One thing can be said about Armstrongism, it has no depth of meaning but plenty of shallowness. The focus is entirely upon the human leaders and the things they produce. While Jesus is mentioned, anything related to his "sacrifice" they are thankful for is ignored because they have never been taught anything about what Jesus accomplished.
EDMOND—As more than 330 million Americans prepare to celebrate the national holiday of Thanksgiving Day, Philadelphia Church of God members can reflect over the past year and thank God for the blessings He has provided. While you enjoy turkey and pumpkin pie, take a moment to appreciate this list of 100 things every member can thank God for.
1. God the Father
2. Jesus Christ
3. The God Family
4. The incredible human potential
5. Jesus Christ’s sacrifice
6. The Bible
7. God’s Work
8. Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong
9. Mr. Gerald Flurr
10. The ministry
11. Church unity
12. Answered prayer
13. Understanding the truth
14. New revelation
15. Bible prophecy
16. The Ten Commandments
17. God’s promises to Abraham
18. God-plane marriage relationships
19. The truth about childrearing
20. The Key of David vision
21. God choosing Jerusalem
22. The new stone of destiny
23. The new throne of David
24. Mystery of the Ages
25. Malachi’s Message
26. God’s government
27. God’s holy days
28. The Sabbath
29. The place of safety
30. The resurrection
31. Intercessory prayer
32. God’s Holy Spirit
33. Miracles
34. Healing
35. God’s health laws
36. The Key of David
37. The Trumpet Daily
38. The Philadelphia Trumpet
39. Royal Vision
40. The Trumpet Brief
41. Autobiography of Herbert W. Armstrong
42. True Education
43. Personal Appearance Campaigns
44. Archaeological projects in Jerusalem
45. The concert series
46. Co-worker letters
47. KPCG radio
48. pcg.church
49. PCG News
50. PeacefulStorms.com
51. My.hwacollege.org online classes
52. Herbert W. Armstrong College
53. Imperial Academy
54. Armstrong Auditorium
55. The UK-Europe-Africa office
56. The Canada office
57. The Australia and Oceania office
58. The Spanish department
59. The corporate jet
60. Celtic Throne
61. Congregational picnics
62.Turnabout
63. WATS operators
64. Sermons
65. Special music
66. Tithes and offerings
67. The Mail Processing Center
68. Singles winter weekends
69. Spokesman Club
70. The 18 restored truths
71. God’s protection
72. Hope for ourselves
73. Hope for others
74. Being called out of the world
75. Foreign-language translations
76. How to Pray booklet
77. Tests and trials
78. God’s mercy
79. Summer Educational Program
80. Teen talent contest
81. Godly correction
82. Church fundraisers
83. Co-Workers
84. The Bible Hymnal
85. Deacons
86. Stable families
87. The Bible correspondence course
88. The copyright victory
89. Teen/singles Bible studies
90. Imperial Academy Bible Lessons
91. WatchJerusalem.co.il
92. Godly wisdom
93. Miracles on January 16
94. Church literature
95. The angelic realm
96. Godly friends
97. Pure religion
98. Churchwide fasts
99. God’s promises
100. (Fill in the blank!)
30 comments:
#100 I AM THANKFUL THAT I AM NOT IN FLURRY"S CULT !!!!
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#1 this year: SO THANKFUL TO BE OUT OF gerald’s CULT!!
#43 personal appearance campaigns hahaha those were a total bust!
Keep “riding that wave” PCGer’s!
About that cat, it has 32 muscles in each ear. Yes, we can be thankful for the lovable pussy cats God has given to mankind.
The atheists can weep and gnash their teeth.
So much negativity on this list. Keep 'em depressed, Jer, and paint yourself as the solution.
Thankful I got out in 1982!
I'm thankful that BannedHWA is still dedicated to revealing the silly, dangerous and ugly beliefs and personalities of the splinters to help give untold thousands a myriad of reasons not to feel alone in their experiences with them.
