"Festival Jane"*, a devout, dedicated, and extremely zealous
new convert, had some questions about keeping the Sabbath properly.
She turned to an article in the Good News for answers.
This is "her" fictional, yet realistic diary entry concerning
William Dankenbring's reasoning sent to the members of the Church.
Dear Diary,
I Guess I'm kind of new to keeping this Sabbath thing. But I'm a little confused!
I just got this Good News magazine, and the guy who wrote the article tried to tell me how it is that I should keep the Sabbath. I ended up more confused than ever!
I guess the good news is that I can sleep in a little – the services start at 10:30 in the morning. The article said I can have some personal prayer and study – that'll be nice to do, kind of relaxing after the hectic week I had. I can make a nice appetizing breakfast because I'm going to need the energy for church. My husband is the only one who can lead the Bible Study, I guess – and we're supposed to read The Bible Story – but to be honest, I'm just not into letting my kids see those awful, horrid pictures! But if I say anything about it to my minister, I think he'll tell me I have an attitude problem. I think we'll just talk together.
I was wondering what my children can and cannot do, and to be honest, I am more confused now than ever! They're allowed to read to keep busy – but only educational or profitable books. What's educational exactly? They aren't going to want to read their textbooks – they've been in school all week. And they say that encyclopedias are just boring! I really don't want them reading encyclopedias anyway. I know where they will be turning to, and they're too young for that. So what books are okay, and what books aren't?
The kids love to play games. But they are only allowed to play quiet games. What's a quiet game? When kids play games, they play games. Maybe tic tac toe? Are they not supposed to laugh? And another educational game? They've been in school all week! They just want to take a break and have a little time to unwind. But I don't want them to inadvertently break the Sabbath because I'm responsible if they do. So where do I draw the line? Where does okay and not okay meet? I'm trying to take this seriously, but it seems so vague!
We could just forget the games, and I could take the whole family on this amazing picnic. But even here, I could get this all wrong. We're not supposed to seek our own pleasures – or think our own thoughts. What am I expected to do at this picnic then? Just eat my food, listen to the birds – or music?
Oh yes, music. I could bring the radio with us to listen to music! But even here – it has to be the right music. Inspiring music. I guess country's out. Rock's always out anyway. Oh well, guess I'll pop in those Young Ambassadors singing zip-a-dee-doo-dah, because my kids just cannot stand classical operatic music, and they get enough choir at church. My, oh, my, what a wonderful day!
I could listen to the news, they said that's okay – but not too much news. If I have the news on constantly, that breaks the Sabbath. But how much news is too much news? Where's the line drawn? When have I offended God by breaking the Sabbath and when have I not? Are there any real answers here? Is this really just a guessing game of try your best and you're okay? After all, they said that how I keep the Sabbath could be vital to my salvation! So why is it that it seems so crazy relaxed, but with such serious consequences?
At least they told me I don't have to worry about using gas or electricity. That's the good news.
I can drive, too! Well, kind of. I asked them about that, about how the Jews could only drive less than a mile on the Sabbath, and they said that's true, but that was a Jewish custom, not from the Lord – so go ahead and drive to Church, you haven't broken the Sabbath.
I also thought I shouldn't buy anything on the Sabbath – but I guess I can. I can get gasoline, or I can pay to park my car – depending on the circumstances. How do I know what are the right circumstances? I really don't want to break the Sabbath, but do I really need to call my minister every time I have a doubt about it? Is it really all in my own judgement? They said if it's an emergency and I have to do it, it's alright. But I should have done it on Friday night before sunset. So I still feel guilty!
But they told me to come to church because it's more important to fellowship on the Sabbath than to stay home. But what if I did break the Sabbath – and they don't tell me I did, and I don't know I did? They said something about binding and loosing and the minister's authority and power – but it just does not sit right with me.
