All Else Aside...I had to Be There

All Else Aside...I had to Be There

I'll make this short but straightforward.  I speak ONLY for myself and yes, I have many regrets.  

However....

...in my heart of hearts, I know that I had to be there. 

 I was 14 years old when I heard my first sermon.  It was in Idaho and it was about the universe and "God."  I had been reading the booklets all week having just been introduced to the Church my older sister and brother-in-law had become convinced was close to whatever the Bible was trying to tell us.  I was hooked.  No one EVER gave a sermon on the Universe in our Presbyterian background.  I can't remember one sermon from my youth in the Presbyterian Church.  But this one I never forgot.  

I devoured the Plain Truth Magazine and all the booklets I could get my hands on.  It was the 60's.  Hell, the whole world was going to hell in a handbasket.  JFK had just been killed.  MLK and Bobby were next.  There were about to be Two major Middle Eastern wars endeavoring to wipe Israel off the map.  (Update 2011...Go ahead, be my guest now.  Wipe it off the face of the earth).  I simply had to be where this church was. 

For the next four years through High School, I read all I could.  I talked to my girl friend who I was sure I'd marry someday.  Hmmm, not going over so well there.  Oh well, perhaps God was not calling her.  (Update 2011...Lucky girl)   I applied to two seminaries after High School.  One was Roberts Weslyan which was Methodist and the other was Ambassador College.  (Update 2011...I honestly thought it was a seminary according to what I saw in the perspectus).   I chose...well you know.

Loved AC.  Too stupid to know I was not getting the whole story.  I used to go down to Fuller Seminary in Pasadena to study.  They had a much better library.  Never crossed my mind to transfer there because, well...they just weren't called like I was.   Made lots of friends at AC.  Most are now players in "Days of our Lives...The Wildworld Church of God and It's Many Faces."  (Update 2011...Thank you God for not letting me keep following your true Church all over creation the last 20 years.)   

But...I had to be there right up until the moment I realized I no longer could. 

I made my choices over the years of turmoil and scandal.  Ok, people are weak but so was David and of course....DAVID WAS A MAN AFTER GOD'S OWN HEART, so see, it all works out.  While embarrassing and that niggly little voice was telling me get out during the receivership era, well...Satan really hated God's Church so of course stuff like this is going to happen.  Besides, it is cleansing and we will be better than ever.  I called once a week to hear recordings by "God's leading evangelist updates on the situation, and we were winning!!!  (Update 2011...you know, like Charlie Sheen is "winning...duh! )

So I had to be there and NOTHING you could have done would have talked me out of it, until I talked myself out of it and even then, had to be pushed.  I hated letting the local church down but when push came to shove, they all disappeared like I had the plague anyway.  Big wake up there!

Somewhere along the way, I'd say around '94 or '95, I started to crack.  I read outside the WCG box and devoured John Shelby Spong's book, Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism.  

 

Hmmmm....this guy just answered almost every question I had about what never made sense about the Gospels.  I loved his books and his honesty.  I wrote JSS and told him how much I appreciate his perspectives and how helpful they were to me and in answering questions I had wondered about over the years that my Church never addressed.  Actually they didn't know there were questions to ask.  JSS wrote back personally...

 

"Thank you very much Dennis for your kind words and I am pleased I have been able to help.  I'm glad you appreciate my work...however...

...you won't survive.

Warm regards

John Shelby Spong"

Wow...the man was not only a Bishop, but also a Prophet.   I continued on reading JSS's works on the Birth and Death stories of Jesus.  Craaaacccck.....I wove wonderful things in to my sermons for a time. I read all of Raymond Brown's books on the Birth and Death of the Messiah.  Big books, long books, deeply thought out books....and I wove them into my sermons for a time.  I was asked to teach at the local Catholic Church Bible studies on the topic of Jesus Birth Narratives.  Raymond Brown was a great RCC scholar and well respected.  The Priest and I had become friends having met at the Annual AIDS something or other and it was there I actually was able to make a contact for my local WCG to meet that was much nicer.  It was an actual church building and very nice.  Of course, I was teaching in the RCC study what I dare not ever teach to my own congregation.  They even paid me!!!  

The Priest and I got along so well with our biblical interests that he asked me to do the marriages the RCC would not do.  I was kinda like a bastard well hidden priest doing for the congregation what the real Priest could not do for them.  Ccccrrrrraaaackkkk.  I was learning there was so much more in the world of theology than what I had been told.  Of course, I prayed my own congregation did not ask me much about it although a few did come and loved the studies on the Birth Narratives of Jesus.  

