A reader wrote:
You have to understand, this site is a vendetta site by people who love gossip, rumor mongering, and running down other people. That way they never have to look at their own lacks.
Further, it seems it is impossible for them to apply the same anti-others against themselves. Plus, it is totally impossible for them to offer better alternatives. They have none.
In addition to that they are incapable of seeing the millions of killings, rapes, mobs, liars, etc. etc. done around them by christians and non-christians of all stripes. Why? They have a vendetta against the only individuals and group that tells them they are sinners, misfits, and other such sins.
Try to get the main writers here to publish uplifting, informative, inspiring posts here at least five in a row, and see how far you get.
People love gossip, especially if it is bad, and could care less about goodness, facts, truth, love, joy, peace, long suffering, meekness, temperance, gentleness, and more such uplifting topics.
If more folks who visit here having good news to give, would post, this could become one of the best sites on the internet.
Or, if y’all want to continue filling the mind with garbage, have at it. It’s actually fun to watch the struggle to see who can come up with the worst sounding put down.
On the other hand, there are some huge successes that came from the wcg.
Why even some of those who “became” atheists after AC have made a good living peddling their works. Who says the college and WCG was all bad?
Think positive for a change and see how much better one feels. Why, like W. Clement Stone taught his salesmen to say out loud many times daily: I FEEL HEALTHY, HAPPY, AND TERRIFIC!
Try it, you won’t just like it, in a few days you will start to LOVE it, and start experiencing more JOY.
So, who here has the courage to step up and be first to post a little joy here. Can’t wait to see the deluge of positivity coming our way!!!
I don't even believe an 'independant' commentator wrote that post. That's how conceited and fake I think this blog is.
ReplyDeleteThis is a ministerial led blog which has developed out of and spilled over from the notorious Elders forum.
Well, he's not wrong.
ReplyDeleteSo, who here has the courage to step up and be first to post a little joy here. Can’t wait to see the deluge of positivity coming our way!!!
ReplyDelete====================================
Flash! Good News!
Apostles Dave C Pack, Gerald Flurry and Ron Weinland apologize for the misery they have caused in the lives of others. All three admit to being badly mistaken in just about everything they have ever said in all their sermons and advice given counseling others. Tithes and offerings are being returned and the two "Mini all about me" campuses are being converted to house and feed those who gave too much and got too little from their churches until they can get back on their feet again.
All three now devote the remaining years of their lives to serving the poor and the homeless and could not be more happy and pleased doing so!
Dr Robert Thiel laughs and admits that dreams are just dreams, weather is just weather and joyfully signs up for public speaking and interior design classes. Says he was just kidding about the double portion thing and his cold just had to run its course but he feels fine now. Humorously admits that Homeopathic remedies don't seem to help much or at all and that Nyquil, Vics and a bit of Tylenol were very helpful in symptom control while he got better.
They all wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and bless you everyone and reminding all "We're in this all together so love one another! And get vaccinated...
And there was great joy in all the land! :)
Why parrot the government line " We're in this all together" when the average man on the street dissess that remark ?
DeleteThis just in! Gerald Flurry is converting his "Good News" Jet to a no cost Life Flight operation, 24/7, for Children needing the best Children's Hospitals and medical expertise in the world.
ReplyDeleteNow that's Good News!
Go after the doctrines not the figure head of the criminal cabals.
ReplyDeleteThis blog does need to change. It is the same old crap week after week.
Skeptic
The Creators new mankind would fall short and then committed Christ to become their sacrifice.
ReplyDeleteAdam and Eve failed, Cain learned nothing from their mistake.
Gen. 6 v5
The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.
In Deuteronomy, God predicts Israel would fail and then be taken into captivity.
The religious leaders after that failed and were responsible for killing Mankind's savior.
So why would we expect our "current" leaders wouldn't fall short?
All of mankind will fall short until a supernatural intervention of God's Spirit (mind) being instilled in our minds. But after the last rejection of God through the tribulation a new world of peace and Christ like behavior will come by Devine Intervention.
