Weinerdude Weinland is cursing all who dare to mock his imbecilic rantings.
The only people in the world who think he is a true prophet
is his equally idiotic wife (Witness #2 of the two of the Witless Witnesses) and his crazy daughter.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
UCG Still Trying to Figure It Out Almost 17 Years Later
Seventy plus years down the pipeline and the COG's are still arguing what days to keep, human nauture, and unleavened bread. Herb rebelled against the COG7th Day and started his own splinter group with these same topics thinking he knew better at the time. Now 70 some years later his harlot daughters are STILL arguing over what they think is right and wrong.
UCG is looking into Passover, AGAIN. Human nature, good, evil or neutral, AGAIN, eating unleavened bread during Days of UB, AGAIN...............The next thing we know they will be blabbering on about new moons, triple tithes, clean/unclean meats, and mixed fabrics. Oh wait, they already do that!
When will they ever discuss something really important?
On Thursday afternoon the chairman of the Doctrine Committee, Bob Berendt, updated us on four doctrinal areas that are being examined by the committee at this time—most in response to the receipt of papers from members of the Church. They are: When does human life begin?, What is the proper date of the Passover?, Is human nature inherently good, evil or neutral?, and whether we are required to eat unleavened bread every day during the Days of Unleavened Bread
Then, due to the fact that income is down, they have to merge two UCG magazines into one to save money. Readership is dropping too. Only 300,000 people subscribe to the Good News. That is some amazing worldwide ministry dudes! The message of the Kingdom is sure making an impact.....NOT!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Is It A Sin To Watch American Football?
The COG numbnuts are out in full force today! Prophet Thiel has this to say about American football:
Should Christians support violent sports like American football?
The late Herbert W. Armstrong wrote:
All Sports Not Wrong
Competition and not cooperation, is the attitude which Satan inculcates human minds. But that does not mean that all sports are wrong or to be banned. The law of God is based on the way of righteousness…The basic law is love, out flowing toward God above all else, and secondarily, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
To harm the other fellow and to gain by doing so for self is a kind of competition that is wrong. Hostility toward the other is sin…
Boxing at Ambassador College is definitely banned. God did not create the human brain and head to be pummeled and knocked senseless by an antagonist.
Wherever a game in sports involves antagonists–in hostile attitude to harm the other and/or to “get” from the other–to get the best of the other then a harmful, satanic and evil attitude enters in, and the sport is evil, not good…
Football (American football) is a violent body-contact sport. It is often played with an attitude of hostility and is dangerous and is fraught with physical injury. (Plain Truth, July-August 1984)
I guess Prophet Thiel conveniently forgets that HWA loved to sit in front of his TV on Friday nights and Saturdays watching WWF Wrestling and old classic Westerns. I guess body slams, headlocks, shooting cowboys and Indians scalping settlers was great Sabbath entertainment! But according to The Prophet since these are all fake, it is OK. However football play involves injuries and injuring an opponent is a sin. Plus, football involves competitiveness which is a major sin. I see the Lake of Fire smoldering in eager anticipation......
The Prophet goes on to say:
After seeing the injuries that some of my high school football-playing colleagues suffered, I could not reconcile the scriptures with American football. There are better ways for Christians to learn principles like teamwork from other sports or activities than watching actual violence.
John the Baptist taught, “Do violence to no man” (Luke 3:14, KJV), so what about violent sports? The New Testament also warns Christians against being violent or approving of those that are (Romans 1:28-32), while history records that early Christians would not watch violent sports (e.g. Theophilus of Antioch. To Autolycus).
Years ago, Dr. Roderick C. Meredith wrote that avoiding bodily harm was an important health law (Seven Laws of Radiant Health). Since it is best to avoid bodily injury, should Christians encourage others to put themselves in harm’s way?
Unlike stories of violence in books or movies, American football involves actual violence and often physical injury–including brain damaging ones that are often not obvious for years...
Now how widespread brain damage from playing football is can be debated (and probably will be). But everyone has to know that crashing into other human beings in order to knock them down and/or stop them from running or throwing is not harmless.
While “love does no harm to a neighbor” (Romans 13:9), what do sports like American football and boxing do?
This is something that Christians, and others, should think about.
