"...among other things, and some have again
committed to “get back on track.”
Not Again!
"Maybe we should reconsider this
route?"
If we have heard it once, we have heard it
a thousand times. "God has put his work back on track!" It
used to be "we are in the gun lap," but evidently there were so many gun laps,
they all ran out of bullets.
What did that mean?
Back in the day it always meant that HWA
had been spending so much time flying around the world preaching the Non-Gospel
of the Soon But Not Real Soon Kingdom of God to world leaders , that when he got
back for a few days, he found out the mice had been playing.
Mouse play could have been anything to a
drop in income while he was gone to publishing an article or a PT cover that was
less than pleasing and for sure was done without his permission. Often
times he probably had given permission but simply forgot. And so after the
appropriate sermon blasting everyone for "not getting it," the Church was
put back on track and the appropriate member was sent out declaring it to be
so.
The Church got put back on track in 1968,
69, 70 ,71, 72,73,74,75,76,77,78----all way up to 1986 when it derailed again
because the Engineer had died while the train, now on another right track was
speeding ahead throttle up knowing that his end was near and unwilling to admit
it or ask someone to take his place. One of the conductors had spent a
lifetime telling all the passengers that the Engineer could not die and would
live until the train pulled into the station, but that was just rail road
talk.
Pretty quickly though, a new Engineer put
himself as far as we can tell into the cab as all the conductors once again put
the train back on the tracks. Or at least back on tracks because these
were different tracks than previous tracks. Very often in the past, the
impression was given that the train was always put back on the same right tracks
as God and Jesus, I mean Christ, would have done if they were actually here
helping with the heavy lifting. But often, while close, it was at best a
parallel track yet a little more right of center than the last.
Derailments were generally blamed on falling off the tracks on the left
side.
At any rate, it did not take long to see
that the new Engineer, a Mr. Weaver, was unlike any Engineer WCG had ever
had. These can't be the same tracks as all the others we suspected.
He really had little training as an Engineer as far as one could tell and was
prone, as was the original WCG Engineer towards nepotism putting close relatives
and friends in charge of the train, the station , the conductors and all the
passengers who wanted to be on the train on the right track. I think they
even took over concessions as far as I can tell.
However, it was not long before it was
obvious this Engineer was on Jesus Drugs and the train plowed into a miracle
caused by Jesus, who was quite different from the Christ of WCG. Well they
said it was a miracle, but I say it was one of those abutments that announce
this track is going no where and one has reached the end of the line. I
think you are supposed to stop when you see that coming up, or even be smart
enough to know the route being taken actually ends up ahead and slowing down
would be in order. Not being there in the first place would be even better.
But alas, no one on the train seemed to understand this or at least
assumed the Engineer would know this and stop in time. Wishful thinking
evidently.
When the train, Engineered by Mr. Weaver
hit the end of the line, ugh...bodies everywhere. The momentum took the
wreckage clear into the little town of Evangelical where it burst into the
flames of the Holy Spirit. Conductors and passengers alike, who survived
crawled out and off to join new railroads and work on safer and more predictable
trains. Some even started their own railroads and put those trains back on
the right tracks all over again.
It wasn't long before we could see dozens
and then hundreds of separate trains each with their own unique passengers,
crews and Engineers lined up, one behind the other, yet all on the same "right
track." What a site. Have you ever seen a train behind another one
on the same track try to pass the one ahead of it? Not pretty and
certainly not easy! I guess when you are in a line anyone of them
can claim to be at the head of the line and the one ahead is really at the end
of the line, it's just that you caught up with it.
Pretty soon there were hundreds of right
tracks all part of the one true railroad and lead by the one true Engineer
barreling down the right track. New stations sprang up all over the
country and then the world, all claiming to be the true and right railroad and
back on the true and right tracks. Problem is, they all forbid their
passengers from ever riding or even reading the brochures of the other trains on
the right tracks and surely never even thinking of riding on their same but
different true but false railroads not driven by God's chosen
Engineer.
Soon we had competing one true railroads
all on track. There were the PCG, RCG, LCG, UCG , GCI, and dozens more
railroads, all back on the same right track yet denying that each other really
were. We had "That Engineer," "And yes brethren, I am an Engineer," and
even "We are the Two Engineers," of all things. I was concerned that two
engineers on the same train would cause conflicts, but was relieved to see that
the one engineer never spoke and really didn't know how to run a train on the
right track anyway. Anyway, we also have, "Presiding Engineers," and
"Engineers for life. " He runs the GCI line but doesn't seem to have much
of a route.
I tell you, all these trains back on the
same right track makes me nervous. Sometimes conductors from one true
train on track jumps track and lands on the same right track again but
different. I can't figure that one out. They say the last true right
track train was true but is now less true and on a track but maybe not THE
track. I don't know. Some say that some railroads pay conductors
better than others and, of course, that is the real reason for jumping
trains.
Anyway, sometimes it crosses my mind that
all these Engineers blowing their own whistles and stoking their own fires
really aren't back on the right track after all. I think they are on a
track, but the right one?....not sure. Well, pretty sure they aren't
actually. No, positive! I think you can put a train back on the same
WRONG track and just think you are on the right one....until you see that bumper
thing at the end of a dead end staring you in the face and you going way too
fast to slow down, much less stop and avoid yet another train wreck with
casualties.
