Apostle Malm has a guest piece on today by Richard Trevor about church government and how Armstrongism perverted it.
One interesting little blurb is that Armstrongism's God was prohibited from giving WCG members the fruits of the spirit because of the organizational structure that HWA eventually settled upon. That god sure is a weak impotent little wuss if he could not freely give his gifts to his own supposedly "called out" ones.
Atop the list of deficiencies created by our later-adopted organizational model, is the obstruction of direct inspiration of any individual, minister or otherwise. God effectively was hamstrung in His ability to give spiritual gifts (‘Talents’) to anyone without the approval of the ruling class operating within the Church. For Him to have done so, and for the authority structure NOT to have approved such ‘gift’ first, an obvious ‘problem’ would have existed.
One where the ministry would have seen it their obligation to squelch such a gift, and if not squelchable, to excommunicate the individual. This caused a response where anyone so ‘gifted’ or who came to an understanding of a point of truth not first sanctioned by the chief seat(s) suffered repression.
Richard is right that Meredith and other Church leaders did freely kick out anyone that claimed to posses fruits of the spirit. Meredith and crew thought, and still do to this day, all godly inspiration came from the top down and that the sheeple could not exhibit fruits greater than their overseers. We have all seen that happen, but to say that God was "hamstrung" in doing it is absurd.
Well, exactly. All these blowhards who proclaim what God can or can't do are morons, plain and simple. How does anyone dare presume to do that on behalf of an all-powerful diety? As you say, it's totally absurd. Considering the legacy of failed prophecies and failed scriptural interpretations of HWA and his minions, it becomes even more outrageous.
ReplyDeleteThere two word pair that turns my stomach faster than "Church Government," except perhaps, "God's Government." Come to think of it, "God's Ministry" comes pretty close, as do "God's Church," "God's People," and "God's Law." But I digress.
ReplyDeleteThe way I understand the old school WCG theory of "Church Government," is that it is a flawless model of what "God's Government" will be in the kingdom.
We're all "God's People," so by learning to be a part of "Church Government" you're practicing to fit into "God's Government" in the future when we're all in His wonderful kingdom together. Obviously, the most important thing you need to know about that is "submission to authority." As "God's Ministers," we represent the authority, so, you can practice submitting to God by submitting to us right now.
As a matter of fact, when we all get to that wonderful kingdom together, as "God's Ministers," that's when we'll really be in the real position of authority over all of you, because we'll still be in charge and you will all still be peons and nobodies, just like you are now. In the kingdom, you'll still be submitting to us, and we'll still be the crackers telling you what God told us to tell you to do. So, better get used to grabbing your ankles, because you're going to be taking it in the a$$ from us for the rest of eternity anyway. And if you don't like it, you can go to hell. Literally.
Strongarm's God isn't really a wuss. What he is is the ultimate authoritarian fat "Minister" godfather bureaucrat who sits at the top ordering hits on people when he feels they're not loyal enough, sleeping with your mom whenever he feels like it, and otherwise letting his inner circle kneel and kiss the ring on his finger. And if you're not in the inner circle, well then WHO THE F**K ARE YOU? And why should he give a GOOD G**DAMN about your sorry a$$?!
This is the only type of God that could possibly sit at the top of WCG's "Church Government." This is the type of God that, IMHO, WCG's "Ministry" by and large taught, preached, and represented. Besides the General Strongarm himself, the "Chief of Staff" during the critical years that set this tone was Rod Meredith. These guys absolutely taught that they were the "top down" distributors of Don God's gifts and favors. They'll give you a spiritual gift when you can successfully spiritually blackmail or brown nose them into it, and not before. You claim you went over the head and got something from God directly, and you bet you're gonna be the recipient of some well-deserved hate. In their theology, God doesn't give you anything directly, He doesn't care, and He probably doesn't even know who you are. Just like the General himself.
