Saturday, May 14, 2011

Demons: Armstrongism's Greatest Friend



Who is discussed the most in your church area?  Who does your church leaders talk about the most?  Jesus or Satan/demons? Who gets the most airplay?  How many articles have appeared in your church magazines and on it's web sites?

After having spent over 40 years in Armstrongism, I have to say that I have heard demons and Satan discussed far more than Jesus ever was.  We always had to be on guard because they were lurking around every corner ready to devour us.

Demonic folktales have circulated around Armstrongite churches for generations.  Almost everyone knows a story involving demons.

One that was in Dayton church in the early late 60's was about a church woman who was visiting her neighbor (a Catholic).  While they were talking a horrible stench started filling the kitchen.  All of a sudden this huge gorilla was sitting on the bar-stool over in the corner and it started talking to them.  The Catholic woman had some 'holy water' on hand and threw it on the gorilla/demon and rebuked it. The true Church of God   member also rebuked it. Confident knowing that only she had the power to rebuke demons.  And lo and behold it disappeared.  The stench remained, but evil was gone......  Of course the moral of the story was that the WCG woman was the one who actually rebuked it instead of the false Christian Catholic woman.

Another involved Ambassador students in Pasadena.  Right before I cam to the holiest place on earth, there were some students who started having toothbrushes levitating in the bathrooms.  These demons loved to play with tooth brushes and shaving cream. For some reason these demons like to hang out in the bathrooms.

The house on the corner of Del Mar and Orange Grove was considered haunted by many students.  It particularly had a bad reputation in the late 80's when a couple of women from the dorm were assaulted and raped on campus.  Bad things seemed to constantly be happening to those who lived there.  Later residents who were evangelists and department heads, had family issues with mental health.  One had a foster daughter that they locked in her room with padlocks on the outside of the door, another had a child who tried to stab his mother.  Of course these were all attributed to the demonic forces prevalent in the house.  Even Tkach Sr. did not escape the problems with his wife's mental issues.  The fundie church members all attributed these issues with demonic influences.

But interestingly enough, the Israelite people never were that much into demons.  Since we loved to imitate Judaism as much as possible you would have thought church 'scholars' would have done their research and found out that Satan and his demons were never major players in Judaism, especially in pre-exilic Israelite religion.

So where did these little buggers come from?  Blame the Persian Zoroastrian's.  

Somethings to consider and a few excerpts from   


What’s interesting to me is the difference between pre-exilic Judaism and post-exilic Judaism. Many of the ideas that show up for the first time in 2nd Temple literature bear resemblance to aspects of Zoroastrian thought (eg. the resurrection of the dead, the apocalyptic destruction of evil, etc.). One has to be cautious about jumping to the conclusion that Judaism simply borrowed from Zoroastrianism. Our Zoroastrian sources are relatively late, so it’s not entirely clear what the religion looked like at the time of Persian rule. And of course one shouldn’t overlook the influence of Greek thought following years of Judean Hellenization. Nonetheless, there does appear to be a relationship of some sort between Zoroastrian thinking and some novel aspects of 2nd Temple Jewish thought.

Pre-exilic Israelite religion, like its near eastern neighbors, was monistic in the sense that it “viewed the universe as a unified system in which each member, divine and human, had its proper domain and function above, upon, or below the earth.” There was no band of demons, led by Satan, fighting against God and seeking to undermine his purposes. Rather, God had at his disposal both benevolent spirits and spirits of calamity. The significant point is that the malevolent spirits were not fighting against God; they were doing God’s bidding.
 This viewpoint is quite foreign to us, because we’re far more familiar with the dualistic worldview that emerged post-exile in which Satan and his demons are thought to be rebellious angels battling against God. But recognizing that this was not the way pre-exilic Israel thought helps to explain a number of passages that tend to bother us moderns.

 In other words, once dualistic notions of a cosmic conflict between good and evil emerged, some within Judaism began to read their holy texts in this light. Satan, competing deities and other dark powers were reassigned to the evil camp. The notion of a “fall from heaven” emerged to explain (I assume) how this competing camp arose. Verses such as Isaiah 14:12, “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn!”, which was originally a prophecy against the king of Babylonian, were co-opted in support of the new narrative. By the time we get to the New Testament – take the book of Revelation, for example – the dualism is fully developed and Satan is “that ancient serpent” whom God will finally destroy.

Fundamentalist/dispensationalist Christians say that demons are active all around us and are in everything. Other Christians say that Satan and his demons have been vanquished and have no power over us since the resurrection.

So what do think about it?

Two Mile Long Line For A Double Double








Anyone who was ever in Pasadena with any ties to the WCG has probably had a burger at IN-N-OUT Burger on Walnut Street.  That is of course unless you were one of Armstrognism's food fanatics.

In-n-Out is a home grown institution that started here in Southern CA. Started by the Snyder family it is still a family owned business.  All the food is fresh and never frozen.  Service is fast and friendly with many employees making careers with the company. 

They feed all the people that work and participate in the Rose Parade each January 1st with over 10,000 burgers. And with no apologies, all their burger wrappers and cups have a Bible scripture somewhere on it.


There is a great story in the London Daily Mail today about an IN-N-OUT that opened in Texas recently. Cars were in a two mile long line!  The IN-N-OUT in Glendale can have 30 some cars in line for several hours at a time around lunch and dinner time.

I wonder if Flurry and Weinland will have a stand ready in Petra when they all show up next year?  Perhaps Spanky has ordered one when he takes his little flock to Petra when Thiel's 2012 predictions come true.

Daily Mail: In-n-Out Burger

Friday, May 13, 2011

Feeding Your Dog Unclean Meat

Looking through some of the blogs of Armstrongite acolytes today was really depressing.  What a SAD, unhappy, miserable bunch of people!  Do they not have any joy in their lives??????  Everything is satanic or 'of this world' and not to be enjoyed.  What morons!

