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Thursday, 5 December 2013

Just What Do You Mean - Boyne Again?

The latest issue of The Journal: News of the Churches of God is out and available for download.

Norm Edwards is still battling on at Port Austin. Give the guy points for tenacity. In this issue he's rattling his keyboard about church organisations - presumably like the ones he's led - placing themselves "directly under God." Norm, Norm; someone really needs to explain this stuff to you...

Ian Boyne - posing for the cover of an earlier book
Meanwhile Ian Boyne is once again preening on the front page. Boyne is, without doubt, a remarkable fellow and a thoughtful journalist, as I can testify from previous correspondence with the man. Never slow to stir up a bit of PR, he is well known in Jamaica (the article calls him a celebrity) for his media profile in print, radio and television. When not hobnobbing with the Governor General at the launch of his new book (the GG contributed the foreword to an earlier volume!), he's pastor of the original Garner Ted Armstrong breakaway, the Church of God International, in that country. Last I heard, CGI was the biggest of the Sabbath-keeping COGs in that part of the Caribbean. However, whether it could survive his loss - if for example Ian suddenly followed in Wade Fransson's wake and converted to the Baha'i Faith - is a moot point.

(Speaking of which, I still intend to get around to some further comments on Fransson's The People of the Sign.)

There's apparently been a big reaction to an article in the previous Journal issue that dealt with homosexuality. It seems fire and brimstone has been raining down, along with KJV proof texts, ever since. Reg Killingley attempts to bring some sanity to the discussion.

As always, if you feel the need to keep abreast with developments in the fiefdoms and gulags of what some still call "Armstrongism", then The Journal remains your indispensable guide. Dixon Cartwright does a great job - in fact he deserves a medal for perseverance. The Connections ad section pays the bills, but be warned, unlike most of the editorial content, that stuff should - with the exception of the word search - carry a mental health warning.

Enjoy!
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6 comments:

  1. Gideon7 December 2013 at 10:55

    Gavin. Gavin, appears my comments aren't being published? What's the reason?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gavin R7 December 2013 at 19:06

    Provide a link. Without that there's no point in discussing it further.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tom Mahon9 December 2013 at 21:06

    The church of god international was and is a personality cult. The original defectors went with Garden Ted because of his speaking ability, not because of his character! Sadly, Ian is following in Ted's footsteps, while deluding gullible people to pay him tithes and offerings, so that he can wear smart suits and live in a big house.

    I bet that his children, if any, are off to private school at the congregation of the dead expense!

    All of these awful men have got some surprises coming, and they won't be pleasant!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gavin R10 December 2013 at 06:17

      I think it was always a bit more than a personality cult, attracting support from a wide range of folk initially, many of which moved on when Ted showed no indication of following through on his announced agenda. Later, of course, they dumped Ted, who then set up ICG as almost a family business (Mark is still milking that cow). To be fair to Ian, his profile (and I assume most of his income) is built on his extensive media work which is non-religious.

      Delete
  4. Byker Bob9 December 2013 at 21:44

    Every time I peruse the Journal, I end up with a headache. On the one hand, it is sometimes nice to see some familiar names and faces, but on the other, the types of people who have really gone off the deep end appear to be the dominant ones at this point.

    BB

    ReplyDelete
  5. larry10 December 2013 at 08:03

    I actually thought Norm Edwards' treatise was very impressive...

    ReplyDelete