You Are Wrong

I just cannot help it.  I had to postpone today’s post in order to write this.  Yesterday, I metaphorically swam in the toxic waste.  The poison that ran through the piece was amazing in the amount of bitterness vomited out from the person’s keyboard.  I hope it was cathartic for them.  As for me, I wanted to bathe after reading it.

“Bitter” in King James English often meant poison, in fact.  When Israel came to bitter waters, it wasn’t the taste they were complaining about.  The poison was a metaphor for their complaining attitude (cf Ps 95, et al).  James uses that same metaphor as it applies to speaking evil of others (Jas 3:2-12).  Bitterness is toxic if left unchecked for long.

What comes after James’ discourse on bitter and sweet?

 ¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

~ Jas 3:13 (NIV)

Notice the wisdom and understanding comes from doing what you know is right, but it does not stop there.  The good deeds are done in humility.

The problem is that human beings are not naturally humble.  Humans are inclined to believe they are right.  Sometimes, they even resist the truth even when presented with facts that counter their opinions.  It means admitting you might be wrong.

Religion does not change this.  “J” of Shadows of WCG Next Generation, who is possibly about the most reasonable and thoughtful blogger I've read of the opposing viewpoint, wrote “A Personal Reflection: Everybody Thinks They're RIGHT!”.  It applies not just to the COG movement, either.  It applies not just to the general umbrella of “Christianity”.

We have over 7,000,000 Baha`is. Over 300,000,000 Buddhists. Over 6,000,000 Confucianists. Hundreds of millions of Hindus. We have hundreds of thousands of Jains and Jews. Over a BILLION active and believing Muslims. Shintoists (2,000,000 of these), Sikhs, Spiritists, Taoists, Zoroastrians… and over 150,000,000 atheists all make up the non-Christian religious world viewpoint.

And they all think they are right.  [Emphasis in original.]

Think about what that means, will you?  HWA himself said that the world’s religions can’t all be right!

Then again, I say this thinking “I am right”, and if I didn’t think I was at last halfway right I wouldn’t be blogging this. And many of you will disagree with me thinking I am wrong and you are right.  Can’t shake human nature can we?

If there is any flaw in J’s article, it would be that he is wrong.

In fact, all of the world’s religions are wrong.

I am wrong.

You are wrong.

We are all wrong.

It isn’t a matter of if we are wrong, but about how much we are wrong and about what we are wrong.

It’s part of the human condition.  In fact, being wrong is so ingrained into being human that only One could ever live and die as a human and not be wrong.  And, what was His attitude?

 ¹⁸And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. (Mark 10:18, King James Version)

Most of us would agree that Jesus was righteous.  He was “good”.  Yet, He pointed to the Father for rightness and goodness.  Is this our attitude?

The effect of having “the truth” and believing we have the “whole truth” is that we become puffed up (1Co 8:1).  The Days of Unleavened Bread are not far off, so this might be something to think about.

The problem with thinking we have the whole truth is that even Jesus Himself did not claim to have perfect knowledge as a human.

 ³²But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. (Mark 13:32, King James Version)

OK, class, it’s reading comprehension time.  Who does not know when the return of Christ is?  Let’s see, no man, no angels and not even the Son knows when He will return.  Who does know?  The Father.

“Well,” some will pontificate, “surely He knows now!”  OK, we have the Book of Revelation written after the above.  Show me the passage.

“Well,” others will speculate, “He is now a spirit, so He must know now.”  Well, the angels are spirit, and they didn’t know either.  Again, show me the verse.

Not only can we not show that anyone on earth currently knows the time of Christ’s return, we cannot even know if Jesus knows yet.  Do you get yet just how imperfect our knowledge really is?

That should humble us.  Which is good, because it is the antidote to the root of bitterness.  It’s difficult to be haughty and nurse feelings of hurt, remorse and anger when you realize you are probably quite wrong about a lot of things.

If you cannot admit you are wrong, then I question if you have truly repented.  After all, repentance starts with the knowledge that you have done wrong.  If you cannot admit you are wrong, then you automatically must be “good”.  If Jesus refused to be called “good”, then who are you?

Repentance should not just a one time event, either.  True, it kicks off the process of conversion, but it is also a necessary ingredient to sanctification.

