Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders

Friday, February 9, 2018

PCG Continues Its Control Over Members Lives. Men Are Not Allowed to Have "Me" Time


One of the classic traits of cults is that they seek to separate its followers from family and in doing so keep them occupied at all times.  This can be accomplished by weekly or biweekly bible studies, speech clubs, women's groups, men's groups, teen activities, an hour of prayer and an hour of Bible study, and more. By occupying members time they have no opportunity to become tainted or influenced by the world.

Two of the most abusive Church of God groups that use this tactic is Dave Pack's, Restored Church of God and Gerald Flurry's, Philadelphia Church of God.

On PCG's website, Joel Hilliker has an article up called Men: Report for Duty: Biblical Manhood.

PCG men are being told that they CANNOT under any circumstance have some "me" time.  Forget about joining up with some buddies after a long week of hard work and kicking back for some "me" time. That is selfish!

Isn’t it time you got one for yourself? Indulge. How many advertisements have you seen with this message? Take a break! You’ve worked hard. You deserve this! 
It’s not just in the commercials. It’s in our entertainment, it’s in our workplaces, it’s in our schools, it’s in our leadership—it’s in the air! It’s a powerful and influential satanic attitude that surcharges the atmosphere around us: self-importance, self-promotion, self-serving, self-righteousness—selfishness! 
Men in God’s Church are tempted by this same attitude: Have some “me” time. Check out of your responsibilities for a little while. 
Jesus Christ never did that. 
Christ was on duty—all the time.
Apparently, PCG is under the impression that Jesus never sat down and did nothing after a long day of carpentry work or preaching. God forbid if Jesus kicked back with his apostles and had some wine, olives and some feta on a hot night. With such logic from PCG it has to be a miracle that Jesus even had time to eat or take care of bodily functions.

Hilliker continues:
Here is His perspective: “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4). Christ’s life was short, limited in duration. He was urgent about taking full advantage of every moment and every interaction
Christ’s supreme example defines biblical manhood. The more Christ-like we become, the more masculine we become. Manliness is next to godliness (just as, for a woman, femininity is next to godliness). 
Like Him, Christian men are always on duty.
If anything symbolizes what being like Christ may be is this:
“Have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:5-8 
Christ came as a servant who stooped down to wash peoples feet. Christ exemplified love as he associated with the lepers, prostitutes, the disenfranchised and ultimately gave his life in love. Jesus work was an incarnational work, something that PCG cannot do since they are too busy worshipping Moses and other Old Testament heroes.

Hilliker continues:
This is the unselfish attitude godly men must have: a vigilant urgency to take action and to work at serving others. You have to pay attention to other people’s lives, and act on what you see.
You may look at tomorrow as just another routine day: pray, study, snag breakfast, endure the workday, unwind at home, watch a show, go to sleep. But Christ in you looks at tomorrow as a deluge of opportunities: What can I do? Who can I help? How much can I give?
One of the problems with this is that PCG men are to "take action" only if it is directed towards PCG leadership and members. All actions are directed inwards, instead of outwards to the world. But even that is conditional, only members in good standing benefit. In doing so the men of PCG can expect to be "deluged" with time-consuming "opportunities."
Don’t underestimate the potential value of every decision, every encounter, every conversation you have! Recognize opportunities to give for what they are. You’ll probably have one as soon as you finish reading this article.
Imagine that if you don't feel like jumping up after reading Hilliker's article how guilty you will feel and less of a man!

To follow Christ’s example and seize that opportunity, you must fight the pull of selfishness and relaxation—and embrace the call of duty!
The question is not whether you have a duty to serve others more than yourself. The question is whether you will fulfill your duty. The more you do, the more God-like you will become, and the more habitual this Christ-like attitude will be.
There you have the moniker of the PCG, the more you do, the more you become like their god.  They sure might be like Moses or some other OT hero, but they sure won't be like Jesus. Works vs grace, the never-ending story of the COG.

