Church of God News

‘Pauline Year’ stresses Christian unity

UPI – June 29, 2007

Pope Benedict XVI announced Thursday that the Catholic Church will dedicate next year to Saint Paul, from June 28, 2008 to June 29, 2009. The “Pauline Year” will have important ecumenical implications due to Paul’s example as “Apostle to the Nations,” AsiaNews reported Friday…
A delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople took part in the service at the Basilica of St. Paul where the pope made the announcement. “These meetings and initiative are not mere courtesy calls between Churches,” he said, “but are meant to express their shared commitment to do all that is in their power to hasten the day when there will be full communion between the Christian West and East.”http://www.religionandspirituality.com/currentEvents/view.php?StoryID=20070629-092058-4042r

The Patriarchate of Constantinople himself is considered to be the top leader within the Orthodox Church (though not like the Roman Pontiff). Though Bible prophecy indicates that their church will apparently accept it (Revelation 13:8; Daniel 2:32-33), the Orthodox individually must reject unity with Rome.

Notice, however, that one aspect of “unity” will be to push Jews further from Rome:

Church split feared as Pope backs return of ‘anti-Semitic’ Latin Mass

Independent (UK) – June 30, 2007

A plan by the Pope to authorise the widespread return of the controversial Latin Mass, despite concerns that parts of it are anti-Semitic, has provoked a backlash among senior clergy in Britain and threatens to divide the Catholic Church worldwide…

Pope Benedict’s move is widely seen as an attempt to reach out to an ultra- traditionalist and schismatic group, the Society of St Pius X, and bring it back into the Vatican fold. The late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre founded the society in 1969 in Switzerland, in opposition to the Second Vatican Council’s reforms. The Rev Keith Pecklers, a Jesuit liturgical expert, said: “The real issue here is not limited to liturgy but has wider implications for church life.” He added that proponents of the old Mass “tend to oppose the laity’s increased role in parish life… collaboration with other Christians and its dialogue with Jews and Muslims”. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2723235.ece

Hence we see that although Rome wants unity, and will apparently get it with the Orthodox and an “ultratraditionalist group”, it is less concerned about unity with the Jews.

Part of the reason for this is that the predominant view within Catholicism is that the Antichrist will be of the tribe of Dan and will establish a Jewish kingdom.  And while this view is incorrect, many hold to it (I recently even heard Jerry Falwell state that the Antichrist would be Jewish and probably from the tribe of Dan).  Its basis appears to be from the third century theologian Hippolytus who wrote:

14. Thus did the Scriptures preach before-time of this lion and lion’s whelp. And in like manner also we find it written regarding Antichrist. For Moses speaks thus: “Dan is a lion’s whelp, and he shall leap from Bashan.” But that no one may err by supposing that this is said of the Saviour, let him attend carefully to the matter. “Dan,” he says, “is a lion’s whelp; “and in naming the tribe of Dan, he declared clearly the tribe from which Antichrist is destined to spring. For as Christ springs from the tribe of Judah, so Antichrist is to spring from the tribe of Dan (On Christ and Antichrist).

2. After this, then, what remains, beloved, but the toes of the feet of the image, in which ” part shall be of iron and part of clay mixed together? ” By the toes of the feet he meant, mystically, the ten kings that rise out of that kingdom. As Daniel says, ” I considered the beast; and, lo, (there were) ten horns behind, among which shall come up another little horn springing from them; ” by which none other is meant than the antichrist that is to rise; and he shall set up the kingdom of Judah…(Hippolytus. Exegetical fragments).

I was talking with a strict Catholic family earlier this week and they hold another view, which is that the final Antichrist will be an antipope, will implement a new form of Catholicism, and will be highly ecumenical.  That view (which seems to be held by a minority of Catholic “prophets” as well as some current Catholics) is consistent with the COG view in general and my own view in particular.

An article of related interest may be Doctrines of Antichrist.

European rights body calls off Creationism vote

Reuters – June 25, 2007

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) – Europe’s main human rights body on Monday cancelled a scheduled vote on banning creationist and intelligent design views from school science classes, saying the proposed resolution was one-sided.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUKL2543885120070625

I have suspected for some time that the “intelligent design” crowd would make some modest headway in Europe; not complete, as the Roman Catholic Church accepts various aspects of evolution–but enough so that when the Beast power is gaining strength, those who consider themselves to be “educated” will have some reason to accept religion.

