A Blessing in Disguise

The victory of Donald Trump spells the end of the republic which I had formerly held in such high esteem. Sure, it will continue to be called the United States of America, but it will not be the same country that I have served and celebrated for all of my life. Nevertheless, there is a blessing in this outcome for me. It has reminded me that my citizenship is in God's Kingdom, NOT in the very flawed United States. It has demonstrated to me that ALL of the nations of this earth really are hopelessly flawed, and that they are ALL destined to fail. Yes, persecution will come from the winners of this contest against their perceived enemies, but I have been liberated from any attachment to, or obligation to, the system they have created. Now, my only obligation is to what it should have been all of my life anyway. The obligation to love God with all of my heart and soul, and to love my neighbors as myself. At last, my loyalty is where it should have been all along.

I do, however, mourn for the world that my grandchildren will inherit. They will inherit a government that has returned to the spoils system. They will inherit a country where talent, education, and merit will take a backseat to loyalty. They will inherit a country that does not respect the democratic principles on which this nation professed to have been founded upon. They will inherit a country that puts economic prosperity over character, the environment, and the needs of the disadvantaged. They will inherit a country with a gutted public health system that will be more vulnerable to disease and the pandemics which will almost certainly arise from them. They will inherit a country where the rule of law and justice will become even more perverted and unfair than it already is. They will inherit a country that is more insular and xenophobic. They will inherit a country that does not honor its alliances and commitments on the world stage and befriends dictators and corrupt regimes around the world. They will inherit a country in which a religious minority insists on imposing its notion of morality on everyone and will persecute anyone who attempts to thwart them. I, however, will continue to love my grandchildren and encourage them to be good and kind to others and to seek God's Kingdom.

The handwriting is now on the wall. The United States will eventually suffer the same fate which the other beastly Babylons of the past suffered:

Revelation 18:1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! 3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”

4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 Render to her just as she rendered to you and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. 7 In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ 8 Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.

The World Mourns Babylon’s Fall

9 “The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’

11 “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: 12 merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; 13 and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. 14 The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. 15 The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16 and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! 17 For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance 18 and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’

19 “They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.’

20 “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!”

Finality of Babylon’s Fall

21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore. 22 The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. 23 The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.” - NKJV

The shining city on the hill is no more! I will no longer stand before the night sky and rejoice in the fireworks exploding above my head. I cannot celebrate with a clear conscience that which was only an illusion. I had formerly entertained a romantic notion of what this country was - "the last, best hope of man on earth." Moreover, I had effectively worshipped that false idol for years - I had worn the mark of the beast in my forehead and on my hand!

As a student of history, a part of me had known that it was all romantic nonsense - that the United States was NOT good - that it had NEVER been good! Our forebearers had ruthlessly stolen this land from its natives and systematically exterminated them and their culture. Our forefathers had enslaved their African brethren and ruthlessly exploited them. They had started on the eastern shore of an Eden and had proceeded westward like a plague of locusts - felling the great forests and ruthlessly exploiting the abundant resources of the wholly defenseless continent that lay before them. Likewise, the lust for wealth and more had always motivated them to push forward - self-interest had always been the motivation of the economy which they had developed, and they had done it all proclaiming themselves to be disciples of Jesus Christ! I was blind, but now I see!

Even so, Lord, May Thy Kingdom come, and Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!

Bill Watson's Communism Quiz!

In anticipation of next week's election in the United States, CGI Pastor Bill Watson asked his congregation a series of questions to help them decide whether or not they are communists! The pastor obviously thinks that he is being clever - avoiding an outright endorsement of his favorite candidate, but his devious hijinks should be apparent to everyone. His "fun" quiz consisted of the following types of questions requiring a yes or no answer:

Do you support Critical Race Theory?

Do you support media companies controlling and/or censoring information on their platforms?

Do you support open borders?

Do you support sanctuary cities?

Do you support transgender/queer theory?

Should transitioning males be allowed to participate in female sports or use their locker rooms?

Should children under 18 years of age be given transitioning drugs without parental consent?

Are there more than two genders?

Do you support homosexual marriage?

Do you support defunding the police?

Do you support the elimination of private health insurance?

