E. W. King on the "Administrative" Position

God's greatest prophet has spoken out on the "administrative" position.

Administrative Positions: There are numerous positions to be held in the Christian Church outside of the “major positions” [FFM]. There are numerous administrative positions in God's Church depending on the need for such offices to exist. All Christians no matter what their calling are “disciples” [students] of Jesus Christ. Many disciples have numerous positions in the Church based on personal gifts and callings.

Oh, sorry!  Wrong position.

This is from Kings' new dictionary of The Science of Christian Thought.

James Malm: I Prefer My Murdering Macho He-man Christ Over Your Wimpy Christ

James Malm is so disgusted by a grace filled Jesus that he prefers a murdering god who strikes down sinners and lawbreakers.  Being the official COG Pharisee, it is easy to see that Jesus Christ has not part of Malm's thinking.

31:9 And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.  31:10 And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire. 31:11 And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.  31:12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho. 

 -------

Moses rebuked the army for the sin of sparing the women of Midian; For Jesus Christ had commanded them to destroy Midian, lest they be again led astray by the women of Midian. Does this sound like a wimpy Christ who paid for our sins in advance so that we need not depart from sin, only mouth the words “I repent” and repent in name only?  This is an instruction for us, that we should not involve ourselves in false religions and false doctrines.

Noah With Russell Crowe

The scene in the trailer of the desperate people rushing to the ark reminds me of the clawing men and women that Basil Wolverton drew for our lovely children's Bible Story book.

Frying Garner Ted Armstrong's Fish

Head on over to Armstrong Delusion for a great article dissecting GTA's infamous farce on disproving evolution, Some Fishy Stories - About An Unproved Theory.

Looking at these booklets put out by Ambassador College is now an embarrassing experience.  Here was a "college" - supposedly filled with educated people - writing this absurd drivel.  Poor research and lack of education produces all kinds of appalling "dogmatic" statements.

Fish Fry -  Part 1
Fish Fry -  Part 2

I have written before about the lies we were told, specifically in the PCG, about the Theory of Evolution. In a way, I am at it again, only this time focusing on Armstrong’s lies about it. Specifically, this is the first of a multi-part series covering the Ambassador College booklets A Fishy Story, A Theory for the Birds, and A Whale of a Tale. In my first article, I was not trying to convince anybody that one side of the Great Debate was more true than the other–I was merely pointing out that we were told lies.

In this article, however, I aim to be more persuasive.


I am not trying to persuade you to abandon faith in a Creator–of some sort (although I, personally, can no longer believe in one). Although many feel the findings of science are incompatible with religious ideas, it is not necessarily so; there are all ranges of Spiritualism, or Deism that are compatible belief systems, and there is even Theistic Evolution for those who wish to retain a stronger faith in a “guiding hand” while not dismissing the evidence.

The fact is that we here at Armstrong Delusion have worked hard, have researched long, to find out “whether those things were so”–things like Prophecy, British Israelism, Divine Weather, etc. The subject of Evolution is just one more topic that needs to be addressed, for there is the reality that exists in the world, and there is the lie that exists in the world of Armstrongism.

In The Beginning

The booklet, Some Fishy Stories, first copyrighted in 1966, was written by Garner Ted Armstrong. It is, to be quite honest, 35 pages of “argument from personal incredulity” combined with “argument from ignorance“. These arguments can be seen as two versions of the same thing, so maybe he is only using one complex argument. Sadly, as I read through it, I could remember thinking the exact same things when growing up and (I realize now) stupidly arguing with the science teachers…other than the aforementioned argument(s), he uses a number of examples of different fish that he claims cannot possibly have evolved gradually.

Sadly, Garner Ted has been dead 10 years already. I say this is sad because he bemoaned the fact that, “never have we received a scientific explanation for the many great problems presented (in the evolutionary theory). Never have we received a point-by-point refutation of the truths we have published.” (Pg. 13). Though it is nearly 50 years since the original publishing, I hope to provide some satisfaction by doing just that.

Eric King: God Revealed To Me The Truth That If Gays Can Shower With Straights Then Opposite Sex Couples Should Shower Together!

How could the mainstream media ignore such a dire fun warning from god's greatest prophet?????

COGSR Against Homosexuals Showering with Straights! “If you are going to let gays shower and change with straights…then let opposite sexes shower and dress together in public facilities with tax payer money!” [This message was given by God’s servant: Mr. E.W.King, founder of COGSR on January 17th, 2012 in Utah. Will the major News Networks address this issue? Probably not! FOX & CNN have ignored Mr. King’s accurate prophecies. They have ignored God’s true Last Day Church!” COGSR]

Bob Thiel Feels That Christians Being Killed In Iraq And Elsewhere Are Not Real Christians

Baghdad, Iraq - Two Assyrian Christian children have been killed in Baghdad. Raneed Raad 16 and her sister Raphid 6 were slaughtered in their home. 

 

 The family who are well known Assyrian Christians had been threatened. While the family was out terrorists entered and shot the two Children at point blank range. Commentary: Christians Targeted in Iraq! Massacre in Baghdad: Children 6 and 16 Killed at Home!

Bob Thiel is back with his holier-than-thou self-righteous smug attitude.  This time he is using an article from the BBC that claims the number being thrown around on the Internet of Christians being killed around the world is not accurate. BBC dismisses recent ‘Christian martyr’ estimates, but persecution exists and more is coming

Theil quotes this:

It’s often claimed that 100,000 Christians are killed every year because of their religion. Earlier this year, the Vatican called it a credible number. But is it?…

On the internet, the statistic has taken on a life of its own, popping up all over the place, sometimes with an additional detail – that these 100,000 lives are taken by Muslims.

