So just what is a psychopath? Wikipedia has this to say about psychopaths:
Psychopathy (/saɪˈkɒpəθi/[1][2]) is a mental disorder characterized primarily by a lack of empathy and remorse, egocentricity, and deceptiveness. Psychopaths are highly prone to antisocial behavior and abusive treatment of others, but often manage to pass themselves off as normal people.
How many ministers in Armstrongism do you know that were empathetic? We have seen a few examples in the last day were COG ministers were NOT empathetic. How many COG ministers, evangelists and Apostles do you know that were abusive to others? How many ministers, evangelists, prophets and Apostles do you know that said one thing in public and did the exact opposite in their private lives? How many were deceptive? Look at the stalkers, the rapists, the child abusers that have been part of the COG through the decades. The list could go on and on!
Wikipedia also has this to say:
According to Hare, the consensus among researchers in this area is that psychopathy stems from a specific neurological disorder which is present from birth,
Look at the life of Herbert Armstrong and the stories he told in his autobiography. There was something not quit right about the guy and we were too blind to see it.
Look at Spanky and his sick obsession with sex, his extreme vengeance that he used to destroy ministers and members lives during the time he was over Church Administration. Look at the LCG members that were murdered in Spanky's church and his complete lack of remorse for what he said and how it contributed to the mental break down of one of his members.
Look at Six Pack building his "mini-me" college and Auditorium in the middle of Oklahoma. Look at the lives he has destroyed in his cult. His extreme form of being non-empathetic has lead to his extreme decree on making members reject family members. He does not care if grandmothers are forbidden to see grandchildren, or if parents reject their children.
Look at the leadership of UCG and COGWA and the men who constantly battle each other in their power trips. Look at the egos of these men. Look at the total lack of empathy they have towards the brethren. Their concern was first and foremost maintaining a power structure where they all have their jobs, cars, and the prestige of their ministerial positions.
I would now like to direct you to our own Douglas Becker and information he has about these people in our midst. Douglas has done some great work on this topic. This is not something new to him that he has been spurred to do in the last month or so. This has been something he has been working on and studying for many years now. Check out his link here on Depraved Indifference.
Douglas has tied together an extreme belief/doctrine in the Churches of God and how it creates despotic behavior in its leaders.
British Israelism confers upon the leadership of a cult group a pattern of governance which limits culpability for abuse.
Leaders of British Israelism are usually despots who have no accountability for their actions: While they rule as if they were absolute monarchs of the past glory of the British Empire with no regard for the rights of others, cult leaders of British Israelism establish laws and rules which are imposed on those below them in an hierarchical structure -- laws and rules which do not necessarily apply to the leader themselves. For example, some forms of British Israelism organizations have strict Sabbath keeping as a tenet of their cult culture, but the leader may find it convenient to go out dancing and other pleasures on the Sabbath because they are special in their own minds. The same could be said where the British Israelism has taken faith healing as an absolute unassailable tenet of doctrine and prohibit members using medical doctors for treatment of life threatening diseases, while the "Apostle" or other designation of the leader makes him immune to following his own doctrines based on his opinions because he is the absolute monarch of his British Israelism Empire. He will then go and get the best medical treatment for his own diseases and debilities because he deserves the best and it is God's Will for him to do so, to preserve the Empire at all costs.
As a result, members of British Israelism may die or live terrible lives, while the leaders live a posh existence of luxury.
Watch this great video and see how many characteristics you can pick out in the Churches of God. You will be shocked at what you see. The video is about 38 minutes long and is well worth viewing.
Hat's off to Douglas! Keep up the good work!
13 comments:
Well, you know, I used to be magnanimous in my appraisal of the ministry. After watching the video (Thanks James), I came to realize that based on the definitions in the video, I now have to expand my view of who is a psychopath amongst the ministers. With the addition of those who want to have people feel sorry for them, I now include the ministers who spent week after week after year after year, telling congregations how their parents were alcoholics, drug abusers, and how their parents beat them up as a teen. If you include that sort of thing, with ministers setting you up to feel sorry for them in a Borderline sort of way, then I honestly have to say that there was only one minister I've encountered personally in the ACoGs who Was Not a psychopath. All the rest of them were perfectly willing to lie to me and then take my money.
