In August I posted a blog entry about The Birds written by a Living Church of God minister. His silliness is not unique to Armstrongism. There are others in the splinter cults that think the same way:
What amazed me was seeing a picture of a WAREHOUSE full of little stands (for a garden, perhaps) (just for Jerusalem!) where the idolaters would put bread crumbs or "cakes" for the Queen of Heaven, who, naturally, sent the birds to bring the offering to her. :) Hm, how many of us have bird feeders?
Or, as Jesus put it, the birds nest in the tree. Birds are a symbol of evil throughout the Bible, from the dream Joseph interpreted to "the bird that carries tales to the King's ear" to the birds that snatch up the truth when the seed falls to the earth.
Of course, birds themselves are not evil--they are simply a part of God's creation and do what birds do. It is instructive to note that many evil people use owls, eagles, and other unclean birds as talismans (like Harry Potter and his mail-owl). ;It's as if they instinctively thumb their noses at God.
So, has anyone seen or read Harry Potter's Deathly Hallows? Does he combine into the powerful, evil wizard who keeps trying to kill him? You might read that as symbolic of God trying to win over Satan, similar to the Superman story. (Yahoo)
The stupid things Armstrongites come up with still continue to amaze me. You never hear them talk about feeding the poor, taking care of the sick, or taking care of the orphans, but you sure hear a lot about how everything is pagan. Pagan this, pagan that, evil this, evil that. One conspiracy theory after another, concentration camps on US soil, illuminati, visions of Fatima and on and on the list goes! Stupid, stupid people!
12 comments:
"As Jesus put it, birds nest in trees" That is just plain weird and doesn't make any sense in line with the context
Sounds like someone was playing with stream of consciousness writing.
Evidently birds not only nest in trees but they hang upside down in caves...
"(11)Of all clean birds ye shall eat. (12)But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, (13)And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind, (14)And every raven after his kind, (15)And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, (16)The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan, (17)And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant, (18)And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat."
Deuteronomy 14:11-18
AND THE BAT???? Oops the Deity made a boo boo
So what does "pagan" mean? It is used as a negative term in relation to what we believe is Christianity. How and why is this term applied in normal Christian speak today? To start with, the word "pagan" is from the Latin word paganus meaning villager, rustic, civilian, and itself comes from the Latin word pagus which refers to a rural district. So you might ask, "How did a relatively generic term become related to Christianity in such a negative way?" I'm glad you asked. Please allow me give a possible answer.
Latin was originally spoken in ancient Rome. The aristocracy of Rome considered themselves much more educated and much more important than the common folk of the empire. They looked down upon those stupid uneducated paganus folk. (Somewhat like our government looks upon us in middle America) The Roman religious system (I prefer that term rather than Catholic) changed the name of their belief system from Mithraism to "Christianity"; same system, different name. The folks that did not accept the elitists Roman aristocratic new name were referred to as those uneducated "red-neck" pagans, or those country folk that just don't get it. The Roman religious system was not "pagan". It was those that rejected the name change that were pagan because they weren't as enlightened as those in the "know". The Roman religious system was the religion of the Roman aristocracy. The Roman aristocracy were the first to use that term. Historians just followed suit and applied it to any belief that is contrary to the generally accepted set of beliefs. The same concept applies to the word "heresy", which is Greek for "choice". Much of what the Roman religious system promoted is still with us to this day, even within the "Churches of God".
If birds are "evil throughout the Bible," then why did God permit and accept them as Old Testament offerings when lepers are cleansed? (Check Leviticus 14, for instance.)
Yep, this guy is certifiable. The ravens (unclean) were sent by God to feed Elijah. Jesus used birds as an example of how the Father takes care of all of His creatures, and God's children are occasionally described as having been delivered as by the wings of an eagle.
I'm just waiting for someone to declare that God doesn't want His people to have cats and dogs as pets, since both species are ceremonially unclean.
BB
You are all aware, are you not, that some of the Armstrongists believe in pet possession by demons?
Will the Armstrongist ministers come to perform an exorcism?
If we knew the answer to that question, we might know a lot more about the Universe!
And keep your eye on your cat or dog... you never know when they might become possessed (but assuredly not in the next 24 hours in the home of LCG members as they fast in a pseudo V Sabbath Day of Atonement).
Homer, good explanation of "pagan." Thanks.
I might add that "heathen" had the same meaning of "a rustic who does not follow accepted customs." Originally it was simply an Anglo-Saxon translation of Latin word.
These two words illustrate a recurrent theme: terms for country folk come to imply contemptibility for reasons that change during the history of the word, roughly following the sequence "ignorant" > "stupid" > "uncouth" > "untrustworthy" > "evil."
