From an LCG source:
Tomorrow's World Now (Live) . Actual quotes (excerpts from first 4 minutes out of 20):Host Dylan King: It's a brand new technology....We're excited to come to you right now, live, wherever you might be. You might be on your phone, you might be on your computer, you might be at home, you might be at work, you might be in Asia, you might be in India. You could be ANYWHERE in the world and seeing us RIGHT NOW, which is SO exciting for us to be able to talk to you, right here now....What do you think about this really neat endeavor that the Living Church of God is doing through Tomorrow's World now; this new show? Wyatt Ciesielka: First of all, I'm really excited about it. God has called his church to preach the gospel to the world and this is one way we can do it....It's a big day for us. Hopefully God will bless it (scornful comment: if you don't get huge numbers does it mean God isn't blessing it?), hopefully those who watch it online will pray for us and pray that it will be blessed, and that it can be effective (scornful comment: if it fails we know who to blame, the faithless viewers!) .Host: Right now there's probably 10, 20, 30, we don't know how many people watching, but, you know, there's a really HUGE potential out there for this technology (scornful comment: but if nobody views it other than LCG members it means that God is obviously not calling anyone, so it's still a success because you tried but it wasn't in God's will for anyone to view, right?). I mean, how many people are actually on Facebook these days? 'Cause I know it grows pretty much every day, every minute, every hour, right?Wyatt Ciesielka: Some stats that we looked up before the show, there are more than 5 new profiles created every second. Uh, there's probably about 2 billion active Facebook users, some uh, sources say about 1.9 billion, but those are ACTIVE Facebook users.Um, and we know Facebook reaches people all around the world, like you were mentioning. There's something also coming out, uh, which we're excited about, it might be an opportunity for us to reach people in the developing world: Facebook Lite....
Yeah, and what's really, uh, exciting, and I think, um, you know, we know that uh, media can be used for good or bad, we understand that. But, uh, I think the church has to take advantage of technology, and doors that God opens.
And two decades ago, these same people were claiming that the Internet is 99% lies.
ReplyDeleteIf their numbers were higher, they could make that 100%.
This is laughable. There are thousands, maybe millions of Facebook accounts. I'm very choosy as to who gets on my friends list or who I like and follow, and I have no idea how many good sites I'm still missing out on. Just how do they think they're going to attract people to their site? Just putting a presence out there doesn't accomplish anything. A lot of my liberal, humanist atheist compatriots don't know I exist, nor I them. People have to be attracted some way, and how do they propose to do that? People used to turn on their radios and listen to whatever came from the particular station they had on. That caught a lot of people unaware and piqued their curiosity in the heyday of Herb's expansion. Just how are they proposing to do the same thing with Facebook? I have no idea what their site is, and I'm certainly not going to go looking for it. Very few people are actively seeking religious sites, and those that are are probably the woosey "woo woo" people of the world into things like auras, psychic readings, crystals, etc. Nearby Sedona is loaded with them.
ReplyDeleteAllen C. Dexter
Everything that LCG media seems to do is a total flop any more. No one is going to pay any attention to their stupid live videos.
ReplyDeleteFor people who are supposed to be such profound speakers, they sure do use the word "uh" a lot.
ReplyDeleteThe problem these people have from us is that the classic growth of Armstrongism from the allegedly golden era was sold to us as having been entirely God's doing. We all remember that. Heck, that was offered up as the ultimate proof that Herbie's church was the true one! I don't know what we were supposed to think of the Sunday-keeping churches that were also growing, but as every magician knows, the way to fool people is thru sleight of hand.
ReplyDeleteNow we see negligible growth in spite of all manner of contemporary marketing techniques being tried. If we dissect the highly successful ministries of today, we find that the ACOGs lack the ingredients which make those successful, and basically can't attract the positive attention which might get a 4th quarter rally going. And, of course, since these are churches, one is forced to ask, where is God in this? He does not seem to be showing interest in Armstrongism, or in getting out their approaches to doctrine or prophecy.
It all gets back to whether it was God who blessed the R/WCG in the first place, or did Herbie's advertising techniques cause all the growth? Pharisaic Judaizing Christianity was always a hard sell right from the get go. Once it became realized that Christianity worked well within non-Jewish cultures, the Judaizing Christians more or leas died out. Seems like history is repeating itself before our very eyes, in living color.
BB
I learn more by listening to Cross Talk on rt.com than I ever did from the the CoG supposed experts on world news who are drunk on propaganda lies from Western media. Cross Talk is more accurate. So much for prophecy fulfilled. Duh. What ignorant pre-Internet dinosaurs.
ReplyDeleteWhen is Merry-Death scheduled to croak?
ReplyDeleteyou might be in Asia, ... You could be ANYWHERE in the world ...
ReplyDeleteExcept China. And North Korea.
India is part of Asia. It is considered to be South Asia. LCG leadership is sounding almost as dumb as The PCG.
