I do think that the non-ordained self-appointed prophet of the Continuing Ed Church of God needs to partake of the sacraments of this Church of God. If he did so he might loosen up that tight ass holier-than-thou attitude he has. It would also certainly liven up those incredibly BAD videos he produces.
This group is in Arizona, a state that seems to attract the crazies from the other Churches of God too. This is the wonderful state that gave sanctuary to Daryl Henson's splinter cult so they could build a commune close to the FLDS compound Colorado City.
They certainly sound more refreshing than the dead COG that prophet Thiel dreamed up.
The Peyote Way Church of God is a non-sectarian, multicultural, experiential, Peyotist organization located in southeastern Arizona, in the remote Aravaipa wilderness. It is not affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Native American Church, or any other religious organizations, though we do accept people from all faiths. Church membership is open to all races. We encourage individuals to create their own rituals as they become acquainted with the great mystery. We believe that the Holy Sacrament Peyote, when taken according to our sacramental procedure and combined with a holistic lifestyle (see Word of Wisdom), can lead an individual toward a more spiritual life.Peyote is currently listed as a controlled substance and its religious use is protected by Federal law only for Native American members of the Native American Church. Non-Indian Peyote use is protected in five states : AZ, NM, CO, NV, and OR. We do not have access to Peyote where it grows in South Texas and Mexico. As it is an endangered species, we believe an essential and inseparable part of our religious practice is the growing and stewardship of the Holy Sacrament Peyote.
Doctrines:
People often want to know what we believe, but our purpose in designing the Peyote Way Church was not to create more dogma. Our purpose was to make the Holy Sacrament Peyote available to seekers in a safe environment. So, when you ask what we believe, our answer may be a bit vague.What we believe is personal, and we are not interested in forcing our beliefs on anyone else. We also believe that the government has no place inside your conscience.
We focus more on conduct and being present. The mural on the Congregation House depicts symbols of five major religions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. Peyote is available to the communicant regardless of his/her religious preference.
I repent....sign me up!!! The Spirit Walk would be awesome. You have to realize my apt is a museum of Native American pipes, points, spears, knives, scrapers and ornaments. While Dutch and German, I have never understood why I'd be proud to have some Iroquoit or Sioux in me. Dave Pack has some Sue in him, but that's a different tribe. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI may drop these folk a email! :)
I thought magic mushrooms, not cactus (peyote) were the signature ACOG hallucinogen. After all, HWA and his lieutenants treated the members like mushrooms for years!
ReplyDeleteMaybe James Malm could take a few pointers from these guys too. James could make diamonds in his ass, it's so tight.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget to pick the fuzzy stuff out from the middle of the Peyote button before you eat it, since that part is poisonous.
ReplyDeleteAs I recall, the taste of Peyote buttons is simply the worst taste imaginable x 100, but the result was one of the most profound and enlightening experiences of my life.
Did God create the mescaline in Peyote? And if so, why?
It's strong medicine.
Maybe Rod Meredith and his council have been secretly plugging in to the Peyote COG, and not letting the rest of us in on it!...
ReplyDelete"The atmosphere of the Council is, consistently, extremely warm, loving and dedicated. Council members have commented that they can virtually “feel” the love and warmth among the members of the Council"
Joe Moeller
Cody , WY
be careful, last time I got stoned I thought I was having a heart attack, didn't make for a very pleasant time.
ReplyDeleteAnon said...
ReplyDeleteDid God create the mescaline in Peyote? And if so, why?
It's strong medicine."
We might ask the same of mosquitoes and jock itch LOL. I often wondered if prostate problems or even death was either a cruel joke by the Deity on men to shorten their lives or proof there could be no intelligent design? No rea engineer would thread a tube which must absolutely NOT stop up through a donut that for sure is going to swell up!
DMT sounds enlightening as does Ayahuasca under supervision and with the goal of seeing what evidently is there to see but not seen. I know, I know...demons. :)
Demons can only be seen with the right drug, too little you get only Angels, too much...Satan. Oh for balance! With my luck I'd probably meet Gerald Waterhous on the otherside and get a 40 hour sermon on the meaning of Ayahuasca in prophecy.
"DMT is only dangerous if you fear death by astonishment"
ReplyDeleteTerrance Mckenna
"Remember how you laughed when this possibity arose. The moment will come when it will wipe the astonishment off your face"
Terrance Mckenna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdeYJSOdDKY
Beats "Praise ye the Lordo..." and "Climbing through the windows leap..." :)
"Not one iota of what is what is put in it's place is taken from this world."
ReplyDelete"What you are looking at is the unspeakable, the indescribable, and it falls into your lap."
Interesting.
I'd like to see which is cheaper- Jesus or DMT.
BTW, when I used to buy lysergic acid diethylamide 25, it cost about 20 cents per dose.
Something tells me the cost of "Jesus and friends" has gone up a bit since then.
