One thing that Armstrongism has been obsessed with over the decades is a dress code for members. It will be no different in Dave Pack's superfantabulous kingdom. Can you imagine the hell that would be! Thousands of self-righteous snotty church members running around with rulers and scissors.
If you are now resplendent and you are ruling cities, and your ability has been enhanced by God after you enhanced it first…and God would want to give more ability to people who tried, at the human level, to develop it…what does everybody look like? Wouldn’t God have a dress code? Would He let people dress according to cultures all over the world and they represent His government? He and angels dress in white. So does Christ. So there would be some kind of dress code. We could speculate on that, but you wouldn’t want to go too far. I could speculate it’s white…maybe it’s linen. You wouldn’t leave styles up to people—the weak of the world—do you want to leave styles up to them? I think not. You probably wouldn’t leave colors up to people, because then the government of God is represented without a dress code.
If you are working with Maasai warriors in Africa, do you want to carry a big long staff and dress like they do? No. No, because you represent the government of God…and so forth. Greatest Story 9
"angels dress in white.. some kind of dress code..it’s white"
ReplyDeleteThe helpful staff at the FunnyFarm also wear clean white coats:
..standing by to assist all the "Elijahs", "Jesuses" and "Ezekiels".
I agree that as a representative of Gods government, one would dress accordingly. I doubt it would be a strict dress code, but rather what is quality for that culture. It's like politicians dressing in business suits for official engagements.
ReplyDeleteHerbie having members look like Mormons in the old days, was repressive and ridiculous.
Yep, just gotta find some way of enforcing conformity in every single least little way! These guys know nothing of the artistic hemisphere of the brain!
ReplyDeleteBB
you are ruling cities
ReplyDeleteThe idea of ruling over five cities or ten cities comes from a parable. Parables are meant as stories to illustrate and emphasize your message, not as doctrine or prophecy.
And, by the way, a book Bob Thiel recommended (by saying he disagreed with it) proposed that in the parable the word "cities" should have "talents" (as in money). Bazinga! no "rule over cities" doctrine. No wonder Bob didn't like the book. All dressed up and nowhere to go...
HWA always had a thing about dress code. I remember having to go to church services wearing a suit or dress pants and sports jacket, in the middle of summer with 80 or more degrees temperature shirt buttoned to the top and tie wrapped around my neck, all the while sweating underneath, we had to wear our best when we come before God they said. I think God just shook his head at the stupidity of that, sitting for a couple of hours sweating away and unable to concentrate because of feeling extremely uncomfortable. Thankfully every once in a blue moon a minister would come along and see the abserdness of such and tell us we can take our jackets off if we like. A little common sense would have gone a long way, what gets me it still goes on today in some offshoot churches.
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ReplyDeleteThey have resplendent white raiment at the FunnyFarm:
It's a nice jacket that ties up at the back...
Protest that you're Elijah, they'll understand.
Yes, but will it make any difference as he's thrown into the Lake of Fire naked?
ReplyDeletewell, if the whole earth will be like the Garden in Eden, wouldn't the same dress code apply?
ReplyDeletejust a thought.
What was the dress code in the "Garden of Eden" before "sin"??
ReplyDeleteHoss, the holy spirit confirmed to me that the 'cities' in the millennium, will be like the town depicted in the Michael J Fox movie 'Doc Hollywood.'
ReplyDeleteMeaning, there will be multiple millions of such towns, which implies the parable of the talents is literal.
So do more prayer and bible study folks if you want to rule more cities.
Dennis Diehl and other atheists here need to repent.
Dress code. Nike shoes, and purple sheets as a covering.
ReplyDeleteDon't think it can happen in a acog? Neither did the families of those in the Heavens Gate cult.
Ah the dress code don't get me started. You shall follow the dress code or be dammed. You do not dress for yourself or even God, you dress for the ruling elite and their cronies who will mock you and scoff at you if you don't.
ReplyDeleteI don't know who that other guy is, but the holy spirit advised ME otherwise!
ReplyDeleteNo zippers! Just hospital gowns and padded walls!
ReplyDeleteEvery time I heard a member touting the same crap about coming to the Lord wearing your best all I could think of is says who? And who's to say what my best is. Maybe it's a pantsuit. But heaven forbid a woman actually wears pants! I can't tell you how many housewives that had a handful of dresses that they wore in rotation for years on end. So because it's a dress that means it's her best? A faded, falling apart piece of cloth that gas no shape or form whatsoever otherwise the men might feel uncomfortable. I agree with 2:28, in ACOGS you dress for the ruling elite and their cronies to prove that you can fall in line.
ReplyDelete"So do more prayer and bible study folks if you want to rule more cities.
ReplyDeleteDennis Diehl and other atheists here need to repent."
November 20, 2016 at 7:17 AM
Okay, that settles that. Dennis Deihl, Allen Dexter, and other atheists (including agnostics like me) are not obliged to repent. As long as we have no desire to rule more cities, we're off the hook.