I still had to be there.  I think WCG was falling apart out in Pasadena, but my denial was keeping me in and hoping the church would just grow up. Maybe I could help it do so.

But it got bad.  In 1996 I did win that's years essay contest in Biblical Archaeology Magazine on "we have the money to send you to any dig in Israel...why should we send you?"  Long story short, out of all the people in the world that year, I won.  I spent over three weeks at BAR's expense digging in Har Megiddo  (The Valley of Megiddo)  I was in ho..., cow heaven.   I came home and shortly after that I was terminated.  

I wonder at what point I would have made my own decision to leave.  Everything was coming unglued.  Transitions are messy and I was no exception to that truth.  Everything suffers.  New perspectives replace old ones and those who used to inspire no longer can or do.  

But up to that point.  I had to be there until I didn't.  No one made me stay and once the damn broke in my mind, then and only then could I leave.  

My last Festival Sermon was on "The Politics of the New Testament."  You know, the who was the Apostle Paul really?  Why does he call Peter James and John "reputed pillars" and then add, "I learned nothing from them..." etc.  What was going on?  Who was on whose side and did they all really speak the same thing?  I loved giving that sermon. I had a ball. We laughed (passive aggressive humor is my style and yes I was serious even if it was funny) and when it was all said and done, 8000 kind folk applauded on and on when it was FORBIDDEN  :)   It was worse than running with scissors.

That Spring, it was over.  Lots of things were over.  

But I had to be there, until I no longer could be.  I made my choices. No one made me stay too long.  I had a wonderful mix of denial and hope for a time and denial bit me in the ass finally.  Denial still does that to me at times even now.  

But for all that time, I had to be there until I no longer could be.  I accept responsibility for my choices, staying longer than some or even most and not wanting to "take our local church Dennis and let's just be our own selves."  Uh..no.  I told those guys that they'd have me for lunch within six months and I had a life to get back in order.  Still working on that...

But I had to be there until I no longer could and I accept responsibility for all my choices that have brought me to where I am today.  

Where am I?  :)  I have no idea, but I am NOT stuck in the never ending story of WCG/UCG/PCG/RCG/ and all the other COG's and men who have never yet read Rescuing the Bible From Fundamentalism and to this day, have no idea they do not yet understand the Book well enough to teach the truth about it. 

DenniscDiehl@aol.com   

What Does Armstrongism, 'Glory Daze' and 'A Single Man' Have in Common?

Here's a couple of things that have been filmed on the Pasadena campus in the past few years.

Colin Firth in A Single Man: 

Colin Firth

A story that centers on an English professor who, one year after the sudden death of his partner, is unable to cope with his typical days in 1960's Los Angeles.

Spanky Meredith will be very unhappy with this one.  Well, maybe not.  Considering what HWA used to say about Spanky, he might actually LIKE this movie!  :-)



Then for the younger set there is the TV series  Glory Daze:

Centers on a group of friends who are trying to navigate college life in 1980s Indiana. From being out on their own for the first time to pledging a fraternity, they discover how challenging the next few years are going to be.

That's Manor Del Mar in the background.

Al Portune's Story

Someone sent me a great link to Al Portune's story of his life.  It is fascinating reading and brings back many memories of life in Pasadena.  Names and places that have meaning to so many people. 

Al's story begins with meeting his wife, heading off to War serving in the Coast Guard and then finding Ambassador College.  He tells about his rise up in the organization with HWA and GTA's encouragement.  Then he tells about his time as manager of the finance department.  Being exposed to the use of money and having to sign the checks started opening his eyes.  Confrontations with HWA over his begging for money started to seal his fate.

He tells of his leaving the the employ of the church and has quest for expanding his knowledge.  Too few in Armstrongism have ever dared to question religion, life, where we come from, etc.  Far too many prefer to have someone else tell them the answers.  It alleviates any responsibility for accountability on their part.

Al has obviously advance far beyond COG thought into something far more meaningful to him.

Astounding as it may be, on honest investigation, the basis of religion has little changed from the religion of primitive man. It is still belief in gods who control everything, even life and eternal life itself. Most of mankind still feels it cannot be safe and have any kind of secure present or future without serving, worshipping, placating one or more of those gods. Religion has become more sophisticated as MAN “tweaked” it, added to it, embellished it and tailored it to the benefit of power centers, profitable institutions and self aggrandizement. However, sacrifice of one kind or another is still a requisite, predominantly sacrifice of money for those who have found that religion is a lucrative business. Promoting their religion as the “salvation for man” requires money and is perhaps the most prominent sacrifice to enable the “preaching of the gospel or “good news” to the world . One could list thousands of sacrifices and offerings threaded through manifold religions, but it is still that same primitive motivation – that sacrifice, offerings, sacraments and worship bring existential advantage.

