Joel's home on the PCG compound.
The Philadelphia Church of God recently ran the following article on its web site as if it was something of importance: Thankful Its a story by Joel Hilliker on how much he appreciates his two decades of privileged lifestyle in the Philadelphia Church of God.
He starts of with a rather odd comment on how God pays close attention to anniversaries, memorials and reminders...though birthdays are not part of that scenario. Joel apparently does not see the hypocrisy in his comment. God loves anniversaries but hates birthdays. That's why Joel's god apparently is well pleased that Joel joined Gerald Flurry's cult in 1994 though.
He then goes on about all of HIS accomplishments:God pays close attention to many anniversaries, memorials and annual reminders. The Sabbath after Thanksgiving is one date I remember each year. It was on this day in 1994 that my family attended services with the Philadelphia Church of God for the first time.
There's one common thread in all Armstrongite splinter cults. Its always about THEM instead of Jesus. They never can seem to mention the guy.I can survey more than 19 years of being baptized—possessing and growing in the Holy Spirit, the source of spiritual understanding, power, love. Over 17 years of working at headquarters in Edmond, directly contributing to God’s Work. Nearly 16 years of marriage, building memories and absorbing all the lessons it offers. Over 14 years in God’s ministry, and 14 years teaching at God’s college, helping others’ spiritual growth. Over 13 years as a father, and seven as a father of three, working in partnership with God and my wife at shaping future God beings.
Then Joel writes:
Joel has apparently been elevated above the lowly church members who have never experienced generosity or received numerous opportunities to learn and grow at church expenses. While they suffer and are forced to kick their children to the curb and are forced to send in more and more money, Joel lives a life of privileged luxury with all of the ministerial perks that go with his job. Free travel to Feast sites, free lodging, free (or highly discounted) schooling for his children, meals payed for, many personal expenses paid for, a fancy home, corporate cars, access to the upper leadership of the cult and much much more.What a marvelous education. When God begets someone with His Spirit and brings him into His Family, He is so generous with opportunities to learn and grow.
He then writes this:
Developing a relationship with Him through daily prayer, continually striving to make it more Spirit-minded, godlier, more vigorous and robust. Learning the skills, the workmanship, of productive Bible study; coming to accept the piercing of God’s spiritual sword into the joints and marrow; learning to convert words, stories, abstractions, into redirected thoughts, words and deeds; seeking biblical guidance to answer life’s questions, to speak to one’s own needs and the needs of the family. Building relationships within the body of Christ, being sharpened by the iron of Christian fellowship, learning to serve and sacrifice and love. Developing a relationship with Christ’s ministry, recognizing direction, seeking counsel, accepting correction. These are the courses of a character-building curriculum. These are true blessings.
Armstrongism thrives on the warrior god that is constantly battling the world around them. They cannot focus up on the grace filled message of Jesus, but sure do love the swords and mayhem of their Old Testament god they follow.
All credit to the Husbandman. He truly is relentless in His effort to produce fruit within His children. Within the heart of every last begotten son who will yield to Him, He never ceases to work away—pressing, prodding, softening, molding, toiling, hammering, healing. And because of His pity, persistence, perseverance and unending patience, over time—over decades—His efforts repay. He keeps incrementally gaining ground in His supreme feat of creative accomplishment.
If they actually knew the Jesus they claim to follow then they would not feel the need to be ceaselessly prodded, constantly being remolded, toiling away, being hammered at, or following a god that is only incrementally is able to gain ground in its creatures. Jesus says his yoke is Easy, His burden is light.
Aramaic Bible in Plain English
For my yoke is pleasant and my burden is light.
For my yoke is pleasant and my burden is light.
There's nothing pleasant about being constantly prodded, being hammered and toiling away hoping that somehow you have appeased the deity into granting you a few crumbs at the table.
The decades of abuse that Gerald Flurry has abused his members with stains the very hands of privileged Joel. He is part of the problem and is culpable for all the misdeeds of the Philadelphia Church of God due to his status as a minister. That's noting to be thankful for.
You can also read Redfox's take on this article here: Joel Hilliker's Rise in the Ranks of PCG's Leadership
6 comments:
"I can survey more than 19 years of being baptized..."
So can I. Unfortunately, this would not something for which I am thankful.
As for rest of those things Joel boasts about, I'd say the hobgoblin of Armstrongism has been pretty darned stingy with me, starting with that holey spirit. If I didn't know better, I'd almost say there was no such thing as holey spirit!
But this doesn't mean that I don't have anything to be thankful for.
Come to think of it, actually I do know better, so, that's something to be thankful for, right there.
I'm thankful to no longer be scared of boogeymen called "satan" or the other one, "yahweh" who claims to be good, but is actually just another boogeyman with better PR. So I'm thankful never to have to be worried or confused about nothing ever again, wondering if something is a "test," or a "spanking" from the "good" boogeyman, or a "trap" or "curse" from the "bad" boogeyman.
I'm thankful not to be blind to the fact that tithing is a superstition tax.
I'm thankful to no longer think that someone chanting incantations over you with oily hands is a effective substitute for going to the doctor. (I'm pretty sure you need drums and people dancing around wearing outrageous masks for this to actually work.)
Thankfully, I was never enslaved by the Flurry Family Mafia, as that might be the worst flavor of Armstrongism there is. (It's certainly a contender.)
