Overview of Jan-Feb 2014 Tomorrow's World (It Condemns Tattoos, Douglas Winnail Not Included)

Here is an overview of the January-February 2014 issue of LCG's Tomorrow's World magazine.

Meredith's personal column is an utterly unremarkable regurgitation of the COGs' insistence that modern social problems are a sign the end is near, which the COGs' have been breathlessly (and falsely) insisting since the 1930s. 

Richard Ames has an article encouraging people to study the Bible. Unsuspecting readers do not know that LCG members in fact simply follow whatever interpretation LCG leaders agree upon. They do not study the Bible, but simply indoctrinate themselves to believe LCG's interpretation.

Meredith has an article detailing the Armstrongite interpretation of the seven festivals the Armstrongite COGs observe, interpreting them as signs foretelling end time events and the establishment of the Kingdom of God upon Earth at the return of Christ.

Gerald Weston has a rather vague article teaching that God is the source of life.

The late Charles Knowlton has an article linking peoples' dreams of what they would like to do and to become and then saying the ultimate dream is to be reborn as an eternal God being as a member of the God Family. (Which is also what Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, taught as well.)

J. Davy Crockett III (he who said obelisks are pagan sex symbols) has an article insisting that the social problems of today are a sign that the end of the world is near. This is a tired rehashing of HWA's doomsday message that he falsely preached from the 1930s till his death in 1986.

Phil Sena has an article insisting that it is immoral and wrong to have tattoos. Here is what he says.

Consider the recent surge of interest in the ancient practice of tattooing. For many years, tattoos carried a negative stigma, as they were commonly associated with sailors, bikers and gang members. More recently, however, a 2012 poll found that as many as one in five (21 percent) adults in the United States have at least one tattoo—that is a sharp increase from the 14 percent reported in 2008 (The Harris Poll, February 23, 2012). Inking has become so commonplace that it is not uncommon to see grandmothers sporting tattoos!  And instead of subtle, easily hidden markings, many today make multiple trips to the parlor to cover large portions of their bodies with intricate and complex “body art.”

Making Your Mark?

Marking the skin has been practiced in many different civilizations, going back at least as far as 3000bc (“Tattoos: The Ancient and Mysterious History,” Smithsonian.com, January 1, 2007). People’s reasons for getting tattoos appear to be as varied as their cultures, as ways “to place protective or therapeutic symbols upon the body, then as a means of marking people out into appropriate social, political or religious groups, or simply as a form of self-expression or fashion statement” (ibid.).

Today, the inked often say their tattoos make them feel sexy, attractive, strong or spiritual (The Harris Poll, February 23, 2012). However, there remains an element of cultural defiance associated with tattoos. This same poll reports that 25 percent of the respondents say they feel rebellious wearing tattoos—and half of those without a tattoo view people with tattoos as more rebellious....

Yes, tattoos are a powerful personal statement, and they proclaim a “me first” attitude that does not mind getting “in your face” to show off one’s pride in his or her own body, for all to see. Yet, for those who follow God, the approach of “pleasing myself first” is the exact opposite of the outflowing concern for other people that defines God’s love. The Apostle Paul wrote that “love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own” (1 Corinthians 13:4–5). That kind of love is not what most people associate with a tattoo! 

The real purpose of the many rules and regulations COG ministers impose upon the lay members is to isolate them from the surrounding society in order to make the members dependent upon the COG and even more susceptible to the controlling influence of the ministers. This is what is known as 'milieu control.'

Rod King has an article noting that even though slavery has been banned many people are still forced into human trafficking.

Stuart Wachowicz has an article detailing how fishing in Nova Scotia has severely declined in recent years, possibly due to over intensive fishing and/or the destruction of the coral beds. A surprisingly ecological article. Too bad the COGs' real response to environmental problems is to say Christ will solve it after the second coming.

And Wallace G. Smith has an article meditating upon the complexity and wonder of the human hand.

As a side note I find it curious that Douglas Winnail does not have an article here or in the last issue of Tomorrow's World. His last article in the magazine was in the September-October 2013 issue. I find this curious as he has had an article in every single issue of Tomorrow's World since its founding in 1999 until the November-December 2013 issue. He also has no article in the current issue of Living Church News, but he does have an article in the November-December 2013 issue. On the other hand he is still firmly in charge of LCG's weekly update, which he has been in charge of since around November 2005.

Of course this may mean nothing, but it is certainly noteworthy that Douglas Winnail is not writing for Tomorrow's World at the moment.