Here's a little blurb from Yahoo showing how myths and legends influence the minds of COG members. In Armstrongism demons seem to be found in everything. Members seem to live in constant fear of Satan and his demons. Since
A writer on Yahoo shared this story about GTA in New Zealand and the a gift he received from the Maori. Of course this member believes that the club contains a demon in the club which helped lead to the downfall of GTA. It apparently caused him to fornicate with numerous women, so much so, that HWA had to kick him out of the church.
The article start out being appalled by NZ's new gay marriage stance then quickly leads to this:
Along this line of anti Christianity. NZ has a compulsory State anti Christianity religion for all Government departments, including schools. One Church of God person has told me how she was denied a Teachers licence, because she would not teach The NZ Government religion.This is to do with the peace treaty the British Government signed with the Maori Chiefs back in the 1800’s. The Maori religion has spirit gods and spirit practices. Very offensive and contrary to True Christianity.These spirits are very powerful, they manifest themselves...... Once in an unwise move, the WCG NZ, gave GTA (on a visit to NZ) a Greenstone club with a Maori spirit in it . (given to the Chiefs son to kill the Father) The WCG Maori people were horrified when this club was given to GTA. (they pointed out what happened straight after this was given.)These are very powerful spirits. If anyone has Maori carvings or objects, I recommend they be destroyed, to remove any spirit. (demons or the Devil himself) Also get a True Minister to expel any Demons from your dwelling.I am not joking around.
I can attest to the fixation on demons. However, to think that GTA's fornicating around began after a visit to New Zealand is ridiculous. He was screwing around from an early age and all the time he was in the Navy and Shirley was pregnant when they got married.
ReplyDeleteTheir fetish with things Satanic and their complete lack if understanding of the forgiveness of our sins by what Jesus did for the whole world, not just any specific COG, is yet more evidence they may be synagogues of Satan.
ReplyDeleteEverything I said in the previous post about the similarities between Armstrong fundamentalism and paganism applies to this post as well. The pagan religions and fundamentalism both operate in the same imaginary spiritual realm, so in the mind of the fundamentalist, the pagan spirits, talismans, greenstone clubs, etc. have just as much power over you as the pagan Maori believe they have. Paganism and fundamentalism are just two different versions of exactly the same thing.
ReplyDeleteAnother factor in why Armstrong cult organizations can't get along with each other, take juvenile potshots at each other, and will certainly never reunite into a single organization (led by Dave Pack or anyone else). Since each splinter becomes to its members the one and only "crucial" focal point from which the deity can be appeased, all other organizations, sects, religions, even the other Armstrong cults, are therefore ALL "false religion" and are ALL perceived as being approximately as "offensive and contrary" as, for example, the pagan Maori religion. So, for UCG and COGWA, even though they used to be one organization just a couple of years ago, for COGWA members, UCG is now about on a par with Maori relgion, and for UCG members, COGWA members might as well be pagans too. They used to be "brethren" but almost overnight they become an anathema to each other. Silly.
There's a demon lurking in my home. I'm haunted by the ghost of Herbert Armstrongism. I wish getting rid of it was as easy as destroying some symbolic object like Aladdin's lamp. Maybe if I got rid of my bibles that would help? Probably not.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get rid of my Bible, but I basically ignore it about 99% of the time. Only use it to look up some silly thing or another.
ReplyDeleteI remember when I was at AC hearing a story that GTA claimed he could sometimes look at a person and see whether he was demon possessed. We had to apply photos to our application forms for AC, and it was said that GTA looked at the photo of one applicant and said not to admit him because he was demon possessed. Scary....
ReplyDeleteERMAHGERD! Thurs er dermern lurkerng ern mah herm! Querk, derstrery ert! Er erm nert jerking erernd!
ReplyDeleteIf you ever want to get out of jury duty, just pull a GTA. Tell 'em you love jury duty because you can spot guilty people a mile away. Both prosecution and defense won't be able to get rid of you fast enough.
Anonymous 11:03 -- LOL! LOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteRe GTA & the "cursed club" I think it's a superficial faith that believes you can excuse bad behavior by blaming it on inanimate objects.
I remember the story by Dennis Luker about the time he had a (former?) AC Student who supposedly had a demon, stay with him and he woke up in the middle of the night with her standing over him in bed and saying "Oh, Mister Luker". When I heard it in church when he told it, I wondered why he just didn't cast the demon out. He also mentioned going into a mental hospital and hearing people say, "It's Mr. Luker!" (he, of course, attributed it to demons -- of the which he had a few himself, but not THAT kind).
ReplyDeleteIn the 1970s there was an element in the church which believed their pets were possessed by demons, which prompted me to put up a web page about pet exorcism.
These people are to be mocked.
Of course, if real demons were ever to show up in the ACoGs, no would have the faith to cast them out in the name of Jesus. Actually, a lot of people think the demons already run the ACoGs, so discussing casting them out on an individual basis is pretty silly, don't you think?
And if GTA were possessed by a demon, why didn't Herbie cast it out? Oh, right. Forgot.