The number comes originally from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity (CSGC) at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in the US state of

Massachusetts…when you hear that 100,000 Christians are dying for their faith, you need to keep in mind that the vast majority – 90,000 – are people who were killed in DR Congo. This means we can say right away that the internet rumours of Muslims being behind the killing of 100,000 Christian martyrs are nonsense. The DRC is a Christian country. In the civil war, Christians were killing Christians…

If you were to take away the 90,000 deaths in DR Congo from the CSGC’s figure of 100,000, that would leave 10,000 martyrs per year.

And the number of Christians who are killed each year because they are Christians is more likely to be in that order of magnitude, according to Professor Thomas Schirrmacher from the International Society for Human Rights.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24864587

Then Theil, God's greatest gift to the Church of God, says this:

I would add that although I do not consider that many killed were actual Christians (and the Bible shows that real Christians would not be killing other real Christians, see, for example ), the fact is that many who profess forms of Christianity are being persecuted and killed in many parts of the world and this is not setting off the amount of international outrage that many would expect.  And this BBC piece, while correct in some points, seems designed to reduce outrage of violence against those being persecuted/killed in Islamic and other lands.

Because some of these people were NOT Church of God members, and more specifically NOT part of Bob's cult, their deaths are not as important if they have been COG folk.

While I am well aware of the BBC bias towards Muslims, or Asians as the BBC refers to them, Thiel is correct in pointing out that it is written to negate those killed in Muslim lands.  That is a topic for another time and place.  The problem I have is Bob's incessant smear campaign towards Christians who are not part of the sabbath keeping, holy day observing, non-pig eating Church of God.  Their deaths are not as important as they would have been if they were COG members.

He then tries to cover his ass with this:

What has happened to various people who profess Christians in places such as Egypt, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and other lands is wrong.

That being said, the Bible tells of a time when more persecution will hit those truly part of the Church of God.

...and then goes on to claim that TRUE COG members will be killed by the Catholic Church.  His personality cult will face the brunt of that persecution.  Again you will notice there are no REAL Christians outside of the Church of God

In the past, real Christians were persecuted because they:

• Kept Passover on the 14th
• Refused to eat unclean meat
• Would work on Sunday
• Had false accusations railed against them
• Were binitarian
• Kept the Sabbath
• Were not trinitarian
• Taught that the pope was an Antichrist and precursor of the final Antichrist
• Rejected papal authority
• Did not accept idols
• Had different teachings than the Church of Rome
• Had writings Rome did not like
• Rejected Roman sacraments
• Objected to the dress of the Roman ministry
• Considered Rome to be the prophecied Babylon
• Taught that in the time of the final Antichrist that some would fall away
• Had practices that Rome considered Jewish
• Refused to baptize infants
• Did not participate in carnal warfare
• Teaching the Kingdom of God
• Teaching the millennium
• Baptized adults

In the future, according to Catholic teachings, they ALSO will be persecuted for:

• Not accepting non-biblical teachings about Mary
• Not accepting the Great Monarch (Beast, King of the North)
• Teaching that the Kingdom of God will come soon
• Not accepting the ‘Great Monarch’ (who appears to be the King of the North of Bible prophecy)
• Not wearing crosses
• Teaching after the Great Tribulation begins that Jesus will return within a few years

 

Christians have been persecuted for holding doctrines that we in the Continuing Church of God hold and are clearly expected to be persecuted in the future for holding Continuing Church of God doctrines.

James Malm Smacks Down Bob Thiel....Again....

I just cannot understand it.  It seems that Mr. Malm is NOT impressed by Dr. Thiel's qualifications. I can't wrap my mind around it.  Why????????????????

27:15 And Moses spake unto the LORD, saying, 27:16 Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 27:17 Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd.

Jesus Christ commands Moses to lay hands on Joshua before all the people, from this comes the concept of the laying on of hands.  However notice that Moses laid hands on the person who was selected by GOD!  he did not lay hands on anyone because they finished a course or proved organizationally loyal; hands are to be laid on those who have proved themselves to be absolutely loyal to God and full of the holy spirit that leads us into the zealous keeping of the whole word of God.  Today, very many of those who have had the hands of men laid on them, are not qualified and are not faithful to the whole word of God.

Grievous Sins of Philadelphia Church of God Cause Earthquake In Edmond Oklahoma

Thanks to those fun folk at the Herbert W. Armstrong cult compound, the Edmond area has been hit by two earthquakes.  Both were centered between a half mile and a mile and half from HWA "College".

PCG writes:

At 5:07 a.m. on November 11, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) registered a 3.3-magnitude earthquake with its epicenter located about 1.5 miles southeast from the campus of Herbert W. Armstrong College. This was the second earthquake to shake the campus in less than 12 hours. At 5:25 p.m. the previous night, as students were about to head to the John Amos Field House for dinner, a 3.4-magnitude struck only a half mile from campus.

Some of the PCG faithful comment:

Here in the northwest we have also noticed the attacks from the enemy increase as we talk to brethren who have had especially difficult weeks, our conclusion is that something big must be happening at HQ. Now with the earthquakes at HQ, we will just wait the good news, and keep praying for Mr. Flurry and the rest of you. Thank you for your diligent service.

 -----------------

Something big is going to happen or is happening right now.
I will pray for you Mr. Flurry. God made you a brazen wall, nothing can befall you nor God’s children who follow God’s government.

 -----------------

Satan is so angry, he wants to get as close as he can. That’s why we have to step up our prayers.

Is God getting tired of Six Pack's antics?

Is it wrong to claim God is pissed at the PCG?


They do the exact same thing when an earthquake happens elsewhere.  They accuse the people in the area of being sinners.  Obviously there must be great sin at the PCG cult HQ.

Dennis Tries to Muse...

Does God Have to Try?

