Gerald Flurry has claimed his Malichai's Message and Herbert's, Mystery of the Ages are on the same level of importance as the Bible. They are so important that they will eventually be made into scripture. These books should be in every one's library.
Now it seems Flurry has been influenced by another book. A book so significant that it has influenced the editorial department of the Philadelphia Church of God.
Let me give you an example. One time, when the Key of David tv crew was waiting in Heathrow Airport for our return flight to the States, we decided to shop. My dad, as he typically does, made a beeline for the bookstore. He left the store with a new volume tucked under his arm: Full Disclosureby Andrew Neil. It was several weeks later when I realized the importance of that book, as my dad quoted large portions of it at an Editorial meeting.
The impact of that one book has been significant. In the editorial department alone, it has helped to better organize our publications and improve our writing. My dad later told me, “It’s as if that book was written for this Work.”
Keep a watchful eye on what the Church quotes or often refers to. If it is good enough to be quoted extensively in the Trumpet, it may be worth adding to your library. Be observant, seek the advice of those knowledgeable in certain fields, and you will have no problem finding plenty of good books. Your problem will then be trying to narrow your selections down.
Andrew Neil's autobiography. As Managing Editor of Britain's Sunday Times he was the most powerful and innovatiev editor in Britain's Fleet Street. He fought with The Royal Family, endlessly with Margaret Thatcher and eventually with the paper's new owner Rupert Murdoch. Fascinating and required read for anyone interested in journalismAll of this comes from the latest article by Lil'Steveie Flurry telling PCG members to build home libraries. Forget the fact they will be fleeing in a couple of years, it is important to build worthy libraries. Your Personal Library: Build a book collection like Churchill.
This desire to have a library like Winston Churchill comes about after Gerald Flurry was filled with lust in his heart after viewing Churchill's library.
“Wouldn’t you like to get your hands on that?” my dad remarked as he gazed at Winston Churchill’s private library. We were in Chartwell, England, at Churchill’s home. Churchill was a great man, and the books on those shelves—still preserved just as Churchill had left them—helped to shape his mind. That’s why my dad wanted them.I am surprised at Flurry's great desire to have a huge library, considering his idol, Herbert Armstrong did not have a huge collection of books in his home. His library was rather small but was decorated with expensive gold and silver statues, some rare books that he never opened other than the day he bought them at Harrod's and a few personal books, like Message to Garcia, which he kept on his desktop.
Once your small, personal library is in place, don’t just give each book a cursory read. Study those books. Read to learn. And every so often, re-read. This seems obvious for books like Malachi’s Message and Mystery of the Ages, but we rarely apply this principle to secular reading. Why not? We’re better off mastering 20 or 30 excellent volumes than quickly browsing 100.
Mr. Armstrong often said that the Bible does not contain all knowledge; it is merely the foundationof all knowledge. God expects us to build upon that foundation. He admonishes us to prove allthings—to keep growing. There is always room for improvement. Education never stops.
God has given each of us a responsibility to develop character as we support this Work. Studying history and the lives of great men and women, keeping up with current events, and reading all of the Church-produced material makes us more responsible in our role.
Develop your own 20- or 30-volume set, and then let those books shape and mold your thinking the way Churchill’s library did his.
17 comments:
What do we make of this? Has anyone here read it? Do we treat it as an antirecommendation because someone of Flurry's ilk happens to like it, or is it actually worthy of reading?
~STD
"The true measure of a hero is when a man lays down his life with the knowledge that those he saves...will never know." ~ Gerald Flurry
Malachi's message?
Thanks for reminding me!
I have to use the throne and need something to wipe with.
Tarzan
I'd suggest "Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters" By Prothero
Anyone in an ACOG ought to start his or her library with this book: Snakes in Suits.
A Message to Garcia , the book on HWAs desk, was written by Elbert Hubbard. Apparently HWA was quite stricken by Hubbard (who happen to die in the sinking of the Lusitania during WWI).
He mentions Hubbards other works of "The American Bible" and the "The Fra: For Philistines and Roycrofters" in the autobiography.
Wikipedia has this to say about Hubbard, who was an obvious HWA early influencer...
"Hubbard described himself as an anarchist and a socialist.[3]:149 He believed in social, economic, domestic, political, mental and spiritual freedom.[3]:ii In A Message to Garcia and Thirteen Other Things (1901), Hubbard explained his Credo by writing "I believe John Ruskin, William Morris, Henry Thoreau, Walt Whitman and Leo Tolstoy to be Prophets of God, and they should rank in mental reach and spiritual insight with Elijah, Hosea, Ezekiel and Isaiah."[3]:i
Hubbard wrote a critique of war, law and government in the booklet Jesus Was An Anarchist (1910). Originally published as The Better Part in A Message to Garcia and Thirteen Other Things, Ernest Howard Crosby described Hubbard's essay as "The best thing Elbert ever wrote."[4]
Another book which was written by Hubbard is titled Health and Wealth. It was published in 1908 and includes many short truisms."