Should illegal immigrants be allowed to receive Medicaid and Social Security?

Should illegal immigrants be allowed to vote?

Are you satisfied with current gas and grocery prices?

Do you support imposing a capital gains tax on unrealized profits?

Do you support mandatory vaccination?

Do you agree with the United States subordinating its public health guidelines to the United Nations?

Should books with sexual content appear in grade school libraries?

Should transvestites be permitted to read to small children?

Do you support parent participation in the education of their children?

Do you support "15-Minute" cities? (daily necessities and services incorporated into urban planning)?

Do you support packing the Supreme Court?

Do you support increased inheritance taxes?

Do you support late-term or partial-birth abortions?

According to Bill, if you answered "no" to ten or more of these questions, you probably aren't a communist - meaning you should be voting for Donald Trump on Tuesday! Of course, to anyone with an open mind, his questions will appear absurdly prejudicial! In other words, personal bias is evident in the way that the questions were formulated. For example, I don't know of very many folks who actually "support" abortions of any kind, but I do no of a good many folks who support a woman's right to decide in consultation with her doctor whether or not to have an abortion.

Moreover, none of these questions offer much insight into whether or not someone is a communist! According to The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels, "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." In modern times, they believed that society had resolved itself into two classes, the capitalists (Bourgeoisie) and the working class (Proletariat). They believed that the Capitalistic society which had developed as a consequence of the Industrial Revolution was inherently unfair to the vast majority of mankind, and this led them to a number of conclusions about what society should look like. Of course, the first priority was the overthrow of the Bourgeoisie. For Marx and Engel, a Communist society would involve: 1) abolish private property, 2) a progressive or graduated income tax, 3) abolition of inheritance rights, 4) confiscation of property of emigrants and rebels, 5) centralization of credit in the hands of the state, 6) centralization of the means of communication and transportation under state control, 7)state control of agriculture and industry, 8) a universal work requirement, 9) the gradual abolition of the distinctions between urban and rural, industry and agriculture, 10) free education for all children in public schools. Under such a system, they envisioned the eventual decline of the need for political power. This is the theory behind communism according to the original communists.

In other words, Bill has effectively redefined communism to make it fit his perception of what Kamala Harris and the Democrats represent. Nevertheless, I am hopeful that my readers are smart enough to discern the difference between increasing inheritance taxes and eliminating inheritance. I hope that my ACOG and Trumpist friends also realize that most of our Democratic brethren support the concept of private property and capitalism. Yes, of course, it is appropriate to point out that they generally support a more robust role for government in the economy, but it is inaccurate to say that they support state ownership and control of the private sector. Likewise, although most Democrats support the notion of separation of church and state, most of them are religious and have no agenda to do away with religion. As for a universal work requirement, excuse me for pointing out that that sounds more like a Republican objective than a Democratic one! Finally, isn't there a commandment about NOT bearing false witness against your neighbor? In fact, isn't that one of the BIG TEN that the ACOGs profess to be so fond of?

In short, voting for Kamala Harris or the Democrats does NOT make you a communist! Likewise, voting for the Great Orange One does NOT make you a fascist! Moreover, a true minister of Jesus Christ should NOT be dispensing his political views from the pulpit, and he definitely should NOT be lying about, exaggerating, or otherwise distorting the truth about anyone or anything. It is a SIN, pure and simple! Now, let's see if the Church of God International posts Bill's political message!

The following link supplies a more objective quiz for determining the degree to which someone is or isn't a communist: IDR Labs Communism Test 

Birds of a Feather!

Dennis Diehl posted The End of Fear yesterday over at Banned by HWA. The post consisted of a documentary style, short video with former members of Herbert Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God. The focus of the program was Armstrong's obsession with the prophesied horrors of the end time. Among the commentary which followed, I thought that one was particularly perceptive. The commentator wrote:

"HWA and Trump have one key manipulative technique in common. In order to sell their philosophy, both worked very hard at destroying trust in the normal practices and institutions upon which we have all grown up trusting and counting upon. I recognized this as a teenager in the WCG, and I certainly recognized it and saw it happening again on a larger scale here in the USA beginning in 2016-2017. Add some fear with readily disprovable conspiracy theories, and get enough people "authenticating" and spreading the lies, and you have a lever and fulcrum to manipulate massive numbers of people into a revolutionary level of insanity.

