PCG's Jeremiah Jacques Assessing the Media

Recently one Redditor's comment quoting a PCG article by Jeremiah Jacques got on the front page of Reddit. Jacques has often written for PCG. He has done so since August 2009. He even hosts a radio show, The Sun Also Rises, on PCG's radio station which started just last month. He also has a profile on Reddit (Jerjacques).

Turns out he also has a blog. And one post (December 30, 2014) is a transcript of a presentation he made to PCG's writers evaluating media outlets on April 4, 2013. It is entitled "Evaluating and Selecting News Sources, Especially in the Internet Age."

Let's take a look at what Jacques has to say about assessing media outlets.

In evaluating news sources, the “follow the money rule” is always helpful. Where do the funds to produce the news for that source come from? Knowing that can tell you a lot about the perspective which underlies the news stories. Will a media outlet owned by Disney (such as ABC) do an objective story about the Disney company or its products? Maybe, but it’s unlikely. ABC generally avoids all real criticism of Disney and its products because Disney funds them.

So if one follows the money what will be the result of such an inquiry according to Jacques?

The very choice of what to focus on in news stories, and which stories to stay quiet about, reveals the bias of the producer. … Think about the American Mainstream media’s coverage of the “Fast and Furious” story. The Solyndra story. The Benghazi embarrassment. The U.S.’s mainstream liberal media very often will systematically suppress news stories that could injure the ruling administration. The reason why goes back to their funding.

The choice of topics also reveals that Jacques happens to lean to the right in regards to politics. It is alleged that these media outlets suppressed by the mainstream media. The possibility that his understanding of these topics may be wrong is not addressed.

Jacques mentions conspiracy theorists.

The main reason I mention this is because among our readers, we have some conspiracy theorists. A mind that is on the far right can be every bit as delusional as one on the far left. (I once encountered a source saying the moon now orbiting earth is not the original moon, but a replacement moon that NASA built after they accidentally blew up the original moon). It’s a lot of wasted effort, a lot of embarrassing deception, and it can get really sad, once a person delves into these extremes of paranoia.

A poll by Public Policy Polling found that 28% of American voters believe that a secretive power elite with a globalist agenda is conspiring to eventually rule the world through an authoritarian world government. 6% think Osama bin Laden is still alive. 21% believe a UFO crashed at Roswell in 1947. 7% of voters think the moon landing was fake.

So, we just have to remember that a fair number of people gravitate to bizarre theories, and when we quote from or link to a certain website, it will be viewed by some readers as an endorsement by our publication of that website. By our actions, we are communicating to some readers that we trust this source and think that they report the news in a relatively honest way.

Jacques mentions one website they sometimes use.

But for some stories, a multitude of sources will not be available… That brings me to….

German-Foreign-Policy.com

German-Foreign-Policy,com is an incredibly useful site. It’s so mysterious—enshrouded in a cloak of secrecy. It is inherently leftist and critical of Germany’s rise… Its mission is to alert the world to the “hegemonial tactics and strategies of the united Germany.”

It really fulfills this mission.

It’s interesting that some of the sites we use are so left-leaning, yet they have a mission similar to the Trumpet…. I take solace in knowing that the Trumpet doesn’t have loyalty to any given side. We know that we are an apolitical or a metapolitical publication. But there’s something also potentially dangerous about groping for whatever meets what we are looking for.

We are an apolitical publication, Jacques says. Does the rest of this post align with this claim?

Jacques discusses ZeroHedge. He seems suspicious of its economic views and condemns it by saying they an anti-Israel bias.

ZeroHedge has a range of economic, market, banking, and political news and opinions. It often publishes very good charts and graphs. It publishes items from multiple sources concerning US, UK, Europe, China, and other areas. Some pieces are too technical for general use, but many of them are very clear and valuable.

We must approach it with caution, though, because of its robust enthusiasm for the Austrian school of economic thought, and for its anti-Israel bias.

Jacques also discusses WorldNetDaily.

World Net Daily

WND: Liberals call it “Conspiracy theorist central,” and usually that’s a fair assessment. We should not use this site in normal circumstances.

World Net Daily sometimes gets mired in verbosity concerning marginal topics that cannot be ‘proven’ to the satisfaction of mainstream readers. (Example: Mr. Obama’s birth records).

Nevertheless, it can be a good starting point, but I don’t think it is wise for us to link to WND or to quote from them because of the conspiratorial nature of the analysis.

One wonders why PCG's writers do not share their concerns about WorldNetDaily with their readers. They have never criticized WorldNetDaily on their recruitment website, thetrumpet.com, either before or after this presentation.

Despite Jacques' warning to avoid quoting this media outlet PCG's writers still cited WorldNetDaily articles in November 2013 and January 2014. These articles were published after Jacques' presentation on April 4, 2013.

So far this year, nine generals and flag officers have been terminated by the Obama administration. World Net Daily calls this an “extraordinary number.” The site reports that over the past five years, close to 200 high-ranking officers have been fired—some under very suspicious circumstances. (Robert Morley, Is President Obama Purging the Military of Dissenters?, November 6, 2013.) 

Since then, President Obama has terminated close to 200 high-ranking military officers. This year alone, nine generals and flag officers have been fired or have been pressured to resign. World Net Daily calls this purge of top military brass an “extraordinary number.” This amounts to a major eradication of the leadership of the U.S. military. (Worldwatch, January 2014.)

For more information about PCG's reliance on WorldNetDaily see PCG's Reliance on WorldNetDaily.