An example is "villain," from a French word designating a class of serfs. The word that became "witch" originally referred to someone who practiced the Germanic or Celtic religions that predated Christianity in northern Europe. Some words don't go all the way. "Boor," from a word meaning "dweller on the land," has made it to "uncouth." People create new ones on the spur of the moment. I once heard a girl from Manhattan use "farmer" as a term of contempt.
This all reminds me of the assumptions many fellow Ambassador College students held about me on account of my Arkansas dialect--in California, the quintessential mark of a backwoods hick. They didn't expect I could keep up with their deep theological discussions, or enjoy sophisticated entertainment such as classical music.
At least nobody ever took me for a pagan, a heathen, or a witch. I was just a plain unconverted hillbilly.
The real problem with Armstrongism is not that it was abusive, but that it is just plain factually wrong.
Emotional appeals to diminish Armstrongism are ineffectual because it leaves people free to choose what makes them feel good. That is why people wander from spinter to splinter looking for the Armstrongism group that is "best" for them.
Using science, factual data and objectivity is the effective way to destroy the Armstrong Delusion.
And the fact that Armstrongists have taken leave of science, factual data, objectivity and their senses is the very reason we see this total craziness of weirdness of the Outer Limit of the Twilight Zone.
Communism: Attempts to change human nature by changing the world.
Armstrongism: Attempts to change the world by changing human nature.
Both are doomed to fail, but to segments of society, each one certainly has a lot of emotional appeal.
Of course, the mental disorders of Armstrongism don't help matters much either.
"...The stupid things Armstrongites come up with still continue to amaze me. You never hear them talk about feeding the poor, taking care of the sick, or taking care of the orphans..."
It appears that Satan and his angels are of that same attitude for it was recorded of them:
Matthew 25:42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
And what is their fate to be?
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Christ did occasionally upbraid the professing-religious leaders/people of His day when He walked this earth and said some things like as follows:
Matthew 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do...
Maybe there is a connection there........and lusts? James adds something else for those who profess to be Christians:
"...The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy..." James 4:5
John
P.A.G.A.N.
People
Against
Goodness
and
Normalcy
Sounds like the COG'ers are the pagans !
Well, they are taught to deliberately allow their lives to get out of balance, which is why they have time to wonder whether their pets are demon possessed, or why their cat meows with an Arkansas accent.
God puts certain passions within all of us, those things are good, and He expects us to exercise them in ways which exemplify His love.
Yes, I do study my Bible and other theological writings and opinions. But, I also have a couple of good hobbies. I may be studying papers on the sabbath in the morning, and investigating what kind of modern fuel injection I can install on my vintage vehicle during the afternoon, so that it pollutes less.
My cat loves me, and is very well behaved, so I have never questioned that he has a good spirit. However, my neighbors next door recently adopted a cat which had been abused, and are beginning to wonder if they can actually help him. The most extreme example of his bad behavior is that he expresses his displeasure with humans by jumping up on their bed in the middle of the night and urinating on them. One can only imagine what would go through Rod Meredith or Gerald Flurry's minds if they had adopted such a cat! Help or rehabilitation would never be part of their equation.
BB
Retired Prof said...
Homer, good explanation of “pagan.” Thanks
Thanks Prof. About 3 years ago I challenged our local “preacher” after services after he used the term “pagan” several times during his sermon; of course in the negative context of being a non-christian belief and practice. (I quit calling them “ministers”, they seem to “preach” rather than serve, which is a closer meaning of the word.) He actually agreed with me and also talked about the word “heathen” which you also mentioned in your comments. That was one additional proof of the preachers not being up front, but desire to be in control by continuing the “Roman religious system” of control of the people, whether they know it or not. Hm-m-m - Control of the people – That makes me think of Rev 2:6 and the word Nicolaitan. Nico means "conquer" in Greek, and laitan refers to lay people, or laity; hence, the word may be taken to mean "lay conquerors" or "conquerors of the lay people". It seems to me that someone didn't like that concept. (Like HATE maybe)
This also gives me reason to think that possibly the Roman aristocracy may have had something to do with writing or at least altering the New Testament. Consider the story of the Ethiopian in Acts 8. Phillip had to explain the book of Isaiah. Even though the eunuch was, presumably, an intellegent man, he couldn’t understand Isaiah. Philip explained, taught him about Jesus, and shortly thereafter the eunuch was baptized. Then suddenly Philip went - poof! – and disapeared.
In other words the eunuch was too stupid to understand, so someone had to tell him what to think and an unnatural occurrence sealed the happening in stone. I know I’m not the smartest cookie in the box, but I can at least look up meanings of words and decide whether or not things have been misrepresented. I fall short of accusing anyone of lying, but I will confront misrepresentation.
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