flock with all kids of articles that are meant to stimulate the flow of money to headquarters. It is like that well worn saying that everything that a man says is intended, euphemistically, to develop a relationship with a woman. Everything that Armstrongite leaders say and do is intended to enhance to flow of money to headquarters and preserve the corporation.
So the flow of nonsensical and alarmist(!) articles will continue. The dire prophecies will continue. And this symptom of the morally repugnant valuation of human worth was learned in the classrooms of Pasadena, Bricket Wood and Big Sandy and was taught by ardent and self-interested teachers.
I know you intended something lighthearted. Sorry for the rant.
-- Neo
Q. Why Study Bible Prophecy?
ReplyDeleteA. To see what early iron age Jewish religious fanatics wished would happen to the gentiles and unbelieving Jews.
Q. Will Britain Leave the European Union?
A. Since it was predicted with 100% accuracy that Britain would not join the European Union to start with the question doesn't make any sense.
Q. Will the United Kingdom Break Apart?
A. Not likely.
Q. How Would Jesus Vote for President?
A. He wouldn't, Jesus believed in a communistic theocratic dictatorship with himself as the dictator.
Q. Is Democracy the Answer?
A. It's the best answer we've found so far.
Q. Why Are We Here?
A. Why not? Everything else is.
A. To be absolutely sure of what won't happen.
ReplyDeleteB. No, they can't afford to.
C. Yes, during the next 9.5 earthquake.
D. Definitely not Republican, like the sheople do.
E. To take care of my cats.
As a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation and a former pastor of the Worldwide Church of God in Tuscaloosa, AL, I would like to point out that the term, "The Wold Tomorrow" was possibly plagiarized from the Fellowship of Reconciliation's magazine, "The World Tomorrow." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Tomorrow_%28magazine%29. It went by this name from 1918 until 1934, about the time someone else began to use this term. FOR, http://forusa.org/, is the oldest and largest active interfaith Peace organization in the world. Several Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, including Dr. King have been members.
ReplyDeleteA closet pacifist himself, influenced possibly by his Quaker roots and by A.N. Dugger of the Church of God, 7th Day, HWA actually did war with the word of God in many cases and made fun of the Gospel of Grace, and misunderstood the Gospel of Peace.
John Cooper
http://jcooperforpeace.org/
http://tuscaloosacirclesofpeace.blogspot.com/