So, what of it?  Weren’t we promised the “whole truth” after all?  Does admitting you may be wrong about some things contradict faith?  I plan to show later that the answer is, “No”.

Unless, of course, someone first proves me wrong. :)

Technorati Tags: cog,church of god,humility,right,wrong,good,evil,humble,teachable,true religion,true christianity,pure religion,truth,whole truth,entire truth,religions,churches,bitterness

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Who Are You?

Pete Townshend asked this question in the famous Who song.  From what I can gather, it was based upon a particular day in the life of Townshend, where he meets with music industry leaders in “Tin Pan Alley”, only to feel that they have somehow sold out.   He went to a bar and proceeded to get drunk.  Afterwards, he wandered around Soho, a neighborhood of London, and passed out in someone’s doorway.  A police officer woke him up.  Since he recognized Townshend, he tried to be kind and tell him he wouldn’t take Townshend to jail if he could leave on his own and go home.  Townshend responded, “Who the [deleted] are you?”

And yet, don’t we all ask the question, “Who am I?”  Some debate if there isn’t a more spiritual meaning to the lyrics, which would not be unknown in much rock music of that era.

If you were asked, “Who are you,” what would you answer?

People love labels.  This person is a cook, this one is an accountant, and this one is a police officer.  This person is kind, this one is stingy, this one is cranky, but this one is arrogant.  This one is a thief, this one is a cheat, this one is a liar and this one is sexually immoral.  What kind of a label do you deserve?

And, in the end, isn’t that the point?  What you do or do not deserve?

Let’s turn this on its head for a moment.  Who are you?  Are you the judge of all the earth?

Salvation is a gift.  You cannot earn it.  It is undeserved.

Speaking of labels, what is the difference between a “Christian” and a “non-Christian”?

The world doesn’t understand.  Even some theologians do not get it.  A lot of the world’s form of Christianity wants to teach something else.  Some of accused the COG of teaching contrary to Scripture.

A Christian realizes they have done and been wrong.  This is conviction.

A Christian is forgiven.  This is justification.

A Christian wants to change.  This is repentance.

A Christian asks God for help to change.  This is submission.

The world does not understand, and it will not forgive.  The world will not forget.  Remember, it is run by the Accuser.  The Accuser will do all he can to keep the child of God in subjection and a slave to guilt.

Let me ask you one thing: If God has forgiven me, then who are you to sit as my judge?

 ¹⁹And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? (Genesis 50:19, King James Version)

 ⁴Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. (Romans 14:4, King James Version)

So, my fellow human being, who are you?

What?  You want to ask me who I am?

I was no one.  I was the chief of sinners.  I broke the entire Law, most of it literally.  I deserved the death penalty that lasts forever.  Not listing each and every sin is not hiding from the truth because breaking even one makes me guilty.  That is the truth.

However, the truth is also this: Now, I am a child of God, forgiven by the sacrifice of His Son Jesus the Christ, empowered by His Holy Spirit and I am destined to become a ruler with Jesus Christ on this earth for 1,000 years.

You cannot take that away from me because no one can snatch me from His hand.  Even the Accuser does not have the power to do so.

Technorati Tags: cog,church of god,forgiveness,repentance,justification,satan,the accuser,child of god,savior,jesus,christ,judging,judgment,judgmentalism

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Reflections: Super Bowl Ads

For those who are not in the United States, and for those of you in the US that live under a rock, today is Super Bowl Sunday. And, again, for those of you living under a rock, there’s a controversy over a Super Bowl ad endorsed by Focus on the Family.

You know, I can remember when “liberal” meant you were for something. OK, maybe some of the things they were for weren’t exactly what you and I would have been for, but some of them were pretty decent things: freedom of religious expression, equality of the races, equality of the sexes and freedom of speech. That last one is particularly important. It used to be that certain conservative groups would (attempt to) exert power in order to squash nonviolent demonstrations and the like.

Now, however, it is the liberals who want to squash freedom of speech. The link above to NPR outlines how liberal groups like NARAL and NOW want CBS to pull the ad.

Since when did “liberal” mean the desire to silence critics? Since when did dissenting viewpoints become “hate speech” rather than “freedom of speech”? Since when did “Make love, not war” become “You can speak only if you agree with me”?

