"The only thing the church does is train the future princes and princesses."
I think I probably read that about ten times - each time, letting it sink in the Armstrong opinion (or at the very least, this commentator) of what the Church's role is in this world. It's something I've heard before, but not as succinctly stated as this very blunt admission of what Armstrong supporters believe the role of the Church is.
I mean, it makes sense to the Armstrong Apologist. The teaching has always been that the Church is just a form of a college - to train future princes and princesses and that everyone else in the world will get their chance letter. The Church then has been reduced to a very elite academy for the extremely few who "get it".
Apparently, this, in this world, in this generation, in this time, is the only purpose of the Church. Sure, it makes sense to them. After all, the Gospel, to them, had been suppressed for over 1900 years until Herbert came on the scene. Everyone else simply is not a concern because they'll be worked with later, so it's perfectly acceptable to ignore them now, and not worry about any of them now. They could never get it anyway, so why even try? The Church, after all, is only for those IN the Church, not those outside of the Church.
After all, everyone else in this world simply doesn't matter, because the Church isn't for them at all. Apparently, the Church is just a physical organization in a world ruled by Satan of just an infinitesimal amount of true Christians whose only purpose in this world is to be trained to someday help them all.... later. Never now. Because they're all cut off.
Yes, the Church, according to Armstrongism, is simply an Academy - a boot camp to the Millennium. Well, this would explain why the expectations are so low and the meat is so skimpy. You can only go through the same textbooks so many times over and over again year after year after year. It's the only college that you never really graduate from, just rehashing classes and seminars and more classes year after year after year, being promised a "graduation" in just three to five years but always being held back and never really getting the diploma, while you keep paying tuition over and over again year after year after year.
"The only thing the church does is train the future princes and princesses."
ReplyDeleteWell, then, that's exactly the problem, because the Bible says something very different about today's Christians. Here's how it describes what Jesus Christ has done:
“You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.”(Revelation 5:9-10)
God the Father and Jesus Christ want you to be a king and a priest. Your minister wants you to be a prince or a princess. Armstrongism is all about cowing God's people into submission for eternity.
ReplyDeleteOnly recently i wrote in my church notebook 'excluded' as i sat there listening to the latest training explanation being given out to the elite princes and princesses.
The anonymous comment is true.
The Jihadists have 72 virgins waiting to welcome them. The COGs have angels billions of years old waiting for us to tell them what to do.
ReplyDeleteMaybe one of the COG leaders with decades of experience can respond on this forum and tell us how this works.
Inquiring minds want to know.
What if you don’t want to be a prince or princess? What if you’d rather just be a regular guy or gal who doesn’t want to lord it over anyone else, nor to have others lord it over him? A guy who drinks beer, and would prefer to ride around exploring the galaxy on a spiritual motorcycle?
ReplyDeleteIf we’re to be forced to live forever, why not at least be able to do things which are compatible with our own innate aptitudes and tastes? Who the hell would ever want to spend all eternity teaching Armstrongism? That’s a reward????
BB
This is one of the most disgusting teachings of the church that people will be kings and princesses in the kingdom of God while they are also coequal with God. That kingdom will be pure hell if it is ruled over by Church of God members and ministers. They are so nasty in our present age, can you imagine what they will be like as stupid little gods? Disgusting!
ReplyDeleteWell yes.
ReplyDeleteThere was something about a "kingdom", that kingdom was producing "heirs". 4th adams would "witness" about that future kingdom. And the rest of anti-armstrongist comments about its philosophy (not its practice) has to do with a complete misunderstanding about what "princes" actually do.
Or perhaps the actual practice also hails from a misunderstanding about what princes do.
Anyway I said before that BB is welcome in my outer galaxy little tatooine to organize the yearly "motorraces". (courtesy star wars 1, little darth vader)
Thats what Saudi princes do. Either camel, horse or ferrari races.)
Electric motors if one is so disgusted with the idea to serve in that capacity.
Nck
College? No, more like elementary school.
ReplyDeleteI think it's very telling that HWA never developed any advanced curriculum. All that exists is the same entry level shallow superficial "teachings."
If any of this stuff were for real, there would be mile-markers, way-points, progress checks somewhere along the way, so that you knew were you were in your christian walk.