So, Herbert Armstrong had a silver stand with the Zodiac on it.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't that have demons in it?
At minimum, it would be a cursed object, probably from Lewis Vendredi, and Ryan needs to put it in the safe.
Growing up, I used to hear ministers tell stories of going into prisons to visit this person or that person, and the story would invariably revolve around one unidentified inmate or another who would unceremoniously announce, "Those are the servants of GOD!" And it was always implied that the person who said it was "demon possessed" and came by such information through supernatural means. I've always kind of wondered about those stories, never having witnessed that myself. I mean, nobody every pointed to me and said anything like that (thankfully). Probably what was actually said was closer to, "Lookit! There's some f@ckin' holy men!" The guys who said it probably weren't "possessed", merely observant enough to notice the conspicuously enormous bibles they were carrying. However, if you massage the wording, you can spin it as a story about how, out of the blue came confirmation from the supernatural realm of our faith, and that we really are "special" people, and that as a minister, I ought to be perceived as having been supernaturally credentialed. Actually, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if a ministerial handbook or memo were to come to light advising other ministers to concoct such stories with which to impress and inspire their congregations. I remember being impressed as a kid. When I got older, I was quite a bit more skeptical when people would tell such stories. Anyway, I bet if you tell a story like that the week before a holy day, the offering would be noticeably larger. And if people are duly "inspired" like that on a semi-regular basis, it probably suppresses a whole host of congregational management problems because as a minister you can make yourself out to be extremely authoritative. Dave Pack could benefit from making greater use of such carnival tricks.
ReplyDeleteDr. Hoeh used to collect all sorts of things from his many travels to Africa and Asia. He would have a sort of one-week-at-a-time revolving exhibits in his office in the Office Facilities Building. He was a bona fide packrat and the Sunland home had become nothing more than a storage facility to all manner of scavenged artifacts and trinkets from his travels. I remember at one point he had a good-sized carved mahogany elephant on display in his office, obviously from Asia, which was actually a mini-bar, though he wasn't using it as such (it was just one of his many curiosities). Eventually they had moved into a second home off of Commerce Ave. because the first house was too full. Why weren't people concerned that Dr. Hoeh's homes weren't filled to the brim FULL of literally thousands of "demon-possessed" objects? Why weren't people concerned that he was bringing "demon possessed" objects into the sacred Office Facilities Building of god? Obviously, it's because if you're an "evangelist-rank minister" then you have the discernment (I guess) to avoid all the "possessed" trinkets, and just buy the "non-possessed" ones, right? Well, whatever. You only get accused of things like this if you're a schmuck. Obviously, the folks in NZ who gave GTA this little trinket were peons and schmucks, subject to such criticisms. If the same item had been acquired and presented by an "evangelist-rank minister" then we would not have this little anecdote, because it would have been a story worth telling in the first place.
Nah it had nothing to do with a demon-possessed phallic club that GTA was smashing every sugar wall he could...it was cause of his own "club" being possessed and raised by the spirits...
ReplyDeleteThe writer mentions "The NZ Government religion."
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of wackos are writing this?
The same kind of history-revisionist wackos who claim that the United States was established Christian?
New Zealand has no government-endorsed religion, either. Period.
I'd put more stock in some theory that the "armstrong boys" have bad genes that made them lose their "moral compass" when it comes to sexual and other significant matters
Revelation seems to indicate that the demons are chained in Tartaru, and will be released on an unsuspecting earth at some time as yet in the future. The threat of demons was just another control tactic of WCG/HWA. Jesus conquered Satan, and believers arguably have the best insurance policy against evil principalities.
ReplyDeleteBut, I realize once again, that we are talking about a faithless cult which imagines daily jeopardy from a variety of sources, and constantly worries about losing their salvation. Says a lot about their concept of God's power, doesn't it?
BB
"Revelation seems to indicate that the demons are chained in Tartaru, and will be released on an unsuspecting earth at some time as yet in the future."
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting, and is reminiscent of the teachings of the science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard.
According to Scientology's teachings, the evil alien galactic ruler Xenu had a huge battle with the Forces of Good, and long story short, Xenu is now safely locked away in a cave located in the Pyrenees Mountains.
Both stories remind me of a sleazy sales pitch...
The "mark" is first told that there's an enormously EVIL and primary enemy. That's REALLY BAD news!
Then the mark is given better news- that the enormously EVIL and primary enemy (Satan or Xenu) is locked away and cannot harm them.
Then the mark is given "somewhat bad" news- that there's a present problem of 'lesser' evil beings (demons or Body Thetans) wreaking havoc on one's spiritual life.
Then the mark is given the Good News- that one can can be SAVED (Jesus or Scientology) and receive protection from these forces of evil.
I have no doubt that whether one is a Scientologist or a Christian, that there's great comfort and placebo effect in the belief that they are saved and receiving protection.
And each has plenty of stories of "miracles" to share in support of such beliefs.
You too can be "saved"! (For a small fee...)
ReplyDelete