June 30 Journal Out

Even though it is the end of August, the latest issue (June 3o, 2008) of The Journal is now out.

Its focus seems to be more unitarian meetings, CGI in Jamaica, a new book by Alan Knight, and a UCM women’s meeting. There were also the usual letters to the editor and columnists.

As I have reported on these unitarian meetings before, I would simply refer any who want to look into that subject to study the article Was Unitarianism the Teaching of the Bible or Early Church?

Related to Jamaica, that is the country that CGI has the most impact. Jamaica is an outwardly religious country, and Ian Boyne (a Jamaican journalist who is also a CGI minister) has increased membership there. In The Journal, Ian Boyne reported:

KINGSTON, Jamaica—A record 366 people turned up for Church of God International (CGI) Pentecost services June 8, 2008, in Kingston while about 100 persons attended Pentecost services at the other end of the island in St. James.

CGI was originally founded by the late Garner Ted Armstrong after he was put out of the old WCG (for more information on CGI, please see the article Teachings of the Church of God, International).

Wesley White reported the following on the UCM women’s conference:

Ala.—Upwardsoaring gas prices did not seem to deter enthusiastic participation in the 2008 United Christian Ministries (UCM) Women’s Conference July 18-20, 2008. Ladies came from faraway states such as Texas, Connecticut and Michigan for the fellowship, food, fun and inspiration. The conference is sponsored each year by United Christian Ministries. This year’s, with the theme “A Christian Woman’s Walk With Christ,” happened at the Fairfield Inn in Fultondale, a suburb of Birmingham, Ala. Though UCM founders Ray and Peggy Wooten have moved to Indiana from Alabama, they plan to hold the UCM Women’s Conferences in the Birmingham area each year.

This conference seems to be the biggest annual event (other than maybe the Feast of Tabernacles) that UCM is involved in. Ray Wooten was an original supporter of UCG until it did not act as he hoped it hoped.

CG7’s Alan Knight wrote:

…in the Catholic concept of grace. The spiritual benefit imparted through communion is a gift from God. It ispure grace. The participant does not earn it through his own works.

On the other hand, this concept of salvation does require submission to a church organization that links church members to Christ.

In Catholic thinking, only the Catholic Church has the authority to perform the sacramental rituals, including communion. Supposedly Catholics inherited this right through the papacy’s descent from the apostle Peter at Rome. Since no one else has the right to perform the sacraments, therefore—they insist—you can be saved only through the Roman church.

Babylon again

Where did this notion come from? Though scholars have only partially pieced together the story, we have sufficient evidence to trace it all the way back to ancient Babylon.

Here, from our new volume Spirit of Antichrist, is a compressed explanation of what happened:
Ancient Babylon was famous as a center of magic and sorcery, but one important aspect of this fame stands out. Babylonians believed in an extremely intimate relationship with their gods. To personally interact with the gods, they believed that by certain rites of magic they could draw the essence of deity down into their statues.

Once that was accomplished they would dress and ritually feed the statues, even entertaining them to keep them happy.

I will not provide comment to the above, other than to say that the Roman Church used to have more doctrines similar to the Living Church of God than they now do and they changed many doctrines over time. Those interested in learning more may wish to read the article Which Is Faithful: The Roman Catholic Church or the Living Church of God?

Anyway, the first and last pages of The Journal are available in pdf. format at www.thejournal.org/issues/issue129/jf063008.pdf

For other articles, a subscription is required. The editor of The Journal is Dixon Cartwright, a former member of WCG–The Journal is NOT a publication of the Living Church of God.