Last week ended his “More Time” sermon series, and this weekend he resumed the interrupted sermon series on a subject near and dear to his heart: tithing.  When I was required to warm the hard metal folding chairs as a child growing up in a household led by a parent drinking Herbert Armstrong’s Flavor Aid, there were three tithes that had to be paid.  The first tithe was 10% of gross pay (before taxes) to be sent to Herbie to spend as he saw fit.  During the 1979 receivership crisis, checks were made payable to Herbert Armstrong a corporation sole rather than his church.  A second 10% of gross pay was to be saved to attend the church’s holy days, but 10% of that (a “Tithe of the Tithe or 1% of gross income) was to be sent to the church to finance the feast sites, as not much of the first tithe was left over after Herbie put aviation fuel in his Gulfstream jet and paid for silver ice buckets.  The feast of tabernacles was the WCG equivalent of Christmas for kids — for other kids, anyway.  My parent scrimped so that he could turn over yet more excess second tithe to Herbie.  On top of that, on two years out of seven a third tithe was to be paid.  The third tithe supposedly was to be used to support widows and other needy people, but rumor has it that it was used for other purposes, like sending the ministry to the feast as they were not required to save second tithe.

Ron read from his FAQ section, and a number of changes have been made, reducing the requirements:

• First tithe has been changed so that it’s computed on the net after taxes.  Additionally Ron has stated that tithing is not required on commuting expenses.  (Which Ron doesn’t have since he works at home).
• No tithe of the tithe is taken from second tithe.
• Third tithe is not required, as this is covered by social programs from the taxes you pay.

Additionally, students and retirees are not required to pay taxes on their income.

Ron is having trouble restraining himself from revealing the “new truths” he has lined up to reveal during the Feast of Tabernacles this year.  But he is restraining himself from sending second tithe assistance to those who have not saved second tithe as they are instructed on the FAQ pages on the website.  Ignorance is no excuse, and they are to repent for disobeying God’s laws.  Nevermind that any teaching of doctrines during sermons is largely incidental so that Ron can blather about his prophecies and other topics. Of which “other topics” have mostly used up his sermons since he spends less time talking about prophecies.  Even when he mentioned this fall’s feast during yesterday’s sermon, he did not throw out the usual disclaimer that feast attendance might not be possible, even though we’ll be after the midpoint of the Great Tribulation by then.

On another topic, this website has experienced problems over the past few weeks.  I’ve received an email from my hosting company acknowledging the problem and stating it was a hardware problem being resolved.  In compensation they’ve awarded a free month of web hosting.  My web hosting is paid up through May 30, 2012.  What’s the value of an additional month of web hosting given that the earth will be in ruins by May 27, 2012?

This was the wrap-up to his “More Time” sermon series. I guess he’s anxious to get back to his series on tithing. He reviewed the quarterly report and has disfellowshipped some who stopped tithing. How dare they rob Ron God? Also, it’s getting back to him that some are murmuring about him being a false prophet and he wants to get rid of them. He also made an indirect reference to Ananias.

Ron revisited some of his old themes, particular the one about his Red Sea moments — his metaphor for being in a hard place with no place to go, like the Israelites at the banks of the Red Seawith the Egyptian army in pursuit. Ron went through the story of Gideon’s army of 300 and his “running down the hill” distortion. One that I don’t recall him mentioning for some time is his prophecy from several years ago that his church will get 3000 more members from “the scattering”, which is those who were baptized members of WCG when Joe Tkach Sr. opened the first seal on December 17, 1994.

Ron is looking forward to gaining 3000 more members. The members have the Feast of Tabernacles to look forward to at which Ron will deliver 2 more “truths”, bringing the total up to 55. I’m looking forward to the IRS moving their investigation forward, and perhaps they are. Ron talked about a stirred-up demonic world, which recently has been references to the IRS investigation – the last time they were stirred up was when his daughter and church bookkeeper was served with an IRS summons.

In the article, Dr. Wickstrom refers to unnamed experts who claim the oil in the BP well is under immense pressure, creating a sandblasting effect on the well head plumbing.  On his blog, Wickstrom highlights Richard Hoagland’s (yet another nut featured often on woo-woo talk radio) claim that the oil will erupt and create a tsunami devastating the Gulf states and possibly requiring that Ron evacuate his mansion on the golf course in northern Kentucky.