Anyway, those truly educated in the biological sciences who are willing to properly reason must understand that evolution as the origin of life is absurd and impossible.

Five articles of possibly related interest may include:

Is God’s Existence Logical? Some say it is not logical to believe in God. Is that true?
Is Evolution Probable or Impossible or Is God’s Existence Logical? Part II This short article clearly answers what ‘pseudo-scientists’ refuse to acknowledge.
Where Did God Come From? Any ideas? And how has God been able to exist?
What is the Meaning of Life? Who does God say is happy? What is your ultimate destiny? Do you really know?
The Bible: Fact or Fiction? This is a booklet written by Douglas Winnail that answers if the Bible is just a collection of myths and legends or the inspired word of God.

The lead article of the latest issue of CG7’s Bible Advocate begins with:

Our bodies are better witnesses than our beliefs alone.

I learned this truth over lunch with three co-workers at Pizza Hut. One was a long-time friend and committed Christian. The other two were fresh on the job and not believers.

Loading our plates at the buffet, I asked the waitress if the admired pizza had pork sausage or hamburger on it. Back at the table I found my friend Todd explaining to the others my custom of eating according to the biblical principle of clean and unclean foods.

I was pleased to see that CG 7-Denver still teaches against the consumption of biblically unclean animals.  At two new jobs (one the very first day and the other within a month) my bosses and/or employees learned that I would not eat certain meats they tried to insist I try.

Here are two articles of possibly-related interest:

The New Testament Church and Unclean Meats Are foods considered to have been unclean in the Old Testament considered to be food in the New Testament? This article discusses this from the perspective of the New Testament. It also has a list of clean and unclean animals.
Church of God, Seventh Day: History and Teachings Nearly all COG’s I am aware of trace their history through this group. Whaid Rose is the president of the largest CG7 group (Denver). Do you know much about them?

The July 2007 edition of Together (Worldwide Church of God News) had the following story:

Bengali Easter celebration

On Easter, the Bengali Evangelical Association held a Bengali-language celebration in Loma Linda, CA. The service was organized with other Bengali leaders as a sanctuary to the many Bengalis in the Los Angeles area who feel in need of a spiritual home base.

Dr. John Biswas, a WCG elder (right), is looked on by the Bengali people in Southern California as their pastor and leader and has been pressured to organize this sort of gathering in their own language and culture, hence this Easter service and social gathering.

Of course, the early Church observed Passover.  It was essentially because of cowardice and compromise with paganism that Easter replaced Passover for the majority of those who claimed some version of Christianity.  Three articles of possible interest could include:

Passover and the Early Church Did the early Christians observe Passover? What did Jesus and Paul teach?
Did Early Christians Celebrate Easter? If not, when did this happen? What do scholars and the Bible reveal?
History of Early Christianity Are you aware that what most people believe is not what truly happened to the true Christian church?

I received several news articles about outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair the past few days (I was out of town).  After reading several, I decided that some of these items may be of interest.

DAILY Express

TONY Blair wants to hand the European Union radical new powers in his last act as Prime Minister, it emerged today.

The Prime Minister has welcomed controversial plans to bring back the troubled EU constitution by the back door – totally bypassing the need for public referendums on sweeping new powers for Brussels…

Britain’s voting rights would be reduced by a third under the scheme and our hard-won veto on European directives would be torn up. Britain could also lose the right to impose quotas on immigration.

Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague said: “If Tony Blair thinks he can hoodwink the British people by smuggling in the rejected EU consitution under another name, he had better think again.

Perhaps it should be mentioned that the general position within the Churches of God is that Britain will not remain in the EU and will pull out at some point.

Tony Blair and the RAF chaplain: a secretive journey to Catholicism

Guardian (UK) – June 22, 2007

Tony Blair will tomorrow travel to the Vatican to meet the Pope in preparation for his conversion to Roman Catholicism as sources in London and Rome said the outgoing prime minister had taken the decision to seek admission to the church.

All that remained uncertain was the timing of the announcement. It was not intended that it should take place in Rome, and might be made either before or after Mr Blair left office next week…

As Prime Minister Mr Blair has been cautious about his religious beliefs. As Alastair Campbell, his former director of communications, once famously said: “We don’t do God.”                                                                                       http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2692478.ece

The reasons for the timing may be explained in the articles below:

Blair will become a Catholic

Independent – June 22, 2007

Tony Blair is “certain” to become a Roman Catholic shortly after he steps down from office next week, friends of the Prime Minister have told The Independent. They believe it will happen “sooner rather than later”.