I count it as huge blessing to have realized how far from credible claims about hobgoblins and their holey books are, without which, I would still be enslaved by lying SOBs like Joel Hilliker, or at least the hobgoblins they preach in order to keep people bound to despicable would-be slave-masters like him.
There are many more things I could enumerate, but you get the picture. We can all find something to be thankful for this holiday season, regardless of whether we're impoverished or living the life of Riley because we're impoverishing others.
Listed below are a few paragraphs from Herbert W. Armstrong's last book, called “MYSTERY OF THE AGES,” which was published in 1985. These quotes are from the original hardcover edition of 1985. All the CAPITALIZATION and italics for emphasis is HWA's own. The text in bold print is my own emphasis to show the words that Gerald R. Flurry DELETED from the version of MOA that is on his Philadelphia Church of Fraud's website.
The reason for GRF's changes to MOA is that HWA's teaching that no prophets ever led God's Church, and that there are not even any prophets in God's Church today, clashed with the PCG's new heresy that GRF is “That Prophet” leading the Church. GRF also has a publication at his website called “He Was Right: Remembering five decades of accurate forecasting by Herbert W. Armstrong.” Of course, the plain truth is that HWA's timing for his prophecies always turned out to be too early—always a bit ahead of time. PCG members might notice GRF's supposedly “short work” dragging on and on too.
Serious people who have a copy of HWA's original MOA book should look up these paragraphs for themselves to confirm what is written below. They should also look up these paragraphs in GRF's version of MOA at the PCG's website to confirm for themselves the deletions.
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MYSTERY OF THE AGES by Herbert W. Armstrong
Copyright 1985
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CHAPTER 6 – Mystery of the Church
Subheading – One Church with One Government
The prophets set in the foundation of the Church are those of the Old Testament, whose writings were used to form a considerable part of New Testament and gospel teaching and functioning. No prophets are mentioned as having either administrative, executive or preaching functions in the New Testament Church.
(MOA, original hardcover edition, pages 244-245)
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CHAPTER 7 – Mystery of the Kingdom of God
Subheading – Daniel Knew!
The whole purpose of this DREAM was to reveal GOD'S GOVERNMENT—the fact that God RULES—the truth of THE KINGDOM OF GOD—the very thing that is the one and only true GOSPEL of JESUS CHRIST! And, secondly, to reveal—preserved in writing for us TODAY—what is to happen ”in the latter days”--actually within the next two decades—THIS LAST HALF OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY!
(MOA, original hardcover edition, page 298)
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CHAPTER 7 – Mystery of the Kingdom of God
Subheading – Education in the World Tomorrow
There was no such doctrinal committee in the first century Headquarters Church at Jerusalem. All teaching came from Christ through the apostles—and a few times Christ communicated to apostles via the prophets (of which there are none in God's Church today since the Bible for our time is complete). God's Church today, as in the first century, receives its teachings from the living Christ, through an apostle, just as in A.D. 31.
(MOA, original hardcover edition, page 350)
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Nice. Very much on point to show how much GF has had to "massage" HWA's teachings in order to pretend like they don't invalidate his own. As if HWA's teachings were valid...
As for MOA, I'd actually call it Fantasy of the Ages. Simply another updated installment of that fantasy "gunlap theology" we might call "adventism" that began with Paul writing things like:
1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we [who are yet alive] shall be changed.
followed by more than 60 other passages in later NT writings indicating that John the Baptist and Jesus both preached, and the the entire first-century church believed, wrongly, that Jesus would: 1) return in their lifetime in power and glory at the last trump of the great tribulation, 2) raise all the dead both small and great, and 3) mete out judgment to all who have ever lived, usher in utopia. No matter what apologetics you use to wiggle around #1, there is no room to wiggle around #2, #3 or #4, meaning, quite unambiguously, that these did not happen and Jesus, if he ever lived in the first place, was a liar and a false prophet.
Jesus was wrong, the entire first-century church was wrong, William Miller was wrong, and Herbert Armstrong was wrong. As for Paul and Herbert and their "mysteries," behold I shew you the solution: Jesus is the fantasy of the ages.
There's actually not a lot of "mystery" to what Herbert wrote.
It was all a tricky load of crap.
Sadly, some peeps just gotta immerse themselves in it, rather than doing a healthy two-step away from it.
Well I used to sorta like Joel, I guess the only reason was that I was helped by his parents when I went to Washington State,and also I was told back then that Joel's father and Gerald Flurry do not get along,(they are in-laws). Joel's father was demoted a few years back from minister to grounds keeper? I think the Hilliker's tried too hard to be Christians and Gerald Flurry didn't like it. I think Joel has REALLY lead a sheltered and privileged life and is out of touch with reality. I'd like to be out of touch with reality...it would be wonerful, just wonerful!
PS..>>to Gerald Raymond Flurry...since ya'll seem to be rolling in the dough, how bout paying me back child support you kept my child from getting? Immediately!!
Thanks for the mention, No2HWA. It is appreciated.
Recently I came upon this astounding quote from Gerald Flurry.
“Do-gooders” are some of the most dangerous people on this planet! They often have strong views based on little understanding. And this is a dangerous age to have strong influence combined with distorted reasoning. ... But today the do-gooders are out defending Saddam and prosecuting Milosevic! It’s a very dangerous way to reason in the age of WMD. (Gerald Flurry, The Scary Truth Behind the Milosevic Trial, September-October 2004, The Philadelphia Trumpet, p. 2.)
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