I'm not making excuses for the poor leadership of our past. I'll just quote the late "great" Art Mokarow over 50 years ago, when explaining the problems in church and the world
It wasn't supposed to work". But in the end our Creators will make it work.
This post reminds me of an anecdote I heard some years ago. A famous guy, I believe an educator, was approached by a religious type who said as a preface to a his evangelical shtick "Are you really happy?" His response was, "What do you take me for, an idiot?"
ReplyDeleteThe Bible itself is a pretty dark document. By the sixth chapter of Genesis, God is ready to destroy all of mankind. You have to plumb the depths of the Bible and parse carefully to find reasons for joy. Armstrongism itself emphasizes the darkness of our current state. Armstrongists are always talking about the evil world and the Tribulation.
I have always wondered why the afterlife gets such little play in the Bible. For Christians, the afterlife is the ultimate positive outcome. It is the bright sparkling note in all of this. And we know so little about it. We are long on surmise and short on direct data. It is an issue of faith rather than certain knowledge. The disciples seemed to have been focused on an earthly king and an earthly kingdom. So they never got around to asking many questions about the details of the afterlife.
There is a dark theme to this blog because we deal with the ultimate dark subject - heresy that obviates salvation. Even so, I do not like the snarky approach either. But one must consider that some of the people who contribute to this blog may have post-WCG PTSD.
There is much in Christianity to be joyous about in its time and place. Communal worship may emphasize that. But this blog has a different purpose. It's not the venue.
******** Click on my icon for Disclaimer
Nice you're admitting that this blog has a purpose NEO.
DeleteGreat news! Jon W. Brisby is no longer using his bully pulpit to beat his congregants into submission to wear his formal business clothing for church. He now teaches the unmerited gift grace!
ReplyDeleteMore good news! Dr Robert Thiel announced that it was okay to watch NFL football on Thanksgiving or any other day for that matter.
ReplyDeleteMore good news! Dr Robert Thiel announced that it was okay to watch NFL football on Thanksgiving or any other day for that matter.
ReplyDeleteThis writer uses the abusive cult ploy of accusing members of being basically psychopaths. It's used to increase minister power by beating down and shrinking members. And being so evil, who are they to complain about being mistreated by the ministers.
ReplyDeleteSo the members are dirt, and deserve to be treated like dirt.
NO, for most of the folks who post here, this blog has NOTHING to do with a vendetta. For the majority of the folks who have escaped the mental straitjacket and delusion known as Armstrongism (theist and atheist), the commentary offered here is an attempt to come to terms with that experience, help others who have also escaped (or are still a part of the movement), and to facilitate our emergence from those past experiences healthier and happier individuals.
ReplyDeleteAs an important part of that process, we understand that one cannot truly move forward into peace and happiness without first coming to terms with our past. In other words, it is unhealthy from a spiritual/emotional/mental perspective to pretend that nothing bad happened (avoidance and delusion never healed anyone). However, by confronting and conquering the demons of the past, one can move forward into the light of freedom and sanity and finally leave that darkness in the rearview mirror.
While most of us understand the pitfalls of indulging emotions like resentment, anger and vengeance, we also recognize that humans often experience these emotions when they have been hurt, exploited or deceived by those whom they formerly respected, admired and trusted. For most of us here, the impulse is to turn those feelings into more positive and constructive thoughts and actions - to channel the better angels of our nature. Nevertheless, in doing so, it is important to acknowledge that bad things happened and to identify and underscore exactly what those elements were. Likewise, many of us feel it is important to call out those who continue to perpetuate the mistakes of the past.
Indeed, I would say that most of the commentators here feel a sense of liberation and have experienced profound joy at having survived Armstrongism. And, I believe that most of us here have a real desire to share that sense of freedom and joy with others who find/have found themselves in similar circumstances.
His thoughts regarding this being a "vendetta site" represents the kind of binary thinking taught in Armstrongism from day 1.
ReplyDeleteBanned is not a monolith. A blog is produced by dozens of participants, all of whom most likely have different reasons for contributing. There is a huge diversity of opinion expressed here on a daily basis. I have half a dozen reasons for my own participation here myself.
