Category: Douglas Becker

Douglas Becker’s views on the Churches of God

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Lunar Sabbath

29.5 days of the lunar cycle

Herbert Armstrong was challenged about keeping the Sabbath and he wanted to prove that the woman telling his wife about the Sabbath was completely wrong. He researched the Bible and concluded that indeed, Scripture establishes the Sabbath to keep holy. This is no surprise. An elderly man — an acquaintance of mine — was a staunch Southern Baptist who had grown up in the faith. He told me that they usually had a conference every year that lasts a week, but they wanted to settle whether or not the seventh day Sabbath was to be kept or not, so one year (I believe he said it was in the 1930s), the Southern Baptists had a three week conference. They invited Catholics, Rabbis and other religionists to present their position. When the conference finally finished, the Baptists concluded two things:

  1. The seventh day was the Sabbath to be kept by Christians;
  2. If they switched to the Sabbath, they would lose three-fifths of their congregation.

Go for it. 20% ain’t bad.

These days, it’s just not that simple. Just when you think you’ve got the tiger by the tail and you understand the world, something seems to pop up that completely obliterates your position, and it’s no different with the Sabbath.

I learned about this particular perspective a few weeks ago from my good friend and all around nice guy Christian, xHWA over at the As Bereans Did blog from the Lying for God Part 8 blog entry; the article actually begins at a previous Lying for God entry. As Byker Bob commented, this is something that just didn’t make it into the Has Time Been Lost? booklet by Herbert Armstrong. To save you time, we’ll demystify it for you: Apparently (although that wasn’t what Herbert Armstrong was reaching for).

How does this work?

Long ago, before the Israelite captivity, there was a time when the new moon marked the Sabbath. After the new moon, every seventh day would be the Sabbath until the end of the month. Since the moon takes approximately 29.5 days to cycle to the next new moon, there’s always going to be a day or two left over. Some took the days off and others kept the days as sort of a ‘bonus’ Sabbath rest day. No matter. One month, the Sabbath might be on a Tuesday and the next it might be on a Thursday or Friday. Throughout the year, you’d end up keeping the Sabbath on every day of the week. The Karaite Jews have no problem with it. In fact, the calendar as defined by the Karaite Jews makes perfect sense without all that mucking about with postponements and such. According to the theory, the Jews adopted the seventh day (of the week) Sabbath only after being captive in Babylon.

And for you skeptics out there, there is a site that offers $10,000 for anyone who can ‘prove’ otherwise. Good luck with that!

Of course, not unlike the Southern Baptists, it simply doesn’t matter whether it is true. Can you imagine the chaos if the Armstrongists went to keep the Lunar Sabbath? Any leader of a cult sect would have a large scale rebellion on his hands. How do we know this? We know this because David Hume tried to veer away from British Israelism and a good part of his ministry left him along with their followers. You just can’t tamper with success. Nothing is going to change no matter how stupid or wrong it may be: Herbert Armstrong said it, we believe it and that is that!

xHWA doesn’t have a problem with this as a New Covenant Christian, and, as a matter of a fact, the majority of the 30% of the 7 billion people on planet Earth who call themselves Christians don’t either.

But suppose.

Just suppose.

Suppose that you knew, absolutely knew, that the Lunar Sabbath was true and it was required to be kept for your salvation? Would you keep it? Would you change to do the right thing?

And if we knew the answer to that, we would know a whole lot more about your commitment to faith….

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The Perfect Red Heifer™

The Perfect Red Heifer™

Armstrongism is on the nutty fringes of the outer limits of human belief, some how made to seem perfectly reasonable until some objective analysis is done by societal standards and scientific observation. How is it that if you don’t agree with the daft rubbish that some how it’s your fault and you just don’t understand?