Personally, I don't ride trains
anymore because I am leery of the tracks. None of these companies seem to
do much maintenance or educate their conductors on how to take care of the
passengers. You know, "Jones pays the freight, give Jones what he wants,'
as the old original Engineer used to say. Shoot, their engineers haven't
even gone to a real engineer school it turns out nor have they learned the many
nuances of engineering. They know nothing of the origins of real railroads
or what constitutes right tracks much less how to get back on them when you
drive recklessly and plow into reality. Sometimes I think they even have
the wrong book or at least read the directions half drunk. Maybe they just
filter out the stuff that they don't understand and make what they think they do
mean more than it does.
Anyway, once again, a conductor on one of
the older new true railroads has jumped on to and even newer and truer one, even
before the other once crashes. He's sending passengers on all sorts of
sorta true railroads and trains new schedules and wants to meet them at the
station, the true station anytime they have time. We'll
see.
But, while the claim is made that once
again, the true train has now been put back on the true tracks and the most true
conductor and Engineer will meet you at track 29, I have my doubts.
I have never understood how the passengers that survive can crawl from one wreck
after the other and still sit on the latest train as if there never was a wreck
or OK there was, but God put me on this track and damn it, I'm riding this
train into glory! Passengers are the biggest enigma to me. They buy
a ticket. Step over the bodies, find a new train and let any glib talking,
railroad reading , Engineer come lately take them along for the ride on tracks
that have already proved less than safe and reliable. Go
figure.
Oh well. Pardon me boys, is that the
cat who ate your new shoes? Ok, sorry, couldn't resist. Personally I
think you can be put back on the wrong tracks and never even suspect it the
whole time you are on the train going nowhere.
Dennis C. Diehl
DenniscDiehl@aol.com
DenniscDiehl@aol.com
14 comments:
I said: "the Church was put back on track and the appropriate member was sent out declaring it to be so
pardon, "member letter," should have been the phrase.
For better or worse, when I write, it is when an idea or concept hits me and I just take off with it as it pour out of my head. I can proof it and still filter out mistakes. Most "articles" take 20 minutes or so as they simply pour out of my head and experiences.
I do have a cheeky side which seems to entertain me while I am channeling the material from my past for which I should be ashamed
:)
As we all should know, sarcasm is unresolved anger turned sideways.
Standing ovation, Dennis! Another great article, and I loved the analogies. Thank you for "The Plain Truth".
Richard
Funny.
Did you mention that the tracks were in a big circle, which meant that even if you were on the right track, you were always going to be going past the same scenery over and over again?
I think so.
The train used to pick up and deliver mail as it went by the station without stopping. That was the job of the guy on the mail car. Thankless job, that.
We really appreciate the story. It makes us long for the memories of childhood with our toy Lionel model trains. They also jumped the tracks and had to be put back on the right track. Life throws us curves.
The bad thing is that jumping the tracks in real life is much more dangerous and life threatening than in the childhood Lionel days.
It can be fatal.
If nothing more, it is certainly an expensive hobby.
Best post yet!
Great Engineering achievement!
DD:
Always thought of WCG as a train wreck, so I enjoyed the well done analogy.
Also, at least here in the USA, railroads aren't known as moneymakers. Something for the end time engineers to think about.
BWAHAHAHAHA!
VonHowitzer
Lionel!!! Aw...when I was about 9 my dad made a huge Lionel train layout and surprised me with it one Xmas morning. I was in shock and I spend hours and hours in the basement of my youth just sitting and controling my Lionel world. What a memory. Can we have Lionel in the Kingdom?
I remember that shortly before his death, HWA was screaming from the pulpit about getting his church "back on the track", and he screamed that "Satan's way is the way of integration", and "God's way is the way of segregation!"
He was reacting to black men's big balls (dancing with white women in Pasadena).
I think Herbie wad jealous of black men having bigger penises than he did.
He flew to Switzerland to have a popsicle stick duct-taped to his penis so he could pretend to have an erection.
Norm
Great analogy, Dennis. If you are just getting back onto the wrong tracks, you're better off staying in the ditch. If all the tracks represent churches, then maybe there aren't any "right" tracks. There are still planes and automobiles to be considered, right?
I believe I will just walk myself!...ha
It is totally in keeping with the images HWA attempted to evoke. However, in mainstream Christianity, we've always had "God is my co-pilot", or the amplified version "God is my pilot, I'm just the co-pilot." Somehow, I like those better. Armstrong's imagery supports his Spirit-usurping "government from the top-down" heresy.
BB
Nice work, Dennis.
Pardon me, goy. Is that the Katmandu cashew Jew?
Glenn Parker
Too bad the captains of these two new cruise ships that have tanked the last few weeks didn't have a copilot!
The closing line for "Footprints" where the beach walker notices there are no longer two sets of footprints in the sand where Jesus walked with them for the the COG's would be:
Jesus: "The reason you saw only one set of prints is that I got tired of you doing your own thing , not listening and your inability to get along and treat everyone with respect, so I walked away and left you. You can walk the rest of the way on your own."
M.T.Shores
I believe I will just walk myself...ha!
May I please walk with you Dennis? :)
Dennis asks, "Can we have Lionel in the Kingdom?"
Not according to Archie Bunker.
Hope you've had a good MLK day!
Norm
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