If We Are Following the
Churches of God, We Are Still Stuck in Them
Our lives go where our energy flows. Seems simple enough and self
evident. If we ask the average person who used to be a member of any of
the myriad Churches of God when they left it, it's easy to get an answer of
"in the 70's," "In the 80's," "in the
90's," or "not soon enough..."
Really? It has taken some time to understand that while I
left in the late '90's, I am still stuck in them...all of them
it seems sometimes. Like a lost love, I find myself thinking of it
every day. I write it letters to see if something can't be fixed. I
get irritated when they don't answer and keep on doing the very things that
caused me to "leave." Worse I suppose is having them
remind me of why they left me!
I watch and monitor their crazy new relationships. Shake my head
at their lofty ideals and goals while ever holding the carrot of Christ's
return just ahead of their member noses. A antics of a couple of the COG
restored, living and packaged editions in particular still fascinate me.
I listen to them explain themselves and repeat the same time proven
ways of getting the brain dead to respond with support for themselves.
And the brain dead seem to multiply faster than those who
have awakened to the changes needed to get on with life. Not all
who leave a COG actually leave it. It has had a powerful mind altering
effect on most. Let's face it...it was a program. I got programmed
like anyone else, and I allowed it and wanted to be, and then I became a
programmer until I woke up and realized this simply does not work as advertised
and every quiet fear of what probably would happen if they didn't get their act
together in the last days of HWA, did happen.
It struck me how inane the constant monitoring of the COGs really is
when I realized that the Great and Almighty Apostle David C Pack has about 1000
people in his whole church worldwide... Really? More people
than that stop for coffee every morning at Starbucks around
here
This stupendous and thunderous copycat has 1000 followers and spends
millions getting them? If the number is accurate then we know it didn't
come from DCP. In his mind, practically the whole world knows who he
is. If it is accurate, then it will be interesting to see how a whole new
Theological Industrial Complex can be founded on the contributions of so
few. If DCP gave the number then we can assume it is probably half that
as DCP always embellishes and blows up the numbers because "I'm not about
numbers..." Really? Of course it is all about
the numbers. That's what Gospel Spinners are told to do. Get those
numbers.
But I digress....
I can only speak for myself (well I could speak for you too, but
you'd just get pissed.) I want out of the Church of God,
body, mind and spirit. The body got out, but it is obvious to me, the
mind and spirit never has to date. Of all the things I've ever lost, I
miss my mind the most...as they say.
In my world today, love is really all there is when we understand
it. Everything else, all the COG hype and views are an illusion.
The answer, for me, is not to find a better illusion but to simply sit down
before the facts as a little child, as someone once said, and let the facts
take one where they go. The COGs are not big on facts. Fantasy and
illusions sound better, are much more encouraging in the short term and can
generate a lot of income if done well. Sorry Ron, you didn't do it so
well and it caught up with you. However and for now, he still seems to
have the attention of some few more brain dead than ever until he doesn't.
In the bigger picture, the Bible spins a tale, or many tales that
actually don't meld together well. It presents it's own illusions and
buying into them and refusing to see all is not as presented is easy. It
is much easier to be en-couraged by Lions and Lambs than doing the hard science
needed to understand what is probably more real and more true about it
all. After all, the bottom line fear we treat with a good dose of
religion, true or false, is our ingrained fear of death and what comes next if
anything.
Perfect love doesn't cast out hate. Hate is not the opposite of
love. Fear is the opposite of love and fear drives us more easily than
love for the most part. I'd like love to cast out my own fears. I
have too many of them and they rise up far too often and run the show until
they dissipate. So, I believe that love really is all there really
is and all else in an illusion. Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real,
but it can appear very real if we are not careful.
So I left the COG in the 90's. But it is obvious to me I
have not left it. I'm working on it and probably only stay in the hope
that some few might benefit from hearing about the process. Thinking you
are the only one in the world having faced this kind of experience is, of
course, not true and needs not be made larger than it deserves.
If all else fails, I would appreciate it if some WCG/COG minister would
just write and tell me I have been finally dis-membered and while they wish me
no harm are sorry that they had to take such action and we can skip the part
about doing it in the hope it will lead to repentance.
I once had a minister buddy send in a disfellowship card on a G.
Shephard. Seems the dog had bit him pretty good and this was his
revenge.
I'll end with Buddhist story that has an obvious point.. I
guess one was a real monk and the other was just a monk-ey... :)
Zen Buddhist story
Two monks, going to a
neighbouring monastery, walked side by side in silence. They arrived at a river
they had to cross.
That season, waters were higher than usual.
On the bank, a
young woman was hesitating and asked the younger
of the two monks for help.
He
exclaimed, 'Don't you see that I am a monk, that I took a vow of chastity?'
'I require nothing from
you that could impede your vow, but simply to help me to cross the river,'
replied the young woman with a little smile.
'I...not...I can...do
nothing for you,' said the embarrassed young monk.
'It doesn't matter,' said
the elderly monk.
'Climb on my back and we will cross together.'
Having reached the other
bank, the old monk put down the young woman who, in return, thanked him with a
broad smile.
She left thier side and both monks continued their route in silence.
Close to the monastery, the young monk could not stand it anymore and said,
'You shouldn't have carried that person on your back. It's against our rules.'
'This young woman needed
help and I put her down on the other bank. You didn't carry her at all, but she
is still on your back,' replied the older monk."
"She's still on your
back..." I get it now.....