Yesterday when I posted about Thiel's latest rant against the game of football, I forget to look at one of the other areas on his blog that he posts in. He just cannot get over the fact that no one cares what he thinks about football. He is trying as hard as he can to get COG members to stop watching football. If Thiel is such a failure on football prophecies what's going to happen if he ever says anything true? That that THAT is ever going to happen......!
He has this to say:
- American professional tackle football is inherently evil
- Encouraging people to be Superbowl fans is a sin
Then Thiel had to check out LCG to see if they were listening to him. He narrowed in on Wallace Smith, who runs the Thoughts En Route blog. Wallace seems to have a more level head on his shoulders as compared to many other COG leaders and I enjoy reading some of his postings, though theological we are different.
Bob Thiel was particularly upset the other day to to find out that Wallace Smith (LCG) said on his blog in 2012 that watching football was NOT evil.
Thiel quotes Smith:
02/02/14 a.m. Is American tackle football inherently evil? Should Christians watch American professional football games such as the Super Bowl? Here are some comments from LCG's Wallace Smith:One of the fun questions that I’ll focus on in this post was this: “Will there be football in the Millennium?” Actually, the conversation during table topics was more broad, asking about sports in the Millennium in general, but with tonight’s Super Bowl event on folks’ minds (which might be going on right now as I type this, come to think of it), football had a starring role in the discussion.The question and conversation also reminded me of a question I received from an elderly widow lady in one of my congregations. She is a sweet lady who happens to enjoy football on television. She had read someone preaching something that unnecessarily troubled her and came up to me at services to ask for counsel, worried that watching football might be “evil” in some way. For such a sweet lady in my care to be so worried unnecessarily about something which was not a sin required a response.At the heart of the question about any particular sport being played in the new society after Christ’s return is this: Is the sport inherently evil? If so, then: no, of course, it would not be played.So, is football inherently evil? No, it isn’t. Some might say that “No” is only the right answer for touch football or flag football, as if tackling is somehow the “inherently evil” quality.
Smiths answers seem rational and though out. Thiel did not think so and was so infuriated he had to call Smith and try to CORRECT him.
Encouraging people to be Super Bowl fans is inherently evil. I believe Wallace Smith's position encouraging people to watch professional American tackle football was wrong and I did actually telephone Wallace Smith about this a couple of years ago (so I did go to him directly about it).
Thiel then has to drag Herbert Armstrong out of the grave to support his viewpoint:
Now, to make the record clear, Herbert W. Armstrong did not write that he approved the watching of professional American tackle football. He denounced the sport. Fifteen years after the bolded quote was published, he personally wrote:Competition and not cooperation, is the attitude which Satan inculcates human minds. But that does not mean that all sports are wrong or to be banned. The law of God is based on the way of righteousness…The basic law is love, out flowing toward God above all else, and secondarily, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
To harm the other fellow and to gain by doing so for self is a kind of competition that is wrong. Hostility toward the other is sin…Wherever a game in sports involves antagonists–in hostile attitude to harm the other and/or to “get” from the other–to get the best of the other then a harmful, satanic and evil attitude enters in, and the sport is evil, not good…
Theil and many others don't listen too much to what HWA had to say anymore. but do when he supports their erroneous views.Football (American football) is a violent body-contact sport. It is often played with an attitude of hostility and is dangerous and is fraught with physical injury…Soccer does not embody the same evils. (Plain Truth, July-August 1984)
Thiel fails to remember that the church and college were active participants in the Rose Bowl Game for many decades. Both entities made money off of selling concessions, programs, film parking and ushering on the route with the FULL blessing of Herbert Armstrong and church leaders. It dumped tens of thousands of dollars into the hands of the church and college every year.
Thiel knows that no one cares for his viewpoint and admits that he will be ignored. He then has to take a broad swipe to discredit all COG members who dare to watch the game after his warning. If they do watch it then they are not TRUE members. Bob said it, so let it be done!
Now Wallace Smith and those who prefer to follow him and his interpretation of Christianity and football will do as they please. But for those who are trying to be Philadelphia Christians, they will not be fans of professional American tackle football. Even the term Philadelphia means 'love of the brethren.'
All I can say is, Brave to Wallace Smith and other more sane COG members who ifnroe Bob!
The most telling thing of all about this topic comes form the following comment by Theil. Thiel was outraged to find out that Smith had made fun of Thiel's absurd fascination with St. "Malarkey," Nostradamus and other Catholic prophecies. Thiel's attack against Smith is in revenge for making fun of Thiel's incessant preoccupation with pagan prophecies.
I was not originally going to post anything on this page today about the Superbowl. However, because I ran across a link to something that Wallace Smith wrote about 'heathen prophecies' yesterday that was directed in specific parts against me, that reminded me of him and his past posts about American football. Hence the above post. I consider that LCG's position of fantasy and actual violence contradictory and seemingly hypocritical (see the posts on this page dated 01/14/14 a.m. and 01/23/14 a.m.).