The Cult of Herbert Armstrong Mafia isn’t the only daft religion and the new series, Dig on the USA Network brings to light what happens when extreme religion goes to great lengths to insure the establishment of their view of the world:

The really scary thing is that the creators of the series did a lot of research and found that there is a basis for what they present: They may have dramatized, but there are groups out there plotting and scheming to do the things portrayed in the show, to bring about the apocalypse, Armageddon or something (we’ll know more as the series unfolds). Look at Dig – inside the Episode: Episode 1:

About midway, they bring to light the story of the red heifer. As they say, if you Google the “red heifer” you will see there are people who believe that this could happen. Do you have questions? You will be rewarded. Of course, you will end up with ever more questions. Be warned: These groups aren’t just messin’ around. They’re serious. This is life and death stuff to them. Dig deeper — to coin a phrase, trust no one.

The red heifer is being raised in Norway. The Rabbis inspect the newly birthed heifer to see if there are any stray hairs that are black, which would absolutely ruin the sacrifice — but thankfully, this particularly young cutie is perfect for sacrifice, and so we are off and running. Apparently, the red heifer sacrifice is really, really, really important to Jewish prophecy for some reason. It doesn’t make sense to me, but it sure does to them.

It turns out that there is a connection to Armstrongism. The USA Network TV series is about people of extreme faith and the lengths they will go to when they believe God is on their side. Of course, He isn’t, so you can be certain this will all end in tears. Nevertheless, one of the features of the series is the Jews seeking out the Perfect Red Heifer™ for some sort of funky sacrifice signifying the… well.. it’s not clear, but it’s truly important to somebody to bring about the end of days, the coming of the Messiah or something.

I know The Perfect Red Heifer™ well. In the WCG, I knew a Jewish lady and her husband who certainly was in the center of things — at least in her own mind. She was a prophecy buff, and the main reason she joined up with Armstrongism was the prophecy of the end times. Of course, you know that couldn’t have lasted, particularly with the advent of the Tkach era, so she and her husband hied off to the Messianic Jews in hopes to find more of what she wanted. I was in her home one Sabbath post-WCG and she nattered on and on about The Perfect Red Heifer™ rather obsessively. I told her about the Herbert Armstrong incest and she accepted it, saying that it did not surprise her.

Well, here it is over a decade later and I’m pretty sure she’s still looking for that Perfect Red Heifer™. She was certain over 10 years ago that the Jews already had one picked for sacrifice on the altar to bring the Messiah or some such. I’d say that the best use of the Perfect Red Heifer™ is stew meat by this time if the poor thing is still alive.

It’s just plain nuts.

And the Cult of Herbert Armstongism Mafia sects aren’t much different than this kooky Jewish lady looking for the coming of the Perfect Red Heifer™.

Holy cow!

It never ceases to amaze how extreme Armstrongists can be: Strongly held daft cult ideas which just has to be!

This is just one such example.

Kudos to USA Network.

Although… here’s hoping it doesn’t give anyone any ideas….

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The Journal is Cursed!

The Journal, Issue Number 170 (February 28, 2015) is out and has a surprising announcement in the “Letters from our readers” — Ambassador Ogorek disfellowships and rebukes The Journal on page 2:

Ambassador, God the Most High, canceling JOURNAL subscription and ads. I rebuke you in the name of Jesus Christ, turn you over to Satan for destruction, you and your newspaper, for violating the right of integrity concerning my creative works, my news ad. To you, your family and friends: No trespassing.

Ambassador Vincent Ogorek
Elk Grove, Ill.

Oh, dear. Bad news for Dixon Cartwright.

Dixon explains what happened:

Mr. Ogorek’s reference to THE JOURNAL’s alleged violation of his “right of integrity concerning my creative works” is an apparent allusion to a disagreement Mr. Ogorek and JOURNAL publisher Dixon Cartwright had about the Old English typeface. Mr. Ogorek specified Old English as a way to emphasize words and phrases in his ads (the last of which appeared on page 7 of issue No. 169). Mr. Cartwright refused to set words, including names of deity, in all-capital letters if they were in the Old English font.

Mr. Cartwright, who considers himself to be a typographer after operating a typesetting business for many years, said Old English set in all-capital letters is an “abomination” and that no self-respecting typographer would inflict such a “monstrosity” on readers. Doing so is “probably a violation of the Third Commandment” if it involves names for God, Mr. Cartwright quipped.

