It is with some amusement that we are forced to observe Bob Thiel's absolute craving to be considered a Biblical Prophet. Amusing stuff to most of us but a dead serious need on Bob's part evidently.
Recently in his article:
Bob states:
"But it should be noted that starting with a telephone call from its late top leader on October 3, 2008, LCG’s highest leadership had repeatedly stated that God may consider Bob Thiel to be a prophet (see How To Determine If Someone is a True Prophet of God).
Consider also:
- On August 26, 2012, LCG Evangelist Dr. D. Winnail told Bob Thiel, “We all think that you might be a prophet.” In order to determine who “We all” was, on September 7, 2012, I asked if this was a reference to all three of the LCG Charlotte-based evangelists and Dr. Winnail concurred.
- On January 7, 2013, Dr. Douglas Winnail sent me an email, which included the statement, “we made comments to you that “you may be a prophet.””
But since LCG had integrity problems, I left on December 28, 2018 (see Why Bob Thiel Left the Living Church of God).
Recall that Dexter Wakefield wrote, ““Prophets” in the sense of Elijah are rare.”
As far as rarity goes, I would ask, “How many people were told by an actual top evangelist in the Church of God that God may consider him to be a prophet? And on multiple occasions?” In the 20th and 21st centuries, there is only one who comes to mind (I find this hilarious. I wonder who Bob has in mind?) (details are in the article How To Determine If Someone is a True Prophet of God).
So, while prophets are “rare,” and being told one is a prophet by an ordained evangelist is also rare, rarity does not mean that there are none."
Now personally, and I could be wrong, I find this silly, but I believe Bob has missed the point completely that LCG was making to him. I see more an obnoxious member, making every effort impress for whatever personal reasons or convictions, who he considers to be "reputed pillars" in LCG with his prophetic leanings. Over time, they tolerate but begin to tire of his presence and need to be taken seriously. Somewhere along the line, and out of frustration, Dr Winnail says "We all think you might be a prophet." This is not to say you are one as noted in the second email that stated "we made comments to you that "you MAY be a prophet." I suspect this email was intended as more like correction than confirmation. That sounds more like Dr. W, growing tired of Bob's need to be recognized, trying to settle him down and telling him in effect "We ONLY made comments to you that you MAY be a prophet, not that we think you are one." etc.
Bob took BOTH comments as a positive affirmation by LCG of his Prophetic abilities and credential, but I don't believe they were said in the spirit of that at all. More of an eyeroll or face palm than an admission of reality.
I have used the same language in the past with members who were obsessed with a particular idea about themselves, how the church needs to do or not do something or some role they believe they have found for themselves that no one seems to recognize. These kinds of members were annoying as hell and could easily mess up a generally peaceful congregation. They were never satisfied I was doing enough or taking them as seriously as I should and I grew tired of the topic and simple said something to the effect of "perhaps you are right," not to agree but to shut them up and make them feel better. (And me too). If I adopted every hairbrained idea members thought I MUST preach, my church would have resembled Barnes and Bailey Circus complete with clowns and dancing bears.
Bob seems to have taken both statements as affirmations that everyone, or at least the important people believed he was. I think he is kidding himself just as he did when hearing in a rather mundane anointing for illness that God was being asked to give Bob a "double portion of his spirit." Those were evidently words or near ordination and affirmation that Bob was indeed special. (I've been double blessed with the spirit requested a few times along the way by my peers when actually ordained, but I didn't even get the first portion right I'm pretty sure :)
Predicting that brain injuries happen playing football or that future storms will get worse and worse as proof he knows the future simply don't count. Reading trends in this or that topic on the Internet doesn't count as prophecy either.
So some of you might enjoy Bob's article begging once again to be recognized as a Prophet and why. I don't personally believe in prophecy for many reasons, the least of which is that, plainly stated, no one knows the future. If it was all planned out and all we had to do was discover it, we'd simply be actors in something else's show and that does not bode well for free will and such. Add to that, many Biblical prophecies fail miserably and as mentioned below, stories are back written with known history in mind to appear to be the fulfillment of it. Jesus Birth Narratives were written in that style as was the death of Jesus. All cobbled from Old Testament scriptures that already existed. All written, and contradicting each other, because the authors knew neither the details of Jesus birth or the real circumstances of his death. The Gospels are not eyewitness accounts of anything but that's another topic.