Are UCG Members Being Encouraged To Particpate in a Witchcraft Ritual? UPDATED
Beware the next time you are in a UCG church service and you are asked to hold hands with the person next to you in prayer. It seems that Denny Luker has been over taken by the spirit of witchcraft and is encouraging the membership to join him in bringing forth demons........
Did you know by clasping the hand with another in prayer that you will be participating in witchcraft! I have never heard that one in all the years I was part of Armstrongism! Little did I know that UCG is being invaded by pentecostal witchcraft! The Apostle Malm seems to think that you are indirectly participating in a seance to bring forth demons!
HOLDING HANDS IN PRAYER is a Pentecostal custom coming from witchcraft which is very popular with Denny Luker and is creeping into the UCG. The pagan concept behind this tradition is to demonstrate UNITY by holding hands together. This is believed to multiply the power of the prayer by indicating to the deity that many are fully united in making the request. Seances to contact demons are always accompanied by hand holding. This also creates an emotional bond between the participants. Hand holding is a definite emotional bonding between people; instead of a personal contact with Almighty God.
The holding of hands during prayer degrades a spiritual matter of contact with God, into an emotional experience. Prayer is degraded into an emotional experience; indeed much such prayer is not to seek God, but to impress those present by voluminous flowery and impressive language. Such prayer may impress some people but it does NOT impress God.
It is certainly not wrong to touch others, to cry on someone’s shoulder if the need is there, or to hold hands; however to do so as a means to try and influence people or God in prayer, is most definitely wrong and has its roots in witchcraft [Satanism].
It's no wonder people in the world look at Armstrongism with such derision and non-interest! Who in their right mind would follow such idiots?
UPDATE:
The Apostle has had several of his acolytes write in with questions. The appalling thing is that people actually value The Apostles' opinion on this matter!
How dare men hold the hand of a man or a married woman in prayer! Does this imply you will turn gay or be committing adultery? The idea that any person needed to ask such a question shows how simple minded Armstrongism has become!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Life With Gerald Flurry
The following are quotes from the "Philadelphia Trumpet", the mouthpiece of Flurryism
1. As a Philadelphia church member you must realize that you need to be led by the ministry. Christ has not allowed for independent Christians doing their own work. All of us must come under authority!
2. The Laodiceans don't have revelations from God while God has given abundant revelations to the Philadelphia Church of God.
3. From the time God raised up the PCGin the Laodicean era, we have fully supported God's end time Elijah. All of the Laodicean churches reject Mr. Armstrong.
Another Reason Why Armstrongism Is Dying
From a rightwing COG Yahoo group:
It is apparent that some of you are being involved with other forums and that is your business, but to bring to this forum what some dissident minister has to say in regards to a charge that Mr. Armstrong made some mistakes in dealing with God`s Church and that particular minister feeling that he must correct the mistakes of God`s Apostle, will not be tolerated! Christ would never use some dissident minister to correct any possible mistakes of His Apostle, that would make no sense and does not! Any mistakes that Christ`s Apostle could have made, Christ would have seen to it that He would use His own Apostle to make any needed corrections!
Is This Ultimately What Is Wrong With Armstrongism and Christianity?
You can substitute "Armstrongism" for "Christianity" and get the same meaning.
It seems both are afraid of thinking outside the box.
When Christianity feels it depends on the most shallow, unreflective view of the world,
when it feels that no argument is too silly to use
so long as it helps prop up its "biblical" (?) world-view,
it is the enemy of the truth.
Women Are Ritually Unclean After Childbirth?
The Apostle Malm is so concerned about keeping all the laws in the Old Testament that he made his wife stay home after childbirth because she was unclean and impure. While I am sure the bonding experience was tremendous, the reason behind it was not. I wonder if they actually sacrificed doves or pigeons in their backyard to cleanse her impurities?
An acolyte writes in a question to the Apostle:
Just curious if you believe and follow these commands as well (fyi….of course I am totally against abortion from the moment of conception and not trying to be argumentative; I just wondered your opinion.)
Leviticus 12: 1-8 “A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period. On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding. These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. She is to bring two doves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.” Leviticus 12: 1-8
The Apostle responds:
I have three sons and a daughter beginning in 1979. Yes, we did practice and keep those commands. My wife and child did not go out in public or to services during that time frame, they stayed at home and bonded and rested together. These commandments are very relevant for the health of the mother and child; they prevent exposure to disease until the mother and child are strong enough to resist. A strong and healthy as possible mother is very important to quality child rearing. If you refuse child immunizations, breast feed, avoid commercial baby food [which we have gone without for about 6,000 years] and follow these commandments; you will give your child a big boost in life. Yes, these commandments are to be obeyed; the sacrificial aspect being through prayer and the sacrifice of Christ. And yes, I did abstain during those days. James
Philadelphia Church of God and it's Brotherly Love.....NOT!