Mr Blair is likely to discuss his conversion with Pope Benedict XVI, with whom he will hold talks in Rome tomorrow after attending his last summit of European Union leaders in Brussels.

Aides say that in the private one-to-one meeting, he will also discuss his plans to set up a Blair Inter-Faith Foundation aimed at fostering closer links between people from different religions.

There have been persistent rumours that the Prime Minister would convert to Catholicism but Downing Street has always insisted that he remains a member of the Church of England.

Sarkozy wants Blair as EU’s president

Associated Press – June 16, 2007

Outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair is being proposed as the European Union’s first full-time president by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a British newspaper reported Saturday.

The Financial Times said Sarkozy had discussed the idea with other European leaders before next week’s EU summit in Brussels. It will be Blair’s last summit as British leader; he steps down June 27.  http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1181813047123&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Revealed: Secret meeting where French President offered Blair EU President job

Evening Standard (UK) – June 16, 2007

Tony Blair has been accused of ‘knifing’ Gordon Brown by holding secret discussions about a job as the first ever President of the European Union.

The Prime Minister was entertained in Paris by new French president Nicolas Sarkozy at an upmarket restaurant called Thiou, where they agreed a joint agenda on Europe.

French political sources have confirmed that President Sarkozy is keen for Mr Blair to take on a full-time paid role as the ‘face’ of the EU after he quits Downing Street.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23400879-details/Revealed:+Secret+meeting+where+French+President+offered+Blair++EU+President+job/article.do
 

We in the COGs tend to believe that the final beast power will be nominally Catholic (see Europa and the Beast of Revelation).  It is interesting that Tony Blair intends to become Catholic, meet the Pope, and has recently been proposed as a potential EU president.  And while this suggests Catholic influence within in the EU, it also seems to suggest that Tony Blair’s actions will cause many within Britain to wonder about Britain’s EU involvement.

While we in the COGs do believe that Britain will pull out of the EU, there are several prophecies in Hosea that suggest that some in Britain will later seek Assyrian (the leading EU nation) support.

Notice what Hosea 5:13-14 teaches will be fulfilled,  

When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah saw his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria And sent to King Jareb; Yet he cannot cure you, Nor heal you of your wound. 14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue 

 

As well as Hosea 8:8-9,  

And also Hosea 12:1,  

Ephraim feeds on the wind, And pursues the east wind; He daily increases lies and desolation.  Also they make a covenant with the Assyrians. And oil is carried to Egypt.  

As well as Hosea 7:11-12, 

Ephraim also is like a silly dove, without sense–They call to Egypt, They go to Assyria. 12 Wherever they go, I will spread My net on them;  I will bring them down like birds of the air; I will chastise them, According to what their congregation has heard. 

These verses in Hosea suggest that the Ephraimites (UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) and the Jews (modern Israel) think they should get some protection from Assyria (Germany), possibly because they have made various treaties with the EU (even if out of the EU, Britain would most likely have some treaties with those in the EU).    Furthermore it shows that one of the reasons that Israel, including Ephraim, are swallowed up is because they trusted Assyria (Germany).

 Interestingly, Ephraim, Manasseh (USA), and Judah are also prophesied to turn on each other to some degree (Isaiah 9:21).   Hosea 10:9-11 suggests that Ephraim and Judah will be forced into hard labor, perhaps around this time as well; while 11:1-8 says that Assyria will be the king of Ephraim and Israel, because they refused to repent, and that the sword will devour their cities.   The last verse in Hosea (14:9) begins with: 

Who is wise? Let him understand these things.  Who is prudent? Let him know them.  

Three articles of possible interest may include:

Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation?
Modern Nations and God’s Ancient Plan Many peoples are mentioned in the Bible. And other than the fact that the nation of Israel represents the ancient kingdom of Judah, do you know who any of these people are now?
Which Is Faithful: The Roman Catholic Church or the Church of God? Do you know that both groups shared a lot of the earliest teachings? Do you know which church changed? Do you know which group is most faithful to the teachings of the apostolic church? This documented article answers those questions.

In an ad in the Connection’s portion of The Journal, TPM’s W. Dankenbring claims:

THINK about it! The sacred Calendar is the very FOUNDATION of “ALL” the Holy Days. Since the Hillel II Calendar is wrong, corrupted,
and perverted, then the whole building—the whole superstructure—is also wrong, crooked, and unstable!

