Church of God info

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excaliber

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Hello everyone.
I need information about the Church of God.
My dad believes that the Church of God is the true church.
I will have to face this when I tell him that I have discovered the Catholic church to be the true church.
I know nothing about the church of God, can someone help me provide a defense against its theology ? And mabey a little information about there history?
 
Rather that try and persude your Father why his Church is not the “true church” -attacking his beliefs and thus putting him on defense. I would think it would be wiser to share with your father why you believe the Catholic Church to be the Church established by Christ here on earth , strike up conversations and be able to defend her against any misconceptions your Father may have.

In regards to the Church of God…if you mean the worldwide Church of God here is a link to their belief statements wcg.org/lit/aboutus/beliefs/default.htm
 
canne said:
Rather that try and persude your Father why his Church is not the “true church” -attacking his beliefs and thus putting him on defense. I would think it would be wiser to share with your father why you believe the Catholic Church to be the Church established by Christ here on earth , strike up conversations and be able to defend her against any misconceptions your Father may have.

In regards to the Church of God…if you mean the worldwide Church of God here is a link to their belief statements wcg.org/lit/aboutus/beliefs/default.htm
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Well said.

Nothing puts a person on the defensive quicker than a party going on the offensive.

A disarming and warm response - perhaps with the possibility of “agreeing to disagree” - is going to be your best bet.

I learned the hard way that where my Catholic sensibilities conflicted with family members beliefs or judgements, I couldn’t debate them into my thinking, only manage to be REALLY successful at alienating them to the point where some became far more confirmed in their views and more wholly rejected mine. And this is a Catholic family mind you!

Let me also take a moment to welcome you to the Catholic Faith. Have you started to make inquiry into reception yet?
 
Thank you for the advise.
I will start inquiry as soon as possible. When is to late?

I have thoroughly studied the Jehovahs witness religion, even serving at there world head quarters. The Jw is my mothers religion and my dad warned me against it and was correct. Now he has asked me to investigate the church of God for him just as investigated my mothers religion.

The problem is that in trying to honor my fathr and mother, I feel obligated to do what he says, but I am already 99.9 percent sure that the Catholic church is correct in theology. I tried to find info on the church of God…but there are so many churches with that name and different teachings. Because I think the Catholic church IS the Church of God, mabey my dad is directing me to the right place LOL.
 
What I know about the Church of God, is the one from Anderson Indiana…my BIL is a pastor.

I was told by him that the Catholic Church requires us to pay our way to heaven…:rolleyes:

Anyway, from just talking to him, that church appears to be a prosperity church, preaching on material prosperity in this life. Also, alot of teachings on end of times. They take the book of Revelation quite seriously or rather, literally.

I, too, think that it’s best to just know the truth of the Catholic Church. I am assuming from your post that you are just now on your journey…correct? Just take it easy, learn as much as you can about the Catholic Faith, read everything by Scott Hahn…LOL…

Honoring your father and mother does not mean doing what they say to do…it means to show respect to them (in my opinion) … by respecting your father in his decision to attend this type of church is honoring him.

Also…has you dad just found this church? Or rather just started attending? I am curious, because it seems like you were not raised in this church or you would know more about it…(just thinking out loud) … if it is new to him, he’s probably on fire about it all…so head’s up, it’s really going to be hard to talk to him.

Good luck! 👍 I will say a prayer for you!
 
I don’t know if it is new to him or not, I was raised Jw and know nothing of the Church of God organization.
I will confront him about the Catholic church soon though.
I am not trying to convert him, I am just going to tell him my decision.
 
Which Church of God?

I was raised in the denomination headquartered in Cleveland, Tenn.
 
He did not tell me which one.
He only said Church of God… Its possible he dose not know that they are all different.
Do you Know which was the first one? And why it split into so many different churches of God?
 
There are many “Church of God” cults that think they are only true church of God that the apostles founded. My suggestion is to give him a copy of The Apostolic Fathers (Paperback)
by J. B. Lightfoot (Author), J. R. Harmer (Author), Michael W. Holmes (Editor) about $8 at amazon. If he honestly believes his church was the one the apostles started then he can be encouraged to read the writings of the first and second generational christians. If he says the church went apostate. You need only point out the promises of Jesus to be with us always even until the end of the ages, that the gates of hades will not previal, etc., Basically, I am saying get him onto the path of reading the writings of church fathers, church history in primary sources. Take a direction of encouraging rather than debating.