In January I posted a blurb about the Flurry cult, the Philadelphia Church of God. It was in reference to a letter that was on the Painful Truth from a man who described how one of his relatives was kicked out of her home and abandoned because of the Philadelphia Church of God's asinine rules. Post is here: Flurry Cult Members Abandoning Children
A reader who is a former member of PCG was not too happy and made the following comment:
Anonymous said...
It sickens me to see such complete and utter falsehoods spread about the PCG. Nobody is forbidden to associate with family or anyone else outside of the church. They are merely discouraged from associating those who are hostile toward the church--those who are going to bring people down and relentlessly go on rampages against God and the church. By definition, it is not even remotely a cult. I strongly encourage you to get your facts straight and know what you're talking about before spreading venomous lies like the ones you have here. What right do you think you have to be manipulative, conniving and deceitful? It's extraordinary how people like you twist things around. This is coming from someone who used to be a member of the church, so I do know what I'm talking about.
- Another former PCG member also responded, but to Anon's comments above:
Anonymous said...
"What right do you think you have to be manipulative, conniving and deceitful? It's extraordinary how people like you twist things around. This is coming from someone who used to be a member of the church, so I do know what I'm talking about." -Anonymous
First of all mr./mrs. anonymous, where is all the "manipulation, conniving and deceitfulness" in this article? I too used to be in the pcg for 15 years, and i have seen this happen countless times. I, myself was kicked out at 16 for going to a dance on a friday night. And also, the pcg is strongly against "laodecians" (anyone who has been in the wcg or pcg and left or was kicked out). In my case, it was my grandparents. If a church tells you you cannot see, speak, or even go to a family reunion that your grandparents are attending, what do you call that? I call it a cult. I wish i had found real truth and freedom a long time ago. And by the way, you say "used to be a member" right? well i hope you didnt plan on coming back, cause they almost never actually let you; especially if you're "marked" (a completely unbiblical teaching where you are NEVER aloud to come back to the pcg) Well that's a lot of facts to argue. Of course an armstrongist will almost always answer with something ignorant and completely avoid questions, or most time ignore the real problem altogether. -Jacob Wood
REAL Apostles Do Not BBQ on Saturdays!
Apostle Malm has laid down the law for all
current and future Apostles!
Any man who declares that it is good to have a barbecue, or to cook and purchase food, drink and services on Sabbath: does so in defiance of the word of Almighty God. He sets a hypocritical example and is NOT zealous for the commandments of God, nor is he filled with love for God and man, for he defies God and encourages men to sin by his example!
It is lawful to obey God on the Sabbath and to do what God commands on the Sabbath. That includes those things necessary to convoke together. It is NOT lawful to do what God has forbidden on the Sabbath; that includes cooking, purchasing food, drink and services and engaging in extensive travel.
The man who is not filled with zeal for the Sabbath is NOT an apostle of God!
UFO's, Space Stations, Inhabited Planets, Lucifer's Home Planet, Autotrophs, and Dating Issues
Please bear with me on the length of this post. What is quoted below is from a web site for M. John Allen, a COG crackpot that used to be in Costa Rica. He still may be, but not sure. The things he posts are so incredibly stupid that you are drawn in to see what illogical stupidities he can come up with next. He is further proof that Armstrongism warps the brain functions in people.
