A reader on Malm's blog had this to say in one of the comments today. This is the same question that has been asked for decades and people continue to allow the ministry to abuse and use them. When COG members get frustrated they jump ship to another group, and then to another, and then to another. The abuse continues on and on. Far too many never stop and look really deeply to see that the entire church is rotten to the core.
I am personally frustrated by both sides attempts to use us like pawns. We are real people with lives they are directly hurting. How do any believe and trust the men that have been the root cause for family division and pain?
6 comments:
How can they believe those men? Well they can't. You're not supposed to believe in men anyway. Especially the men who brought you the pack of tall tales forgeries they call the New Testament.
In case anyone is wondering the commenter is specifically referring to the UCG-COGWA schism.
"Good Question!?"
It would seem to be incumbent upon Malm to convince his followers that he, himself, is non-abusive. On his side is the fact that he is not an Armstrongite minister. Against him, is the fact that Malm espouses extreme legalism, which is the weapon of choice leading Armstrongite ministers to be abusive. Malm doesn't realize it yet, but he, too will be corrupted by Armstrongite doctrine. He'd have a better chance of remaining benign if he espoused another absolutely corrupting philosophy, Communism.
In Armstrongism, the invocation of "god" into the relationship dynamics means that Step 3 is not necessary to keep "the fish on the hook." Citing divine authority allows the relationship to go from Step 2 directly to Step 4.
Abuse follows some interesting dynamics. People abuse because they can. It's almost like a statement about perceived relative social-Darwinian fitness. People who feel they are deserving of a high-status role (HSR) will mete out abuse to people who are willing to accept low-status roles (LSR). The fact that the HSR can dish it out and the LSR will accept it is a demonstration and confirmation that the perceived status disparity is "real." If abuse has occurred between two individuals on a single occasion, a precedent has been set and the roles are now clearly accepted and agreed upon by both parties. In effect, a social contract has just been issued and signed. From an objective, external viewpoint, the worse the HSR's behavior now becomes, the "better" (more compliant) the LSR's behavior will become, and the harder the LSR will work to "measure up" until a balking threshold is reached and the LSR will place his finger on the nuclear button—a move to terminate the relationship. Sometimes when the balking threshold is reached, the relationship is unsalvageable because the LSR will become silently polarized and the tearing up of the social contract serves as notification. In other cases, a warning may be issued, but the LSR is still in the market to continue buying what the HSR is selling. In Armstrongism, it has always been the job of the "minister" to fulfill the HSR on behalf of the pastor general or the COE, or whoever's "in charge" to interface with and groom those in his congregation to continue to fulfill the LSR without pushing them over the balking threshold. It is his job to keep "the fish on the hook" or the "sheep in the fold" because that is the position from which they can be "milked" so as to continue to put butter on your bread.
In Armstrongism, either you're "ordained" (a high-status "player") or else you're not (a low-status "pawn"). There's no other option in my opinion. If you're a pawn, that's all you've ever been to whatever your corporation of choice might be. You've never been a member, or even a person, just a number, a revenue source to be exploited. If you're not a member of the corporation, any connection to that corporation is an illusion anyway. Anything non-ordained people do to "serve the church" is to actively participate in their own subjugation.
I am of the opinion that HWA started a church because he knew how to play the HSR, and realized he could use "god" to monetize the LSR, essentially viewing humanity as a vast herd of animals waiting to be milked and bilked. All he had to do was get "on the air" to encourage the individuals who were susceptible to come forward and identify themselves.
"The one thing you can control is who your mark is. Never play someone who isn't buying what you're selling. You're thinking, 'What am I selling?' What you're selling is you." —Roy Waller (Nicolas Cage) Matchstick Men (2003). [A great movie if you've never seen it...]
No, no, no!
Step 3: Reconciliation -- the abused apologizes!
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