With few exceptions, every last one of the ministry and leadership of the Armstrongist Churches of God are Psychopaths.
Note carefully what the video says about protecting yourself from Psychopaths. Overpower them or flee from them.
I can only add, get Documentation which will stand up in court. My personal experience is that you might actually have to go to court to get a restraining order against these psychopaths and the members who also are -- members who are psychopaths who are protected by the ministry. It's one sick environment and you really do need to protect yourself from these supposedly godly men.
You also may take note of the book, "Take Back Your Life" and what it says about PTSD. Recent posts here are but a small indication of how much members of the ACoGs have been stressed by their own ministers and other members. If you feel dissociation, you really should seek the help of mental health professionals (especially if you have difficulty sleeping).
This is really serious stuff.
On a personal note, The Journal has not yet responded to me, so I'm going to become more aggressive. In the end, I think that The Journal will NOT permit the advertising because they will want to protect the ministry and leaders of the ACoGs. We'll see. If they don't allow the ads, what does that say about them?
According to Hare, the consensus among researchers in this area is that psychopathy stems from a specific neurological disorder which is present from birth
Well, maybe so, but IT'S STILL A CHOICE.
I watched most of the video, so far.
The following words, when it was referring to the "narcissist" category of psychopaths, jumped out at me-
"Thus, narcissists leave behind them a trail of broken hearts, broken dreams, empty wallets, and abandoned children."
That statement could be expanded, but those who were in Armstrong's church will understand that it was also abandoned parents, family members, and friends.(In some cases, as happened to my parents, it occurred as a ritualized "marking" from the pulpit.)
I've also wondered about the "nature or nurture?" aspect of psychopaths, which the video addressed by positing there are both born psychopaths and also secondary psychopaths who become that way due to involvement.
(That reminds me of those, who, when addressing cult victims, use arguments such as "I was there for the Truth- you were apparently into man-worship.", and "Just quit your whining and get over it.")
I wonder to what degree those who become secondary psychopaths due to "nurture" are able to recover. I think there are degrees of psychopathy along a continuum and the answer is related to where a person is on that continuum.
PS: Douglas, maybe if the text of your potential ad seems too strong to Dixon, maybe you could tweak it. Or add some UFOs or something.
Doug...did you get my comment that the "Bob" I was referring to you was not you but Bob Thiel? I put comment in wrong topic by mistake.
den
I have to have more coffee...I meant Biker Bob...not Douglas
Norm, the only text for the ad is in the graphic: Is "DNA Refutes British Israelism" and "They lie to you and then they take your money". The only other thing with the graphic (designed from the top part of the web page) is the URL to link to the site. That's it.
The image is here.
Nature vs Nurture?
There may (or may not) be a genetic predisposition. One study posited that there were three components to make a psychopath, only one of which was a physical genetic trait.
As to whether or not the "secondary psychopath" can be reformed? "Secondary psychopath" doesn't seem to be a well formed concept in my thinking. There are people with Stockholm Syndrome, of course. How well do people recover from being the Guards in the Prison? There is the issue of manning up to the horror and devastation you've caused and feeling empathy for the people you've harmed. It's bad enough when it's an accident. But when you did it deliberately, because you were just trying to keep order?
This is all theory, so it's hard to be definitive. I think it's like predicting the weather. Maybe worse.
It seems logical that those who have had a good foundation in their formative years may actually be positioned better to recover from being a "secondary psychopath". I believe that it was Dr. Robert Hare who observed that Psychopaths could choose not to be any time it appealed to them, but they don't because they don't see a need for change. They're satisfied just the way they are.
So it seems logical that being a psychopath ultimately is a choice, then the "secondary psychopath" would certainly have a good chance to make a choice not to be one. I would suppose that it would depend on just how corrupted [the conscience seared with a hot iron thing] they've become and to what extent they have compromised themselves. Bad people sometimes choose to become good. Good people sometimes choose to become bad, but the number of people turning from good to bad and then back to good again -- well, I just haven't heard of any that are convincing.