This is an intersting list - a kind of projection of what is most meaningful to the author of the list. Or maybe what the author wants to be meaningful to the membership of this Splinter group. Conspicuous by its abence is any reference to the nuclear family. Many of the items and activities listed on the list have the propensity to divert time and resources from the nuclear family. The more zealously these agenda items are pursued by Splinterist congregants, the less room there is for the family. Ask yourself self if this list might not be, to use that favorite Ambassador College judgmental epithet, "unbalanced." Oh, yes, it lists "stable families" but somehow I feel that has something to do with obedience to church government. Just guessing.
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I am thankful for all of the people who have escaped the false teachers and teachings of the splinter groups this year. May the blessings of God lead them to know the Way, the Truth, and the Life.... the Lord Jesus Christ.
Agreed. I would prefer #9, even though I've never heard of him ("Gerald Flurr"), over the known evil Gerald Flurry.
6.46 AM
Yes NEO, there's less time for family and other pursuits as well. It seems as if Armstrongism has copied the Jehovah's Witnesses on this one.
According to the Wikipedia article 'Jehovah's Witnesses practises,' the purpose of their twice weekly meetings totaling four hours, is to protect their members from "the affairs of the world." What ever happened to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling?" Why the one size fits all? Do they think that guys will be getting drunk and spending their time in red light districts unless they are attending church? Again, members are treated like irresponsible children who must be constantly micro managed for their own good by the big people.
I do not see that in my bible. Christ stayed around for 40 days rather than 40 years or 400 years after His resurrection. As in the parable of the talents, He went off to a far country, ie, He is no micro managing, helicopter parent. He does not believe in "administering God's government."
Great observation, NEO. Several years ago, one of our commenters brought a new book to our attention which examined the effect of narcissistic religions upon the nuclear family, specifically the long term effects these religions have upon children. The author's position was that the children of all narcissists grow up in an environment where their developing emotional needs are not met, because the parents are centered on themselves and busied by their own interests as opposed to being centered on the nurture of the children. High maintenance religious teachers dominate and or consume a disproportionate amount of members' family time with all of the extra duties to the churches they lead, and an abnormal set of dos and don'ts. This is akin to narcissism in its effects, and it does set up the children as inconvenient interruptions to their parents' church centered rituals and duties. Any punishment in the household is incurred when the children cause these interruptions, and they are very frequent. This environment sets up a cycle, as the pattern is passed from generation to generation unless something happens to correct the cycle.
The child rearing booklet written by GTA as his doctoral thesis is a virtual textbook for the narcissistic religionist. Such practices which grew from the principles taught in this booklet, such as infant blanket training, are a typical example of sacrificing childrens' emotional needs in favor of the rituals of the church. Sadly, there are many other ways in which children became stultified, and damaged for life, by the WCG and splinters, often suffering personality disorders which were identifiable and showed up on psychological tests later in life.
So, when I see lists such as this list of 100, it is difficult not to also see the negative effects such a system has on children and relationships.
Such a big deal over a list of thots. Some of the critics here wouldn’t survive the same problems in the world. To have some basic guidelines is only forbidden to wcg groups. For example:
1. I used to work for INA of Philadelphia. The pay was not the best. So, I asked if it was ok to get some part time work on my own time, or even a multi level business. Answer: Absolutely not. You must be loyal only to our company. Shades of the Worldwide, right?
2. Later I applied to another company in the same field that offered a better salary. We’d like to hire you, but first you need to know you must only wear a white shirt and a tie, no other colors of shirt during work hours. Wow, shades of the Worldwide, now they’re telling me what to wear, right? And, I was wearing a blue dress shirt and tie at the time. Talk about control….
3. During summer vacation at AC my Dad gave me a new VW as a grad present. He said I had to drive it back to Pasadena. Oops, college rule, NO cars for living on campus students. Drove it back, told my favorite prof. He said, Fine, find a place to keep it parked off campus. Wow, real Worldwide over control and ruining one’s life, right? Not.
4. Visiting program started year I got married. So, occasionally I was “visited” at work. Real control according to the ill informed on this site, right? So, ———, any problems come up we can help with? Nope, everything is great, work is fine and marriage is going well! That’s great, we’re here anytime you need.
