Tuesday, December 29, 2015

When Will The Herbert Armstrong Gravy Train Ever Be Derailed?



A quote from the Shining Light blog:

When will the gravy train that Herbert started stop. The train is still running and the ministers are still supporting Herbert who have them the right to travel on this train. The ordinary members are still being ripped off by them and the train is still running. Examine the tithing scriptures in Leviticus brothers. Do you really have an increase or are you just struggling to keep a roof over your head and paying to have an overpriveliged elite dominate you and feed you a lot of selfserving and watered down teaching? Take care of your families and study the word of God yourself Teach your children yourself and don’t hand over your responsibilities to others.

When will the sheeple in all the various harlot daughters of Armstrongism stop feeding these fat cats?   Until members stop sending in money to fund these fraudulent ministries the train will continue to roll on.


30 comments:

Anonymous said...

"When will the gravy train that Herbert started stop. The train is still running and the ministers are still supporting Herbert who have them the right to travel on this train. The ordinary members are still being ripped off by them and the train is still running. Examine the tithing scriptures in Leviticus brothers. Do you really have an increase or are you just struggling to keep a roof over your head and paying to have an overpriveliged elite dominate you and feed you a lot of selfserving and watered down teaching? Take care of your families and study the word of God yourself Teach your children yourself and don’t hand over your responsibilities to others."

I don't know if James Malm wrote this or one of his acolytes that he's ripping off by begging them to send him his own livelihood, but if he did, he really needs to look in the mirror. He's riding his own gravy train to which, thought he bites the hand that feeds him, has been made possible by Herbert Armstrong's coattails.

Byker Bob said...

How long did it take for the idea of a round earth to take over? And, speaking of Earth, there are multitudes of young Earthers living amongst our civilized nations today! Human nature is what it is. I suspect that Armstrongism in one form or another will be around for some time to come. Elitism appeals to a certain percentage of the population even if you have to become a weird pariah to participate.

BB

Anonymous said...

"Do you really have an increase or are you just struggling to keep a roof over your head..."


well, at the end of the week I have more than I did at the beginning.....so, yes I have an increase.

as for the "or are you just struggling..." part....what does that have to do with whether or not I have an increase? those are 2 completely separate issues.


that doesn't sound like anything Malm would write...last time I looked at his site he was all for tithing, I think. (could be mistaken)

Unknown said...

Blowin' in the Wind
Peter, Paul and Mary

How many church aisles must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?

How many times must false doctrines fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind

How many years must a cult exist
Before it is washed to the sea?

How many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
How many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see Holy God?
How many ears must one man have
Before he can hear brethren cry aloud?
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind

Anonymous said...

It is more important to take care of the needs of your family then to send money to a religious organization started by men. The scripture that comes to mind is, "if a man doesn't provide for his family he is worse then an infidel!".

Another scripture that comes to mind is, "if every tongue was still the rocks would shout the praises of God" So why does God even need money to proclaim the gospel?

Put your church to the test. If it is of God it will do find even if no one sends in money. If not it is not of God.

Anonymous said...

When idiots stop funding these self important clowns!

Anonymous said...

Not only do most of us not have an "increase" after our basic needs are paid for BUT splinter church leaders are NOT LEVITES.

A lot of ACOG members have studied tithing and agree that it's not required. The problem is that tyrants like Pack and Meredith will kick you out if you aren't tithing and people care about saving face and not losing all their friends so they dole out the cash month after month to support their preferred organization of oppression.

Anonymous said...


Poor, frustrated James D. Malm would like to get on board the gravy train himself, but not enough suckers are getting sucked in by his Shiny Black Hole Blog. He always criticizes what Herbert W. Armstrong taught and did, but then makes up much worse nonsense himself.


Anonymous said...

Most all of these jerks teach tithing.
Didn't even "rat-hat" Joe Tkach Junior say it should be a minimum requirement?

Senior citizen said...

"There being a change in the priesthood, there is of necessity a change in the law'
Tithing is over and done with.
Offerings are fine as the heart moves one to give but, yes the gravy train and the continuous nepotism should end.
But the ministry is like trolls, and we all know you can't feed the trolls or they get worse.
As long as they have willing dupes to feed them they will continue to heap up possessions, titles and privilege to themselves at the expense of others.

How about doing a post about the mansions the ministry live in?

