Old Time COGs

Recent additions the sidebar now include three "pre-Armstrong" bodies, all separate but related to the larger COG7. One is the Salem, West Virginia church. One distinctive belief of this group relates to the timing of their annual Lord's Supper service (usually referred to as Passover in Armstrong sects and scheduled this year for the evening of April 21). These folk will be marking this observance in a few days time (evening of March 22) due to a different approach to the Hebrew calendar. A second group is based in Jerusalem, Israel, with congregations as far away as Auckland (I well remember experiencing a degree of "culture shock" when I attended one of their services many years ago). This ministry was established by Andrew N. Dugger, who features prominently in the Armstrong autobiography.

Effie & Andrew Dugger
(photo from Friends of the Sabbath site)

Andrew N. Dugger (1886-1975) was the most famous Church of God (Seventh Day) leader in the twentieth century. He was born in Bassett, Nebraska.

Andrew N. Dugger's father, A.F. Dugger, Sr., had been an Advent Christian Minister. When commissioned by his church to do a study refuting the Sabbath, A.F. Dugger instead became convinced that the Sabbath should be observed. The result was a book he later published, called The Bible Sabbath Defended. For more than thirty-five years until his death in 1910, A.F. Dugger, Sr., was a leader in the Church of God (Seventh Day). His son Andrew, a school teacher and farmer, was in his early 20's when his father died.

A bright light in the sky around him seemed to Dugger to be a sign from God that he should follow his father's footsteps in the ministry. A.N. Dugger immediately sold his large farm and equipment, and went to the University of Chicago, where he majored in theology and public speaking, mastering Greek, Hebrew, and German.

Dugger periodically returned to Bassett to visit his mother and Effie Carpenter (1895-1980), a student of his whom he wanted to marry. Although he first proposed to her when she was sixteen, it wasn't until 1925 until they were married. They shared fifty years together.

Soon after college graduation, Dugger was invited by the Executive Committee of the Church of God to move to Stanberry, Missouri, to become editor of The Bible Advocate, a position his father had held before being forced to retire because of ill health. In 1914, Dugger arrived in Stanberry to begin his work in the ministry. For eighteen years he was editor, also serving as President of the General Conference. As field representative, he traveled widely, holding evangelistic meetings and public debates. The famous "Porter Dugger Debate," between Dugger and W. Curtis Porter, a Church of Christ minister, was later published as a book of over 230 pages. In 1919, Dugger wrote The Bible Home Instructor, which publicized the Church of God, and substantially increased its membership during the 1920s.

Two of Dugger's most adamant doctrinal positions were: a scriptural form of church organization with leaders chosen by lot rather than election, and a world headquarters in Jerusalem, Israel. After visiting Israel for only a year in 1931-32, Dugger returned to live in Sweet Home, Oregon. In 1935, A.N. Dugger and C.O. Dodd published A History of the True Church, which traces Sabbath-keepers from apostolic times to modern days. Dugger greatly influenced Herbert Armstrong, who was for years affiliated with the Church of God (Seventh Day) but later formed his own church, the Radio (later Worldwide) Church of God.

Dugger remained pastor at Marion, Oregon until 1953, when he and Effie settled permanently in Jerusalem, and launched the Mt. Zion Reporter. His aggressive leadership resulted in thousands of converts around the world. Andrew N. Dugger died in 1975 at the age of 89. Dugger's son-in-law, Gordon Fauth, continued the Jerusalem work... 

(Adapted from biographical information here.) 

Dugger's educational attainments may go part-way to explain Herb Armstrong's truculent attitude towards him - he seems outrageously overqualified by COG standards even today, let alone the 1920s. A little inferiority complex perhaps?

A third group is the Meridian, Idaho General Council COG7. Links to all three are found under "Smaller COG players".

Moderation in all things

The comments on AW have been brilliant since the reboot. Not that we all agree, not much hope there. But disagree and disagreeable are different things. Thanks to everybody who has kept the discussion on track.

