In the first installment of this series, we will address the Church’s position on violence and self-defense, as the answer is critical for the understanding as to what kinds of sports a true Christian may or should not participate in. What is the Church’s position on “violent” sports such as football, soccer, boxing, paintball and laser tag, as well as shooting with a gun or with an arrow? What is the Church’s position on “defensive” sports such as karate and jiu-jitsu; and how would the Church look at “war games” such as chess? Should our motivation be considered when watching or participating in certain sports and other related activities?

In a Q&A, titled, “Do You Believe in and Teach Self-Defense?,” we set forth the following, while quoting to a large extent from our free booklet, “Should You Fight in War?”:

Continue reading "What Kinds of Sports, Games and Related Activities Are Appropriate and Inappropriate for Christians? (Part 1)"

(Español: ¿Qué revela la profecía sobre Europa y el Brexit?)

In this Q&A, we will give you a prophetic panorama on current and future developments in Europe in light of the Brexit.

The Church of God has been proclaiming for many years that, ultimately, Great Britain would not be a part of the European unification. The main reason for this warning has been that the Bible predicts a devastating war between Great Britain and continental Europe.

We have pointed out this fact in many of our booklets, and we have consistently warned about it in our weekly Updates and sermons. The following sets forth a brief synopsis, but the booklets quoted contain much more material and discussion on the particular issues, while offering much additional biblical proof. Following these quotes, further considerations will be discussed.

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Lot is recorded as having two daughters who had not known a man (Genesis 19:8), but Genesis 19:12 talks about his sons-in-law. How is this explained?

We know that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).   Therefore, there must be an answer to this question and there are three possible answers.

First of all, let us look at this passage. In Genesis 19:8 Lot, through a misguided sense of hospitality, offered his two daughters to the depraved men of Sodom. The new KJV Bible Commentary observes that this “is absolutely an amazing statement, especially on the part of a believer.   That he would protect two strangers and offer his own flesh and blood is beyond understanding. Doing his best, he has jeopardized his daughters, enraged his townsmen, and finally required rescue by those he was trying to protect.”   Matthew Henry’s Commentary states that Lot “pleaded the laws of hospitality and the protection of his house which his guests were entitled to.” Of course, we understand that his conduct, at face value, would have been terribly wrong. However, it has been suggested that Lot’s “offer” was not to be meant seriously, but only made for the purpose of showing the Sodomites the depravity of their conduct.

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In the last Q&A, we pointed out that the cross is of pagan origin and that its worship did not start with Christianity, but that it was used by many non-Christian cultures long before the birth of Christ. We pointed out that in all probability, Christ did not even die on a Tau-cross, but that in its long history, the Tau-cross was the symbol of the Roman god Mithras and the Greek god Attis and that in Norse mythology, the hammer of Thor was seen as a Tau-cross.

In this Q&A, we will continue showing the remarkable similarity between the “Christian” Tau-cross and Thor’s hammer, and we will discuss the origin of making the sign of the cross. Is it also of pagan origin, or was it “invented” by early Christians after they had incorporated the pagan symbol of the cross into their worship?

Continue reading "What Is the Origin of the Sign of the Cross? Should Christians Make the Sign of the Cross? (Part 2)"

We see it on television all the time—Catholic soccer players make the sign of the cross when they score or even when they enter the field. Other athletes may make the sign of the cross on various occasions as well. In many cases, it has become a matter of routine. For example, the sign of the cross is made before meals, in church services, and at other times by many people. But what do we know about its origin?The Roman Catholic Church and many other religious organizations claim that the sign of the cross has its origin in early Christianity. The website of catholicstraightanswers.com/what-is-the-origin-of-the-sign-of-the-cross/ states the following perspective of the Catholic Church:

“The sign of the cross is a beautiful gesture which reminds the faithful of both the cross of salvation while invoking the Holy Trinity… The early Church Fathers attested to the use of the sign of the cross.  Tertullian (d.c. 250) described the commonness of the sign of the cross:  ‘In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out, in putting on our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever employment occupies us, we mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross’ (De corona, 30). St. Cyril of Jerusalem (d. 386) in his Catechetical Lectures stated, ‘Let us then not be ashamed to confess the Crucified.  Be the cross our seal, made with boldness by our fingers on our brow and in everything; over the bread we eat and the cups we drink, in our comings and in our goings out; before our sleep, when we lie down and when we awake; when we are traveling, and when we are at rest’ (Catecheses, 13).