I wondered about the whole graduation thing down the road, and that got even more vague. It all depends on how long, how much work, being brief... I feel like I'm walking on pins and needles! The same with funerals, weddings.... as long as I don't miss church. If anything happens during church time, they say I have to go to church as the first priority. I can always go to church, but these things only happen once in a while. But if I don't go to church, they could kick me out and I could face the third resurrection. Again – why so vague? And if I DO get to go to a wedding or funeral, I'm not supposed to engage in worldly conversation or idle chatter. What am I supposed to do, sit in the corner and read a Bible while everyone else is enjoying the occasion?
And when it comes to chores. They said I can wash the dishes, but it should be done the night before. If I do wash the dishes, only when I have to – like a cleanliness or bug issue. Same thing with making the bed. I shouldn't go all out in making the bed, but I can pull the covers up a bit and I should “be okay”.
I wondered about when my neighbors come over to borrow something. I can't lend them tools, because I'd be enabling them to work, but I can give them sugar or bread – even though they might be using that to cook with. Why does everything have to be so complicated?
I guess I'm left with more answers than I started with. They told me don't be on either extreme of these questions. I can always go to the minister to decide on these issues if I have doubts about it. Maybe that's what they want me to do. To always rely on them for the right answers and the proper judgment. I guess that's what I have to do. Because they want me to believe the Sabbath is a delight and a feast day. But all I end up doing is wondering if what I am doing is right, or wrong, and end up disciplining the children, or okaying something that's not okay, or not okaying something that is okay.
I think after reading this letter, that they aren't taking the Sabbath as seriously as I do, because I read in the Bible how serious it was in those days. Oh well, if they aren't too worried about it, maybe I shouldn't be. But I do need to make sure I never miss a church service, or send in a tithe, or disobey a minister. That seems to be what they always take seriously! Maybe I'm just not converted enough to understand this. Yeah, that's it. I'm definitely not ready for baptism.
Until next entry - Forward to the Kingdom.....
-Festival Jane
Reference to Article: The Joyful Blessings of God's Holy Sabbath
Author: William F. Dankenbring
Date: September 9, 1964
Publication: Good News Magazine
submitted by SHT
31 comments:
I hated the Sabbath the very first time I attended services in Columbus, Mississippi. By the way, does anybody know what ever happened to a piece of shit minister by the name of John W. Cafourek?
The "drawing of a line in the sand" will always lead to "what if" questions and the attempt to create hard barriers that are "black or white".
Actually Dankenbrink appears to attempt several areas of pragmatism in the article that was linked , adding,...
"False teachers called Pharisees arose. They began making a ritualistic fetish out of the Sabbath. They added scores of technical, trivial, pointless do’s and don’ts to God’s original Command- ment! And so, to the Jews, the Sabbath became a grievous burden-a day of BONDAGE--and legalistic technicality!"
The answer to Jane's questions are to listen to the small still voice of the Holy Spirit, meditate on the will of God, and then just do the best you can! Gods grace will cover , and he is more interested in why you do something than the proverbial legalistic "whats".
"I Guess I'm kind of new to keeping this Sabbath thing. But I'm a little confused!"
Perhaps UCG's Jelly could be of help- Jelly Loves the Sabbath!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM2aZ2NMmNI
Before anyone mentions it (LOL) -
Yes, I know there are continuity issues in this article. "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" didn't come out until the 80s. She just "got" this Good news. I should have worded it "She picked up an old copy". This is why I don't write sit-coms LOL
Connie, I understand the "do the best you can" ideology of the Sabbath - but I honestly I never bought into this. And there's a reason. It's almost as if it's the "Try, Try, Try" Law. No, you're never going to make it. No you aren't saved by keeping the Law. Yes, God's Grace is a gift. BUT. If you don't try hard enough, if you slack off, if you don't give enough, then you're fast-tracked to the Lake of Fire.