Let us build wisely on the Rock—the true Calendar—that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jesus and Paul used and continue in the “true” Word
of God, and Jesus Christ our true Rock who created the Calendar in the first place (Exo. 12:1-2). And who followed it to set the example for
us to follow Jesus and not man.

I believe that years ago, Raymond McNair (now with CG21) proved that Jesus kept the Holy Days based upon the same postponements that are in the Hillel Calendar that most Orthodox Jews and Churches of God use.

As far as being wrong, those interested in prophecy may wish to see how many times TPM has been wrong. Some of those times are documented in the article Teachings of Triumph Prophetic Ministries.

The Bible gives the origins of the peoples who inhabit the world. What about Asian Indians?

The Bible states:

6 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. 7 The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. 8 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth (Genesis 10:6-8).

Richard Ames of the Living Church of God has observed:

The Hebrew word for Ethiopia is Cush, the eastern branch of which is identified with India. The Hebrew word for Libya is Put (Put was the third son of Ham, according to Genesis 10:6), whose eastern branch, like Cush, is also identified with India (Ames R. The Middle East in Prophecy. LCG Booklet).

By the name “India”, India is mentioned twice in the Bible in the Book of Ester:

Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus (this was the Ahasuerus who reigned over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia) (Esther 1:1).

So the king’s scribes were called at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day; and it was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, the satraps, the governors, and the princes of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all, to every province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language (Esther 8:9).

Hence there are several biblical connections with the peoples of Indian ancestory.

Possible Clues in as To Original Christian Influence

It is believed that Christianity came to India in the first century.

Jesus named twelve men to be apostles and commissioned them to take the gospel to the world (Matthew 28:19-20). One of those was Bartholomew, and another was Thomas who was called “the twin” (John 20:24).

In the early third century, Hippolytus wrote about Bartholomew and Thomas:

Bartholomew, again, preached to the Indians, to whom he also gave the Gospel according to Matthew, and was crucified with his head downward, and was buried in Allanum, a town of the great Armenia…

And Thomas preached to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians, and Margians, and was thrust through in the four members of his body with a pine spears at Calamene, the city of India, and was buried there (Hippolytus. On The Twelve Apostles).

This may be the earliest reference to any form of Christianity coming to India. Thus, apparently at least two of the original apostles made it to India.

The above information and more is included in the new article India, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part I: Any Witness?

Now you may wonder why is there so much coverage of Catholic news at a COG news site?

Because as we get closer to the time of the end, we in the COGs believe that a version of the Roman Catholic Church will essentially dominate the entire world. The stages are now being set for this domination to occur. The Bible indicates that demon-influenced leaders like the beast and the false prophet (the final Antichrist) will hold, at least publicly, to some version of Catholicism. And while I personally feel that the final Antichrist will be an antipope, it still means that he will profess some version of Catholicism.

By better understanding the original doctrines of the true Church and contrasting them with Roman Catholic news, it should make it easier for people to realize which church is the only possible faithful one during these latter times.

Four articles of possible interest may include:

What Do Roman Catholic Scholars Actually Teach About Early Church History? Although most believe that the Roman Catholic Church history teaches an unbroken line of succession of bishops beginning with Peter, with stories about most of them, Roman Catholic scholars know the truth of this matter. This eye-opening article is a must-read for any who really wants to know what Roman Catholic history actually admits about the early church.
Which Is Faithful: The Roman Catholic Church or the Church of God? Do you know that both groups shared a lot of the earliest teachings? Do you know which church changed? Do you know which group is most faithful to the teachings of the apostolic church? This documented article answers those questions by providing the doctrines of the early church.
Europa, the Beast, and the Book of Revelation discusses the largest church since the second/third century, which in a real sense is the eighth church mentioned in the Book of Revelation.
Some Doctrines of Antichrist Are there any doctrines taught outside the Churches of God which can be considered as doctrines of antichrist. This article suggests at least three. It also provides information on 666.

There are many articles linked to on this page that provide specific details as to what happened to the early church that led to a separation between the true Church of God and the formation of various mainstream churches. However a brief overview may be helpful here.

In the first century, apparently a false apostle who is now called Mark preached an allegorical interpretation of scripture in Alexandria. Alexandria was one of the most important intellectual centers of the Roman Empire in ancient times and had much influence in the Greco-Roman world. The falsely called “Epistle of Barnabus” came from Alexandria in the early second century and also preached allegorical interpretation of scripture (see its chapter 10:2). The second century Gnostic heretics Valentinus and Basilides were Alexandrian.

