The most dysfunctional people in any organization, and this
includes those in the Churches of God, are not necessarily outwardly evil, or
criminal. People like Dave Pack or
Gerald Flurry and a whole host of minor COG sociopaths who rule with one man,
unaccountable authority, indeed are evil and are sociopaths. However, these men would be impotent
without the help of the most dangerous people alive. This person, for the sake
of this article, will be called “The Trooper”. Without Troopers , sociopaths would be powerless and without
arms and legs.
Troopers
are the kind of person killed all
the Jews who died during the holocaust. He was the one who killed all the
innocent civilians on both sides of World War II and all other wars. He dropped
The Bomb on Hiroshima and he flew aircraft into the World Trade Centers.
Troopers never question, they simply follow orders.
The
Trooper will kill. The Trooper is not necessarily strong or intelligent,
although he can be both. The Trooper has no conscience, or if he does have one,
he does not use it. The Trooper simply just believes. He believes unconditionally. Facts that contradict The Trooper’s
beliefs are considered false by definition. The Trooper has a weakness for
sociopathic monsters. The Trooper follows orders and has never heard an order
he will not try to obey. The Trooper dominates, and uses force to ensure that
others cannot do as they please. The Trooper believes what he does to be
glorious and is the utmost in respectable duty.
The
Trooper is self-replicating. His actions lead to the creation of other
Troopers. He is particularly bolstered by unconditional praise and small tokens
of gratitude from the sociopath, often a person who do not know him or anything
specifically he has done.
To be
successful in stopping Troopers, it is important to know what things can cause
a normal person to become a Trooper. Sociopathic monsters, like a Flury or Pack,
who are found in their lofty spiritual positions, need Troopers to be their henchmen. For this
reason, they use the resources of control, guilt, extortion and falsely self-
attributed Godly authority, to
attempt to turn normal people into Troopers. Their propaganda makes becoming a
Trooper sound righteous, adventurous and glorious. The false religious leader
will claim to provide valuable training and teaching to normal people that
become Troopers, and also claim that becoming a Trooper will give one
discipline and direction, and most importantly, glory and love from God.
A person
who is looking for specialness from God, relief from guilt, glory or adventure
is at risk of becoming a Trooper. If someone you know is looking at, or
considering ANY church that is ran by an unaccountable, unelected leader, talk
to them. Let them know that it is not glorious to be a henchman for a
sociopathic monster.
If your
loved one needs discipline or direction, show them how to polish their
shoes.
Have them do some pushups. Have them sleep on a cot. Show them that one
does not
have to join a cult to love God and to do his will and study his word.
God can love them without the sociopathic intermediary. Your
loved one might be looking for camaraderie. Don’t be afraid to show them
the
love you have for them. Do things together. Demonstrate how fulfilling
it is to
spend time with one’s family and friends. Remind them that you love them
and
want them to remain close to you and safe, and not in some cult becoming
human
fuel for a mad man.
Talk to
your loved one about self-respect and self-reliance and that one can
have a
personal relationship with his Savior without the intermediation of a
man or a
cult. Assure them that as friends or family you will stick together and
ensure
each other’s spiritual well-being. Explain to them that someone with
their motivation and the willingness to sacrifice that they have can
find a way to
provide service to God, others, themselves and their family, and that
they
won’t have to sacrifice their self-respect and self image to a sociopath
to do
it.
The
task is not easy, but working
together, with love and perseverance we can prevail. Sociopathic church
monsters
will still exist, but they will be impotent and easily managed , once
the
liberty of Christ Jesus is understood, and that all can come to the
throne of God, and can be reconciled to him, without need of any human
being.
The veil has indeed been ripped. The sociopath wants to deny its importance as it is the secret to destroying him. Remember this always in faith.
The veil has indeed been ripped. The sociopath wants to deny its importance as it is the secret to destroying him. Remember this always in faith.
Joe Moeller
Cody, WY
Cody, WY
11 comments:
This coming from a UCG trooper who seemingly does not know he is a trooper.
If you think that UCG's "elections" are fair and democratic, then how come only ministers get a vote? If UCG's cabal of sociopaths are fairly elected, then how come power is concentrated among only a few men who are constantly reelected or recycled through different positions of "authority." UCG is run by an oligarchy of unaccountable sociopaths, rather than a single one. Same difference!