Though you seem to have a "grace-based" Sabbath, in every account I've ever read concerning the Sabbath, and by personal former experience (Decades worth!), the question was always "Obedience" and the issue was always "Government", not how well you "tried", and where the line was drawn when "Grace" takes over from condemnation - that part was always cast under the rug. To me, seems to be some dissonance resonating here.
-SHT
I know that name from somewhere. Didnt he hook up with UCG?
Yup, that was him:
https://www.ucg.org/user/john-cafourek
In the church during those days, you were "damned if you did and damned if you didn't" (like shoveling a foot of snow out of the driveway to drive 45 miles to church on the sabbath). What "Jane" needs to know is that physical sabbath keeping is no longer required for salvation.
First Anonymous in this thread, apparently he's dead https://www.ucg.org/user/john-cafourek
Let's see. Today was that Sabbath I used to be so concerned about. Haven't been a bit worried about it for about forty years now. Since there never was any seven day creation by any god, it's a total travesty. I did exactly as I pleased all day long, including a lot of house cleaning while we were looking for Phyllis' mislaid driver license. Found it!
If I'm going to commemorate anything, I think it should be that comet strike about 65 million years ago that made the evolution of mankind possible. But, that's not possible because nobody was around to manufacture. any temporal records for us to latch onto and declare as holy. Maybe we should sing praises to the Ort Cloud from which it probably came.
As for Dankenbring, he's gone now. I used to work with him. He could grind out articles and books at a terrific rate. He ended up founding his own organization with some far out doctrines. of his own.
6:22 PM, John Cafourek is dead.
This is so typical of legalists. The Bible only gives us guidance, which is what the word TORAH means, if I am not mistaken; not LAW as is commonly translated. We are given the guidance to "prey without ceasing" or "Love your wives. We are not told when, how, where, or how long. Now, when a legalist comes along he might tell you what the specific requirements are,(teaching for doctrines the rules of man) but they are always HIS standards. I was told that when a legalist tells you what you must do, throw it back at him, but move the demands up a notch. Then watch the expression on his face, it can be comical. For instance, when he says, "You should be in prayer 30 minutes." Respond with, "Why not 45 minutes? You do love the Lord, don't you?" The Bible says that we should dress modestly. The legalist says the skirt must be no higher than the middle of the knee. The Bible says we should come together as a group to encourage each other to love and good deeds. It doesn't dictate what location, what time of day, for how long, etc. A dozen people come to our home on Sunday night for fellowship, meals, Bible study, prayer and we all are involved in ministry, much like Hebrews suggests. Though we are more closely following the NT model, others don't think what we are doing is as legitimate as what they do when they follow the 17th century model derived from the Catholic Church. BTW, if you attend a typical church, get your ticket punched, sit passively through the performance, then leave, are you really fulfilling Heb 10? Are you fellowshipping with others any more than if you went to watch a movie with a group of strangers, then left?
My earliest memories of "keeping the sabbath" were of spending countless hours in the car. Getting up before dark, having to drink lemon water and then all of us climbing in the car for who knows how long, sitting in hard brown fold up chairs. Don't know what we did all day but I do remember getting home often after dark, probably in the winter. I don't remember summer sabbaths at all.
Most new members (although well they should have) didn’t critically agonize over how to keep the sabbath in the manner Festival Jane is portrayed as doing in this satire. They simply looked to the model presented to them by those who had taught them that the sabbath still needed to be kept if they wanted to be worthy to escape our soon coming national punishment and tribulation. New members enthusiastically became part of the corporate culture of Armstrongism.
Unfortunately, these “hard” questions that should have been asked as one entered the church were usually asked retrospectively as one left. All was usually sweetness and light during the naive initial honeymoon period in their new church.
My memory, more like a hellish nightmare, of the Sabbath was driving damn near 2 hours to service, sitting on very hard chairs for 'bout 2 hours, driving back home which of course took 2 hours, feeling so f**king tired that when Sunday rolled around I was to worn out to do any work around the house. I wish I could go back in time and tell my past self NOT to get involved in the WCG cult. Looking back, I can honestly say that I never made a single friend in that church. For most of the people it was more of a social club and if you weren't in the clique, of which I wasn't, you were essentially left out in the cold.