I know it's preaching to the choir, but given that I've just had to delete an 'intemperate' comment, here's a little clarification on how things work at the moment.

• There is no moderation in the first instance. Comments are automatically published. Blogger's system of emailing comments for prior moderation isn't foolproof. When I restarted AW I found more than 60 comments that had been sitting in the system for six long years. 
• In the event of a flame I can (and will) trash it, but it usually won't happen straight away... believe it or not, I don't spend my whole day sitting beside the laptop (though it sometimes feels that way).

If anyone can think of a better procedure, or would prefer active moderation, this is the thread to use. I'm open to suggestions. 

Climate change: why the about face?

The consensus among many COG pundits today is that climate change is a hoax, an example of left-wing lunacy. Mark Armstrong describes it as "the idiotic theory of man-made global warming." Even if there is climate change, it ain't nothin' to do with us.

But it wasn't always so.

At this very moment, in a world filled with revolution and dynamic changes, a veritable REVOLUTION IN WEATHER is occuring!

World temperatures are changing. The climate is warming up - causing drought in vast areas, with floods in others.

Why don't we wake up to the calamities we are bringing on ourselves!

Drought, floods, famines are the result of man's having turned from the ways of God. Man is bringing these sufferings upon himself.

(Herman Hoeh, "WEATHER Changes Threaten Disaster for U.S.A.", Plain Truth, January 1955).

Herman blamed farming practices and deforestation. If the science had pointed to carbon emissions in 1955, you can be pretty sure he would have lined up behind it.

Later that year Herman returned to the weather theme.

Despite the admissions of weather reporters and scientists, most news articles on weather are soft-pedalling the TRUTH. There is a definite campaign which aims at discrediting the real significance behind the weather changes. ("Worst WEATHER Ever!", Plain Truth, October 1955).

Would Herman be able to get these articles published in today's COG publications? You might think COG leaders would be tripping over themselves in their eagerness to proclaim that they had this 'prophecy' right many decades before it became an issue in the public mind. Yet they don't. I guess the 'talking points' have changed.

In these earlier times, the WCG beat the climate drum frequently. They may well have got that one right - though for all the wrong reasons. The question isn't so much whether Hoeh was correct back then, or whether he was just stirring the apocalyptic pot (I think it's clear it was more the latter); the issue is how and why most of the COGs have performed a massive double-flip and ended up in the climate change denial lobby.

Even in the 1984 50th anniversary issue of the Plain Truth Donald Schroeder was able to write:

Human activities have a part in causing changes in weather. In recent decades, scientists have begun to understand that industrial air pollution, harmful agricultural practices and deforestation are causing changes in local weather patterns. Man's burgeoning industrial activities and burning of coal and oil are significantly increasing carbon dioxide buildup in the atmosphere, threatening to alter world weather patterns. ("CHAOTIC WEATHER: Return of the Dust Bowl", Plain Truth, February 1984.)

Since then an anti-science attitude to evolution seems to have transmogrified into an anti-science approach full-stop. As a result, the COGs are increasingly orienting themselves to a fearful, wingnut constituency (to call it 'conservative' is to do all real conservatives a gross injustice), and in those circles the idea of Global Warming is anathema.

Herman Hoeh might have been puzzled by that.


[This blog post doesn't deal with the facts of climate change, but if that's of interest check out this link to National Geographic.]

Learning to be ruled

Deference to the ministry is one of the unofficial doctrines of most Church of God groups. Do you, humble layperson that you are, have a question? Fear not, your minister can make a ruling. If he does, it would be a very bad idea to ignore it. Stories were told, apparently quite true, of members consulting the great man on what colour their new car should (or shouldn't) be. This must have been frustrating for WCG clergy too, often being sidelined after services by an insecure member trying to get advice when the minister just wanted to get some personal distance from the herd.

Some of us were worldly-wise enough to know that what the minister didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Or more to the point, us. It was one thing to listen respectfully (I'm not sure we even thought about listening critically) to a sermon and take the message on board, quite another to give the gentleman in the expensive suit carte blanche to micro-manage our lives.