The concept of a Deity that "tries'" to do things either in the Church or in the world and the affairs of men is a common thread in many Church of God and fundamentalist circles.   Dr. Bob Thiel and Roderick C Meredith, in their respective writings, often end with the concept that "God is trying to get the attention of mankind."   This "trying" is usually given it's best shots by using meteorological disasters, financial calamity, disease or the occasional fireball in the sky.  

God?  Is that you?

If  it snows too much, "God is trying to get our attention."  If it rains to much.  "God is "trying" to get our attention.  If there is too much heat, whatever too much means in a places that heat up naturally depending, ditto.  If an individual gets sick, even if they are old, and "unconverted", "God is trying to get your attention." I am quite sure that in local communities of believers, when the reprobate do not attend church and have some misfortune on a Sabbath or Sunday , someone is telling them or at least thinking it, "God is trying to get your attention."  

How one would distinguish between a Godly try and just circumstances, time, chance and luck of the draw, I have personally no clue.  At what point in the Saffir-Simpson Scale, used to label the intensity of hurricanes, does it change over from merely weather to God sent trying?   Are category 1-3 storms merely weather and 4-5 the absolute truth that now God is trying to get our attention?   I doubt it.  Low pressure systems come in small, medium and large.  It is just that simple, to me.  Nothing out of the ordinary for conditions at times on the planet.  Are dust storms, due to temperature differentials between mountains and dry dusty deserts a form of Godly trying?  I have never seen that tried in South Carolina.  Here in South Carolina, radio ministers assure us that it is through hurricanes on the coast and heat, with the occasional winter ice storm that God is trying to get our attention here.

I suspect that those in the Bible who thought that was God knocking just didn't understand natural phenomenon.  Is that so difficult to accept?

Which brings up another point.   Is God restricted to seasonal and geographical trying?  Does HE/SHE wait till Spring to try and get the attention of those living in the mid-West tornado alley?  Does God bowl there only in the Spring when the highs and lows, warm ups and leftover cold of winter can work it's heavenly  magic on the plains?  Once in a great while we get a random tornado watch or warning here in South Carolina.  Are those times when God is branching out and trying to get our attention using Midwestern tactics?   Why does it seem that God can only try to get at humans seasonally and with the attention getters common to an area anyway?  I assume people build tornado shelters not because they are afraid God might take another run at trying, but because they know the temperament of the area in which they live.  Ditto coastal regions and countries prone to the heat or cold.  

Could you not just talk with me instead of this?

I do Oncology Massage on a volunteer basis at the  Bon Secours Saint Francis Infusion Center here in town.  These are folks who site for four or five hours as they are infused with some of the most powerful drugs humans have come up with to fight cancer.  Is God trying to tell them something.  Of course one in such a state is going through much introspection about their lives, the reasons they might have cancer or what may or may not be the outcome.  I have massaged the feet of some who died shortly after.  (No...I did nt cause them die as you're no doubt thinking!) Many tell me they have what their mom had or that dad died of the same thing.  Is it genetic or is God using their genetics to "try to tell them something."  The trying is usually meant to get them to repent , get back in some one's church and be saved so they can go to heaven or be in the Wonderful World Tomorrow depending.  Would Bob Thiel think God was trying to get the attention of the Filipinos if they did get some theological message from their misery after a typhoon and returned to Catholicism?  I think not...  In that case, I suspect he'd feel the storm was of satanic origins to deceive them into going to the wrong church.  Now it is Satan we finding trying. I suspect that when Bob or others say publicly that they are "praying for them" in their misery, he also prays the three or four in the country who know about his minuscule church will get in touch and join since God was trying to get their attention to seek out Dr. Bob.  

That ought to convince them!

In the Old Testament, it seems that God was always trying to get the attention of the chosen people. I'd think that if plagues , exactly ten, occurred before my eyes in such miraculous ways, waters parted for me to walk through and pillars of cloud and fire literally lead the way, shoes and clothes did not rot in the waste howling wilderness and 2-3 million of us could roam the dessert, feed thousands of cattle, have plenty of water with bread and meat sent in such abundance from heaven we puked our guts out sick of it all,  I'd not be so skeptical and unbelieving.  Forty years is a long time for such things and yet , it came to not much.  Virtually none of those folk got to where they were promised to go.  I guess God did not try hard enough to convince them.  I do remember as a child in Sunday School wondering why God lured them with promises of deliverance into the desert and then said "you ain't going to make it."  Seemed a weird way to inspire anyone and more a case of never trusting what YHVH said again in their lives. Their kids returned to idol worship in the Promised Land and YHVH was forever trying to get their attention evidently unsuccessfully again.

He you peckerwood!  Knock it off!

If I built a boat and miraculously kept a remnant of every animal on earth at the time safe and not eating each other on board for a year while all of humanity and life drown beneath the keel, I'd be impressed enough by that.  I'd be very easily convinced as two or seven pairs, depending,  of every creature made their way to the Middle East.  Polar bears and penguins, kangaroo and platypus,  Mammoth and Giant Sloth.  Especially if I actually heard, and all around me heard God's literal voice giving out building plans and these creatures not stalking each other until I could get them into their stalls.  Just shoveling animal poop overboard successfully without being overwhelmed in a seal ship by ammonia,  for a year, would have been enough of a try to get my attention.  However, I get suspect when only the leader hears God's voice and everyone else just has to believe what the voice told them.  

Life is life and it is full of joy, sorrow, dis-ease , weather and circumstances that are going to occur no matter what.  Obviously my own view is that no real Deity has to "try" to do anything.  If a God wants to save people either literally or spiritually, all He or She has to do is show up and explain the program.  No middle men.  No "and yes brethren, I am an Apostle" or "God told me.." to interject doubt.  "Just have faith" and "Trust me" are probably two of them hideous concepts ever pushed on to humans by others who wish to manipulate and control.  Faith is something that , in my experience, fails when the facts present themselves somewhere down the road.  Facts trump faith eventually.  It is why I deeply believe in...