If you are titillated by what is below you can read more of this mind-boggling stupidity here: Restoration: Secret Mysteries of the Ages
You can also read more from this nut job here.. He obviously has a lot of trouble dating and maintaining relationships because of the stuff he writes. He gives you some advice on maintaining relationships:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
You can see photo's of the civilizations on this world that he is talking about above - or at least his sick little mind sees them Space Station CityThe Casini spacecraft has just in the last few months done a tremendous survey of the planet Saturn. It sent back to earth tons of data about that planet and its moons. Among the surprises were how strange Saturn’s moon Iapetus is.Iapetus is not like any other moon that we know of in this solar system. It is very strange indeed [although information has just come in of another anomaly from Saturn’s moons, where one moon, only 500 miles in diameter, HAS AN ATMOSPHERE, something that should not be possible!].According to an analysis of the strange features on this moon, it become clear that this moon is artificial, and was, in fact, an ancient space station that was destroyed, very likely in some long ago “cosmic war.”I urge you to read the full details of this amazing story, which you can find here:http://www.enterprisemission.com/moon1.htm
Mars has huge craters, and signs that it had gigantic oceans like the earth and an earth like atmosphere very recently in the past. In addition, there are features that can only be described as artificial, as well as an entire pyramid complex just like is found in ancient Egypt!And, of course, there is ample evidence to show that there was once a planet between Mars and Jupiter, that has been destroyed!
As a result of this gigantic battle, when Satan was thrown back down to the earth in prehistory, it caused a tremendous cataclysm. Whether as a direct result of this titanic battle, or, rather, as a result of Satan “taking out his anger” about what happened on the earth by destroying it, we do not know. It is also true that he caused great destruction to other planets in our solar system at this time. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that there once was a planet where the asteroid belt now is. There are also millions of meteor storms circling the sun. This planet, and perhaps some moons, could have been destroyed by Satan “on his way down,” so to speak. Once cast down to the earth, Satan was bound here, although God does permit him and some other evil spirits to go up to heaven [Satan is referred to in Rev. 1:10 as the “accuser of the brethren” who does this “before God day and night.”] Since God is in heaven now, God must give Satan access to heaven on a regular basis even today. Otherwise, though, he is no doubt normally restricted to the earth and this solar system.In any case, after Satan was cast back down to the earth, it went into a form of universal chaos, destruction, and darkness. The world was covered by ocean, and a deep cloud layer kept the world in total darkness (to this day, it seems that demons like hot, dry places -- and no wonder, if they had spent millions of years in wet darkness).
As mentioned above, Iapetus is one of the most stunning recent examples of two things: 1. There was at least ONE ancient, high civilization in this solar system, so great, in fact, that it was able to create moon sized artificial space stations. 2. Something very dramatic happened to destroy this space station.
When matter was created, God brought life into the various planets circling their stars. It is not revealed how many planets have life, and how many of these life bearing solar systems there are, because our narrative and historical records concern mainly our own solar system and portion of it.And so, the planets of this solar system were created around our star, the sun. God was very pleased with His work, but it wasn’t finished. From all indications, there were at least two inhabited planets around our star. One we know today as Mars, but it was at that time the third planet from the sun, and the proto earth was also there, approximately where the asteroid belt is today, and it was known back then as Tiamet.But there was also another part of our solar system family that the ancients tell us about, and which is shrouded in mystery. That mystery is called Nibiru, which in Sumerian means “The Planet of the Crossing.”
Continuing, there is a gravitational connection between our solar system and the Sirian star system, and some legends say that Nibiru is an escaped “planet” from that system. It is further stated that the Sirian star system is inhabited by reptilian creatures who roughly match the description of seraphs as we discovered in the previous chapter.One theory holds that Nibiru is a rogue planet, most likely escaping the Sirius star system, and which ended up being captured by the sun many hundreds of thousands, or even millions of years ago after having crossed the emptiness of interstellar space. The sun then captured this “rogue planet,” and it caused great havoc to our solar system until it settled into a more or less stable orbit that it is in today.The one glaring problem with this theory is that Nibiru is supposed to have life, much of it similar to earth. In fact, it is alleged that most of our domestic plants and animals have come from Nibiru.
I believe it shall be demonstrated later on that the “planet” Nibiru is indeed this ancient and original seat of Lucifer. It was his headquarters and throne. It was cast out of the Sirius system, where it originally was, and became a rogue planet causing destruction and havoc to our solar system. It is now the location of this abyss, or bottomless pit, from which many of the fallen angels will be released for a short time.
As I said above, Nibiru went from star system to star system under Lucifer’s jurisdiction. Nibiru is capable of self propulsion, if you would call it that. Actually, in its heyday, it was teleported instantly from star system to star system, so that the director of the region could inspect the progress on the thousands or even millions or billions of planets under his control.