Most of us poor slobs in the church have little homes. Many of us senior citizens homes need repair, and desperately! But the ministry live in comparative luxury in their Mc Mansions paid for by us.
It is too much now.
Herbert A used tithing to buy himself silver and gold, homes, airplanes and frankly at this point I don't see much difference between his over indulgence and that of any other televangelist on TV.
Ambassador quality was a euphemism for greed and extravagance.
I will never forget the building of the auditorium and the constant harangue for money. It was a building that most of us were never able to see, attend in etc.
It was the sabbath meeting place for the privileged and the few like the church schools.

Minimalist said...

Even more reckless than an Armstrongite is National governments that have no "increase" and borrowing to stay afloat!

Ralph said...

on December 29, 2015 at 10:48 PM
Anonymous said...

"well, at the end of the week I have more than I did at the beginning.....so, yes I have an increase."

Sounds interesting. Who gave you the increase?

cheers
ralph.f

Anonymous said...

"Even more reckless than an Armstrongite is National governments that have no "increase" and borrowing to stay afloat!"

I agree. When the government enters the soon to come SHTF time (http://tinyurl.com/j5f4e84) not only will we the people suffer but the acogs will shutter their family business due to bankruptcy. That will put some joy in my heart. Even in a time of despair I can remember and smile, finding some joy knowing that some good came out of my country going bankrupt. Thank God for closing down fake churches.

Anonymous said...


Retired Prof (December 28, 2015 at 10:39 PM), you can't reject the accuracy of the bible, whilst quoting from it to prove a point. This is the stolen concept logic fallacy. Go to the front of the class and put on the dunce hat. And complain to your instructors at neo-Jesuit school for not teaching you this.You question whether God is a capitalist and does he demand His followers be capitalist entrepreneurs. Why of course He does. Lets consider some examples.

The wife of Noble character:
Proverbs 31:13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
Proverbs 31:14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
Proverbs 31:16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
Yes, this wife is a successful capitalist entrepreneur

Matthew 13:44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
Another successful capitalist entrepreneur
When Peter approach Christ and said:
Mark 10:28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and
have followed thee.
Did Christ complain, accusing him of being selfish and telling him to live the way of sacrifice and give. No, no no. Christ honored his profit motive, his desire to maximize profits and minimize losses:
Mark 10:29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or
mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
Mark 10:30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time,
houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and
lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
Lets not forget that God Himself is the Greatest Capitalist Entrepreneur:
John 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Notice in Revelation, how God throws Christians into the tribulation for failing to maximize their profit.
Revelation 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Christ had to be butchered and risked losing HIs life to pay for peoples sins, a trade, yet Jesuit Prof trivializes and marginalizes trade.
Peoples eternal place in the Kingdom and eternal reward is determined by their profit margin, yet neo Jesuit Prof in his intellectual manner mocks this:
Luke 19:16 Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.
Luke 19:17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.
Luke 19:18 And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.
Luke 19:19 And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.

All those teaching the 'give way,' with the ministers and their boot lickers doing the getting and the non boot lickers doing the giving, must be weeping and gnashing their teeth reading these posts.
Life is he ultimate value as in 'choose life'. This is the trunk of the moral tree rather than the 'give way' or the way of 'outgoing concern.' Armstrongs give way which is master slave thinking, with the masters having a right to life, but not the slaves. It's profit that sustains life and brings prosperity. Neo Jesuit Prof could not put this into perspective since the Jesuits themselves embrace master slave thinking. Just look at their history. I have read Jesuit articles, i recognize their writings.

Byker Bob said...

I wonder if the grafitti artist who called himself "Stinky Felix" in Pasadena during the 1960s has ever been derailed or faded. I never found out if he was one individual, or just a name some partying teenagers from that era sprayed on every open space in the Pasadena area, but you would see that name everywhere! On rocks in Eaton Canyon, on an arch of the Colorado Street bridge, down by the Rose Bowl, up at .Chaney Trail, at Heninger Flats, on buildings, you name it! I think he had even been up to Mount Wilson! Whoever he, or they were, you would be confronted by that name almost everywhere you went. I understand that years later, there was even a band named Stinky Felix in Pasadena. Anyone else remember seeing this grafitti?

BB

Anonymous said...

"well, at the end of the week I have more than I did at the beginning.....so, yes I have an increase."

Sounds interesting. Who gave you the increase?


I think it was ice cream or the chicken fried steak topped with cream gravy that was on clearance sale in the frozen food aisle at Walmart.

Unknown said...

Stinky Felix was a Pasadena area band dating back to 1967. Guess all the graffiti was a primitive form of promotion.

Here is a reunion of the band on You Tube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcS8wb3nQf0

Unknown said...