Behind all this was another message. We were being trained. Training in obedience was conceived in terms not greatly different from dog training. In turn, parents were expected to train their kids in the same way, following the principles enunciated by that genius in child psychology, Garner Ted Armstrong. ("Any and every child needs spankings. It is a vital, integral part of his positive teaching and training.")

But isn't this all something long left behind in the 1970s? Well, apparently not in Rod Meredith's LCG. Faye League, wife of the late LCG pastor Bob ("the enforcer") League, shares some grandmotherly wisdom in the current issue of Living Church News. Alas, the experience many of us have had indicates that "true ministers of God" (Faye means LCG elders) do not always "have the best interests of each Church member at heart". Some of them may wish to, but at best that's just a good intention. Others certainly don't. Think David C. Pack who joined Rod before setting up his own franchise. When Big Dave was still holding hands with his best buddy Rod did he have the best interests of each Church member at heart? Does he now? Not exactly rocket science is it.

Then there's the undeniable reality that ministerial advice over the years has often been woeful. In many cases, you'd be better served by flipping a coin.

Being an autonomous human being means taking responsibility for your own decisions. Autonomy was almost always discouraged in the Churches of God. What the pastor said from the pulpit was not to be questioned. Even if you raised your eyes to the great one to express agreement with something he'd said, you could be pulled up for having the temerity to express an opinion - even a positive one - on his gracious words. That was simply not your place. That's how authoritarian structures work.

What about those texts Faye quotes in Hebrews? Notice the words "considering the outcome of their conduct." The writer of Hebrews presumes that a minister's conduct will have a positive outcome, but we know better when it comes to many COG ministers, beginning with Herbert Armstrong and stretching all the way down the line, past Bob League and into to the present. 'Consider' implies weighing up, judging, evaluating, a concept that should send a shiver up the spine of many a COG minister.

It's worth noting that the League article is particularly addressed to women in the church. A stroppy man is bad enough in authoritarian sects, but a stroppy woman is apparently much worse. Perhaps the 'little ladies' of LCG needed a particular reminder.

Sorry Faye. Not buying.

Begorra!

Tis the day for the wearing of the green. Or it will be in a few hours, depending on where you are.

But not for the dead-eyed literalists in the more doctrinaire COGs, Dave Pack's Restored Church of God for example. The Real Truth website features an article warning readers about all that nasty paganism.

For starters, we're advised that "the concept of a dead “Patron Saint” is contrary to what the Bible teaches."

Leprechauns? "God tells those who follow Him that such beliefs are worthless: “For the customs of the people are vain…”"

Shamrocks? "Today, St. Patrick’s Day revelers wear a shamrock out of tradition,” National Geographic reported. Colossians 2:8 warns against following manmade traditions..."

Wearing green or having a glass of Guinness? Licentiousness! "I Timothy states, “Have nothing to do with godless and silly myths”..."

Talk about killjoys. Dudes, lighten up.

St. Patrick’s Day customs, regardless of how harmless they may seem, are not from God. Jesus bluntly said what it meant for those who follow such customs: “…laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men…Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:8-9).

Recognize that, as with many other manmade holidays, St. Patrick’s Day is filled with pagan customs. The shamrock, green paraphernalia, and a plethora of fantasies about Patrick, including his fictional function as “Patron Saint” in heaven, are simply empty traditions. Such manmade holidays were adopted as early church leaders began “laying aside the commandments of God” to “hold the tradition of men.”

It's not hard to see where this is going. "God commands that seven Feasts be kept throughout the year."

The Puritans had nothing on these guys. 

Political neutrality, Armstrong style

Two excerpts from Mark Armstrong's March 11 Weekly Update.

We're not about to try to tell anyone who to vote for or who not to. We can only pray to God for the peace and safety of the United States in a time where vicious enemies have been strengthened and we've been systematically invaded by people with no respect for our traditions or laws. Thanks to the weak and/or intentionally wrongheaded "leadership" of recent years, many of them will actually be voting in the upcoming elections! Maybe you saw the caucus from the environs of Minneapolis, Minnesota a couple of weeks ago where the entire meeting was conducted in a Somali dialect. That can be only one of many examples of this type of thing going on all across the United States, in some language other than English. It's an outrage.