When I first read this, I thought to myself, "Jeez, is the cat or chick who wrote this paranoid, or what???"
The post said:
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, there are some huge successes that came from the wcg.
Why even some of those who “became” atheists after AC have made a good living peddling their works. Who says the college and WCG was all bad?
MY RESPONSE:
What if this commentary was applied to Nazi Germany? Certainly there were some huge successes from it. Like Werner Von Braun and many more. Why, even some Nazis who became capitalists after WW2 had huge business successes. Who says that the Hitler Youth and Nazi Germany were all bad??
This type of thinking of the original post is MESSED UP! Nazi Germany was a disgrace and a boil on the history of mankind, and the Jews have every right to continue to recognize the disgrace that it was, and the suffering it gave the entire Earth, and to continue to feel so, discuss it annd to remember it.
A few crumbs of good, does not outweigh the madness , suffering and dysfunction. The WCG was a large NET NEGATIVE in terms of cost vs benefit, and experiential good vs experiential disillusionment.
It would be one thing if the torts of the past , were staying in the past. However we have the likes of Pack, Thiel, Flurry, Weinland and a whole cast of minor nutcases, perpetuating the abuse and insanity, and there is NO JUSTICE or remedy to be seen!
Several scriptures speak of the "blood that cries from the ground to God" for recompense. God is a being of justice, and there has not been a lot of justice for the many sins of the past and present in COG culture.
So that is why we post.
PS TO THE POSTER- W. Clement Stone was a huge influence on my life. I read "The Success System That Never Fails" as a young teenager and have applied his teaching in my life with great benefit. The book sits right here in my office, its pages often with tears of joy , or repentance that were shed on them.
Stone's book was a far greater influence for good on me than books like MOTA or US/BC. Stone was never part of a COG.
ReplyDelete“Is this a vendetta site?”
ASSORTED SITES
Fucking Rebel (GTA) Sites
CGI
ICG
Apostate (Tkach) Site
GCI
Godless (Kubic) Site
UCG
Competitive Religion (RCM) Site
LCG
Totally Satanic Sites
PCG
RCG
Goofball Sites
COG-PKG
CCG
Clearly typed by someone who stayed in WCG until 1995.
DeleteGary doesnt own blogspot. Start your own if you want to see content you like. Its pretty simple.
ReplyDeleteMore good news! Dr. Doug Winnail discovers that medical marijuana rejuvenates lost cognitive function in senior citizens. Produces first really new pre-sabbath message in ten years, sharing his findings. LCG achieves 100% unity, shares peace and love with other splinter groups. Dr. Bob Theil repatriates with LCG, turns homeopathic practice into dispensary. Gaylen Bonjour declares, "See??? He did receive a double portion!" Thousands of Jamaicans baptized into CCOG! Mark Armstrong is overheard saying "Damn! I sure did miss this! Been about 40 years since my last blunt!" Gerald Flurry requests that HWA College virtuoso play "Knights in White Satin" on new Steinway for special music.
ReplyDeleteI come here cuz it’s the only site to give a peek behind the curtain that HWA erected to block his followers from finding something greater than fear & brainwashing since Gavin died
ReplyDeleteEven more good news! The love of the truth has replaced the love of money!! Astounding! No more lies about 1st, 2nd, 3rd tithes - they're not designated that way in scripture. There's no third tithe anyway...what's third was the year. No more bullshit about giving money to mere men or cults as a way of worshiping "god". And, the law was removed - Heb 7:12 - not transferred because there was no law to transfer to, before Moses. Unbelievable!!
ReplyDelete5.22 PM
DeleteWith the high member turn over and splintering, third tithe doesn't make sense. If a young person contributes to the scheme, there's no way they will ever be a recipient. Where's the justice in that? And old people coming into the church and obtaining third tithe assistance even though they have contributed nothing to the scheme. Again, where's the justice there?
This is very different to ancient Israel's scheme which was impartially administered by the priests, and was a two way street. Members will never get a cent from the minister if you have ever questioned church teachings. They don't give a hoot how much such a person has contributed into the scheme. Where's justice in that?