My warning would be that people are inately fascinated with psychopaths. If you are, you just haven't had enough exposure to them. Being conned by them and abused quickly diminishes your appetite to satisfy your curiosity. If you get picked, be certain that you will suffer. It's all games -- but not for the victim.
You asked us to: "...Look at the leadership of UCG and COGWA and the men who constantly battle each other in their power trips. Look at the egos of these men. Look at the total lack of empathy they have towards the brethren. Their concern was first and foremost maintaining a power structure where they all have their jobs, cars, and the prestige of their ministerial positions..."
And they won't be satisfied with that for, as was the case with the United association, both are probably looking to others to provide for their retirement too.
I know of one individual who wondered: "Why don't they just cut their own paycheck back 10 percent and put the funds toward their own retirement in the future?"
So many others in Industry have had to do such a similar thing.
John
Dennis, not to worry.
I did spend some time whimpering in the corner, totally devastated and suffering from dissociation, but I'm better now that I understand that I was not the one under attack.
Thank you.
All is good.
I can go pay my bills now.
Look at the egos of these men. Look at the total lack of empathy they have towards the brethren. Their concern was first and foremost maintaining a power structure where they all have their jobs, cars, and the prestige of their ministerial positions.
Even if you discount the Psychopath video, the ACoG community is a very sick dysfunctional one, and one which even experienced qualified competent psychiatrists find difficult to understand because of the nature of the corrupt venue.
My psychiatrist has set me up with a PTSD therapist appointment for next week, with the comment that I was doing the appropriate things to cope and he could no longer be of assistance to me because of the progress made thus far.
Those of you here who have left, or are now planning to leave the ACoG arena, should consider a professional qualified therapist knowlegeable in PTSD. The extreme experiences of some of the vulnerable do result in PTSD and the people afflicted by it may not even know that they have it, nor do they have a view of how to cope with it.
It is at least worthwhile to consider. Note the Xtra Normal Video on Compromise
Thanks, Norm, for your comments.
They have had a positive impact in making the site more appealing.
And... would your cat be willing to run as vice president with my cat under the Domestic Companion Party Ticket?
You're welcome, Douglas, but you deserve 100K times more thanks, due to the quality and enormity of your project.
...would your cat be willing to run as vice president with my cat under the Domestic Companion Party Ticket?
Uh, oh! I sense a power struggle coming on!
Our cat does not play well with other cats.
Plus, the level of hissing has increased, making me paws and wonder at the swiping back and forth in cat politics.
There's even a bus from the Catnip Party (with "We the felines...") plastered on the side of it) stopping in alleys and scratching constituent cats into high levels of friskiness by claiming "other cats" threaten their existence by taking away their catstitutional right to openly carry catlin guns to guard against dogs that come in through open gates.
My cat disagreed with one of them and was told he wasn't a True Feline, but was probably a closet Canine!
Norm, the Catnip Party? The Catnip Party?
Mikey is a member of the Domestic Companion Party, which has no discrimination against, dogs, ferrets, hampsters or nearly any type of Domestic Companion. They'd like to draw the line at skunks, seeing as how skunks are not legal in some states and certainly don't play fair in politics. In fact, Mikey is planning to have Bo, a nice dog from a good family, as a Vice President running mate.
So.
The Catnip Party.
It sounds like it's to the right of Ghengis Khan -- super conservative, not at all the type of K Party ultra conservatives we'd expect to play well with the Domestic Companion Party which is mostly moderate, with streaks of liberalism. The felines expect to be cared for from the cradle to the grave, but the good news, the Domestic Party candidates so far don't look like it will cost a lot of money for them to be in office. $500 per year, tops. And that's for the President. We're assuming the Secret Service will provide and change the litter. This can be problematic on Air Force one. Bo expects to help open a lot of shopping malls. Mikey will too busy resting up. His motto: "Doing Nothing Four Years at a Time".
Well, I'd like to know more about your cat's qualifications.
I sense an intense race for the primaries in 2012 coming on.
Thanks for the head's up.
Catnip Party (shakes head).
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