This was printed in the April 1, 1973, Worldwide News. This was probably too early for the doubly cursed false prophet of the COG, diploma-mill "dr." Bob Thiel to have begun his tirades against football. If he was already spouting his silliness, I am sure this frosted his self-righteous butt big time.
Everyone from Herbert Armstrong to the student body watched football when it was on TV. Students attended football games all over Southern CA, clear up till the day they officially shut down the campus. Members did too.
Poor Bob, never on the train and always left behind.
clipping by SHT
34 comments:
"At what point does a human being's free will cease to exist? And if we have forfeited our free will are we still human? For centuries philosophers have wrestled with the question, "Is man able to decide through his own actions or does fate have the final say?" " ~ GTA
I don't ever remember professional football being condemned in R/WCG during my years of attendance from 1968 to 1976. This must be an "almost arrested doubly blessed" Bitter Bob Thiel thing.
In Washington, D.C. I remember our Pastor Ken Westby occasionally making casual jokes from the pulpit about our Washington Redskins - which in hindsight tells me he occasionally watched games. In 1973, the Washington Redskins went to the Super Bowl and I watched the game on TV at Church deacon King Finlay's home.
My mother, who stayed faithful to Armstrongism tenets until the day she died as a member of LCG, use to host Super Bowl Sphegetti parties.
I am baffled by double minded Bitter Bob Thiel's condemnation of American football. Yes, it is worldly, but so is everything else including running to the bank. And, I bet Bitter Bob jumps to running to the bank when he gets a check from one of his dumb tithe slave dupes - the deposit made, check clears, TOUCHDOWN!!!! Picture Bitter Bob doing a happy dance in the end zone when a check clears.
If Herbert Armstrong didn't condemn it, then why does he? And what does his NFL condemnation have to do with Bitter Bob Thiel being a Prophet? Of course, Bitter Bob also ignores Herbert Armstrong's teaching that there are no Prophets in the modern end-time Church age. As I remember, the R/WCG taught "balance". Everything in its proper place as long as it didn't become as a member's first priority before God and it didn't interfere with Church duties and tithing. Sheesh!
Richard
Football causes concussions and Theil is not the only doctor to advise against it.
In primitive times people did not know about concussions caused by football. Today, primitive people still don't know. Bob is keeping up with medical science.
Picture a bunch of neighborhood kids picking teams to play any team sport. I suspect that any sport in which Bob got picked last is a sport he now detests.
" Picture Bitter Bob doing a happy dance in the end zone when a check clears."
Well, I was going to eat something for lunch..... Not hungry any more ;)
"Football causes concussions and Theil is not the only doctor to advise against it. "
And....
Driving your car causes accidents.
Hiking in the woods can cause sprained ankles.
Riding a bike can cause concussions, too.
Swimming can cause drownings.
Baseball can cause broken legs.
Track can cause wipe-outs.
Weightlifting can cause choking trauma.
Ice fishing can cause hypothermia.
Gum chewing can cause choking.
Ice Cream can cause brain-freeze.
From major to minor, It's a fact that everything you do can cause things to happen. Random events can be fortunate to unfortunate.
Bob Thiel is not your father, your daddy, or your guardian. Bob Thiel is not your king or your boss, as much as he seems to think he is. There is a thing called "free will", which comes with rewards or consequences. The job of a minister is to counsel. To exhort. To strengthen, to encourage, and to protect. But Bob is not an ordained or appointed minister. He also does not have the authority to define what "protect" means, in a spiritual sense. As it turns out, the biblical definition is extremely limited.
If Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Bart, Stephen, and the other apostles and disciples played a nice, fun game like football one of those days that are not recorded in history - Bob would be running out there yelling "nooooooooo!!!!!", waving his arms. And what do you think their response would be? What do you think Paul would say?
"I suspect that any sport in which Bob got picked last is a sport he now detests."
By the same logic, I suspect that you detest Bob because you were rejected from the CCOG.
I keep hearing Bitter Bob, Bitter Bob, Bitter Bob, Bitter Bob. Even if Bob really is bitter, is he any more bitter than his critics?