Wickstrom’s name sounded familiar to me, and I did a bit of Googling.  Sure enough, I found that, as I remembered, Wickstrom is a far-right extremist and Christian Identity minister.  His doctorate is in literature and without seeing his diploma I would expect that it is either self-awarded or printed off by a diploma mill. On a more personal note, Wickstrom had some influence on a cousin who later joined a cult which ended horribly.  But then Herbert Armstrong also had some influence on my cousin.

At this point, most of us are cautiously optimistic that BP’s current attempt at capping off the oil flow will be successful.  When it comes to the Spokesman Witness, I’m confident that he will grasp more and more straws from any quarter to keep his false prophecies alive for his followers.

Ron continued his sermon series which eventually is to lead to a carrot.  He went down memory lane, mentioning 2005 several times.  In 2005, he had a heart attack, taught new truth about the origin of Christ, and announced himself as one of the Two Witnesses.  That was also the year in which he moved to his mansion on the golf course.  Also, April 15th of 2005 is when the statute of limitations began to countdown for any tax evasion he may have done in tax year 2004, which is the first tax year for which the IRS initiated a criminal tax investigation.

During 2007 he figured out that Readers Digest ads would not work the way they did for his spiritual idol Herbert Armstrong, and that Google Ads were the way to go.  According to yesterday’s sermon, the feast in 2008 was shorter so that money could be spent on promoting his message.  Actually, there wasn’t to be an organized feast in 2008 because we were to be greatly suffering the Great Tribulation.  Speaking of organized feasts, there will be a feast site in Florida, and the hotel in Nashville has only king-sized rooms available for reservation, and since the church’s discounted block of rooms is exhausted the rooms are market price.

Ron revisited his “running down the hill” theme which is a distortion of the story of Gideon’s army of 300, which happens to have been the approximate size of PKG in the years leading up to 2008.  Ron likened his books to Gideon’s fleece which Gideon used to test whether the voice in his head really was God.  But Ron has never tested the voice in his head, which gave him the material for his second book when he sat down to write.  The only fleecy thing about “2008: God’s Final Witness” is what it does to the gullible who believe the already failed prophecies in it.  Ron described himself increasing in boldness throughout the interviews he had promoting his books beginning in 2004.  His boldness increased all the way up to last year, topping off when he spoke at ideaCity, after which he boldly fled after taking exception to the material of another presenter.

Perhaps the sermon series will eventually get to his promised carrot.  In the meantime, he threw out another one.  Many unnamed long-time members are eligible to be ordained, but the time is not yet right.  I guess that means there will be plenty of time to ordain them and train them before the Great Tribulation starts.  But it will have to start soon, as there are now less than 98 weeks before Christ doesn’t return on the eve of Pentecost, 2012.

Ron announced that his elder (and wife of senior elder Jim Jamieson) Tina has experienced liver failure.  I lost a co-worker to liver failure after a transplant was rejected, and like Tina was also in his 50′s.  Hopefully Tina’s situation will resolve better.

This was part 2 of his “More Time” sermon series.  It promises to be a long series, with Ron still dangling a carrot as yet undelivered.  Probably yet another straw wrested from Stong’s Concordance and the calendar.  During yesterday’s sermon, Ron revisited his timeline (the current one, his second revised) starting with Christmas of 2007, Feast of Trumpets of 2008 being 280 days later, etc, etc.  He also reviewed the lead-up to the timelines beginning with the opening of the 6th seal on 9/11 and writing his two books, including his heart attack suffered in August of 2005 while pulling weeds from a ditch at his mansion on the golf course. Also one of his Mediterranean cruises back in 2003.  He did not revisit how it was that he can to be a prophet beginning in 1997.

During the sermon yesterday I was preached at twice, receiving this email:

Do you believe there will be two end-time prophets that God will raise up in these last days.It speaks of them in the book of Malachi 4:5.It is said that one will be Elijah and the other Melchizedek.As I begin to read about the so called Prophet Ronald Weinland on your blog I decided to send you this e-mail.I don’t know who  they will be but I do know that I am an end-time Apostle/Prophet of Christ sent by God.I think you want to meet me and hear what I have to say .In the first 15 pages of Ronald Weinland book 2008 there is one thing that I know is true.There is a Prophet that have and record events that will take place and visions given to him by God.Mighty things God have shown him.He is being taught at this time and being prepared to go forth and speak God’s word .The end is near and so is Jesus Christ return.

Well, Alvin, if you are a “Prophet of Christ sent by God”, how about some proof?  Give us a prophecy, specific and useful.  How about some winning lottery numbers?  In the meantime, you should learn some grammar or gather some acolytes who will edit your writings for you, as Larry Spivey does for Ron.