L. Ron Hubbard's son once wrote that his father created the pseudo-religion of Scientology after periods of acid taking during the 1950's. Whether or not his statements are factual, we know that hippie gurus in the 1960's had a tremendous influence on people's beliefs and world view, starting in the San Francisco Bay area of California. In fact, those involved in science of the mind actually practiced "acid" therapy on notable celebrities during that same era.
ReplyDeleteThe stuff always scared me half to death, probably informed by my own mind's drive for self preservation, but as a kind of spiritual accelerant it would appear to have tremendous appeal to certain individuals. As such, this PWCOG probably has greater growth potential than any of the ACOGs, especially in the one demographic in which the ACOGs seem to have a tremendous void: Those under 50.
PWCOG is located in a kind of remote area of our state, which is probably why it has never made the evening news or talk radio in the greater Phoenix area. Knowing our state, law enforcement would be all over these people if the group were well known! I'd be very interested in whether there are any Armstrongist connections. Anyone know?
BB
Also, the founding date of PWCOG is somewhat telling: 1978. If someone had become disillusioned by the fiasco of 1975, moved out to the desert, and tried to obliterate the old, you can see how such a group could easily be spawned.
ReplyDeleteBB
Jesus Was A Mushroom
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the very same thing, Byker Bob!
ReplyDeleteRichard
Byker Bob wrote: "...we know that hippie gurus in the 1960's had a tremendous influence on people's beliefs and world view, starting in the San Francisco Bay area of California."
ReplyDeleteAnd, very regrettably, some of these same people are still there! Some years ago I used to run marathons, and one year ran the San Francisco Marathon, part of which snaked through the famous Haight-Ashbury District, ground zero for such enlightened gurus. Runners saw a number of these aging guys and gals sitting there on various bus stops and street curbs, with long hair now grayed with time, peace signs tattooed on various areas of their wrinkled bodies, the few teeth they had remaining either discolored, corroded by decay or hanging by a root canal nerve, either staring into space talking of space aliens or trying to win new recruits to their successful way of life. It was really quite a scene to behold, and eloquent testimony to the utterly useless dead-end of illegal narcotic usage, peyote buttons included.
Yes, the last time I was in the Bay area, I believe, was 1991 for a US Postal Forum and technology show. There weren't many of the vestiges of Hippiedom left in the business district, and I never saw Haight-Ashbury. I did walk in the area surrounding the Old Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory, and some of us took a trolley ride just for the sake of the experience.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I did notice about the homeless, though, some looking like aged hippies. Some of them, in their panhandling activities, had written on their signs that they were suffering from AIDs, I guess to evoke a bit more public awareness or sympathy.
When the Yuppie thing happened during the mid-80's, some folks said that the Yuppies were old hippies who had come to their senses, and sold out. Others pointed to the permanent welfare recipients and claimed that that was where the hippies had gone. Reality, I suppose, is that there were a wide variety of "second" lives for them, although we also know that there were people who suffered permanent mental damage as a result of using too many street pharmaceuticals.
BB
"utterly useless dead-end of illegal narcotic usage..."
ReplyDeleteWhat is that, a line from "Hippies, Hypocrisy and Happiness?"
Let's discuss it over drinks, in keeping with COG tradition.
psilocybin mushrooms are better and safer especially if you have addiction issues...
ReplyDeleteanother seekeroftruth
some interesting info:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/psilocybin/psilocybinh.htm
Yeah, I suspect one's genetic makeup, as well as psychological composition plays a huge part in how someone eventually deals with years of heavy alcohol and/or drug abuse. Some folks just go down hill very quickly, while others somehow survive through it and escape out the other side to go on to live relatively normal lives. But from what I understand, even in the best of cases such abuse does cause underlying chemical imbalances in the physical brain, which typically have serious implications somewhere down the line in later life.
ReplyDeleteI certainly am not the most enlightened person around, but my view has always been that the human mind is your most important tool of survival, and taking anything that directly tampers with it's clarity, effectiveness and full functioning is never a wise thing to do.
From a historical perspective, cultures given to widespread indulgence of hallucinogenic compounds don't seem to fare very well. And in modern times, look what it's doing to America. I live in Colorado, where last November voters made what in my view was an extremely foolish decision to legalize the use of pot for "recreational" purposes. I can't help but perceiving that this will, in the long run, eventually cause far more societal problems than it promises to solve. The record of human history just speaks too loudly to this issue.
Assistant Deacon wrote: "utterly useless dead-end of illegal narcotic usage...What is that, a line from "Hippies, Hypocrisy and Happiness?"
ReplyDeleteNo, as I never read that particular booklet. It's just based my own personal observation after watching drugs/alcohol destroy many of my friend's lives. I went to high school in the early '70's, and noted that kids widely known for doing the drug thing always seemed to have an empty, glassy stare to their bloodshot eyes, along with completely purposeless lives. They never seemed to get excited about anything - except their next high.