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The Bible in fact has plenty to say about life insurance or protection through life insurance, which is applied by many different principles.  It’s however a lack of knowledge which confuses many when it comes to life insurance.  In the 1972 Good News magazine, Vol XXI, No. 03, the questions were asked if Christians should purchase life insurance in today’s society; if there is any need for God’s people to have insurance today; and “why most people feel their insurance payments serve no useful service except to swell the bulging pockets of someone else.” For the answers, we will quote extensively in this Q&A from the above-stated article.

First, an article in the 1960 Good News magazine, Vol IX, No. 01, pointed out:

“Understanding what insurance IS can help you properly exercise both FAITH in God and solid GODLY WISDOM!  Insurance is not a way to get something for nothing. Neither is it solely a way to protect the self. Nor is it a gimmick that costs you money from which you’ll never get any value.  Insurance can be defined as a pooling of resources exposed to a common risk to which a certain percentage of people will fall victim during a given period.”

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The Bible nowhere commands or even suggests that we need to use Hebrew expressions in our worship of God. This idea is mostly propagated by those who belong to the “Sacred Name” movement or who have adopted the philosophy of the “Messianic Jews.” In doing so, they are also insisting on Old Testament rituals, which Jesus Christ abolished through His death. They might also teach rituals which are based on human traditions, invented by Pharisees and scribes, but which Jesus strongly condemned.

He even warned that many times, teachers with human traditions of Judaism (Paul referred to them as the “traditions of the elders”) might do away with the commandments of God, while upholding their own faulty reasoning and practices (Mark 7:1-13). Today’s insistence on wearing tassels or having a woman wearing a veil in Church services is just one example of how true Christians can become sidetracked by superfluous or even counter-productive concepts. For more information on these issues, please read our free booklet, “Old Testament Laws—Still Valid Today?” 

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Since you believe that Mr Herbert W Armstrong had the ministerial rank of “apostle,” what is your response to those who believe that there is to be no further understanding or change after he died on January 16th 1986?

Our original Q&A on this subject, as quoted in the first part of this series, covered 1 Corinthians 11 v 1: “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”   In some other translations “imitate” is translated as “follow” and so the words follow and imitate seem to be interchangeable – but are they?   Dictionary definitions are as follows:

Follow: go after as an admirer; strive after; aim at

Imitate: mimic; try and get as close to the real thing as possible; impersonators

“Mimetes” is the Greek word translated imitate (see Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries).   So we need to know – and be sure – what Scripture says and imitate any leader only according to revealed Scriptural instruction and not to add on any unnecessary, unwanted, unwarranted or personal opinions or baggage.

Continue reading "January 16, 1986–No Further Understanding or Change? (Part 2)"

Since you believe that Mr Herbert W Armstrong had the ministerial rank of “apostle,” what is your response to those who believe that there is to be no further understanding or change after he died on January 16th 1986? (Part 1)

It is true that there are those who believe that understanding can only come through an apostle and since there are no apostles alive today, everything that was understood at the time of Mr Armstrong’s death is to remain so and any further understanding is not to be countenanced.   Of course, some have declared themselves to be apostles (and prophets) but self-declaration is not tantamount to unchallenged approval.

We have covered a number of matters via Q&A’s, editorials and member letters and it is worth mentioning these before we start looking at this overall question.

Continue reading "January 16, 1986–No Further Understanding or Change? (Part 1)"

The three periods of the year in which annual Holy Days fall are mentioned in Exodus 23:14-19. Note verse 19, which states, “‘The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God…’” (also, Exodus 34:26).

While God requires an offering of all kinds of “firstfruits,” the emphasis in Exodus is of “the FIRST of the firstfruits.” In the more extensive presentation of the feasts of the LORD as found in Leviticus 23, we find the offering of the “wave sheaf” described (verses 9-14). It was to be presented as the very firstfruits of the harvest (verse 10).

The timing of the wave sheaf offering was to take place following the weekly Sabbath associated with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. That always placed this ceremony on a Sunday within the Days of Unleavened Bread, and the rendering of the King James Version for Leviticus 23:11 is:

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