Jacques mentions The Daily Telegraph and states that Gerald Flurry views it as one of his favorite publications.

The Telegraph is among the finest sources you’ll find for hard news and views from and about the UK, Europe, Middle East and the world. They, like every site, have their own philosophy and editorial viewpoints.

But it is a solid and valuable source. Our editor in chief [Gerald Flurry] has singled the Telegraph out as one of his favorite publications to learn news from.

Jacques mentions Fox News. He warns that citing them will turn off a lot of people. To lessen this effect he encourages PCG's writers to cite it with another source.

Fox News is less “conservative” than it is “republican.” There is a great stigma associated with it among many people. Many who consider themselves moderate or liberal get instantly bristled by it. Beware of the way people recoil away when if we cite it. We should almost always try to balance it out with another source. If we quote it alone, people will assume an ideological slant.

In other words PCG's leaders are afraid to be too closely linked with Fox News knowing that many will ignore their recruitment writings if they detect that PCG likes Fox News. PCG's writers are trying to not turn away readers who may happen to not like Fox News. Hence this proposal to use that media outlet sparingly or cite them with another source.

Jacques also seemed to be afraid that Fox News is filled with Catholics.

Also, Fox News is made up of about 2/3 Catholic correspondents and producers, although those are American Catholics, (which are sort of disowned by the hardline European ilk of Roman Catholics). But, if we “follow the money,” we still have to be aware of the overarching, pro-Vatican slant.

PCG teaches that the Roman Catholic Church is the Whore of Revelation 17 and is fated to help create a European superstate that will soon destroy the United States.

Jacques mentions the New York Times. He says it is filled with "leftist bilge" and some of their articles are "prone to liberal distortion".

Once you filter out the leftist bilge, and just look at the journalistic quality, the NYT is an exceptional news source. The have a whole cast of Pulitzer prize-winning journalists, and the writing is just phenomenal.

If a NYT article is on a subject prone to liberal distortion, such as National Health Care, Gun Control, Abortion, Homosexual “Marriage, then it is generally not a good source to use.

But, if it’s about something like the Syrian crises, where bipartisanship doesn’t really factor in, it’s great. The NYT is a lot like NPR. (National Public Radio)… It has a blatant Leftist agenda, but really clear and sound analysis when it comes to subjects that are not prone to political distortion.

One moment he says "the Trumpet doesn’t have loyalty to any given side" and is an "apolitical" publication. Next he condemns the New York Times' "leftist bilge" and "liberal distortion". He does this because he leans far to the right. And so does PCG's 1% in general. This is why it is so important to point out that PCG is right wing. They seem to think just because they do not vote and sometimes quote left wing sources that they are somehow neutral. They are not. They are right wing. Far to the right.

It is particularly fascinating that he should talk like this in a lecture delivered to PCG's writers. It indicates that they actually do not notice how right wing they are.

I do not condemn PCG for being right wing. But it is important to note that they are right wing. Especially since sometimes they talk as though they were neutral, even calling themselves an apolitical publication as seen above, despite the many right wing positions they tend to take.

This is a fascinating presentation as it gives a small glimpse into how those at the center of PCG's recruitment publications assess media outlets.

A Problem in Islamophobia

Currently reading Robert Spencer's The Complete Infidel's Guide to ISIS. In this book he insists that the terrorists, murderers and criminal network of ISIL are Muslims. It should be noted that ISIL wants people to believe that they are the true Muslims. Why should anyone wish to agree with them about anything?

As far as the Islamic State itself is concerned, there is no question that it is Islamic--in fact, it holds that any Muslims who doesn't get on board with the State's claim to represent Islam is placing himself outside the fold of true Islam. (Chapter 8, pp. 221-2.)

In other words ISIL is "loading the term." ISIL is redefining terms and phrases commonly used among Muslims to prop up their power, authority and self serving ideology.

So in ISIL's cult jargon a Muslim who not just anyone who happens to be a Muslim but instead one who serves Abu Bakr al Baghdadi's gang of murderers, thieves and power hungry usurpers.

Let us be careful about how we discuss the criminal network that is ISIL lest we should somehow play into their hands.

It should be noted that Robert Spencer is part of group of organizations and individuals that some have called the Islamophobia Network.

The book contains endorsements from other individuals who have long been linked to what some have called the Islamophobia Network, namely Steven Emerson, Pamela Geller and Geert Wilders.

Why send even more money to the Islamophobia Network?

I would recommend Islamic State: Rewriting History by Michael Griffin for those wanting a resource to learn about those genocidal, criminal murderers in a responsible manner.

Reading Global Church News

In December 1992 Roderick Meredith left WCG and established the Global Church of God (GCG). It quickly emerged as one of the main COG splinter groups arising in the wake of the Tkach changes. They made a telecast and magazine (The World Ahead) to get more members. They also made a magazine for GCG members named Global Church News.

Awhile ago I found some PDF files of Global Church News but that source seems to be off line now. However they can be viewed in doc format here.

Let's take a look at what Global Church News said.

March-April 1995

Much discussion of the split with Tkach's WCG. Colin Adair and Dibar Apartian's entry into the Global Church of God is mentioned by Meredith.

Dave Pack is in a photo towering over a seated Meredith. Ambassador Report tried to warn people about Dave Pack. Through ignorance or conscious decision such warnings were ignored. During the turmoil of the 1998 Pack went out and established his own COG group, Restored Church of God.

Raymond McNair complains about being restricted from WCG. Now McNair finally learned to a certain degree what it was like for all those many people who were cast out of Radio/Worldwide COG over the years.