Plus, as I mentioned above, the larger record of history is fairly clear on this account.
But having said all that, I sincerely do sympathize and truly can understand WHY people get sucked in this kind of reality-escaping lifestyle - there's just so many things in this society to be negative about, so many personal issues that seem unresolvable, and these things appear to be surpassing the positive elements at an ever-quickening pace.
In light of such dark realities, I understand why folks get sucked into the vortex of both the world of fundamentalist religion as well as the mind-altering drug counterculture. Though sadly, it's often too late for many before BOTH such "solutions" prove themselves to be the phony shams they actually are.
As I've argued at greater length at other times on other forums, religion and drugs share far more similarities with each other than differences, as both are very serious, deadly, reality-distorting forms of addiction.
" I'd be very interested in whether there are any Armstrongist connections. Anyone know?"
ReplyDeleteNo, there are no connections. This is a new age cult type deal.
Really reaching for material, aren't you, Gary?
"I certainly am not the most enlightened person around, but my view has always been that the human mind is your most important tool of survival, and taking anything that directly tampers with it's clarity, effectiveness and full functioning is never a wise thing to do."
ReplyDeleteI agree with Leo. Though I will say, I never saw down-and-out alcoholism in the Church, for all that that is a common criticism levelled at us. The only heavy drinker I knew was my father, and he never got plastered at Church functions. Worldly family parties, that was another thing altogether....Gotta say, even though there's alcohol around at the Feast, in two years of attending one of the UK Feast sites, I only encountered one person who was hung over (by their admission - the person wasn't drunk at the time) and one who was clearly the worse for the wear...and boy did he get the stinkeye from the Festival Coordinator's wife for it!
I was asked if it seemed to me people drank as much at the Feast as they used to, but the UK Feast sites are set up much differently than the North American ones, instead of hotels, we all stay in housekeeping units on a self-contained site. So, I didn't see the usual bathtub-full-of-booze shenanigans like we used to do in the hotel rooms. (Note, I don't drink, and never have, so take this for what it's worth.)
People at the Feast site I attend now tend to have a glass of wine with meals (everything is on site so there is no drinking and driving), or a sociable drink when playing cards or visiting, but never to the point of getting plastered or anything.
Which is exactly how Church members used to get on when I was growing up.
Velvet, perhaps you didn't personally see much misuse of alcohol in the WCG, but it was very obvious that alcoholism - along with serious marriage problems - was a very widespread issue in the Church, perhaps even the number one issue ministers often had to deal with. I've heard ministers say that publicly in sermons. I don't think it was as much during public WCG social functions, but more an issue in member's private lives. Alcoholism has ruined MANY lives within the context of the old WCG. Dale Hampton could tell you this, because he was an alcoholic when he was a minister. He would openly talk about being totally plastered and driving to anoint some sick member.
ReplyDeleteAnd during my years in the WCG - many at HQ in Pasadena - I personally witnessed some terrible things when members were under the influence. Marriages ruined, individual lives ruined. Children's lives thrown into a frightful uproar.
Absolutely dreadful.
"I certainly am not the most enlightened person around,..."
ReplyDeleteSo why are you such a pompous smart-ass?
"Velvet, perhaps you didn't personally see much misuse of alcohol in the WCG,"
ReplyDeleteNo, I didn't, and I don't recall there ever having to be long, drawn-out sermons about it, either. This was true for both the Victoria congregation I grew up in (population ca, 300) and the Toronto East congregation I was born in (population ca. 1200).
People drank, but the only person I EVER saw drink to excess was my father, and he NEVER did so around Church members, nor at the Feast. Also note, my father was not an alcoholic; he was actually easier to handle when he had a few drinks in him, because the booze tended to take that cunning, manipulative edge off. Which is why he always wanted to stay sharp around Church members, I guess.
Also, Anonymous @ 7:52pm, I really am sorry you witnessed/had to go through those things. They are truly terrible, and never should have happened! I certainly never saw anything like you describe, but I don't doubt that you are telling the truth. I am sorry.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 10:18, just wondering if you could clarify what exactly your definition of a "pompous smart-ass" is in this particular context. What precisely have I said to warrant such a label?
ReplyDeleteI mean, really, any jerk can hurl around meaningless accusations, which amount to juvenile babel such as could be heard on an elementary school playground.
But how does that low-level of communication profit anyone? - either you, or me, or others reading such a silly and intellectually empty post?
In stark contrast to the virtual world of texting and tweeting, which obviously you must be a champ in, in the real world you'll find you need to actual defend your assertions with a little more clarity than just one simple accusatory sentence.
No wonder American business is having to spend 8 BILLION dollars a year teaching their college grad new-hires remedial English, so they can learn how to write an intelligible sentence, or paragraph, or post, or email that actually carries MEANING to readers!