Dave Pack Tells Another Whopper: RCG Young People Of Baptism Age Have No Chance Whatsoever Unless They Get Baptized Before The Feast!

Dave just gets worse by the day!

If we thought Bob Thiel was a liar with false biblical interpretations, 

Dave is working himself right up there next to him.

 

The Gridiron is the Devil’s Playground

 

“The Gridiron is the Devil’s Playground”

Brothers and sisters, I come before you today with a heavy heart and a clear conscience: watching American football is a SIN. Yes, I said it! Do not be deceived by the helmets, the cheerleaders, and the nacho cheese fountain—this is Satan’s circus, and the clowns are wearing shoulder pads.

Consider the evidence:

The game is played on a field 100 yards long—and what else is 100? The number of sheep the shepherd had before that one wandered off! Coincidence? I think not.

They call it the red zone. Well, friends, who else loves red? The Devil himself.

And don’t even get me started on the halftime show—that’s not entertainment, that’s basically a pagan ritual with better lighting.

And what of the fans? Whole congregations leaving Sunday service early to worship at the altar of ESPN. They wave their foam fingers high in the air—modern-day golden calves made of polyurethane.

Brothers and sisters, when Jesus said, “Turn the other cheek,” He did NOT mean “face mask penalty.”

So next Sunday, instead of gathering around the big screen, gather around your Bible. 

Instead of a touchdown, seek a kneel down. Instead of chips and dip, try bread and living water. Because the only true Super Bowl worth attending is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

Amen and pass the celery sticks.

Tonto

Crackpot Prophet: Podcasts and Radio Interviews - His End Times Con Game

 

From a reader:

Bobby says podcasts and radio interviews are a free open door for him to preach his way to heaven. But the truth is, his members, mostly women, are out there begging interviewers to interview Bobby. Many times slipping the interviewer $300.+ as a bribe. 

 

Revealed by Australian, Canadian, USA, and South Pacific women. 

 

Our great Bwana Bob, the only true Church of God leader doing an actual Philadelphian "work"—at least in his own eyes, though no one anywhere else cares about it—has long bragged about how he has various women searching long and hard to find gullible interviewers on religious stations.

The con game his women pull is that when they contact these stations and podcasters, they pawn Bwana Bob off as a legitimate Christian who is supposedly well-versed in theology and end-times malarkey. The people buy the con and bring him on as a legitimate Christian theologian, not knowing he is from a splinter of a splinter of a splinter of a verified legalistic cult that has been anathema to the larger Christian community for decades.

These podcasters and radio interviewers have no idea that he gets his theology and eschatology from Herbert Armstrong, Herman Hoeh, Dibar Apartian, Rod Meredith, the Mayans, and other dubious sources. He also uses Catholic mystics and traditions to bolster his stances while at the same time badmouthing them. With no real theological degree from a well-grounded seminary with legitimate professors, he passes off to his gullible interviewers that he took classes at Fuller, from a diploma mill in India, and other places, as if this is where he has his degree from. His PhD degree has to do with holistic medicine and not theology, as he tries to pass off to the unsuspecting public.

These podcasters and radio personalities have no idea that Bwana Bob calls them fake Christians or so-called Christians. If they really knew that, how many would have him on?

Bwana Bob can't afford to buy Steubin crystal for his hosts as Herbert Armstrong used to buy his way into world leaders' offices, so lining the pockets of the podcasters and radio stations with money bribes is the next best thing. Armstrongism at its finest!

Bwana Bob practices deception in everything that he does, and he wonders why no one in the Church of God movement has joined him in his amazing ministry. LCG members know better than anyone else what a fraud he is. That is why LCG leadership and the ministry refused to kowtow to his demands. It is no wonder Rod Meredith kicked him to the curb as fast as he did with that public rebuke.

Crackpot Prophet Warns: Anyone Who Watches American Football WILL Go Through The Tribulation!

Want to read something really stupid?

We're not just talking typical Bob Thiel-stupid, because we see that every day. Heck, we see that every minute of every hour of every day. In fact, for something to be stupid enough to stand out, it must be ASTRONOMICALLY stupid.

The latest from Bwana Bob fits the bill. 