"wow...."

"Sit down before fact like a little child, and be prepared to give up every preconceived notion. Follow humbly wherever and to whatever abyss Nature leads, or you shall learn nothing."

--  Thomas Henry Huxley

I think we would have to admit that if all the trying to get humans to repent, attend, give, show up, believe, stop believing, do, don't do, accept, reject, love each other, hate the enemy, get saved, born again, begotten, into heaven, into the resurrection (preferably the first one), avoid hell, stop thinking they can tread water in the lake of fire and every other think a Deity may or may not want humans to be or do, it is a miserable failure.   If what God has to tell us all is so absolutely important for all ETERNITY and for our good , awesome and amazing , but must absolutely be believed and practiced in the exact right ways or else, things aren't going so well.  If the is ONE TRUE CHURCH and it's Dave Pack  (there isn't and it isn't) are we not of all men most miserable?  Even Protestant types are smart enough to come up with the vagaries of the Community of Believers to answer that question.  Let God sort them out. 

Fools, can I use that term?, maybe the foolish is better, such as a James Malm, (whoever he is) who stresses over every detail of proper worship and practice, in HIS view,  E.W King or a Dr. Bob Thiel, (Who they are makes no difference to me, I learned NOTHING from them-Paul/Galatians 2), who seem to have a need to correctly see into the future so they can say stuff like, "as I predicted", or "as I said in an article entitled...", or the Dave Pack, Ron Weinlands and Gerald Flurry types who simply need to be in charge, noticed and pin all sorts of Apostolic medals and titles upon their chests, are a dime a dozen in this world.  Are these God's best attempt at "trying to get our attention"?  If so, there aren't going to be many human being rushing to get into the Kingdom of God any time soon.

I thought it was a code...

No God in reality has to try to do anything.  In hind site after years of pastoring, proof texting and flipping through the Bible in sermons and studies unlocking the code or solving the puzzle as some like to view it, it would have been better and still would be that a real God would not rely so heavily on the concept of "inspiration of men."  It would be nice if there were no Holy Books with questionable backgrounds and origins to divide and not unite the vast majority of humans into us and them, me and you, chosen and unchosen, called and uncalled, true and false, special and not special, Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, elders, deacons, helpers and single people who should always bring a watermelon to the church picnic. It doesn't work well.  

The Bible tells us that the Deity's ultimate goal is that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the "truth", whatever that may be.  I am wary personally of men who claim t speak for the Deity and have "the truth" to deliver to you.  Paul's truth came from his visions and theophanies which , of course, others did not have .  He heard voices and saw things , so he said, that were beyond description because he had gone to the third heaven.  He, as a man, a very special man, heard and saw things no man should hear or see. Unfortunately, he said he couldn't say any more about it.  How convenient.  Was that God trying to inspire us or was that Paul trying to seem special to himself and them?  Was he lying?  That's not a good "try" and serves no real purpose in scripture save to make Paul seem special in my view.  Dave Pack is predicting literal voices coming to him and "his people" in the future to prove something or other.  I know he'll be lying about it all. He'll either be slipping over into schizophrenia or if that's another God Try, I won't be interested at all.  

I don't know the answer to how humans could absolutely be convinced that the real truth of a real God is forthcoming without hearing and seeing it from the horses mouth so to speak.  Middlemen in religion muddy the waters.  Ten thousand Christian denominations, sects, cults, splits, splinters, schisms and slivers are not the good fruits of a God trying to get all men to come to the knowledge of the "truth", make it into whatever eternity has to offer for our GOOD and not cooking briefly or forever in some fire pit.  Add to that all the other world religions that are NEVER going to see the light of other folks religions, and trying just doesn't work very well.

Every COG and one man show we witness in the comedy production produced by the Wild World of God CAN'T be the best "try" on the planet.  

I know some will say that we only see in part now, but which part?  Are these parts true or just fake parts and knock offs?  If one is not qualified, chosen or part of the Royal Priesthood, which all sounds very serious, when we see it fully , will it matter by then?  "You had your chance" as the Deity reminded Dives of Lazarus fame.  I never quite understood why "they would not believe though one returned from the dead," was not an option.  I would if I knew the person, knew how they died and how long  ago, and then they showed up to speak to me about where they had been.  Maybe it's just me. 

Finally, the reason I am suspect of Deitific Trying is because it opens the big door of humans launching their own endeavors in the name of the Trying God to get you to see things their way, which of course are God's ways, even if they are not really God's ways.  It is a formula for disaster and the fruit of it is all around us.  Truth should not produce so much falsehood, war, hate and division on the planet.  

I know we have all kinds of reasonings about why it just seems that God is trying and not to successfully.  Humans are vain, stubborn, rebellious, deceitful, desperately wicked, lost, blind, deaf, dumb and with hardened hearts.  God does try hard but the truth ends up on hard ground, weedy ground, infertile ground and in the rocks where it can't grow. Only the few really get it when God endeavors to try. The rest will get it in the Second Resurrection or they will really get it in the Third.  That's when we get to say "I didn't know..."  and God gets to say, "Well, now you do."

What do you think?  Does God have to try to get our attention?  Does that sound very omniscient, omnipotent , omnipresent and om the mark?  Aside from blowing off the fruits of middlemen speaking for God and that it will all work out when "we see God face to face," at some nebulous time in the future, is this any Deity's best effort to know the truth that is supposed to make us free I assume in this life which seems the only real one we have?