As we've said numerous times before, Western civilization is under attack. Not only from the Muslim hordes and their murderous religion, but by its own leaders. It has shaped up in Europe, and to a lesser degree in the United States, that if you're not on board in support of "multiculturalism," socialist redistribution and the idiotic theory of man-made global warming, you are dangerous. Rejection of that philosophy is taking hold across Europe and leading inexorably toward political upheaval. 

Yup, no clues there about which way Mark leans.

The End Times and apple trees

Herbert Armstrong, Ted Armstrong, Raymond McNair, Herman Hoeh, Rod Meredith, Gerry Flurry. Bill Dankenbring, Fred Coulter, Ronnie Weinland, Don Billingsley...

There's blunt irony in the inescapable fact that each of these doomsayers is now either dead or skating toward the precipice. Each proclaimed the nearness of Christ's return "in our time". Each was wrong.

It's an unenviable track record, and yet there's no lack of hopefuls to take on their mantle. You'd think they'd learn.

There is no escaping, though, that the Churches of God are part of the wider Adventist movement, with all that implies about misreading apocalyptic literature. Declaw them of that and they lose their very soul; witness what has happened to Grace Communion International. Adventism is all about the nearness of Christ's return. If you were living in 1844 it was perilously near, not to your grandchildren but to you personally. 1914, the angelic trumpet was about to sound. 1972, and the DC10s bound for Petra had their engines running.

And yet, here we all are, 2016. But wouldn't you know it, prophecy is still marching on. The trouble is, it's marching the other way.

The prophecy pundits don't seem deterred, busily "watching world news" with the help of WND. In fact, they regard this as a religious duty, assuming this is what Jesus meant when he called on his disciples to 'watch'.

Of course, it wasn't. No TV newscasts, no newspapers or magazines in the first century. Such news as you got was usually months old, carried by word of mouth or handwritten letter. Paul wasn't monitoring CNN, much less Fox News.

But, if you're going to bleed tithes from the flock, it helps to keep them expectant and stressed out. The apocalyptic mindset feeds on pessimism. It also discourages people from taking practical action - on climate change for example. Why bother?

There's a nice little quote attributed to Luther.

"If I knew that tomorrow was the end of the world, I would still plant an apple tree today."

It's almost certainly apocryphal, but like a lot of apocryphal sayings, there's a good deal of truth to it.

GCI - branding churches

GCI is encouraging (requiring?) its larger "charter churches" to rebrand with the name Grace Communion. There also seems to be a renewed push for those churches that still hold Saturday services to move to Sunday. These excerpts from the March issue of Equipper, produced by CAD.

If you don’t own your building, then rent one in a neutral location where signage identifying your congregation can be prominently displayed at all times. Don’t lose your identity by meeting in a non-GCI church building.

If your meeting time for worship services (or other meetings) is out of step with your target community, change it to align with their schedules and cultural expectations (in most places in the U.S. that means moving worship services from Saturday to Sunday).

Consider using “Grace Communion” in your congregation’s name. Not doing so limits the visibility of the denomination and thus your congregation in the world around us. As we go forward, newly chartered churches will be asked to name themselves “Grace Communion” followed by their city or town. Our denominational name speaks to our distinctive values of God’s extravagant grace experienced in loving community.

Some of the many names currently in use include Christian Fellowship Church International (LA), Abundant Grace Church (Rochester), Hands for Christ Community Church (Staten Is.) and Heartland Christian Fellowship (Chicago).

BI and the demonisation of Germany

The Armstrong version of British Israelism incorporated more than a jingoism based on the hopeful fiction that America and Britain were the favourite sons of prophecy, the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim respectively. There was a devious pretender in the European bloodline. The French might be Reuben and the Dutch Zebulon, lesser tribes but Israelites nonetheless. However, the Germans were decidedly non-Israelite, descended from the warlike ancient Assyrians and predestined to rise once again to enslave their neighbours. In other words, the bad guys.