You will go through the tribulation because you watch football games!

He starts off with his usual schtick: 

The National Football League (NFL) season is upon us as the 2025 NFL season is set to kick off on Thursday, September 4th. 

 

This violent and destructive activity is among the most popular ‘sports’ in the United States of America. 

 

Should Christians support this? 

 

It is a historical fact that early Christians would not have watched sports like it. 

 

What kind of sport is NFL football? 

 

A violent and damaging one. One that will hurt people this season.

Then it rapidly goes downhill:

Many non-Philadelphian Christians do not wish to seriously consider that American tackle football is harmful, despite the facts, and would prefer that I not post about it. 

 

The Bible suggests otherwise:

1 Cry aloud, spare not;

Lift up your voice like a trumpet;

Tell My people their transgression,

And the house of Jacob their sins. (Isaiah 58:1)

The "sin" Bwana Bob should be concerned about is his constant lies and myths surrounding his cult and the deviant spiritual deception he has used against his African followers.

The Great Bwana continues:

The reality is that American tackle football is evil–the players get harmed. This really is not debatable as it is an established fact.

Clearly with any who have eyes to see, the fruits of this ‘sport’ are evil. 

 

Over the years, I have seemingly stood alone among Church of God leaders in the 21st century warning against American tackle football. I first spoke against it at the old Spokesman’s Club in the Worldwide Church of God last century. And, when I brought the subject up in the Living Church of God, it made many uncomfortable enough to take steps leading to my departure from that group. 

 

There is no doubt that American tackle football is dangerous to health. While some in the world consider watching it to be an ‘ethical uncertainty,’ true Philadelphia Christians (as well as many who are not) realize that something about this sport is physically harmful and should not be encouraged.

He claims it is a SIN to watch American football:

Let me state that there is a human tendency to try to justify sin. Many think if something feels right to them, it must be. According to the Bible, that is a wrong attitude:

9 “The heart is deceitful above all things,

And desperately wicked;

Who can know it?

10 I, the Lord, search the heart,

I test the mind,

Even to give every man according to his ways,

According to the fruit of his doings. (Jeremiah 17:9-10)

And then there are those cheerleaders! What's the poor guy going to do?

From the violence on the field, to the under-clothed cheerleaders, to some of the half-time antics, there is a lot wrong with American football. 

 

Jesus taught not to intentionally hurt others:

39… ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:39, NKJV)

If the Great Bwana had his way, all of the cheerleaders would dress like this:

He then adds this:

Is not taking a stand against encouraging sports violence consistent with the gospel of peace and love? Or should ministers tell people that violent sports like American tackle football are not “inherently evil” as at least one minister from LCG has done?

While “love does no harm to a neighbor” (Romans 13:9), what do sports like American football and boxing do? Should Bible believers encourage this? 

 

Unlike stories of violence in books or movies, American football involves actual violence and often physical injury–including brain damaging ones that are often not obvious for years. 

 

The Bible forbids harming others or encouraging sin. Early professors of Christ would not watch violent games, as they felt that watching was encouraging and participating in sin. 

 

While we do not seem to have many direct references from those in the Church of God, we do have some written records of those who were at least somewhat familiar with the teachings of Jesus and the practices of the earliest Christians. 

 

Now, here is something from Theophilus of Antioch (who likely was part of the Church of God) perhaps written about 180 A.D.:

Consider, therefore, whether those who teach such things can possibly live indifferently, and be commingled in unlawful intercourse, or, most impious of all, eat human flesh, especially when we are forbidden so much as to witness shows of gladiators, lest we become partakers and abettors of murders. But neither may we see the other spectacles, lest our eyes and ears be defiled, participating in the utterances there sung. (Theophilus of Antioch. To Autolycus, Book III, Chapter XV. Translated by Marcus Dods, A.M. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition) 

 

So, true Christians did not believe that they were to watch the violent sports so popular in the second century.

The Holy Trinity is ready for game day!

Then, the Great Bwana gets down to the fun stuff! All of you sinful Laodiceans who do NOT heed his words are doomed to go through the tribulation because you watched football!

