Thiel joins hundreds of other COG leaders and Evangelical prophecy nuts using this same scene to bring their "correct"message to the world. Or, in Bob's case to a few hundred people.
This is another pathetic video with flailing arms, blowing wind, and even a crooked skyline. Is there anything straight about this guy? The great addition this time is that he struggling with his voice.
Around 19 minutes in he talks about how the FCC and Net Neutrality will cause his message to go off the air starting the famine of the word. As if this will ever happen, particularity to his "ministry."
Pathetic presentation. Get a wind block for the mike. Know your material and figure out where you really are.
ReplyDeleteAnd give it a try to stop making the Bible mean for today what it neve meant...
Another example of the assumption that "if I use the same words and make the same pronouncements, my message will be like HWA's." For a few maybe, but you, Bob, are laughable to most of us who got suckered in by ol' Herbie's slickness, of which you have NONE.
ReplyDeleteWant to ask: is the taping equipment owned or rented? Could you have been better equipped if you'd not flown first class, as surely God's special servants must?
He's wasting a lot of time quoting Revelation which proved ultimately to be a failed first century prophecy written to encourage Jewish Christians before the fall of Jerusalem. Probably written in the Summer of '69 and not later in the 90s. "Of things which must shortly come to pass" was not a misstatement. Rome prevailed. The Jews and Christians got crushed. Vespatian was the Beast and the Apostle Paul, hated by the Jewish Church for his views and disagreeing with him on most points, was probably the Apostle in the Ephesian letter in Revelation that the Ephesian Church, under John,found not to be an apostle to their liking and wasn't one to them.
ReplyDeleteFits well perhaps. Paul admitted to "all of asia has forsaken me" (he never seems to wonder why)which would be where these 7 Churches were.
Go home Bob and take public speaking lessons
Is Bob trying too hard to be the Prophet of Doom or Dumb? What is with the black on black look lately? When you look depressed as you are preaching your message it comes across depressing.
ReplyDeleteWhere is there "Ambassador" quality in anything Bob does? From his videos to his "magazine" it is one incredible hodgepodge of unprofessionalism.
You do have to give HWA and the WCG credit for being top notch in everything they did that the public saw. The face of the man and the church was one of professionalism and quality.
Videos done in a rocking chair or a home office with crooked bookcases and vertical blinds in the background do not lend any inkling of credibility to the speaker. Nor does not knowing your subject. Stumbling and bumbling along, searching for words, is an immediate turn off for any listener.
How can anyone spend time listening to this? I stopped the play after 35 seconds as the noise from the wind was causing my ears to hurt.
ReplyDeleteBack around 1975, some of the people on the WCG mailing list began receiving bizarre materials from one Larry Gilbert Johnson. In one weird example, Johnson had imposed his own head into some sort of zodiac art. Freaky! He attempted to explain away his blue collar background, but almost no-one took him seriously. This was a time in which the first batch of splinters were cropping up from both the liberal and the ultraconservative camps. Some were taking the splinters started by Ken Westby, Raymond Cole, Garner Ted, and others seriously, but most people schooled in WCG realized that this Larry Gilbert Johnson simply didn't meet basic quality control standards. That's the reason nobody who reads this today will even recognize his name.
ReplyDeleteThat early batch of splinters, though, pretty much. set the tone for what happened to the Tkaches. People realized that ministers trained in the Ambassador mold could survive on just a handful of tithe payers, and that as more joined, a minister would do quite well. Most, like good businessmen, put the majority of the income back into their work, while eventually getting back to the lifestyle to which they were accustomed.
What has happened today is that anyone with a briefcase, a Bible, and a computer equipped with a videocam can apply the basics from Armstrongism, with his particular twist, and put it out there in front of the people. Unfortunately, though, this is no longer even "open mike night" at the bar. In so many cases, what we are getting is some very bad karaoke. However, in the case of karaoke, many of the bar patrons have the benefit of being inebriated, which makes the auditory assault seem not so bad.
Whether or not Bummer Bob improves in his techniques and presentation is largely irrelevant. The Armstrong message is a deeply flawed, lying message to start with. Just as nobody but perhaps somebody's mother would buy a record of someone's bad karaoke, the majority of Thiel's audience will not be moved to join up or support his message financially. At best, some few of his ideas may be thought provoking enough that if people hear other, more skilled and charismatic speakers saying the same things, they might be inclined to follow those people. It is hard to fathom why some of these wannabes even try.
BB
Trying to be a "Worldwide Work" whilst working out of ones basement is a bad strategy, and the production value here shows it.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it make more sense for Bob to work his own local county, inviting some locals over to do some in home bible studies and fellowships, and pass out some high grade flyers to his local neighborhoods announcing such. Having a Bar-B-Que, a beer , and some fun, along with some stimulating "iron sharpens iron" chats? Everyone esteeming each other to achiever their worthy life goals, while honoring God?
Be involved in the local area , serve local causes and be a light in the community?