According to the 18th century historian E. Gibbon (who was not in the Church of God), around 135 A.D., many who professed Christ in Jerusalem chose to be led by a Latin leader who urged them to compromise with God’s law (which Gibbon calls “the Mosaic law”, see article on the Ephesus Church era) in order to be tolerated by the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Certain compromises in Rome apparently occurred around the same time, apparently for the same reason (see article on Passover).

The acceptance of some of the doctrines held by other heretics (such as Simon Magus, Marcion, and Montanus) spread to many who professed Christ. Various allegorical heretics, such as Valentinus, went from Alexandria to Rome and elsewhere and began spreading various Gnostic and semi-gnostic teachings. And while history shows that second century leaders from Asia Minor opposed these heretics and their teachings, many of them were tolerated, at least for decades, by the main churches in Rome and Alexandria.

Part of the reason for that acceptance of certain Gnostic teachings was that it greatly increased the number of Gentiles into those churches. Notice:

The Gnostics blended with the faith of Christ many sublime but obscure tenets, which they derived from oriental philosophy, and even from the religion of Zoroaster, concerning the eternity of matter, the existence of two principles, and the mysterious hierarchy of the invisible world. As soon as they launched out into that vast abyss, they delivered themselves to the guidance of a disordered imagination; and as the paths of error are various and infinite, the Gnostics were imperceptibly divided into more than fifty particular sects, of whom the most celebrated appear to have been the Basilidians, the Valentinians, the Marcionites, and, in a still later period, the Manichaeans. Each of these sects could boast of its bishops and congregations, of its doctors and martyrs; and, instead of the Four Gospels adopted by the church the heretics produced a multitude of histories in which the actions and discourses of Christ and of his apostles were adapted to their respective tenets. The success of the Gnostics was rapid and extensive. They covered Asia and Egypt, established themselves in Rome, and sometimes penetrated into the provinces of the West. For the most part they arose in the second century…

The Gentile converts, whose strongest objections and prejudices were directed against the law of Moses, could find admission into many Christian societies, which required not from their untutored mind any belief of an antecedent revelation. Their faith was insensibly fortified and enlarged, and the church was ultimately benefited by the conquests of its most inveterate enemies (Gibbon E. Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume III, Chapter XXVII. ca. 1776-1788).

While I do not agree that the true church “ultimately benefited” from this compromise, this did allow the mainstream Greco-Roman churches to expand and become the majority of those who professed Christ.

One or more semi-gnostic schools developed in Alexandria, including the one headed by the semi-gnostic Clement of Alexandria, whose teachings influenced professing Christians in the Greco-Roman world. Over time, some of the more obvious Gnostic concepts (like Aeons) were never formally adopted as they taught them, but others that the allegorists felt had some type of support from tradition and/or scripture were adopted by the forming Greco-Roman confederation.

After a persecution by Roman Emperor Septimius Severus who died in 211 A.D., the church in Antioch ended up a leader that was acceptable to those who compromised in Jerusalem and apparently other areas.

Around 250 A.D., during the severe persecution by the Emperor Decius, the most public leader of the church in Smyrna (Eudaemon), apostatized. Shortly after this persecution, something new happened: A new leadership was installed throughout Asia Minor that was commended by the allegorist tolerating Bishop of Alexandria (Dionysius) reported:

But know now, my brethren, that all the churches throughout the East and beyond, which formerly were divided, have become united. And all the bishops everywhere are of one mind, and rejoice greatly in the peace which has come beyond expectation. Thus Demetrianus in Antioch, Theoctistus in Cæsarea, Mazabanes in Ælia, Marinus in Tyre (Alexander having fallen asleep), Heliodorus in Laodicea (Thelymidres being dead), Helenus in Tarsus, and all the churches of Cilicia, Firmilianus, and all Cappadocia. I have named only the more illustrious bishops, that I may not make my epistle too long and my words too burdensome (Cited in Eusebius. Church History, Book VII, Chapter V, Verse I).

Notice that the Alexandrian Bishop acknowledged that those in the East (Asia Minor) had been divided from the Alexandrian and Roman churches, were no longer divided. This is because there were no longer any true Christians leading them, but only those who tended towards allegory and non-biblical traditions.

