Happy Birthday

One year ago this month this little blog started.  Close to 140,000 people will have checked it out by the end of this month.  I guess maybe I should say this is the One Year Anniversary, since "we in the true Church of God do not celebrate birthdays." Thanks Chiro/Naturo Bob for setting me straight!

People from 36 different countries have dropped by.

We have even had a quit a few hit from Muslim countries. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Indonesia and Malaysia seem interested in things here.

Most though, were from British Israelite nations who were looking for ways to escape the coming tribulation.  Oops, wrong blog......

There was a huge spike in readership when the UCG gave birth to a new splinter cult around the first of the year.

Dennis has garnered several thousand readers to his postings.  His ability to cut to the core and make you stop and think encourages many and disturbs others.

Apostle Malm has send many readers here to find out about closet Buddhist Herman Hoeh. And Chiro/Naturopath Thiel continues to provide loads of fodder worthy of ridicule.

I am willing to post your story, if you have one to share about life in Armstrongism.

A big THANKS to everyone!

Prophet Thiel is NOT Happy....Again!

It doesn't take much to get Prophet Thiel stirred up anymore.  Everything seems to point to some end time disaster or scenario.  It's doomsday and Armageddon all the time!  Prophecy, prophecy, prophecy.  Death, destruction, famine, wars, are all eagerly anticipated for some short time in the future.

Prophet Thiel wants you to know he is disturbed! Prophet Thiel is particularly disturbed by Benjamin Grant Mitchell's book, "The Last Great Day".  He take great umbrage with the Melbourne Weekly describing the old Worldwide Church of God as a "doomsday cult."

WHEN Benjamin Grant Mitchell decided to write a novel based on his life, he had plenty of material to work with. The former Neighbours actor, singer-songwriter and new father was born into an American doomsday cult. To top it off, his father was one of the ministers. Mitchell, who now lives in Warrandyte, started penning his story three years ago and next week will unveil the debut novel, The Last Great Day, at the Melbourne Writers Festival.

The 42-year-old, who played Neighbours character Cameron Hudson in the 1990s, spent his early childhood moving around Australia, then settled at the Worldwide Church of God headquarters in Los Angeles.

The Prophet says:

There are a lot of misunderstandings about the old Worldwide Church of God (WCG).

But it was not a “doomsday cult.”

Those of us who were part of the old WCG and in the current Living Church of God (LCG) are not like the Jim Jones’ followers–we do not plan on drinking poisoned flavor-aid to end our lives.  Although some are expected to die in persecutions, LCG church members mainly hope to live until the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His kingdom, and hope to proclaim the truths of the Bible to the world as a witness until the end (Matthew 24:14).

Armstrongism has always been about the end times.  It's focus has always been on end time prophecy.  Just take a look at HWA's sermons and articles from the 1930's and 40's.  They were filled with one end time doomsday scenario after another.  Hitler, Germany, Japan, China, Italy and little green martians were all eagerly waiting for the right moment to bomb and destroy much of the America.  Those who would be left alive would be rounded up in concentration camps  and then be transported to Europe where they would be slaves for European Catholics.


Then moving on into the 60's and 70's you will find the church switching doomsday gear from Germany to environmental doomsday scenarios. Floods, famines, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornado's, etc. were all talked about with gleeful anticipation.  The more death and destruction predicted, the more special church members were to be called apart from it all.


Now with a black man as president, the COG's are back into their doomsday modes once again.  The US allowed a gentile to rule over them. There is the corrupt government filled with rotten politicians on both sides of the aisle. There are horrific stories about tornado's, hurricanes and earthquakes.  There is the rise of Germany as a financial giant and as a uniter in Europe.  There is China rising up as a world power. There is the weakening dollar and a failed economy.  All purported to be signs of the Armageddon (doomsday) ahead of us.