I sometimes get asked or rebuked over, "Why are you trying to destroy people's faith?"  It's an odd reaction to me because I suppose I think everyone loves to seek.  I forget that in the Churches of God and fundamentalism, they have all "found it" and to not see it or believe what they found is true makes some folk react with glittering generalities about the mind, thoughts and motives of others.  Being challenged in beliefs is risky business because our beliefs are what keeps us explaining our own questions in life to ourselves successfully. The ultimate reason we are religious to begin with is our incredible fear and knowledge that we will die.  You know, "After Death-Then What?" Challenge a belief and you get an arguement and defensiveness along with childish responses. Beliefs, however are merely moments of partial truth along the way to be discarded when better perspectives come along.  Even the Bible calls it The Present Truth, which is a far better concept than The Plain Truth.  Beliefs are not final truths of anything.  So should you need to know my inner perspective on the journey all of are on in life, here it is.  This truly how I see my world and the perspective in which I 'try' to right the inaccuracies of my own youth when I thought I knew the truth of all things and nothing but the truth.  

...otherwise all bets are off  :)

Eric King Claims The United Nations Was Frightened By His Asteroid Prophecy

Eric King is such a powerful prophet that even the United Nations trembles at his feet and takes all of his words seriously.

As if the United Nations even knows or cares who this COG moron is!

United Nations takes Mr. E.W.King’s asteroids warnings seriously in Nov.2013

Posted on November 8, 2013

1. UN Meets with Space Experts for Contingency Plan on Asteroid Strikes

   http://www.hngn.com/…/u-n-meets-with-space-experts-for-contingency-plan-o…‎

   Oct 28, 2013 - Representatives of the United Nations (U.N) met with the world’s best space experts in New York to develop a contingency plan on the asteroid …

E. W King: An Earthquake Is Coming! Oh Noooos!

The King had another brain fart the other day.  It is one more in a long line of prophecies that King has uttered and then it came to pass......at least in his eyes.

This one involves an earthquake.  Given that we have numerous earthquakes every single day here in California, I guess we are to assume that this is going to be a great big shaker.

In case this blog disappears in the next three months you will know that California slipped off into the ocean and Eric King is the ONE and TRUE Church of God prophet.

The following is from a recorded message given to Mr. E.W.King on 11-12-13:

“I saw that America would receive a sizable quake within the next three months. If and when this occurs it will point towards a soon to be released prophecy marker which I have been waiting for.” ~ Eric W. King

Let us all watch and wait!

Dennis Muses on Intelligent Theology

dop·pel·gäng·er

 noun \ˈdä-pəl-ˌgaŋ-ər, -ˌgeŋ-, ˌdä-pəl-ˈ\

                          : someone who looks like someone else

                           :  a ghostly counterpart of a living person

                                :  a double

 or alter ego

           

Recently I met with a highly educated Episcopal Priest just to talk.  I had the opportunity and was feeling the need to see and hear what a man in his position would have to say about Biblical topics that I have come to understand in a far different way than my meager WCG training in all things Bible.  WCG trained itself to be good Bible readers, as you have heard me say over the years.  COG ministers are mere Bible readers with no desire to dig deeper into the texts, background, history or intent of what they quote to frame their beliefs. If they had the desire they would have to keep it to themselves.  Only in a secure religious setting can one speak freely of  Biblical realities. Beliefs are framed by proof texting and COGs compete with each other by proof texting better than the competition.  It's a ridiculous approach and why under trained men like Dave Pack and Ron Weinland make fools of themselves with hubris and ego centric ministry.  

To the point.

We talked about the Gospels and the Priest comment to me was that the Gospels are full of contradictions. Neither birth stories no resurrection accounts are eyewitness accounts and are muddled, but they still have good meaning for us.  He noted that if he did not have the desire for Jesus in the picture, he'd be a great Buddhist.  Sigh...

We talked about Genesis and evolution and the Priest agreed that the Adam and Eve story is mythological and not really the origin of human beings.  It was a comment that came with the idea that anyone should be able to understand that.  I got the feeling he'd not understand anyone taking it as literally true. The creation story is not really about science of course but it has some good lessons for us.  We didn't talk about what those might be.  It didn't matter if Genesis wasn't literally true, which it isn't and wasn't in his view as well and held my tongue when thinking of just how much the story being literally true did mean in the New Testament and later in the Church with the concept of Original Sin.  One can't be held as guilty because of the Fall of humans in the Garden if there was no garden and no man or woman actually "fell."  Sigh...

The Priest fully understood the rancour between Peter, James, John and Paul in the New Testament and that none of them agreed with each other much .  But again, there was good in it all.  Sigh...

When it came to Revelation, he noted  the Book of Revelation was never written for us.  It was written for them and the "soon" and "things that must shortly come to pass" was for THEM, not US.  Revelation is a strange book and not for us to get too concerned about today.  We both noted how many "preachers" make fools of themselves with false predictions.  Little did he know how hot a topic that was for me but he understood the actual place Revelation should have in the modern Church.  None.   Sigh...

He recommended a book or two that might help and as I looked through the one he took from his shelf , which he thought was just awesome and true, it was obvious the author was well versed in Buddhism and Buddhist thought as relating to the Gospels.  Sigh....

It was obvious he knew what most who take the time and have the theological inclination can come to see and understand about the Bible.  He made it very clear he understood it was a man originated book as there can be no other kind, and that it was certainly not written by any God literally.  Yet there were many good lessons in it if you skip the crazy parts which he noted as easily found.   Sigh...

All I can say  is that the experience was interesting with a touch of regret.  Of course the Episcopal Church is sacrament oriented. It has no interest in the strange and weird ideas of those like a Dave Pack.  It is not interested in Prophecy Coming Alive! It doesn't beg for money and expects to be around a very long time. I found a grave in the Church Yard going back to 1700's and it was filled with both Revolutionary and Civil War..oops, War of Northern Aggression soldiers.  It's just there for people of faith and provides a setting that serves that need.  I don't find the congregants particularly Bible literate.  They leave that to the Church. The members have lives apart from Church and yet the Church provides much in ways of social opportunities and excellent works in places like Haiti and the community, God forbid.  Having attended, it is orderly with not much room for straying from the Liturgy or Homily.  The Homily is short and to the point.  No Dave Pack or Ron Weinland, Bob Thiel or James Malm would get an inch in the Episcopal setting.  And this crowd would not be inclined to the personal views of a Dave Pack on everything from himself to what they should or should not eat.  With forty or fifty lawyers in the audience Dave would have to be a different kind of human being. 