May-June 1995

Roderick Meredith complains that Armstrongites are called legalists. Of course you are.

Jonathan McNair tells his readers to "support the Work financially".

Raymond McNair moans that some label Armstrongism as a save your own skin gospel. He knew how to condemn others but did not know how to take criticism himself.

July-August 1995

Meredith defined Laodiceans as lackluster Armstrongites, not a particular organization. Douglas Winnail and Robert League joining GCG is mentioned.

Carl McNair has an article discussing the rise of GCG.

September-October 1995

Meredith discusses the prohibition against getting involved in politics and voting.

Carl McNair discusses his first attendance of the improperly observed Armstrongite Feast of Tabernacles.

George Anderson condemns talebearing. Considering the many problems that have occurred among the Armstrongites it is little wonder that the COGs' leaders try to discourage lay members from remembering things inconvenient for the COGs' 1%.

November-December 1995

Meredith mentions he used to write a poem while he was a high school student.

John Ogwyn mentions that many are hurting as a result of the splintering of WCG. An unsigned letter inquiring of Meredith's analogy of the Kingdom of God today as being like an embryo is quoted to illustrate the pain resulting from the splintering of WCG.

Raymond McNair has a question and answer column. At one point a question concerns Revelation 17. He evasively gives the answer but does not answer specifically. He taught it was the Roman Catholic Church.

January-February 1996

Meredith has a paean dedicated to HWA.

Colin Adair has an article about how to dress properly.

Raymond McNair advertises his upcoming booklet promoting British Israelism. He insists that HWA did not plagiarize J. H. Allen's book, Judah's Scepter and Joseph's Birthright. He even says he had read the two books and they are so different there was no plagiarism on HWA's part. What nonsense. Just goes to show how desperate they are to maintain HWA's prestige among the tithes paying lay members.

Douglas Winnail rejects the idea that Christianity involving believing that Jesus is the Messiah and insists it is necessary to observe the Jewish rules that HWA selected and culturally appropriated for his Armstrongism.

March-April 1996

Raymond McNair has an article insisting that the Jews are wrong to observe Passover when they do. Raymond McNair insists his understanding of this matter is correct.

Jeffrey Patton discusses the ministerial conference of January 17-24, 1996. Meredith responded to criticism that he accepted other COG groups as brethren. Meredith denounced Tkach's WCG as apostate. The World Ahead magazine had a circulation of 37,012.

Carl McNair complained that those who established UCG did not join GCG.

'Others had the opportunity to join arms with us a year ago, but they chose not to. They rejected us, personally, and that hurt, but that was their decision.' (p. 19.)

May-June 1996

Meredith condemns conspiracy theories. At the time GCG was undergoing tensions from those inclined to believe conspiracy theories.

Meredith complains that people need to be careful with their tongue.

Jeffrey Patton discusses debate over when to observe Pentecost.

Douglas Winnail tells Global Church of God members to "Use the force, Luke."

Information about how to plan for the (improperly observed) Feast of Tabernacles is mentioned.

July-August 1996

Meredith discusses the dates when GCG observes the Armstrongite Holy Days.

Meredith encourages members to observe the Feast of Tabernacles.

Raymond McNair tells members to observe their understanding of the dates of the Armstrongite Holy Days.

Raymond McNair talks about the postponements.

John Ogwyn talks about the Nicolaitans.

Fred Dattolo had an open letter defending GCG. In 2001 Fred Dattolo would switch allegiance to Gerald Flurry's PCG.

It is mentioned that a GCG member will help bear the Olympic torch.

November-December 1996

Meredith talks about the Feast and complains about rumors.

Jeffrey Patton called the Feast the best ever.

The previous Feast is discussed.

January-March 1997

Meredith boasts that GCG had an annual income of $9 million in 1996.

A financial report is included.

A story about one young GCG member getting very sick and needing to go to the hospital is mentioned.

April-May 1997

Passover is discussed.

Preparing for the improperly observed Feast of Tabernacles is discussed.

Larry Salyer talks about how great the Feast of Tabernacles is.

June-July 1997

Larry Salyer discusses Pentecost.

Douglas Winnail talks about the generation gap.

August 1997

Meredith mentions his first baptizing tour with Raymond McNair.

John Ogwyn discusses GCG's prohibition against military service.

Douglas Winnail seeks to get around the problem of saying Armstrongism is the only true form of Christianity.

Rod McNair talks about singing to please (GCG's) God.

Dexter Wakefield talks about how to prepare for the seventh day Sabbath before Friday sunset.

Finances are discussed.

October 1997

Rex Sexton discusses the symbolism behind the Day of Atonement.

John Ogwyn talks about preparing oneself for the Feast.

Norbert Link scare mongers that the Armstrongites will soon face persecution even though no such thing has happened ever since Armstrongism arose in the 1930s.

Raymond McNair encourages people to be kind.

Global Youth Camp is discussed.

Condolences are expressed at the tragic death of Princess Diana.

November 1997

Larry Salyer encourages people to be merciful.

Gary Foster made an article remembering Sydney Hegvold after he died on September 25, 1997, aged 79. It is mentioned that he was the first full time minister of WCG to join Meredith in establishing GCG.

The Feast is discussed.

April 1998

Preparing for the Feast is discussed.

Rise of LCG

Later in the year a power struggle erupted between Meredith and the Board of Directors. In the end Meredith left and managed to convince about 80% of the members to join with him in creating another COG group named the Living Church of God. The crippled GCG was unable to maintain itself in the United States and quickly disintegrated. However branches of GCG continued elsewhere.