So to lighten the mood today, some dog humor:

Monday, May 9, 2011

Grumpy Apostle Upset At Satan and His Meanie World



Poor Apostle James Malm.  The world is just one big evil meanie!  Satan runs and rules everything resulting in him and the few remaining authentic Armstrongites of being persecuted all the time.  Whoa is me!  Evil, evil evil!

How sad it must still be to the COGgers who live such depressing lives.  No joy, no beauty around them, no fun, no delight, just pure unadulterated evil at every turn. Of course, they see them selves as the logical recipients.

This is Satan’s world; everywhere you go you are smothered with temptations and buffeted by opposition.  Often the converted are denied the best jobs, often being denied most of the available jobs; virtually everything is polluted and unclean,  the beef you buy in restaurants and stores has been cut in the same facilities as the pork and is NOT biblically clean. In this world we sometimes have to endure opposition from spouses and neighbours, friends get suddenly hostile an families are divided by the faith.  I needn’t continue further; we have all experienced our trials.

He then goes on to spread another of his lies:

God’s law and way engenders love, harmony and peace; it brings happiness, contentment and fulfillment.  Very few converted people enjoy the fruits of God’s way’s in this world. We are not of the world, yet IN the world; this world is simply not a godly environment.
Actually the grace filled Christians I know are delightful people, happy as clams, take care of the downtrodden and disenfranchised and go out of their way to make all that come into their presence welcome whether you are a believer or not.  Since they are not burdened down by the heavy yoke of Malm's laws they live lives fully.  So once again, Apostle Malm is proven to be a liar.

Why do Armstrongites lives their lives filled with the desire to find everything in life as wrong and evil or satanic?  Because of that it is no wonder they lead such miserable, grumpy lives.  Who would want to join any of their irrelevant splinter cults now?  There is no hope, no joy, no fund.  Nothing but evil and disgust at everything around them.



Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day!



Pressing Issues in the COG's This Past Week

Reading COG related sites is never dull.  Some really weird stuff is discussed.  I am still amazed at the number of 'conspiracy' theories people think are real.  Others argue about Snopes.com if it is reliable or not.  The die hard Armstrongites don't trust it because those chain letters you receive in your email box just MIGHT be true and someday you will head the warning!

My favorite is the significance of Prince Andrew and his brother's penis and how they relate to the one true Church and its relationship through Herbert Armstrong (a direct descendant of David) and on  to the British monarchy who are sitting on the Throne of David whom are too stupid to realize that, but thanks to HWA everything is cool with them now.(whew, lots to get in there)



The Laodicea Question

Christ stands at the door and is knocking. Why is he on the outside?
Who put him out and how?





On  Bin Laden

Re: bin laden photo faked

Maybe, bin laden died 7 or 10 years ago, as fox news reported back in 2001 
maybe, bin laden never existed at all but was instead a figment of the powers that be
imagination, maybe, I don't believe anything they say anymore. 





Have So Many Of God`s People So Soon Forgotten?!!!!  

I have to wonder just how many of God`s people have so soon forgotten 
that it was our great God who inspired Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, His Apostle, in this end time, 
who restored the truths of God, and to open all of our minds, 
including every Evangelist, every minister, as well as every one of us, 
to truth that is so necessary for our salvation!!! 
Truths that could not have been heard before, having received them from Mr. Armstrong!! 
Not only for our salvation but to educate us to be there as a part of His government 
to help those at Christ`s return for their salvation, 
as well as to be there for those on that "Last Great Day" to help them to receive their salvation!!! 
Will some be left out,  and behind, 
because of refusal to accept the truths that God has given us from His Apostles, 
including His last Apostle, Mr. Armstrong?!!




Prince William and His Brother NOT Circumcised!

 Prince Williams' bride is also a descendant of King David
 Prince William not circumcised.
There is a lot on the web about Princes Wm and Harry not being circumcised.
Diana it seems, would not allow it.
 -------
To me the most inspiring thing about the Royal Wedding, 
is that 3000 years after God's promise to King David, 
his family still sits on his royal throne over the House of Israel.
That should give us all added confidence that God's promise to have Christ occupy this throne,
from Jerusalem, in the near future, is an absolute certainty. 
On top of that, the attached recent article from the London 'Spectator', 
shows how even Kate Middleton who married Prince William, is a descendant of King David. 
As, of course, Herbert Armstrong was, 
whom God sent to show us the connection of King David to the British Royal Family.




Obama Birth Certificate Faked In Adobe Illustrator - Official Proof

 Robert Stanley, weekly correspondent for Washington Times'
investigative radio, reports that the Certificate of Live Birth,
released by President Barack H. Obama on April 27, 2011 is a forensic forgery.

The video links below show proofs that the document posted on the White House
website and downloaded by thousands of people was a forgery, 
beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Obama's campaign website was so breathtakingly high-tech, 
that I find it hard to believe that he would have people around him 
who aren't more technologically-savvy than to post a document 
that clearly shows the several layers of tampering that was done to it, 
unless this is a malicious fabrication.

Was the placement of such an obvious forgery on the White House website
part of  an intentional character assassination 
or 
was it really just a sloppy mistake on the part of the White House, 
in their provision of a falsified Birth Certificate?

The implications of the latter are far-ranging. 
As Stanley says, what little public trust remains will be gone if it is found, 
after all of the years of stonewalling and all of the millions spent in trying to avoid the issue, 
that the President was not born in the US.



Of course there was also a little talk about all the 
tornadoes, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, drought, etc., 
as direct signs from God to the TRUE COG members who, 
if they have their eyes open, that the end-time is swiftly being ushered in.  
Typical COG thought.

 

Open-Mindedness