I absolutely hated the Sabbath in LCG. Do this, don't do that. Say this, don't say that. Smile, but not too much. They made the Sabbath a burden. And then to top it off you had to stand around after small talking to people that if it weren't for church you would never talk to. Everyone gets a "job", snacks, greeting, hymnals, sound, etc. It shouldn't take so much effort to keep a commandment. As a single parent, when I got home from the Sabbath I was plain old exhausted every single week. And they wondered why towards the end I didn't come every week. The Sabbath is supposed to be the day of rest not a burden. When I stayed home I actually had a little peace and rest. When I went it was like a performance and if you didn't do everything they asked the way the asked you were grilled about it.
SHT
The churches "obedience" and "government" always amounted to members being treated like children. God gives humans a God plane mind, and the ministers demand that this mind boggling gift be discarded. It's stench in Gods nostrils.
Our minister read a piece from the newspaper that said the rabbi of the city synagogue considered switching on the sound system was not to be done on the Sabbath - it was like the prohibition of igniting a fire on the Sabbath (Exodus 35:3). After a chuckle, the minister said it didn't matter to him, because turning on the PA was deacon's job...
“Keeping” the Sabbath was my first discovery, at the very start, that I would never qualify for Armstrongian salvation. The 13 worst years of my life were wasted in the Worldwide Church of Armstrong, while I was deceived by the clever and accusative preaching of both of the Armstrongs and their minions.
In those 13 years, I never recall a single Sabbath of any joy or peace. Each Saturday, I had to leave my loving wife and family — “non-believers” — and trek almost an hour away to a rented meeting hall for 2 hours of “instruction and fellowship.” Well, no fellowship; but a lot of instruction, on how virtually everything in my life as a damning affront to God.
But if I worked hard enough at it, and kept paying my tithes and offerings, I’d eventually achieve a level of righteousness that might qualify me for the Place of Safety. There, in a final 42 months of “instruction” somewhere in some desert, I’d finally qualify to be saved. Praise be to God.
But until then, I’d leave my family each Saturday, try to keep from weeping bitterly while traveling to services; then I would, indeed, weep bitterly upon returning to the cold stares of my wife and kids.
The Worldwide Church of Armstrong (not God). For so many, for so long, but a church of fears and tears; not love or forgiveness.
Observance of the Sabbath as a day of rest was a joke for far too many members. You had to get up early, hurry to eat, get the kids ready, then in many cases, drive for hours to sit and try desperately to manage fidgety kids who were bored out of their skulls looking at the same old books and playing with the same old puzzles and toys down there at their feet or sitting uncomfortably on hard chairs as the day slowly crawled along. Then, they had to wearily wend their way home where they could finally turn the kids loose and have a modicum of relaxation. But, in many cases, the sun had already set and they were totally exhausted. They needed to take Sunday to rest up if they could while catching up on all the stuff that didn't get done yesterday.
Most protestant churches have a bit more sense in the way they handle their Sundays. The kids are hustled off to a fun time with a little religion thrown in for whatever time their parents elect to stay around. The Church is usually a short distance away, and a lot of the members get together at each others homes afterward for enjoyable socializing.
It hasn't changed much in most of the splinters, I'm sure. I'm not going to waste any good Saturdays going to any of them to find out. Nor am I going to waste time and money going once a year to an eight day marathon of endless nonsense that was no vacation in any sense of the word.
I find these comments very interesting. Everyone has a different, yet same, story. In my case, getting ready for the sabbath was exhausting...making sure the family's clothes were ready, meals made, house clean. Then getting to church, making sure the kids behaved flawlessly, obeying my husband and the minister, making sure my duties were carried out, and then after getting home, putting up with the verbal abuse from my husband for the rest of the day about something I said or did while at church, while I was feeding my family and trying to smile.
