Some Reformation: Joe heads to NC

"Just yesterday morning (August 25), after months of prayerful deliberation, the GCI Board met, concluding that we should proceed to implement plans to relocate the Home Office to a yet-to-be-determined location in North Carolina."
Joe Tkach Jr

So the Tkach sect is uprooting again. Oregon (in early Herbal days), Pasadena, Glendora and now an undisclosed location in North Carolina.

Yet-to-be-determined? I don't believe a word of it. Months of prayerful deliberation? You mean back room plotting?

The question is, why the move?

Of course, Joe has an explanation.

"Southern California has served us well, yet over time the cost of living has reached the point where consideration has to be given to relocating."

Cost of living?

"A major consideration for relocation is that we can cut our overhead (i.e., cost of doing business in California) by $500,000 per year. While this may seem reason enough to move out of California, there are other advantages. Our Glendora church property has significantly increased in value; by relocating, we would access some of that accrued equity to go directly into our mission of the gospel proclamation... Another significant factor to consider in relocation is 65% of our congregations are in the eastern half of the continental US... Our management team has been searching for an area with good quality of life and access to more affordable housing for our employees."

Sounds a lot like the reason the Meredith sect gave for relocating to Charlotte. The old boys wanted a nice lifestyle with a nice climate to see them out. Everything else, one suspects, was justification after the fact. Beneath all the PR bullgeschichte that Joe burbles, it'd put good money on similar factors being in play this time too. Could it be that, in the process, Joe can dump some unwanted baggage and set himself up for an even nicer sinecure of a retirement?

"... more affordable housing for our employees"? Really. How many of these lucky employees will have to stay behind in LA to keep close to family? Tough break. Those who own homes in the area? Did they get a vote? Let's not be silly, this is all about Joe & Co. getting their way and devil take the hindmost.

North Carolina is where Armstrong sects go to wither and die. The Ritenbaugh sect (Church of the Great God, Charlotte), the Meredith sect (LCG, Charlotte). Do you think Joe might have (hush, hush sweet) Charlotte in mind too? The possibilities are intriguing; imagine Wednesday night beer and poker with Joe, Richard and Gerry!

Think back to the name change to GCI. Joey had it all prearranged, then they decided to pull a soft PR stunt and take member suggestions into consideration. How thoughtful and consultative. When the dust settled, they still went with a variant of Joe's first choice. Surprise!

Final thought. PG Joe writes about his Board. He gives cute little bios of the members. The one thing he doesn't explain is how these individuals ended up on the board. Elected were they Joe? Or perhaps they were appointed from on high, the angel Moroni descending with the names inscribed on holy scrolls. No, not so likely. Appointed, yes; from on high, yes. On high being Joe's big boy chair in his soon to be relocated office.

Sounds like a Board accountable not to the church, not to the members, but to... guess who? Was there ever any possibility that voices on that board would be raised in opposition to their lord and master?

Some reformation.

Man's Awesome Destiny - a response to Ian Boyne

Ian Boyne is one of the most approachable and thoughtful advocates for Armstrongism today (he refers to it Reformed Armstrongism). I really appreciate his willingness to engage those of us who are of a more jaundiced disposition, something which is in my experience extremely rare. Even when the language on this side of the fence gets overly strident, Ian seems to maintain his composure. He serves in one of the more benign COGs, the Church of God International, a movement with which I was once briefly associated myself "in the high and far-off times". Moreover, Ian is widely read in a way that is quite exceptional for COG ministers.

Ian recently issued something of a challenge. The gist of it was - and I hope I'm getting this right - that the shining thread that inspires the followers of Herbert Armstrong today isn't BI, but the concept of human destiny in the family of God. Here we find purpose and direction for our lives.

"[Herbert Armstrong] taught the glorious truth not found in any New Covenant church that all saved human beings of ALL RACES would become, equally, God beings after the millennium and the Great White Throne judgment. If you want to see a robust defense of that doctrine, I invite you to read my short booklet online Man's Awesome Destiny... It was published by CGI [and it] does not regurgitate HWA's Why Were You Born. I would be gleeful if Byker Bob, Gavin or Gary would read and critique it. I would be over the moon!"

The booklet can be found in PDF format here. I don't intend to go through it in detail, so doubt Ian will get all the way to the moon on this trip, but am happy to offer a few comments. I confess that it was this WCG teaching, certainly not BI, that appealed most to my teenage self, a real contrast to the rather dry trinitarianism that was drummed in during Lutheran confirmation classes (using a text with the magnificent title Catechetical Helps).