Joe, I am here to talk to you and let you know it is not glorious to be a henchman for a cabal of sociopathic monsters! Do some situps, polish your shoes, and then sleep on a cot. You don't have to be human fuel for these madmen. You can escape UCG!
Good points, Joe. I find it especially fascinating that the veil was torn from the top down! Our aspiring gatekeepers would do well to ponder that one.
These "troopers" you mention remind me at least of the name of an old TV program, "The Rat Patrol", except that those guys were the good guys, on our side.
Several years ago, on another forum, we had a discussion on how, as wcg members, we had mentally pictured God. Several shared that they pictured Him as a kind of glorified version of HWA. And, most of us didn't really see that as shocking, although in retrospect, it does seem patently idolatrous.
Having one's own personal relationship with God is the only way in which one can avoid allowing a human to usurp the duties and prerogatives of the Holy Spirit. Cuts through all of the nonsense we see playing out around us.
BB
This reminds me of these words of Roderick C. Meredith, in the May 21, 1979 Pastor's Report (pp. 1-2), in which he orders WCG ministers to disregard any feelings of humanity they may have for their flock and simply disfellowship anyone who attended Garner Ted Armstrong's meetings.
What I find really horrifying about this is that these words show that Meredith knows that some WCG ministers were reluctant to impose this draconian order but he is trying to get them to ignore these human feelings, to crush their own humanity, so that this cruel order can be enforced.
"Mr. Armstrong has reminded us again that we are to disfellowship any members who attend [Garner Ted Armstrong's] campaigns, church services or other meetings. Some of our weaker members apparently do not realize that this man is in direct rebellion against God and His government! We must not allow them, or ourselves, to rationalize about this matter, to try to "help the underdog," or in any other way lend support to one whose gross immorality, whose long standing "play acting" and hypocrisy, and whose direct insubordination to the Government of God has long been and is now a source of confusion and DIVISION among God's people. So, as per Mr. Armstrong's instruction, I charge and exhort every one of you faithful ministers of the living Christ to explain this in no uncertain terms to your members, to warn them about this cause of division and then to disfellowship any who consort with GTA or any of his fellows."
I wonder how many WCG ministers lived to regret following this most wicked and disgusting order.
Meredith tried to make this horrendous purge seem glorious and necessary. He is trying to make them lose any sense of responsibility towards those WCG members and shun them.
What a cruel and disgusting man that Meredith is.
Anon above:
UCG has local congregational governing councils that are elected by the local congregation, ordained or not. Local congregations have the ability to collect money locally, and have this money allocated by their local elected council. Women can and do serve on these councils as well.
The National Council is restricted by by-laws and cannot just do "what it wants". This limits sociopathy. To enact doctrinal changes it requires 75% vote of the more than 300 elders around the world.
Of the current council of Bradford, Anastasi, McNeely, Ward, Seiglie, Mickelson, Salomaa, Webber, Sexton, Corbett, Ashley, and Kubik as President,...only Kubik and Ward have been on longer than 8 years. Ashley, Corbett, Sexton and Salomaa, are new within the last couple of years. So there has been a lot of dynamic turnover in the leadership.
UCG, as a rule , is not meddling in personal lives, and is not making ridiculous proclamations or demands on its people. Sherrifing , mind control tactics, and other sociopathic behavior is rare, and deviant to policy if occurring. There are mechanisms for redress and hearing.
UCG is virtually unique in the COG universe, outside of the COG 7th day, in not claiming to be the "one and only true church" and in not claiming any supernatural titles for its leaders, and for not speculating about dates or speculative prophetic announcements.
Look, no human organization is perfect. There are surely bad apples in UCG at every level, including the laity, as there are in every human organization. UCG is still growing and learning about grace, love and the "True Jesus" . I can criticize it as well as anyone. However, I see genuine progress and spiritual growth there, that is absent any other post-Armstrong group.
In my humble opinion, there is no better option for a place to be for a Sabbatarian, Holy Day observer. As in all things, let the buyer beware.
I encourage EVERYONE to have their own personal relationship with Jesus Christ , that is separate from where they go to church. UCG is not the ultimate answer , it merely is a supplemental experience for a couple of hours a week, to hear a sermon, see some folks, and have a cookie.
If you are making your church more than that in your mind, then, indeed you are a trooper. I am no trooper. I have all human organizations, including the UCG in its proper place and perspective.
My relationship with God is not dependent upon my relationship with any organization, including the UCG.
Thank you for inquiring.
Your Friend,
Joe Moeller
Cody, WY
Ahem.