ReplyDeleteWyatt Cesielka has the nerve to call himself Director of Internet when he isn't busy protecting the world from Transgender Man-Pig Marriages, yet he is either such a liar or such a moron. It is well known that a huge percentage of Facebook accounts are bots and fakes, and that many on Facebook have two or three accounts per person. Furthermore, the same statistics that claim Facebook has 1.9 billion users also claim that about 1.1 billion of those are mobile only. Who watches a half-hour video on their phone? ALMOST NOBODY! Worse, these silly TW Now programs are longer than the tiringly long TW weekly broadcast! If people aren't watching LCG's senior ministers for 30 minutes, who in their right mind expects an audience to watch these stumbling amateurs for longer than that?
ReplyDeleteWho does Ciesielka think he's lying to? His audience is clearly smarter and more informed than he is. Maybe this is all a stunt to impress Meredith and Weston, who probably don't know any better.
In an era of massive media expansion and a multiple of delivery systems for such, the competition for "eyeballs" is greater than ever and more difficult to achieve.
ReplyDeleteIt may be those who can actually create human contact, and personal service , with a direct human touch , that will be the most successful in all areas of human business and contact, including religion.
The LCG will have to offer engaging drama to attract a crowd.
ReplyDeletePerhaps they could start the drama, Church of God Game of Thrones.
Otherwise, not even the CIA will monitor them.
Oh, I know just the thing: CoG Homeland!
Considering the competition out there, their programs should be a précis version of their usual programs, with a lot more related information thrown in. But instead, these ministers are use to preaching to 'captive' church audiences, where they can get away with boring members to death. So they need better, more informed and more knowledgeable speakers. But the old boys club will reject this. How else can they justify their nice pay, minister perks and status within their Mickey mouse churches?
ReplyDeleteOh no,
ReplyDeleteWhat do I do now with my investments in getting high speed internet in the developing world?
I'm not very much in making fun of these people but their excitement about this "new" medium and technology reminds me of that slide I use with the first cars built by "excited" horse drawn carriage makers. (it is that awkward combination of the guy with the polo and the dude with the tie)
nck
I saw part of the "three pastor" broadcast too.
ReplyDelete56 thumbs up and 2 thumbs down. Would that be naughty boys Mikey and BB??
I think I will short my satellite broadcast systems.
nck
The important thing to remember is that even if he had been someone to regard highly as an apostle or some kind of leader, Herbert Armstrong would not approve of or endorse a single one of the ACOG leaders who have emerged in the time since his death. He'd have some mighty harsh words for all of them and would most likely be both dismayed and discouraged at the current state of his domain. It doesn't matter how vocal they are in using his name, or claiming his mantle. I think he'd be mighty disillusioned with everything he saw, not perceiving a single ray of sunshine breaking through the heavy cloud cover.
ReplyDeleteBB
Yes. HWA would be most disillusioned with the current "power to draw".
ReplyDeleteIt,s like the 1980's movie. "The Gods must be crazy." Where a bushman finds a bottle of cola thrown from a plane.
First the bottle is revered as a god sent token from the sky. After the bushmen cant find any practical use of the present of the Gods arguments, struggle and controversy nearly destroys the tribe. Until one of them decides to take the bottle and try and return it to the gods living thousands of miles away beyond the hills. Please take it back.
Nck
Oh, darn. Just when I've worked so hard to get britishisraelism.com more mobile friendly.
ReplyDeleteAnd more readable for people with dyslexia.
And for the record, I didn't give any thumbs because they didn't have a selection for "no thumbs" (but they could have at least included "all thumbs").
Dyslexia?
ReplyDeleteIs that some contagious apocalyptic disease from far away countries.
Theirs and yours attempts are vanity anyways.
All people dying from conflicts today, foreign and domestic, are the martyrs of the next religion.
nck
I didn't give any thumbs because I generally make a concerted effort not to visit ignorant sites. Even if you log a thumbs down, your visit still rolls up their total. Plus, the thumbs are the wrong digit to adequately express my sentiments towards any of the ACOG sites.
ReplyDeleteBB
WWHAD?
ReplyDeleteGiven the massive change with the advent of the Internet and the attendant burgeoning of social media, I would surmise that Herbert Armstrong would be totally lost and unable to cope.
WRITING THINGS IN ALL CAPS AND USING EXCLAMATION POINTS DOESN'T WORK SO WELL ANY MORE!!!!!!
Brethren, I'm flying at 40,000 feet and writing on my laptop -- as an apostle I work hard to spread my gospel -- I've just been drinking Dom Perignon... I'm finding the hostess very attractive....
And then the YouTube videos... not going viral....
He'd have to get a cute cat and make cat videos to attract an audience.
[Please don't suggest that to the LCG -- think of the poor kitty!]
Connie wrote: ...with a direct human touch..
