Below is the "Personal" written by Gerald Weston in the Nov.-Dec. 2019 Tomorrow's World magazine. I reproduced it in its entirety so as not to be accused of cherry-picking to twist comments out of context. I did highlight a few items so as to address them after.
HOW CAN ALL OF THIS BE FREE?
There are two of our resources that you have not likely come across. Frankly, I do not think we have advertised them to the public or mentioned them in our magazine in years. Do you know what they are?
This column is titled “Personal” for a reason. As Editor in Chief, it gives me an opportunity to communicate with you about those things that are on my mind, and in this issue, I want to answer three questions that are asked of us: “Who is behind Tomorrow’s World?,” “Is it really free?,” and “How can you pay for so much television and give away all of your materials without asking for money?”
Let me answer the second question first. Yes, everything we advertise really is free of charge—no strings attached, and no emotional appeals. We do not sell magazines, booklets, DVDs, or CDs—and we never will. Our 24-lesson Bible Study Course is sent free of charge. We do not hawk shirts, mugs, prayer cloths, or any other such items as you have likely seen peddled [interesting word choice] by other ministries.
The answer to the first question, “Who is behind Tomorrow’s World?,” explains the answer to the third. The Tomorrow’s World magazine and telecast are sponsored by the Living Church of God, which is made up of dedicated members who seek to practice “the whole counsel of God,” as the Apostle Paul referred to it in Acts 20:27. That counsel includes the biblical law of tithing (or “tenth-ing”). Most of our members faithfully and voluntarily send in their tithes and offerings throughout the year. We don’t even take up offerings during our weekly Sabbath services!
Jesus gave us our mission in Matthew 28:19–20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” In Mark 16:15, He plainly commands, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Furthermore, He said that we will succeed in accomplishing this mission before His return: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).
As you well know, we never request donations on the Tomorrow’s World telecast, in our magazine, or in any of our literature. Coworkers and members of the Living Church of God take seriously Jesus’ admonition, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). Or as Proverbs 23 tells us, “Buy the truth, and do not sell it” (v. 23).
A DIFFERENT APPROACH
Of the more than 290,000 current subscribers to Tomorrow’s World, only about 15 out of 100 ever contribute to this Work. Many of these do so only one or two times over a period of several years. We are grateful to all who contribute, no matter how often and no matter how much or how little. We also appreciate our subscribers who, for whatever reason, never contribute. We advertise that our literature is free, and truly it is. And this may surprise you: We are so serious about our literature being sent free of charge that we return money when the giver explicitly says he or she is sending it as “payment” for our materials. This is true for all our offices around the world. I can personally confirm this, as I was the Director of the Living Church of God and Tomorrow’s World in Canada for more than 13 years, and in the United Kingdom for a couple of years, before being transferred to our world headquarters here in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Each month, one of us—usually me—writes a letter to all our members and coworkers to express our appreciation for their support and update them on biblical prophecies and trends taking place in this world. We also give “behind the scenes” information on new developments in this Work to which they contribute.
The Living Church of God has more than 390 congregations scattered across North, Central, and South America, Australasia, the U.K. and Europe, and Africa. We, along with coworkers who have voluntarily chosen to be part of this Work, are a small but dedicated group who are willing to go against the course of this world (Ephesians 2:1–2), following the way of Jesus Christ and first-century Christianity. Our members reject pagan and heathen traditions that have infiltrated modern Christianity. We observe the days God instructs us to observe, and we follow the true doctrines found in the Bible.
At the beginning of this Personal, I referred to the two least-advertised and least-requested pieces of literature we provide. Do you know what they are? The first one is our booklet God’s People Tithe! We do not promote it frequently because we don’t want anyone thinking there is “a catch to all this free stuff.” Receiving any of our resources is not dependent in any way on donating to this Work. While this booklet is listed among our resources on the Internet and in Lesson 16 of our Bible Study Course, it is the second-least-advertised and requested booklet that we have. As I write this, very few of our subscribers even know of it. As far as I can recall, it has never been mentioned on our Tomorrow’s World telecast. [And there is a very very good reason why which will be explained below.]
And speaking of the Internet, we do have a link on our website for anyone who wants to donate. This is only because some people want to do so and want to know how. We do not “promote” it or position it prominently, as so many websites do with theirs. It is there strictly as a service for those who want to donate of their own free will, and there is no emotional appeal made for them to do so.
So, what resource could be advertised less than our tithing booklet? The one that almost none of our subscribers (and probably not all of our members) know of is our “Planned Giving” brochure. Some of our members, coworkers, and subscribers desire to include us in their wills or make other types of planned gifts. We make this resource on estate planning available upon request to help those who want to do so.