Mr. Ogorek said Mr. Cartwright’s refusal to set Old English in all caps was “over the top” and a few weeks later turned Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright and their newspaper over to Satan.

Mr. Cartwright and his wife, Linda, have been de-facto disfellowshipped several times over the years. The first notable excommunication occurred in 1995 in letters from Big Sandy WCG pastor Don Mears.

Mr. Mears, in separate letters to Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright, explained that he had “heard” that Mr. Cartwright no longer wished to fellowship with the WCG and that Mrs. Cartwright had actually stopped attending.

A writer of a letter to THE JOURNAL several years ago pronounced a curse on Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright, asking God to inflict boils on their faces “the size of hen’s eggs.” Mr. Cartwright says he doesn’t remember the specific reason for the curse, only that the letter writer seemed upset.

Well, you know what Proverbs 26:2 says, the curse causeless shall not come. So we have to believe, based on Scripture, Dixon Cartwright deserves it. Who knows?

Here’s what Olde English looks like:

Imagine that in all caps. Further imagine an entire article of Olde English in CAPS! Still, Mr. Ogorek has a point. The Journal is pretty messed up.

We’ve pretty much disproved the religion of Herbert Armstrong and you can find the evidence in The Foundation of Sand. British Israelism is total rubbish and Herbert Armstrong used it as a basis to become a spectacular false prophet. There’s no latitude for discussion and no one can argue with the science. The whole religion is just plain stupid.

Of course, there are other sources that expose Herbert Armstrong Crackpotology:

 In part I, Religion: The Anglo-Israelites, you can find this text:

But the Anglo-Israelite seeds had been planted. One of the earliest American Anglo-Israelite treatises was Two Sticks, or the Lost Tries of Israel Discovered, by an anonymous minister in the Church of the Brethren. But it was J.H. Allen’s Judah’s Sceptre and Joseph’s Birthright, published in 1902, that introduced bible students, among them Herbert W. Armstrong, who would later spread the doctrine through his Worldwide Church of God. Not until the 1920s would Anglo-Israelism capture a large audience in the U.S.

Anyone who professes British Israelism is a kook. You can get more of this information at the British Israelism website from the online book, The Spectacular Failure of British Israelism. The Journal is quite the promoter of British Israelism and the kooks who profess it. Notice the article on page 3, European democracy lost! by Brian Harris. Notice what this crackpot says on page 4:

Punishment exacted

Germany has fulfilled its dubious task of exacting punishment on all 12 modern-day descendant nations of ancient Israel, now located in the United States and Britain and the nations of Western and Northwestern Europe.

Today Germany again dominates Europe economically and politically and has already developed the Arian rocket, launching several tons of payload into orbit from its base in South America.

With a huge budget the Germans have created the European Space Project, building rockets that can easily be deployed against America and Britain as were the Vengeance 1 and 2 rockets used on London during World War II.

England ceasing to exist

It is shocking how Germany is literally being forced into the leadership position in Europe, and the German dream of world domination is being stimulated once more.

National characteristics are an interesting study. Knowing German origins, Churchill said: “Germany has displayed a belligerent nature in the last 2,000 years. They do not change.”

The German people will change when they are eventually given God’s Spirit of peace, but for now they will do His bidding as He disciplines America and Britain, returning our nations to the love of His laws by national destruction and captivity.

Dixon Cartwright allowed this nonsense without comment. Outside of the fact that Britain is not a lost tribe of Israel, Germany is not Assyria, there’s another prominent problem with this rubbish article. Hasn’t anyone told Dixon Cartwright that the current British Royalty is from Germany? A quick check at Wikipedia should have sufficed. Dixon Cartwright isn’t much of a journalist — he’s a purveyor of nonsensical idiocy.

Scripture is insistent that Satan is a liar and deceiver. Some how Mr. Ogorek turning over The Journal to Satan seems rather redundant, since the Devil seems to have taken over a long time ago.

 The Journal is a window into an insane asylum.