Church of God, an International Community

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The Church of God, an International Community, seeks to follow the original teachings of Jesus Christ as taught by the first-century Church. It is based in Pasadena, California and has members worldwide.

Contents 1 About 2 Work 3 References 4 External links

[edit] About

The Church of God, an International Community^[1] has regional offices in nine countries (Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, the Philippines, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States). It split from the United Church of God (itself an offshoot of the Worldwide Church of God, an Adventist denomination) in 1998^[2]. Claiming to be neither Protestant nor Catholic in heritage, the Church of God conforms to the teachings of the first followers of Jesus Christ, and traces its origin through European Sabbatarians to the first-century Church as it was founded by the apostles at Jerusalem.

The Church maintains that Matthew 24:14 is a biblical injunction for followers of Jesus Christ to preach the Gospel (defined as the good news of the Kingdom of God) to the world, understanding this as an instruction to educate and inform rather than to convert others. Since it teaches more than one day of salvation and points to a future period of reconciliation between God and all of mankind, the Church does not work to proselytize or to rally financial support. Instead, the publications and other efforts of the Church of God serve as an educational and philanthropic outreach.

[edit] Work

The Church publishes the quarterly print journal Vision: Insights and New Horizons and its companion Web site. The objective of both publications is to research and give context to a variety of social, moral and philosophical issues that are relevant to everyday life, presenting basic biblical principles as feasible solutions to the world's problems. The Church's publications and video productions challenge many of traditional Christianity's long-held assumptions, advancing the idea that Christianity’s roots have largely been forgotten and that much of Jesus Christ’s actual practice and teaching has been misunderstood and consequently misrepresented over the centuries.^[3]

The Church of God has produced three television documentaries: Cheating God Out of Christianity, which aired on The Discovery Channel and CNBC in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Asia; Quest for the Real Paul^[4] and Message to the Seven Churches. In conjunction with the Oxford International Biomedical Centre (OIBC),^[5] Vision.org Foundation (one of the Church's educational and humanitarian foundations) produced an interdisciplinary conference in early 2008 titled What Makes Us Human? The Church also publishes an online biblical study course called Foundations.^[6]

The Church's president, David Hulme, holds a doctorate in International Relations with a focus on the Middle East.^[7] Hulme frequently interviews key Middle East peace negotiators such as Uri Savir, Shimon Peres and Abu Ala (Ahmed Qurei).^[8]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Vision: Insights and New Horizons
• Foundations - online biblical study course
• Television documentaries:
  • Cheating God Out of Christianity
  • Quest for the Real Paul
  • Message to the Seven Churches.