I did have my doubts that all congregants would see or think of the Bible in the same way as the Priests do and he admitted to that being the case as well.  I once heard that the average well trained theologian is 50 years ahead of the congregation in what they understand about all things Bible and this is true. Very true. I'd say maybe 2000

I had met my Doppelganger...my ghost.  Maybe I was the ghost and he was the real thing.  I left with several emotions tugging at me.  I was a bit frustrated that we had such similar views but such different lives, though I always imagined myself in ministry from way back.  I went to Ambassador College really believing it was a Seminary if you can imagine that.  I was a kid and no one told me otherwise.  When I was at AC I would study at times at Fuller Theological Seminary and had an inkling that that might be a better place.  But with the world ending and Jesus coming soon, I stayed put.  Besides they ate pork and didn't keep the sabbath. I was a kid. It was not difficult to compare his relatively easy life of being kind and loving, generous and helpful to a very unique group of people with my own at this time.  I left having a chat with myself about it all just being a story.  He had his and I had mine.  But I had met myself in that office and it was an interesting experience and I left realizing what is uncommon knowing for the average congregant is common understanding when a man or woman is well trained in Biblical studies and can admit to the reality of it all. 

Just thought I'd share it...

David C Pack Continues His Downward Spiral

With David C. Pack's recent abysmal prophetic failure on the "great"reunification of all the Churches of God under HIS leadership, he has been fairly quiet.  Expect of course in his sermons each week. 
Unless you have a family member or friend part of his cult you will not hear much about these sermons.  Members cannot record sermons and if a recording is played in church it must be destroyed or returned to Wadsworth immediately afterwards.  Because Pack says such weird and off the wall stuff, he has to cover his ass and not let his off-the-cuff remarks get disseminated to the heathen apostates or the world.  After getting burned and ridiculed for his "Clarion Call" sermon, Pack has been in cover up mode ever since.

There was a letter recently on Silenced from a person who has a friend in Dave's cult.  Dave is apparently sinking further down the rabbit hole with the following:

Kevyn Rand says:

October 25, 2013 at 13:43

I asked my dear friend (the one drowning in the Pack church) how Pack is dealing with this issue of being a false prophet. Apparently Pack is now telling his sheeple that he misinterpreted the dates and that it will occur, but not right now. Nothing more, hang on and keep sending in your money, just more vagueries and BS as they move on to other topics. Recent topics in their “sermons” (Pre-recorded garbage broadcast on the web so no one can think for themselves) has been to try and dictate how and what people in the church eat and how they view food. More garbage about pork, most of which is an outright lie. Also in these sermon sillies are edicts about food and how it is bad if you are eating any food that you have not grown yourself.

Interesting timing that this is all being spewed forth just before Thanksgiving to further encourage the sheeple not to celebrate thanksgiving, or any other personal holiday, with their families. They are told that they should only associate with those in the church. Why do these people not recognize that the sole purpose in most of this spew is to alienate them from their families, friends and all others who are not “with the church”? Classic mind control techniques. Trust no one. Trust nothing. Only the special people can be trusted. Jeez. Astonishing that people can allow themselves to be controlled in this way.

I wish there were some way to talk sense into these people, but they are so completely brainwashed that they can not tolerate any common sense or find any truth for     themselves. 

Kevin then followed up with this comment about how Dave is telling church members to stay away from doctors.

I forgot to include one other tidbit; the recent sermons are also (yet again) reminding the chosen fools that they are not to use modern medicine under any circumstances unless it is a dire emergency. “Pray on it, and God will take care of you” is their suggestion. I suppose if the flock really adheres to this mandate there will be far fewer of them in the next few years since many are elderly and infirm.

Great will be the day when the vermin that run these splinter cults are gone.   Sadly, once these men are gone there will be another whack-job that will take their place and the sheeple will surrender themselves once again.
 

Dennis dreams about:

Jude 1:8

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁸ Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams...

(Funda-mental-ism is a dream job)

Very shortly after the Tkaches had whittled the Greenville congregation down from about 450 to less than a hundred and I was sent on my way  (Thank you Jebus) , I had a dream.  A white ball of light burst into  three balls of light, which later  I realized looked very similar to the Microsoft logo which spun my computer to start, appeared in the sky.  The now smaller white one came down to me , elongated in the horizontal and morphed into an Angel.  I asked it, "How do you fly?"   The Angel said nothing but put a vest it was wearing on me and I took off like a bird soaring over the landscape.  Ahead was a huge log structure like the lodge at Yellowstone but bigger.  I soared into the rafters and a huge crowd below, having lunch after the morning Feast Service applauded the landing.  I slowly descended to the floor to find a seat for lunch and EVERY TIME I approached an empty seat, the person put their hand on it and said "Sorry, this seat is taken.'   Exasperated, I flew away.  The end.

For years after that I dreamed nightly of being a co-pilot in a jet where the pilot never spoke or looked at me. EVERY TIME we tried to take off, a canopy of trees would grow over the runway and we never got off  the ground. We crashed.  I'd scream at the pilot to hurry and take off. He never did.  I was never hurt and just watched the plane burn.  Over and over..co-pilot/runway/trees/crash...    

Then I had a talk with myself.  "The next time you dream this...don't scream at the pilot...fly the plane yourself.   It took some time but finally that dream came where here comes the fast growing canopy of trees and I burst through them before they engulfed the runway.  