So many of us worked very hard to free ourselves from the damage done by HWA. We'll know sometime in the coming week whether or not we have a second, larger scale and more damaging scenario to live against as the election processes itself."

In response, I wrote:

Herbie preached that traditional Christianity was deceived and doing the Devil's work. He pointed out that higher education and science hadn't solved all of our problems either. Armstrong presented a world, and a nation headed for disaster and failure. Only God's direct intervention would prevent mankind from destroying himself and the planet he inhabited! Moreover, the state of California and a group of "dissidents" were attacking God's one and only "true" church (not Armstrong's and church leadership's malfeasance).

Likewise, Trump preached that the U.S. had lost its greatness and was headed for disaster and failure. He methodically and deliberately sowed and encouraged mistrust of our government, alliances, media, universities, and other institutions. Only he could save America from itself - from the "enemy within" who was seeking to destroy all that was good - those evil Democrats. Also, like Herbie, his enemies were America's enemies - they weren't really attacking him - they were attacking the U.S. Hence, all of the charges against him were a giant "witch hunt" meant to undermine his efforts to "help" the people of the United States.

It was bullsh-t back in the day, and it's bullsh-t in 2024! Both men cultivated a cult of personality and played on the fears of their followers. Moreover, the results were largely the same - a group of disciples who would excuse their every failure and remain loyal in the face of so much clear evidence of their own corruption and personal failures.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So, we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. --I John 4:16-18

Samhain and Halloween

The Armstrong Churches of God and Jehovah's Witnesses claim that Halloween is pagan in origin and should NOT be observed by "true" Christians. Is that true? Does our Halloween have its origins in the pagan Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced "sow-win")? AND Should Christians shun anything to do with the observance of that holiday? This post will attempt to answer those questions.

In support of their stance against "pagan" holidays, the favorite prooftext of the Armstrong Churches of God is found in the book of Deuteronomy. We read there: "These are the statutes and rules that you shall be careful to do in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place. You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way." (Deuteronomy 12:1-4, ESV) Moreover, a little later in the same book and chapter, we read: "When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it." (Deuteronomy 12:29-32, ESV)

So, there you have it - case closed! It is clear. God doesn't want his people adopting pagan practices in their worship of him! The PLAIN TRUTH is that God doesn't want his people adding to or taking away from what he has commanded them! Right? Not so fast!

Let's take a closer look at that passage from Deuteronomy. Question: To whom were these instructions given? Answer: The Children of Israel! Question: What pagan practices did God designate as unacceptable for the Israelites? Answer: Using the places where the former inhabitants of the Promised Land worshipped their gods! Also, in the latter passage, they were instructed NOT to worship God in the way that those nations who had lived there before them worshipped their gods! Moreover, notice that this passage also spells out that God hated the way they sacrificed their children as burnt offerings to their gods! Question: What commandments was God talking about when he instructed the Israelites not to add or subtract from them? Answer: The commandments that he was giving to THEM - Torah! In other words, these instructions were given to the Israelites to outline how God wanted THEM to deal with the religious practices of the former inhabitants of the Promised Land! This was also consistent with the commandments NOT to have any gods besides, before, or in place of THE GOD and NOT to make any idols to worship (images of gods). Moreover, students of Torah will also remember that God had given the Israelites instructions about a Tabernacle and a future central sanctuary for them to use in worshipping HIM (Deuteronomy 12:20-28 and 16:1-17). Likewise, we know that God gave the children of Israel specific commandments about a number of Holy Days which THEY would observe in their worship of HIM! (Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16:1-17)

Question: What do these instructions have to do with the Celtic peoples? Answer: Nothing! What do these instructions have to do with Christians? Answer: Nothing! Question: Who were they for? Answer: The Children of Israel!