The dress code reminds me of a story told by my old friend Muley about a meeting with WCG ministers. Muley went to the big city and stayed in a cheap hotel room where he talked with the ministers. He said it was a stinking hot day, and the ministers sweat profusely, especially the beefier one who kept crossing and uncrossing his legs in discomfort.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it turned out there was a WCG congregation in that city, and Muley was welcome to attend. However, to attend services, he had to wear a tie. When Muley informed them that he didn’t bring a tie with him, he was given a condescending look and the assurance that “God will understand”.
As usual, I never thought to ask him the obvious question, why didn’t they tell him to go and buy a tie? Or better yet, they could have gone with him, to let him know the “standard” for choosing clothing. And still better would have been if one of the ministers just untied his own tie and handed it to him, “You can borrow mine”. But I never asked…
Retired Prof, have about reality testing someone's claim rather than doing a straw man argument. Try bible studying, plus prayer, plus obeying the ten commandments and see if God answers your prayers. The formula is very simple.
ReplyDeleteI'd be very happy to give any power hungry God Beings my cities. I have always preferred to be left alone living in a log cabin on the lake ruling over nothing.
ReplyDeleteDennis, I must admit that I feel the same as you do. But, but I also believe that being given rule over more cities represents overall a better life. This advantage will extends into eternity. You're being myopic. A quiet log cabin is OK for old retirees, but younger retirees often go back to work after their log cabin 'holiday.' They couldn't bare the boredom.
ReplyDeleteThis is Dave. Dennis, I accept your cities. If any one else is offering their cities, I will accept them all. On second thought, all cities are common, so everyone give me all your cities.
ReplyDeleteWell, yes, we've got people here who say "Read your Bible! We know exactly what things are going to be like in the Kingdom."
ReplyDeleteBut this cities thing is yet another "one size fits all" conformity scenario, and I've never believed that it would be the only available choice. What if someone has no interest, and no aptitudes for ruling cities? Do we think God is going to tell them that they must rule cities, or else not be in the Kingdom? These people who maybe have a window washing business in the present, and believe they have to qualify for something or other apparently would have us believe that God is going to pour aptitudes, experience, and desire into all of us to rule cities in the Kingdom. I believe He's going to need to pour a lot of things into all of us. It's what is called transformation, in which God heals sociopaths, people with lesser IQs, folks with innate wrong desires, improper filters, and a host of the other things that diminish our potential.
So, no. There's nothing wrong with having no desire to rule cities, or no concerns about the size of one's reward. We all do a variety of specialized things in the present, which is most likely a type of what awaits us in the future. Why impose artificial limitations? Many mansions can mean many things. That's picturesque language intended by the greatest teacher who ever lived to stimulate our imaginations, providing motivation.
No cities for me, either.
BB
LOL! I just remembered yet another long-forgotten hilarity catalyst! I didn't take this class, but apparently there was a class at Ambassador College for which one of the class projects was actually designing your own city! Imagine going to a friend's dorm for a couple of beers, and suddenly seeing on the bulletin board by his desk, a town laid out on large format paper, with the town and various features named after him! As if it weren't already ridiculous enough for everyone scurrying about attempting to find some Jewish ancestry in their family tree, and being preoccupied with the Germans! When I think about it, one of the things we certainly learned to practice was Jesus' command to become as little children, because these are just a few examples of the ways in which we played sand pile!
ReplyDeleteBB
I remember my older brother designing his city for a spokesman club project. Talk about cult brainwashing!
ReplyDeleteIn case some haven't noticed, many here, and especially Dennis, are not 'living in a log cabin on the lake ruling nothing.' Rather, they come here with posts, as if they are already ruling over a small city. Dennis's articles here are like the weekly Sabbath sermon, or the church monthly cover article.
ReplyDeleteThere is a disconnect between peoples professed position, and their behaviour.
BB, if you 'have no desire to rule cities,' then why do you make more comments than anyone else on the site?
ReplyDeleteAnon noted: "You're being myopic. A quiet log cabin is OK for old retirees, but younger retirees often go back to work after their log cabin 'holiday.' They couldn't bare the boredom."
ReplyDeleteThat's just my way of saying I can be left alone without the drama of "ruling" or being in charge of anything or others. When I wasn't thrilled about working gardening at AC in smog etc, I was told that maybe would be over restoring the whole earth. It was then I realized I didn't want to do that either. My log home along the lake would be home base for being the best damn paleontologist or cosmologist in the Kingdom and raising some serious questions about the Kingdom and it's teachings.
However, from what I have read and if you go by what the current Church leadership types say, compliance, obedience and conformity seem to be the program for all eternity. And I have heard it said that this is true but by then I will WANT to comply, obey and conform! Ummm...no. lol.
ReplyDeleteBecause this kind of thinking should not inspire anyone.
ReplyDelete"Hebrews 11New International Version (NIV)
Faith in Action
11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for"
Meaning:
"Now faith is the confidence in what we hope is true is actually true and assurance about that for which we actually have no evidence. This is how the ancients were able to make stuff up."
