Jesus: "Terminations, Resignations,
Disabilities, Defections and Death Will Soon Be Rampant among The
Priesthood, Pharisees, Sadducees, Buttusees,
Jews of Jerusalem and Romans.
Jews of Jerusalem and Romans.
Soon They Will All Come to ME!"
I'm pretty sure we'd all
barf had any Jesus actually said this and had it jotted down for all times to
come. We'd also be able to look back and see that it didn't exactly work
out as Jesus pre-dicted or pre-spoke.
The Church of God
experience from WCG days up to today is like a 12 ring circus. Each act
has it's own barker or ring master. Each pipes to the audience for attention
and what a noise it all is. Each beckoning for the spot lights to be
shined on them and demanding not to be left in the dark while they vie for the
attention their acts so badly need. And acts the are. From clowns and
poodles to Tigers and Elephants, each act attracts it's own crowd and
applause. Some more than others of course. Many flit back and forth
between rings following wherever the spotlight takes them for a little bit of
all of it.
The title wars are truly
amazing. We have "That Ring Master," and
"Watcher Ringmaster's" There are Apostolic Ringmasters
along with Presiding ones. I'm sure some where in there are Zurubbabelian
Ringmasters and Joshua Ring Masters. It's all quite amusing,
however pathetic. After all, it's just a circus. Or to
paraphrase the late Bill Hicks...
"The (Churches of God are) like a ride at an amusement park. It goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills and it’s very brightly coloured and it’s very loud and it’s fun, for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question: Is this real, or is this just a ride? And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, they say, “Hey – don’t worry, don’t be afraid, ever, because, this is just a ride…” But we always (disfellowship, mark and marginalize )those good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok. (Ted kicked out, Herbert Dies, Tkach and Co is in, Jesus tricks us, United is divided, Church of Brotherly Love spews hate, Global goes micro, Living is dying, Restored brings back all the past mistakes, Splinters fall to slivers and Non-Prophets embarrass them all . But it doesn’t matter because: It’s just a ride. And we can change it anytime we want. It’s only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings and money. A choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to (stay only for the paycheck, leave because no one listens to you, threaten all those who oppose you with all the above in the title. Follow "that" and now yet another "this" non-prophet.) The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one. Here’s what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money that we spend on (tithes and offerings) each year and instead spend it on (caring for your family, saving for your children's education, take time off for yourselves and go where you want to go instead of where you are told to go. Buy yourself some real books on theology and after you read them, tell your circus master you did it. Learn to say "no" and "I don't see it that way. Notice for once you don't care for the show and act and you are not a trained poodle or monkey.) and forever live in peace."
Back to spirituality, which is a concept that seems to escape the Religionist COGs and most Fundamentalists, and that inner spirituality that cannot be controlled by others and cannot possible adhere to the false idea that "we must all speak the same thing."
Some definitions:
· Religion is an institution established by man for various reasons. Exert control, instill morality, stroke egos, or whatever it does. Organized, structured religions all but remove god from the equation. You confess your sins to a clergy member, go to elaborate churches to worship, told what to pray and when to pray it. All those factors remove you from god.
· Spirituality is born in a person and develops in the person. It may be kick started by a religion, or it may be kick started by a revelation. Spirituality extends to all facets of a person’s life. Spirituality is chosen while religion is often times forced. Being spiritual to me is more important and better than being religious.
· True spirituality is something that is found deep within oneself. It is your way of loving, accepting and relating to the world and people around you. It cannot be found in a church or by believing in a certain way.
Consider the following in favor of the spiritual path:
· There is not one religion, but hundreds (This is a tough one for COG One True Churchers. They have to see it is wrong already amongst themselves with 600 other One True Churches but that's what religion blinds in most.)
· There is only one type of spirituality. (Meaning it is an inside job and not that which others pour into your head with demands and expectations of compliance)
· Religion is for those who want to continue rituals and the formality (Or feel they must to be the True Church)
· Spirituality is for those who want to reach the Spiritual Ascent without dogmas
· Religion is for those who are asleep
· Spirituality is for those who are awake
· Religion is for those that require guidance from others (The "Follow Me" of COG)
· Spirituality is for those that lend ears to their inner voice
· Religion has a dogmatic and unquestionable assembly of rules that need to be followed without question (Religion is a dog thing. Obedience and reward)
· Spirituality invites you to reason it all, to question it all and to decide your actions and assume the consequences (Spirituality is a cat thing...I'll take you view under consideration.)