Prophet Thiel claims the church was never a doomsday cult.  Yet, when you look at the definition of the word "doomsday" in a Thesaurus, you will see that the Melbourne Weekly was 100% correct in it's descriiption of the WCG/COG/LCG:

Main Entry:	Day of Judgment
Part of Speech:	noun
Definition:	day of God's judgment of the human race
Synonyms:	Doomsday , Judgment Day, Last Day, Last Judgment, day of reckoning, the Judgment

Main Entry:	day of reckoning
Part of Speech:	noun
Definition:	day of God's judgment of the human race
Synonyms:	Day of Judgment, Doomsday , Judgment Day, Last Judgment, crack of doom, day of doom, doom, end of the world, trumpet of doom

Main Entry:	Judgment Day
Part of Speech:	noun
Definition:	day of reckoning
Synonyms:	Day of Judgment, Last Day, Last Judgment, court of conscience, crack of doom, doomsday , end of the world, the Judgment, tribunal of penance

Prophet Thiel goes on to write:

As far as preaching prophecies in the Bible that show that the Anglo-descended nations will be chastised if they do not repent, yes the old WCG and current LCG taught that (see Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel and Will the Anglo-Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves?).  But urging repentance is not a sign of being a doomsday cult.  It is a sign of trying to follow what Jesus said to do.  Notice, the following, that Jesus taught:

Armstrongism and LCG may pretend to preaching about following a "Jesus' but, their actions prove other wise.  It's all about death and destruction in a few short years to come.  Armstrongites needs to see death and destruction rain down around them. They need  to see the world spanked in order for them all to see that what the COG preached was true.  Without these chastised people bowing down before them they would not  be seen as real world leaders and teachers in the world tomorrow.  They need to have their lives legitimized for being followers of Armstrongism.

Prophet Thiel fails to realize that preaching a false teaching of British Israelism is not a warning message to the world.  The world does not care what Rod Meredith or LCG's preaches.  It has no message that is any meaning to the world at large, so people are not interested in it. When it's preaching is filled with so many leis and false teachings it is a good thing that no one cares!

Prophet Thiel concludes:

People should read and study the Bible.  Promoting misunderstandings about the Church of God is not good.

What about the hundreds of documented FAILED prophecies that HWA, Meredith, Flurry, Waterhouse, et all have uttered over the last seven decades?  Talk about promoting misunderstanding!  Meredith has lied to the church when he claimed to never have committee a major sin since baptism.  He has lied so many times about prophecy.  His false teaching lead to the mental breakdown of a church member who then murdered several LCG members. His heavy handed and ruthless treatment of ministers and members when he was Director of Church Administration is a black mark upon the church. Lives were literally destroyed by this man!  His obscene obsession with sex, particularity gay sex has made him out to be rather creepy dude!

Prophet Thiel and the LCG promote so many thigns as "truth" that they cause much misunderstanding about the Bible and Christianity  that it is NOT good! There is NO GOOD in the Living Church of God!

"Yeah....just why do I do that?"

"Yeah....just why do I do that?"

"I appreciate "Banned By HWA", but I must say that some of the articles, especially this one and Diehl's "religion"(not to say I don't enjoy reading some of Diehl's repeated philosophy), get a touch long-winded....

Yes, Dennis writes interesting articles, but he seems to repeat himself over and over again. No matter what the subject is, he goes back to the astrology aspect, or Paul being a fake. "

I agree...

The last Festival sermon I was able to give was before about 8000 in Myrtle Beach in the late 90's.  Those were the days when the ministers were assigned sermon topics to prevent us straying too far afield I suppose.  Somehow I was always able to take the assigned topic and twist it into what I felt i wanted and need to say anyway.  I don't do assigned sermons anymore than I "to be played in all the churches" my local congregations to death with boredom from Pasadena.  

Anyway, the topic of my last Festival sermon was "The Politics of the New Testament" and was basically showing that all the key players in the NT, Peter, James, John and Paul were not all speaking the same thing and had issues with each other expressed in fascinating ways in the text if one knew how to read it and what to look for.  Much if not most of what I repeat here was in that sermon.  My point, and not seeing the dark clouds of church disintegration on the horizon yet, was merely endeavoring to show the church that as today so it was then.  Leaders differ and have been arguing over the meaning of Jesus since before the body cooled.  Paul and the Gentile view he taught won and James and the Jewish Church evaporated into history.  

WCG was a Jewish Christian Church that never knew how to view Paul accurately.  Both concepts are in the texts. 