At the F.O.T. it was no fun for me. It was exhausting for me the whole week. Packing all the clothes and trying not to forget anything, unpacking when we got there, ironing out the wrinkles on the bed while everyone else in the family was resting, exploring, etc. Then all the rest...always getting bawled out for something I said or did that did not please my husband. After the exhausting week, going home and having to unpack and do the laundry, etc. All the work to be done was to be done by me because I was the woman of the house. I don't remember ever really being able to enjoy the fot.
Dear Jelly,
How do I keep the Sabbath at the Feat of Tabernacles when God sends a big hurricane to disrupt the Feast site?
http://www.lcg.org/cgi-bin/lcg/lcn/lcn-issue.cgi?category=LivingChurchNews&item=1485543258&v=19&i=1&d=January/February
~Jelly
Anon 12:22, I’m so glad you only spent 13 years. I hope your life has gone well since leaving. I’m in Cogwa currently and see its many shortcomings and nonsense, but sometimes not attending can be more disruptive than muddling through. Prayers for us muddlers is appreciated.
I hate that I found this funny, because it’s so true.
Not everyone that leave after years of brainwashing have success stories. Many that leave suffer from lonliness, deptession,a few even contemplate suicide, many may need psychological help. It all depends on how attached you were to the group mentally,emotionally,physically,financially and even spiritually. I heard several cases of panic attacks experienced by both young and old alike on realisation of what they were involved in, trying to process it all and departing from among people you knew for a sizeable portion of your life can be very traumatic. Not everyone has the guts to cold-turkey leave, it takes courage to do so and face whatever consequences that await you in the real world alone,it can be a very painful experience many find hard to cope with especially those with no outside support. I talked to an LG member who is very frustrated with the way they are behaving but he feels he has nowhere else to go, in other words he is trapped, they are many in the various COGs that face this dilemma. Fed up but stucked. On the other-hand I personally think that it is sometimes better to leave those too far gone to believe their dream than to disturb them with reality,I know some members I am convinced would not be able to cope if their belief system in the True Church Is shattered.
Anon SHT replied: "...Connie, I understand the "do the best you can" ideology of the Sabbath - but I honestly I never bought into this. And there's a reason. It's almost as if it's the "Try, Try, Try" Law. No, you're never going to make it. No you aren't saved by keeping the Law. Yes, God's Grace is a gift. BUT. If you don't try hard enough, if you slack off, if you don't give enough, then you're fast-tracked to the Lake of Fire..."
And Connie earlier wrote: "...Gods grace will cover , and he is more interested in why you do something than the proverbial legalistic "whats"..."
The Apostle Paul wrote the following:
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that NOT of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, NOT according to our works, but according to HIS own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
And if God is really so concerned about the "to do" aspect we have this from Paul:
"For it is God which worketh in you both to WILL and to DO of his good pleasure." Phil 2:13
If somehow, God, by His power of His Spirit, does not do something via Jesus Christ, the following words regarding this world will never be realized:
"To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." 2 Cor 5:19
Time will tell...
John
Anon 12:22, I’m glad you were able to limit your time with the COGs to 13 years. I hope your life is going better now. I currently attend COGWA and see their ridiculousness yet sometimes the problems that come from family for not attending aren’t worth just muddling through for a little while longer. The Lord is patient with us. But still, pray for us muddlers that the COGs don’t damage our real hope.
When exactly does the sabbath begin and end? The bible is so vague. The church teaches it is from sunset to sunset. The bible nowhere spells that out. The best attempt to find out exactly when it starts is where it says the sabbath begins at the going down of the sun. That opens up the question of when the sun goes down.
Is it at sunset? Is it when it reaches its apex in the sky and begins to go down? Is it sometime in between?Then there is the days described in Genesis. Evening and morning was the first day... Etc. Evening is before sunset and shortly after. Morning is before sunrise and shortly after. The old phrase "Dawn of a new day" makes a whole lot more sense than a day beginning at Midnight, or at sunset, or around noon!