Anyway, here is a list of ways that don't count towards points in whether one is a prophet or not and presented just for the fun of it. :)
- Verified, specific prophecies that couldn’t have been contrived.
If the Bible, for example, said, “On the first day of the first month in the year two thousand and ten, the pillars of the earth will shake and a great part of the New World will be lost to the sea,” and then January 1, 2010 comes and a tremendous earthquake sends California to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, I would become a believer. - No points are awarded under any of the following conditions:
- If the prophecy is vague, unclear or garbled (like Nostradamus’ ramblings, for example). It must be detailed, specific and unambiguous in its prediction and wording.
- If the prophecy is trivial. Anyone could predict that it will be cold next winter, or that this drought/plague/flood will eventually subside. The prophecy must predict something surprising, unlikely or unique.
- If the prophecy is obviously contrived for other reasons. No official seer or court astrologer ever predicted that the king he worked for would be a brutal, evil tyrant who would ruin the country.
- If the prophecy is self-fulfilling; i.e., if the mere fact of the prophecy’s existence could cause people to make it come true. The Jewish people returned to their homeland in Israel just as the Bible said they would, but this isn’t a genuine prediction – they did it because the Bible said they would. The predicted event can’t be one that people could stage.
- If the prophecy predicts an event that already happened and the writing of the prophecy itself can’t be shown to have preceded the event.
- If the prophecy predicts an event that already happened and the happening of that event can’t be verified by independent evidence. For example, Christian apologists claim that Jesus fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies, but the authors of the New Testament obviously had access to those prophecies also; what would have prevented them from writing their story to conform to them? The extra-biblical evidence for the existence of Jesus is so scanty that it is impossible to disprove such a proposal.
- And finally, if the prophecy is the lone success among a thousand failures. Anyone can throw prophecies against the wall until one sticks. The book or other source from which it comes must have at least a decently good record on other predictions.
These conditions, I think, are eminently reasonable, and are only what would be expected of a true prophet with a genuine gift."
But personally, one's belief that they are gifted in prophecy is the more obvious slippery slope of human ego at play and the need to be special above their fellows.
30 comments:
I’m just happy to have the gift of machines. Every time I bring an electro-mechanical device back to running condition, not only is that gift reaffirmed, but my customer compensates me for applying my talent in their favor.
If Bob’s only compensation came from the beneficiaries of his fulfilled prophecies, he would have starved and gone homeless years ago. That stark realization should be all the wakeup call that a normal person would need. Some people are simply hard-headed.
BB
I think we need to cut Bob Thiel some slack here, for at least he didn't wake up on a Wednesday morning like Dave Pack and declare that he was Elijah That Prophet!
Bob Thiel has only had a slow walk into delusion claiming one biblical title. Dave Pack has been in a fast run to claim all the biblical titles that are claimable so that nothing happening in the future in his mind can't happen until he does some or all actionable fulfillment(s) of prophecy.
You made the comment: "I don't personally believe in prophecy for many reasons, the least of which is that, plainly stated, no one knows the future. If it was all planned out and all we had to do was discover it, we'd simply be actors in something else's show and that does not bode well for free will and such".
It was to my shock and shame when I finally just looked into the WCG teaching about what happens to the church at the 1335, 1290, and 1260 days before Christ's return. It was the belief of the church that once you hit the 1335 and you were one of the lucky few to be taken, all you had to do from that time forward was to count down the days and you would know the day when Christ would return. With the church placed in Jerusalem, they would have to play act a surprise at seeing the abomination of desolation and would have to script in their minds just how fast or slow they would flee with Satan's army in full pursuit knowing that the earth is going to open up and swallow the army behind them.
Sometimes the folly isn't just men declaring themselves something they are not. Many times the greater folly is men interpreting scenarios of prophetic fulfillment that when looked at closely amount to nothing more than silly thinking and a whole load of shame on people like myself who just believed without questioning.
One thing is for sure, these men are giving us an education in what doesn't constitute a true prophet.