Even HWA started from a small local base , and then gradually grew, first in the Northwest, then Pacific Coast, and over several decades to a global operation. Along each step of the way he became more sophisticated in quality and presentation. He did not try to jump in all at once.
Plenty of people for Bob to reach in his local Arroyo Grande, CA location. In fact, a survey on the street of that little community would be virtually 100% UNKNOWING of the great work of the Bob Thiel "Continuing Church of God".
That being the case, why bother to reach the "BILLIONS OF PEOPLE", when you can't even reach the "thousands" in your own neighborhood in your own backyard?
The reason is believing you are far greater than you are, ...the next "Herbert Armstrong", and that you are a "man of destiny". Such delusion is truly bordering on severe madness and at the very least is a personal ego trip.
People want and need love and relationship. This is where human fulfillment, joy and purpose is found, and it is the same with our relationship with God as well. This is done one on one or in smaller, personal , intimate groups and settings. There is no glory, or vanity, brag , "bling" or "splash" to be found in the true nature of what this life is about. The old song said "What the World needs now is love, sweet love" and it is very true.
Being a media star, or famous, or the expert or the "virtual guru" is bad enough in the secular world, and wears very poorly in the Christian world too. If one is going to play that silly game, then at least have a good production value. Karaoke Night COG looks very bad.
One can never develop a relationship with a booklet, a magazine, or a "you tube video" or an email. Such things may educate, but they are not the goal or ultimate purpose of life.
True Biblical religion carries no glory, no title, and no name recognition. This is the "True Work of God" . Do not let the left hand know what the right hand is doing is the "Plain Truth" . Of those seeking religious fame and title, well... you have your reward.
Nicely stated Connie
ReplyDeleteThe scary part is that Bob Thiel may really believe this stuff himself. That would mean that his mind has become so completely warped and twisted as to be completely useless to him.
ReplyDeleteOf course, he may have always been that way, which would mean that he is a paranoid schizophrenic and may be dangerous.
Byker Bob, I do remember Larry Gilbert Johnson and he was a raving lunatic...no, for real. If he ever had a mind, it was completely gone.
Well said Connie! You hit all the nails on the head and are spot on!
ReplyDeleteHerbert Armstrong started very humbly and with small origins with a three point campaign: 1) his mimeographed Plain Truth went to a relatively small handful of people in the LOCAL Eugene, Oregon area including those “predisposed” brethren from the “dead Sardis” Church of God, Seventh Day; 2) His broadcast reach was on a LOCAL radio station KORE; and 3) He followed up his mimeographed magazine offered on the radio broadcast with personal appearances in the LOCAL area.
These guys (Thiel, Flurry, Meredith, the Packatolla and the 700+ other Armstrong copycats) seem to want to do a global reach work from the reference point of where Herbert Armstrong’s life ended after 50+ years of building a Worldwide Church. And despite all the effort of “witnessing and warning” from what became a worldwide work, most people have never heard of the name Herbert W. Armstrong or his warning message.
People like Thiel are just “pissing in the wind” and their works will amount to nothing other than to provide them with an income stream from the “dumb sheep”.
Richard
God is dead. We killed him.
ReplyDelete-- Nietzsche.
Is this the same Larry Gilbert Johnson?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bustedoffenders.com/missouri/walnut-grove/sex-offenders/larry-gilbert-johnson/63710721
Great comment Connie.
ReplyDeleteI didn't listen to but maybe five minutes into it because I kept hearing demonic sounds in the background. This is the first time I have actually seen this guy speak, and I have to give Gerald Flurry credit for being a lot more professional in his public speaking.
I really think this man is copying Gerald Flurry as I have witnessed first hand the PCG. Dave Pack and now seeing Bob Theil are obviously copy-cats but they lack the professionalism Gerald Flurry has.
So all these so called prophets are descending on Jerusalem and reading scripture. Now what?
Connie Schmidt said:
ReplyDelete" Such delusion is truly bordering on severe madness and at the very least is a personal ego trip."
That's because Christianity is a mental disorder.
(sigh) Bob, lower (not tilt) the camera so the skyline is in the same zone as your head. Then you won't look like a stumbling midget and we might watch for more than 9 seconds.
ReplyDeleteHey RSK.
ReplyDeleteYou have insulted midgets. The multicultural police will be kicking down your door soon.
--Midget tossing champion.
RSK: Don't you know that Bob is a Hobbit? That is the way he looks in all of them.
ReplyDeleteNo multicultural police to fear, unless you want to head to Uganda and gripe about people being "politically correct" (has anyone even taken that seriously since the 1990s? Get a new catchphrase).
ReplyDeleteBob looks less like a hobbit in these than he does a classic creep peeking in the corner of windows.
"Is Bob trying too hard to be the Prophet of Doom or Dumb? What is with the black on black look lately?"
ReplyDeleteI happened to scroll through one of his articles on the "two witnesses", wondering if he tries to insinuate he's one. And there it is, one will be born in a Catholic family and wear black clothing. Here we go again...