My mind was processing my change of career and my life long bad habit of letting others fly my own life and crash it at will. That is all the dreams were about.  I had Incorporated my love of airplanes, with Microsoft logos, log buildings that I love and would love to live in, crashing airplanes and the need to pilot and fly on my own into my dreams.  I understood my head was talking to my heart and I had to change some things now that I was no longer a Mr. Diehl.  I needed to stop letting others control me and determine my happiness because if I let them pilot my life, I will crash every time. It was a painful lesson and there were big prices to pay, but I got the point my mind was making to me which I no doubt had, all my life, understood to be something I was weak in and needed to change. 

The dreams were not from any God, "trying to tell me something."  It was Dennis talking to Mr. Diehl about his mid-life crisis, need to awaken or grow up, take your choose....

It is absurd that a man who claims to be a "Doctor" and now had designated himself a "Prophet" to imply it is because he dreamed it and dreams come from God.  Dreams do not come from God.  What kind of a God would wish to transmit absolutely vital information to EVERYONE by giving a dream to ONE person that ain't all that credible or skilled in communication?  Dreams come from central processing of emotions, needs, wants and desires.  Humans have been dreaming since they became conscious of being conscious beings.  It is how the mind works.   I don't care if Joseph of the Old Testament was a dreamer and God got to him during his dreams. I don't care if Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that Daniel needed to interpret for him and they always favored the interpreter or the one who dreamed an knew exactly what it all meant.  The real problem is that one can say they had a dream about some profound truth  and that now they are special because God says so, in the dream, and it can never be verified.  Those who need titles often dream God gave them that title and it's just up to the faithful to take that on faith.  One just has to believe the dreamer is not also a liar.  

Dreams, made up by writers, can be useful in persuasion and getting readers to accept foregone conclusions the dreamer has come to.  It was convenient to have Pilate's wife dream that Jesus was a good and innocent guy because the need was to portray Jesus as a good and innocent guy in the story. Just who heard this private conversation between Pilate and his wife is never explained.  How they got the info on this dream is not known because it is just made up for the sake of the story.  It is the same with Jesus agony in garden.  It was needful for the story teller to show Jesus in agnony, torn, afraid and just like us but with resolve to die if that's what God wanted. It's how you make a man "fully God and fully human."   If all the disciples were sleeping, Jesus is alone and "afar off", then just who wrote down exactly what Jesus said in his head or out loud in the Garden?  Immediately after this, in the story, Jesus is arrested.  Did he yell, when being led away..."Write this down!!!!" ?  Of course not.  It is part of the passion story and the drama of the writer. 

Most if not all of the long winded speeches in the Gospels and Acts are not what someone actually said.  No one could get that all exactly right on the spot.  It is what the author imagined the character would say if they were to say it or were in a situation where talking about that situation would be necessary for the flow of the story.  It was a Greek style of writing.  No one wrote down word for word what Stephen said before being stoned or what Jesus said only in John 13-17 which I read every passover and almost fell asleep doing it.  It's a writing style used to tell a story.

Anyway...back to the Dreamer Bob Thiel.  Bob says:

"Do dreams and prophets have any place in the Christian Church today?  Are any related to the Continuing Church of God (which did not officially form as a declared entity until December 28, 2012)? - "

Answer:  NO

Bob Continues

"The Bible shows that God often chooses to work with prophets through a dream:

6 “Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision;
I speak to him in a dream. (Numbers 12:6)

Notice that the above says that God will speak to His prophet in a dream. Notice also:

28 The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream (Jeremiah 23:28)"

 Answer:  The reason the Bible says this is that Bronze Age humans knew nothing about the origins of dreams and assumed a coherent dream must be from the gods.  It was not any god but Priests in the captivity that wrote Numbers and I well imagine it was stressful being in exile in Babylon for them.  

Please notice that in your Bible God starts out speaking like buddies to Adam and Eve, face to face. Then theological evolution takes place and God speaks in clouds and pillars of fire.  God chooses the occasional bush to speak through as well. Convenient for sure as daytime has clouds and night time needs light to see what the God is doing and the Sinai is full of scrub bushes.  Later God has to speak only through selected prophets who alone know what is going on and Kings and people just get stuck having to believe them or not.  Adam and Eve had no problem believing it was God speaking to them in the story.  The Psalms show the disconnect with the oft repeated lament of "why art thou so far from us?" As time went on, it became more difficult to know if it was really God speaking and then we have to deal with vain dreamers and lying prophets as seen by others who don't believe them.  I am sure the opposing parties had to find lying prophets in the crowd to make the difference between themselves and them.  Finally, God just basically disappears and we are lead to rely only on "Thus said the Lord," or the stories written by men who speak for God.  Of course we have oracles at Delphi, casting of bones, Urim and Thummin, divination and the study of goat guts thriving to figure out what God wants or is doing. I am sure any prohibition against such was designed to discourage use of the Bronze Age Internet to find out for oneself what may or may not be going on.  Priests and competing prophets are like that! Hebrews tells us that finally all that is done away and now we learn stuff through God's Son.  The problem is that God's Son never writes anything himself, only hangs around one to three years depending on which Gospel you read, disappears and never is heard from again until oral traditions and stories are written down and we get all we ever need to know now in what we call The Word of God-The Bible. 

Let me Dare to Be a Daniel with Bob dream of his rising star status in COGdom.  At least Dave Pack and Ron Weinland didn't inflict their dreams on the members to convince.  They just took the titles and beat the brethren down with hour after hour and week after week sermons "proving" that they had every right to declare themselves apostles or witnesses.  I guess I'd prefer a dream just to get it over with faster. 