PCG's Jeremiah Jacques on Reddit

Recently one Redditor's comment quoting a PCG article by Jeremiah Jacques got on the front page. Jacques has often written for PCG. He has done so since August 2009. He even hosts a radio show, The Sun Also Rises, on PCG's radio station which started just last month.

Turns out PCG's Jeremiah Jacques has a profile on Reddit (Jerjacques).

Even though he is on Reddit he thinks a lot of the people on there are fanatics who support with misplaced religious like fervor acceptance of global warming and same sex unions.

This should be the top comment.... The Reddit community's militant hostility toward any one who dares question such sacred doctrines as global warming and same-sex unions really diminishes its value. Even if a user does not hail chronic masturbation as a noble virtue, he's treated like a troglodyte and crucified.... Reddit claims to be a haven for free speech and debate. It describes itself as a place “friendly to thought, relationships, arguments, and to those that wish to challenge those genres.” But that is a farce. Thank you, for making the point so strongly. (Source. Ellipses in original.)

Jacques thinks being told that many people view things contrary to PCG dogma is like being "crucified"?

Jacques also seems to view with scorn those who warn of global warming who say that excess carbon dioxide emissions are adversely affecting the weather. Such people are ridiculed as being like the Taliban.

Wrong. It is a religion. Take belief in global warming, for example, since it is one of the chief gods of the Atheist religion... Anyone who dares voice skepticism about it is lambasted as a flat-Earth know-nothing. When believers are confronted with evidence that disproves their doctrines—like, for example, the landmark study published in March showing that global temperatures have been static for 15 years even though greenhouse-gas emissions have soared in that time—it only seems to strengthen their piety. The “persecution” only fortifies their resolve. The notion of man-made climate change has become not a science, but a faith—in many cases as radical and blind as any you may find among the Taliban.

(At present I am unable to link to this post directly. But it is present on his main page here but as more posts are added this link will not have this post. Ellipses in original.) 

Often we look at the problems within the COGs and we are rightly dismayed. But the COGs also offer something to their followers, namely a sense of elitism in "knowing the truth" while the rest of the world is blinded and ignorant. We see that sense of entitlement in the comment above.

He seems to feel quite strongly about climate change and same sex unions. He brings up the same two topics in another post of his.

Among the most notable of these "certain issues" are climate change and gay marriage.

If a Redditor doesn't toe the line on these sacrosanct doctrines, his dissent is deemed blasphemy, and is summarily silenced.

It makes a mockery of Reddit's claim of being “passionately dedicated to free speech." (Source.)

Never mind how PCG views those in the other COG groups.

Here's one comment by Jeremiah Jacques which quotes an individual who has cited as being part of what some have called the Islamophobia Network. This shows just how far to the right PCG's leaders tend to be.

“As with Adolf Hitler, who promised after he gobbled up the Sudetenland that he would not take all of Czechoslovakia and did and then proceeded to move rapaciously through the rest of Europe, my feeling is we’re likely to see a similar kind of agenda playing out with Vladimir Putin,” said [Name], who served as assistant secretary of defense for international security policy in the Reagan administration.

[Name] says eastern Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia and Lithuania are all extremely vulnerable to Russian annexation. (Source.)

At one point he tried to introduce his Sabbatarian beliefs in a discussion board in Reddit. He got banned from it.

I was banned from /r/Christianity for politely showing Catholics some Bible scriptures that call their Sunday worship doctrine into question. ... I was genuinely curious about it, but they just banned me.... It was a sad and disillusioning day. (Source.)

People deserve to know about the problems present within PCG. One wonders if someone at Reddit determined which organization he belonged to and was worried about the problems within PCG.

PCG's Brent Nagtegaal on Reddit

Recently one Redditor's comment quoting a PCG article by Jeremiah Jacques got on the front page of Reddit. Turns out PCG's Brent Nagtegaal has a profile on Reddit.

Let's take a look at what he has to say.

Here's one comment criticizing an article from The Times of India.

As a digger from Australia on one such "bogus" dig - this is a ridiculous story. Elad and the IAA [Israel Antiquities Authority] are known to not get along in many points and are hardly working in consort to steal land.

Jerusalem just happens to be one of the richest archaeological sites in the world. East Jerusalem, especially in the Silwan area, is the location of the most ancient parts of Jerusalem. Therefore, its only natural that most excavations will take place there.

Sure, rightwing Elad is sponsoring many of these digs, but tell the archaeologists that work the digs they are bogus and you might have a fight on your hands. Plenty of those archaeologists are actually leftwingers, and hardly think they are pawns. (Source.)

Elad (City of David) is one of the sponsors of the archaeological digs PCG participates in. Elad operates a museum but it also purchases homes for Israeli settlers. Elad is a settler organization dedicated to filling the predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem with Israeli settlers contrary to the Palestinian demand that East Jerusalem be a part of an independent Palestinian state. Between 2006-13 Elad received $115 million in funding. The digs are real but Elad certainly does fund settlers getting into East Jerusalem.

For more information about Elad (City of David) see PCG and the Dark Side of Politicized Archaeology in East Jerusalem.

Here's one comment talking about the housing situation in Australia.

As a young Australian, it is absolutely impossible for me to conceive of buying a house now. A big market correction is needed so that regular australian's - those who will be funding the welfare system for the next 30 years - can get ahead now and not be a greater burden themselves in the future.

Its hard to hope for a bursting of the bubble - but in the long run, its for the best. (Source.)