The scheme is immoral in modern times.
Hell yes it is.
ReplyDeleteIt is wholly unbalanced, full of unbalanced people who would have failed anyway.
I mean what was the alternative in secularizing sixties, seventies?
The Moonies?, J Jones? The Jesus youth cult? Traditional Christianity where by now we are truly seeing the evil perpetrated by the catholic priests and protestantism that is largely extinct in Europe now?
The American cult riding the waves of the American Empire and waned with its demise was a blast.
So Banned is full of testaments of lunacy from the American Empire Culture that never existed outside of the USA, like the excessive anglo saxon child beating practices that to this day the USA has not ratified the UN Treaty on child beating.
Yet Banned is one of the few sites where people can express freely, yet unbalanced at times and highly personal mostly as 90 percent of former members left it all behind or are deceased by now. Also at times Banned is the ONLY source to hear some of the madness going on in the 3 worst of splinters. And I'm talking about those with more than 500 members worldwide.
I hope this blog has prevented a few to join, but I doubt it. Disfunctionality attracts disfunctionality. I mean I'm pretty sure some of the outwardly beautiful communication people/girls in Trumps former communication team are psychologically pretty messed up individuals. Just a thought.
Nck
With God Almighty Nck all things are possible.
DeleteThe ones you deemed as "full of unbalanced people who would have failed anyway" reads as a Pharisee from the 2nd Temple could have remarked about the bedraggled, unbalanced peasants walking to hear Jesus Christ teach them.
Was even Herbert as pompous as you nck? I even doubt he was that lost.
True.
DeleteHWA was an uneducated peasant too.
Nck
On the other hand, if a religion is not abusive, there are no sites for ex members. I would cite Rastafarianism, another religion which was founded in the 1930s. Rastas seem to be uniquely happy, Mon! Funny thing is, I've heard of former Armstrongites joining sacred names groups, Hebrew Roots groups, or even becoming militia members, but never one testimonial from an ex WCG member becoming a Rasta.
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago there was a regular blogger on the WCG dissident sites who praised HWA, and corrected and admonished all of us who had left "God's Church" over a period of perhaps ten years. Tom Mahon was his name, and he finally announced that he had joined the Jehovah's Witnesses and was then never heard from again.
11.10 PM
DeleteThe JW believe that any day of the week can be kept as the Sabbath.
Anonymous 11:03PM said...
ReplyDeleteClearly typed by someone who stayed in WCG until 1995.
==================
Another good example of how the “facts” here are based on pure faulty assumptions. Great!
Try “until 1967,” for a fact, not assumption.
Assumptions are what makes this site so interesting for the critics who can’t face reality. Why? Everybody loves a good fiction novel series like Longmire, Sherlock H., The Hardy Boys, Tarzan. But nobody likes to read non-fiction motivation books because one has to DO something to change to a higher mind set. Or, some university textbook on psychology, chemistry, quantum mechanics, or even Physiology of personal body improvement. Takes too much physical effort and real thinking. “Just think of it.” Another favorite phrase used by W. Clement Stone. Even IBM has a Logo that says:
T H I N K !
Opinions are opinions it comes under the banner of freedom. No one cares what you think.
DeleteI have a vendetta against lies and false dogmas.
ReplyDeleteHate is good. Hate lies. Hate tyranny.
ReplyDeleteThis blog is an illusion. It is a distraction from dealing with reality. Just as sock-puppety accounts on facebook are an illusion and a distraction from the owners real lives.
ReplyDeleteThis blog only exists, because y'all can post anonymous garbage
ReplyDelete10.41 AAM
DeleteThen why are you reading this blog?
Farewell. We won't miss you.
Troll.
Deletenck said:
ReplyDeleteHWA was an uneducated peasant too.
============================
Guess Henry Ford is part of that clique too.
Oh, by the way, who here has ever pulled in 55 to 155 million dollars per year?
And, paid the salaries of hundreds of people?
I thought so.
When you can do that then your sob stories might be worth something, but not till then.