"I was 50 at the time (which essentially makes me an ‘old man’  per Numbers 8:25; cf. John 8:57) See, I am like a Bible guy.  Bob needs to wonder why the Pharisees would say Jesus was not yet 50 when he was barely late 20's or early 30's  Nobody says that to guys that age.... In my dream, there seemed to be two parallel lines. Living Church of God (LCG) evangelist Roderick Meredith was on the top line and I was on the line much below. See, I was a good part of the church but knew I was special in my unconscious mind and wanted more recognition but RCM was in charge.  I am in line for promotion but can't get it, sooooooo.......In the dream, I kept calling up to Dr. Meredith, but he never would respond.  This lack of response made no sense to me during the dream. Then after what seemed to be a long time, the lines-crossed with his line dropping and my line going up. See, no one would listen to me (trust me-as a pastor there were many people it was hard to take and listen to when they got some lame idea about themselves and the Bible)  The lack of response making no sense means Bob has always thought more highly of himself, like Dave Pack and Ron Weinland, than he ought to think. But finally, I realized I must increase while he must ,mmldecrease.  Bob is John the Baptist in reverse.
One reason that I did not understand it at the time was that I was on relatively close speaking terms with Dr. Meredith then, so that aspect made of the dream made no sense  See, it made no sense because I was getting along with him. Being on "speaking terms" means Bob viewed himself as special and an equal.  He was no friend to RCM but merely, on speaking terms.    "Made no sense" = Bob was not willing to admit outwardly to his inward feelings quite yet.  It was going to take an imagined sign from God to do that. . Also, since I had no intentions of leaving Living Church of God then (and certainly no plans to start a separate church), it was not clear what the dream was saying. Another reason I was unsure about the dream then was that I had not had any anointing for the Holy Spirit beyond baptism when I had it. "  See, I was not used to thinking about striking out on my own and I did have thoughts about starting my own church along the way. In hind site, now that i have a special anointing that I found because I was looking for one I can say humble stuff like this.  He may have had no plans to start a church, but he had subconscious alternatives brewing. 

"But these matters changed eventually. See, I finally got fed up with no one listening to me or taking my counsel and advice when I went to Charlotte to make myself available to LCG. For one, I was unexpectedly anointed for a ‘double-portion’ of God’s Spirit (cf. 2 Kings 2:9) on December 15, 2011 by an LCG minister named Gaylyn Bonjour. "  For one thing, I found a glitch in the system I could hang on to for my proof of my awesome self.  God tricked Gaylyn "Good Day" and it was a very good day for Bob, in his mind.  Shades of Gerald "Strong Arm" Waterhouse!

I won't belabor the point which I believe we get.  Human being dream for lots of reasons.  Dreams can be fun or terrifying.  They can make us think about meaning and indeed, when the head is speaking to the heart or the heart to the head internally and processing life for us and our emotions, intents and secret wishes, it can all seem very meaningful.  However, the meaning is for the person who dreams and not necessarily or ever something OTHERS have to buy into.   Like eclipse conscious Jesuits who tricked Native Americans into believing them by saying if they didn't the moon would swallow the sun tomorrow, dreamers can con both themselves and others into feeling special and on missions from God.  They are not special and the missions are suppressed needs in their minds and lives. There is no God "trying to communicate" with them. 

Let's be reminded of what we, not living in the Bronze Age, have learned about dreams.

Psychoanalytic Theory of Dreams: (About.com  Psychology/dreams)

Consistent with the psychoanalytic perspective, Sigmund Freud’s theory of dreams suggested that dreams were a representation of unconscious desires, thoughts and motivations.According to Freud’s psychoanalytic view of personality, people are driven by aggressive and sexual instincts that are repressed from conscious awareness. While these thoughts are not consciously expressed, Freud suggested that they find their way into our awareness via dreams.

In his famous book The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud wrote that dreams are "...disguised fulfillment of repressed wishes."¹ He also described two different components of dreams: manifest content and latent content. Manifest content is made up of the actual images, thoughts and content contained within the dream, while the latent content represents the hidden psychological meaning of the dream.

Other Theories of Dreams: 

Many other theories have been suggested to account for the occurrence and meaning of dreams. The following are just of few of the proposed ideas:

• One theory suggests that dreams are the result of our brains trying to interpret external stimuli during sleep. For example, the sound of the radio may be incorporated into the content of a dream ⁵.


• Another theory uses a computer metaphor to account for dreams. According to this theory, dreams serve to 'clean up' clutter from the mind, much like clean-up operations in a computer, refreshing the mind to prepare for the next day ⁶.


• Yet another model proposes that dreams function as a form of psychotherapy. In this theory, the dreamer is able to make connections between different thoughts and emotions in a safe environment ⁷.


• A contemporary model of dreaming combines some elements of various theories. The activation of the brain creates loose connections between thoughts and ideas, which are then guided by the emotions of the dreamer ⁸.

Dreams are internalized needs, emotions and frustrations that need to find a place in the life of the dreamer.  "I had a dream" can be very manipulative and have been used by the clever through out history to sway the minds of others to the views of the "dreamer."  Writers, such as the writer of Daniel, in the 160's and not the 585's BCE and those given to visions in their heads which are just dreams in Revelation are expression the angst of the times.  In both cases, the dreams did not come to pass as advertised and Rome crushed the dreamers.  Of course, then the dreamer kicks into "it not time yet, close the book...until."  They say things like "if not this Pentecost, then next" and "I will reveal certain expansive elements" of the dream, vision or prophecy soon.

I believe with all my heart that Bob Thiel is sincere.  He is not being manipulative in this matter.  He is being silly, self centered and is ignorant of how his own mind and human nature works because it is all mixed up with Bronze Age Bible ignorance in the classic God-Haunted kind of way common to many fundamentalist and Bible literalists who have no clue as to the origins, politic and original intent of the very scriptures they cherish so much. 

Dream on Dude...Get yourself back in pespective

http://www.upworthy.com/the-single-most-mind-altering-photograph-humanity-has-ever-taken