Story of the Worldwide Church of God

Post by **_Mort_Coyle** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 7:52 am

I watched a very inspiring video last night in which the leaders of the Worldwide Church of God explain how they discovered that they were a cult and proceeded to lead the organization to repentance and orthodoxy. It's quite an amazing story.

You can view it online here:

http://www.lhvm.org/vid_ctbf_med.htm

Post by **_Anonymous** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 10:31 pm

That was good, Mort! Thanks for the link. Do you think it will happen again with other cults?

Post by **_Mort_Coyle** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 11:52 am

I think it could! JW's are quite similar to WWCoG. What if a new generation came into power at the Watchtower and experienced a similar awakening? Mormonism is built on the fanciful legend of the Nephites and Lamanites, which has been completely demolished by archeology, DNA, etc. At some point, it seems, the LDS leadership will have to admit that Joseph Smith was a false prophet. The Mormons are already trying to associate themselves with Evangelicalism and appear more mainstream. I could see them taking the same journey that the Armstrongites did, but it sure won't be pretty!

Post by **_Nathan** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 1:47 pm

Wow! That was amazing. God is awesome.

Post by **_Derek** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 2:23 pm

Praise God. That was great. This really gives me encouragement to keep praying for other groups. I have been so quick to determine that there is no hope for them, at least as far as an organization-wide reformation, but "with God all things are possible"!

Thanks for the link Mort.

Post by **_Allyn** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 3:10 pm

I was moved by it as well. I couldn't help but think about other church organizations who just plug along without hardly a notice of what is going on inside their four walls. I began thinking that this presentation would be a good demonstration of revival for any church to observe. I was thinking of what a powerful message it would be if we other churches out there used this in our meetings from time to time.

Post by **_Derek** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 3:32 pm

I was moved by it as well. I couldn't help but think about other church organizations who just plug along without hardly a notice of what is going on inside their four walls. I began thinking that this presentation would be a good demonstration of revival for any church to observe. I was thinking of what a powerful message it would be if we other churches out there used this in our meetings from time to time.

That's true. The heretical stuff is far from all that needs to be reformed in today's church. It could happen there too!

Post by **_Legend** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 1:33 pm

What an excellent video!! Very much informative and engrossing. Thats a good example of how millions of christians could be blindly following a false teaching, while reading through the entire Bible and not changing.

Interesting how they tried to reach out to the remnant that refused to look at the facts. How they purposely closed their minds so that their belief wont be threatened. The truth always has the best argument...doesnt it?

I was particularly moved by this in a personal way, because I have a friend who was apart of the church during the split. Unfortuanately he was one of those that refuse to hear any other word but that of Herbert W. Armstrong. Their church's name now, Philadehia Church Of God.

If you want to read up more on it from their perspective you can check this site out:

www.pcog.org

God Bless

Post by **_Rick_C** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:19 pm

Mort,

Thanks for this movie link! Took "forever" (hyperbolically speaking) for me to watch it on dialup...and I passed it on to someone I know who came out of the WWCOG before it became orthodox. This video taught me a few things I didn't know too...(as my Dad used to watch H.W. Armstrong when I was a kid...because he worked with a guy who was into WWCOG).

Good link Bro,
Rick

Post by **_Paidion** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 12:26 am

Unhappily, I could not view the movie because I do not have high speed internet. I still must connect via a telephone line.

However, I am familiar with the change in the WW Church of God to fundamentalism. I'm not sure that that is entirely "orthodox."

I was familiar with Herbert Armstrong's teachings, and found a lot of truth in them. I used to read "The Plain Truth." While I disagreed with his British Israelism and his belief that Christians are obligated to keep the Sabbath and the Jewish feasts, I found that I agreed with a greater number of his teachings than I do with the altered form of the organization. One example: I think he was closer to the truth about the Deity --- the Father and His only-begotten Son, than the "orthodoxy" of Trinitarianism. I also agreed that John 3, in the Greek speaks of being regenerated or "begotten again", but that we are "born again" at the time of the resurrection.

In no way do I see Jehovah's Witnesses as "quite similar" to the WW CoG in any stage of its development. As I see it, the WW CoG had its origin through the Seventh Day Adventists, then the Seventh Day Baptists, and then one of the "Church of God" sects. In spite of negative publicity, I did not view the group as heresy under Herbert Armstrong. The fact is that it didn't happen to be accepted by the evangelical community at that time. At one time, the Seventh Day Adventists weren't accepted either, and many viewed it as a "cult." Thankfully, the evangelicals changed their minds about the Adventists (even though the Adventists didn't change).

Some of you may not be aware of the fact that several groups emerged from the WW CoG after the "conversion" of the organization. Their members still read and publish the teachings of their founder.