So seize the moment!  Be a PCG man!
Many of us intellectually understand and agree with the concept of male Christian leadership. But the harder step is to encounter a day-to-day routine occurrence and actively recognize: I need to use this moment—right now—to express biblical manhood!
Here are the things that manly PCG men can look to as opportunities:
A torrent of opportunities is coming at you. Helping your son with his math homework, approving your daughter’s new dress before she wears it, setting a household rule to unburden your wife, helping your neighbor fix his porch step, knocking out the reports nobody else wants to do at work, holding the door open for the mother of two children at the gas station, skipping the football game to visit an elderly Church member, putting your phone away so you’re not distracted when playing with your children, noting something troubling in your teenager’s voice inflection and following up with him about it, setting rules so that dinner time can be quality family time, choosing a topic to lead in conversation after Sabbath services—the deluge of opportunity never ends. And Christ wants to empower you to fulfill those opportunities.
In the family structure as God designed it, the man is the head of the home and a dynamic force within the family. He has a dominating—not selfishly domineering—personality that stands for the right. He is alertly, actively, intensively interested in his children. He uses his God-given authority to lead in serving and in loving his wife and children. There is just no room for “going on break” as a husband and father! He is never off-duty.
Hilliker then goes into detail about how masculine men in the PCG adhere to the teachings in The Plain Truth About Child Rearing. Yep, the final authority for all masculine men.
Once you give a command, remain on duty. Ensure the child follows through. This must be the case at home, at Sabbath services, in public, everywhere.
“In order to teach your child any of these constructive habits, you will need to apply constant diligence and never-failing attention to duty,” The Plain Truth About Child-Rearing says. “You simply cannot expect to have decent results if you just give your child instructions, and then forget all about the lesson—letting the child get down from the chair when he decides, put up his toys when he gets around to it, or begin to talk when you have told him to be quiet.”
And then, like any good COG writer, masturbation has to enter the picture.  Is Joel trying to tell us something here about himself?  I am sure PCG has more masturbators than any other COG, except for RCG and CCOG.  The more repressed people's lives are the more they find new avenues of satisfaction.
In The Missing Dimension in SexHerbert W. Armstrong specifically mentions the possibility of young people developing the habit of masturbation. “This would never be if parents realized their responsibility and were vigilant, ever watchful imperceptibly, and took proper means to protect their children from this curse!” he wrote.
Exercising authority in your children’s lives is not easy—it is labor. It is not a power trip. It is a service. It is for their benefit. And it is your duty.
As a Christian single, you are training for that duty right now by learning to pay attention to others, by learning how to treat women and children with honor, by learning to go after dating and to pay attention to the needs of single ladies, by learning how to serve the widows and the fatherless. These responsibilities also remain after you marry.
In your conversations, look for needs. Ask about things you could help with or find someone to help with. Find things you can pray about. Pay attention! You are on duty!
The duties of a man are constant. They require vigilance. They require you to work the works of Him that sent you, while you can. Be urgent. Recognize the onrushing river of opportunities for what it is. Seize each one. Let God come into people’s lives through you. Express dynamic male leadership. Put biblical manhood into action! Report for duty.


27 comments:

  1. Joel is mistaken that "self importance, self promotion (Herb was a professional marketeer, remember?) self serving, self righteousness (deliberately not defined, but used as a club if one disagrees with a minister) are of Satan.
    As I have mentioned previously, self love is the greatest taboo on the face of the planet. The reason? Because it's the wolf talking to the lambs. A psychopathic trait is 'everyone must do what I want, everyone must give me what I want, no one must resist my will.' Hence the hatred and rejection of self love.
    Just as a mans greatest responsibility is to his family, one greatest responsibility is to oneself. Otherwise one is guilty of psychological adultery.
    If one follows Joel's advice, one will become schizoid, experiencing a emotional coldness and inner deadness. This is natures rebuke.

    What Joel is advocating is the game of the unjust steward with deceitful biblical window dressing. All successful human movements throughout history utilized this, with Joel's church being no exception.

    On this point, it is not the responsibility of the single men to supply and pay for single women's social life. Why stop that? Why not pay for their wardrobe, holidays and college education?

