Are The Three Shepherds
(The Three Stooges:)
(The Three Stooges:)
Flurry-Pack-Weinland
Sincere?
Does Ron Weinland really believe he and his wife are the Two Witnesses of Revelation? Does Gerald Flurry really believe he is "that Prophet" spoken of by Malachi? Does Dave Pack really believe the Minor Prophet Haggai is really speaking and foretelling Dave's coming to reunite those who God obviously disfellowshipped along the way so he could restore them? For that matter, did HWA really believe he was spoken of in the Bible as an Elijah or Zerubbabel?
I have no idea...
I do know, however, that title taking and searching the scriptures, by those who place themselves above everyone else in understanding, is a really bad habit and one of the more laughable practices in these particular cultic guru following sink holes.
We have the spectacle of minor players like a Bob Thiel who obsesses on getting a "doubt portion of God's Spirit" when he asked to merely be anointed in the tradition of James 5:14 and ends up yet another Prophet, in his mind. With all due respect to Dr. Thiel, he is not a teacher, not a speaker and certainly not inspiring. He's a Bible reader with a self given title and it's silly. While harmless for the most part and unlike The Three Shepherds, Bob gives yet more reasons to scoff at religion.
Then we have the ever entertaining James Malm and E.W.King who I'd not know if I smashed into them. Are they sincere? Do they really believe their own shtick? I have no idea. I do know that letting them filter and guide my life through their views, opinions and minds would be a sign of insanity. I'd say "Just who do you think you are?" but I'd get too long a foolish and stupid answer. These are two truly Bronze Age theorists who need someone to send them a New Testament for Christmas or Passover.
Does Ron Weinland really believe, as he sits in prison, he is Mr. Revelation 11? Really? Jesus said something about traveling and preaching with simple clothing and needs. Ron traveled with diamonds and gold all paid for by the faithful tithes of the brain dead in my view. Ron was and is not an inspiring teacher. His sermons were always the same and very predictable in content. He always gave me the impression he was winging it with little or no aforethought or preparation. I guess Apostles and Witnesses can do that.
Is Dave Pack sincere? Does he really believe he is the real Joshua the High Priest? In his latest prophetic debacle he went from his truth on Haggai as absolute truth about him and his church to a great parallel. Absolute truth and something being literally true is not the same as a great parallel. It's what you have to do when you screw up. The last six months of Dave's screeds and amazing truths are simply rubbish. He is not spoken of anywhere but in his head. He has spent the last month as chief chef at the Waffle House as he tries to edit , explain, redact and seem humbly wrong, which is ok because he knows it was a simple, complex, easy to understand coded message to him and his brain dead seat gyrators. Dave has made it clear that there are no apologies needed or coming. A few years ago he declared the "final push" and sent out his Clarion Call to sell, give and do other very stupid and ill advised things to fund the end time work. Pulling Big Triggers has translated into nice lawns, miles of mahogany trim and Steuben Crystal. Where have I heard this story before? I'm thinking it will end the same way.
So we have The Three Shepherds in the Churches of God who have and we hope continue to supply endless insanity and excellent reasons for the brethren to go get a life and vote with their feet. For those by now who still can be both stuck and gyrate in their seats at the same time, I offer no hope and they can prove a previous point I made about there being a butt for every seat.
That Prophet Gerald Flurry
Mr. One of Two Witnesses Ron Weinland
(Can't wait for Dave Pack to search for his)
and
Watcher, Apostle and Joshua the High Priest David C Pack
(Yellow because he won't debate me)
Do they really believe their own stories? What kind of blindness is it that infects their followers?
Why do we care? Anyone with even half a brain can see the foolishness of paying heed to these men theologically. They simply do not know what they are talking about. I have NO PROBLEM sitting down with Dave Pack and publicly discussing theology with him. However, Dave has proved, at least to me, that his power lies in staying behind closed doors in his ivory tower amongst his own. He weak theologically but strong in hubris and Bible reading. Out in the sunshine in the clear light of public scrutiny, he would not stand a chance. None of The Three Shepherds in the Fractured Church of God would survive three minutes with a first year theology student.
I always heard that the Beatle's "Fool on the Hill" was about the Armstrongs. I don't know that either but it sure fit.
Are The Three Shepherds just old lyrics?
I guess if the song fits...sing it!
"The Fool On The Hill"
Day after day, alone on the hill
The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still
But nobody wants to know him
They can see that he's just a fool
As he never gives an answer
But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning around
Well on the way, head in a cloud
The man of a thousand voices talking percetly loud
But nobody ever hears him
Or the sound he appears to make
And he never seems to notice
But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning around
And nobody seems to like him
They can tell what he wants to do
And he never shows his feelings
But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning around
He never listen to them
He knows that they're the fools
They don't like him
The fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning around
The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still
But nobody wants to know him
They can see that he's just a fool
As he never gives an answer
But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning around
Well on the way, head in a cloud
The man of a thousand voices talking percetly loud
But nobody ever hears him
Or the sound he appears to make
And he never seems to notice
But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning around
And nobody seems to like him
They can tell what he wants to do
And he never shows his feelings
But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning around
He never listen to them
He knows that they're the fools
They don't like him
The fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning around
8 comments:
Dennis, there is a typo in the title. Is should say "The Three Stooges." Please correct.