Thiel is a fanatical ascetic. In his world, anything that might give the human condition a boost from the Kafka level of existence is bad and forbidden.
BB
Back in medieval times there were sports that were only won when the apponent died. Football is not a mandatory sport. In other words, people have choice whether they want to play or not, knowing the risks involved. That freedom should not be taken away by someone who has decided that football is an evil sport and no one should play it, or even watch it. There are risks in other sports, too, such as car racing, gymnastics (someone could break their neck if they land wrong), etc. Oh, and no one is going to tell me what kind of shoes to wear except my orthopedic doctor (I happen to have a deformed foot). So there!! Harrummph!!
"Thiel is a fanatical ascetic. In his world, anything that might give the human condition a boost from the Kafka level of existence is bad and forbidden."
Not a word of that is true. Pure propaganda.
Why just are the Philadelphians protected? What about Pittsburghians , isn't that close enough?
Bob Thiel posted anonymously at 8:41 AM...
I suspect that you detest Bob because you were rejected from the CCOG.
How do I know this was Bob? It's the Bob-logic on display in the post. Being picked last for football means that you are the least fit to play football. Sort of like how being picked for the CCOG means you were unfit for any better ACOG. Bob, however, turns it around and makes it personal, as if everybody in another ACOG detests Bob when in fact most of us pity and scorn him. We save our detest for serious, competent cult leaders like Flurry.
The life expectancy of a NFL player is 53 to 59 years. There's the Will Smith movie 'Concussion' about the brain degeneration of football players. The game is too dangerous. It won't be there in the millenium. Sorry guys. Perhaps you can record games, and secretly bury them for future viewing.
CCOG - the not ready for prime time ACOG. Basically, he needs to spend more time at “open mike” night
I agree 11:29,
The game is dangerous. Whether some group approves or disapproves doesn't matter to me. Humans weren't meant to bang into each while standing or moving. Just my opinion
It is a game that appeals to people who have a warrior mentality. And, like boxing or the martial arts, it gives kids a constructive outlet for pent up energies and anxieties. Of course it is dangerous, as are many other sporting activities. Not everybody is into chess or golf, or other cranial noncontact sports. It is another choice. Participants get into it knowing that there are risks. Must we always sissify everything supposedly in the name of Christianity or gentrification?
BB
It's got nothing to do with sissifying. Its common street sense not to participate in violent sports. If its true that the life expectancy of a NFL player is 53 to 59 years,what is that telling us? Yeah its their choice. If someone wants to not be a sissy and drink too much and damage their body,it's their choice. It doesn't have anything to do with Christianity. If someone wants to have brain damage or walk with limp, it's their choice. I'll be a "sissy" and stay away from it.
Who wants to live beyond 55 anyway? Quality, enjoyment of life is much better than longevity. But, then again, I’ve always enjoyed the adrenalin rush you get when doing dangerous things.
Dumbhead, you seem to be forgetting that there are other factors that shorten the life of an average NFL player. Whites in equivalent socioeconomic circumstances as Blacks live about 5 years longer. Blacks living in the ghetto, or living ghetto lifestyles, live even shorter lives than that. In parts of Harlem, Chicago, and Washington DC, Blacks have shorter lifespans on average than people in Bangladesh or central Africa. Greater/better education also correlates with longer life.
Joe Namath is on TV today, age 75, hawking medical insurance. Frank Gifford lived to age 84. Don Shula is alive today at age 88. If you wanted to, you could put together a couple of Pro Bowl squads made up of NFL retirees in their 80s and beyond. Those squads, however, wouldn't have many black faces.
Yes, football can be a violent sport and can lower the quality and quantity of players' lives. However, the correlation between early death and NFL violence isn't much stronger than the correlation between early death and the NFL finding more of its top talent in dangerous urban environments and in environments with poor schooling.
Dumbhead, did you know that every breath you take could very well be your last? Scientists have analyzed data from several billion humans who have died and in each and every case, the subjects had one thing in common a few moments just before "lights out": they were breathing naturally or assisted - all 100% of the cases!