British Israelism is nuts.
Herbert Armstrong was a kook.
He insisted that British Israelism is the Key to Prophecy.
He was a false prophet.
No one can make any of the Cult of Herbert Armstrong rational: Armstrongism is irrational.
It doesn't matter if it is a one man rule or an oligarchy: It's all nuts because it is based on an insane premise.
Period.
What difference is their if you hold elections for your board members or CEO?
In political elections you elect one sociopath/psychopath over the other one. You see, people who are by nature sociopath/psychopath run for office. They are the ones who step up quickly in rank. Unseen are the body's they crawled over to make their accentuation.
Want to learn more about your cult leader? Read "Snakes in Suits"
You will begin to understand.
Joe, I don't doubt your motivation and sincerity. Snd I do see what you are saying, and agree to some extent. UCG has a lot less of the crazy than other splinters. Btw, I believe almost all the local councils were actually forced to dissolve years ago. But back to my point. UCG has less of the crazy, I agree. But it's still based on the same flawed foundation and, deep down, harbors the same dogmas. Boil it down to brass tacks, its basic foundation and it's no different. When my UCG friends and family get letters and emails from me this weekend letting them know I've left UCG and the COG community, they are not going to have an enlightened, graceful response. They are going to tell me I'm deceived, I've rejected the truth and I'm going to the lake of fire. End of story. Kinder face, but all the same at the foundation.
BB, you say, "Having one's own personal relationship with God is the only way in which one can avoid allowing a human to usurp the duties and prerogatives of the Holy Spirit."
I remember that on another thread you said to Corky, "I guess what we're acknowledging here . . . is that one size does not appear for the present to fit all."
Your remark to Corky is better.
I don't know what the duties and prerogatives of the Holy Spirit are, but if they have anything to do with individual autonomy and human dignity, then Corky has preserved them, entirely without claiming a personal relationship with any god. Me, I don't know for sure whether a god exists or not. Fun to speculate about, but I would feel like an idiot trying to establish a personal relationship with a hypothetical phenomenon. It is that very attitude that prompted me to leave Ambassador College and quit allowing Herbert W. Armstrong and his minions to usurp my own (entirely human) duties and prerogatives.
One size does not fit all, for sure. It's good that you can feel a personal relationship with your god. Do keep reminding yourself, however, that your way is not the only way.
There are many reasons why I became an agnostic, but one of them is that it made no sense to me to pretend to have a "personal relationship" with a deity that I could not find. What's the point of pretending like this? I'm just lying to myself, and if the christian god was for real, then didn't he say not to lie? So then, god made himself unavailable and then said not to lie about anything, including about having a relationship with him.
Actually, RP, my two statements are not in conflict. In the ACOGs, their government from the top down was often inflicted upon us in such a way to make one size fit all. If a person were to realize that we as humans are to be free and independent so that the Holy Spirit's gentle prompting become more audible than the white noise from a so called Christian church, or the ferocious barking of an authoritarian church "leader", that person could prioritize his lifestyle accordingly. Part of the Armstrong problem has always been the absolute authority of the ministers, the belief that they have a double portion of the Holy Spirit, trumping our own single portion, and the belief that we are to take their every word to it as if it came directly from God. If that type of total domination isn't "one size fits all" then I don't know what is.
Valuing your relationship with, and responsibility to God above the non-Biblical absolute authority of Armstrongite ministers really becomes the only antidote for Christians who find themselves being ordered to check their minds at the door and to become yellow pencils. (obviously non-believers have a different set of alternatives)
BB
Actually, RP, my two statements are not in conflict. In the ACOGs, their government from the top down was often inflicted upon us in such a way to make one size fit all. If a person were to realize that we as humans are to be free and independent so that the Holy Spirit's gentle prompting become more audible than the white noise from a so called Christian church, or the ferocious barking of an authoritarian church "leader", that person could prioritize his lifestyle accordingly. Part of the Armstrong problem has always been the absolute authority of the ministers, the belief that they have a double portion of the Holy Spirit, trumping our own single portion, and the belief that we are to take their every word to it as if it came directly from God. If that type of total domination isn't "one size fits all" then I don't know what is.
Valuing your relationship with, and responsibility to God above the non-Biblical absolute authority of Armstrongite ministers really becomes the only antidote for Christians who find themselves being ordered to check their minds at the door and to become yellow pencils. (obviously non-believers have a different set of alternatives)
BB
Post a Comment