    Not forgetting, the widows own family members and relatives often stay home watching TV or socialising while church members spend hours chauffeuring them around, supplying their social life. This is just exploiting the church. When I attended services, I chauffeured some widows that turned to be vile. They were not in the least converted. It was a mind expanding experience if nothing else. The poor contrite, humble widow is basically a myth.

    And who is on the receiving end of Joel's non stop giving, helping, serving? Why the irresponsible losers of course. The winners do the giving while the losers do the getting. Slavery to losers.

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  2. Do NOT run and tell the minister every detail of your personal life! You should keep your private life separate from church people.

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  3. A scrawny twit like Hilliker yapping about manliness? Well, all the PCG has are scrawny twits and dweebs I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

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  4. The PCG ministers want to micromanage your life and your family and your relationship with your wife and children. There is nothing left for the PCG "man" to do but say "yes sir" to all the instructions given to him by the PCG boy-minister with arrested development. The real men in the PCG have already told their meddling intrusive ministers to shove it and have left that cult a long time ago.

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  5. HWA was a product of his generation and commonly held beliefs. With regards to masturbation, it was thought that it could cause many illnesses, both physical and mental. It could even kill you. Yes, you could die at your own hand. Then along came the Kellogg brothers, members of the SDA Church who ran a sanitarium in Battle Creek, MI. Besides the exercise program and lots of enema and yogurt (even yogurt enemas), they believed that spicy foods led to sexual arousal. So, they came up with a bland cereal food call Kellogg's Corn Flakes. Sylvester Graham, a Presbyterian minister, developed a bland cracker to also help prevent sexual arousal, reduce masturbation and save the health and lives of millions. Circumcision was not very widely practiced outside of a few religious groups until Kellogg promoted it as a way of preventing masturbation. Now, when you are at WalMart and see the corn flakes and Graham Crackers, you will never look upon them in the same way again.

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  6. Cultish Bullshit.

    Butthead says: " Jesus Christ never did that. Christ was on duty—all the time."

    Bible says:

    Luke 5: 15 But the news about Jesus spread all the more, and great crowds came to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 YET HE FREQUENTLY withdrew to the wilderness to pray."

    And I am pretty sure Gospel Jesus didn't just get away to pray.

    Matthew 5:1 I"M OUTTA HERE!

    When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.


    Matthew 8:18 OH NO NOT AGAIN! GET THE BOAT!

    Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea.

    Matthew 14:22 YOU GO I"LL BE ALONG LATER

    Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away.

    Matthew 15:39
    And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan.

    Mark 6:45

    Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away.

    Mark 8:10

    And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha.

    Mark 4:36 COME'ON JESUS, YOU CAN CHANGE CLOTHES LATER , ENOUGH OF THIS!

    Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.

    Matthew 14:15 LET's JUST BE ALONE JESUS, CHAT IT UP AND HAVE SOME CHIPS

    When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, "This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves."

    Mark 7:33

    Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting.... OK I TOOK THIS ONE OUT OF CONTEXT FOR FUN!




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  7. .... and too "Manliness is next to godliness (just as, for a woman, femininity is next to godliness)."

    Ummm...no. It's cleanliness is next to godliness" This how scripture gets adjusted along the way as well and we never know what the original actually said after enough time passes :)

    I think he should have said "just as, for a woman, femliness is next to godliness" Just sounds better.

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  8. I always wondered "WDJATDD" (What Did Jesus And The Disciples Do?" I mean, 13 single, young and fit guys drawing thousands of groupies? Sounds fishy to me.

    Masturbation
    Masturbation: A practice of exorcism used to expel the inner demons which torments a man or woman.
    "It wasn't my fault! I was cleaning it then it went off!"

    Masturbation is healthy, it keeps you from doing stupid things.

    Since 94% of men and 75% of women "sin" in this way it needs a better name however. The word always sounds so harsh. Maybe "Quiet Time"?

    Urban Dictionary

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  9. I never understood the preoccupation with masturbation. Every boy figures it out eventually, or they start waking up with a mess in their shorts. You could say that it's natural. If it starts to rule one's life then it would be a problem, but you can say that about pretty much anything.

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  10. Mark 7:33

    Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting....