I do not watch American football. I consider that it is evil (also, no Christian can really defend how professional football cheerleading females are often publicly dressed and displayed). Others want to falsely act like there is nothing wrong with watching it.

Some may not wish to hear about any of the evils of violent sports, and instead prefer smooth things, but hopefully I have tried to follow the Apostle Paul who declared:

26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. (Acts 20:26-27) 

 

The bodies and blood of those who engage in violent sports is important. It does not show Philadelphia love. 

 

Regarding American football, do you believe that Jesus or the Apostle Paul would endorse it? This is something that Christians, and those that claim to be, should think and pray about. 

 

Those Laodicean Christians who are fans of American tackle football are NOT Philadelphians and will be subject to violence themselves as they will have to go through the Great Tribulation if they do not repent (Revelation 3:14-22). 

 

Encouraging violence in sports does not show brotherly/Philadelphian love. 

 

Philadelphian Christians do not watch American tackle football–whether the USA or Canadian version of it.

 

 

 

 

 

Never Before Understood by the Churches of God: The Book of Revelation

The author of Revelation was doing in his turbulent times what we do in ours. Trying to match up this or that political and/or religious leader with the times and creating a prophecy to tell the story of what is happening and what ultimately "will happen". With the outcome, of course, going to the good guys and in this case, the Jews and Jewish Christians during the sweep of Vespasian through the Levant and ultimately on to destroy Jerusalem in 70 CE. Did't quite work out that way. 

Only the passage of time shows what actually will happen, and in this the case of the Book of Revelation, did happen. Contrary to "I have read the end of the book, and WE WIN!" I have read the end of the Book....and they lost.

Every age tries to figure out where it stands with its craziness and "end times" it seems. Seems we don't want to die and would prefer to "be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye"!

I don't personally believe that anyone can "pre-dict" the future. But trying has become big biz. Some have the need to see themselves as prophets. They don't tend to do it well. Their prophecies tend to fail due to unforeseen circumstances. I believe we all or most all here can recall the days when Franz Joseph Strauss, as potential "Beast" visited AC and made it on to the cover of the PT. Alas...

Arch of Titus in Rome celebrating his victory over Jerusalem in 70 CE

Revelation is "a Failed prophecy" in the sense that the Romans won the day with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Messiah, neither Jewish nor Jewish Christian returned at the end of three and a half years. Within that time from 70 to 73 when Masada fell, the Romans put an end to any hope of Messianic deliverance. 

Nero has often been thought to be "the Beast" and this may be possibly true in the minds of many in the day. "NERO" in Hebrew does spell out as 666. Some translations give 616 as the number of the Beast which translates into the more generic "Anti-Christ" evidently. Either way, it points towards the Caesars of 68 through 72 CE in the two years either side of the destruction of Jerusalem.  Nero died in June of '68.  

Rev 17:9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits.

 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.

In this prophetic scenario,  the first 5 meaning, Julius Caesar (d. 44 BC), Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero is the 6th and the one that "now is". Galba, who followed after Nero's suicide in '68, lasted just one year into '69 and is the 7th.   The "Beast" who once was and now, or not yet, is the 8th and part of the succession of the 7.  This can be seen as Vespasian who became Emperor in '71 declared so by his troops as his Son Titus destroyed Jerusalem during his return trip to Rome at Galba's assassination.  Testy times those!  

To give the times a fuller context, the complete 7 and beyond after the destruction of Jerusalem are 

FIVE ARE FALLEN

1.Julius Caesar (d. 44 BC)

2.Augustus

3.Tiberius

4.Caligula

5. Claudius

ONE IS

6.  Nero

YET TO COME FOR A SHORT SPACE

7. Galba

(Otho, Vitellius,)

(Vespasian was proclaimed Emperor in December of '69. Otho and Vitellius contested Vespasian's claim to the throne but didn't last but a few months each. The author of Revelation did not consider them players.  Vespasian is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition" Vespasian is to be the last ruler of Rome, the man of sin, the antichrist who will be destroyed by the Jewish Christ, but it didn't work out that way. )

The 8th that was and is not, yet is...

8. Vespasian

9.Titus

10.Domitian (d. 96 AD).