4a. Visiting program showed up at home unannounced during summer. At the time I had purchased a portable cooler, you know a “swamp” cooler. I did not know that a window, door, etc. had to be cracked to let the air move for it to work correctly. So, there we sat with hot humidity building up, and the two men wore shirt and tie, beginning to sweat big time.
You two got any problems you want help with? Nope. Good, we need to get to our next appointment. Bye.
I never had any problems like are described here about the wcg. Most of what is described is just the way the human mind works… I don’t like this, I don’t like that, and I need somebody’s shoulder to cry on.
I learned real fast at the Feast in Texas, working as a second person on the counseling offered to members who wanted counseling, was that the majority did not want help. They wanted to have someone LISTEN to a non stop oh woe is me tale, without interrupting. And, then, in the end not give advice but instead say, “That’s ok, you poor person, just stay the way you are, don’t improve or overcome, the Father understands. It will be ok. Don’t worry, be happy.
5. One year in college Susie Armstrong invited me to visit her family in Oregon during spring vacation. We stayed at one of her relative’s home the first night. During dinner the conversation turned to a diatribe against the college and students, etc. Surprise the Banned folks before the site was even thought of. But the same attitude, but from Armstrong relatives. And, the next morning early the Uncle(?) threw the bedroom door open, yelling it’s time to get….
In mid sentence he stopped, and appeared surprised, … for their was, on my knees, praying. He was shocked, surprised, and embarrassed. He immediately apologized for the night before, and the rest of our visit was as nice and friendly as could be. He had been proved wrong and he knew it. Of course, one should expect that here.
Love you guys, we’re all just human beings. Are you BEing someone special, or ???
The PCG cult wants to pass off all of its own lies, thefts, old sex perverts, and satanic abuse as something that people should be thankful for.
11:24, which splinter do you attend?
Functioning in "the world", one recognizes that there are problems to be solved, choices to be made. One deals with it, but one often troubleshoots the system, and complaints are not unknown along the problem solving process.
In Armstrongism, one could not solve the problem because the problem was the church itself, its doctrines and its policies. One of the teachings you may have forgotten was that if you leave, you are leaving God's one and only "true church", and you will most certainly be thrown into the Lake of Fire. So, this was the basis for all of the well documented coercion. You couldn't solve the problems, and you couldn't leave. Those of us who did leave, as do immigrant people from our southern neighbor, left for a better quality of life.
We let off steam here, but savor the freedoms of our new lives. I don't complain in my professional life, I solve problems. There were times I had a dress code to which I conformed so that I could move up the ladder in my career. Not the same thing as WCG, because I could easily obtain another job as opposed to suffering the Lake of Fire if I found another church. Even now, owning my own company, I adhere to the generally accepted standards of my industry regarding attire, business practices, and ethics. It is different because my motivation in conformity springs from the positive side of the meter, and not threats of punishment or TLOF.
I have no idea who you are, but I think you are f.o.s. You still make excuses for Armstrongism in ways that we do not. Every one of us here realize that there was also good. That's a given, just as there were some good aspects to the Third Reich. We speak out about the evils in the hopes that the changes which the Armstrong system had disempowered us to make can now be made by current members,
Unfortunately, those problems are now trending worse because members and ministers are all getting old, death is right around the corner, and they have a need to see the things that were prophesied take place so that the lives they have forced themselves to live will be validated. It's really getting crazy as the frogs are boiling to death and don't know to jump from the pot.
Since when did the WCG visiting program visit members workplace ???
I am thankful that BannedByHWA, ExitandSupportNetwork, ThePainfulTruth, and others, exists, as well as good, real Bible-based teachers on various other sites. They have been instrumental in getting my eyes open and leaving the PCG.
Since when did the WCG visiting program visit members workplace ???
I had two Global Church of God ministers who insisted on visiting me in my workplace. Since Global was run by a former WCG CAD Director, it is believable that WCG ministers under Rod Meredith did the same.
A couple anons asked:
Since when did the WCG visiting program visit members workplace ???