The grandeur of religion’s leaders, their robes, their churches and cathedrals, the pomp and “sanctity” displayed, the rituals so “elegantly” displayed and on an on create the illusion of a sanctity and relationship to “god” that even those in those exalted positions are looked to as actual vicars or representatives of god himself. The desire to be recognized and acclaimed as the leader or founder of a church or religious movement is great. It even was thousands and thousands of years ago in the preeminence of being “the Medicine Man.” But it all goes back to the first primitive placation of existential apprehensions and those who devised methods of placation.

For me it has come down to an elementary acceptance of what this earth and its long, long history has brought forth naturally and spontaneously based on the “forces” at work upon it going back to a “beginning” beyond the comprehension of mankind. What those forces or “a force” has brought forth on this earth has followed a pattern. Not a religiously defined pattern but a natural pattern, verified by the “natural evidence” that has progressed from the very first elements of life down to the present highest form of life extant on earth – man. Religion ignores or seeks to refute that natural process and replace it with various creation stories that establish a power basis that is nowhere evident in the natural evidence on this earth. Creation by fiat establishes a god concept and therefore a power that controls all things and must therefore be served, placated, obeyed and worshipped according to a methodology devised by “religion” that was created by man.  

Check out his story here:  Religion and WCG  or the Index here: Index of Memoirs

Beware Adding "Ambasador University" To Your Resume

The Ambassador legacy lingers on in an alert I received this evening.......

MacBigot

I’M BOILING MAD about a sullied school reputation, but there doesn’t seem to be much I can do about it.

I believe I just found out why my job hunt is taking so long. Potential employers think I am fudging my educational credentials — and though they are meager regardless (an Associates in Computer Information Systems), the misunderstanding throws doubt on the whole of my resume.

The only reason I discovered the issue is that when applying to (finally) work toward a Bachelor’s degree, my transcript was discarded because, in the words of the CSA patiently leading me through the process, my old school, ‘Ambassador University’, was listed as a ‘diploma mill‘.

My eyeballs almost exploded.

Now, anyone who attended those two-and-a-half years with me will tell you that I was not the greatest student, that I didn’t have my personal act together, and that those two claims to infamy were likely responsible for each other in a yin-yang sort of way. But I did manage to escape with a degree, and with a GPA that wasn’t the worst among my cronies. And I was eventually able to parlay that brief collegiate experience into a career history that I am very proud of — with the help of some very good role models in my industry.

HOWEVER…
Fast-forward 20 years, and there is a new ‘institution’ that is clouding up the Google searches, should anyone want to investigate my alma mater.

The web addresses http://www.ambassador.fm (registered in 1999), http://www.ambassador-university.com (2005) and http://www.ambassador-edu.org (2008) point to ‘Ambassador University Corporation‘ — which by all accounts (including their own slimy web presence) is indeed a ‘diploma mill’.

For the record, I did not purchase my diploma from ‘Ambassador University Corporation’, somewhere in the Middle East.

I attended ‘Ambassador University’ in Big Sandy, Texas!

Ambassador College, later renamed Ambassador University ( http://www.ambassador.edu), had been operated by the Worldwide Church of God ( http://www.WCG.org ), now Grace Communion International ( http://www.gci.org ), between 1947 and 1997.

After working under state-only certifications for many years, Ambassador University was accredited in 1994 by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

( http://sacscoc.org/
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Association_of_Colleges_and_Schools ).

Unfortunately, the school closed its doors just several years later, due to financial problems rooted in a doctrinal shift among WCG’s teachings. (originally http://www.wcg.org/wn/97/97Jan21/press.htm , Google archive at http://web.archive.org/web/20070615154354/http://www.wcg.org/wn/97/97Jan21/press.htm , PDF of article at Ambassador_University_to_close_in_May_(press_release).pdf
A detailed account of this very-real but now-missing educational institution can be found by anyone curious enough at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambassador_University
I also learned that the CHEA database ( http://www.chea.org/ ) does not list Ambassador as having been accredited, or even that it ever existed (though I was unable to locate in this or any other database where a listing might show *formerly* accredited institutions).

Next week, I’ll try to explain all of this to the Registrar at Liberty.edu — and to several potential employers I have been shopping.
It’s even harder to explain the justice of this to my kids, who would simply like to trust that their Daddy can bring home enough money to pay for the Mac-N-Cheese, and renew the Netflix subscription.