And shortly after this time, is the first recorded instance of the Italians being able to influence a Roman Emperor enough so that they could install a bishop of their choice (probably either Dmonus or Timaeus) in Antioch (circa 270-273 A.D.) (please see the article The Smyrna Church era).

Hence, essentially due to compromise and persecutions, the semi-gnostic allegorizers tended to become the main group of professing Christians. For example, by the third and fourth century, the Roman Church no longer taught many apostolic teachings that it once had and instead included more and more teachings that did not originate in the Bible (this is documented in the article Which Is Faithful: The Roman Catholic Church or the Church of God?). While true Christians remained throughout history (please see the article The Churches of Revelation 2 & 3), they were a persecuted minority (see also Persecutions by Church and State), and were more specifically persecuted by the state beginning after the Council of Nicea in the fourth century and the subsequent “edicts against heretics” by Emperors Constantine and Theodosius (prior to that the Roman state normally persecuted Greco-Roman professors of Christ and true believers together).

Over time, people like the Protestant reformers stood up against those who often relied on allegory and tradition in an attempt to reverse some of the false doctrines that dominated mainstream Christianity. However, even though they were successful in removing some non-biblical practices (such as most idols and icons), they still retained many of the doctrines that the Alexandrian and Roman Churches had accepted (some of this is documented in the article The Similarities and Dissimilarities between Martin Luther and Herbert Armstrong).

This was recently added to early Christianity page.

Both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of God claim amongst their earliest leaders, those who held a binitarian” (sometimes called Semi-Arian) view of the Godhead–but one changed.

Roman Catholic Church Sources:

The Catholic Saint Irenaeus taught that only the Father and Son are God:

…there is none other called God by the Scriptures except the Father of all, and the Son, and those who possess the adoption (Irenaeus. Adversus haereses, Book IV, Preface, Verse 4. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).

According to The Catholic Encyclopedia, around 212 A.D. Roman Catholic Saint and leading theologian was essentially a ditheist:

Hippolytus, on the contrary, stood uncompromisingly for a real difference between the Son (Logos) and the Father, but so as to represent the Former as a Divine Person almost completely separate from God (Ditheism) and at the same time altogether subordinate to the Father (Subordinationism)…Hippolytus was the most important theologian and the most prolific religious writer of the Roman Church in the pre-Constantinian era (St. Hippolytus of Rome, The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1910).

Hippolytus (somewhat diversely in the “Contra Noetum” and in the “Philosophumena,” if they are both his) taught the same division of the Son from the Father as traditional, and he records that Pope Callistus condemned him as a Ditheist (Chapman J. Transcribed by Kevin Cawley. Fathers of the Church. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VI. Copyright © 1909 by Robert Appleton Company. Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. Knight. Nihil Obstat, September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York).

The Catholic Encyclopedia article on Semi-Arianism states,

Semiarians…A name frequently given to the conservative majority in the East in the fourth century…showing that the very name of father implies a son of like substance…rejected the Divinity of the Holy Ghost…

Although Catholic writers have had many definitions of “Semi-Arians” (most of which disagree with the Church of God position), one that somewhat defines the binitarian view would possibly be this one from Epiphanius in the mid-4th Century,

Semi-Arians…hold the truly orthodox view of the Son, that he was forever with the Father…but has been begotten without beginning and not in time…But all of these blaspheme the Holy Spirit, and do not count him in the Godhead with the Father and the Son (Epiphanius. The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, Books II and III (Sects 47-80), De Fide). Section VI, Verses 1,1 and 1,3. Translated by Frank Williams. EJ Brill, New York, 1994, pp.471-472).

Yet The Catholic Encyclopedia teaches:

It is impossible to believe explicitly in the mystery of Christ, without faith in the Trinity…Wherefore just as, before Christ, the mystery of Christ was believed explicitly by the learned, but implicitly and under a veil, so to speak, by the simple, so too was it with the mystery of the Trinity. And consequently, when once grace had been revealed, all were bound to explicit faith in the mystery of the Trinity (The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas. Second and Revised Edition, 1920. Literally translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province. Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by Kevin Knight. Nihil Obstat. F. Innocentius Apap, O.P., S.T.M., Censor. Theol. Imprimatur. Edus. Canonicus Surmont, Vicarius Generalis. Westmonasterii. APPROBATIO ORDINIS. Nihil Obstat. F. Raphael Moss, O.P., S.T.L. and F. Leo Moore, O.P., S.T.L. Imprimatur. F. Beda Jarrett, O.P., S.T.L., A.M., Prior Provincialis Angliæ).

