Is It OK To Do Puzzles While Listening To Sermons At Home?

 

The idea that any COG members needs to ask this question shows how sick Armstrongism really is!

Back in those early years in Church services, it seems that I can remember when the preaching Pastor would speak out against someone who was sleeping when he was trying to present his sermon! It must have been very exasperating for him to do his best to do his job in preaching and to have someone sleeping!

I can remember when, at one of those Holy Day meetings with several hundred gathered together, that I had spotted a Deacon, at the time, who was sleeping in his chair. I thought that he should have known better but that perhaps he had a bad night the previous night. I`m guessing that he was in his sixties at the time. Obviously, since I was in my forties, I couldn`t understand that!

Now, in my eighties, it is easy for me to understand! Most of the time lately, during services, I have had to fight off nodding to sleep and my wife would give me the elbow to wake me up and on another occasion I would have to bump her arm to wake her up!! We would always be sitting back about the third row and it could be very easy for the minister to see us and for us to be embarrassed.

We had been checking out MP3 tapes to bring home to hear and then when they came out with the DVDs, we chose to watch them through the TV, but the problem was, we would both start falling asleep so we went back to checking out the MP3s. What we had been doing was to put picture puzzles together when listening to sermons which would keep us awake and we could take in every word of the sermons! I had wondered if that would be proper to do on the Sabbath but that is the only way that we can stay awake to hear the sermons!! We have a card table set up in the den next to the computer where we listen to the sermons while piecing the puzzles together. It is the only way that we can stay awake .  

David Barrett Looking for COG Related Photo's

GTA at BING (Bing Crosby's TV Special)

Gavin has a post up today soliciting photographs for author David Barrett that have been taken by individuals of HWA, GTA and other Church leaders over the decades.  Requests to GCI/WCG have been refused.

I find it really strange that GCI/WCG is refusing to assist Barrett in this endeavor.  His first book, The New Believers was a well written book on various sects and cults active today.  He had a lengthy chapter on the WCG that was not a hatchet job or negative, but laid the facts out plainly.  It is also quite ironic that GCI won't assist him in any way considering how they have sold all kinds of WCG related materials to every moonbat out there that wants to continue to promote Herb's teachings.


This is reblogged from Gavin's site Otagosh

Are you a former WCG member? There's a new book in the offing. David V. Barrett, author of The New Believers, has studied the COG movement, and made it the topic of his PhD thesis. That thesis has been reworked for general publication. But David needs your help.

I've been hunting high and low for photos of HWA, GTA, RCM and others that I can use in my book.  The Churches themselves (with the exception of Restored for a pic of Pack) have been unhelpful; WCG/GCI won't even allow me to use a pic of the first edition of Plain Truth, let alone any pics of HWA.  Apart from Pack I've been able to track down privately-taken photos of Flurry and Hoeh -- but not yet of the really big names.

Do you have -- or know anyone who might have -- any copyright-free photos of any of the Great and the Good?

If I can't get HWA himself -- and there must be thousands of pics of him in AC graduates' photo albums around the world -- I may have to scrap the idea of having any photos at all in the book.

This is a book that many of us want to see in print. Can you help? David adds:

What I most need are copyright-free high-res photos of HWA, GTA, RCM, David Hulme and, if possible, the United council of elders to show the contrast.  And it would be good to have pics of the Pasadena HQ/AC to show the splendour of the site.  Ideally I'd like a similar pic of the Philadelphia HQ (or the swans taking off) to show the similarity, but I doubt if anyone has those.

The photos must belong to the photographer who is willing for me to use them in the book with a suitable credit line...

David Barrett's email is david@barrett.cc

Dennis Says: Let's Put This Story to Rest Once and For All!

Let's Put This Story to Rest Once and For All!

The Planet Venus is the Light Bringer and the Story Behind the Fall of "Satan" in Isaiah 14

If I ever heard an Old Testament story once, I have heard this one told ten thousand times. It comes from Isaiah 14.

12 "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;"

This story was THE proof that Satan used to be one of God's good guys and then all of a sudden, one day decided to be take over everything and knock God off His throne. Local boy goes bad I guess. Well Satan, which term is never mentioned here, former Light Bringer which is what Lucifer means, is now the Prince of Darkness and the rest is history.

What's really going on with this story. Did you know that you see this drama literally take place multiple mornings and evenings of the year. Did you know that even to this day, this Lucifer is mistaken for UFOs or landing lights! Jesus said he saw Satan fall as lightening from heaven as did millions then and billions today if you know where to look. It's a very old story based on a very real observation by humans who made up a story about what they did not understand at the time.

First of all, let's understand that Isaiah 14 is really not about a Satan the Devil as he has evolved into over the history of the Church. A scripture can never mean what it never meant, and this principle applies to Isaiah 14 for sure. In the original Hebrew text, the 14th chapter of Isaiah is not about a fallen angel, but about a fallen Babylonian king, who had persecuted the children of Israel. Later in the context we see he was a man, who died. Now we often hear that this was a "type" but that's slippery ground mostly. Metaphor maybe, but not a type, where we can change a man into a Lucifer and then Lucifer into Satan, never mentioned, and then the whole thing into how Satan came to be the God of this world so send in your tithes and be safe with us. "In the Hebrew text the expression used to describe the Babylonian king before his death is "Helal, son of Shahar", which can best be translated as "Day star, son of the Dawn." The name evokes the golden glitter of a proud king's dress and court (much as his personal splendor earned for King Louis XIV of France the appellation, "The Sun King").
{Craig Lyons-Bet Emet Ministries.} The King here was a man, plain and simple, and for his cocky attitude, he got to die like everyone else.