Child Abuse in Armstrongism is NOT an Anomaly

Give the recent turn of events with Kevin Dean's arrest for child abuse, it just brings to light the fact that Armstrongism had lots of child molesters in its midst.  The sad part was that the ministry and various church leaders found ways to cover it all up.

One of Meathooks MerryDeath's right-hand men was well know in Pasadena for sexual advances on boys at Camp River Glenn.

Imperial Schools had its molester/sadists on staff who loved to beat kids after making them lower their pants or raise their dresses.  The sad part was that parents let them do it!

Another Pasadena member was jailed for molesting his infant daughter.

From the Yahoo Group LCG:

THIS IS PERMITTED?????

In 2002, a member of LCG was imprisoned for "sexual conduct with a minor" (he was in his 40's) His DAUGHTER was the victim!!!!!!!!!!!.

He was recently married to a member from the Minneapolis area, they never counseled for marriage, they were married by an LCG minister.

He actually broke PAROLE to come to Wisconsin. I am sure she knew about this situation and believed that he was framed, BUT does a person spend almost 3 years 6 months (indicted by a GRAND JURY) in prison if there is NO solid evidence???? He had 17 (SEVENTEEN) counts against him. He was plead guilty to FOUR. The ministers in his area (SOUTHWESTERN USA) were aware of this situation, I am certain DW knew about it and OKAYED the marriage, because the offender bragged how he knew DWinnail personally (I met the man months ago at a service in Wisconsin, before any of this came out) Very charming and sweet...(typical)

This all came to light ONE DAY before we left for the FEAST. How do I know all this?? Because the x husband of the lady the offender married...was sent AN ANOYONOUS letter with the offender's picture and REGISTRATION SHEET with 17 (SEVENTEEN) offenses listed!!!

We were floored to say the least. Our friend (Dave) stayed with us during the FEAST so this is NOT some RUMOR>>> I saw the paperwork with my own eyes.

LCG KNEW of this situation for MONTHS and never alerted the congregations and PERMITTED that marriage!!!

CHILD MOLESTERS (historically speaking) CANNOT be reformed!It is a perverted SICKNESS. Well, it is all on the heads of the ministry, that's about all I can say...BUT SHAME ON THEM! Are the shepherds PROTECTING their FLOCKS?????

Dave has a child who is a minor who was living with his mother after she was remarried to the offender. He's very upset and wonders HOW this could have happened...
There's something wrong with this picture..can you ALL SEE THIS???

They allowed that man to mingle with our children(in various
congregations) for MONTHS. This is SHAMEFUL.

33 Years and Counting

Left to right, Harrison Ford (Han Solo), David Prowse (Darth Vader), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) 

and, in foreground, Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Kenny Baker (R2-D2) 

and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker).

---------------------------------------------------------

It's hard to believe that 33 years ago the first Star Wars came out.  A large group of us from Ambassador College in Pasadena headed off to Hollywood to see it.  Every single seat in the theater was taken.  Yet, at this same time various ministers in Pasadena were trying to discourage students from seeing the movie.  It was fiction, it was dangerous, it had demons in it.  

Kind of like the ranting that Dave Albert did from the Auditorium stage when ET came out.  He went on and on about how the movie was really about demons manifesting themselves on earth as agents of light to gullible children.  If we went to see the movie we would be allowing demons to enter our mind. Thankfully 95% of the students ignored him as they had ignored the Star Wars silliness.

The other strange thing they told us that never came true was that they said we would never be able to see the  sequels in the Star Wars series when they came out. The reason being we would be in Petra.  The world would be coming to and end by that time the sequels would be coming out.

The other movie that stirred up a stink in Pasadena was Crocodile Dundee.  They planned to show the movie in the Auditorium.  It was common knowledge that God lived in the Auditorium so swear words and sexy scenes could not be shown on the screen.   Some moron from the student government stood next to the projector and held a piece of cardboard over the lens so the picture could not be projected on stage.  There were howls of protest.  People got up and walked out.  

Armstrongism has always been afraid of the silliest things.  

Herb hated country music.  He thought it was for the uncouth and uneducated.  We always thought he hated it because GTA liked it.  

Armstrongism did not like its members being actors.  The reason being was that they were taking on fake personalities and would have to live through those characters.  It was another avenue for opening the mind up to demons.  

You could not be a policeman because you carried a gun. (Even though GTA's bodyguard carried gun with him at all times.).  

They discouraged members from being EMT's.  You were performing medical procedures that took away the persons ability to use divine healing.