Furthermore, the Roman Catholics also teach that the trinity did not clearly come from the Bible and cannot be fully understood:

In Scripture there is as yet no single term by which the Three Divine Persons are denoted together….The Vatican Council has explained the meaning to be attributed to the term mystery in theology. It lays down that a mystery is a truth which we are not merely incapable of discovering apart from Divine Revelation, but which, even when revealed, remains “hidden by the veil of faith and enveloped, so to speak, by a kind of darkness” (Const., “De fide. cath.”, iv). (Joyce G.H. The Blessed Trinity. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XV Copyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton Company).

And the Cathecism of the Catholic Church admits the Church (not the Bible) had to come up with terms of “philosophical” (pagan/Greek) origin to explain it::

251 In order to articulate the dogma of the Trinity, the Church had to develop its own terminology with the help of certain notions of philosophical origin: “substance,” “person,” or “hypostasis,” “relation” and so on (Catechism of the Catholic Church. Imprimatur Potest +Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. Doubleday, NY 1995, p. 74).

Church of God Sources:

Polycarp wrote:

Now may the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the eternal High-priest Himself, the [Son of] God Jesus Christ, build you up in faith and truth, and in all gentleness and in all avoidance of wrath and in forbearance and long suffering and in patient endurance and in purity; and may He grant unto you a lot and portion among His saints, and to us with you, and to all that are under heaven, who shall believe on our Lord and God Jesus Christ and on His Father (Polycarp. The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians in APOSTOLIC FATHERS (as translated by J.B. LIGHTFOOT) 12:6,7).

Melito wrote:

No eye can see Him, nor thought apprehend Him, nor language describe Him; and those who love Him speak of Him thus: `Father, and God of Truth” (Melito. A Discourse Which Was in the Presence of Antoninus Caesar).

For the deeds done by Christ after His baptism, and especially His miracles, gave indication and assurance to the world of the Deity hidden in His flesh. For, being at once both God and perfect man likewise…He concealed the signs of His Deity, although He was the true God existing before all ages (Melito. On the Nature of Christ. From Roberts and Donaldson).

From the Living Church of God’s Official Statement of Fundamental Beliefs:

WHO AND WHAT IS GOD? The Father and the Son comprise the “Godhead.” There is one God (1 Corinthians 8:4 and Deuteronomy 6:4). Scripture shows that God is a divine Family which began with two, God the Father and the Word (Genesis 1:26; Ephesians 2:19; 3:15; Hebrews 2:10-11) (Official Statement of Fundamental Beliefs. LCG, 2004).

While early church writers (called “Fathers” by the Roman Catholics) specifically called the Father and the Son God, it was the heretic Valentinus who developed the idea of God existing as three hypostasis.

Now while the following is not a Church of God source, note what a Catholic bishop named Marcellus of Ancyra wrote on the nature of God around the middle of the fourth century,

Now with the heresy of the Ariomaniacs, which has corrupted the Church of God…These then teach three hypostases, just as Valentinus the heresiarch first invented in the book entitled by him ‘On the Three Natures’.  For he was the first to invent three hypostases and three persons of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and he is discovered to have filched this from Hermes and Plato.” (Source: Logan A. Marcellus of Ancyra (Pseudo-Anthimus), ‘On the Holy Church’: Text, Translation and Commentary. Verses 8-9.  Journal of Theological Studies, NS, Volume 51, Pt. 1, April 2000, p.95 ).

Perhaps it should be mentioned here that history records that Polycarp denounced Valentinus when Polycarp visited Rome, that the Roman Catholics tolerated Valentinus for decades AFTER he was denounced by Polycarp, and it was only later that the Roman Catholics considered that Valentinus was a heretic.  Furthermore, Valentinus was a Gnostic heretic and held many other odd views (please see the article Valentinus: The Gnostic Trinitarian Heretic).

Those who accept the doctrine of the trinity, are, in fact, accepting a doctrine that was introduced by a denounced heretic. 

Recall that even “The Catholic Encyclopedia” admits that the Semi-Arians were the majority in Asia Minor as late as the fourth century–if the trinity was such a fundamental doctrine of the true church, why did it not become the majority position until later in the fourth century?

More information on these subjects can be found in the article Binitarian View: One God, Two Beings from Before the Beginning which documents the historical truth of the nature of God and some heretical doctrines on that subject.