This is stunning - STUNNING!
The Flurrys are endorsing a book by someone who "fought... endlessly" with Margaret Thatcher?! The CONSERVATIVE Margaret Thatcher?? Ronald Reagan's best friend among world leaders???
PCG may be turning dangerously liberal on us!
5.44 PM
Sacrifice, laying down our lives for others, is a commie theme. It's also embraced by charities such as churches, since they survive on charity. There can be occasions for sacrifice (without going into detail) but the thrust of human flourishing is Christ's "I come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly." This runs counter to endless 'sacrifice.' Or as economists such as Frederic Bastiat have pointed out, economic development is the result of capital accumulation, rather than sacrifice.
Charities ignore this since like politicians, they are myopic.
"Keep growing." With all the ACOGs, members are only permitted to grow along narrow pathways that doesn't clash with minister power. Or if a person has grown, they are expected to pretend that they have far fewer talents than they really have in order to placate minister power lust.
And they expect God to add to their numbers. What a joke.
7:47, you doofburger! Charities, capitalism, wealth, and faith are all part of the same ecosystem, If you take any one of them alone, and hold it as an exclusive, something breaks down. Critical needs go unmet. Together, they compliment each other, and cover individual deficiencies or inadequacies. That's what makes America great, and the envy of the rest of the world.
~XYZ
Eternity cries out for the compassion that only a child of the universe can provide.
Providence will not be kind to those who do not appreciate the wholesomeness of the cosmos. A touch of kindness a like a butterfly that goes from flower to flower, healing the longing for oneness with another.
"The urge to hunt & kill - the need to mate & multiply - these are our most primitive human drives. But they pale in comparison to the most powerful human drive of all...the need for love." ~ David Pack
"Mr. Armstrong often said that the Bible does not contain all knowledge; it is merely the foundation of all knowledge. God expects us to build upon that foundation. He admonishes us to prove all things—to keep growing. There is always room for improvement. Education never stops."
An excellent example of "Armstrongmining" to find support one is unable to come up with from inside their own self to be or do what they want to do. Without HWA's approval and permission, to be found if you search his writings, just as people search scripture for justification, some can't seem to just do what they choose to do. Appealing to HWA's authority seems required.
Of course, what you read is important to Church leaders. Reading what is suggested is fine. Reading what you choose to read or study....not so much. HWA, like Pack, Flurry, Weinland and company have never seriously read outside their already established beliefs. It is much easier to hold on to beliefs than to study one's way out of them.
Flurry would not have liked, nor would he recommend one read, Thomas Huxley's admonition to read and actually study the world in which we find ourselves. As a result, ALL of the Churches of God and their self absorbed leaders have learned precious little over the past decades of their lives.
“Sit down before fact like a little child, and be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abyss Nature leads or you shall learn nothing.”
― Thomas Henry Huxley
and too...It does not matter and never really did matter what HWA or anyone thinks or says about everything to the meaning of life to how you need to live it according to them. It matters little in reality what Dave Pack thinks about himself for what the future will bring. It matters not at all how Malm thinks "the law" needs to be obeyed, followed or allow to control your life. It does not matter one bit what book Flurry thinks you should read or how full of what he approves of your library should be.
One of the better quality lessons one can learn in life is as follows.
"Why It is So Diffilcult to Hire Older Men"
INTERVIEWER: So tell me sir, what do you think is one of your less positive traits might be?
OLDER GENTLEMAN: My absolute honesty...
INTERVIEWER: Well now, I don't think that is a problem at all!"
OLDER GENTLEMAN: I don't give a shit what you think.....
Appealing to HWAs or his ministers authority to justify ones choices isn't limited to the ACOG churches. It's also present in society, but to a lesser degree. It boils down to either using reality as ones reference point or other peoples opinions. 'You shall know them by their fruits' means that reality perceived by ones five senses should be the correct reference point. Or as the TV series CSI frequently put it 'the evidence doesn't lie.'
Unfortunately, using authority figures opinions as ones reference point is deeply imbedded in most peoples minds. It's part of the education system.
Snakes in Grass looks interesting - I will borrow it from library if available or buy it.
BTW Dennis with growing older, you can either mellow (I think I have) or get bitter and harder.
I think RCM mellowed - GW does not give that impression - time will tell.
TLA,
I recall being in Ambassador Club with Weston. Didn't like him much. Winnail, by contrast, seemed a nice fella, maybe a milquetoast.... reckon Weston rubbed off on him...
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