Here Nagtegaal quotes an article by Robert Morley condemning abortion. Lurid imaginings about the aborted fetuses has long been a feature of pro-lifers as may be seen in Stephen King's novel, Insomnia.

Makes me angry! Liberal logic has taken over.

"Our society is to the point that we are less outraged about doctors going into the bodies of mothers and killing their living babies than we are about hospital workers taking those tiny victims and burning their lifeless bodies. Politicians are less outraged about killing 200,000 living babies every year in the UK than they are about the fate of these 15,500 little bodies." (Source.)

Some people have been known to get so angry on this matter that they even commit acts of violence and intimidation, such as the recent triple murder in Colorado Springs. Similar things were said as early as Stephen King's novel, Insomnia (1994), which portrayed one man claiming that fetuses were turned into fertilizer. Lurid imaginings of what happens to aborted fetuses seem to be a common theme among those of this persuasion.

Maybe he should vote for a pro-life politician. But HWA forbade his followers from voting.

Note the disparaging remark about "Liberal logic". This shows once again that PCG leans to the right in regards to politics. I do not condemn PCG for being right wing but it is important to note that they are right wing as this explains so much about the political stances they choose to take on many issues.

PCG Leaders Denigrate Scandinavinian Countries as "Shocking" and Bureaucratic

Here is Andrew Müller and Robert Morley talking about the Scandinavian countries as part of a condemnation of Senator Bernie Sanders in a recent broadcast.

The following is from The Trumpet Hour, April 22, 2016, 6:45-7:55.

Müller: Sanders tries to tout Scandinavia (like Denmark, Sweden, Norway) as more as his model. Although those nations aren't nearly as nice a place to live in as he makes it sound like. And in a lot of ways aren't really socialist. ... They don't own the means of production. They're still capitalist nations with just a really, really huge bureaucracy. Really. With the progressive income tax. ...

Morley: And some of them like Norway have a lot of oil resources.

Müller: Yeah. And they've got natural resources that help them out somewhat.  And even then, I mean, there are a lot of things that happen in countries like that that would be shocking to an American mindset. ...

Müller: I've just read another case, which is actually quite common over there, of the government stepping in and taking, like, three children away from their Christian parents because they spanked them occasionally. No trial. No federal judge. Just a bureaucratic agency...

Morley: Bureaucrats arrive at the door and knock at the door.

Müller:...can take that which is....um, yeah. That would make front page headlines in America. But in Europe I don't think that gets much of a rise [much attention] anymore.

Morley: That is just, just crazy.

The paranoid style is alive and well. Even Scandinavians are not spared suspicion.

Also PCG insists that they are the only "true church" and any not in PCG are not Christians at all.

Assad Regime Used Bullets, Not Tear Gas, Against Protesters in 2011

Sometimes a single paragraph can say so much. The following is from an interview with a Syrian who participated in the protest movement that started in 2011. He later fled Syria. He describes what happened when he participated in protests in Turkey in 2013.

Still hungry for a revolutionary movement, when the first anniversary of the Gezi Park uprising again ignited in Turkey, Sami joined Turkish friends in the streets. “That was my first time being tear gassed” he tells me to my surprise. “They didn’t gas you in Syria?” I ask. “No, only live bullets. They just fired at you with bullets in Syria. I know how to run from bullets, but not from gas,” he says with a smile. (Ryan Harvey, The Long Journey of Two Syrian Revolutionaries, April 21, 2016.)

The Assad regime did not use tear gas against the protesters. But bullets. No wonder everything fell apart in Syria.

Here is a video (Warning: It contains graphic violence) against protesters that was posted on April 27, 2011 of a protest in Ghouta, Damascus. (Hat tip.) And indeed the regime personnel in that video did not use tear gas but instead simply started using their guns when dispersing the protest. This deadly violence against an initially peaceful protest movement started the war in Syria.

Alas, the cessation of hostilities appears to be gradually breaking down at present. The Syrian people deserve to live in peace and safety.

Reading Meredith's Article, What is True Christianity?

The March-April 2000 issue of LCG's magazine, Tomorrow's World asked a provocative question: What is true Christianity? (Roderick C. Meredith, What is True Christianity?, Tomorrow's World, March-April 2000.)

Let's take a look at what Meredith had to say on this issue.

Nearly two billion people call themselves Christians—followers of Jesus Christ's teachings. Yet they are divided into more than 450 different sects and denominations, with contradictory doctrines and styles of worship. Just what is a true Christian? Is a Christian someone who follows the customs of today's professing Christian sects? Or does the Bible reveal a very different answer?

These are leading questions. He mentions that there are all these churches and asks questions designed to make the reader yearn for a one, true church to be a part of.

It is asserted that "Or does the Bible reveal a very different answer?" Let us face the facts. This is Meredith presenting his ideas. It is loaded language using the Bible as a prop to justify what Meredith happens to teach to his followers within LCG.

It is high time someone pointed out what true Christianity is all about! So-called "mainstream" Christianity is losing millions of members. Scores of different ideologies and different types of "New Age" teachings are now coming to the fore, but the pure religion of Jesus Christ seems to be totally neglected by most religious leaders.

What is this "true Christianity" and this "pure religion of Jesus Christ" that Meredith speaks of? It is his own religious organization, the Living Church of God, which was founded just a year and a half before this article's publication after a power struggle broke our between Meredith and the Governing Board within the Global Church of God.

And what is WRONG with the mainstream Christianity that millions have grown up in and are taking for granted? Do not all these churches teach the Christianity of Christ?