It never fails to amaze me how once a particular group gains political power, it will do its best to silence its opponents. I guess it’s the modern equivalent of killing off the opposition once you become emperor, often abandoning the ideals and people who put them into power.

In fact, I would argue that the postmodern liberalism we see today isn’t even real liberalism. Note what Wikipedia says about classical liberalism:

Classical liberalism is a political ideology that developed in the 19th century in England, Western Europe, and the Americas. It is committed to the ideal of limited government and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly, and free markets.

~ Classical liberalism. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_liberalism. [Bolding in original article. Underlining mine.]

While the hypocrisy of the right never ceases to amaze me, it is obvious that the left is even worse. Liberals have lost sight of the very ideals they are supposed to be standing for. Since they cannot win in the court of popular opinion, they have resorted to other means.

Is it any wonder a Republican was voted in in Massachusetts? It isn’t because of any virtue of the right, but rather because the left has proven incapable of producing anything of substance.

As long as we have a 2 party system, we will continue to have a polarization between 2 extremes instead of something that resembles a common middle. By “common” being excluded, I also mean “common sense” is out of the question. Instead, we are left with right and left, or perhaps “dumb and dumber” might be a better description.

And, to think that it is only going to get worse. I pray to God that it comes quickly, though. When leadership is no longer even interested in common sense, we are all in trouble. May Jesus come soon!

P.S.: In other Super Bowl news, it looks like the Who will play "Won't Get Fooled Again", which some ex-COGers have as an anthem. Of course, I disagree with them, as my experience is coming from the opposite direction. I like the song, nonetheless. :)

P.P.S.: You are fooling yourself again if you think the Saints are going to win. ;->

Technorati Tags: cog,church of god,reflections,politiics,liberal,conservative,left,right,super bowl ad,prochoice,prolife,focus on the family,james dobson,jesus,christ,return of,kingdom of god

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The Just War, Part 1: Introduction

Catholics and Protestants alike sometimes refer to the “just war”. Some have tried to justify the war in Iraq by invoking this clause, even. The Just War theory is an official teaching by the Catholic Church, but it has proponents amongst secular humanists as well.

According to Wikipedia’s “Just War” article, there are 4 conditions:

• the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;


• all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;


• there must be serious prospects of success;


• the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.

Some have pointed to the authority granted to the state by God in supporting the notion of the just war.

¹Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

²Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

³For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

⁴For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

⁵Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. (Romans 13:1-5, King James Version)

The point Paul is making here is that a Christian should obey the governing authorities. Otherwise, he or she could find themselves in serious jeopardy. However, that passage is fairly ambiguous when it comes to dealing with those outside of a nation and not subject to the laws of that particular authority.

So, what is God’s view of war? Some Bible verses point to God as a warrior and Christians as soldiers. Other verses tell of a Messiah who was led like a lamb to the slaughter and tell Christians to turn the other cheek. Does God have a split personality? Why the seeming contradiction in Scriptures? Finally, what should we as Christians do? Should we take up arms? If so, why? Should we put our weapons down? If so, why?

This may or may not change as we go along, but here is a rough outline of what I want to cover:

• Why War?


• Who Was Supposed To Conquer Canaan?


• The First Murderer


• God’s First Command For Government


• Why Did Israel Have To Fight?


• Being Like the Other Nations


• Then Would My Servants Fight


• Politics of the World


• Willing Servants of Sin?

Technorati Tags: cog,church of god,war,military,pacifism,pacifist

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What Is a School? What Is a Church?

It’s been a busy but blessed week in many ways.  I appreciate the prayers of my friends, as always.

Yesterday, I gave an update on Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar/Burma.  Many of the Legacy Institute students are from various ethnic groups from within Burma, and some of those groups are being seriously persecuted by the ruling military junta there.  Many times, they have to overcome various obstacles to attend Legacy.  Getting a student visa with ever changing rules under conditions where the student is always viewed with suspicion (that they may be going to stay illegally in Thailand, in particular) results in frequent denials.  Sometimes, the visas get denied.

So, the thought occurred while praying about SE Asia, “What if none of them could come?  What would the school be then?  What is a school without its students?”

Of course, members of the Church of God are often denied entry visas (or, in some cases even permission to leave) in order to attend the Feast.  What is a holy day if no one shows?