For Mr. Diehl: are you going to believe a prophet if he predicts that South Carolina will fall into the ocean with you in it and it happens, or does forming a belief only apply to the poor expendable Californians only?
Dr. Thiel may be a prophet, but he still needs a copy editor. Did he leave LCG a second time in 2018?
Dr. Thiel may be a prophet, but he still needs a copy editor.
And a video editor...
The shot of Homer's Stonecutters initiation reminded me of a parody of their song.
Bob must have poor self esteem to crave the title of prophet. People with mental problems often use defacto life jackets such as titles, power over others, wealth etc. They're mental crutches.
There's at least a couple of absolute doozies in "Boob" Thiel's thinking here that really earn him that extra "o" in Bob.
"But it should be noted that starting with a telephone call from its late top leader on October 3, 2008, LCG’s highest leadership had repeatedly stated that God may consider Bob Thiel to be a prophet..."
Corrupt men in positions of COG leadership don't know anything per se that you or I don't know. And most decidedly, they aren't any better at reading minds than you or I. And most extra-special certainly, they aren't any better at reading the minds of this god or that god.
Therefore appealing to hearsay about things that COG leaders may or may not have said and counting that as a source of "knowledge" about anything a god might or might not be thinking is ridiculous in the extreme on more than one axis.
"So, while prophets are 'rare,' and being told one is a prophet by an ordained evangelist is also rare, rarity does not mean that there are none."
Defining something as being "rare" (improbable) and then using that to define something first into existence, then into probability, is another sublime example of Theil's preternatural ability to insert his head into his nether regions.
So, if I say unicorns are "rare," by saying so, that doesn't mean there are some. And if someone telling you they have a unicorn on their acreage is also "rare," multiplying these improbabilities together cannot return a probable result. This is how bad at reasoning Boob Thiel is.
The day that pigs everywhere suddenly begin flying is the same day that "Boob" Thiel will suddenly become a "true" prophet.
According to one theory of time, everything has already happened. Pretty weird, but the proven areas of relativity and quantum physics are pretty weird and would have seemed utterly insane to the most brilliant men a few hundred years ago.
951 asked: "For Mr. Diehl: are you going to believe a prophet if he predicts that South Carolina will fall into the ocean with you in it and it happens, or does forming a belief only apply to the poor expendable Californians only?"
No, I would attribute it to natural geological causes in plate tectonics or perhaps the already predicted results of a flank collapse of Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands could collapse, generating a mega tsunami that would initially be about 1,000 meters high, and would still be about 50 meters high when it reached for example the eastern seaboard of the USA. However, even then, I personally live far enough from the coast to survive that. Feast sites however would be another issue.
I live near the Blue Ridge of SC behind an uplift fold caused by the impact of this part of the state drifting West 400 million years ago give or take a month. :)
"The Blue Ridge lies over the ancient Grenville Mountains, a Precambrian, eroded mountain system that existed inland from the present eastern coast of North America. As the east coast of North America rifted apart from another plate during the late Precambrian era, extensive sedimentary deposits and volcanics developed on the continental shelf. Then, in the Ordovician period, a collision occurred with what were perhaps a previously detached continental fragment and an island arc that moved toward and eventually welded onto North America." Over the millions of years that the collision developed, the rocks of the continental shelf were shoved upwards..."
The inner Piedmont belt is thought to be either a disengaged and reattached North American (Laurentian) continental fragment, or a fragment entirely from offshore. ... These scenic mountains include Table Rock, Caesars Head, Sassafras, Paris, and Pinnacle."
As for "forming beliefs", while I am not sure what you mean, belief formage applies to all and is also a natural process and result of taking the time to "search out a matter" as used to be only for the glory of kings but now a perk for the common man as well.
"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings."
Prov 25:2
Why God gets a high from concealing information I cannot say.
PS We're all expendable no matter the location
predicted results of a flank collapse of Cumbre Vieja volcano
Way back, I told Bob I had a peer-reviewed journal article on Combre Vieja - he was interested, so I gave him a copy. As far as I know, he never used it, one way or the other...
He does like to speculate on the Yellowstone Caldera, the "Supervolcano".
