Journal: ‘News of the COGs’ Out

The latest issue (print date August 31, 2010) of The Journal just came out.

It mentioned that a small group in Tulsa had a public Bible lecture with author Joe Kovacs (who is not in a COG). The Living Church of God, which The Journal did not cover this issue, has held many successful public Bible lectures this year in the USA, Canada, and the Caribbean. One of the ways they differed from the Tulsa group is that LCG had actual ministers provide the lectures. LCG has had 6000 people attend its public lectures (officially referred to as Tomorrow’s World Special Presentations) so far this year (3100 not previously affiliated with LCG).

The Journal has a long article from Steven Collins, who despite attending a Sunday church, claims he still keeps the Sabbath (those two points were reported here six weeks ago Steven Collins Attends on Sunday).

The Journal mentioned that CEM’s Ron Dart made some progress health-wise, but the progress is “very slow” (some of his health issues were covered in the articles PCG/CEM/CGI/COGSC/UCG/LCG News and CEM’s Ron Dart Injured).

The Journal had some comments about UCG’s Mario Seiglie and the departure of Leon Walker and many of the Spanish-speaking Latin American members from UCG (for more on that split and related issues, see UCG and Leon Walker Talk and UCG’s Dennis Luker vs. Leon Walker and UCG: Not “United” in Latin America).

The Journal had a letter as well as an advertisement from Ken Westby, who is a unitarian, which is not COG doctrine (see Was Unitarianism the Teaching of the Bible or Early Church?). There was also an article from Dennis Diehl, a one-time WCG minister who no longer holds COG doctrines (though I do not think he is unitarian).

The Journal also had various letters to the editors, advertisements, assertions, comments, speculations, and interviews that basically provided personal opinions on various matters.

In its articles, in addition to news, The Journal will often print heresy. The Journal also (pretty much every issue) publishes blatantly heretical paid advertisements. While there are some “gray areas”, there is also black and white, and too often The Journal crosses the moral line as far as I am concerned.

While The Journal is available only by paid subscription (though some subscriptions are free to those who cannot afford it), you can view the pdf. of its front and back page is available at: www.thejournal.org/issues/issue141/jf083110.pdf