Then, lastly it occurred to me, “What is a church without its members?”

The problem with a top-down government ruled by human beings is that it forgets why it is there.  It gets distracted, or worse it gets abused by those who care more about other things.

God the Father and Jesus Christ are not human, though.  They rule with righteousness and perfect love.  They don’t forget why the church is there.

You can criticize “member surveys”, “participatory government” or “church democracy” all you want, but you cannot say it ignores its membership, at least for long.  Looking at the world’s attempts at democracy point to it is when a “democratic” government disenfranchises a huge portion of its constituency, then it is on the road to destruction.  Democracies work, and they only work, when full and free participation is encouraged.

Let me leave you with this thought today: If the constituency has God’s Holy Spirit, is being led by God’s Holy Spirit, is honestly seeking God’s will in all things including church matters, then would a “one-man government” even be needed?  What would the point be?  What would be wrong with seeking counsel from multiple people who will presumably one day be governing the entire universe?

I wonder how many can honestly ask those questions and still say a “one-man rule” is really needed.

Technorati Tags: cog,church of god,church hierarchy,church government,one man rule,one man government,one-man rule,one-man government,democracy,church,school

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Burma May Free Suu Kyi During Polls

Update on Burma: According to the Bangkok Post, “Burma may free Suu Kyi during polls”. Of course, such promises have been made before.

Technorati Tags: cog,church of god,burma,myanmar,suu kyi,aung san

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“We Know That the Law is Good”

⁹Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

¹⁰For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; (1 Timothy 1:9-10, King James Version)

Some people love to quote the only the first part of v 9 above, as though that means the Law has been done away once you’ve “accepted Jesus into your heart” or some other vague notion of conversion. However, they don’t seem to really read the rest of vv 9-10 for some reason. They just seem to gloss over it.

Who are the “ungodly”? Who are the “sinners”? Are they not the ones who break the Law?

Who are the “righteous”? Are they not the ones “in the right”? Who defines what is right? God! That’s the lesson of the Garden of Eden. How does God express what is right? Through His Law!

Has the Law been “done away”? No. In fact, if you read the verse immediately preceding what we’ve just read, we see:

⁸But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; (1 Timothy 1:8, King James Version)

Almost every English translation I could find has those same exact words that are bolded (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=1Ti&c=1&v=11&t=KJV#vrsn/8).

And, if you want to know what Paul means by “use it lawfully”, then back up some more and we see that it is good to avoid “vain jangling” and that the desired result of the Law is “charity out of a pure heart” (cf v 5 in NIV).

So, using 1Ti 1 to try to promote antinomianism, it actually argues against it when you read the entire chapter. Furthermore, Paul promotes the idea that grace and forgiveness of sins go hand in hand (vv 13-14).

Technorati Tags: cog,church of god,grace,law,antinomian

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Comparison of COG to Evangelicals, Part 2

In Part 1, we examined how the Churches of God are different than Evangelicals, and then we examined a few areas where evangelicals get it right. Not theologically, mind you, but more of the attitude and results of some of their theology. There are books and articles on the differences, so I’m not going to try to cover that in one or even in one series of articles.

In an unexpected response from COGWriter, Robert Thiel, he wrote:

Now LCG is definitely not evangelical in the modern sense. We did not come out of the Protestant movement and our history predates the establishment of Rome.

Ironically, the only COG (or, should I say “ex-COG”?) that I know for sure qualifies as evangelical is GCI/WCG, the parent physical organization that most other COGs came out of. In that case, it was more of an intentional change towards Protestantism rather than having a history behind it, though, which makes it an odd exception in the history of American theology.

Anyhow, that doesn’t mean we cannot learn from the evangelicals. Of course, we have to bounce anything, and I mean anything, off of the Bible in due course. However, I was able to come up with some rather noteworthy positive attributes of evangelical organizations. Yet, there is a longer list of negative items we can learn to not do. In fact, if you alter some of the specifics, a couple of these have been done by those attending a COG.

REMINDER: Generalizations follow. These will surely differ somewhat from organization to organization.

1. Hit people over the head with the Bible. The situation this is most interesting is when someone is discussing items with an unreligious nonbeliever. For example, for a while I read and posted on a forum that basically preached to atheists and agnostics. I always thought it odd that people would quote Scripture to them without any meaningful context. However, it can also be interesting even when the recipient believes in God but comes from a completely different frame of reference.