Now, with that background in hand. We will turn our attention to the Celtic holiday which the ACOGs and Jehovah's Witnesses characterize as the forerunner of our modern Halloween. On the website Irish Myths, in their article titled A Brief History of Samhain, we read: "Samhain (“summer’s end”) marked the conclusion of one pastoral year and the commencement of the next. As an ancient Celt, you would have been keenly aware that the days were noticeably shorter during the Samhain season, as if the sun itself were in retreat. The world was darker. The harvest, over...So the ancient Celts did what any sensible people would do in the face of encroaching darkness: They shined a light."

Likewise, on the History.com website, in their article titled Samhain, we read: "Ancient Celts marked Samhain as the most significant of the four quarterly fire festivals, taking place at the midpoint between the fall equinox and the winter solstice. During this time of year, hearth fires in family homes were left to burn out while the harvest was gathered. After the harvest work was complete, celebrants joined with Druid priests to light a community fire using a wheel that would cause friction and spark flames. The wheel was considered a representation of the sun and used along with prayers. Cattle were sacrificed, and participants took a flame from the communal bonfire back to their home to relight the hearth. Early texts present Samhain as a mandatory celebration lasting three days and three nights where the community was required to show themselves to local kings or chieftains. Failure to participate was believed to result in punishment from the gods, usually illness or death."

A little further, in the same article, we learn that: "Because the Celts believed that the barrier between worlds was breachable during Samhain, they prepared offerings that were left outside villages and fields for fairies, or Sidhs. It was expected that ancestors might cross over during this time as well, and Celts would dress as animals and monsters so that fairies were not tempted to kidnap them. Some specific monsters were associated with the mythology surrounding Samhain, including a shape-shifting creature called a Pukah that receives harvest offerings from the field. The Lady Gwyn is a headless woman dressed in white who chases night wanderers and was accompanied by a black pig." Hence, we see that the Celtic mythology surrounding this festival associated it with the supernatural, and a time when evil forces might enter their world and work their mischief among them.

Question: Does any of that sound like our celebration of Halloween? Answer: Outside of the supernatural mythology, the festival sounds more like the fall harvest festivals of the ancient Israelites! After all, most Americans don't let the fires go out in their fireplaces during harvest time (the majority of homes don't even have fireplaces anymore), and they aren't in the habit of lighting a communal bonfire for the purpose of relighting their own extinguished home fires. Likewise, outside of young folks, I don't think that many modern Americans believe in fairies or monsters, and they certainly aren't disguising their children to protect them from being kidnapped by fairies!

Question: If we didn't get it from the Celts, where did this "Halloween" originate? Answer: The holiday is derived from the vigil for All Saints' Day. In the online version of the Catholic Encyclopedia, in their entry for "All Saints' Day," we read: "The vigil of this feast is popularly called 'Hallowe'en' or 'Halloween.' Continuing, we are informed that: "In the early days the Christians were accustomed to solemnize the anniversary of a martyr's death for Christ at the place of martyrdom. In the fourth century, neighbouring <sic> dioceses began to interchange feasts, to transfer relics, to divide them, and to join in a common feast ; as is shown by the invitation of St. Basil of Caesarea (397) to the bishops of the province of Pontus. Frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In the persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all. The first trace of this we find in Antioch on the Sunday after Pentecost. We also find mention of a common day in a sermon of St. Ephrem the Syrian (373), and in the 74th homily of St. John Chrysostom (407). At first only martyrs and St. John the Baptist were honoured <sic> by a special day. Other saints were added gradually, and increased in number when a regular process of canonization was established; still, as early as 411 there is in the Chaldean Calendar a 'Commemoratio Confessorum' for the Friday after Easter. In the West Boniface IV , 13 May, 609, or 610, consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs, ordering an anniversary. Gregory III (731-741) consecrated a chapel in the Basilica of St. Peter to all the saints and fixed the anniversary for 1 November. A basilica of the Apostles already existed in Rome, and its dedication was annually remembered on 1 May. Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration on 1 November to the entire Church. The vigil seems to have been held as early as the feast itself. The octave was added by Sixtus IV (1471-84)."

