A comment recently about Bob Thiel:
DW. What are you doing Bob? Do your 100 members know about Rod Meredith stating, in no uncertain terms, that NOBODY in the church thought you were a prophet? Do they know about the letter he sent you, basically calling you an arrogant, know it all that had as best, bugged everybody in the church, or at worst, seriously offended them? Do they know he told you you were full of pride and for your own good, needed to either cut it out or be disfellowshipped? Are they aware of any of these facts? Shame on you, Bob. You are a deceitful worker, doing whatever you want to make yourself a "big man" in the work. You couldn't play nicely with the other kids, so set off to anoint yourself a prophet and lead people to their eternal damnation. How about just learning what Christianity is and becoming a follower of Jesus? It is more than enough for all of us, because it is NOT ABOUT US!! It is about Him and what He did for all who believe. You disgrace His Holy Name every time you open your mouth.
That quote by Meredith is correct.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, many witnesses will also confirm the many times when Meredith flattered Thiel, valuing Thiel's tithes more than the truth or Thiel's salvation. Rod gave Thiel an advisory role that went to the Bitter Bwana's head and gave him reason to believe himself more important than ordinary LCG members.
When Thiel started setting himself up as an unofficial LCG spokesman, Meredith could have told him to shut up and share his ideas with his local pastor, not with the whole Internet. Had that happened, Bob would probably have been disfellowshipped for rebellion long before most LCG members had ever heard of the arrogant little rich man who had RCM's ear.
People who knew RCM can confirm that he gravitated toward and heaped flattery on members who had money. Most of those members eventually saw through RCM's flattery and left him. Thiel is the odd case who correctly denounces RCM for lying, but insists that the liar RCM was telling the truth whenever he flattered our Butthurt Bwana.
He's mastered it! I swear, he must have been in contact with some of our irreverent, and satirical classmates from the AC dorms back in the '60s. He has totally captured the mocking "At Ambassador College, above all things we're sincere!" smile.
ReplyDeleteGuys, I hope some of you are still alive and tuned in to see this! Particularly Mike, who I believe coined it!
Bob has money? Couldn't tell that by the drapes.
ReplyDeleteBob recently referred to WND's answer to is AI (artificial intelligence) mentioned in the Bible and the answer was yeah, it's the little town called AI is the book of Joshua. Irritating mambo-jumbo. But now that I think about it the closest thing to AI is what's between the ears of false apostles and false prophets.
ReplyDeleteIm going to give Bobby a pass.
ReplyDeleteHe probably had taken too much of his own herbs and vitamins, including Ginseng, Horny Goat Weed,
Dandelions, DHEA, Creatine, Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus),Ginkgo biloba and Tribulus.
Thus he has been driven slightly off kilter and is "flying high" !
Sounds like it’s the pot calling the kettle black…
ReplyDeleteI meant those things, but in the spirit of love, from which correction is meant to flow, I submit the following.
ReplyDeleteBob, since I know you will read this, I say in sincere truth, with no guile and pray you will consider this, simply from one human to another. I'm sorry that you were deceived by HWA and RCM. I'm sorry that your life didn't turn out the way you hoped. But, that's life; sometimes good, sometimes bad, always unpredictable, but truly beautiful. A gift from God. When things didn't seemingly go the way you wanted, as evidenced by this letter from Rod, rather than take correction/advice, you choose to start a new group. Just like Rod did after his correction by HWA. I think you wanted so desperately to be seen as important that you heard the things you wanted to and ignored those that were hurtful. That in and of itself is not necessarily bad, but when you're dealing with other people's eternal lives, that is serious. Do you really understand the gravity of what you are doing? God warns against false teachers. Why did you ignore God? Why do you think you're an exception to His rule?
Secondly, thinking you're a prophet is exceedingly dangerous, both to you and those who might believe you. But the biggest problem is the issue of pride. Bob, a college kid taking Psych 101 could see the more you are denigrated, the bigger you puff yourself up. The more a door is slammed in your face, or your ideas aren't accepted you react by running away, vainly claiming only you have the truth and start your own church. Why not stay and work through differences? Why not reevaluate your position if others disagree? Why not just leave being more than satisfied by being a believer, saved forever, by Jesus? That gift is EVERYTHING to a believer and rather than gratefully receive the grace of God, you ran away. Again. A life changing moment you ignored, thinking yourself too wise to be taught by others. Wise in your own eyes I'm afraid. As a "man of God" your identity is meant to be IN CHRIST. Believers rest in Him. When someone slams a door in our face, we rest in Jesus and trust He will give us beauty for those ashes. We don't simply bulldoze the door down!