All of this is nonsense of course, but Armstrong confidently taught it - whipping up a fear of the End Times - and many of his followers still continue in that delusion. It might have been a crowd pleaser in the wake of two world wars, but times have changed. Most COGs now relegate the German connection to the deeper waters of prophecy, still trotting out the proof texts when required, but preferring not to talk about it too openly. Not so the Modesto-based Church of God EIM and its leading spokesman Steven LeBlanc.

LeBlanc has swallowed the BI myth hook, line and sinker and regurgitated the anti-German claims in a booklet called Germany & Prophecy.

Over more than fifty pages LeBlanc pounds home his message. We have been very, very naughty. God is very, very angry. God (who obviously lacks much imagination in choosing such a brutal strategy) is going to send the nasty Germans to punish us. You have been warned.

BI believers loudly proclaim that their pet doctrine isn't racist, oh my goodness no. Reading through LeBlanc's booklet you might think otherwise. The racism here isn't however based on colour, it's based on a wretched misrepresentation of national origins.

The Biblical genealogy shows the ancestor of the great majority of Germans and Austrians (modern-day descendants of the Assyrians) is Asshur, the grandson of Noah through Shem (Genesis 10:22). The Assyrian Empire developed from the city-state of Assur (named for Asshur, a son of Shem – one of Noah’s three sons – see Genesis 10:1, 22). Asshur was a brother of Arphaxad, an ancestor of Abraham, who was the father of the Hebrews (Genesis 11:10–26). Most of the ancient Assyrians eventually moved westward from the Bible lands into Europe. (p.44)

Once you accept that, you can then co-opt ancient biblical passages as prophecies which, by clicking your heels together and wishing hard, can be applied to today.

The Bible states that God will use the end-time German-led Beast power as a “rod” to punish the United States, Britain, and much of northwestern Europe.

I'm glad he left New Zealand and Australia out of it. Mind you, I think that was probably just an oversight.

Anciently, God used Assyria as “the rod of (His) anger” to conquer and deport the rebellious house of Israel in 721 B.C (II Kings 17:6). Later, God used Babylon as His tool to conquer the sinful house of Judah and to take them captive (Jeremiah 20:4). These punishments serve as types of the end-time punishments that will fall upon the United States and Britain. Notice the prophecy in Hosea 11:5: “…But the Assyrian shall be his king because they refused to repent.” Hosea 9:3 reveals that Britain will actually be conquered by Germany and taken into captivity before Christ returns. (p.52)

I'm not sure exactly where those multiple millions of captive people would be taken to. Germany has enough logistical difficulty just taking in refugees from Syria at the moment. But why let that spoil LeBlanc's turgid fantasy?

Yet BI is still a doctrinal distinctive in most of the COGs, firmly attached to a colourful but totally wrong-headed reading of prophecy. Can you think of one such group (exempting GCI and CoG7) which isn't still invested in this nightmare eschatology?

The problem for LeBlanc - along with every other COG that holds to the Beast Power German invasion scenario - is that it's just not credible. Not on any level, genetic, biblical, historical or realpolitik. More than that, it's laughable.

It's a ticket to oblivion.

Bob - a corporation sole

Good grief!

Hardly had the ink dried on the previous post - or whatever passes for ink on a blog - than this little gem appeared in the in-tray. It's the copyright notice to Bob's latest booklet.

A "corporation sole"? Who was the most famous corporation sole in COG history? None other than Herbert Armstrong, desperate to evade accountability to the State of California in the wake of the receivership and keeping well out of sight in Tucson. So I guess it's official, Bob is a one-man band.

And what do we make of the "and Successor" bit? Talk about taking precautions.

So is this all evidence of fiendish cleverness, or is Bob just delusional? Whatever the case, Bob seems to be intent on locking things down.