Van Robison on "The Magnetism of Charismatic Public Speakers"

The Magnetism of Charismatic Public Speakers

There is no doubt that some human beings have charisma.  Herbert W. and Garner Ted Armstrong both had that quality.  Public speaking with a sense of authority can be very captivating.  Apparently the "apostle" Paul
had that same quality, because his writings or speeches have influenced a multitude of people.  Some sources actually state that some of the writings attributed to Paul were penned not by Paul, but by unknown sources.
Nevertheless, it is true that the voice of some human beings is very captivating.  This is true of many who sing and have beautiful voices.  Politicians and preachers have a lot in common in that they seek to influence
people to see their point of view.

There is indeed something in the human voice that can persuade others, even when that voice is propaganda or not true.  The "news" media and movies are powerful agents of persuasion, even though the astute know
beyond doubt that these sources are major players in the world of disinformation, falsehoods and out and out lies in many ways.  Those who control the "news" and movie industries are not naive and gullible about the
power in their hands to persuade.  It has been said that if a lie is told often enough, that lie is believed by many to be "truth."  It then becomes next to impossible to persuade people that the lie they have believed as being "truth" is really a lie.  Many will think that a lie is truth and that real truth is a lie as a result of being brainwashed.

When you listen to a public speaker it is easy to believe that what they are saying is the "truth."  This is more than evident as many listening to the "World Tomorrow" radio broadcast of the Worldwide Church of God
found that they accepted and believed what Herbert W. or Garner Ted said on those programs.  Believing what public speakers say often causes people to become followers of those who speak.  It is not only true in the world of religions and religious beliefs, but also in the world of politics.  There is indeed a magnetism in many people that will cause many others to follow those individuals.  It matters not whether the magnetic personality is "Christian" or not, people will fall in line and become believers in charismatic and persuasive personalities.

The obvious danger in thinking that persuasive personalities and public voices are somehow the voice of "truth" is that many have been led astray by wolves in sheep's clothing.  A voice can seem believable, but that does not necessarily make that voice truth.  Some voice was the beginning of the Roman Catholic Church, another voice was the origin of the Mormon Church, and yet another voice was the origin of the Jehovah Witnesses.  It goes on and on endlessly.  The voice of Herbert W. Armstrong was the origin of the Worldwide Church of God.  Another voice was the origin of the Seventh Day Adventist group and yet another voice was the origin of "The Family" (or the "Children of God"), which was the deceased David Berg.  Every voice that originates a church or religious group eventually returns to dirt and ends in the grave yard.

There was a voice that initiated the Methodist Church, another that was the origin of the Baptist Church and yet another that is the voice of the Pentecostal group.  Another voice is Amish, another Mennonite and another voice that of the "Sacred Name" groups.  These voices are like the sand upon the seashores and they are many.  The same is true of the splinter groups of the original Worldwide Church of God.  One voice is that of Rod Meredith, and another that of Gerald Flurry and yet another that of David Pack, and the voices are many.

That anyone would follow any of these voices is really quite astonishing, from the stand point that all these voices are mere human beings who are all without exception very fallible and subject to human nature the same as all other human beings.  No man or woman is God and yet millions worship at the feet of these charismatic public speakers as if there are.  A MAJOR mistake!  Like lemmings multitudes of human beings rush headlong over the bluff and drown in the sea of false beliefs, following their human leader who is also self-deceived and indoctrinated by his or her teachers.

The Worldwide Church of God has led many into destruction as lemmings.  The problem with human lemmings is that they follow men instead of Jesus Christ.


Van Robison