Philadelphia Church of God ( off shoot of worldwide church of God )
macgregorministries.org/cult_groups/philadelphians.html

Seventh Day Church of God
google.com/search?hl=en&q=Seventh+Day+Church+of+God&btnG=Search

Church of God of Prophecy
dtl.org/dtl/article/c-g-p.htm

The Real Church of God
scribd.com/doc/456581/The-Real-Church-of-God

livingcog.com/ Armstrong offshoot

google.com/search?q=%22Church+of+God%22+%22only+true+church%22&hl=en&start=20&sa=N
 
excaliber said:
I don’t know if it is new to him or not, I was raised Jw and know nothing of the Church of God organization.
I will confront him about the Catholic church soon though.
I am not trying to convert him, I am just going to tell him my decision.
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Hey excaliber, I’m just starting to read The Lamb’s Supper by Scott Hahn. Have you read it?

It relates Revelation with the Mass…I’m only on chapter three…but I’m really starting to think that it may be a good book for all folks to read …

Also, how about Marcus Grodi…heard of him? He has a book Journey’s Home, it’s about …Protestant ministers of all denom’s that have taken many years…some like even 18 years to convert to Catholicism… I myself…four years. I’ve met Marcus, he’s an awesome man and his show is live on Monday nights on EWTN…you can stream it online. I miss it because I’m in RCIA on Monday nights.

God Bless.

Oh, I want to say… conversion to the Catholic Faith is God’s will…nothing I say or that you may say to your Dad will make him convert, it’s all up to God. As with your history of being a JW, you may sense the urgency to share everything your are learning with your Dad about the Catholic Faith, but in my experience…it’s better to be a witness through your actions. No words are really needed. If you Come Home…I assure you that your Dad will see it in you…It’s an awesome feeling.

Are you attending Mass anywhere?
 
Like one poster above, I was raised in the Church of God whose headquarters is Cleveland, Tenn. If it’s that one the OP’s referring to, then I can say this much: it’s a Pentecostal/Charismatic denomination whose beliefs and practices aren’t notably different from, say, the Assemblies of God. They’re Trinitarians who would probably assent happily to the Nicene creed if they had ever heard of it; their main distinctive features are speaking in tongues, prophecy, and other visible “gifts of the Holy Spirit”; an emotional, free-form, anti-liturgical worship style, “once saved, always saved” doctrines, and a more or less irenic stance toward other churches–unlike some fundamentalists, they regard Catholics and Orthodox as Christians, despite their disagreements with those churches’ teachings.

Now after all that typing, just watch–it’ll be some other “Church of God” the OP means.
 
I too was raised in this same “Church of God” who’s head quarters is located in Cleveland TN. The others are not referred to as “Church of God” but have similar names such as “Church of God Of Prophecy”.

The Chuch of God, followed by the Assembly of God is where I spent 43 years of my life (I’m only 44) . They teach that you are filled with the Holy Spirit only if you have the ability to “speak-in-tongues”. To them, this is the most powerful of the gifts of the Spirit.

They absolutely do not believe “once saved always saved”. They believe that a person who is not walking in the Christian way, that once was a Christian, has backslid, or left the favor of GOD.

They absolutely believe in SOLO-SCRIPTURA (Bible alone), without realizing that the Catholic church gave them the bible.

They had a big “Change” in their church somewhere in the early 80’s. They started allowing women to get their hair cut, wear pants, wear makeup, wear jewelry, etc… Until this time, these would all “SEND YOU STRAIGHT TO HELL”.

They also believe that drinking (even a glass of wine), smoking, cursing, and the like would 'SEND YOU TO HELL".

They never taught that we had to be baptised, only that it was a good idea. They also thought you could be baptised as many times as you wanted to be during your lifetime.

When I first started looking at the Catholic faith, I was scared to
death that I been brought up and had taught my children the things that were taught to me. I was 43 and had never been baptised!

I started doing a lot of research on the history of the church, and I was floored when I learned that it didn’t form until somewhere around 1906. How scary, to think that 3 men in the hills of Tennessee had a revelation and formed this church that I thought had been around forever.

99.99999% of my family (both sides) are Church of God. I had to have a talk with my father back in June of this year. He couldn’t believe that I had become Catholic. Now, after our talk, he is fine with all of it. If you would like to hear about our talk, just send me a private message.