The Foreign Kings who supported Rome in the Armies against Jerusalem

12 “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 

And the Romans won. In this way the Prophecy of the Book of Revelation failed to deliver. 

14 They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”

It's all fascinating of course. While agnostic at best in my views, I have always been and always will be fascinated with how we try to explain our world and the drama and trauma of political and religious intrigues and the Biblical view of how it all will work out even as it doesn't as we all might have hoped. 

Vespasian builds the Colosseum in Rome in '72 and finishes it during the rule of his son, Titus. 

(That passing of torches in both politics and religion from Father to Son has always been a perk of the position)

(Note: Not a few who understand the context of Revelation, written just before the Fall of Jerusalem to encourage Jewish Christians to hang in there until Rome is defeated in 3 1/2 years and the Messiah comes. It failed. Rome won the war, from 69 to 73 CE with the final destruction of Masada. 

In the church letters of Revelation, a basically Jewish book, especially the letter to the Ephesians, Paul "those who claim they are apostles and are not" which the Ephesians rejected, was the false prophet they hated. Vespasian was the Beast. 

Revelation throws both of them into the Lake of Fire.)

 

Bill Watson: Still Wandering Around Mt Sinai Searching For Something Yet To Unfold

Bill Watson's Feast of Trumpets

In a new post on his own blog, CGI Pastor Bill Watson wrote about the meaning of the Feast of Trumpets. Unfortunately, his musings on the subject are devoid of much insight into this important festival. Like Herbert Armstrong before him, Mr. Watson fails to understand that ALL of the Torah festivals point to Jesus Christ! Moreover, like the Israelites before them, they will soon embark on a wholly physical, mechanical and repetitive attempt to observe the festival. In other words, Pastor Watson's perspective on the day misses the spiritual significance of this day for Christians!

In The Feast of Trumpets: A Vision For Our Future, Watson wrote of the day: "It represents reflection and preparation, as it opens a 'Holy Day Season' imbued with prophecy and promise. As we reflect upon this day, unraveling its layers, we discover insights that connect our past, present, and future within God’s grand design. It’s a Time of New Beginnings and Recommitments. The Feast of Trumpets is more than a commemoration; it is a bridge between future promises and actual prophetic fulfillment. As the shofar sounds, harkening us back to the ancient traditions of Israel, it also heralds the Christian anticipation of Christ’s return. The day also marks the beginning of the Days of Awe, a ten-day period that invites introspection, repentance, and rededication, culminating in the Day of Atonement. This period challenges us to realign our lives with divine principles. It ensures that we are spiritually ready for the eventual restitution of all things promised by God at Christ’s return!"

In his own words, we can discern the glaring error inherent to his interpretation of this festival. Instead of Christ having fulfilled the meaning of the day (Matthew 5:17 and Colossians 2:16-17), Watson sees the day as finding fulfillment at some point in the future. Instead of pointing to the life and work of Christ, Watson sees the day as being focused on the unfolding of "God's grand design." For the pastor, "the Feast of Trumpets is more than a commemoration; it is a bridge between future promises and actual prophetic fulfillment."

Nevertheless, in the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus, we read: "Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. On the first day of the appointed month in early autumn, you are to observe a day of complete rest. It will be an official day for holy assembly, a day commemorated with loud blasts of a trumpet." (Leviticus 23:24, NLT) First, please note that these instructions for its observance were intended for the people of Israel, NOT Christians. Second, it was to be a day of holy assembly for the Congregation in the Wilderness, the Church of Israel under the Old Covenant. Third, they were informed that this was to commemorate (serve as a "memorial" in the KJV) of the blowing of Trumpets. Why would the Israelites want to memorialize/commemorate the blowing of Trumpets? AND How does all of that point to Jesus of Nazareth?

In Torah, the children of Israel were instructed to use trumpets/horns/shofar to signal the people to assemble for different purposes. There were trumpets sounding at Mount Sinai when God presented his covenant to the people through Moses (see Exodus 19 and 20). Indeed, they were instructed to make two silver trumpets to use for just about everything connected to God's covenant with the assembly (see Numbers 10:2-10). Hence, we see that Torah associated the blowing of trumpets with signaling the entire assembly of the people of ancient Israel.