· Religion threatens and terrifies
· Spirituality gives you inner peace
· Religion speaks of sin and of fault (and prophecy and tithing and building and doing)
· Spirituality encourages "living in the present" and not to feel remorse for which has already passed - Lift your spirit and learn from errors (Being not doing.)
· Religion represses humanity, and returns us to a false paradigm (Seeing the world through the eyes of the one who thinks he knows more than you ever can.)
· Spirituality transcends it all and makes you true to yourself (Being one's self is important and a God given expectation for you to live your Story, not someone else's.)
· Religion is instilled from childhood, like the soup you do not you want to take
· Spirituality is the food that you you seek, that satisfies you and is pleasant to the senses
· Religion is not God
· Spirituality is infinite consciousness and all that is - It is God
· Religion invents
· Spirituality discovers/Religion denies and covers up
· Religion does not investigate and does not question
· Spirituality questions everything
· Religion is based on humanity, an organization with rules
· Spirituality is DIVINE, WITHOUT rules
· Religion is cause for division
· Spirituality is cause for union
· Religion seeks you so that you create
· Spirituality causes you to seek
· Religion continues the teachings of a sacred book
· Spirituality seeks the sacredness in all the books
· Religion is fed fear
· Spirituality is fed confidence
· Religion lives you in your thoughts
· Spirituality lives in your conscience
· Religion is in charge of the "to do"
· Spirituality is in charge of the "to BE"
· Religion is a dialectic
· Spirituality is logic
· Religion feeds the ego
· Spirituality makes you transcend
· Religion makes you renounce yourself to the world
· Spirituality makes you live with God, not to renounce him
· Religion is adoration
· Spirituality is meditation
· Religion is to continue adapting to the psychology of a template
· Spirituality is individuality.
· Religion dreams of glory and paradise
· Spirituality makes you live it here and now
· Religion lives in the past and in the future
· Spirituality lives in the present, in the here and now
· Religion lives in the confinement of your memory
· Spirituality is LIBERTY in AWARENESS.
· Religion believes in the eternal life
· Spirituality makes you conscious of all that is
· Religion gives you promises for the after-life (or that which is always just around the corner, soon, any time now, just over the hill...send it in.)
· Spirituality gives you the light to find God in your inner self, in this life, in the present, in the here and the now…
I hope many COG folk find Dave Pack's negative projection of his
own inner world and self view disgusting, arrogant, discouraging as a way of
being in religion and self serving. Dave can say "it's not about the
numbers," all he wishes but it is always about the numbers, small as they
might actually be.
I have asked Dave to publicly talk religion, theology, Bible and
the COGs with me now three times. I never ask that because I thought he
ever would. Of course he won't. Dave Pack is very intimidating when one
is under his "care," but outside of that...not so much. Big
fish in a 10 gallon tank. Scares all the fish in that tank to death of
course, and life in that small tank goes better when the little fish feed the
big one, but out in the ocean of real fish that are bigger, faster, smarter and
more evolved to do what fish in the ocean do...not so much either.
Anyway, personally I resent the threats Dave uses hoping against
hope that what seem as naturally occurring events in the other COG''s are
somehow being prophesied by himself. What Dave is doing is not
predicting, he is observing and anyone can see what he sees if that's what
interests you. Bob Thiel does the same thing. He reads lots of news
and like a reporter, picks out things that might happen if A and B lead to
C. Hardly the stuff of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, who also got it
wrong quite often themselves.
Dave Pack noted a few years ago that all who oppose him tend to
die. Personally I have noticed that older people tend to die, but maybe
that is just me. He interprets life events in others as somehow connected to
opposing him. About as egocentric as it gets. While he may think
real life works that way, he speaks BS. If I or those that don't agree
with him and aren't unafraid to point out his foibles and religious yet without
any spiritual content threats died tomorrow, he'd announce it as yet another
"proof" of his great insight and true work. It would be
BS, but he knows how to use circumstances to draw erroneous conclusions that
serve, supply and feed the most overarching work on earth. He did not invent
this approach. He may even do it subconsciously, but I have my doubts
about that disconnect. Pat Robertson and Benny Hinn are masters of false
implications as are many who seek the time, money and adoration of
others.
Personally my hope that few if any, no matter the difficulties in
other COGs will buy the expensive ticket price to Dave's One Ring
Circus. But the pressure is on. Bills have to be paid and numbers
have to be brought in to keep the show on the road. It's what a great Circus
Master does....But when it is all said and done, it is just a story...just a
ride.