Dennis
So if a person conceals the whereabouts of their front door key, that's OK. But if God conceals a matter, He does it to get high. That is, God is a wacko.
No wonder all the congregations that you pastored evaporated. They don't call you Dennis 'The Evaporator' Diehl for nothing.
I think being a prophet for Bob is like, when you want to buy that new car and all of sudden you see that car everywhere. Bob wants it so bad
everything he reads,hears, and can see, tells him he is a prophet. It’s just weird.
DO NOT DONATE TO BOOB THIEL...
His insight and prophetic ability is so great, that all he has to do is learn some basic" leveraged commodity futures trading" and he could turn a couple of thousand dollars into millions in just a couple of years.
Thus... he has no need for your money!
DD said: No, I would attribute it to natural geological causes in plate tectonics or perhaps the already predicted results of a flank collapse of Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands could collapse, generating a mega tsunami that would initially be about 1,000 meters high, and would still be about 50 meters high when it reached for example the eastern seaboard of the USA. However, even then, I personally live far enough from the coast to survive that. Feast sites however would be another issue.
Living in a same type geographical location I would be immune to a land shelf breakaway and tsunami as well. That would put us both in a place of safety.
The concept of: , belief formage applies to all and is also a natural process and result of taking the time to "search out a matter" as used to be only for the glory of kings but now a perk for the common man as well.... is no different than what Bob Thiel or Dave Pack or Jerald Fluery have done. Their conclusions are different than my conclusions and certainly are different than what you have concluded.
What is the true basis for formulating a belief? If Herbert Armstrong as many believed plucked various beliefs from different men or church organizations who he deemed in a range of far from the truth to close to the truth "but dead", was his conclusion any different than what Bob Thiel claims in an eerily similar parallel of his story of the path to prophethood?
If may of those in the COG realm experience first a strong calling, is that in itself enough of a strong basis to formulate a belief? That subject came up a little while back here and there where many who just concluded it was just a decision or conjured state of mind to support an action of the one claiming it. I don't recall one of the non-believers in a "calling" asking anyone to describe it or prove it.
George Washington who started what was considered the first world war by disobeying orders and ambushing and killing Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville in a glen located in the mountains of Pennsylvania, went on to formulate a belief of his invincibilty because bullets could not kill him. Even the French allied Indians came to the conclusion that this man can not die from a bullet.
There is a stir in Jewish circles over prophesies that two famous Rabbis proclaimed in the past. Rabbi Kuduri said some forty years ago that in the Jewish year 5780 (Sept. 29,2019) Israel would not be able to form a government. he said this would last some time until a war in heaven between good and evil would eventually decide the outcome. His fellow Rabbi Shashoni predicted also that in the future that Israel would have two men named Benjamin who would win an election but not be able to form a government as well but that on the following Shabbat the Messiah would appear.
If true, have these Rabbis done enough to create a basis to formulate a belief?
Most of us come from a background where we were deemed only called to give an non-expendable message to those that were certainly expendable. Ironic that that message has pretty much disappeared over the past 30 years. Is that God's message to the exuberant voyageurs of God's mantle that they are indeed just as expendable? There is a strong basis whether biblical or not to the fact that there is enough truth in the present to formulate a conclusion that we could all agree upon.
Bob Thiel IS a prophet.
He made himself a prophet.
He is a FALSE prophet.
"Why God gets a high from concealing information I cannot say."
Dennis, surely you can explain WCG's teaching of why God conceals information. Can't you? Or has all the years of exaggerating WCG's teachings totally confused you?
Whatever has spawned this is a function of his own mind that he cannot see and evaluate, or correct, recycle, or eliminate.
I suppose all of us have our blindspots, but then who is to correct them? Another individual with a counter-agenda and similar blindspots? Sometimes it’s better to just let some people be their own cartoon. They end up cancelling each other out.
This is Bob Thiel
I'm so mad, ooh I'm so mad. I will ask God so send bears to maul all you mockers of Gods anointed prophet. It's happened before, and it will happen again. No one mocks prophet Bob Thiel and gets away with it. You'll see, you'll see.
Anonymous said...
Dennis
So if a person conceals the whereabouts of their front door key, that's OK. But if God conceals a matter, He does it to get high. That is, God is a wacko.