Right at the outset let's put the idea of theosis on the table. "Theosis is the understanding that human beings can have real union with God, and so become like God to such a degree that we participate in the divine nature" (Mark Shuttleworth). This is an entirely legitimate understanding of human destiny for those in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. You could argue that Armstrong adopted this position, then ran off with it adding in his own unique spin, but I think it's more likely that he simply adapted parts of Mormon doctrine. But regardless, the idea that humans can become divine isn't in itself such a big issue.

Ian's booklet delves into apologetics quite quickly, discussing "the Anthropic Principle" (I'm not sure why he capitalises it). The idea is that everything in the universe is purpose-built for life. It's an expansion of "the Goldilocks principle" (that planet earth is designed to be "just right" for humanity). Ian states, "The evidence for it is simply overwhelming." Not so overwhelming, though, that it isn't highly contested. The relevance of this to the core argument Ian is proposing seems a bit tangential to me. I guess the reason for introducing it into the discussion is to demonstrate that a wonderful human destiny is indicated by intelligent design. I'm of the opinion that there is a certain circularity to this line of thinking, but what do I know? If you're interested, there's a much smarter discussion of the anthropic principle than I could ever offer over at the University of Oregon website.

Ian loses me, though, when he makes an impassioned call for his readers to drop to their knees: "Could you please, at this point, stop reading and pray... Conviction of truth comes through the Holy Spirit... Pray now for God's divine guidance on this subject." Well, okay, but I don't think this necessarily bolsters his case. We all know people who pray an awful lot but still believe all kinds of nonsense.

For some of us the statement "If Jesus is not God, then man cannot be God" rather ruins the argument. WCG always had a very mixed Christology, reaching a crescendo of confusion with Ted Armstrong's The Real Jesus, and I'd personally want to step away from any full-blown binitarianism. I'm not saying that Ian is wrong, only that this logic only works from a certain perspective. Former Ambassador College faculty member Sir Anthony Buzzard plays the game equally well and confidently arrives at a type of biblical unitarianism (see for example The Doctrine of the Trinity: Christianity's Self-Inflicted Wound, co-authored with former WCG evangelist Charles Hunting) .

Ian rolls out a selection of texts to bolster his case, as you'd expect. I note that he includes 1 Peter ("In 1 Peter 5:10 we have the unmistakable words from the pen of inspiration") and Colossians. The trouble is that Colossians is not counted among the authentic letters of Paul, nor 1 Peter regarded as from the hand of Peter. At best they form a second line of defense in any credible academic discussion. During my studies, I remember being assigned a very thick textbook on the Ephesian church (Paul Trebilco's The Early Christians in Ephesus from Paul to Ignatius) in which the author studiously avoided using the book of Ephesians because of its contested authorship. Curated proof texts of this sort are inadequate to a serious discourse, something I expect Ian would agree with in discussing the Buzzard and Hunting book. I like the fact that Ian includes a short discussion of 'weak texts' which don't support the weight of the argument.

To summarise, Man's Awesome Destiny is an interesting and in some respects quite original defense of the God Family doctrine. Ian distances himself from the more extreme statements, but I'm of the view that he weakens his argument at several points exactly where he seeks to strengthen it. If we were discussing a non-trinitarian understanding of theosis, one not intermixed with extraneous elements and rhetorical flourishes, then I might be prepared to concede a point here and there.

You can judge the merits of Ian's booklet for yourself. As for me, I suspect that the real meaning of life lies in the meaning we bring to life.


(Update: clarification added in the paragraph about 1 Peter).

Odds and Ends

LCG on trial. At the time this post went up, the GoFundMe page for the upcoming Scarborough suit had reached only $125 with just 4 donors over the last 8 days. The somewhat optimistic goal is 15k.

Magazine miscellany. Church of God periodicals, especially the minnows, seem to be in an increasingly parlous state; three examples.

CGI's Prevail has long enjoyed a beneath-the-carpets profile. While it has a very nice logo, it just seems to be a random collection of web articles, which means - in my book at least - that it's not actually a magazine. (Update: reading some of the comments it appears even people close to CGI are confused. Has it been discontinued? Was there a print edition late last year? Perhaps even the webmaster is confused...) You can, however, check it out for yourself here.

Meanwhile, David Hulme's quarterly journal Vision seems to be missing in action. It's now Spring up in the Northern Hemisphere and the last issue to see the light was Fall (Autumn) 2015. Vision was (is?) one of the least derivative periodicals in the COG stable, at least in terms of design and layout. Not so much a minnow as a beached whale, this is (was) a major periodical. Does this indicate troubles in paradise? Dave, tell us it ain't true.

Church of God Outreach Ministries (CGOM) is, according to a certain gentleman based in Arroyo Grande, ditching hard copies of its bi-monthly magazine (more a newsletter, really) New Horizons. It will now only be available online. Or maybe not. The latest issue still isn't - as this post goes up -  available on their website, nor anything for January/February. Perhaps energy levels are just running really low in Tulsa.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch. The sidebar here on AW has been reorganized, simplified and new links added over the last two weeks. The last several issues of The Journal can now be accessed directly, and just under that there's a new link to WCG stories that have appeared over the years in the LA Times.