The simple fact that there's no more structure, no more discipline to it, than "try really hard" (to do something that is impossible) and then just plan on throwing yourself on the mercy on mercy of the court at the end and hoping for the best, should be the biggest clue of all that something isn't right, something isn't quite real, about this whole christianity thing.
What would you do if you threw yourself on the mercy of the court, and then Jesus looked at you and asked you why you'd never tried a strategy more sophisticated that "try really hard"? What if he asked you why you'd never evaluated your lack of progress, and considered a course correction or maybe a more effective strategy that "try really hard"? Why did you leave until now when it's too late to make any course corrections?
What would you say?
In any serious human endeavor, any real earthly discipline, there's always a way to know where you are in your progress. There's always advanced material. There's always people with obviously higher skill levels than others.
But not so in an endeavor which is arguably even more serious?. It doesn't matter how long people have been christians, there's never any progress. The more years they've been doing it, they're not any better at keeping the law, or whatever. And the ministers, the ones who you might ordinarily expect to have developed some sort of christian expertise, as a bunch, they're literally the worst christians, and the least disciplined of them all. Don't count on them to develop advanced material when they think they're above even the basic rules.
And if you like your faith, don't try to develop advanced material for yourselves. That will just lead to tough questions. And tough questions lead to answers you don't want to contemplate. So if you like your faith, forget everything you just read. It's not for you. Just plan on throwing yourself on the mercy of the court and hoping there's no tough questions then either.
"This is one of the most disgusting teachings of the church that people will be kings and princesses in the kingdom of God while they are also coequal with God. That kingdom will be pure hell if it is ruled over by Church of God members and ministers. They are so nasty in our present age, can you imagine what they will be like as stupid little gods? Disgusting!"
ReplyDeleteapparently you think that everyone AT Church is IN the Church....not true at all.(and that includes ministers)
and by the way, the Church does not teach that we will be coequal with God, but that we will simply be the same type of being that He is....we will see Him as He is, for we shall be like Him.
6.06 PM,
ReplyDeleteThose first fruits born into the kingdom of God would have been tested and qualified to rule under Christ. Didn't Christ says He will rule with a rod of iron? Of course, it's not all work and no play. Biker Bob can explore the galaxy on a spiritual motorcycle. There is no limit to what you can do as a spiritual being.Isn't this the good news of the world tomorrow? God does not lie.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete@10:46AM, you seem to be forgetting that HWA did in fact offer a vital mile-marker by which his followers could check their progress: Matthew 6:21. "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." If you could possibly give more of your treasure to the Work, then you weren't fully converted.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said…
ReplyDeleteSHT asked: "...After all, this is the only reason the Church exists, right?..."
In HWA's last book, Mystery of the Ages (MOA), there is nothing in that book saying: "The only thing the church does is train the future princes and princesses." That was Anon's own opinion.
Within MOA, one may read the following:
"...The Church is God's spiritual organism, well organized, for feeding on spiritual food, training and developing in spiritual righteous character the future God Beings--sons of God the Father!
For that training--that spiritual development of God's character, God has given his Church a dual responsibility:
1) "Go ye into all the world" and proclaim the good news--announcement--of the coming kingdom of God.
2) "Feed my sheep."
But in feeding the "sheep," developing in them God's spiritual character, God has given them their part in supporting, backing up, the great commission: "Go ye into all the world."
This first and great commission was given to the apostles. To a lesser extent evangelists were used in carrying forth the message. Other leaders--ordained ministers--were stationary, yet even the local pastor of a church may hold evangelistic services in his area--not the "soul-saving crusade" type, but lectures announcing and proclaiming as a witness the coming kingdom of God (the true gospel)!
This entire great commission--proclaiming the good news of the coming kingdom, and "feeding the sheep"--is a combined administration and function of the Church.
The individual lay member has his vital part in proclaiming the good news (gospel) to the world. How? Not by going out and himself proclaiming Christ's message to the neighborhood or to the world. That is done primarily by the apostles, to some extent by evangelists, and
to even a lesser extent in local areas by local pastors. (The chief responsibility of local pastors is supervision of and preaching to the local church.)
But the entire church operation is one whole, organized into various operations and administrations (I Cor. 12:5-6).
Part of the Lay Member
For example, what part does the individual local member have in taking the gospel message to all the world? This is done primarily and directly by the apostle. In this latter half of the twentieth century it is done also by radio, television and in print!