God Himself has taken away the power of Nibiru to cross interstellar or even intergalactic space anymore at the blink of an eye like it once did. It used to be the planet of the crossing, going from one place in the region to another at the blink of an eye. It was also the place where the dimensional/universal/timelines for this region crossed, enabling Lucifer and his top agents to literally step into anywhere or anywhen within the region under his control. Lesser angels used star gates or even spacecraft that we call UFO’s today, depending on their rank, power, and abilities
It is known that some of the lower angels need spacecraft to move around in.
As Nibiru moves ever closer to our earth, a point will be reached where our world enters within this barrier I spoke of that keeps the majority of the fallen angels locked up and held to Nibiru and its vicinity.
As Nibiru nears this earth, we pass through this barrier, and we come out on the inside of that barrier, which means that most of the fallen angels suddenly have access to this world, whether through their flying craft [most of the space ships cannot travel beyond this barrier either, meaning that the “UFO’s” seen on this earth are probably all based either under our own oceans or underground, as there are about 10% of these monsters living down here with us, not affected by this barrier’s limitations as much as the weaker of the angels], through star gates, or just plain teleportation. The rank and power of the angel determines the method of travel they must use, but, once the earth is within the prison barrier of Nibiru, all of these methods will work to take them from Nibiru to earth.
Sometimes in the past, Nibiru has been parked above the earth’s North Pole, in a stationary position, sometimes for centuries or even millennia. And now, Nibiru is making the crossing through the vast depths of space again, to return it to within range of this planet so that their fun and games can begin anew in this very end of days.Direct rule by and from Nibiru will be once more established on this planet, and this is part of what the New World Order will be all about. It will herald in the brutal oppression of Satan, whom they call An, the ruler of the Anunnaki, able to manifest again into physical, human form to deceive this entire world in the days, months, and years just ahead.
I will note, though, that this website has been attacked repeatedly, and sometimes the very servers on which we are hosted have been fried from mysterious attacks. That is why I encourage every reader to download a copy of this book to their own computer, and to email it to as many people you know that might be interested in this material. It is vital that this information gets out and is well distributed, which will make it utterly impossible to suppress or stop it.
Then the highlight of his stupidity is brought forth in how he describes how you can become a self sufficient "autotroph" who no longer needs food or water to survive. Once you are able to give up all food and water your suppressed powers will be unleashed and you supernatural abilities will return.
The method of transformation into an autotroph that is reported to have been used by these Russian autotrophs is a several step process, that gradually cleans the system of the poisons from regular food that we take for granted, and also gets the body used to manufacturing some of the missing elements from the food that he or she is still eating. I also believe that this is also a matter of impressing your INTENT upon the universe and your body. If you INTEND to turn yourself into an autotroph, and desire it, and visualize it as covered in Wallace Wattle’s book – in other words, if you work in the certain way, as he puts it, you WILL achieve your goal.The first step is to withdraw from eating meat. This may take more time with some people, because the poisons in the meat we eat are addictive, and some people eat more meat than others. And when you add the hormones injected into cattle, chickens, pigs, etc., this adds an additional poison to the system that did not get there naturally.
Back to our story line. As we saw above, the first step to becoming an autotroph is to stop eating meat. The second step is to remove all animal products from your diet.
The third step is to remove all artificial ingredients from your diet. That means none of this plastic, manufactured “soy product,” or preservatives or additives of any kind.Finally, convert your diet to only raw fruit and vegetables.Once you have progressed this far, which could take several months or even a year depending on the individual, you are now ready to begin fasting.Take only short fasts at first. Start with one day. Next time, fast for 2 days, then 3, and so on. Always remember to take adequate rest periods between fasts. You most certainly do NOT want to over do this at first. And don’t forget to impress your goals on the universe, working in the Certain Way while you are at it.Eventually, your fasts will get longer and longer. Once you get to well over a month, you will reach the point where you can just stop eating altogether on a permanent basis.
You have become an autotroph, and are energy and nutritionally self sufficient. Reports coming from Russia say that people have dramatic health benefits as they go through this process. Degenerative and terminal diseases have disappeared, and people have looked younger and healthier. And once you have reached this stage, other portions of your unused DNA will start to open up, and you will begin to function on a higher plane of existence if you desire it. Long forgotten natural powers, which we mislabel as paranormal, will begin to come back.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
True Christian Love in the Church of God
A story from Facebook on how a COG minister treated the members in his area.