Now, with all of this history as evidence, we are forced to conclude that Halloween is a development of the Christian Era! Hold on! Jesus didn't say anything about honoring saints or martyrs! Question: Are you sure about that? Actually, the writings of the New Testament have a great deal to say about saints and martyrs being honored (See Revelation 6:9-11, 17:6, 20:4, I Thessalonians 3:13, 4:16, Jude 1:14, Revelation 11:18, 5:10, etc.). Question: Well, what about all of that stuff related to ghosts, witches, demons, and the like? Answer: Are you suggesting that all of those things are NOT mentioned in Scripture? Now, I'm certainly NOT condoning or suggesting that you dress up your children to look like demons and ghosts, but I think that we can all see that the superstitious paranoia of these folks is just a little overboard - a little pharisaical! Bottom line, observe Halloween or don't - it's up to you and your conscience, but don't try to pin your decision to shun it on God's commandment! 

    

Christianity Today on Christian Nationalism

In the September/October edition of Christianity Today, Russell Moore contributed an article titled The Uneasy Conscience of Christian Nationalism (which I am happy to recommend). In the piece, Moore cautions Christian nationalists that the eutopia they seek may not be the reality that they end up with. Indeed, he likens the current climate among Evangelicals of that bent to the moral equivalent of the selling of indulgences which prompted Luther to nail his paper to the door of the castle. He wrote: "In our time, the indulgences are more akin to a hotel’s green initiative than to the construction of St. Peter’s. The new Christian nationalism—like the withered old state churches of Europe and the secularized old social gospels of mainline Protestantism—defines Christianity in terms of reforming external structures rather than of regenerating internal psyches. Unlike the older theological liberalisms, though, Christian nationalists seek solidarity not in the actual mitigating of human suffering but in the mostly symbolic boundary markers of taking the right amount of theatrical umbrage at culture war outrages, at having the right kind of enemies, at 'owning the libs.'"

Moore went on to quote Philip Yancey (a longtime columnist at Christianity Today) about the fate of the Soviet Union: "Humans dream of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good, wrote T. S. Eliot, who saw many of his friends embrace the dream of Marxism. 'But the man that is - will shadow the man that pretends to be.' What we were hearing from Soviet leaders, and the KGB, and now Pravda, was that the Soviet Union ended up with the worst of both: a society far from perfect, and a people who had forgotten how to be good." He went on to conclude: "We should not pretend that we could not see the same thing with a lifeless, politicized dystopian Christian nationalism as we saw with a hollowed-out Soviet empire. What a tragic end it would be to wind up with a society as debauched as ever and a people who have forgotten how to be saved. The way forward is what it’s always been. As Luther said in his Heidelberg Disputation, 'The theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil. The theologian of the cross calls a thing what it is.' Sometimes that means nailing a word or two to the castle door. Sometimes that might mean letting goods and kindred go. The whole of the Christian life is about repentance. That repentance must be about the renewing of our minds and the renovation of our hearts, not just the laundering of consciences that are no longer bound to the Word of God."

From my perspective, that's just about right. We can huff and puff about the culture wars, protest at abortion clinics, and insist on voting for the "right" candidate OR We can focus on repenting of our own shortcomings and sins, trying to live our best lives in the here and now, and helping others to be successful in the same pursuits. Bottom line, religious/spiritual does NOT equal political/civic. If we claim to be Christians, we MUST remember that our primary allegiance is to God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Kingdom of God!    

When Are You Going to Admit that Bill Watson IS RIGHT?

Pastor Bill Watson of the Church of God International is certainly consistent – I’ll give him that! He has never wavered in his conviction that he has the truth, and that it is his job to try to convince everybody else to conform to the dictates of his conscience.

Pastor Watson opened his remarks with a warning about a potential widening of the ongoing wars involving Israel because of that nation’s counterattack on Iran. Turning his attention closer to home, the pastor reminded his audience that the general election was rapidly approaching in the United States. Watson said that he saw some of Trump’s most recent rally, and that “DJT” was “essentially trolling the Marxist group of people, the Marxist party, frankly, that stands for killing children – I’m not going to make any apologies for that, because that’s what that party stands for - open borders, by-the-way, higher taxes, and let the prices continue to rise. If you like it, you can vote for that particular party of Marxists…” Once again, however, Bill insisted that he wasn’t talking politics – that he was talking “policy.”