Now, I understand that I’ve taken a risk here of bringing out the cynical nature in some. They no doubt will think this is an appeal for money—and if they do, I understand. However, we have nothing to hide, and we receive these three questions on a regular basis. I believe it is best to be open with people and simply “tell it as it is.” Tomorrow’s World is backed by the Living Church of God and others who want to contribute to this Work—and yes, all of our materials really and truly are free.
TRUSTING GOD TO PROVIDE
And more importantly, all our resources will continue to be sent free of charge. No one will call to ask you to send money or buy something. You should never feel pressured to give to this Work. We are grateful to those who do, but that is a decision between you and your Creator. We will do as we have always done—trust God to provide. For us, faith that God will provide is real. He has taken care of us, and each issue you receive of Tomorrow’s World is tangible proof.
Occasionally, we ask our subscribers to renew their free subscription—not to get them to contribute money, but to let us know that they are truly interested in receiving further issues of Tomorrow’s World. We believe this is a way to be good stewards—by not sending magazines to individuals who may no longer want them.
So, while other televangelists sell their wares with sentimental music, pictures of orphans, and teary-eyed appeals for money, we will never do that. Truly, this magazine and all our resources are free for the asking."
HOW and WHEN, my Friend
It is true that everything is free. LCG does not "peddle" materials produced to the masses. It is also true that there are never any emotional appeals. Frankly, I don't think they are capable of that. BUT all this is true as long as you never fall for the hook.
Tithing is a doctrine wholly dependent upon HOW it is framed and more importantly, WHEN it is introduced. When I first came across the teachings of HWA, one of the first things you are told is that everything the church offers is absolutely free. “Freely you have received, freely give” was Christ’s admonition to the 12 before He sent them out to preach the gospel. Most people would spend months, even years, consuming the free literature.
But all good ad men have a hook and call to action. You can’t just sit around studying our free literature the rest of your life. No, you have to call in to HQ and get a minister to come visit your house so he can invite you into the “body of Jesus Christ.” HWA perverted the ”freely you have received, freely give” principle by using a basic marketing tool where you offer someone something for free, knowing they will feel obligated to give you something in return. It was by offering free literature, he would then guilt and scare people into sending in offerings and eventually requiring 3 tithes on top of offerings as a “member in good standing.” It has been documented that as much as 25% of the annual income came from co-worker letters guilting and scaring non-members into paying up.
HWA created a cult of “Truth” that only he had. Even though he spent 11 years in the Church of God (Seventh Day) from 1927 to 1938 and learned 16 of the 18 truths he claimed to restore to the church after 1900 years. To keep you off the trail of competition, he labeled COG7D as “Sardis” from Revelation 3:1-6. COG7D was the “dead church” so you certainly don’t want to go snooping around there. No, truth exists only in “God’s Church” and God’s Church is the Worldwide Church of God, the one and only true church organized on the planet in existence that is Philadelphian (Revelation 3:7-13) and commissioned to finish the “Work!”
The purpose of the WCG was to proclaim the gospel to the world so that the end would come (Matthew 24:14) and Jesus would return to establish His kingdom on earth. WCG was the continuation of the apostolic church of 31 A.D. and was in the final end run as Jesus was going to return in 1975. If you are not in the WCG, you will not be counted worthy to escape all of the horrors promised to come upon a wicked world. If you want to save your own skin, you better start by joining the WCG who freely gave you all this knowledge of the Bible. Fear was the dominating factor that turned co-workers into members.
By the time you are ready to commit to attending the one true church on earth, it is because you have already studied and accepted many doctrines of the church. You have come to believe that you proved WCG is the only church and now as you start attending, there is a sense of exuberance and purpose and security and trust in the "true church."
Once inside is where the bait and switch occurred. Once inside, you were brought under the subjection of an authoritarian cult where elitist ministers controlled everything and what was once free, now came with a price tag of 20% of your income and in certain years, 30%. On top of this was the expected offerings to pour into HQ. Now, at this time, you obviously didn’t see that you were being locked into an authoritarian cult designed to milk you of your livelihood all for the grandeur of Herb.
It was only then, that you were introduced to the argument made by the church that tithing is a carry-over from the Old Covenant that still exists in the New Covenant by way of employing an ordained ministry and fulfilling Mathew 24:14 so we can hide safely for 3.5 years and take office in the Millenium. Tithing introduced to you at this point, in this way, after you have committed much of your time studying and being convinced you have found "the one and only true" church, made perfect sense. Any cognitive dissonance that arises in your mind at this point would be silenced by the time and effort already painstakingly invested.
Once you have gone this far down the rabbit-hole, cognitive dissonance kicks into over-drive. The term, “cognitive dissonance” is “the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change.”
