Now there is a phrase
I'd like to see the average Church of God member adopt ASAP and understand what
topics it might apply to as they allow themselves to be ruled over by the
ministerial elite, such as a self appointed Apostle, Prophet or That
Prophet . I know the average COG member thinks that they have
to answer every question and inquiry a minister can come up with, but this is
not actually so.
"Why weren't you at Church this Sabbath?"
None of your business
"Where were you for Bible Study?"
None of your business
"I have checked your tithing and you aren't up to date."
That's really none of your business
"Do you have a blog site?
None of your business
"Are you reading blogs about the Church?'
None of your business
(My favorite)
"Do you know Dennis Diehl?"
None of your business
"Do you believe this is God's Church and I am it's
leader?"
Ummm..none of your business
"Why weren't you at Spokesman Club, Church outing, family
night, movie night, district weekend, join the team, support the change drive
or contribute to the Steuben fund?
None of your business
"What did you say to Mr We Don't Like Him?
None of your business
"Have you been talking to Mr. or Mrs. Marked for Life?"
None of your business
"What is your annual income?"
None of your business
"Does your wife work and what is her income?"
None of your business
"Is this your comment on BannedbyHWA??"
UMMM....NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS
"How much 2nd Tithe do you have?"
None of your business
"Shouldn't you be third tithing by now?"
None of our business
"Where are you going for the Feast?"
None of your business
HERE ARE SOME EVEN BETTER ANSWERS IT WOULD BE REFRESHING TO SEE COG
MEMBERS PRACTICE MORE.
"Do you agree I am Joshua the predicted High Priest of
Haggai?"
Not really...No. You can be if you want.
"You are not to talk with or see your unconverted
family."
No. I'll talk with and see whomever I please.
"I marked that person. They are enemies of the Church."
No, that's my mom and I love her
"Do you understand I am 'That Prophet?"
I believe you believe that but , no I don't personally
"If I get off into strange and unusual ideas or go weird on
the church and make the Bible start meaning things it never meant or see myself
spoken of by the prophets,
will you call me on it?"
Yes and I am......
"Because you know that when that happens I won't want you to
remember I said this.
I'll say this does not apply.
No, no, no, no...this
is different.
Will you call me on it?"
Yes I will
"But I said 'I'm not going anywhere Brethren' so do you trust
me not to?"
Oh no sir. I trust no man and the older I get the less I would
and do.
Let me ask you. If I call you on going weird and strange and
trying to get me to forget you said to be looking out for that in you, will you
listen?"
"NO..I won't have to because I said I am not going anywhere
and that should be good enough for you. Do you think I would get weird or
strange ideas about myself like seeing myself spoken of by the prophets?"
Yes sir you have and you have already gone somewhere and I'm not
going.
"Do you read Banned HWA?"
Yes and time will tell if Haggai was really all about you, which it
is not.
"Hey, I'm not done with you. Where are you going?"
None of your business
Back in 1974 at the F/T, GTA gave a sermon in which he advocated pretty much the same concept. Only, he used the phrase "That's a personal matter!"
ReplyDeleteSuper Deac, "Ghastly, you need a haircut! do you have any idea how long your sideburns are?"
Member: "I'm sorry, sir, but that's a personal matter!"
Good concept, but I am sure it was totally overturned by his father shortly after he sacked him. You just weren't converted unless you became a yellow pencil.
BB
Another useful phrase that can save you heaps of time, aggravation, and trouble:
ReplyDelete"That's not my job."
In all walks of life, not just church ones, people will ask you to get yourself into all kinds of trouble with little or no upside for you. They'll have no appreciation for your time, effort, and skills, and because it means nothing to them, they'll often be content to throw away what you've worked hard to achieve without even hesitating. I've learned this the hard way.
Brilliant! Love it D!
ReplyDeleteIf only the sheeple would learn those traits to make them as cunning as serpents and yet remain guitless as doves.
Unfortunately they remain so naive and lack worldly wisdom to become prey for those pretenders and baiters who take advantage of them and abuse them ruining their lives, careers, families and potential for ever.
Whenever my dad wanted to say it was none of your business, he'd say, "I'll take that under advisement," which meant 'no' lol
ReplyDeleteNever... EVER... answer questions about your sex life with a minister.
ReplyDeleteI have been amazed what people have told me in regards to this over the years. Young couples being counseled for marriage being asked questions about "how far they have gone" etc.
Mrs Moeller and I endured this kind of crap when we went thru premarital counseling before marriage. Other people I know went thru divorces from cheating spouses had to answer weird questions about their sex lives in order to have "approval" from Pasadena to be able to remarry as well.
IMHO, questions like these are coming from a pervert with beat off prurient interests.
Joe Moeller
Cody, WY
If church is bad for you, can it still be considered a church?