What is this "Christianity of Christ" that Meredith speaks of? It is his own religious organization, the Living Church of God.

The truth is that the greatest and most bloody wars in all human history have been waged primarily in Europe—the very heart of western, "Christian" civilization. In fact, the professing Christian church directly instigated a series of "holy wars" during the Middle Ages, called the "Crusades" (Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., Crusades). The article describes the supposed BLESSING put on the murderous and blood-thirsty activities of the Crusaders: "The knight who joined the Crusades might thus indulge the bellicose side of his genius—under the aegis and at the bidding of the Church; and in so doing he would also attain what the spiritual side of his nature ardently sought—a perfect salvation and remission of sins. He might butcher all day, till he waded ankle-deep in blood, and then at nightfall kneel, sobbing for very joy, at the altar of the Sepulchre—for was he not red from the winepress of the Lord?"

Were THESE men true followers of the humble carpenter of Nazareth who said: "Love your enemies"?

In 1095 Pope Urban II called for a Crusade. Should all Christians collectively be blamed for this without distinguishing between the innocent and the guilty? This emotive anecdote is designed to horrify the reader with disgust with the purpose of helping to convince the reader that only Armstrongism is the true form of Christianity and to be loyal to Meredith's LCG.

Yet remember that these men called themselves by the NAME of Christ—Christian. It seems that nearly all western religions, philosophies and sects must persist in applying the name of Christ to their ideas, teachings and practices. In ancient times, the pagans openly and honestly acknowledged their worship of the various "gods" and demon spirits of their own choosing.

With these words Meredith seeks to inspire deep loathing at the mainstream Christian churches. 

Almighty God inspired the Apostle John to describe the Devil as "that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, who DECEIVES the WHOLE WORLD" (Revelation 12:9). Again, in Revelation 20:1–3, God describes how Satan will soon be restrained "that he should DECEIVE the NATIONS no more."

These inspired scriptures certainly show that most people and nations have been misled and DECEIVED by Satan the Devil! This, very frankly, is the "key," which explains WHY there are so many obvious contradictions in our supposedly "Christian" society. It shows why this world is so mixed up and CONFUSED about what the word "Christian" really means. It shows that our civilization has NOT been following Christ, but has been DECEIVED into going many different ways under Satan's confusing influence!

After this he quotes Will Durant. However it is important to note that Meredith did not believe that the "true Christianity" was suppressed after the time of the Apostles to be replaced by proto-Catholics by reading Will Durant. He was persuaded of this by a voice he heard on the radio that belonged to one Herbert W. Armstrong.

Our dictionaries have preserved part of the truth about what a "Christian" is supposed to be. The American College Dictionary states: "Christian, pertaining to or derived from Jesus Christ or His teachings… believing in or belonging to the religion of Jesus Christ."

Why is Meredith appealing to a dictionary to determine what is this "true Christianity," this "pure religion of Jesus Christ," this "Christianity of Christ" that he speaks of? Odds are the author of this dictionary is from one of these mainstream Christian churches or is secular.

But what was the teaching of Jesus Christ? What was His religion— Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, "Mind Science"—what?

Note how Meredith is denying Catholics and Protestants hold "the teaching of Jesus Christ" or "His religion". Whatever Meredith thinks "the teaching of Jesus Christ" or "His religion" is it is not Catholic or Protestant according to him. Because for him it is his LCG.

The only authoritative answer is found in the inspired record of what Jesus did teach and of the perfect EXAMPLE He set for us to follow. Your Bible contains this inspired record! With the above questions in mind, we need to look into it—honestly— openly—without prejudice. What DID Jesus—the Author of true Christianity—actually TEACH and DO? And remember that a true Christian is one who follows Christ and His teaching!

Again why is Meredith appealing to a dictionary to insist that Catholics and Protestants are not a part of "true Christianity," "the pure religion of Jesus Christ," "the Christianity of Christ" in his view?

The word "kingdom" means government. Jesus was talking about the coming government of God over this earth. He commanded: "REPENT, and believe in the gospel!" To "repent" means to be so sorry that you are not only willing to quit—but to turn around and go the other way. Of course we must repent of SIN. But what is sin? God answers: "Sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4, KJV). So we must repent of disobeying God's Government—of breaking His LAW!

To one unfamiliar with Armstrongism it might not be readily apparent what law Meredith may be talking about here. It is to various Jewish rituals and practices that Meredith insists that Christians are required to do to be "true Christians." Meredith does this because he is imitating HWA. This flies in the face of what most Christian churches do.

Jesus OBEYED God. He did NO SIN—and sin is the "transgression of the law." He obeyed God and suffered persecution willingly and in all this set us an EXAMPLE that we should follow His steps! ...

This passage clearly shows that the true Christian must LIVE just as Jesus Christ did live—following His example. The New English Bible renders this in more modern English: "Here is the test by which we can be sure that we are in Him: whoever claims to be dwelling in Him, binds himself to LIVE as Christ Himself lived." So we are LITERALLY to follow the inspired EXAMPLE of Jesus Christ's perfect life! And we have seen that Jesus DID KEEP the Ten Commandments—LITERALLY (John 15:10).

In all likelihood Jesus celebrated Purim. But HWA decided there was no need for his followers in the Radio/Worldwide Church of God to observe Purim. So although HWA appealed to the observance and celebration of Jewish festivals mentioned in the New Testament in fact he disregarded their example in observing Purim.