God Bless,
Pam
 
pyropam said:
The Chuch of God, followed by the Assembly of God is where I spent 43 years of my life (I’m only 44) . They teach that you are filled with the Holy Spirit only if you have the ability to “speak-in-tongues”. To them, this is the most powerful of the gifts of the Spirit.

They absolutely do not believe “once saved always saved”. They believe that a person who is not walking in the Christian way, that once was a Christian, has backslid, or left the favor of GOD.

They absolutely believe in SOLO-SCRIPTURA (Bible alone), without realizing that the Catholic church gave them the bible.

They had a big “Change” in their church somewhere in the early 80’s. They started allowing women to get their hair cut, wear pants, wear makeup, wear jewelry, etc… Until this time, these would all “SEND YOU STRAIGHT TO HELL”.

They also believe that drinking (even a glass of wine), smoking, cursing, and the like would 'SEND YOU TO HELL".

They never taught that we had to be baptised, only that it was a good idea. They also thought you could be baptised as many times as you wanted to be during your lifetime.
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I think there may be variations in teaching between various Church of God congregations on some of these points (that pesky “Protestant principle”!). In my family’s church, they did indeed teach “once saved, always saved.” Speaking in tongues was considered especially characteristic of being “Spirit-filled,” but not essential to it. Plenty of city and suburban congregations never forbade women from cutting their hair, etc., but I think a few rural churches may still enjoin it.

Our church was pretty much the same way about baptism, though. And there was typically no communion. And “straight to hell” or not, they were indeed mighty down on drinking, smoking, and cussing. Not to mention, on traditional church music and architecture.
 
I too, was raised Church of God but specifically Church of God of Prophecy. I have to agree with almost all of the facts presented except for the “once saved always saved” statement. I am going through RCIA right now and have to warn you that if your father is deeply entrenched in the COG, it may a hard fought battle in trying to convince him of your conversion.
I have yet to tell my family of my conversion. Although, they do know that I attend the parish here. Their most vocal concern was about me taking communion and consuming wine at it! gasp that this was their main concern. Which I explained that obviously I couldn’t…at least not yet…😉 The COG for the most part is comprised of many good people, who mean well and are only concerned about your spiritual well-being. I hope and pray that your father as well as my family will embrace our conversion and see that we are only seeking the Truth and a deeper relationship with God.
 
<>

There are at least two groups that call themselves “Church of God.”

The two principal ones are the non-Pentecostal CoG of Anderson, Indiana, and the other is the Pentecostal CoG of Cleveland, Tn.

Which one are you talking about?
 
Hi, Excaliber,

This is so ironic. Did I ever tell you that my second husband was Church of God of Prophecy?

Despite everything, they are not a cult and are a valid christian denomination, so they are christians. Don’t worry about your dad. Let the burden of conversion be on his shoulders, i.e., just engage him when he tries to engage you on this. Let him get used to your conversion to Catholicism for awhile first. After he gets over the shock, then you can work on him. You’ve got enough to worry about right now.

Remember, only Holy Spirit converts. We don’t. Ask your guardian angel to go visit your dad and help bring him to the one true faith. And pray a rosary daily for the conversion of your father!

Love you lots! 😃
 
pyropam said:
I too was raised in this same “Church of God” who’s head quarters is located in Cleveland TN. The others are not referred to as “Church of God” but have similar names such as “Church of God Of Prophecy”.

The Chuch of God, followed by the Assembly of God is where I spent 43 years of my life (I’m only 44) . They teach that you are filled with the Holy Spirit only if you have the ability to “speak-in-tongues”. To them, this is the most powerful of the gifts of the Spirit.

They absolutely do not believe “once saved always saved”. They believe that a person who is not walking in the Christian way, that once was a Christian, has backslid, or left the favor of GOD.

They absolutely believe in SOLO-SCRIPTURA (Bible alone), without realizing that the Catholic church gave them the bible.

They had a big “Change” in their church somewhere in the early 80’s. They started allowing women to get their hair cut, wear pants, wear makeup, wear jewelry, etc… Until this time, these would all “SEND YOU STRAIGHT TO HELL”.

They also believe that drinking (even a glass of wine), smoking, cursing, and the like would 'SEND YOU TO HELL".

They never taught that we had to be baptised, only that it was a good idea. They also thought you could be baptised as many times as you wanted to be during your lifetime.

When I first started looking at the Catholic faith, I was scared to
death that I been brought up and had taught my children the things that were taught to me. I was 43 and had never been baptised!

