Did you know that there is a pure, unadulterated version of the WCG's Bible Hymnal that existed before disgusting unbelievers started changing words and adding Protestant hymns to it?
Apparently the hymns that Dwight Armstrong wrote are the pure version and available in the COG hymnal prior to 1974. Hymnal's after that are filled with disgusting pagan hymns that glorify
Our dear friend Velvet, who was the authority on everything here, has been working hard to make sure a new hymnal is available that is "pure" in content.
The Journal article says:
For those who prefer to sing only scripturally accurate hymns, this article includes a list of the only hymns that were transferred from the Worldwide Church of God’s 1974 purple hymnal to the 1993 hymnal.
How dare anyone sing aboutThe WCG was renamed Grace Communion International in 2009.A future article may include all the changes made that rendered Dwight Armstrong’s original hymn undoctrinal or both. It would also note which hymns were edited and which worldly denominations GCI’s denominational leadership cherry-picked from for the rest of the hymns in the new hymnal.
Odd priorities.
ReplyDeleteOdd ideas about what constitutes "purity."
ReplyDeleteI don't always sing hymns, but when I do, I like to be reminded of how my enemies will be crushed, forced to devour stubble, drowned in the sea, and put to shame. Nothing else puts a self-righteous smile on my face quite like singing The Truth!
Since birds lack the muscles around their skulls necessary for facial expression, how would you know if a sparrow was melancholy, or if a pelican was feeling sad and lonely? Assuming their tiny birdbrains are capable of forming patterns scientists could even classify as an emotion. Nevermind. Just because something is absurd doesn't make it untrue, does it? You can't lie with poetry, can you? Your brain just riffs on a theme until you come up with some rationalization, like a lyrical Rorschach test.
Still dont understand why she continues with GCI/WCG, but hey, whatever the reasoning is, it must make sense to her.
ReplyDeleteThese people certainly are concerned with preserving not only the plagiarized faith once delivered by HWA, but also the "authentic" (and depressing) church culture of the old school WCG era.
ReplyDeleteQuite honestly, I'm more concerned with the faithful preservation of the music and performances of the Grateful Dead. And, to be fair, the music of other groups, as well.
Rock n Roll!
BB
Anonymous 5:37, Others have expressed that that has been a complete enigma to them as well. Who really knows the often deep inner thought processes that stimulate us to do the things we do? What one person might consider to be a bogus journey sometimes ends up exerting positive forces in the life of another.
ReplyDeleteI think most of us here agree that it is possible to shed and free ones self from toxic, intrusive, authoritarian, disingenuous, and even anti-Christian teachings and behavior patterns, while still keeping the basic oracles from the Torah, and maintaining a relationship with God.
You don't have to love Herbert W. Armstrong, you don't have to regard Hislop and Velikovski as authentic scholars, you can help and interact with your unchurched surrounding community, and you don't even need to be overly concerned about the end. That orthodox Jews can be happy is proof that the oracles did not cause all of that exploitation and misery, which overwhelmed old school WCG, and still does the stricter ACOGs.
Personally, I'm in the New Covenant, which is enough of a spiritual challenge (as it is intended to be!) without agonizing over the last jot and tittle of legalistic shadows. But, to the extent to which an oracle-keeping individual is able to be free from the systemic damage caused by classic Armstrongism, and is able to live a joyous life, and isn't causing physical or mental harm to others, then we must be happy for them, while agreeing to disagree.
Probably the next phase of Armstrongism will be this exact type of mainstream approach. Imagine what it would mean in the lives of the followers of Gerald Flurry or Dave Pack if they could only eliminate the toxins! What if their ministers suddenly grew into true spiritual guides, rather than spiritual Hitlers? Belief is supposed to improve quality of life, not make one constantly wish to be dead.
BB
"Still dont understand why she continues with GCI/WCG, but hey, whatever the reasoning is, it must make sense to her.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's possible to understand. Velvet is one of those people who talks a lot, contradicts herself a lot, and then tries to explain away the contradictions as though, if only you had understood what she meant it would all make sense. (Kinda reminds me of a holy book I read once!) And it's not really possible to tell whether it could be rationalized, whether she's holding contradictory compartmentalized beliefs simultaneously, or whether half of the time she's just full of shit. It's also entirely possible that whatever is really going on in her head defies my potentially feeble imagination. Anyway, it doesn't make sense to me either, but to thy ruin hastening on, O thou daughter of Babylon and godspeed! (Hey, By the Waters of Babylon is on the list!)
Odd priorities is correct! People are homes, without jobs, going hungry, dying of diseases, and the Armstronites are worried over some dumbass hymns. If she gates the changes in GCI why is her ass sitting there every week?
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that these Armstrongite worshipers continue to park their butts in GCI services every week when they disagree with most of what is taught? Its no wonder so may of them are miserable to be around.
ReplyDelete"Why is it that these Armstrongite worshipers continue to park their butts in GCI services every week when they disagree with most of what is taught? Its no wonder so may of them are miserable to be around."
ReplyDeleteEither or both a well worn and familiar sense of loyalty to the remnant of the org that gave them "the faith once delivered", and that's where their friends are still attending.
It has nothing to do with what they teach (Velvet's attendance coupled with her objections to what they teach prove that).
They're just there because the cobwebs in their brains haven't seen a good wind, rain, or the light of the sun.
Velvet has to know that GCI isn't the same as the old WCG before the changes. Pretending that HWA was teaching those same things but was misunderstood just won't cut it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what got into Ms Delorey but I am sure that she is doing what she thinks is best for her. Considering where she lives, and the conditions, she's probably right too.
From my memory the old hymnal had a lot of protestant/mainstream christianity hymns with slightly changed wording. Like Onward Christian Soldier with the "word" of Jesus, instead of the cross. I can still sing it, 40 years later. In fact sometimes I do break into song and people wonder why I was saying the different words. Old habits die hard.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite one was
"By the Waters of Babylon"
there we wept and there sat down,
laid our harps on the willow
trees,
we were mindful of zion...yeah
I was so sure it was a Dwight Armstrong creation, then one day I heard a version of it on the Madmen soundtrack. The words are from the Bible and I think it is an old Jewish song....it almost made me cry. But then there is definitely something about Madmen that reminds me of AC and the Armstrong era. Must be the old adman magic.
YES! I totally agree about Mad Men reminding me of those years in WCG. I think it is for several reasons. Herbert Armstrong was a very similar man to "Don Draper", constantly pretending to be someone he was not, and he created an organization, which, to be a part of it, felt like living in the Draper residence, complete with all Don's bull****. Also, I think there was just something funny about those years because of course that is when the cultural revolution was happening, and people were either going climb on the progressive or reactionary bandwagon, and of course Don and HWA in the sixties have nothing to gain by being progressive. And we all know that everything was always about what HWA had to gain...
ReplyDelete