In the first century it was done by personal proclamation. Then what part did the individual lay member have in it?
Much! Without this larger body of lay members the apostle could do nothing!..."
Of course, the book has many other things to say about training, but without any reference to "princes and princesses."
So, no, God's Church did not come into existence solely to train princes and princesses, nor was it to solely train kings and priests to rule during some Mickey Mouse Millennium (MMM).
John
Anon,May 12, 2019 at 2:16 PM, wrote: “…Well, then, that's exactly the problem, because the Bible says something very different about today's Christians. Here's how it describes what Jesus Christ has done:
ReplyDelete“You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.”(Revelation 5:9-10)
God the Father and Jesus Christ want you to be a king and a priest. Your minister wants you to be a prince or a princess. Armstrongism is all about cowing God's people into submission for eternity.”
******
Quoting Revelation 5:9-10 is making reference to future kings and priests reigning "on the earth," but that has nothing to do with the Mickey Mouse Millennium (MMM) on earth so many are looking forward to, b/c that reigning on earth is for a different time beyond the MMM.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, HWA was allowed to spiritually give us milk with lots of junk food, and most of us took it all in......as if we were just as blind as HWA and couldn't see through it "back in the day."
Those kings and priests will be made (Or, God is a liar with those inspired words of Revelation 5), and they will reign on earth, but some time after Satan is loosed from the bottomless pit.
Most of us were taught to misapply scripture and, use here a little, there a little, put words of Rev 5 and Rev 20 together as though they were speaking of the same time period, but timing is not identical. To tie those verses together is to eat "junk food"......and one might as well as fall backwards and "...be broken, and snared, and taken." Isaiah 28:13
It is like people still looking for those 10 kings, 10 nations. Keep looking, but they are not for our day and age!
And time will tell...
John
"Training future princes and princesses" is pure marketing. Ad man Herb believed that marketing trumps reality. Hence members are expected to ignore that they are constantly being fed spiritual milk and stripped of their adulthood. Church culture is one of looking away from reality, and blindly believing Herb and his ministers reassuring words.
ReplyDeleteAny outsider who observed the promises of great reward, and the true state of church members, would laugh.
10.59 PM
ReplyDeleteThe bible tells us that we will be born into the kingdom. Babies do not have the same powers and maturity as their parents. So Christians will definitely not be co equal to God in the kingdom.
I never liked the music from Prince!
ReplyDeleteJohn, the Easter Bunny rolled away the stone.
ReplyDeleteThat's the deeper meaning which, as time will tell, reveals itself to those with righteous ears to hear.
I'm not sure how they are training up princesses and princes (why use terms that aren't used in the Bible and connote a bit of immaturity and elitism). The COGs spend most of their time focusing on the future or prophecy. It is a pity as Christ is the Gospel and has His work in us today.
ReplyDeleteI never liked the music from Prince!
ReplyDelete...so tonight I'm gonna party like it's Tishri 15 to 21!
Jim, I'm sure you have met your share of "princesses" in WCG and the splinters. These are the snooty, vaguely effete ministers whose uncallused hands bespeak their reliance on deacons to perform even the simplest manual tasks that any real man has known how to handle since his teenage years. These are the soft men who fancy themselves to be the peers or betters of the world's corporate executives, but who would barely qualify as Walmart greeters if they ever lost their cushy ministerial jobs.
ReplyDeletePrinces and Princesses? Won't everyone be genderless? ("like the angels" Matt 22:30)
ReplyDeletePrinces and Princesses? Won't everyone be genderless? ("like the angels" Matt 22:30)
ReplyDeleteTime to update the old hymnal...
All hail the power of Jesus' name, let angels' prostates fall
Behold the royal diadem, and crown Shim Lord of all...
Train to be a king or a priest In all the years in both the Radio C o G then the WWCG & ALL
ReplyDeletethose HD & Sab (& "Bible Studies") services NEVER was any Kingship 101 or Priesthood 101
classes &n don't forget Spokesman & Grad clubs either. Leadership training? What A SICK joke
that was. How to"apply" biblical principles to practical everyday issues/problems/living?
NEVER happened. Only more & more brainwashing! To control, manipulate and EXPLOIT the sheep ..
(membership). :-(