The day begins when Nut gives birth to Ra.
Nck
Oh...we were a "dedicated lot" way back then in the 60's. Knew several that drove over 300+
miles 1 way to services in Minneapolis. We used to carpool from Waterloo, IA to Minneapolis
ourselves. After all--we the "scum of the earth" were gonna become the same as "GOD himself"
with a body of SPIRIT & all our former "associates" were gonna "worship us", etc. Pretty heady
stuff, that. Didn't know BS could've been piled so HIGH & DEEP. Suckered? Yup. Why..well with
everyone "except the ministers" being total "FAILURES" in life it was a grand prospect. Last chance To be SOMEBODY after all. Hey Ma, everybody!! Look at ME! Spoon fed, "Manna" like tykes in a high chair. Our minds POISONED by their BS & ridiculing mainstream churches like GTA did
on the WTP. Kinda like the frog in the pot on the stove. Soo sad it took so long to see the
real snakes in the grass but then it was designed that way. Fear, guilt, shame, intimidation..
most effective, even yet today...example: D Pack & his PAY (him) COMMON LIE. :-( :-)!
"1-EX- sheeple" said: "...Spoon fed, "Manna" like tykes in a high chair. Our minds POISONED by their BS & ridiculing mainstream churches like GTA did on the WTP. Kinda like the frog in the pot on the stove..."
Frogs aren't "fooled" as easily as we might believe. The entire world is deceived, and filled with Junk Food such as the Mickey Mouse Millennium of Christ soon returning for 1,000 years, to reign on planet earth, and yes, ... even regarding that frog.
Following is some interesting research regarding that slowly-cooked frog myth:
******
According to consulting lore, corporate change all boils down to frogs.
In case you haven't heard it (and who hasn't? the frog story ranks number one on the change hit parade), Manfred Kets de Vries published the fable in his recent book, "Life and Death in the Executive Fast Lane":
"Take a pot of hot water and a frog. Throw the frog into the pot. What do you think will happen? The obvious, of course: the frog will jump out. Who likes hanging around in a pot of hot water? Now ... [t]ake a pot of cold water, put the frog in it, and place the pot on the stove. Turn on the heat. This time something different will occur. The frog, because of the incremental change in temperature, will not notice that it is slowly being boiled. Unfortunately, many organizations, as they grow, begin to resemble the boiled frog."
Fast Company's investigative team, the "Consultant Debunking Unit", put the frog story to the test.
First we spoke with national scientific authorities. According to Dr. George R. Zug, curator of reptiles and amphibians, the National Museum of Natural History, "Well that's, may I say, bullshit. If a frog had a means of getting out, it certainly would get out. And I cannot imagine that anything dropped in boiling water would not be scalded and die from the injuries."
Professor Doug Melton, Harvard University Biology Department, says, "If you put a frog in boiling water, it won't jump out. It will die. If you put it in cold water, it will jump before it gets hot — they don't sit still for you."
We then called on our Testing Laboratory to conduct an empirical test. Participating were Thomas Hout, vice president of the Boston Consulting Group and coauthor of "Competing Against Time"; and J. Debra Hofman, research associate at MIT's Center for Information Systems Research and coauthor of "Implementing Radical Change: Gradual Versus Rapid Pace."
We placed Frog A into a pot of cold water and applied moderate heat. At 4.20 seconds, it safely exited the pot with a leap of 24 centimeters. We then placed Frog B into a pot of lukewarm water and applied moderate heat. At 1.57 seconds, it safely exited the pot with a leap of 57 centimeters.
How did our expert interpret this triumph of science? "There are certain cases where gradual change is almost preferred," Hofman commented. "The change myth assumes a very narrow view of people. If frogs can do it, people definitely can."
A version of this article appeared in the November 1995 issue of Fast Company magazine.
******
John
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