I remember decades ago when the church got all antsy about members recording sermons. They were afraid that those tapes would fall into the wrong hands. Fast forward to today and that idiocy is still prevalent. COG groups are STILL totally embarrassed by what they teach, so much so that they command members to destroy sermons from HQ. Forget about speaking the truth, lets instead hide it! Jesus was never afraid to speak truth, but COG leaders sure are.
This is the Philadelphia Church of God:
We drove over an hour to attend a small house group to listen to recorded garbage a few times. They had CDs for sermons which they put in the microwave after it was played. I asked why and they told me that it was to destroy them so they wouldn’t fall into the “wrong” hands.
12 comments:
It's just common sense to destroy them. What would happen is someone got one of the tapes and unknowingly played it backwards?
Kevin
Imagine if microwaves had been around in New Testament times. We might not even HAVE a New Testament.
I wonder if some of this stuff from the likes of Thiel, Pack, Weinland, Malm et al, would actually make more sense if played "backwards" rather that forwards!
Sort of like the old Beatles song "Strawberry Fields" , that supposedly said "Paul is Dead" when played backwards!
Probably protecting themselves from lawsuits. Sounds like PCG and RCG are in competition to see who can inflict the most damage on their members and extract the most money for HQ.
Not surprising really. My dad would get scissors out after the cd was played in our congregation and cut it up. This is probably one policy I agree with - keeps the garbage sermons off the streets.
So far as I can tell, the ACOG leaders have discovered how to translate the vibrations from their farts into words, and that’s what ends up (pun fully intended!) becoming their sabbath and holy day sermons.
RCG deacon: So, Irv, what did you think of Mr. Pack’s sermon this week?”
Irv: “Frankly, Mr. Staples, I thought it was a gas!”
Mr. Staples snickers to himself as he realizes how unknowingly profound ol’ Irv has just been.
BB
BANNED is the wikileaks of Armstrongism!
DBP
Microwaves?
Remember that movie about an extraterrestial society that based their understanding of humanity on the tv broadcasts they received "out there?" Especially Sta Trek was received favorably, Star Wars not so much.
I guess the martians would arrive with deleavened space craft at (l) yeast.
Nck
if I was ever instructed to destroy a sermon after playing it I would instantly leave that organization.
if you are speaking the truth you won't be worried.
Peak a boo, you might have a NAZI hiding on your CD.
As a child growing up I (and everyone else) always knew that if one had to hide something, then most likely it was wrong. To destroy a sermon speaks volumes. Is it done because:
A) You are embarrassed and/or ashamed of what you said?
B) You slandered someone;
C) What you said can be taken as criminal;
D) What you said was so outrageous that you are afraid of it coming back to haunt you;
E) and finally, what you preached can be taken as being disloyal at headquarters.
Destroying CDs of sermons should serve as a red flag to the members. Yahshua was never ashamed of what He spoke. He was never a wimp or politically correct person. The present day ministers however, are afraid of their own shadows and one can only surmise that it is due to the fact that they know what they say or do, isn't right.
This was something very inconsistent with the rest of the teachings. When we were very young, we were taught that every word coming from an Armstrongite minister's mouth was directly inspired by Jesus Christ. Further, all of the church magazines and booklets were to be treated with the care and respect one would give to rare and irreplaceable archives. They were to be read in open position, not folded backwards, and hands were to be carefully washed prior to reading them. No food or beverages in the direct area. Some members even read them while on their knees, prayerfully. This burning of tapes came about as the upper tiers of the church administration became paranoid about "defectors", and the Feds who had begun to function as watchdogs, monitoring for subversives, racists, and other weirdos and trouble-makers.
Wouldn't it have been interesting if the church had had the same attitudes as Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, and freely allowed taping? The Feds were certainly monitoring influential rock musicians during the '60s and '70s. Nixon actually had a vendetta against John Lennon, and was attempting to gain sufficient evidence to deport him! Rock n Rollers have always had more courage than Armstrongites!
BB
They have the right idea, but the timing is wrong.
They need to destroy the CDs BEFORE they play them!
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