COGwriter Did Not Refuse Ordination
COGwriter in front of the Church of the Revelation in Patmos
Every now and then, I deal with some of the inaccurate comments directed at me on the internet, and because I do not want one item (the eldership issue) to become an “urban legend”, I thought I would deal with several charges that have been posted at two of the anti-COG sites in the past several weeks:
That Bob Thiel does not believe in One True God is most disturbing! (AW).
I most certainly do believe in one true God. Being binitarian, as the early Christian church was, does not mean that I do not believe in one God. The Bible clearly teaches that God is one and that both the Father and Son are God. Early, post-New Testament, church leaders also taught that the Father and Son are God. Most of us in the COGs believe, that since the Bible shows a family relationship within the Godhead, that God is one family.
Articles on the Godhead include:
Binitarian View: One God, Two Beings Before the BeginningIs binitarianism the correct position? What about unitarianism or trinitarianism?
Is The Father God? What is the view of the Bible? What was the view of the early church?
Jesus is God, But Was Made Man Was Jesus fully human and fully God or what?
Virgin Birth: Does the Bible Teach It? What does the Bible teach? What is claimed in The Da Vinci Code?
Did Early Christians Think the Holy Spirit Was A Separate Person in a Trinity? Or did they have a different view?
Did the True Church Ever Teach a Trinity? Most act like this is so, but is it?
Was Unitarianism the Teaching of the Bible or Early Church? Many, including Jehovah’s Witnesses, claim it was, but was it?
Binitarianism: One God, Two Beings Before the Beginning This is a shorter article than the Binitarian View article, but has a little more information on binitarianism.
Here are some charges against the COGwriter website:
In case you haven’t noticed, Bob Thiel likes to play with a stacked deck. He claims the purpose of his website is bringing the Cogs together. But he spends most of his time trashing the other Cogs. Then he whines about personal attacks when the shoe hits the other foot. (XCG)
The purpose of the COGwriter site is not to bring the COGs together–but to unify the remnant of the Philadelphians–hence the need to point out differences in groups. Here is what the COGwriter home page states (it would be nice if critics read it before mistaking what it says):
The purpose of this web page is to help unify the remnant of the Philadelphia era of God’s Church so that it may more effectively get the Gospel out as a witness (Matthew 24:14; Revelation 3:8) and so be kept “from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10).
I do not trash other COGs. I do, however, sometimes point out how they differ in teachings from the old WCG and/or the Living Church of God–but this takes only the smallest percentage of my time related to COGwriter. It is not trashing a group by pointing out differences in teachings and practices that make them unique–presumably those differences are important to them or they would not have them. Articles and links on various COGs can be found at the COGlinks page.
As far as personal attacks, I do not whine about them. I do, however, sometimes decide to make public comments as I would like readers to realize that many post inaccurate information about me. It may be of interest to note that I am probably attacked more than any other non-ordained COG member on the internet. I let the majority of the untrue attacks against me pass.
Here is another railing charge:
When you send him an email, discussing a mistake or flaw in his thinking, he doesn’t reply with an articulate counter, he responds with personal insults. (XCG)
I consider the above an insult and do not attempt to insult those who write me. I do reply to emails and believe my responses are articulated properly.
However, it is true that I am not that interested in the personal theological opinions of those who have turned their back on “the faith once for all delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). As sincere contributors to the COGwriter website realize, I do make corrections if factual errors are pointed out.
But perhaps all (especially the anti-COG critics) may wish to be reminded about what the home page of the COGwriter site states:
If you never write, we will not know what you think!
Note: I am happy to correct any factual errors, but am not interested in hearing from those intent on bashing LCG or the COG in general, nor am I interested in religious spam.
Apparently some anti-COG types intent on bashing the COGs have not read the home page.
Another wrote:
Often, in his endless commentaries of slander and libel, he contains certain, shall we say, inaccuracies, but not to worry, he will never correct them because he is perfect and besides, you are to do what he says and not as he does, just as all his predecessors have done. (XCG)
As I mentioned before, I do correct factual errors (also, there have been no “predecessors” on this site as I personally began it–I presume, therefore, that the critic is indicating that I am like some he did not care for in the old WCG leadership). Anyway, I do not believe that any of my commentaries contain slander or libel.
Broad brush condemnations without specifics are typical of critics of this website.
However the following is why I decided to bother addressing some of the charges now as it is starting to get repeated as if it were true:
Bob Thiel has been offered the chance to become an ordained minister. Yet he turns it down. Have you ever wondered about that? If he truly believes that the LCG is the one true remnant, then why would he turn it down? That’s the same thing as refusing God Himself, isn’t it? (XCG)
The above is simply not true. Although I have not sought out becoming an ordained minister (nor is that my goal), I never have turned it down.
Notice the following comment made because of the inaccurate turning down an ordination charge:
There is not one reason to allow him one shred of credibility in eschatological matters. After all, he did turn down an eldership. (XCG)
That latter statement is simply not true. The truth is that becoming an elder is not my goal–but I have never turned down an eldership.
As far as echatological matters are concerned, I have studied the Bible as well as Catholic, Protestant, and COG eschatology. Readers should compare what I expound with the Bible–and to make that easier, I often do cite scripture in my eschatological pieces. At the COGwriter site I tell readers don’t believe me, believe what you see in your own Bibles. I encourage readers to be like the Bereans who “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). Specifically, the Who is COGwriter? article states:
“Don’t simply believe me – Believe what the Bible really Teaches – Believe the Truth – Prove all things – Believe God!”
The next item is minor, but I thought it may as well be addressed as it is actually a topic at xCG:
I suspect that “blog” implies for Mr. Thiel something informal, and we all know what informal means in COG speak—it’s the opposite of authoritative. “Blog” in the COG world is turning into something like the term “dissident.” (XCG)
No, that is not the case with me. LCG’s Wallace Smith has a blog (he is one of the presenter’s for LCG’s Tomorrow’s World). I consider that a blog is mainly personal opinions or observations (even though others have differeing opinions or definitions). That is what Wallace Smith has on his blog and that is mainly what the anti-COG sites have on their blogs.
The COGwriter website contains research, history, doctrine, news, and generally limited commentary. And the reason that I began using WordPress about a month ago was to make it easier for readers to find news-related articles, not to make it a posting forum. Pretty much all those who wrote about the change were positive, and the one negative (which concerned font size) was pleased when my son Michael added a sizing button (see top, upper right).
The inaccurate comments on the anti-COG sites, such as those I chose to address today, are one of the reasons I do not have an external comment feature at the COGwriter website. I would not want inaccurate information posted at the COGwriter site and simply would not have the time to police that type of thing if the site was opened up for external comments–plus external comments from those that do not hold to the same doctrines or direction for the Church of Revelation 3:7-13 does not fit with the intent nor direction of the COGwriter site.
The COGwriter site is intended to provide information to help unify those who are or hope to be part of the Philadelphia portion of the Church of God. Posting comments from anti-COG readers, as well as those who may be part of other Church Eras, does not usually help that mission (though limited quotes are used at times).
However, perhaps it should be mentioned that many readers do email me, and perhaps 25% (or more) of what I post is from or directly related to, those emails (mostly news articles, but sometimes historical, doctrinal, or prophetic questions).
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