Research is still ongoing on those "sissies" that choose not to breathe.
Before a lot of the safety measures were instituted by NASCAR, brain trauma was a big issue. LeeRoy Yarbrough was one of the early victims of that. Jr. Johnson spent thousands of dollars on doctors trying to determine what was wrong with LeeRoy, but he died in the mental institution to which he was sent after having tried to strangle his mother.
6:47AM,
Thanks. But when I wrote that I was maybe talking in general about violent sports not just the NFL. As far as NFL players it's not just about long life. There could be constant pain they suffer over the years because of injuries. As far as in general, how many wives don't get nervous if their husbands play tackle football on the weekends? They could hurt their knees, backs or break a bone. They could be out of work,or even lose there jobs. Is the rough stuff worth it,? Someone in high school playing football could have an injury and be affected by it the rest of their lives.
Go Steelers !
You can also suffer brain damage from eating unclean meats. Maybe the football players eat too many pork chops!
Tkach Sr. used to be praised by HWA as "he is always working, even on Sundays , and is very diligent. He is always there in the office when I call in on Sunday to ask a question".
Little did HWA know that Tkach had a big TV installed in his office and that all he was doing on Sundays was watching NFL games and other sports, killing time , and just picking up the phone just in case HWA called!
PS-- Support Donald Trump by cheering for his surrogate on the field, Tom Brady of the Buccaneers! LOL!
First, I like basketball and dislike football for lots of reasons that would take up too much time and white space to explain. Also, I do not believe that football fans want to see anybody get hurt. I think they want to see violent action and not violent harm.
A theme that runs through the comments, here and on the previous post, is that if God used violence why should we not use violence. I am dismayed. First, the Assyrians attack Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah and God runs them off. A lot of Assyrian bodies litter the landscape. Next, the Roman crowds leap to their feet and cheer as another gladiator is eviscerated. Do violence apologists really think this is the same thing? The former falls under the Theory of Just War and the latter under the disgusting concept of violence as cruel and barbarous entertainment. Violence is not a product to be used wherever and whenever convenient. Like "if we can use soap here, why can't we use soap there?" There is an ethical context to be considered.
We know that God, as understood in the Christian Movement, is immutable. It will also be apparent to Bible readers that the view of God evolves throughout the OT and NT. The OT writers embedded some of God's activities in accounts of Iron Age Chauvinism. Later, the NT writers quote Jesus as saying "Love your neighbor." But if God is immutable, what has changed between the OT and NT? What has changed is the human view of God. That is the only degree of freedom. If you are a literalist (this includes fundamentalists and atheists), it is time to ask yourself some questions about this. God let his children tell the story and kids say the darnedest things. When Christ came, he did not start a project to re-write the Bible in order to eliminate the encrustation of human fingerprints. He let it ride. And that bespeaks much.
Superbowl Sunday is a national Holy Day among nominal evangelical Christians. You would think that it marked some special event in the New Testament like Easter. To show you how Holy it is, Marjorie Taylor Greene did not even invent a conspiracy theory about it. For me, its the graceful and clean arc of a three-pointer. It leaves me feeling unsullied.
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Where's the commandment to not watch football?? Where there is no commandment, there is no transgression - Rom 4:15.
Want to see violence and competitiveness in sports? Our FOT basketball game (ministers vs men * & boys) and a regional sports meeting (specially the tug of war) had it all!
HWA liked baseball, and in his Autobiography he elaborated on one game he remembered. He liked how one player taunted the pitcher and stole bases.
Jesus is returning today and you're all worried abut football?! lol You're going to need your helmets, but not for football. To avoid return of Jesus debris in the air!
How does Tonto know that.
ANON 9:56 HWA was referring to Ty Cobb, in a story he oft related. Cobb was known as perhaps the most racist , disturbed, dominant and dowright mean ballplayer of his era.
ANON 1:27 How does anyone know anything?? I do relate truth on that matter.
Basketball too Refer to Janis Ian's "At 17"
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