I started doing a lot of research on the history of the church, and I was floored when I learned that it didn’t form until somewhere around 1906. How scary, to think that 3 men in the hills of Tennessee had a revelation and formed this church that I thought had been around forever.

99.99999% of my family (both sides) are Church of God. I had to have a talk with my father back in June of this year. He couldn’t believe that I had become Catholic. Now, after our talk, he is fine with all of it. If you would like to hear about our talk, just send me a private message.

God Bless,
Pam
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I spent 9 years in the Assemblies of God and Church of God/Cleveland (from age 17-26). I am in RCIA right now, thanks to God. You are dead on about everything you say, although I would say their understanding of Sola Scriptura is far different than Luther’s understanding. The Church of God considers themselves to be Wesleyan Pentecostal, and their roots are in the 19th century holiness (legalist) movement. They believe in the Wesleyan quadrilateral of scripture, tradition, reason and experience. Prima Scriptura, so to speak, scripture first.

They believe in the doctrine of entire sanctification, which teaches that it is possible by work of the Holy Spirit to become entirely sinless. They base this on 1 Thessalonians 5:23.
 
Hi serena.
No I did not know this about your second husband.
I am completely unfamiliar with the Wesleyan Pentecostal movment. Where did this come from? And how far back can any of these churches of God trace there roots? Are they older then the JW’S?
 
excaliber said:
Hello everyone.
I need information about the Church of God.
My dad believes that the Church of God is the true church.
I will have to face this when I tell him that I have discovered the Catholic church to be the true church.
I know nothing about the church of God, can someone help me provide a defense against its theology ? And mabey a little information about there history?
Click to expand...
well, ironically enough i found this website while doing a search for the COG homepage…

but i saw it and could not help but speak…

i’ve read over most of this topic here and feel that your best bet on the COG is from someone who is from it…

info…

umm technically we (the Church of God (Cleveland TN)) are not protestant as we started out among several ministers of independent churches in the early 1900’s…

We do not believe in “Once saved, always Saved” … that is a baptist teaching…

We believe that the way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ meaning living a Holy, Sactified life in Faith and practice because it is Grace through Faith which without works is dead…

umm… We do not use wine in communion… we usually use grape juice instead…

though there are some congregations that do promote it, the COG as a whole does not believe that “Speaking in Tounges” or Glossa-lalien as i believe most catholics call it , is necessary to Salvation… and we believe that it is only the initial evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit … I personally have many friends in the COG that have not recieved the gift of tounges yet… but they do have the Holy Spirit and walk in many other gifts and annointings…

umm… what else…

as far as COG vs. RC goes… i think the problem that the majority of COG has with RC is the issue of how to worship and on issues of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit…

we of the COG do believe that there are truly Saved peoples in denominations other than the COG or it’s affiliates…

we just believe that we live closer in faith and practice than other denominations…

we do believe in a ‘total sanctification’ by which one loses the desire to sin and is a point in one’s life where you are not constantly ‘going into or coming out of a storm’ but are free to walk in the calling that God has placed on you… Life is full of storms and trials but not constantly… we do believe in living and experiencing the Joy of the Lord…

we do believe in the manifestation of all of the 5 fold minstry as recorded in 1 Corinthians…

including modern day Apostles and Prophets…

The COG is infamous for being “charismatic”…

but that is just b/c we ‘dance like David danced’… to quote the song…

we believe in Blessing and being Blessed of the Lord…

it should be pointed out of course that the COG just like every denomination does have certain congregations that can be considered extremists… and boldly go farther than any doctrine states…

Ummm…

We DO believe in Baptism as a public sign…

we do not believe it is necessary to salvation but that one will desire it b/c it pleases the Lord…

ummm…

i do believe that the RC bible does have 13 more books than we…

but other than that we have the same bible…

we of the COG do promote unity beyond just our churches…

and constantly strive to work together with other Christian churchs (like the Catholic, COGof Prophecy, Baptist, Methodist, and some Independent churchs) to fulfill the Great Commision…

if there is anything else you’d like to know just message me…

or email me at dover91@gmail.com …

God Bless!
 
It is nice to have someone from the church of God post.
I was trying to find a church of God…but could not because there are so many, I don’t know what your Church of God looks like so I could easily walk into the wrong one.

Since you are a member would you care to coment on why so many DIFFERENT churches came from this movement?
 
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