Recent killings in Wisconsin at cultish Living Church of God
The New York Times > National > After Shootings in Wisconsin, a Community Asks 'Why?': "The Living Church of God was founded in the mid-1990's by Roderick C. Meredith after he was kicked out of one of the many groups that splintered from the Worldwide Church of God upon the death of its leader, Herbert W. Armstrong. It claims 7,000 members in 288 congregations. Many of them, like the one here, meet in hotels or other public spaces with itinerant pastors.
The Living Church holds that people from Northwest Europe are descendants of the Bible's 10 lost tribes of Israel, 'possessors of the birthright promises and accompanying blessings' of Abraham's descendants, according to a statement of beliefs from its Web site. It observes the Sabbath on Saturday and counsels members to remain apart from the secular world by not participating in juries, politics or the military.
The church's view of history, which asserts that humankind is moving inexorably toward the 'end times,' when the world will go through a series of cataclysms before the second coming of Christ, is not uncommon among evangelicals. While most evangelicals eschew specific predictions about 'end times,' however, Dr. Meredith preached in a recent sermon broadcast internationally that the apocalypse was close, warning members to pay off credit-card debt and hoard savings in preparation for the United States' coming financial collapse."