Furthermore what does Meredith mean when he says, "So we are LITERALLY to follow the inspired EXAMPLE of Jesus Christ's perfect life!" It is mentioned that Jesus was unmarried. Should we refuse to be married? Of course not. Meredith does not teach this either. But what is there to stop one from doing such a thing?

If you really study the inspired record of Jesus' life carefully, you will see where Jesus prayed constantly on both knees to God the Father and fasted when He was in need of being especially close to God (Mark 1:35, 2:20, 9:29). You will see where Jesus literally OBEYED the fourth commandment—setting us an example (Luke 4:16, 31).

It is mentioned that Jesus was circumcised. Should Christians be circumcised to prove themselves as Christians? Of course not. Indeed parts of the New Testament explicitly condemned those who said Christians are to be circumcised to prove that they are Christians.

In all likelihood Jesus celebrated Purim. Should Christians be expected to celebrate Purim to prove themselves as Christians? HWA decided they did not need to do so. But what is the difference between the days observed in Armstrongism and Purim? Why is it necessary to observe this and that because Jesus did it but not celebrate Purim?

It is very simple and tempting and yet quite incorrect to say, Jesus observed the Sabbath therefore Christians must do so as well. But for one advertising man in the 1920s in Eugene, Oregon who was trying to convince his wife not to observe the Sabbath he found this convincing and used the skills he learned in the field of advertising to promote his views.

Instead of consulting with leaders and representatives of the Christian churches this individual chose to determine these things by himself in the local library.

He was unfamiliar with the history of how Christianity and Judaism separated.

He did not see that the Jews who followed Jesus Christ would naturally continue observing Jewish rituals as Jews. But that did not prove that they were Christians since they were already observing these things before Jesus' ministry.

He did not see how the early Christians taught that non-Jews who converted to Christianity did not need to be circumcised and did not need to become Jews to be a Christian (Acts 15; Galatians). This included worshiping on the Sabbath and the annual Sabbaths this advertising man in Eugene would later promote.

He did not see that the discussions in the New Testament about circumcision was about observing the law including the observances he would later advocate.

He did not see that if the early Gentile Christians had been required to observe the Holy Days as HWA did it would have been mentioned in more detail in the New Testament. Instead the New Testament contained instructions about the Eucharist.

He did not see that adopting these Jewish festivals was exploiting their festivals for his own followers. Jews did not ask for him to observe these festivals in his syncretistic religion. And then HWA used these festivals that are precious to Jews to trash the mainstream Christian churches to get a following of his own. Jews never asked for their beautiful festivals to be exploited in this way by HWA and his imitators.

He did not see that British Israelism was an act of thievery against the Jews.

He did not see that he was doing for the most part the same thing which the Apostle Paul condemned in his letter to the Galatians. He selected what Jewish practices were to be observed and those that are not observed by his followers. As Walter Martin would put it, Armstrongism is the new Galatianism. 

You will see where Jesus refused to be drawn into worldly wars and politics (John 18:36–37). You will see that Jesus OBEYED the commandments of God both in the letter AND in the spirit; that He lived a life of GIVING and SERVICE; and that He conducted Himself as an ambassador of a foreign kingdom or government—God's Government in heaven, which will soon come to replace ALL governments on this earth. Therefore, Jesus had no part in the religions, politics, wars and disputes of His time.

It is not immediately apparent to the unfamiliar reader but this is an introduction to HWA's prohibitions against voting and military service.

Meredith then asserts that one must have the Holy Spirit to "really" keep the commandments.

In plain language, if you are without God's Spirit you are NOT a Christian! ... It is actually CHRIST who keeps the commandments all over again—just as He did over 1,900 years ago—in your mortal body! It is His righteousness operating in your body, which you have willingly yielded to Him as His instrument.

Elsewhere LCG teaches that one gets the Holy Spirit by being baptized.

Since your old self must be buried or baptized for the remission of SIN, you must REPENT of sin! Recall that "sin is the transgression of the law." So you must repent of BREAKING GOD'S LAW! You must be baptized in a watery grave as an outward acknowledgement of the death penalty you have brought on yourself by disobeying the LAW of your Creator, and of your willingness to let the old self die.

Then, after real repentance of your rebellion against God and your own carnal ways and desires, and fulfilling the ordinance of humility in being baptized and accepting Christ's shed blood as payment for your past sins in FAITH, you are PROMISED the "gift" of God's Holy Spirit. Then, through His Spirit, Christ places His nature within you—His love, His faith, His strength to overcome your own weaknesses and the temptations of Satan and of this world.

The LOVE you receive through God's spirit is not mere human love, but the very love of God, because the "LOVE of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Romans 5:5). 

In other words for Meredith "receiving the Holy Spirit" is a euphemism for getting baptized into LCG.

Furthermore Meredith and the one he imitates, HWA, denounced the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and insisted that the Holy Spirit was merely a force from the Father and the Son. This will not be apparent to a reader unfamiliar with Armstrongism. HWA eventually taught that God is a family of spirit beings currently composed of two beings but HWA's followers will be 'born' into this family and become as fully God as God is God, though of lower rank. This is very different from what has been traditionally taught in Judaism and Christianity.

Meredith insists that when one observes these things he recommends it is not the person doing it but the Holy Spirit allowed Christ to live within the believer (LCG member).

Not through your strength, but through the spiritual POWER, which God's Holy Spirit imparts, you CAN follow the perfect example of Jesus Christ. You CAN yield to let Jesus live the same kind of life in you, which He DID live over 1,900 years ago—keeping the same laws of God, worshipping on the same Holy Days which God ordained, remaining separate from this world's society, politics and wars, and—through constant Bible study, earnest prayer, occasional fasting, and consistent spiritual overcoming and GROWTH— you can yield to let God fashion you in His spiritual image to be born of Him in the resurrection as His LITERAL SON—possessed of His very nature! This is, in fact, the very PURPOSE of your existence!

