I cannot imagine what a miserable life the Great Bwana Mzungu Thiel must live that he has to constantly find fault in everything around him. Everything pushes the buttons on this little guy. If only he put as much energy into being a follower of Christ as he does in his looney conspiracy theories and alternative news items. What more can we expect though, after all, he is a self-appointed Church of God minister.
His delicate sensibilities got into a twist over an R.E.M. song, Losing My Religion, and an article in Christianity Today. As we know by now, anything Christianity Today publishes sends the Great Bwana immediately to the bathroom medicine cabinet for that huge tube of Butthurt Ointment.
Losing Our Religion review …
13 August 2023
In his new book, the Rev Russell Moore opens a chapter, “Losing Our Authority: How the Truth Can Save”, with the words “Jesus Saves” …
Moore is mindful of history, and the roles Christianity has played: “Parts of the church were wrong – satanically wrong – on issues of righteousness and justice, such as the Spanish Inquisition and the scourge of human slavery.” He is editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, a publication founded by Billy Graham. Losing Our Religion offers a mixture of lament and hope. In places, its sadness is tinged with anger. In the south, the expression “losing my religion”, popularized by REM in a 1991 song, “conveys the moment when ‘politeness gives way to anger’,” Moore explains. Losing Our Religion review: Trump and the crisis of US Christianity
The the Great Bwana Muzungu Thiel adds:
Before going further, let me point out that the true church was the persecuted not the persecutors in the Spanish Inquisition–true Christianity has never been militaristic nor into inflicting torture for conversion, etc.
That may be true of true Christians but not so of Armstrongite Christians.
The structure of government in Armstrongism was militaristic with the Pastor GENERAL leading the ship. It then coopted biblical titles like evangelists, pastors, elders, and deacons to take the place of Major Generals, Colonels, Majors, and Captains.
While most of the time the church never inflicted physical torture, it certainly was well-versed in psychological torture with intimidation, manipulation, gaslighting, censorship, isolation, public shaming, humiliation, and sexual abuse. All of these were tools used in the so-called conversion process of followers. The carrot constantly dangling at the end was the loss of one's salvation for any infraction.
Mental and spiritual torture sady is the name of the game in Armstrongism, especially in the aberrant splinter groups like the Restored Church of God, Philadelphia Church of God, and the improperly named "continuing" Church of "god".
It is no wonder well over 150,000 members have come and gone over the decades in Armstrongism. It has been unable to feed ht souls of people. COGs cannot hold on to their youth and longtime members leave in disgust. What did or does it have to offer to anyone anymore?
7 comments:
“Crackpot False Prophet: We are not into 'inflicting torture for conversion'”
Hate to have to say it, but the so-called COGs seem to be into “inflicting torture after conversion.”
I've always loved this REM song. For so many, Armstrongism was an obsession. Hence, if one looks as the package of doctrines that is Armstrongism as the object of that obsessive love, then the song is a perfect metaphor for the spiritual journey which many of us have taken.
No, Bob. True Christianity would not use torture in order to convert someone. But you tolerate it. You readily accepted the word of a filthy, disgusting excuse for a "minister" who greedily ate a full meal, while his co-worker sat there in silence, not eating. But because that same creature seems to make you look big to members in Africa, you ignored that episode and ignored the many, many proofs of his abuse of women and church members. You would rather tolerate a literal witch doctor and proven adulterer than do the right thing so you could look big. I hope your members see just how you heed the Word of God. There were more than 3 witnesses to the abuse going on in Africa (the Biblically mandated #), but you believed the abuser, not the victims. That should tell your 100 members all they need to know about your character. If it doesn't, shame on all of you.
Bob, if there was a pill you could take to actually make yourself a big, important, respected man, it still wouldnt work. No man of God would do what you have done, just in the past few months alone. I would never sleep at night if I were you. How you can is simply beyond me.
Truth is your kryptonite and you are the only one who can't see it.
THIEL WRITES---"true Christianity has never been militaristic"
MY COMMENT:
What about "Pastor General", what about hierarchal "Command & Control", what about "God's Own West Point" for AC?
This guy just goes around correcting everyone, imposing the standards he learned in Armstrongism on them. I know these people don't believe in personal evangelism, but correcting everyone as you display a withering sneer is like anti-evangelism, isn't it? He's like the Rotten Johnny Lydon of Christianity. Rotten Johnny used to spit on the people in the front rows of the audience who came to see his band, the Sex Pistols.
DW, it's possible that God has offered Bob a pill he could take that would make him important and respected.
That pill is his developmentally disabled son.
Picture Bob appearing before Jesus, giving an account of how he spent his life. All the truth he has learned, all the truth he has proclaimed, all the wisdom he tried to share with people around him who were for some reason unwilling to accept it.
And then picture Jesus asking Bob, "What about your son? I gave him to you, for you to give love and care."
If Bob desires to be a big man in eternity, he should shut down all of his "prophecy" efforts and become a simple naturopath, caring personally for his son as fully as he can.
"true Christianity has never been militaristic nor into inflicting torture for conversion, etc."
Well, Bob, that's because your group doesn't have the power to get away with such things.
If by some magic turn of events you DID gain that power, you'd be out there proscribing all sorts of penalties for people who didn't agree with you.
That's just the way its gone all throughout human history.
Post a Comment