Then, finally, Mr. Watson waded into the main topic of his message: How important it is for everyone to observe the festivals outlined in Torah. Hewing close to the Armstrongist party line, he insisted that Christians need a yearly reminder about what God is working out here on earth. Ironically, after fifty years of observing these festivals, Bill still hasn’t learned what they symbolize or mean! Indeed, instead of underscoring how they ALL point to CHRIST, Watson parroted Mr. Armstrong’s nonsense about how they portray the “truths” which he alone had deciphered and revealed. For Bill, the Eucharist is only to be performed within the context of the yearly Jewish Passover. Likewise, Christians MUST make a concerted effort to deleaven their houses, cars and toasters. The Day of Atonement is all about Satan, and the Feast of Tabernacles is all about the Millenium. And, of course, Bill means that all of them should be observed according to Armstrongist tradition (don’t worry about all of those instructions in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy).

Talk about a true-believer, Mr. Watson is it. He believes that physical observances (rituals) repeated over and over again are the way to grow in grace and knowledge. Never mind that mushy love stuff! For Bill, true spirituality is found in performing all of the rituals which Mr. Armstrong identified in Torah as being binding on “true” Christians. For him, the New Covenant is built on the foundation of the Old one – an updated version of the same deal which God made with the children of Israel. According to Bill, Christ’s fulfillment of the Law of Moses does NOT mean that we are exempt from obeying it. Forget that stuff about Christians not being justified by the works of the Law. For Bill, Christians would be lost without the Torah!

Come to think of it, Bill may be right to worry about his flock’s observance of those Jewish rituals. Indeed, all of the clips that I looked at of ACOG feast sites showed a lot of empty seats, and most of the ones that were occupied were supporting elderly men and women. In fact, there were quite a few empty pews at Medina this past Sabbath for Bill’s sermon! 

The Major Problems with Armstrongism (which this blog and others have identified)

The following teachings of Herbert Armstrong have been thoroughly refuted here and elsewhere:

1. The nature of God. His teachings about the Trinity, and more particularly those that were related to the Holy Spirit.

2. The nature of the human potential. His teaching that man would one day be equal to God.

3. The biblical origins of the English-speaking nations of the earth. His teaching that the people of the United States and Britain are the descendants of the birthright tribes of Israel (Ephraim and Manasseh).

4. That the return of Jesus Christ to this earth is imminent. He repeatedly engaged in date setting and misleading people about the signs of the times.

5. That Christians are obligated to observe the commandments of Torah (including the weekly Sabbath, Holy Days, tithing, and clean and unclean animals as food.

6. That the symbolism of the Holy Days reflected Armstrong's understanding of God's plan. More particularly, his understanding of the meaning of Atonement, Trumpets, and Tabernacles.

7. The nature, purpose, and fate of the angels. Especially, as it related to Satan and his demons.

8. The nature of the ekklesia. His teachings about government within the Church, the composition of the Church, disfellowshipping, and that traditional Christians were deceived members of a false church, a pseudo-ekklesia.

9. The influence of paganism on Christianity. More particularly, his teachings regarding Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Saint's Days, etc., and his rejection of the cross as a Christian symbol.

10. The interpretation of prophecy. More particularly, his headline theology and insinuating modern nations, institutions, and leaders into biblical prophecies.

11. The nature of the Gospel. More particularly, his de-emphasis on the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth and what all of that meant for humanity.

12. The nature of the Kingdom of God. He ignored the anti-authoritarian message of Christ and dismissed the fundamental change that was being wrought in the nature of humanity. Instead, he emphasized a literal government which would forcibly impose its will on everyone.

13. The nature and purpose of human sexuality. More particularly, his teachings about dating, marriage, homosexuality, divorce and remarriage, child rearing, appropriate clothing, makeup, and what constituted sexual lust.

14. The nature and role of faith and works in the life of a Christian. His understanding of love, mercy, forgiveness, repentance, faith in Christ, and physical works was twisted and inconsistent with what is revealed in Scripture.

15. The way that Scripture was used and interpreted. Mr. Armstrong's insistence on literalism and proof-texting; and his rejection of all textual criticism, along with the way he ignored context, doomed his interpretations of Scripture to failure.