Here is a great observation on what fundamentalism is and conservative thought in Armstrongism.
That’s the problem with fundies. They’re 99% Leviticus and 1% Luke. They know the words of Paul by heart but have to look up the words of Jesus, the one they’re allegedly following.
I found this to be particularly true of Armstrongism. They can quote Leviticus forward and backwards. They know all the laws, rules and regulations. But ask them to tell you what Luke is all about and they can't. They know all the things that Paul said NOT to do, but cannot tell you about the things Jesus did without looking them up. And they wonder why no one finds them credible anymore!
The above quote is from a blog that is following a conference at Bob Jones University and was in the"comments" section on Stuff Fundies Like: BJU Bible Conference Messages
If the Bible is all about Jesus don’t you think Bible conference
messages would mention him
with at least the frequency that they
mention…
tithingpersecutiontheendtimesmoralismtherulesallhailbobabortiongayspoliticsoldtestamentlawhimom
godsperfectwillforyourlifefleeingyouthfullustsrockmusicsoulwinningdidwementionkeepingtherules?
godsperfectwillforyourlifefleeingyouthfullustsrockmusicsoulwinningdidwementionkeepingtherules?
Doesn't this sound just like Armstrongism!!!!!!!!!!!!
And the explanation of this is in Deuteronomy 32:30 where it describes ancient Israel under the old Covenant as "children in whom is no faith".
ReplyDeleteBelievers are supposed to know that they are to walk by faith and not by sight, yet Armstrongists want the order of "you do this, and you get that" in a purely physical sense. They keep the old Law in order to get money and prosperity. Tithing, for example, isn't an act derived from loving God and honoring Him with your substance -- it's extortion to try to force God to give back more than you gave.
And it doesn't work.
An Armstrongist minister pointed out last October in a sermon that farmers who tried to keep the Land Sabbath failed: All of them lost money, many had to declare bankruptcy and some of them lost their farms. This is absolute evidence that [if we are believers] that the old Covenant was given to a specific people, at a specific time, for a specific place. None of the Armstrongist farmers received double, nor had enough to carry them over through the seventh and part of the first year in a seven year cycle.
Therefore...
Armstrongists are "physically" minded and not "spiritually" minded. They do not listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit because of all the noise of lies, delusions and covetousness in their ranks, which leads to nothing but divisions and splinters. Their prophecies have failed miserably and their ministers are false prophets.
It is not until they come out of "Old Testament Christianity" can they have any peace at all: They have no spiritual faith, just in what they can see, feel and built as mindless habits. New Testament Christianity requires quite a lot more than that and it appears that they are not prepared to step out on faith to explore what it means. They are stuck in the physical and hence Leviticus and not so much Luke. It is their security blanket -- with a whole lot of holes it in, which covers nothing.
[And that's a double entendre.]
Like Jesus said, "You search the [OT] Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me" (Jn 5:39)--we are meant to look to Him.
ReplyDelete"And He was transfigured before them...And Elijah [the Prophets] appeared to them along with Moses [the Law]...Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, 'This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!' And all at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus only" (Mk 9:3-8)--we are meant to listen to Him.
Isn't looking to and listening to Him part of following Him as the living Word of God personified instead of arguing over minutae like the Talmudic Jews who were meticulous observers of these laws and yet rejected the Messiah, which these very laws all pointed to like not seeing the forest for the trees!
When I was in Jr high a teacher decided to have a game of jeopardy for fun while we waited for the bell to ring. He decided to ask me a bible question (this was when they could still do this) and I was ready to lay waste to the Philistines when he asked me one I didn't know the answer to. The stumper? What was the name of the Roman consulate who washed hid hands over condemning Jesus to die?
ReplyDeleteSays something about wcg youth education programs doesn't it?