2. Tell people they are going to hell straight off the top. OK, that might work with some people, but it isn’t going to win over the majority. In fact, it is more likely that the intelligent will dismiss it out of hand as superstition. Others will likely be insulted and stop listening shortly thereafter.

3. Absolutely exalt Jesus, yet hardly ever mention the Father (Whom many consider to be the stern and austere OT God of rules, laws and consequences). Yet, Jesus constantly pointed to the Father during His ministry. Of course, you can go to the opposite extreme and use “In Jesus’ name” as some magic pass phrase and not what it truly means.

4. Involvement in politics. Most evangelicals are firm believers in political involvement. However, when you roll in the mud with pigs, you’re likely to end up muddy yourself.

5. Proclaim your love for others when your actions speak otherwise.

6. Be quick to jump to conclusions about others’ motivations. OK, this happens everywhere, but evangelicals seem to be very quick to pin “liberal” and other labels on people. At the same time, they’ve been known to get egg on their face from endorsing the wrong person or candidate.

7. Be quick to judge whether or not a particular event is God’s judgment on a particular group, ala Pat Robertson.

8. Be quick to ask for intervention, from God or men, of a questionable nature and sometimes for the promotion of equally questionable parties. For example, Pat Robertson extolled assassinating Hugo Chavez, while one Focus on the Family media person asked for God to rain upon the last Democratic Convention.

Again, I point these out because the COG is not immune to things like these. In each case, it is productive to ask, “What would Jesus do or say in this case?” He is our example of the right way to conduct ourselves.

Prior to Passover, it might be a good idea for us all to think about these things and ensure we are keeping ourselves unspotted from the world, including its religions. And, if you really haven’t witnessed any of these in some form while in the COG, I’m not sure if you are blessed or blind. In either event, ensure you aren’t the one doing them.

Technorati Tags: cog,church of god,theology,comparative religions,evangelical,protestant,make disciples,discipleship

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Reflections: Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler

Today, you get to do most of the work.  I've written about this before, but not on this blog, apparently.

 ¹⁸And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

Notice the question.  The HCSB says the rich young ruler asked, “What must I do…?”  Some people say you can do nothing to inherit eternal life, but what did Jesus say?

 ¹⁹And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

Just a side note, but notice how Jesus always pointed to the Father.

 ²⁰Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

Q: Did Jesus say, “You don’t have to do anything at all”?

No, He quoted the commandments.  Many note that these are the Ten Commandments.  Some make a big deal out of the fact that the first four are not mentioned.  However, that is an argument from silence.

Q: However you differentiate them, though, there is one missing.  Can you spot which?

 ²¹And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

The young Jewish man was well-versed in the keeping of the commandments.  He felt he made the grade, just as the Pharisees who constantly attacked Jesus did.  However, Mt 19:20 adds the question, “What do I still lack?”  The young man was still humble enough to ask what he lacked.  As a result of his humility, Mk 10:21 adds, “Jesus loved him”.

However, as we will soon see, he did lack something.  He lacked keeping the same commandment that Jesus left out.

 ²²Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

Q: Can you be complete (not lack anything) if you do not keep all the commandments?

 ²³And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

 ²⁴And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

 ²⁵For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (Luke 18:18-25, King James Version)

Q: What commandment do many rich break?  Is the breaking of that commandment why some get rich rather than sharing it with others?

Q: Why didn’t Jesus just tell the rich young ruler to accept Him into his heart?  Many teach that the commandments were done away, so why didn’t Jesus just tell this young man to say the “sinner’s prayer” and be done with it rather than put him through a lot of anguish?

Q: Why didn’t Jesus tell him that He kept the commandments already so we don’t have to?

Q: If the commandments were truly done away, why is this exchange even significant?  After all, it appears that Jesus is upholding at least the last portion of the Ten Commandments rather than revoking them.

Technorati Tags: cog,church of god,jesus,rich young ruler,commandments

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Comparison of COG to Evangelicals, Part 1

I had planned on writing this for today in any event, but someone made a related comment to me yesterday that kind of hit me in an odd way.  We were talking about filters and how they affect how someone perceives events.  The comment was about if someone had a “Protestant wishy-washy” view of things.