Lucifer means "Light Bringer" and is a term used by Roman astronomers to describe the planet Venus. Venus has always been the light bringer as it always precedes the early morning sun. It is very bright and very noticeable, such that it has been confused, as noted, for the landing lights of non-existent airplanes. It is bright, but not as bright as the sun of course. In mythology, humans noted this 'god" that preceeded the sun and seemed to be racing to the zenith, which in astrotheology is called the place of the "Most High" or plainly put for us today, NOON! Noon is God's throne in astrotheological terms. In Isaiah, this "Lightbringer" went before God, the Most High-The SUN. The highest point in the sky where the sun or anything that shines outside the planet can rise, from our perspective. When mythology and even the Bible speaks of God as "the most High", one can see the deeper meaning that hints at sun worship. The Bible promotes a similar yet different form of Sun/Son worship but that has been lost on most Christians today.

The planet Venus proved to be an enigma for mankind. It's job seemed to be to go before the morning sun and announce, if you would, it's coming forth. But then, bright as it was and still is, it falls from the sky and descends into the ground, or in mythology, seems to be thrown down. Strange! Not knowing that Venus was an inner planet and all inner planets that rotate with the earth around the sun can never pass over us, east to west as do the outer planets and stars, they had to explain it. Thus we have the the "fact" that this lightbringer, this Lucifer soon be called Satan, MUST have become discontend with just announcing the Sun God, so MUST have said in his heart, "I will become the MOST HIGH." Well that was it for him! The Most High, not willing to give up his throne to this usurper, simply threw him back down to the earth, or apparently so at least as we look on the horizon. After that rather unsuccessful endeavor the dethrone God Most High, we get stuck with him as Satan compliments of the Church, who embellished the story and ta ta!...The mess the world in is explained and it isn't the fault of mankind for the most part. Forever more, we can say, "Satan made me do it." You know, the bright and morning star that tried to become God but lost.

It was mostly the Catholic St. Jerome in the fourth century who mistranslated the Hebraic metaphor, "Day star, son of the Dawn," as "Lucifer," and over the centuries an evolution of ideas took place. Lucifer the morning star became a disobedient angel, cast out of heaven to rule eternally in hell mostly waiting for all Non-Catholics, but later all Non-Protestants too. Now the Church had it's Prince of the Power of the Air, the Prince of Darkness, the God of this world, The Roaring Lion, the Fallen Angel, the former Day star (because if you know where to look, Venus can even be seen in the daytime)...gone bad.

Interesting enough, even Jesus, well the Jesus of Revelation who bears no likeness to the Jesus of the Gospels, identifies himself as the morning star, a term used as a central theme in many Christian sermons. Jesus refers to himself as the morning star in Revelation 22:16: "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star."

So here we have it. Humans could never quite explain why this bright "star" we know as the planet Venus, preceeded the morning Sun as if to announce it's arrival, but then crashed back to earth. Very strange! Let's make up a story! This bright light, an Angel, the Lightbringer and minor deity compared to the SUN, really went bad and decided to knock the SUN GOD, and later the SON of GOD, off the throne, which is where the SUN rises to when it becomes the MOST HIGH at NOON. God, not putting up with that, simply threw Lucifer, now Satan or the Destroyer, back down to earth where he belongs and humans can get stuck with him until the SON of the SUN God comes back to destroy the works of the Light Bringer now gone dark. Great story! In Isaiah 14, this haughty king was acting just like that in thinking he could knock Israel out of the picture, he lost, was thrown down and died, just like that planet Venus every morning. So don't mess with God's chosen ones!19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

In the real story of the real human king of Isaiah 14, we see he dies like all mortal men and is not well thought of for thinking he could challenge Israel. In verse 19 we read, "But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under feet. 20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned." Graves, carcasses, pits, burials and oblivion are all features of what happens to humans, not Angels or mini-gods.

It's interesting, Venus also rises evenings wonderfully bright after the sun sets, and then falls back to earth too. Perhaps Satan just coming out from the underworld of darkness for a peak and to let us know he still rules it before going back an hour or so later after "Sun Set" where even the Most High Sun goes every night, in Eqyptian history to challenge "SET" God of the Underworld. Makes you wonder about stories about Sons of the Sun preaching to spirits in "prison." But that's another story.

 

So when you see Venus early in the morning when you drive to work and think either a train if low enough or a plane looking for place to land is coming right at YOU, know that's only the Light Bringer, Lucifer, later your arch nemesis Satan, announcing "But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall" Malachi 4:2. Notice it doesn't say "Son". Think of wings more like rays and you'll get the picture. That planet Vensus, so beautiful is explaining a phenomenon that we take for granted to human beings long ago who feared such things and simply had to come up with a theology to explain it. Now you can say you saw Satan fall as lightening from heaven too...how cool is that!

DenniscDiehl@aol.com