Boyne Again?

In the beginning was The Plain Truth. That's if you don't count the Bible Advocate.

These days the PT - cut loose from the Tkach church - is unavailable outside the US and Canada, where it promotes a weird "religionless Christianity" gospel for a small fringe readership. In its fading shadow many pretenders have arisen: the Good News (UCG), Tomorrow's World (LCG), Vision (COG-aic), the Trumpet (PCG) and - reinventing the wheel - WCG's Christian Odyssey... these are the flagships of the fleet, the way the various Churches of God present themselves to the world at large, dripping wholesomeness and cheap wisdom, garnished with a pretense of biblical competence and prophetic insight.

A lesser known contender is Armor of God (CGI). I'm not sure how many print copies circulate - probably not a lot - but if you're curious you can always download a copy. Although issued irregularly, it compares well to its bigger siblings in concept and design thanks to the undeniable talent of Shey Smith (in comparison Tomorrow's World looks almost geriatric.)

Content? Well, that depends what you're comparing it to. Depending on your perspective the articles are either fresher or goofier than the big boys churn out (or possibly both)... it's certainly hard to imagine references to ancient worthies like Polycarp and Polycrates making an appearance in the Trumpet, for example.

CGI's first flagship magazine was the ill-fated Twentieth-Century Watch, launched in 1980 (with an innovative cover price of $1.25) and then sinking like a stone. TCW featured well known ex-PT writers like Garner Ted Armstrong, Brian Knowles and Gary Alexander, but Armor's by-lines are far less familiar: there's apparently a shortage of aging Armstrong-era identities on tap.

Though, with reference to the current lead article, perhaps a future edition could include a feature called Just what do you mean - Boyne Again?

CGI - rattling on...

It's somehow comforting to know that, deep in the heart of East Texas, the Church of God International is still plugging away long after founder Garner Ted Armstrong was booted out following a naked romp with a local masseuse.

Now a new initiative is getting the de-Armstronged CGI gospel out via YouTube. Here's a sample from the very personable Bill Watson.



Searching for the CGI offerings on YouTube is a daunting task however. Try typing in "Armour of God" (British spelling) and you get Jackie Chan movie clips. Try typing in "Church of God International" and you get the unrelated Filipino sect MCGI. Holy Identity Crisis, Batman!

CGI made its debut in 1978 with Garner Ted and Ron Dart at the helm and has spawned an impressive number of splinter groups in its own right. It's not quite as dead as the dinosaurs in Bill's video, but it's also doubtful a few YouTube flicks will do much to haul it off the endangered list either.

CGI back online

After giving the Tyler-based Church of God, International a hard time about dropping the ball with its website, it seems only fair to note that the group is now back online.

Worth the wait? Well, you can be the judge.

Accompanying the new look is a new quarterly magazine (PDF download) which seems to have an outreach focus designed to mesh with the Armor of God cable TV show. Considering the small size of CGI it's reasonably impressive (assuming there's an actual print edition). It compares favorably with UCG's Good News, and has a far fresher look than the LCG's Tomorrow's World. The last time I recollect CGI producing a slick, color magazine was back in the late seventies in the form of the ill-fated Twentieth Century Watch - before it evolved (or de-evolved) into a thin newsprint tabloid.

CGI is one of the few splinter groups that has no "big names" in the form of decrepit ego-driven evangelists caught in a time-warp from yesteryear. Quite a contrast to its foundation under GTA and Ron Dart.

Living U or Yale? Hmmm...

What are they really teaching about the Bible these days?

No, not at Meredith's back-room Bible college, or any of the shonky operations run by the various COGs... Instead let's pick Yale.

Imagine being able to sit in on an undergraduate Old Testament course. Attend the lectures, access the readings, and do it all for free.

And imagine your lecturer actually knows something about the subject, with a genuine PhD (not a pretend one from a defunct unaccredited Bible college) and is a published author of textbooks and scholarly books (as opposed to booklets about the End Times.)

Quite a bargain.

Welcome to Open Yale, and Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) with Professor Christine Hayes.

This course examines the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) as an expression of the religious life and thought of ancient Israel, and a foundational document of Western civilization. A wide range of methodologies, including source criticism and the historical-critical school, tradition criticism, redaction criticism, and literary and canonical approaches are applied to the study and interpretation of the Bible. Special emphasis is placed on the Bible against the backdrop of its historical and cultural setting in the Ancient Near East.

Probably just a bit different from offerings at ACCM and Ambassador Bible Center... Biblical Studies, when properly done, isn't in thrall to wishful thinking.