I got a standing ovation for the sermon and that was a no no back then if you remember.  It was a real high to see such response as I later learned that a few things i said pushed the buttons of those over me and would be used against me to terminate me.  I know now I wanted out but didn't have the guts to walk away. I had to be pushed. I was not going to be a hand waving, Jesus smooching freak for them and they knew it.  My Epistle of Paul teacher who was the main speaker that year was enthralled and took me out to dinner after the sermon to talk more about it.  I have shared most of that sermon save for the Astro-theological origins of the core Jesus story here on this site. 

And while I know I have already said this before, my exit interview, which I did not realize was one until a few weeks later left me a bit stunned when I was told, sitting in Barnes and Noble, "Dennis, we know you know a lot about Jesus, but we don't think you know Jesus."  In my mind that meant, "We know you know enough to make people think and question the status quo but we don't think you are going to be a team player and tell people they need to soak themselves in Jesus."    I grew up soaking in Jesus which is why WCG caught my attention when they seemed to focus not on the squishy Jesus but what he said and taught.  Anyone can see, if they wish, that Jesus and Paul did not have the same message.  

So I ask myself, just why do I repeat myself on these topics?  I agree totally with the opening observation about the repetative nature of my postings.  Why do I do that?  Here is my best answer. 

I crave open and honest discussion with intelligent folk on these topics.  I keep thinking that someone will engage me on these observations about Paul and such but as you know, it is rare.  The "as above, so below" aspect of the story of all godmen and sun gods as the 12 month journey through the signs of the zodiac just captivated me and it just seems true to me.  

There was no one more religiously curious than me as a kid. I got yelled at by ministers for too many questions and pitched out of catechism classes a time or two for 'well why does it say this here and then this over here?"   I haven't changed much. 

I'll keep this short.  I think the implications of what theologians call, "The Problem of Paul," are just short of stunning, as are some of the other larger issues that I have finally taken a good look at and drawn big conclusions about Christian literalism and Evangelical Fundamentalism.  They are more harmful than helpful and they hurt more than help people in the long run. 

I have always studied origins.  It mattered not whether it was human origins or the origin of scripture and religions that really expect great sacrifice from their followers.  I want to know where things REALLY come from and their REAL origins.  It's just how I think.  I don't want to believe what is not true and do not wish to practice that which is not necessary especially if it causes people personal pain thinking they have to do the right thing.  I hate unfairness and I have always defended the underdog. It's just how I am.  I certainly don't and never wanted to tell others what they had to do or be or think or practice if it was not necessary.  When I taught it, I believed it. When I didn't believe it, I stopped teaching it and fell back to the "what the hell do i do now," point of view.  Transitions are messy and it took time for me to realize the implications of my own study in religion while I was teaching religion. 

Ok, ok,...I really mean this to be short.  The bottom line is that I don't mean to repeat myself but I know I am looking to engage in discussion on these fascinating topics.  I don't even care if I am not agreed with but it's not enough to just say, "Diehl is an idiot."   Tell me you're view on the problem of this or that.  Actually most don't have a view and have never thought of it as a problem so I do understand.  I realize I am probably expecting something from this site that the site is really not designed for.  

As most of you know, the whole experience introduced me to various forms of depression and personal anxiety on any number of issues, but that seems to have been part of the price of moving on.  I'm doing the best I can for who I am and my nature and temperament.  I know myself very well now more than ever.  Kinda creepy...ha.  

I miss teaching and tackling topics that others only think about.  I have been told all my life by members and ministers,  "Dennis, you say things I am only thinking,"  "You are ahead of your time," and "That was fascinating..."    My debate with Art Mokarrow last year was very stimulating to me and a real opportunity to speak up to my old WCG and COG types. Art invited the fox into the hen house and I had a ball.  My WCG minister buddies in the audience wanted more after the debate and were very much in agreement with me on many points they had always thought personally about.  

My last comment to several was, "Do you agree with a lot of this?...oh yes, And you teach it now?....oh no.  But you still get your paycheck?   .....oh....yeah...."  We parted with that kind of knowing half smile only ministers know the meaning of....

Dennis C. Diehl

DenniscDiehl@aol.com