ReplyDeleteYes, a personal touch is needed, not a stereotypical COG message, ANYWHERE in the world making the false assumption that one size fits all... Like Pres Trump was going to solve the problems with China by playing golf with Xi Jinping. [The joke being that Xi believes golf is a "rich man's game" and has closed golf courses in China as part of his fight against corruption.]
This is Rod
ReplyDeleteAll these complaints against my church on Banned. Even thought I'm a decrepit old fart, there's still enough in me to put in my old boxing gloves, and beat the crap out of all my critics. I'II teach you a thing or two about respecting your elders.
So stop it, or else!!
PS pray that God performs a miracle, and makes me 20 years younger. I might order another church fast for this very reason.
As an aside, it is the case that if some people spent some time building their vocabulary in the primary language used here, it would certainly make communication much less problematic.
ReplyDeleteThe LCG culties aren't very good at thinking... or at lying.
ReplyDeleteThere are approximately 500 million people whose native language is English. Facebook is a platform where you connect with your friends. It isn't a place where you go to practice a foreign language. While there are nearly 1.5 billion people who speak at least a little English, only about a third of them are fluent and use it as the language they speak among their friends and family.
LCG wants it's members to believe that this new Facebook initiative can reach 1.9 billion people. How stupid do they think their people are? The truth is, if around 2/7 of the world's population is on Facebook, 2/7 of the 500 million native English speakers is around 150 million. The reality is that somewhere between 150 million and 500 million people may be able to understand LCG's exciting new program, if they or a friend have liked LCG content.
What's different about Facebook is that, unlike TV or just having a website, you don't see content unless your friends are connected to it. There's no way that even 150 million Facebook users have a friend who has a friend who has liked LCG content on Facebook. This is very different from TV, where channel surfing will lead you to content you didn't know about.
Its almost as if LCG has moles inside who are trying to make their outreach less effective.
Imagine if the LCG managed to make 1.9 billion enemies.
ReplyDeleteA couple things. When I worked at AC Press, I was told that there were many illiterate subscribers to the Plain Truth who used our "free" magazine in much the same ways as was historically true of the Sears Catalogue. Toilet paper, wall paper, you name it. Clearly, the WCG, in which there was much pride over the size of the subscription of the PT, held its own redefined meaning for "reaching the world" with its message. This disingenuous hype they have always put out about getting out the gospel has been hypothetically best case scenario, and the figures are presented to a congregation which lacks the sophistication to question or discern how many people are actually being reached in any sort of way that could make a just God hold them accountable. The members know better than to even ask for real auditing or verification. Much of it is "show" to keep the tithe pie coming.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I had to laugh when I read in another comment about the apostle being in a jet 40,000 feet above earth. It reminded me of some controversial remarks Jerry Lewis had once made on the Tonight Show about fulfilling a lifetime dream by using the bathroom in an airliner as he flew over Mississippi. It's a nice thought for Wadsworth, or Edmond, or Charlotte, but as we all know, the septic tanks in airplanes are a sealed system, unable to be opened or dumped from inside the plane while it is in flight. Not so, however, with that of busses and some other modes of mass transit. A Hillary Clinton campaign bus this past October caused quite the environmental disaster by illegally dumping its tanks down a storm drain in Georgia. There has also been a report of a tour bus voiding its septic tanks while crossing a bridge over the Chicago River, dumping sewage on the occupants of a sight seeing boat below in the process. In fact, if you ever want a good laugh, read up on toilets in mass transportation.
As a little kid, walking down the middle of railroad tracks in our little town, I wondered where all the toilet paper came from on the railroad ties. It wasn't until I travelled by rail to SEP in Tejas that I observed the railroad ties below while flushing the toilet, and got a sickening feeling about some of my past adventures. This sort of dumping was finally curtailed in the 1990s. The huge international cruise ships are even now culpable, dumping millions of gallons of raw sewage into the oceans every year.
Clearly, I can think of several more fulfilling dump sites. What would it mean to humanity if these places that we're all silently imagining right now as we read this had real toxicity of the same magnitude as the spiritual toxicity which they churn out! Toxicity which would warn the world about totalitarian disaster groupies pretending to warn the world.
BB
We can appreciate the irony of LCG releasing an interminably dull 35-minute program with the title Why Do People Suffer?
ReplyDeleteWhy would anyone watch that video? The speakers speak in monotone, sometimes in condescending monotone. They get facts wrong. They make simplistic comments betraying their lack of scriptural and historical knowledge. These men are some of LCG's top HQ ministers, yet they are boring, pompous, juvenile, self-satisfied blowhards. If this is LCG at its best, how do LCG members suffer through the messages Sabbath after Sabbath?
Anon 321 wrote: The speakers speak in monotone, sometimes in condescending monotone.
ReplyDeleteI think none of them could beat the late SDA speaker, George Vandeman. He could start speaking on the most uplifting thoughts and switch to the most gut-wrenching disasters without the slightest change in tone.