I see you as a man that has spent the last 50 yrs not getting his way so he runs away. I see you as a man who's so determined to push a boulder up Mt Everest, struggling everyday to get the respect you think you deserve. But you deserve death. And so do I and so does everyone who ever lived. We deserve death for our sins, but are granted mercy and forgiveness by God when we receive Jesus as our Savior. That's the moment we all should live for. That's the moment we are saved and made right with God, when the ENTIRE FOCUS of our lives changes, forever. Our life is about Jesus, not us. It is about our Savior, not ourselves. I don't see that in your writings/sermons. I see you trying ever harder to prove to people you're a prophet. You've written articles with literally 100+ references to yourself and 5 references to Jesus. That is not a converted man Bob. That is a fool.
In conclusion, PLEASE think seriously about these verses. "If one of you is wise and understanding, let him show this in practice with a HUMILITY filled with good sense. Should you instead nurse BITTER JEALOUSY and selfish ambition in your hearts, at least refrain from arrogant and false claims against the truth. Where do the conflicts and disputes among you originate? It is not your inner cravings that make war within your members? What you desire, you do not obtain. You envy and you cannot acquire, so you quarrel and fight. You ask and you do not receive because you ask wrongly, with a view to squandering what you receive on your desires. God resists the proud but bestows His favor on the lowly." JAMES 3:13-18 and 4:6.
I actually wish you the best Bob. Lay down you pain at the Cross of Calvary. Jesus will be your identity and your whole life will change in beautiful ways! To HIM be the praise and glory forever!!
Is there any real evidence, or just hearsay and rumors, coming from Bob's "religious" opponents?
ReplyDeleteEvidence about what?
DeleteWhy can't Bob accept the fact that he doesn't have the genetic traits to be a church leader. It's as simply as that.
ReplyDeleteBtw, neither do I, so I'm stating what I practice. People can have happy, fulfilling lives without being famous.
Is DW, Doug Winnail?
ReplyDeleteRemember that there are NOT 333 TRUE splinter groups, but there might be 333 FALSE splinter groups. So, beware out there.
ReplyDeleteWell, a dressing down from Rod Meredith wouldn't mean anything to me. Maybe something about Bob reminded him of himself.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon @ 8:13. No, I am DW and I am NOT Doug Winnail. A logical question though! However, I am a born again Christian and have never been in any Armstrongism movement. For reasons unknown, I have been drawn to and have a heart for those in/out/questioning the legalistic restoration groups like the Acgos and Seventh Day Adventism.
ReplyDeleteTo the leaders of Armstrongism, power and control were everything. The structure groomed and produced the leaders and basically chose individuals whom they could control. Often, in "the world" as HWA's structure so quaintly termed it, people came into their power by taking it. In the WCG and its successor organizations, although the chief executive had in fact "taken" his power (starting with HWA), once the organization was established, nobody else was allowed to take their power.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is that nobody, whether they were groomed and ordained by the organization, or whether they took their power (including the post-WCG version of GTA) has been as successful as, or has ascended into the public consciousness to the degree that HWA had done. The system in no way was successful in producing viable successors. The fact is that no matter how successful, virtually every one of these leaders is widely considered by the members to be placeholders for HWA. The more this happens, the more powerful HWA becomes in church folklore.
Bob Thiel is somewhat of an anomaly in that he was a lay member who had access to the big dogs in Rod Meredith's groups, while most of the other power takers who started their own groups had ministerial backgrounds and top credentials, and were respected as such. There are others like Bob, but in the caste system which exists in Armstrongian culture, they remain as bottom-feeders regardless of the work they put into their stolen franchises. Their best plan for growth would involve not depending on attracting splinter members who will never respect them, but in bringing in fresh faces from the general public. It's a catch 22, because in order to be successful in that, one would require talent at least equal to those groomed and ordained as leaders in the Armstrong movement. Bringing in new converts is a failure point even for the top dogs, so it is hardly surprising that even "Local Elders" (Bob was not one!) do not end up successful in raising up a splinter group. The inescapable conclusion is that Bob Thiel is on a fool's mission, and will never rise above the level of the proverbial hobbyist. The deck is stacked against him.
I've seen this kind of thing before.
ReplyDeleteLook at Thiel's writings and you have to acknowledge that he's a leading thinker. And he knows better than the general members.
So then the lower caste can't see it and gets rebellious. You or Meredith calling him useless is meaningless in this context. You likely need your asses kicked in.
I believe DW is a female.
Evidence about what?
ReplyDeletePlaying dumb?
Asking you to clarify without putting words in your mouth.
DeleteLook at Thiel's writings and you have to acknowledge that he's a leading thinker.
ReplyDeleteLogorrhea is not the sign of a leading thinker. The quality of one's words is far more important than the quantity. Bob should remember Ecclesiastes 5:7, which tells us, "in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God."
Anonymous DW said...
ReplyDeleteTo Anon @ 8:13. No, I am DW and I am NOT Doug Winnail. A logical question though! However, I am a born again Christian and have never been in any Armstrongism movement.
That explains the confusion of your posts.
Uh, you mean your confusion as you interpret what he shares through your confused altered by Armstrongism mind there 5:02?
ReplyDeleteActually, I laugh as I call you 5:02. In the California police coding system a 502 citation is given for drunk driving!