Thursday, June 5, 2014

Why Does Bob Harris Not Speak Out Against The Hero Worship of Herbert Armstrong?


Bob Harris of the Church of God a Christian Fellowship does not like the idea that people look up to the current Pope.  Pope Francis has a better reputation with  people than Herbert Armstrong did. 

At least the Pope tends to practice what he believes.  Last year on Maundy Thursday he washed the feet of two women and a Muslim man.  This year he washed the feet of disabled persons.  Rabid conservative Catholics raise holy hell over those two acts.  Yet, Pope Francis continues to disrupt and go against "official" teachings which intrigues many people.

Harris is apparently disgusted by people liking the Pope and setting him on a pedestal as a"hero."  Down through the ages humanity have set certain people up as hero's, men and women who have done great things or have  been outspoken usually on the behalf of the downtrodden and disenfranchised.

Of course in Armstrongism we have out own set of "hero's" that continuity get discussed as stalwarts of the faith.  Herbert Armstrong, Rod Meredith, Gerald Warterhouse, Dick Armstrong, and others.  Its perfectly OK for this kind of hero worship but not Ok for Pope Francis. 

It is perfectly Ok for Gerald Flurry to imitate every aspect imaginable about Herbert Armstrong.  It would not surprise me at all if Flurry wears the same kind of underwear that HWA did.  He has HWA's prayer rock, named his fake college after him, bought various Ambassador Auditorium accoutrements, paid millions of dollars for the rights to HWA's books after losing the court battle.

The idolatry of Armstrongite hero worship in Flurrydumb and Packdumb is appallingly grotesque, but that is never discussed by the splinter groups.

While we give a fleeting nod to selflessness, our society reveres those who vainly set themselves upon pillars to be honored and even worshipped.  The entertainment industry is a self-aggrandizing enterprise, a distraction to show how Satan is transforming this world.  Our end-time age is warned against this practice: “But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts” (Revelation 9:20-21).

It is easy to point out obvious idolatry that we should avoid.  What is difficult as a Christian is to not become blinded by subtle idolatry that is at times embraced by the world.  In a recent CNN article about Pope Francis the author states, “The popular pontiff has also made a positive impression among Americans in general: Nearly three in four view Francis favorably.  The new survey suggests that the Pope is arguably the most well-regarded religious figure among the American public today, said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. According to one study, Pope Francis was the most talked about person on the Internet this year, and even atheists have professed appreciation for the 77-year-old pontiff." This kind of hero worship, whether it is of debase or lofty ideals, is still false worship. Judgment is coming to those that practice it.

So the question is Bob Harris, when are you going to speak out about the hero worship of Herbert Armstrong and other COG leaders from the past and present?  That hero worship is false worship too.

8 comments:

Dan said...

I use to wear Brut deodorant because I heard Mr. Armstrong used it. Then I found out it did not work for me. I use to hunt and peck on the keyboard (wait, I still do) because Mr. Armstrong did. If it was good enough for him to type that way, it was good enough for me (that is what I told my parents when I got a D in typing class).

NO2HWA said...

Dan: I forgot about Brut! Too funny!

Anonymous said...

Well, it's probably because some false worship is okay false worship. Didn't you know there are special exemptions from judgment for the right kinds of false worship? It's kinda like a "Get out of hell free" card.

Byker Bob said...

Here is what is normal: If you see an admirable example, you comment favorably about it. You borrow the good or the strengths from such an individual, making it your own, and becoming a better and more exemplary person yourself. That is part of the normal process of give and take, and simply means you draw on the good side of the human equation.

Here is the Armstrongite norm: Everything is a matter of us vs them. When a non Armstrongite is held out as an example, you need to immediately demonstrate that his or her good deeds are in reality not good at all. It is your job and calling as an Armstrongite to denigrate and level such a "worldly-exemplary" individual while extoling the virtues of your own leaders as being the only true paragons worthy of imitation.

Reality? I've often wondered if Trey Parker and Matt Stone based their South Park character "Mr. Hankey" on Herbert W. Armstrong. The parallels seem undeniable. Mr. Garrison reminds me of Rod Meredith, but that's another topic.


BB

Ed said...

I think that Flurry tries to copy everything Armstrong because Armstrong had some small but limited success in the religion business. However it is not working for him.

old EXPCG hag said...

Washing someone's feet means nothing when we all know the Catholic Church has murdered people down through the ages for not accepting the Pope as "Vicar of Christ"

Herbert W. Armstrong did the same thing when he set himself up "In place of Christ".
HWA knew he couldn't get away with murdering people for not accepting him but he could sure lash out at people condemning them to the "lake of fire".

Gerald Flurry, (HWA's greatest worshiper) has stated that a certain person needs to have his had shot off and let God resurrect them in the Kingdom and put it back on. If this isn't thinking "murder in his heart"??

Christ was nothing like these men.

Byker Bob said...

I hear what you are saying about some of the history of the Catholics, EX. But, just as I, a WASP type dude never owned any slaves, Pope Francis is not known to have martyred anyone.

On the other hand, you could make the case that Fert-Elijah (yet another brilliant and caustic nickname through which I express my contempt for HWA) orchestrated the deaths of thousands of WCG members over decades through his scripturally unjustifiable doctrines forbidding his members from taking advantage of modern medical science.

Let's face it, his members thought they'd be sent to the Lake of Fire if they even took a couple of Excedrines to kill the headache they got from breaking their fast after the Day of Atonement with a couple of double shots of Jack Daniels!

As Mr. Spock, once quipped after reading a PlainTruth that was in the bathroom on the Starship Enterprise, "Captain, I find this Armstrongism to be completely illogical!"

BB

Anonymous said...

Just asking, but when and where was it that people admired Gerald I-can-never-shut-up Waterhouse? . . . Well, yeah, it was hard to believe that someone could be so totally devoted to one topic (and WRONG, we now know, every step of the way). Oh, wasn't it amazing how he could "prove" so ably how specially chosen we all were -- and REALLY special he was, and REALLY REALLY special Herbie was? But who wanted to be like Gerald? He could have his "job;" I'd never want it.

And a suggestion about Dick Armstrong -- he looks quite shiny compared to his wayward, more infamous - er - famous brother. What if he wasn't killed in the accident? What if this allegedly straight arrow had been there to take over for Daddy? Could we have broken out of our slavery as we have? Just asking.