COGaIC: Where’s the Vision?

Today is the second anniversary of the last post shown on COGaIC’s David Hulme’s Causes of Conflict: Thoughts on Religion, Identity and the Middle East blog. There was a one-line sentence posted on November 13, 2010 and the most recent commentary there was June 17, 2010. Apparently the “Arab Spring,” Middle East protests, Iran, Israel, Syria, and the governmental changes over the past two years have not risen to the level for him to provide his thoughts and comments (I should perhaps add that David Hulme sometimes will tweet via Twitter an article on the Middle East from secular sources). This lack of detailed coverage, however, is all the more puzzling as David Hulme is still referred to at the Vision website as “Middle East scholar David Hulme.”

The “causes of conflict” in the region are leading to the rising up of a power that appears likely to fulfill the prophesies related to the final King of the South that the Bible tells of (Daniel 11:40-43). And we may be seeing a regional war there that may help lead to this.

Considering all that has been happening in the Middle East (like in Tunisia, Egypt, Iran, Yemen, Syria, and Libya, and in particular the rising of the Muslim Brotherhood), and the fact that David Hulme holds a doctorate in International Relations with an emphasis on the Middle East, this lack of coverage at the Causes of Conflict blog seems unusual. One might still ask, “Where’s the vision?”

Although they may be the fifth or sixth largest COG, I rarely post much about COGaIC. The reason is that they do not seem to have a whole lot going on worthy of report (and have also restricted certain information that other COGs tend to make public). David Hulme, who leads it, was the first president of UCG before he was voted out in 1998, then went out on his own. Vision.org is COGaIC’s main public website (UCG itself split again in 2010 and a break-away group called COGWA formed).

And while the Vision website once had an Alexa ranking of about 100,000, which is quite good (COGwriter’s Alexa ranking is currently 226,285), Vision’s Alexa ranking dropped a lot and currently is 1,011,030 (the lower the Alexa number the greater the impact–Google and Facebook hold the first and second positions). The ranking drop suggests that Vision is having much less of an impact on the web than it once did and that many times more people visit the COGwriter website than COGaic’s. And the web seems to be the primary media of public proclamation that COGaIC is currently utilizing. The site has in many ways became vision-less.

All should be “zealous” as Jesus said in Revelation 3:19 and not be satisfied with something less than a Philadelphia type of work and Philadelphia form of church governance (see also Should the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel?).

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Church of God, an International Community (COG aic) This is the group led by David Hulme. It seems to minimize parts of biblical prophecy and be restrictive on doctrinal statements.
Is There A Future King of the South? Some no longer believe there needs to be. Might Egypt, Islam, Iran, Arabs, or Ethiopia be involved? Might this King be called the Mahdi? What does the Bible say?
The Arab and Islamic World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam? What about the Imam Mahdi? What lies ahead for Turkey, Iran, and the other non-Arabic Muslims?
The Bible, Polycarp, Herbert W. Armstrong, and Roderick C. Meredith on Church Government What form of governance did the early church have? Was it hierarchical? Which form of governance would one expect to have in the Philadelphia remnant? The people decide and/or committee forms, odd dictatorships, or the same type that the Philadelphia era itself had?
Unity: Which COG for You? Why so many groups? Why is there lack of unity in the Churches of God? Has it always been this way? What can/should be done about it?
Differences between the Living Church of God and United Church of God This article provides quotes information from the two largest groups which had their origins in WCG as well as commentary.
There are Many COGs: What about the Living Church of God? This is an article for those who wish to more easily sort out the different COGs.
Concerns about Church of God, a Worldwide Association Known as COGWA, this seems to be the largest group that came out of the United Church of God. Here is some history and concerns about it.
Should the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert W. Armstrong Change that Priority for the Work? Some say the Church should mainly feed the flock now as that is what Herbert W. Armstrong reportedly said. Is that what he said? Is that what the Bible says? What did Paul and Herbert W. Armstrong expect from evangelists?
What is a True Philadelphian? Many claim to be part of the Philadelphia era of the Church, but is claiming enough? This article has biblical and historical evidence about who really are the Philadelphians.
The Philadelphia Church Era was predominant circa 1933 A.D. to 1986 A.D. The old Radio Church of God and old Worldwide Church of God, now only a remnant remains.
The Laodicean Church Era has been predominant circa 1986 A.D. to present. These are non-Philadelphians who mainly descended from the old WCG.