Who gave me my increase in all those years I labored over carpet, slowly eroding joints with the strain of heavy loads? I did with carefully chosen advertising and word of mouth from satisfied customers. I finally realized in 1975 that giving money to "god" was a fools errand that only promoted old Herb's lascivious living. "God" never saw a penny I or anyone else ever gave in that spurious setup or any of the others. So, I kept it and enjoyed its fruits. One of the smartest moves I ever made.

Anonymous said...

They where filled with fear for many, many years.
They where filled with guilt, shame and shed many tears.
But they will see it soon the scam that it really is!

They will leave on a jet plane.
They won't be back again!

Byker Bob said...

That may be it, Connie. The first time I saw "Stinky Felix" graffiti was in '68 while residing in the 80 S. Grand apartments, which were being used that year as an auxilliary mens' dorm. That dorm was near the Vista Del Arroyo Hotel, and right near the entrance to the old Colorado St. Bridge, aka "Suicide Bridge". We used to walk down into the arroyo, either for exercise, or to drink beer. The bridge was built on a series of arches, and at the top of one of the arches was the name "Stinky Felix". I've come to understand that the origins of the name and the perpetrator are the subject of Pasadena urban legend, possibly connected to the high school in that part of town, which was Blair High.It is also possible that the band was named after the ever present graffiti.

Later, the local rock bands that everyone knew in the area were "Headwinds", and a very early, prefame "Van Halen". I knew some of the people surrounding Headwinds, and saw them perform several times, once at the Handlebar Saloon, and once at a concert that they had actually paid for themselves to put on at the Pasadena Civic, but never heard any Van Halen until they broke on national radio. This, of course, was all stuff from the youth culture in the surrounding community that most church people were totally unaware of. The same stuff that HWA is reported as telling Dorothy about going dancing in the Sabbath was true of the youth culture events. You didn't have to worry about the church people catching you.

BB

Byker Bob said...

I still miss my at one time regular New Years Eve activity of watching a Grateful Dead concert leading up to midnight. But, time marches on.
Happy New Year, everybody!

BB

Anonymous said...

The prospects for Armstrongists in 2016 don't seem so optimistic....

Anonymous said...

once we all believe what Christ said in Matthew 16:18 it will be easier to understand why this thing continues as it has done since the Crucifiction despite the clearly imperfect leadership throughout the millenia...

does not one still love one's own child despite the stinky diapers?

Unknown said...

HWA's gravy train won't be derailed Not as long as you have people like January 1 7:20 pm who think HWA's dirty diapers didn't stink. Never mind all the lies he told how God revealed truths directly to him that he never got these truths from humans but directly from God. Never mind that lay members could live in poverty while he lived in a multi million dollar home flew in his 18 million dollar jet, etc etc. no the train will never be derailed as long as there are gullible sheep who enjoy dirty diapers

Ed said...

In response to anon. 7:20. A movement that is truly "of God" should have grown out of "stinky diapers" hundreds of years ago. One would think that Godly leadership would have progressed in character not regressed or at least remained stagnate.

Anonymous said...

the point being that despite its many flaws (the book of Revelation enumerated many of them) the church of God persists, doesnt it?

unlike the continual "progression" of they who scoff, whose philosophies have ranged from the pagan idolatry of ancient times to the vain self worship of today...

and even more vanity is the wishful thinking that the cogs will go away...not gonna happen...

Anonymous said...

for whatever reason you have presumed that i think hwa's diapers dont stink, despite the fact that i merely used the analogy in the context of Christ sustaining His Church despite the relative filth and corruption of its leadership...

His Church will be Sustained because he Said so, and we the creature are indulging our own vain desires in thinking otherwise because of our inability to seperate the institution from the evil doers within those institutions (evil doers that God Said would be there:Matthew 13)...

those who endure till the end will win, but those who allow the tares to shake their faith in God will not...

Anonymous said...

in response to ed, i would submit this: the leadership does not make the Church, the membership does...

as long as some members is stable, enduring and growing spiritually (their suffering not withstanding), keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days, refraining from the hate and racism of the world, the leadership, if they are corrupt, is inconsequential, in my view..

i have always contended that leadership in any organization is inherently evil, covetous and inconsiderate: i believe God is about the righteous among the lay people...

Anonymous said...

To be fair to the COG's. There is a great deal of corruption and immorality in the leadership of many churches. Mainstream churches as well as cults have leaders that are pedaphiles and sexually immoral. The evidence of this is proof that "ALL" religions are creations of men not God. There is no "TRUE CHURCH OF GOD".

Anonymous said...

Except that their "history", as they gave it, was falsified to begin with. The COGs are not the modern magical descendents of an unbroken ideological line from the twelve apostles with the "correct name" mystically revealed.