No wonder all the congregations that you pastored evaporated. They don't call you Dennis 'The Evaporator' Diehl for nothing."
Well now that you mention it, pretty much. If it is imperative that one finds the one narrow path that few find and that God is not willing that any should perish but ALL should come to the knowledge of the truth" etc, it might be nice if he came clean with the details and hide nothing. I always thought it a bit unfair to speak in parables because "to you it is given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God, but to them it is not given." God needs to make up his mind about what he wants and how he goes about getting the results he wants.
You must be somewhat naïve or ignorant about Worldwide Church of God history. I spoke about "every church I ever pastored evaporating" just a few weeks ago looking back now over two decades or more. Every church I personally pastored I left with more in attendance than when I found it. I let more people back in who had been bounced by previous pastors, and they wanted back in, for petty problems or just having problems. It was the miracle Jesus performed through the Tkaches that tore all the churches apart. Not just mine. Greenville maxed out at 450 after a few years being here but the purge was underway. Jesus took the church down to 95 when I was out, then 16 then zero.
And too, no one calls me "The Evaporator Diehl" Admit it, That's just you because you have smartass tendencies. :)
Bob Thiel IS a prophet.
He made himself a prophet.
He is a FALSE prophet.
Dennis
Your claim that God should "hide nothing" is typical of HWAs church were most are morally confused and lacking in understanding. If you read Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War,' it mentions that information is ammunition. So 'hiding nothing' is incredibly naive.
You fail to accept that you are no longer living a ivory tower as a COG minister. You are no longer one of the privileged big people, but a commoner. In the little peoples world, "smartass" comments and worse, are common in the workplace lunch room. Confessing that your previous churches evaporated is bound to be responded to with a Dennis the Evaporator or 'who ya gonna call (churchBusters), to the GhostBusters theme song. You must learn to adapt to the real world.
Bob Thiel stated: "..."But it should be noted that starting with a telephone call from its late top leader on October 3, 2008, LCG’s highest leadership had repeatedly stated that God may consider Bob Thiel to be a prophet (see How To Determine If Someone is a True Prophet of God).
Consider also:
On August 26, 2012, LCG Evangelist Dr. D. Winnail told Bob Thiel, “We all think that you might be a prophet.” In order to determine who “We all” was, on September 7, 2012, I asked if this was a reference to all three of the LCG Charlotte-based evangelists and Dr. Winnail concurred.
On January 7, 2013, Dr. Douglas Winnail sent me an email, which included the statement, “we made comments to you that “you may be a prophet.””
But since LCG had integrity problems, I left on December 28, 2018..."
******
Integrity problems? Of course, integrity problems with Rod Meredith, Doug Winnail and others being called "evangelists." Rod once upon a time claimed he was the "3rd highest" of something; did he not?
Why more "man-made" evangelists? How so?
Ephesians 4:11 told us we have some evangelists: "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;"
Well, in actuality, that word "some" was an inserted word that was used to replace the definite article "the" in that verse. I believe, it was some WCG sermon speaker that explained that mistranslation.
So, we already have, for example, "Philip the evangelist" (Acts 21:8). If we already have THE evangelists, then how did Rod Meredith and Doug Winnail fit in with those evangelists?
And some prophets should have been translated as THE Prophets! How does Bob Thiel relate to THE Prophets, who we are still learning from. Bob, preaching his Mickey Mouse Millennium, if anything, would be a false prophet with nothing to do with THE Prophets that God already provided us with.
Time will tell...
John
153 said "You fail to accept that you are no longer living a ivory tower as a COG minister. You are no longer one of the privileged big people, but a commoner. In the little peoples world, "smartass" comments and worse, are common in the workplace lunch room. Confessing that your previous churches evaporated is bound to be responded to with a Dennis the Evaporator or 'who ya gonna call (churchBusters), to the GhostBusters theme song. You must learn to adapt to the real world."
I believe you are the one, perhaps I am wrong, who periodically makes the "Ivory Tower vs The Commoners" statements.
I fail to see nothing my friend. I've seen more than you can possibly imagine and have probably done my due diligence on many topics much more than you have.
