Armstrongism has always filled its magazines with stories that have absolutely nothing to do with Jesus, redemption, grace or anything else that is tied to the new covenant. This is especially true today in the more right wing personality sects led by Dave Pack, Bob Thiel and Gerald Flurry.
The Flurry camp in Edmond Oklahoma has for some reason decided that Joel Hilliker is morally and spiritually superior to the rest of the church. As such a pillar of excellence, Hilliker has been given free reign to write some of the most useless articles that have ever filled a COG magazine.
The latest gem that Hiliker is lecturing PCG members that they need to stand tall and erect in daily life, aprtiuarly when they attend church.
Notice the pictures and paintings of the kings of England. These men who sat on the throne of David held a royal bearing that was visible. You see the king’s whole body is strong and upright. The same is true of the queens who have reigned from that throne.
Then there is this:
Now notice the posture of just about anyone around you. Uneven footing, stooped shoulders, arched neck, head dropped. This is not a royal posture. It isn’t even a manly posture. It’s a little closer to a chicken’s posture.
Men should not stand like this. Men should stand like men!
Leave it to good old British Israelism to cause articles like this crap to be written. Herb always taught us we would be Kings and Priests in that whacky world to come, so we needed to act like one. This is the same crap that Hilliker is falling back on.
Since the men of the PCG are God's only chosen forms of true masculinity (sorry Bob Thiel...) they have to act like real godly men. Given how effemoncat many of the men are on the Edmond compound, particularly in the leadership positions, this article may be sorely needed.
Since the men of the PCG are soldiers in god's new army, they need to learn to stand tall.
A 1946 War Department Field Manual instruction on posture training states, “A soldier is often judged by his appearance. The man with good posture looks like a soldier. He commands attention.” Compare an army of Beetle Bailey slouches to an army that stands like the Queen’s Guards.
How you stand makes a big difference in how you project yourself as a man. A slouched, bent posture reflects weakness and trepidation. When you see a man hunched over his phone, what impression is he creating? A man’s body language can communicate a lot—and most men are communicating with their bodies that they are weak, tired, timid, sheltered, awkward and/or ashamed. Good posture projects more vigor, more authority, more confidence and more power.
Bad posture causes your ribcage to push down on your organs, and they actually can begin to protrude out and push against your abdominal wall. Unmanly! Want to take some inches off your waistline—literally instantly? Stand up straight! Standing like a man reduces beer belly; improves your organ function; prevents humped shoulders; reduces pain in your neck, shoulders and back; and makes you about an inch taller.
Hilliker then even finds a Bible verse to prove his point:
Psalm 37:37 says, “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.” That means to observe, give heed, consider and inspect the man who is whole, lacking nothing in physical strength and beauty, upright, straight, correct or level in a physical or in a moral sense. Look for men who are physically and spiritually strong—and watch them! The word upright literally means “positioned to be straight up.” That means being vertical, erect in carriage or posture. What does such a man have in store for him? Peace, which can mean completeness, soundness, safety or soundness in body, welfare, health and/or prosperity.
Then in a direct slam at elderly PCG men who might have bad posture, Hillier makes this appalling comment:
If you are young and you are not very concerned about your posture in 10 or 20 years, just take a look at a picture of an old man who is not physically upright. Some of the more extreme examples of what age and bad posture can do to a man should make you sit up straight!
Here is how to practice your stance:• Plant your feet shoulder-width apart
• Feel your weight in your heels (not your toes)
• Twist your heels into the ground (so the weight shifts to the outside of your feet) as you tighten your behind
• Allow your arms to hang at your sides and open your palms forward
• Spread your fingers and reach for the ground; feel the weight come off your shoulders
• Imagine you have a tennis ball between your chin and your chest; don’t let the ball fall
• Imagine someone pulling straight up on a hair at the top of your head
• Breathe
Doesn’t this feel good? You are standing at the full height God made you! You are standing like a man! With practice, this will become how you naturally stand. But it will take practice and effort. You have to think about it.
This is the idiotic claptrap that PCG presents as spiritual meat. When you turn your back on Jesus Christ, you have to write this kind of useless bullshit.