Put another way, “Cognitive dissonance refers to a situation involving conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviors. This produces a feeling of mental discomfort leading to an alteration in one of the attitudes, beliefs or behaviors to reduce the discomfort and restore balance.” This was coined by Leon Festinger, a social psychologist, after studying a UFO religious cult. He predicted that after the leader of the cult prophesied a date that the people would be taken from earth and that date came and went, the people would not abandon the cult in droves. Instead, they would self-justify a way to stay and, in fact, double down their support. His claims are questionable but this is what he says happened: The leader proclaimed the world was spared by the E.T.’s because of their devotion and the response was one of doubling down their efforts to support the leader. The people did not leave because cognitive dissonance keeps us from owning up to mistakes and admitting when we are wrong or have been fooled. No one wants to believe they are stupid or foolish so we instead, double down on our foolishness. Our pride locks us in even more and explains why people will sometimes believe crazier and crazier things over time (Enter the likes of Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry and Bob Theil).
"For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God..." -II Corinthians 2:17
The Greek for “peddling” is KAPELEUO and Paul’s use of it can be most rightly translated to mean, “whoring for money.”
HWA was a business failure who turned his marketing skills on earning a living as a religious gnostic. He was an “information marketer” with a peculiar set of knowledge (gnosis) that, he claims, was kept hidden from humanity for 1900 years. The market on the “simplicity of Christ” was already saturated. HWA saw no niche in going up against the Billy Graham types. Instead, he developed a syncretistic core of teachings largely learned in the Church of God (Seventh Day) and to a lesser degree, other religious thinkers that fall out from mainstream Christianity. He used classic psychological tactics described today as the tools of a “cult guru” to control people with guilt and fear.
Gerald Weston is no HWA. In fact, all of these men who have come after are just managers of a dying cult. They are blinded and deceived by their own cognitive dissonance and continue to peddle the model of an unbiblical church structure. Facing their own cognitive dissonance would not only demand they recognize a lifetime wasted supporting and participating in an abusive cult but would require that they end their employ immediately and seek the forgiveness of thousands who they harmed as well as the one they thought they were serving all along, Jesus Christ.
They may not admit or even see how they are indeed, peddling, or whoring for money but the tactics they learned under HWA are not lost. All of the magnanimous talk up front of giving freely, refusing to take payment and never using emotional tactics is just setting the trap. But once the bait is taken, the fear and guilt trip begins. Demands on your family's livelihood are made in the name of God and if you refuse to comply (now that you are in-the-know) there will be dire consequences leading to physical suffering in this life culminating in the tribulation and ultimate spiritual, eternal destruction.
At the risk of this post being too long, I think it is worth the time to just see what the tithing booklet actually says. I recommend everyone who is in, but definitely people who are not in but considering joining LCG, to read the booklet. I am somewhat surprised that they would want the booklet on tithing on the radar of prospective members. It is counter-intuitive in how HWA used the process, not introducing the tithing doctrines until they are locked in as visiting members on a weekly basis. I think this will back-fire and I hope this post will help that to happen.
God's People Tithe!
Anyone familiar with WCG will know that many booklet titles were usually worded as a question. Even LCG has continued in that tradition since almost half the booklets are still titled with a question. So it really struck me that the booklet on tithing was the only one ever titled not only without a question mark but with an emphatic “!”
Now, that may seem like a minor and petty point to make. Perhaps, but actually makes sense from a cult’s perspective on protecting its livelihood and existence. It takes money to exist and stay relevant. A system that demands a steady income that the organization can budget from is also greatly helpful to the organization. I don’t think it is a coincidence that tithing is the only doctrine introduced to the people in a way that precludes even questioning it by its very title.
The booklet has a total of 28 pages so you would expect a lot of Scriptures to back up the church teaching that tithing is a New Testament Law. Oddly enough, there are only 4 places in Scripture to supposedly prove this “law” and they are all introduced in the first 7 pages. The booklet itself, could easily be parsed down to a 1 or 2 page article. [Disclaimer for my tithe troll: This is not a comprehensive post about tithing]
Twenty-one pages are filler used to shame, guilt and fear you into tithing. At the risk of being accused of cherry-picking and twisting quotes out of context, here are some of the quotes to prove it. I do recommend everyone read the booklet in it's entirety.
“How plain! If we are looking for an argument [against tithing] we will always find one. But if we are willing to “hunger and thirst” for righteousness…” -p.7
This implies that if you find arguments against tithing, it is because you do not hunger and thirst for righteousness. If you look for an argument against tithing, you will find one but only because your motives are wrong.
“Pay the Creator of heaven and earth the “tithes” you owe Him--plus generous offerings--and see Him become more “real” in your life as you truly serve and obey Him.” -p.17
This implies God is not real in your life and you are not truly serving and obeying Him if you don’t tithe.