Open Yale Courses provides lectures and other materials from selected Yale College courses to the public free of charge via the internet... Each course includes a full set of class lectures produced in high-quality video accompanied by such other course materials as syllabi, suggested readings, and problem sets. The lectures are available as downloadable videos, and an audio-only version is also offered. In addition, searchable transcripts of each lecture are provided... No enrollment or registration is required. Anyone with access to the internet can enter the web site and view the lectures and other materials.
Did I mention the FREE bit?

So why not check it out. Embrace a challenge. Push the horizons out further. Move out from the popular misrepresentations and grow a little.

And if it turns out not to be the thing for you, what have you lost?

There's a range of other courses available too: astronomy, modern poetry, philosophy, physics, political science and psychology. Amazing! It's got to be a great opportunity to sample real higher education - risk-free, and without the pressures of assignments and exams.

CGI website - doh! The new, improved, super-duper CGI website was supposed to be online November 16. It's now almost December 16, and poor Vance Stinson must be tearing out whatever hair he has left. The Texas-based church is still adrift in cyberspace or, to change the metaphor, up the virtual creek without a paddle.

So why oh why did the lads at CGI flush the old website prematurely? How competent/incompetent is the firm they hired to do the work? Or are they relying on someone's sister's friend's cousin's teenage son to do an el-cheapo job for a few bucks under the table?

Any way you look at it, it's hard to take a church seriously that can't at least manage to create a few transitional pages on the Web to tide them over.

$125,000,000 plus

Over a week after a tip-off that the CGI website was missing in action, there is still no sign of a Second Coming in cyberspace. Over a week off the Internet - what genius thought that was a good idea? Is CGI still out there? Hello? Helloooo?

News of the passing of Mrs Isobel Hoeh on November 21, wife of the late Dr Herman Hoeh.

For those with an interest in the historicity (or otherwise) of the Bible, this link to a recent book review was sent in from the Christian magazine Wittenburg Door. Nobody tell Clyde Kilough!

How much did lil' Joe get for the Ambassador Campus? $125,000,000 plus (over three separate transactions). How do we know this? Real Estate whiz Joseph P. McNulty - who takes the credit for the sales - tells us so in a promo for Edgewood Realty Partners. Click on the image to feel the gentle breeze off those greenbacks.

***

Postscript: Message from Vance (Stinson?) at CGI.

Gavin, thank you for your concern. You will be relieved to know that CGI is alive and well and that there has finally been some progress on the website. The site was supposed to be up and running by November 16, but, unfortunately, it didn't happen and still hasn't happened. (The new webmaster ran into some problems and was unable to deliver on time.) As you might imagine, we've been quite frustrated about this! The good news is that just this afternoon we were able to view the proposed homepage. The site should be back in operation within a couple of days or so--but please don't hold me to a definite date.

CGI keeps us guessing

True confession time: I was a foundation member of the Church of God, International in New Zealand. Hey, it was a long time ago.

Back then I had quite a collection of sermon tapes from Garner Ted Armstrong and Ron Dart. CGI was, on reflection, a halfway house on the road back to relative sanity. I still have the preview issue of Twentieth Century Watch, the glossy magazine that was designed to take on The Plain Truth. For a short time it appeared that Ted's splinter would take off and provide a credible alternative to WCG, then groaning under the senile ego of Herbert W. Armstrong.

Then there was a major walkout by the group's top talent as Ted threw a hissy fit over who was boss. Al Portune and Wayne Cole came and went, TCW editor Alan Heath dropped off the edges. Greg Doudna and Gary Alexander (both early contributors to the magazine) slipped into the murky waters and swam to shore, David Antion detached. The little Kiwi fellowship quickly wised up and fell apart.

CGI downsized but survived with Ted and Ron, the Dynamic Duo, running the operation till Ted had a close encounter during a therapeutic massage session. Ron bailed and the board belatedly dumped Ted, who then set up shop again with the hilariously misnamed Intercontinental Church of God.

But you can't kill weeds, or so they say. CGI "consolidated" and battled on.

But has The End now finally arrived? Or is CGI merely coiled to spring out on an unsuspecting world with a stunning new presence? What is certain is that the website is temporarily (?) down. They say they'll be back, but if so, why take down the old site completely?

The armor on the seal, by the way, was modeled on a suit Ted bought on a British junket back in his cash-rich WCG days and had mounted as some kind of anachronistic trophy (medieval armor isn't what the pseudonymous author of Ephesians had in mind.) Ted was booted out, presumably along with his antique armor, but the silly seal remained. If I remember correctly they decided to turn that particular lemon into lemonade by naming their cable TV show Armor of God, though "Armor of Ted" would have been more literally true.

Will CGI return? I guess we'll just have to hold our breaths...