There have been many authors over the years who have written books about their life in Armstrongism and what it has done to them spiritually. Some have left their faith behind and others have went into new spiritual directions.
Now there is a new slant.
A COG member has written a book of fiction that incorporates the teachings of Armstrongism into the story line.
I can see this making the best seller list! Feast present!!!!!!!
The Bridge to Eden: The Arduous Passage From This Age of Chaos to the Next Age of Perfection
Today's chaotic and uncertain world sends us a message of desperation as we see the basic institutions of society-the family, religion, education, government, and business-under attack from all sides. In the face of such cultural carnage, we need a message of hope to shine through these dark clouds surrounding our homes and loved ones, a message that annihilates the aura of confusion that the Adversary casts over the face of humanity. We need the Truth revealed in the Word of God concerning the wonderful world prophesied to come. That Truth sits patiently within God's Word for all who have eyes to see. The message revealed is as amazing as it is conflicting with the prophecies of modern science, technology, digital wizardry, and robotics. It is a message of how this world will be transformed from pain and desperation in the face of burgeoning population growth and food shortages, terrorism from religious fanatics, totalitarian governments, and fractured families to one of peace, love, order, and prosperity beyond our wildest dreams, where families thrive and find true joy in daily living...where people finally learn to live as the Creator intended without Satan around to tempt and deceive.The bridge to that new world is being built so you and I can cross over and enjoy it for a thousand years. It is designed by the Creator, and He wants you to walk across and enjoy it because He loves you, and wants the very best for you. It is a return to the Eden of Genesis. It is as sure to come as the sun rises each morning in the east. Let's read this book and discover the nature of that new world coming so we can wake up each morning to the incredible hope God has placed before us!"
He is also the author of some more books:
"The Three Edens"
This is not a book for the fainthearted. It is a thrilling adventure story that carries the reader through the entire pageant of history, from the farthest reaches of antiquity to the utmost limits of prophecy, complemented by supporting secular knowledge, focusing on the awesome plan God has put into motion. Throughout this anthology, the chosen people of promise are brought into sharp relief against the unceasing tactics of Satan to derail the plan, and bring an end to history’s climax: the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind, and the resurrection of the saints to bring new government – the renewed Eden on earth.
In the process of this thriller there are shown to be not one, not two, but three Edenic periods on earth! Follow the chapters of this book and its thorough documentation into an exciting and new experience that will tantalize and inspire you to the higher thoughts of the Almighty.
Paul W. Syltie was raised on a crop and dairy farm in western Minnesota, and attended universities in the Upper Midwest, obtaining a Ph.D. in Soil Fertility in 1980. He married his high school sweetheart Sandy, and they are the parents of six children and nine grandchildren. Dr. Syltie is a farmer, writer, and instructor in natural agricultural methods who travels worldwide to help farmers improve their health and productivity by returning the soil to its God-intended vitality.
Pathways to Joy in Marriage:Live This Way and Happiness Will Pursue You!
"We live in an age of broken marriages, broken homes, and broken lives, brought on by an adversary whose wavelength permeates this society and teaches us that a person is free to do whatever he wishes. Do what feels good, and fear not the consequences!
My wife and I have proven that a married couple and their children do not need to follow this course. In fact, it is much, much easier not to, because the fruits are infinitely better if you do not ... and we all like good fruit! God ordained it that way, because He invented marriage and family.
For 45 years my wife and I have witnessed the fruits of striving after God's perfect plan for married couples as outlined in His word. True, Sandy and I were brought up as hard-working farm kids totally dedicate to each other — that helped to get a good start — but in today's world, as in any age, the pulls of the flesh and of this fallen age can easily derail a family if they take their eyes off the goal. That goal is to love God, and to love your neighbor as yourself ... starting within your own home!
We have proven that in spite of society and families disintegrating all around us, you can have a wonderfully fulfilling marriage, and as a major part of that rear a loving and joyous family. Look through the pages of the photo albums especially, and see snatches of the good times we had — and still do have — while growing up together. (Parents grow up too, and their kids teach them a lot!)
Do not follow the road most traveled. Read this book, live God's way, and be amazed that happiness will indeed pursue you!"
Ultimately, it all pales into the relative significance of some long-forgotten song lyrics. Nostalgia
ReplyDeleteThe HWA/WCG message is remembered today by a handful of victims, and a small pocket of stalwarts, a people who will never come home.
The effectiveness of Armstrong's message mirrors the effectiveness of Sister Sue, a character created by Willy DeVille for his best known song, "Spanish Stroll"
"Sister Sue, tell me baby, what are we gonna do?
She said take two candles,
And then you burn them out.
Make a paper boat, light it, and send it out!"
BB
And here's a really interesting prophecy which may have much more reality to it than anything Herbert Armstrong ever predicted:
ReplyDeleteWhy AI will probably kill us all.
And with any luck at all, this one may actually happen within the lifetime of some here reading this.
Luck?
Bad luck.
Reading about his writings I find it saddening to see the ideas of Armstrongism continue to be promoted in this way. He clearly has put in a lot of work into his books.
ReplyDelete***
I see that one of the sections of Chapter 6 of "The Bridge to Eden" is entitled "Farmers ... Keep the Land Sabbath." I would encourage farmers not to follow that idea. Back in the days of HWA's WCG some farmers actually tried to put that into practice and went bankrupt over it. Here is what Richard Plache had to say on this topic.
"We took over into the new -- that was the seventh-year land Sabbath -- and we imposed that upon Christian farmers. We said it was a law. We said it was "a test of faith," didn't we? And farmer after farmer went to the wall financially and some went into bankruptcy!" (Richard Plache, 1976 sermon, http://www.hwarmstrong.com/history/history-plache-lecture.htm.)
Consequently I feel compelled to advise against Syltie's idea.
Furthermore that teaching was given to Jews. Claiming that non-Jews are required to observe that teaching is taking the land Sabbath practice out of context. There is no need for Christians to observe that practice.
Furthermore there are conflicting opinions about the land Sabbath among the Jewish community. Some are secular. Some say it is a rabbinical obligation and therefore not a Biblical obligation. Some say it is a Biblical obligation. Also some Jewish religious authorities allow leniency in how it is observed. For example it became a practice to sell the land to non-Jewish owners during the land Sabbath. (See the Wikipedia article, "Shmita.")
But anyway there is no need for a Christian to observe the land Sabbath.