Now, how exactly does this all point to Jesus of Nazareth and the Christians of the New Covenant? We must go to the book which best explains what we read in Torah in terms of the Christ event. In the anonymously written epistle to the Hebrews, we read:

Hebrews 12:18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:
20 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)
22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. (King James Version at Bible Gateway)

The Greek word panegyris is here translated into English as "assembly" and it denotes a "mass-meeting" or "general assembly." The same source goes on to describe its biblical usage as "a festal gathering of the whole people to celebrate public games or other solemnities - a public festal assembly."

Jesus came to this earth to call a general assembly of all of the peoples of the earth, not just the children of Israel. Jesus said: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:16-17, KJV) In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is reported to have said: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29, ESV) Once again, in the Gospel of John, Jesus is reported to have said: "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:35-40, ESV) A little later, in this same passage, Christ asserted that anyone who came to him and believed in him was drawn to him by the father (John 6:44, 65). Clearly then, we are forced to conclude that is the will of both the Father and Son have invited EVERYONE to be saved through Jesus of Nazareth!

Even so, in accordance with Mr. Armstrong's teachings on the subject, Bill went on to write: "In ancient times, the sound of the shofar served as a call to worship, a signal for battle, and an announcement of significant events. Today, it represents a metaphor that looks to the anticipatory call of Christ’s return." For Bill and company, it's like the first advent of Jesus was an insignificant prelude to the main event - instead of the very thing that made his second advent possible! Pastor Watson went on to note that: "The Fall Holy Days link the sacred calendar to the present tapestry interwoven with prophecy. The Spring festivals are seen as fulfilled through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, whereas the fall festivals symbolize events yet to unfold. These Holy Days, as depicted in Daniel, Micah, Isaiah, Zechariah, and Jeremiah, outline a future in which God’s law becomes central to the governance of the earth." So, according to Mr. Watson, only the Spring Holy Days have been fulfilled by Christ! He believes that Christ didn't really mean it when he said that all of the Law and Prophets pointed to him, or when he proclaimed just before he died that "It is finished." Moreover, while I would agree with Pastor Watson that God's Law will be central to the governance of God's Kingdom, his conception of exactly what constitutes God's Law is very different from Christ's. Mr. Watson believes that Torah will one day be imposed on ALL the people of the earth. Jesus of Nazareth said that God's Law boiled down to Two Great Commandments which "He" intended to be universal in application: Love for God and each other (see Matthew 22:36-40).

In Bill's vision of the Feast of Trumpets, "the role of the saints (the Church), who are predestined to serve as kings and priests in this forthcoming world ruling order" is an "integral" part of what this festival is all about. In other words, the festival is all about God's people, NOT the Christ! Watson concluded his remarks: "So, as we observe the Feast of Trumpets and the Fall Holy Days in general, take time to remind yourself of the extraordinary destiny that awaits you. This day invites us to embrace our roles in God’s unfolding narrative, prepared to share in His divine governance. It challenges us to adopt a vision that extends beyond earthly constraints, anticipating a future secured by faith, forged in righteousness, and revealed through prophecy...So, as we journey through these Holy Days, let us remain vigilant, assured in the promise that our efforts, trials, and faith will lead to a triumphant conclusion, serving humanity as immortal spirit beings in God’s Kingdom." After reading Bill's treatise on Trumpets, I have to ask: Is there any value in trying to observe something which was never intended for you, or of that which you have a very imperfect/flawed understanding of its meaning? What do you think?

Miller Jones/Lonnie C Hendrix 

UCG Preparing To Rehabilitate The Solar System and 5,830 Exoplanets

 

They never seem to ask the question as to who will populate all of these planets? Even if every person who has ever lived were suddenly alive, there would still be room on this planet for them all.

Therefore, Paul says the trials and sufferings in this life are truly not worthy to be compared with the glorious future in God’s Kingdom and enjoying eternity with this great inheritance as His beloved children! Paul describes it best, “But as Scripture says: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined, the things that God has prepared for those who love him’” (1 Corinthians 2:9, God’s Word Translation).