====================
Always lookin’ for a putdown here. Just can’t handle the truth.
Simple, at my workplace on campus silly. Wow, have to explain everything to non-thinkers. )}
The thermal underwear guy has it right! In the Stalinist PCG list, Herb and Gerry the fairy rank higher than your own parents, children, spouse. Purely Satanic. Yet the PCG things they are a family church. Sure, the Flurry family! What happened to honor your ma and pa?
"If we must kill 90 percent of the people for Communism, it's worth it." -- Vladimir Lenin.
I am thankful that ... real Bible-based teachers on various other sites. They have been instrumental in getting my eyes open and leaving the PCG.
Be thankful for Bart Ehrmann.
I can handle the truth 6:17. Why carnt you? Living in deception ALL the time. Do you not THINK it will one day catch up with you.
Not in WCG they did not want outsiders seeing what was going on inside the WCG.
I don’t understand number 93. Is the miracle being referred to the fact that Herbert W Armstrong passed away on January 16 at age 93 years old? His death was a miracle?
The visiting program got a bad rep for such things as young authoritarian ministers checking to see if members had any white flour or white sugar in their cabinets back in the day. I know of some cases in which ministers who could not make contact with members at their homes would then go into skip tracer mode if they felt that the point of discussion was urgent enough. Usually that happened when someone was about to be disfellowshipped. Visits were often driven by the gossip mill in local congregations.
Another aspect to this problem was that members were expected to counsel with ministers over every little personal decision which mature adults would normally make by themselves. There was half-hearted compliance which just ended up wasting everybody's time, much as name check dude observed in his point 4a, above.
Armstrongism was not only strict, but also intrusive. There were ministerial reports (later made public) in which complaints were made to the effect that "Here is another person whom we just can't seem to get to know." People do tend to resent intrusion into what is generally acknowledged as being personal space. The few times I did obtain counselling, the ideas provided by the ministers were very useless and lame. There were some notable exceptions, but for the most part their lack of IQ and life experience was appalling.
Some other thoughts, not shown on that list, came to mind for filling in the blank, such as:
100. (Mickey Mouse Millennium: Christ very soon to reign on earth 1,000 years)
101. (Joseph W. Tkach)
102. (Ephesian Firstfruits)
103. (Laodicean Firstfruits)
104. (Christ our Passover, sacrificed for us)
105. (Satan's death)
106. (Deut 32:39 "See now that I, [even] I, [am] he, and [there is] no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither [is there any] that can deliver out of my hand.
:40 For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.")
107. (Jeremiah 17:14 "Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou [art] my praise.")
108. (Isaiah 54:7 "For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.")
109. (Isaiah 64:8 "But now, O LORD, thou [art] our father; we [are] the clay, and thou our potter; and we all [are] the work of thy hand.")
110. (Isaiah 65:18 "But be ye glad and rejoice for ever [in that] which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
:19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.")
111. (Ezekiel 36:26 "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do [them].
:28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
:29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.")
Will a day, perhaps a Great Last Day of sorts, come when there will thanksgiving shown for thoughts about any of those added "blank comments" above?
Time will tell...
John
9.40 AM
Jan 16,17, is a historically significant date going back thousands of years. Dying on that date implies that history has honored that person. To me, it's like Time Magazine's Man of The Year award. The award can be for a good or bad person that has greatly impacted the world. Time magazine once had Adolf Hitler as their Man of the year.
If GRF were really inspired by the God of the Bible, wouldn't he care more about annual events of Shevat 6, the Hebrew calendar date of HWA's demise?
Instead, not only does he follow the Roman calendar; he follows a Roman calendar that wasn't even in use in Jesus' day. Jesus lived in a Roman Empire following the Julian calendar, under which today's January 16/17 fell on what is today January 5/6. Flurry has rejected both calendars under which Jesus lived, and has accepted the authority of the Gregorian calendar, named after Pope Gregory who imposed it (and skipped 11 days but didn't disrupt days of the week) in 1582.
I’m so thankful that I’m no longer in that cult!
@10:49 ~ January 6??? That esplains some things.
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