Are they sincere? Well, yes and no. They are the leaders, so some of them sincerely believe they are special to God and holier than the rest so they can lie "for the good of the work" and somehow it's okay because King David, a man after God's own heart, did evil too. They rationalize, as does everyone else, so they can go on believing what they want to believe.
Also, they don't have real faith. If takes guts and real faith to always tell the truth. They fear that they would lose face and that people would leave if they admitted their errors, so they lie to cover them up. They don't trust God to seem them through if they simply speak the truth. They are gutless. They talk about faith but they don't have it. They are hypocrites.
If you really live by faith your faith will take you out of those churches.
I have a confession to make. In the early stages of my return to faith, part of my hangover from Armstrongism crept back into the equation, but it was something that partially scared me. The way in which it all went down made me wonder if, unknown to me, I was soon going to die, or if God had some special mission or purpose for me.
As I began attending a church, I wondered if something would draw attention to me, thrusting me into some sort of special work. Through it all, I tried to maintain common sense and a sense of balance, because I had seen so many people become terminally religiously superstitious, and go off the deep end.
I had a friend who actually does not attend church, but is a believer. For years, he had repeated this saying: "What do you do before enlightenment? Chop wood, and fetch water. What do you do after enlightenment? Chop wood, and fetch water." In other woods, after enlightenment, life goes on somewhat as it always had.
To me, being a Christian brought changes such as watching out for the other guy. If you see someone who needs a boost, as we all sometimes do, give it to him or her. Don't be such a badass massive retaliator, going around administering paybacks all the time. Become a buffer, breaking or stopping the bad cycles that come your way, as Jesus taught. Many of the things which Jesus taught were living principles of which others before Him seem to have had some innate knowledge, perhaps not apparent "Jesus originals" but which He nonetheless called to attention and validated in His ministry.
I never "got" this being set up over others, or using and exploiting people. Symbiosis seemed to be the way to go. To me, it was always more important that people knew me just as one who did a good job, and were able to occasionally rely on me to do that on their behalf. At the same time, my nature has always cried out against arbitrary authority. That and it's abuse are one of the things that had generally made me retaliate.
It would seem that being a Christian simply puts one on the side of good, on what the Bible teaches us will one day be the winning team. It's not something you pursue for your own self-aggrandizement, but more like being a buffer, and a servant. It's about knowing that obsessive-compulsive keeping of the law can often unintentionally hurt others, and make one appear elitist and judgmental. Those in the ministry whom I respect are servant leaders, effective spiritual guides who are not overly impressed with themselves, their self-given titles and so-called authority. They understand that God works from the bottom up, transforming one heart at a time and is deeply concerned for those considered to be the least amongst us. They are there to share living principles and to assist.
Being Christian is simply another way of saying that you are under cover for God. The special purpose is to love and help others. Love for God is expressed by showing love towards fellow man, not pseudo-piously or to exalt oneself, but as a sincere and natural course of action. And, prophecy is irrelevant to this lifestyle, as it can be practiced now on the streets and in the neighborhood, or in the extreme settings caused by disaster.
BB
Amongst the various approaches, there are two that stand out as being relevant to this discussion. One would be the concept of doing good, but leaving an anonymous footprint.
Unfortunately, this is not the way one becomes a leader within the world of Armstrongism. For some reason, or by some ungodly process, certain ones suddenly become caught up in becoming the "Elvis" of Jesus. Idolatry is bad enough, and this metaphor is somewhat unfair to Elvis's memory, because at the same time, these people also take it upon themselves to become the "Hitler" of Jesus. Together, it is a devastating combo, just as we would expect of false teachers or false prophets.
BB
Anon at 10:46...
I heard DCP preach the same thing about David being a man after God's own heart and committing much sin, but never mentioning how he repented after Nathan rebuked him. Just read 2 Samuel 12:1-18, Samuel 22:1-18 and psalm 119. He deeply repented and still suffered much the rest of his life. That is what makes him after God's heart. A repenting heart.
His members are using the same excuse, one even said to me that Paul sinned and God used him. After Paul/Shaol opened his eyes about persecuting the Savior, he repented. I don't think these people read the entire bible.
Pack knows the bible and is deceitfully using it for gain, which he knows. (He must think, it worked for HA, it will work for me). There is no excuse and he will be ashamed in the future. He has no shame of attacking others when he is doing the same thing and worst.
Does anyone ever wonder why gods think, talk and act just like humans? Why believers believe they know what a god thinks about this or that? And why their god always agrees with their thinking?
It's because humans invented 'em...pretty simple, really.
Anonymous said...
Dennis, there is a typo in the title. Is should say "The Three Stooges." Please correct.
Done! Sorry, sometimes I get in a rush and don't proof read well
:)
BYKER @ 11:21
That was a beautiful and profound post. Thank you!
Your Friend,
Joe Moeller
Cody, WY
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