“Others who may know that you are a tithe-payer can see you learning to love, fear, obey and serve your Creator.” -p.19
This implies you cannot learn to love, fear, obey and serve God if you do not pay tithes. And others won’t even be able to recognize you as a real Christian if you don’t tithe. This is one of the most absurd of the comments in the booklet.
"The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'" --Luke 18:11-12
“Another vitally important lesson tithing teaches is true humility and heartfelt obedience to our Creator.” -p.19
This implies you cannot learn true humility and heartfelt obedience if you do not tithe. I guess the Pharisee in Luke 18 was a godly example of humility after all.
“And by faithfully tithing, we learn another important lesson—faith.” -p.19
This implies you cannot learn faith if you do not tithe. Relying on God, does indeed build faith. Unfortunately, faith can be built by doing something in ignorance and not required.
“Tithing done in a good attitude will positively affect your life now in so many ways, but all the more powerfully for all eternity in tomorrow’s world!” -p.21
This implies a good life now and eternal life is only given to those who tithe.
“And most important for you personally, find that Work which shows how you can escape being destroyed during those same prophesied events.” -p.23
This is important for LCG to emphasize because of the competition that exists today. There are basically only 3 main groups but they are all roughly the same in membership and work size which is sad in both accounts. I would argue in the first 10 years, the GCG-LCG camp was doing more of a work than any others. But since then, it has reached a lifeless homeostasis with the rest of COGland. But it is important to point out once again, the use of fear, but not only in not tithing but to fatally tithe to the wrong ministerial retirement fund.
“We are not preaching a gospel of “prosperity and wealth”…Nevertheless, God does materially bless and prosper those who properly follow His laws of financial success. If we faithfully tithe and do our part, the great God whom we serve will never let us down!” -p.25
Wait. Maybe this is the most absurd. This implies we do teach a prosperity gospel and if you don’t tithe, God will let you down. Implies? No, this just says straight up that while we would never admit to teaching the health and wealth snake oil doctrine used so effectively today by Olsteen, Jakes and others who learned from their pioneer, Herb, we do in fact teach it and should actually be credited for it being used so effectively.
“’In the mind of any honest student of the Bible, there should be no question but that tithing to God and to His work is certainly “pleasing” in God’s sight!” p.27
This implies you cannot be an honest student of the Bible if you do not tithe. Nay, even to question it using logic, reason and research in the Scriptures makes you a liar to be heavily frowned upon by God.
“Those who try to get around tithing and who ignore this very plain warning are going to be shaken in the day of God’s wrath!” p.27
Using fear, you can expect pain, suffering and death if you even think of trying to get around tithing or ignoring it for being a doctrine of men.
“…it is very doubtful if He has much interest in the trick arguments of carnal men trying to get around His instruction to tithe.” -p.28
The implication is that if you can argue against tithing from the Bible, it is only because you are unconverted and carnal, using trick arguments. There is no way you can even begin an honest inquiry into questioning tithing without proving to be a carnal trickster.
It seems to me the only carnal trick arguments being used are spread throughout the last 21 pages of this booklet using fear based and emotional mind control tactics to convince you to tithe without any Biblical proof other than that which was presented in the first 7 pages.
After 21 pages of brow-beating and fear-mongering, it is likely the 4 places in Scripture introduced at the beginning of the booklet are now made convincing enough to you (even when they are not) because this topic has not been introduced to you as a teaching of the church until you are already attending services and the cognitive dissonance is taking hold of your soul.
All churches of God collecting tithes as a N. T. law are whoring for money. The "work" these churches are producing all ad up to nothing in not only conversion but sheer lack of reach. They are all on pace to never fulfill Matthew 24:14, In fact, all Matthew 24:14 was ever expected to do was enable Herb to die a wealthy respected businessman among his peers. If left to the churches of God to fulfill Matthew 24:14, Christ will never return. The only "work" tithing is successfully accomplishing is funding the Ambassador College alumni retirement plan.
My recommendation to my brethren is to forget Matthew 24:14 because it is something a small select few of individuals actually called and used by God will accomplish some day without your income. It will be accomplished by individuals who will be able to say things like Paul did here:
For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.” --I Corinthians 4:9-13
Show me one minister in any church of God that lives on tithes that would not be laughed to scorn if they said something like this.
What we are all required to do if you want to be right with God is make the Sermon on the Mount the centerpiece of your Christianity and strive to be the sheep Jesus describes in Matthew 25:31-46. Be courageous and really examine yourself. Face your cognitive dissonance head-on and be prepared for a world of hurt. Then let the anger and sadness give way to reason and prepare yourself to be there for those still waiting to be set free.
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