False teachers can impart the wrong understanding and the wrong approach. We're told in the Bible that the Holy Spirit can be both quenched and grieved. If that happens, the results are not going to be effective in a person's life.
ReplyDeleteI've often said that if anyone actually did receive the Holy Spirit as an ACOG member or follower of HWA, it was because they accidentally stumbled upon something that the church was not teaching, and not as a result of the church itself. Having said that, Malm's followers really don't have any better chance than the Herbologists.
BB
ha...they didn't invent that! The Baptist God is just as wussy . That's why there is a different Baptist church on every corner. Pretty boy preachers from Bob Jones University who don't toe the line end up being on the list students cannot going to hear. Right across from the main entrance is a big Baptist Church of a former student that is off limits.
ReplyDeleteBob Jones Sr. chastized Billy Graham, also a former BJU student for going to the world and put him off limits.
" Although Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. had bestowed an honorary doctor of humanities degree on Graham in 1948, the decision to seek sponsorship from officials of other, non-fundamentalist religions for Graham’s New York crusade in 1957 brought him into sharp conflict with Bob Jones doctrine. Bob Jones Sr. said such outreach across denominational lines violated 2 John 9-11, which prohibits receiving in fellowship those who do “not abide in the teaching of Christ.”
"It all came to a head when the Graham organization announced they would hold their only American crusade of 1966 in Greenville. The Southern Piedmont Crusade was held from March 3 to 14, 1966 at the mammoth new Textile Hall, drawing tens of thousands of participants – but presumably not any of the 3,800 students of Bob Jones who had been publicly ordered not to attend on threat of expulsion."
George Beverley Shea was also a BJU student at one time.
"The key sentiment expressed in that 1965 chapel talk, “Dr. Graham is doing more harm in the cause of Jesus Christ than any living man,” is repeated to this day as an example of religious intolerance by Bob Jones, though the view makes a little more sense when viewed in context as a matter of doctrine – or at least it did before Bob Jones III endorsed Mitt Romney for president despite the fact he is a Mormon."
Behind the righteous indignation I am sure there is hint of jealousy by Bob Jones Sr at Graham's success and popularity. Bob Jones University today is basically a mid life crisis factory.
Let's cut to the chase here. Most churches are religious mafias. Yep, that's what I wrote and I mean it.
ReplyDeleteThe whole church world started out as a religious form of the Roman government (a political mafia if there ever was one). The Catholic Church was actually the religious department of Rome that emperor (don) Constantine set up to bring order to the hodge podge which existed previously.
Some of these mafias are looser in administration than others, but in most, you either tow the line or you get "hit." Originally, that could, and usually was, just as deadly as a mafia "contract." Now, it usually consists of disfellowshipment and shunning, or whatever term the particular group chooses.
I'm very thankful to have escaped all these faith based crime syndicates.
My God is not quenched!
ReplyDeleteMy God is not grieved!
My God is hell-bent on killing people!
Let's not forget "God cannot recreate himself...by fiat."
ReplyDeleteBut, he can do it through an oddly convoluted method of perfecting human beings by testing them first to make sure they develop holy, righteous character on their own -- ok, with his help -- so that he can, in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye..."turn them into," uh, you know, God-beings.
Huh?
Herbert Armstrong's Kingdom of God looks suspiciously like a version of an early 20th Century Corporation.
ReplyDeleteDid the CEO / President have the power over people's lives even when they weren't at work?
That is what determines how powerful the Corporate god is and what fruit he can muster in people.
And fear is what produces the "fruit".
Douglas,
ReplyDeleteYou wrote: "...And fear is what produces the "fruit"..."
That must not be that awe, respect type of fear, but perhaps something like the following?
Hebrews 2:14 "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;"
15 "And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."
Fear and death seemed to have a common denominator there: Satan, which was made without fear:
"Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear." Job 41:33
Godly fear is different from the fear that Satan fosters, but you've made an interesting point about that fear and fruit...or perhaps works exhibited in people's lives.
John