According to Meredith all of one's purpose is to be found in joining LCG and doing what LCG's leaders say. Some of LCG's teachings are alluded to. Observing the Sabbath and annual Sabbaths as interpreted by LCG's leaders based on HWA's teachings. Not voting or participating in public affairs. Not serving in the armed forces. Spending a lot of time indoctrinating oneself into believing LCG's dogmas through "Bible study," meaning learning to interpret the Bible as LCG does. Spending a lot of time praying to LCG's God. And fasting sometimes.

Who are the True Christians?

Down through history, God has always set apart and marked those who truly serve Him by keeping His commandments and His LAWS.

So it is insinuated that those who worship on Saturday and observing "the same Holy Days" are the true Christians. But there are hundreds of Armstrongite groups that also observe these Sabbaths. Why join Meredith's LCG?

That is not addressed in this article since it is made for people unfamiliar with Armstrongism. It is assumed that those reading this article will not be familiar with Armstrongism and think the ideas presented here as unknown but worth following.

Meredith threatens that unless one worship on the days Meredith advocates God will not listen to the prayers of such people.

The true God does not even hear our prayers unless we keep His commandments!

LCG's God is different from the God worshiped by the Christian churches. But he presents the God of LCG as the same as the Christian God worshiped by Catholics and Protestants. The unsuspecting reader might not see these differences and think it is necessary to join Meredith's group to be good with God.

True Christianity then, the Christianity of Christ—is a WAY of life! It involves the Living Jesus Christ living His life within us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Then we can truly worship God in the way He tells us to. We will be given spiritual LOVE to have the genuine out-flowing concern, the patience, the kindness and the mercy we need toward our fellow human beings.

But getting "the power of the Holy Spirit" within us requires getting baptized by LCG. So this talk is really a call for the reader to join Meredith's LCG.

Meredith ends this article with the following words.

For real Christians are called not just to be "nice" people— NOT just to "roll around heaven" all day with nothing to do. Rather we are called to join with Christ in RULING this world and bringing genuine peace and JOY to the earth when Christ's Kingdom becomes a glorious reality at His Second Coming. That is the very purpose for those called now to be true Christians.

Here Meredith mocks the hope of Christians going to Heaven to be with God after death.

Armstrongism is descended from the Millerite Adventists of the 1830s-1840s. This movement and those derived from them has long been fixated upon Christ's return. While Meredith mentions that his followers are to be rulers over the world after Christ's return the God Family doctrine is not mentioned.

But Meredith never mentions that once one joins LCG he or she is expected to send three tithes to Meredith's LCG for the rest of one's life. This is a strong motive for Meredith to get people to join his following.

Meredith is wrong. LCG and Armstrongism are wrong to insist that they are the only true form of Christianity in all the world. There is no need for Christians to observe the festivals he advocates. There is no need for a Christian to join LCG or pay tithes to them in order to get God's favor.

Black Jews in Israel

Here is a fascinating post at Daily Kos describing just how varied the Jews in Israel actually are.

It never occurred to me that all those within its borders were not like the Jews I knew from Brooklyn. It also didn’t occur to me that not all Israelis were Ashkenazim. My parents’ leftist friends were also white, but secular.  ...

Over a decade later in 1984, I had an atheist sabra as a roommate, and learned yet another facet of what an Israeli was or wasn’t. She grew up on a kibbutz, was raised non-religious and left Israel after doing her military service, angry about the presence of and tolerance for Haredi Jews by the state. ...

Much—or at least most—of the discussion of Israel in the U.S. tends to be polarizing (against or for), and is also about what we call the I/P debate—Israel/Palestine. Rarely do we examine the internal contractions within Israeli society, which is not a monolith or homogeneous. Israel’s population demographics are complicated not just by Jewish (and who qualifies as a Jew) vs. not Jewish, but also by diversity within Judaism.

The Black Panthers of Israel, a polygamous sect named African Hebrew Israelites founded by an African American and Ethiopian Jews are discussed. 

Why do the COGs seem so content to live in ignorance of these things in exchange for their simplistic script? Since when did they ever bothered to discuss such things with their followers? Since when did they ever bother to notice these things?

Watching the Holy Land

So often the leaders of the COGs tell us to watch Jerusalem. Maybe they should watch Hebron and other places in the Holy Land as well.

Photos of a Palestinian man being arrested in Hebron at a checkpoint.

 

Here's another Palestinian man getting arrested.

A shop in Gaza.

 

A picture of Ben-Zion Gopstein, leader of the far right group Lehava, crouching while watching the Palestinian flag being burnt. In December 2015 he said Christmas has no place in Israel. Referring to Christians he said, “Let us remove the vampires before they once again drink our blood,” calling for Christians to be expelled from Israel.

Lehava is a group dedicated to stopping mixed marriages between Jews and non-Jews, mainly Palestinians. Lehava is an offshoot of Meir Kahane's movement, a Rabbi so infamous for his extremism his party was banned from the 1988 elections for racism.

Sign seen in a protest in Tel Aviv defending a French-Israeli soldier who was filmed fatally shooting a neutralized Palestinian.

12 year old Palestinian girl who had just been released from an Israeli prison.

But these things do not fit the scenario devised by the leaders of Armstrongism and so such things are ignored.