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteRetired Prof, have about reality testing someone's claim rather than doing a straw man argument. Try bible studying, plus prayer, plus obeying the ten commandments and see if God answers your prayers. The formula is very simple.
November 21, 2016 at 5:28 PM
Too late. I had already tested your claim years before you wrote it down. Extensive reading indicated that prayer works imperfectly even for the person praying with deep faith. For someone who does not know others are praying on his or her behalf, it does not work at all. For people like me, who have absolutely no faith in supernatural beings of any kind, prayer is deeply silly. When I tried it, I got so embarrassed (even when hidden away by myself) I could not bring myself to continue.
Let's face it, writer of November 21, 2016 at 5:28 PM, my brain works different from yours. You cannot expect what works for you to work equally well for me. Give it up.
You might just as well try to persuade me to like parsnips and Brussels sprouts. Don't worry about my diet. I maintain a supply of the same nutrients with carrots, mustard greens, and turnips. The situation is similar in regard to eternity. There is no way to know for sure, but I suspect that after death we will both be entirely free of any discomfort.
Speaking of dress codes gives me awful flashbacks of my time at Rcg hq! Men can only wear black, navy, or gray suits with blue or white- preferably French cuffed dress shirts and dress shoes that lace up- no loafers allowed! And if you prefer a brown or tan suit- too bad! And don't expect to get away with dress slacks and a sport coat either- Dave says God demands a suit! And don't even think about getting away with a purple tie- because Dave says that's a gay color- and pink ties...well I think you get the drift!
ReplyDeleteBut let's not leave the ladies out! Ladies- let talk about shoes- you can wear peep toe but your heel must be covered, Or you can wear a sling back but the toes must be covered. No dress sandals! They cannot be any higher than 3 inches - and people will be checking! You will be told if your hair is too short or long- and you never really know if you have broken a rule until they tell you- usually because they can't have anyone looking better than they do! This is just a small sample of their codes! This is not made up! And we haven't even touched the jewelry and panty hose rules, or the slit in the skirt rules.......
This burden he's putting on his members is scripturally baseless! If we read the gospels, Jesus threw a big "come as you are party" for anyone who would hear him, because the critical element is that people would hear the message, not how they were dressed while they were listening.
DeleteLet's just hope that Dave keeps putting obstacles such as this in peoples' paths, so the damage he is capable of inflicting is minimized! Peter, James, and John did not go through Jesus' crowds with tape measures, or evaluating their robes and sandals. That totally goes against His parable about the banquet guests.
BB
I checked with the Maasai warriors. They believe in their own god called Enkai. Enkai promised them to bless them with lots of cattle and pasture land. They will need a rod to herd their cattle. But they will have to defend their cattle from predators. Their weapon of choice is the spear. Enkai also likes bright reds and oranges (hence the sunrise, sunset, red dirt of the land, blood i.e life) so the Maasai want to honor him by wearing bright red and orange robes.
ReplyDeleteThey also do not like the god of the white man because the white European came over to Africa and while pretending to teach them about a peace-loving god, they stole all their pasture land and pushed them into internment camps. In contrast, they were all living together in harmony and peace as they followed Enkai ... until Dave's ancestors came and ruined it all.
Retired prof, prayer, bible study, obeying Gods laws is like gardening. Bury the seeds at the right depth, the right soil, the right season etc, results in a crop. What people think of you, your own opinion of yourself, including how your brain works, is academic. It's basically impersonal. Finding prayer 'deeply silly' and questioning Gods existence is a common initial reaction. But again, like gardening, it makes no difference. It still works.
ReplyDeleteI've been where you are now, so I can only conclude that you either haven't really tried, and/or there are sins that you secretly cling to.
After death, I expect to keep prospering rather than just being free from discomfort. Hmm, considering the present training from God, implies that there will still be discomfort in Gods kingdom. Those humans will always be a pain.
Reading about all these codes remind me of another incident involving my old friend Muley. At a church dance, he brought his non-WCG but minister-approved girlfriend.
ReplyDeleteAfter the function, Muley told me our kind, elderly deacon came up to him and told him that it was decided he and his girlfriend were dancing too close together. Muley said if he had been told that by anyone other than our old deacon, he would have decked them.
Some relief to November 22, 2016 at 4:08 PM. None of us can be wrong about our own experiences! I think you are suffering from the fallacy of the SHOULDS:"everyone should think the way that I think" and "should feel the way that I feel". One word of advice. Boundaries. Learn them and you can hold on to your own version of sanity while protecting yourself from the insanity that others choose for themselves. It always works in all ways.
ReplyDeleteDBP
Responding to Byker Bob and NO2HWA, LOL. That reminded me of a guy that created a map scenario for Civilization 2 called the "10 lost tribes of Israel" twentysome years ago! From what I remember it wasn't too bad!
ReplyDelete9.16 PM. No, no, I'm talking about the laws of the universe, not some should or boundary keeping. God and His laws are impartial. Apply them, and they work for everyone. Since Prof and others refuse to reality test, I can only assume they refuse to let go of their secret sins.
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