    Maybe this is why Manliness is next to godliness because this sure isn't cleanliness! :)

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  11. Basically, PCG has lapsed into a cultic mentality (their “Linus blanket”) for which they are forced to cherry-pick scriptures to support and perpetuate.

    Humans need a device or construct with which to maintain perpective. As a human, withdrawing and taking an objective look actually helped Jesus to properly prepare for the events He faced by creating space and helping Him collect His thoughts in advance.

    One problem with Armstrongism is that the leaders realize that this so-called “me time” creates space for members’ natural defense mechanisms to actually function, possibly resulting in the objectivity gleaned being applied against the cult. It’s why they harp on the innate sinfulness and untrustworthiness of the natural mind. The writers of this PCG drivel realize that “me time” for the members will inevitably undermine their control. Ergo, they must demonstrate that “me time” is unbiblical. Another job for Mr. Twisty McFisty! He sure gets around, doesn’t he?

    BB

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  12. Totalitarian systems like the Nazis had a policy of keeping their members physically busy non stop. The reason given by writers for this trait is that they didn't want their members to stop and ponder their ideology. They sensed that their ideology clashed with reality and that reflection would expose the faults.
    They combined this with incessant propaganda to suppress the natural inclinations. Which is why Joes constant 'give, help, serve, share, blah, blah,' combined with 'obey, yield, surrender, submit, blah, blah.'

    Christ asked will He find faith (belief in his way) on His return?
    The answer is absolutely not. What He will find is faith in bullying, intimidation, lying, brainwashing, mind twisting, extortion, blackmail, and dominating others. After all they 'work' don't they? They 'worked' for Stalin and Hitler, so why not the church?

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  13. 5:07

    Oh man, 5:07. Two thirds of your posting are spot on. The the final third you put yourself in harms way for litigation. A good thing you did not extend your exegis to the holy matzes or lightning might strike. Perhaps you could expound if the anglo saxons are repressed by weetabix, another time perhaps.

    Nck

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  14. Dennis pondered new , "kinder/gentler" names for "personal exorcism" , so here are a couple of proposals...

    -"Applying the hand brake"

    -"Badgering the witness"

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  15. 507 .Let us not forget Post's grape nuts. He was Kellogg competitor for the sanitarium market and kill the sex drive cereals. Graham crackers are my crack cocaine. They don't work.

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  16. Jesus, who liked a good rest, told people to get rid of the beam in their own eyes before trying to remove a speck from another's. People need to learn that the only person we can change is ourself. I cannot change you. You cannot change me.

    As to masturbation, I have occasionally told young people to literally thank God for the gift of the bodies they have and the abilities of them. The problem has never been the physical pleasure, but rather the addiction to particular fantasies, that hinders the growth of some people.

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  17. The PCG tells you to pray one hour a day.
    They tell you read the bible and/or their literature one hour a day.
    They expect you to watch an hour of world events every day.
    They expect you to mediate (one minister said an hour a day, if I recall) every day.
    They expect you to go to their spokesman club.
    They expect you to go to spokesman club fundraisers.
    They expect you to go to their bible studies.
    They expect you to go to most or all the church activities, potlucks, etc.
    You are told to fast once a month.
    You are supposed to keep in shape and exercise every day.
    You are expected to get involved in planning and organizing church activities.
    Some people might work a 10 or 12 hour shift and have a two hour commute (60 minutes each way).
    You have to spend hours a week trying to figure out what tricks and traps someone might lay for you to get you in trouble ... local church politics.

    What am I forgetting?

    After all that you really have no time for your family. You cannot be a PCG member and really have a family life. They talk about family but in the mean time they destroy your family. They also forget that you have parents and siblings, and you will almost never see them because all your time is tied up with PCG events and dictates.

    It is the PCG that is selfish. They want to OWN you, your money, your mind, and all your time.




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  18. 4.12 PM
    It's troll guy again. Yawn, yawn.

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    Replies
    1. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a time machine to send troll guy back to take a two week vacation in the Third Reich?