He now goes to the outer reaches of spiritual knowledge, saying: “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing [the resurrection] of the sons of God. For the creation [or Universe] was subjected to futility [decay], not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption [or uselessness] into the glorious liberty of the children of God [who will help renew it]” (Romans 8:19-21).

As far as we know about cosmology, our solar system and the 5,830 exoplanets so far found are in need of renovation, for none is ready to be inhabited. It appears that Lucifer’s rebellion caused great havoc when he attempted to dethrone God in heaven and was cast back to the earth. As Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18, see also Isaiah 14:12-15).

This destruction will be repaired once God’s Kingdom arrives, which begins first by renewing the earth (Acts 3:21), and then the rest of the Universe. Romans 8:22-23 adds: “We know that everything in the universe is still in great pain now. Everything cries together in pain, like a woman who is ready to have a baby. It is the same for us who are believers. We have received God’s Spirit as the first of his gifts to us, but we also cry inside ourselves. We are waiting for the time when God will finish his great work. Then we will belong to Him completely as his children. Our bodies will be free from the power of sin” (EASY version).

Notes From The Real War: The Psychology of Being Christian

 

Waiting for Dust-off

Notes From The Real War

The Psychology of Being Christian

By Scout

There are some practical concerns about being a Christian that bother me. The psychological effect of living the Christian life is one of them.  We are common clay, but we have stepped into the big-time arena of eternal life and theosis.  It transcends all that we do know and can know. It means a re-interpretation of reality.  This will have an impact on our psychology.  I am going to lift an example of this kind of psychological effect from the war in Vietnam. m. 

The Surrealism of Dust-off

Dust-off refers to the medevac by helicopter of wounded soldiers in Vietnam. The U.S. armed forces had the ability to pluck wounded men out of the combat zone very quickly.  These men were brought to rear area hospitals for recovery.  Sometimes, from there, they would be returned to the United States.  The effect was that one moment you are in an intense firefight, and the next moment you are back home.  Your reality changed instantaneously.  

Though it is not technically dust-off, the same phenomenon happened with men who finished their tour of duty. They would be transported out of the combat zone and were processed out of the armed forces.  While this usually took a few weeks, sometimes a guy would be in a fierce firefight one day and a few days later would be sipping beer with friends in a bar back home.  Anne Linscott, a veterans disability attorney, wrote this:

Many mental health professionals in Psychiatry attribute the high incidence of PTSD in Vietnam-era veterans to a lack of “decompression” time. During the Vietnam War, it was not uncommon for veterans to be in combat one day and back home with their family a couple of days later due to the availability of jet travel that was not present in previous wars such as World War II.

While lack of decompression may seem like just an odd fact about the war in Vietnam, it has a profound relevance to Christians.  It is one of the many practical matters of being a Christian that nobody seems to discuss. 

Christians and Dust-off

This World wages war on Christians.  It is the real war.  The war for the human soul. The siege against all of God’s plans and purposes – prominently, human salvation. Paul refers to the battlefield as the “present evil world.”  When Christians die, one day they are combatants and a few seconds later they are at home in paradise sipping a beer with friends.  Just like soldiers returning from Vietnam. The change is instant and without decompression, apparently.  

What will this sudden change without decompression do to us psychologically?  The Vietnam vets did not fare well.  This is a problem with many facile answers, but nobody really knows what’s going to happen.  It is about human weakness colliding with divine eternity. We are, after all, psychological persons and subject to the ravages of human experience.  And there is a further point here that must be made about God and psychology. 

God Transcends Psychology

One can readily develop the mistaken belief that we are ready for paradise.  That we can embark upon eternal realms without trepidation.  Paul does refer to it as “being home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8, ESV), like we are returning to where we should be.  But it may not be that easy.  If there is anything I have learned as a Christian about living life, it is that many things are not as easy as we might think.  My concern about our sudden transition to the afterlife is rooted in the fact that God is not a psychological person, and we are psychological persons.  God is at home in transcendental realms, and we are not. 