We had a young family that occasionally arrived a little late...three boys and a newborn baby, who can blame them? Well... The Pastor and elders set up the chairs and podium to face the entrance door to teach them a lesson. That week when the family walked in late they entered next to the speaker who stopped and stared at them, the entire congregation facing them gasping in disgust. HWA would have been proud.
Dennis On: Oh Me Of Little Faith: Of Man and Mustard Seeds
Of Man and Mustard Seeds
Let's imagine
that Jesus truly is God. What might he have done to prove it? He could have
started by taking one of his most famous quotes from the Bible and acting on it. In Matthew
17:20 Jesus says quite clearly: For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.
I would think it only fair that if someone is going to tell others just
how easy this would be IF one had the SMALLEST of faith, Jesus , who tells us
this himself, should at least be able to demonstrate how it is done. I
mean, let me see YOU do it....Wow!!!! It is possible !!!! I
believe you now! Oh me of little faith...Well actually, even if I had a
little faith, I could at least do that! "
So Jesus takes up the challenge simply to show his disciples and all
who read his words in the future and struggle over their puny faith, that
indeed, this is possible. Jesus selects Mt Tabor where he had
previously met with Moses, Elijah Peter and a couple others to show the
transfiguration. With just a bit of faith, Jesus will demonstrate
mountain moving. He will say..."Mt Tabor, in my smallest of genuine
faith I command you to leave this location and relocate to the empty spot left
by the Santorini Volcanic blast, in Greece, many years ago. You
will be a nice addition to the landscape and the locals will appreciate getting
their mountain back."
Poof!!!!! Gone!!!. In the place of Mt. Tabor is
a large flat space that will now make a lovely site for a scenic housing
project overlooking the Jezreel Valley. If the Greeks measure the
base of the new mountain now sitting in the crater left by the Volcano, it will
exactly match the base of Mt. Tabor and scientific analysis will confirm the
make up of the Mt as being of Middle Eastern origin.
And Jesus will have proven that at least he has even the smallest
of living faith that can indeed transform mountains from one place to
another. Now, if he doesn't do it, or if he can't do it, or if he refuses
to show he can do it, but doesn't want to do it because it would come
across as "some cheap trick," then please don't ask me to
do it or feel bad that my faith in life is not even the size of a grain of
mustard seed. That makes me feel inadequate and bad about myself!
As a teacher, I try my best NOT to ask or expect my students to do things or
know how to do things that I don't know or know how to do myself. That
just seems wrong. Not that I could always do the things I thought we all
should do but at least when I realized I couldn't, I admitted it. Ok...I
eventually admitted it!
I think we know that Jesus never moved any mountains in his year long,
or three year long, depending on which Gospel you read,
ministry. So I would consider this a bad teaching. No one,
not even the one who taught it was possible, has ever actually done it.
It is a meaningless teaching and causes only personal pain and feelings of
hopeless loss and inadequate faith. I wonder if anyone ever quietly, when
alone in the mountains, commanded one to move somewhere and it didn't of
course, and then just walked away with a big sigh of , "oh
well?" I bet they have...
Therefore, if you have issues with your faith. If you feel badly
that you have never been able to do this or when your child died, or your
partner was killed or had cancer, or when you were low on funds and all
the tithing in the world did not open the windows of heaven for
you...relax. You did not lack faith. Your faith was not smaller
than even a mustard seed so that's why you did not get your answer. If
your mountain never moved, well we have to say, it is ok. It did not move
for Jesus either.
Dennis C. Diehl
Why HWA Needed His Ego Stroked
Herbert was raised a Quaker by a very strict and dominating father, which had a profound effect on his life. Eager to get away from a bullying and brutal father he left school after the eighth grade and tried to make his own way in the world.
Having been told that he would amount to nothing and often beaten and verbally abused he developed a deep personal sense of inferiority which manifested itself in an imperative need to be a success and prove his father wrong.
This inferiority complex had a much greater down side, making him suseptible to flatterer’s. Herbert loved to be flattered, especially by men he looked up to, or regarded as successful. This proved to be his undoing in his later life as Satan always attacks us on our most vulnerable weaknesses.
At the same time his father’s bullying attitude was reproduced in Herbert; first because that was his primary influence, and second because he was determined to always take a dominant position and to never be bullied himself again.