      BB

      Delete

  19. Anonymous on February 10, 2018 at 12:55 AM said...“Not forgetting, the widows own family members and relatives often stay home watching TV or socialising while church members spend hours chauffeuring them around, supplying their social life. This is just exploiting the church. When I attended services, I chauffeured some widows that turned to be vile. They were not in the least converted. It was a mind expanding experience if nothing else. The poor contrite, humble widow is basically a myth.”


    TOTALLY AGREE!!!

    Some of those filthy old PCG women were nothing but evil continually. You really had to see it for yourself to believe that old church women could be as perverted and evil as they were. Nothing on their filthy old minds except younger single guys continually. By their old age they had perfected the “womanly art” of chronic lying and slandering. They could act so nice and sweet, but then immediately blow up in a demonic, growling rage if some younger single guy politely refused to go over to their place. The fake PCG ministers that Gerald Flurry set up actually got mad at those who refused to go along with all the old PCG predators.

    The PCG is where a lot of dirty old men and filthy old women went to prey on younger people.

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  20. "I chauffeured some widows that turned to be vile. They were not in the least converted. It was a mind expanding experience if nothing else. The poor contrite, humble widow is basically a myth."

    Well, the windows I chauffeured were not vile but some of them were stubborn, manipulative, and contentious. I used to hold windows in high regard, so it was kind of a shock. They were really no better spiritually than anyone else. Some of the teens were actually better behaved.

    -- Evil Diabolical Evil Satan-Worshiping Hideous Nazi Troll.

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  21. Nazi Troll's power grab derives or is attributed by the attention garnered. So I feel stupid to even engage his non informed information that might as well be deleted if it wasn't so obiously misinformed. So it can remain.

    ""Please do! Men had respect in those days. And good jobs.'

    No they had not, that's why they voted for that party out of despair discarding any negatives that later killed them all through war.


    "They could afford families, houses, and children. My wages would skyrocket!'

    Yep, and even a free holiday for the worker at Prora. Very attractive all. Until they met their demise at Stalingrad. During the war of course the economy was sustained by the looting of all occupied territories.


    "Perverted art was banned. No rap music. People were decent. No baggy pants. No ugly tattoos and pierced eyelids. No fat mouthy feminists. No confused transgender kids. No drug culture. Nearly no broken homes and divorce. Gun rights not under threat from the state.

    This is all wrong.
    People were afraid. ALL NEO Nazi's carry tattoos. Kids from the Lebensborn Kliniken had been confused the rest of their lives through their upbringing. BTW no family values in Lebensborn.

    A lot of drug experimenting in the 1930's. And I am not talking the ordinary cigarette.


    "No broken homes"

    All of the Nazi top had extra marital affairs. Many with their secretaries but also with artists and movie stars.


    "Healthy foods. Elderly women didn't have to work at Walmart to survive. Didn't have to hear the F-word every time you turned around. I don't want to come back!""

    Healthy food. Yeah for the occupying forces in France. Not so for the Eastern Front.


    There are still some countries around that resemble the Nazi state, which in reality was a police state through intimidation. I have visited most of them.

    I would agree that the streets are clean, petty street crime is close to nill. Open display's of respect among the ordinary people. And all looks fine and dandy. Very convincing for superficial analists like you.


    nck

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  22. Yes, Evil Nazi Troll, the Nazis did wear sheeps clothing. You show gross disrespect for their many victims with your trolling comments.

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  23. "... they voted for that [Nazi] party out of despair... "

    Despair brought on by the fake democracy that Hitler replaced. Under Hitler, suicides in Germany went way down.

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  24. "Please do! Men had respect in those days."

    In American TV, men are kicked in the testicles and people laugh. We are taught to think it is funny. Should we laugh if women are kicked in the vagina? Under Hitler MEN had respect. Oh how I long for those days. Men and women in Germany LOVED Hitler. He loved animals. The video evidence proves it. He loved children. The video evidence proves it. All we are told about him is lies. Capitalistic war rhetoric. Lies. Politics. Money. Send me back. I would die for the chance!



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  25. Anyone know whatever became of Andrew Hessong? He seemed a good egg back in his Pennsylvania days. A bit uptight, but seemed too good to have become a minister with Flurry.

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