I have explained and shared, over the last decade here on Banned, my ministerial experience which is, after all, mine, and I am entitled to share it as it actually was, not as those who project their experiences with their pastor/s on to me. mI have not done it anonymously claiming I need to protect myself or others. I supply updated pictures of myself and probably tell everyone too much. People here know me a hell of a lot more and better than know them. I do know who some of you are, like TLA, SHT and Biker Bob, but for the most part all are just anonymous voices in the void. If you need a punching bag, as do others, no problem. Just know your view of me is inaccurate though you cling to it and must need to. .
Every home I owned, which was 2 for a short time since the WCG moved us all over the fucking country at will and to complain was futile was the result of my parents generosity and not the churches. Our first car and second car and third was also because of their generosity and not the churches. . I did find out on a couple moves, after the fact that I got moved there because someone with connections didn't want to go there. I was not in that loop. No ivory towers. Always the commoner. When a home was impractical or ill advised, it was apartments. Good old commoner apartments.
Having every credential in First Aid, EMT just short of paramedic,, Water Safety Instructor, Ten years teaching CPR for the American Red Cross and a third degree Brown Belt in Karate because I liked getting punched around and doing 1000 year old Kata well as every Boy Scout merit badge in outdoor skills, was more my style. Most of that when I was a pastor. I told the last several churches I was qualified to marry them, bury them, kick their asses and fix it which went over well or not depending. :)
On your "evaporator" concept, you simply and apparently aren't getting it. I have been out of it all for 22 years. No church "evaporated" during my watch as they say. They did not dwindle during my time nor because of me. Either you don't understand the answer or just need a punching bag, as do other ministerially wounded folk who figure I'll do just fine to project their experiences on to.
Now, I have smartass down to a science as well, but it bothers me when it expresses itself, so I'll just say....well... I guess I'll not say it.
Dennis
Dennis the punching bag? The body of evidence says that you come here to destroy readers faith in God and the bible. So accusing the victim, and taking on the role of the victim is kinda cheap.
The big people, small people phenomenon is universal throughout history. God often criticized Israel's leaders. Are we to ignore this because it doesn't sit well with Dennis? As one of 'Gawds ministers,' you were treated like royalty by church members. You don't seem to understand this.
8:02 wrote
"The body of evidence says that you come here to destroy readers' faith in God and the bible. So accusing the victim, and taking on the role of the victim is kinda cheap. "
How can Dennis or anyone else here "destroy" a person's faith? If that were possible then the person has never understood what they believe or profess to believe. If that is the case, then they need to have their shallow beliefs disrupted and challenged. Armstrongites never challenge themselves to study and learn about the bible outside of the approved texts and works of their respective churches. If their dear leaders did not say or write about it then they won't consider it worthy to look at. That is why so many in Armstrongism have such shallow belief systems and get sucked in by liars like Bob Thiel, James Mlml, Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, Ron Weinland, Vic Kubik, and Gerald Weston.
I think the COGlodytes come here to destroy Dennis’s atheism!
The Laodicean ones who believe it’s OK to smoke and have sex on the Day of Atonement can be especially vicious!
BB
BB, I have no problem with smoking in moderation, nor do I have a problem with sex on Atonement. I don't have a problem with Dennis' atheism either. Hopefully as a Laodicean I can overcome. 😉
Kevin
BB, I forgot to mention that you're correct that I can be very very vicious when it warrants. I don't need other self righteous people telling me how a Christian is supposed to act. (Not saying that you are but others do, "why a Christian shouldn't say bullshit") to which I say bullshit!
I can handle the label Laodicean, doesn't matter to me. I know you're joking, or are you? 😇
Kevin
The 1868 cog minutes show the council discuss grandma Annie smoking pipe in the Dakota. She was reprimanded as were the youth on the skating rink. Another one of those guilty pleasures.
It's true, it's huge its amazing.
I'm not lying.
Nck
Just checked, Kevin, and yes, I do have my jokestrap on today! Glad you recognize humor when you see it. So many of our fellow posters take satire and humor seriously, missing out on all the fun and humor. I tend to joke a lot throughout the day. Humorless people need to take a good enema!
BB
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