This dominant personality trait seems to have run in the family because his cousin and wife Loma was no slouch herself. She was known for keeping her husband in line, sometimes even shouting from the pews during services “Don’t you dare talk to God’s people like that”. Their marriage was presented as perfect as they could to the brethren; when much of the time it was a perfect storm. Loma worked hard at protecting him from his tendency to succumb to flatteries and from his more extreme domination tendencies; which efforts were often resented by her husband.
Dennis On: "Oh Me of Little Faith" James 5
James 5
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Ok, let's get right to it. While this
teaching, so plainly stated and seemingly unambiguous is not directly that of
Jesus, it is by James and includes Jesus name as the talisman that brings
results. One can proof text themselves all over the Bible from
Genesis to Revelation to find what one thinks this REALLY means, or how it
REALLY is to be understood, or how one REALLY is to understand it, but I am
taking each questionable teaching in it's given context without all the
apologetics that get hunted down to explain why this teaching will work if
properly understood.
I think it goes without saying the misery and
heartache this simple teaching has caused sincere Bible reading Christians all
over the planet and in all ages since it was uttered is without parallel.
All humans get sick and sickness leads to death at times. We will all die
for lack of breath at some point and as we have seen in past postings, God
evidently knows and has planned the hour of our deaths anyway. So I
suppose I even question why we would ask for healing since if it is time, it is
time. If it is not time, then I will get better anyway
right?
Sometimes I think one author in the
Bible is oblivious to what other authors say and can't match their
teachings into one coherent teaching. I guess that's why we proof-text
until we find the answer we need for ourselves and can say, "the Bible tells me
so."
As well, I know how tempting it is to blast
WCG or any church that teaches divine healing, anointing and prayer as per James
5:14-16. I know the horror stories. But we need to back up a bit and
realize it is the BIBLE , the APOSTLES and the EARLY CHURCH that teaches
this. We are just reading it as the inspired word of God, so to speak, and
trying to figure out how to apply it and what it means. Does it mean get
anointed, trust God, avoid medical care because it is either or and cannot be
both, or what?
Does our standing with God depend on our
faith in such matters? What does this scripture expect Christians to
really do and not do? And since we KNOW in our heart of hearts that the
implication of this is IF you do A the B will happen. When it doesn't,
then we agonize over the reasons listed in an earlier posting as to why God did
not answer our prayer. No matter...it is OUR fault and never the fault of
the Deity. He wanted to help but we just didn't hold our mouths right when
we asked or something so the answer is no.
Also, I am pleased for those who can feel or
know that God healed them of this or that. A minister distracted me once
with a job offer that caused me to miss a flight from LA to Boise Idaho. The
plane I missed was hit by a fighter Jet and all died. Luck?
"Intervention?" I don't know, but it sure was a cruel joke to save me
to go through the rest of the WCG minister
experience.
Anyone who gets better after asking for
healing is not going to dare not to credit the prayer of faith and such with the
healing. We are happy for you. You can't prove to us you did not
luck out or get better anyway. After all, most don't die anyway each time
they get "sick." I was often asked to anoint for colds and such
which of course I did but didn't want to. I never got anointed for a
common cold. You know the cycle. I would only get anointed if I felt
my sickness could really get out of hand and after all, I was young and did want
to live! I'm still here.
The faithful tend to die in such times and
stinkers live forever...
I had a ministerial assistant once, who
announced to the Church during a sermonette that he would either anoint you for
sickness OR visit you in the hospital but not both. I made him take it
back and told him he'd be doing both if he was going to work with me. If not, we
could arrange for him to work elsewhere. I always did both and sent many a
person to his doc, ER or Hospital for help that was readily available. I
guess my Presbyterian background saved me from some of the more profoundly
stupid mistakes others made having grown up in a much smaller theological box as
they must have.
However, my point is and what I want
to point out is not "how could we be so stupid as to believe Armstrong
on this issue," etc...but recognize that it is a very bad teaching of the Bible
itself. It leaves little to interpretation really even though many
denominations teach it every way from being a nice idea and quaint to
absolute Bible truth that God will judge your faith over. But it is
in the Book. It is not a confusing statement. It seems to say
what it says and mean what it means. James does not tell us if that
is all we do or just a part of doing all else we can
do.
So, to me, and having seen the hurt, fear and
shock this teaching not being so as stated has caused, I vote this a bad
teaching. By its fruits I believe we can know
it...