Now, this was a friend of mine, so I’ll be kind.  However, it is not an uncommon view among the COGs, and I’d like to look at some of the differences between “evangelicals” and the COGs.  Of course, I will be generalizing here, so please don’t be offended if your particular congregation or church does not conform to what I am writing here.

What are the differences between evangelicalism and the COGs?  I am not talking about theology here.  We already have a handle on that, I hope.  However, what is the effect of that theology?  Is it good?  Is it bad?  How does it affect our attitudes?

In part 1, I want to explore why the COGs are not evangelical.  I then want to take an unbiased look at some of the things that evangelicals get right.

Why the COG is not “Evangelical”

When there was the tragic shooting and death in a congregation of LCG, some news reports said that LCG was an evangelical organization.  However, that is not true in the strictest sense.  Let us look at a definition first.

Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian theological stream which began in Great Britain in the 1730s.^[1] Most adherents consider its key characteristics to be:

• A belief in the need for personal conversion (or being "born again")


• Some expression of the gospel in "effort"


• A high regard for biblical authority


• An emphasis on the death and resurrection of Jesus.^[2]

~ Evangelicalism.  (n.d.).  Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism.

The first thing you note is that Evangelicalism is one of the three legs of Protestantism.  The COGs were never part of the Church of Rome, and, therefore, never protested against or broke away from them in the first place.  This alone distinguishes the COG from Evangelicalism.

You might also note the “born again” designation.  Most in the COG, even in UCG, do not truly believe you have completed the “born again” process until you become a spirit being.  You are literally “born” as a spirit and become a permanent member of the Family of God.  Some in UCG might quibble about details, but in effect that is what most still teach.

Another feature of Evangelicalism that distinguishes them and all other Protestants from the COG is the teaching on the trinity.  Most Evangelicals would not consider the COG as Evangelical because we do not believe in some hypostasis called God, but rather we believe that God the Father and Jesus the Son are united in love and unity as a family.

Therefore, you can only really conclude that the COGs are NOT Evangelical.

What They Get Right

However, there are some good points about their attitudes and actions.

1. They have zeal.  Yes, there are those who will look down their noses at them and say, “They have zeal without knowledge.”  Consider this, though: The one who disobeys through ignorance is better off than the one who disobeys even though they know (Lk 12:48).  Much is required of those who have knowledge, including zealousness (Gal 4:18; 2Co 9:2; Rev 3:19).  It is better to have zeal without knowledge than knowledge without zeal.  If nothing else, those who are truly zealous and not just faking it will sooner or later have knowledge revealed to them, and they will be rewarded according to their zealousness in adapting to new knowledge.

2. They evangelize.  True, it is driven by a misunderstanding that this is the only day of salvation, yet this makes them fervent in their desire to see others saved.  I want to point out that although it stems from the notion of an ever burning hell, they truly do not want to see people suffer that fate.  For many of them, it really is a true outgoing concern for others.

3. They do good works.  One of the fruits of the above is that they have missions that are sent to the inner cities and other parts of the world in order to feed the poor, set up hospitals and preach their version of the gospel to others.  Compare that to Mt 11:5; Lk 4:18-19.

In the end, there is one shocking thing about it all.  Even with America and Britain in moral decline, some of these groups are actually growing and thriving worldwide.  I understand that Satan will snatch away much of the seed of the sower in this age, but that does not reduce our commission to “make disciples”.

Technorati Tags: cog,church of god,theology,comparative religions,evangelical,protestant,make disciples,discipleship

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Church To Reclaim The Spiritual Roots Of Mardi Gras | njtoday.net

Well, it looks like the Easter season will be upon us sooner than I was looking for it. I stumbled across Church To Reclaim The Spiritual Roots Of Mardi Gras on the njtoday.net site.

Well, can you really reclaim something you've never had? Where is "Mardi Gras" in the Bible again?

Why is it wrong to supplement Biblical holy days with manmade holidays? The best example of why is in the article itself.

People search for the baby Jesus in the cake, remembering the three wise men who looked for Jesus after his birth. Finding the baby Jesus will win you a prize.

Talk about trivialization!

Technorati Tags: cog,church of god,holidays,holy days,mardi gras,lent,christian,spiritual roots,christian roots

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