ReplyDeleteanother seekeroftruth
GTA also was against petra, church eras, and ministers living off the flock. Yes, I know he was a hypocrite
ReplyDeletebut he had some more common sense than his father.
another seekeroftruth
Joe, I agree about the questions about sex. Those ministers sure were curious about ones sexual experiences including from way in the past. I heard stories from women who were asked for
ReplyDeletedetails of their sexual experience, including many AC students going for counseling. Then there was the minister who was known for spanking (paddling) teenaged girls at SEP for the most minor of infractions. Since when has it been ok for a grown man to paddle a 16 year old girl for going to look for a lost sock in the lost and found. This was in Britain, not U.S. That particular minister is still admired and he had a wife and children at this time. How did they get away with it? Was it because many of us as young people were so innocent and trusting that we didn't even know that this is weird and kinky.
And when you mess with
ReplyDeleteone part of a person’s life,
you’re not messing with just
that part ~
You’re messing with their entire life..
I view the word "church" to be a very deceptive and malignant word. So, I suppose it depends on your view of what the word means...
ReplyDeleteGTA also was against petra, church eras, and ministers living off the flock. Yes, I know he was a hypocrite
ReplyDeletebut he had some more common sense than his father.
MY COMMENT: Not the son of a bitch I knew. Is that why he was paid so much, and lived a wealthy life? I'll never believe he had more of any kind of sense. He was a con man, a chip off the old block, and thought he was king of the walk!
When is it ethical to lie when such questions are asked? Jews have taught that you can lie if the person who is asking the question is going to use your information for evil or if it is a personal matter that others have no right to know. For instance, if a Nazi soldiers asks, "Are you hiding Jews in your basement?" or a minister asks, "Do you have oral sex with your spouse?" (In the last example you can slug the pervert, also.
ReplyDeleteGTA was more liberal in some church doctrines after he set up CGI. I was ignorant of his past back then(late 80's and early 90's). He even taught that the CGI was only but a small part of the 'true' church of god. Then again, maybe Ronald Dart had more to do with those changes.
ReplyDeleteI've caught a lot of flack for stating this in the past, but there were a lot of things that I really liked about GTA. I just wish he had pursued a different career path rather than persisting in Armstrongism. He would have done well as a newscaster, actor, pilot, or musician. Even if he had succeeded his father, though,I would have to have left the group. The failure of 1975, and them lying about it and saying "Brethren, we never set dates" when I and my classmates had set in Bible class at AC being taught three very specific math equations "proving" that Jesus would return in 1975 was just too much. That is something that's been lost to history, though. It's been so whitewashed by this point that I doubt that anyone in the splinters is even aware of the equations.
ReplyDeleteBB
I agree BB. Ted was very likeable and stuck in a place that he did not fit. I think he felt the pressure of filling his brother Richard's shoes after he was killed. He could have done anything he wanted and done well. He could have replaced Paul Harvey or given him a good run for his money.
ReplyDeleteI liked Ted. He didn't like me but he never sat down with me either. Televangelists were at their best in his years. It's been all downhill since and the public has access to better information and aren't as easily led. Something Dave Pack is going to learn.
If you or anybody can remember the equations, please share. 'Spiritual' math can be amusing. Who knows what might come out of the woodwork.
ReplyDeleteSpiritual math didn't work out too well for Harold Camping either.
ReplyDeleteYes, Ted was a likeable guy. He got sucked into a calling he never should have been in. He belonged in company like Dean Martin and the rest of the "rat pack." His singing voice was second to none and he exuded stage presence you have to be born with to have. In show biz he could have prospered and enjoyed serial wives and affairs with no real downside and he wouldn't have had to put up with all those guilt feelings I'm sure he suffered from.
ReplyDeleteThe three equations were as follows:
ReplyDelete1) HWA said that, as with Paul, God was giving him two 19 year time cycles to do "the work". As the rhyme of that day went, this meant that we would be "through in '72"' and Jesus would return in 1975.
2) Doc Hoeh, or some other WCG intellectual had added up all of the years involved in the OT genealogies back to the time of Adam and Eve. When added to 1975, the total would be the magic number 6,000. HWA taught an extrabiblical theory that God had a 7,000 year plan consisting of 6,000 years for man, and 1,000 years for God. I've since learned that according to the best Jewish scholars, Dr. Hoeh's calculations were off by over 200 years.
3) The third equation was more complicated. The finer details have faded from memory with time, but the calculations involved the "time of the Gentiles"' and once again pointed to 1972 or 1975.
Glenn has commented in the past that he also recalls being taught these same equations (he would have been sitting in the same class the same day as I learned them) and my younger brother remembers being taught them at AC in Texas. There is no doubt that they were part of the official curriculum.
Hope that helps!
BB