What does it mean when I assert that God is not a psychological person? From my perspective, God is beyond human psychology.  You cannot psychoanalyze God.  He is not subject to Pavlovian behavioral modification.  He does not develop psychoses.  He does not develop fixations and tics.   He does not engage in manipulation to get his way.  Psychology is a vulnerability, and God does not have vulnerabilities. He is not traumatized, nor does he need decompression to process difficult life changes. God creates reality; he is not subject to it as we are.  God in perfection transcends psychology. I am not saying that he does not have a personality. He has personality, but he is ever so much more than that. As created beings, our minds are finite. His mind is infinite. 

So, we are not ready for God’s realm out of the chute.  This caused C.S. Lewis, though an Anglican, to conjecture that there might be some form of Purgatory for us all as a preparation for paradise.  I might not align with the details of his view, but I think he must be right in principle.  Surely, there must be some onboarding process for paradise that we must all experience and benefit from. 

The Armstrongist Counterpoint

Let me not neglect to consider Armstrongism.  Just as Armstrongists believe that God has a human-like body, I think they also believe he has a human-like psychology.  The God-as-God-is-God idea of human destiny in Armstrongism implies that we as humans have the full Godly nature in just a temporarily attenuated form for now as humans. God, to Armstrongists, is a super-human power.  God is simply like us, only more so.  Rather than humans having a tiny subset of God’s unknowable, transcendent powers.  However, it must be stated that this is implicit in Armstrongist belief and not explicit. This view of a limited God makes the idea that Armstrongists will ultimately become God-as-God-is-God seem plausible.

This fundamentalist view, held by Armstrongists and many others, that God is a psychological being, is inadequate.  I believe God is a person and his personhood is perfect.  His perfect personhood is reflected in us in a limited form.   And this collection of limited traits of mind constitutes what we know as our psychology.  The behaviors produced by this limited persona are the object of the study of the discipline of psychology.  It is not a surprise that God’s uncreated personhood transcends what we know as the human psychological personality.  

For instance, psychology deals extensively with emotion.  I believe, like most theologians, that God is impassible.  He is the source of love, knowledge, reason, and relationship, but he does not have a fluctuating temperament conditioned by external circumstances like a human being.  God creates reality.  He has no need to make an emotional response to something he knows fully and generates himself. The language of emotion in the Bible is anthropomorphic, just like the language that portrays God as having a human-like body.   

Some will respond to this by asserting that God is then lying if he says he has a hand and he doesn’t have one. Or that he is angry, as we know anger, and he is not.  This argument does not have traction.  That is because the Biblical use of body parts and emotions pertaining to God is symbolic.  They are a vocabulary for conveying principles that we can understand.  It is the underlying principle that is the truth.  And, further, in theophany, God can appear to be whatever he wants to appear as.  If God wants to have a hand, he can have one.  If he wants to portray himself as angry in order to communicate sharply that something is wrong, he can do that. But theophany is not his essence.   In the last analysis, human emotionalism attributed to God is anthropomorphic. 

Summation

We are created beings, and we are not God, who is uncreated and never will be.  We will have the privilege of partaking of the divine nature to some degree. The division between God and humans can be seen in the fact that we are psychological subjects and God is not.  The limitations of our being psychological subjects present some concern.  For instance, how will we cope with the sudden change from life to afterlife?  This side of the afterlife, all we can do is render up our opinion.  In the meantime, I will be waiting for dust-off. 

 

Fishy Tales Out Of Grover Beach, CA

It has been a relatively cool summer here in California, but now late summer/early fall heat has finally hit California, and even the coastal regions are affected by it. It apparently is so hot in the Grover Beach/Five Cities area that the brain of our most highly favored self-appointed prophet of God has started to get overheated, causing him to say the following lie:

The Continuing Church of God, which is NOT Protestant, traces its history from the apostolic church established in Acts 2 and holds to the original, biblical doctrines that the early Christians had. 

 

Many biblical doctrines that early Christians held to are NOT held to by Protestants today. Nor the Church of Rome or the Eastern Orthodox for that matter. 

 

For that matter, many of the unbiblical teachings and doctrines of Thielism and Armstrongism were NOT held by early Christians. In fact, if those early Christians were to appear in this day and age, they would have no idea who or what they were witnessing when they saw Thiel's little cult. They would immediately brand it as a deviant apostate church.