"When it comes right down to it, being lied to about Santa Clause did far less damage in my life than being lied to about 1975."

There is a great post on All About Armstrongism today about the Church of God's greatest LIE that was fostered off on tens of thousands of gullible members are pure truth.

The Church for generations taught the “evils of Christmas” to the Church, condemning it with fervor and blasting out about how “Satanic” the day was,, it’s origins, “Saturnalia”, and of course, teaching how it was lying to their children about Santa Clause.

Truth is, they really needed to shut up about it – they were involved in their own lying. Even Herbert Armstrong said they got “carried away”. And the subject to bring that point home is 1975.

1975 is one of Armstrongism’s biggest embarrassments. And biggest fears. With members fearing losing 1/3 of “their friends” that they knew at that time (which was stated with certainty in the book) to world disasters on Armageddon proportions,  they were scared. Scared stiff. Some to the point where they had everything packed and ready to go. Children were told that they would have to leave “at any time”. Some children were so scared of this, they were literally traumatized at that time – mostly by the fearfulness and panic of some very zealous parents who listened – and believed wholeheartedly – to the patently false speculations of Herbert Armstrong, who, according to an article in “Tomorrow’s World” magazine published by the Church, “regretted it deeply”, regarding the church’s – as he called it “appearance” or “coming close to” setting dates.

Check out the entire article here: "Let's Get Real"

Dennis Musing on...

 

Feast Gifts!!!!

 

I still have that picture in my head of going into my 12ish year old son's room and upon exiting seeing countless small pieces of paper taped to the back of his door.  It was the moment I recognized my kids actually did look forward to the "Feast."  He had a piece of paper for each day left until the next festival and removed one every day in countdown fashion.  Even I never did that with Christmas!

 

Years later, that same son, now with his own family and far removed from the Church stopped at Jekyll Island Feast site and just stood in the back recalling what he perceived as his good old days.  Then he left.

 

But of all things, it was those "Feast Gifts" we gave them along the way that were the stuff their memories were made of.  For kids, it was the substitute for not keeping Christmas of course.  It was even better than Christmas we would tell them to lessen the downer it must have been when they actually came upon the Christmas season.  I grew up with Christmas as did most of us, but it was not actually the big deal to me that "The Feast" was to be in my WCG experience.  Today one son is a non church participant and we have a good relationship and my oldest is a practicing Catholic who enjoys the stabililty and form the church has to offer.  When he was in catechism class he'd call me to ask stuff like,  "now tell me the story of _____________ in the Bible, so I can get through these classes ,  and don't tell me whether it really happened or not!"   :)

 

Of course it was not really the Feast, i.e, Church, they were excited about. It certainly was not the sitting or the "happy" hymns.   It was not the sermonette that so often seemed, to me, like a time wasting filler so we could say we spent a lot of time at church.  It probably was not the special music unless they were stuck doing it with YES/YOU choirs.  Lord knows it was not the sermons, but I have to say as well that, in spite of enjoying my youthful experience growing up in the Presbyterian Church, I cannot recall one sermon ever given either.  I do remember in detail the picnics, hayrides and Boy Scouts sponsored by the church.

 

 

 

 It was the time off, the location, the beach, the friends, the freedom that they looked forward to.  And the gifts...

 

 

and...

  

 and...

 

                                              ...specifically comes to mind back in the day


But as the years have worn on and those times are past, it occurs to me, after seeing such craziness in religion as represented by the James Malm, Gerald Flurry and Dave Pack types, I thought it might be good to encourage everyone associated with these under trained, over funded and ego centric know nothings some Feast gifts that would probably do them some good.  As Dave Pack might say,  "I don't think I have ever received a Feast quite like this before.  Maybe I did once,  but nothing quite like this.


                                                     For your consideration:

 

 

and how about...

or...

or God forbid...

 

 

Personally I would give these as a feast gifts just to let them know that mere Bible reading and then just reexplaining in a sermon what everyone just read is not really being a theologian with the responsibility to actually inform people about all things religious and life changing ...

 

                                        

                                                                         

                                                                

                                                                   

but not...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chairman Malm's "Little Feast Book"

If I had to choose only one word to summarize James Malm, that word would be "INTENSE." For all the regulars here who have been cleared and approved by James and are definitely going to be attending with him this year (LOL), you will need to spend every waking moment between now and the feast preparing to be unassailable during one of the most intense and grueling phases of your Armstrongite career, but just 9 average days in the life of Apostle Malm. Once you arrive, it will be too late to fix anything that you may have overlooked preparing for, and as you face the withering force of Malm's interrogation, any oversight on your part may get you dismembered and sent to the lake of fire on the spot. And we wouldn't want that to happen, now would we?

To help everyone out, I've put together this handy feastgoer's cheat-sheet, which will help you keep the most crucial pet doctrines in mind during your oral exams. I guarantee you, you're definitely not going to want to forget to bring this with you.

Here's your Cliff Notes for the most important pet doctrines James Malm will be strictly enforcing for 9 days straight at his Oregon concentration camp. Think of it as similar to Chairman Mao's "Little Red Book", except in this case, you're dealing with Chairman Malm. Good luck, comrade!

"Focus on the "spiritual" by focusing on the physical letter of the law, while trying avoiding everything else physical"

• "God uses the physical to teach us spiritual lessons." (That's why we should focus exclusively on the letter of Old Testament laws.)

• "The majority of the churches have been converted into social clubs, fellowship and fun, and have pushed aside the spiritual focus. This even has happened with the observance of the Holy Days of God."

• "[They] are to be filled with "spiritual" feasting*, with physical feasting**, song, music and dancing*** for joy**** in the Lord."

**** Joy: Don't be tricked by Satan into confusing "joy" with "fun"

• "The real issue is around today’s resort non-Feasts which are vacations with the excuse of a biblical Feast."

• "We are commanded to spend our tithe on [minimal] food and drink and sharing with others, not on expensive vacations."

• "Feast sites are NOT to be established in vacation hot spots."

• "Feast sites should be in poorer areas with no outside attractions."

• "They are NOT to be spent in paragliding, car racing, or other activities..." (sermons and bible study ONLY!)

Warning: When James Malm uses the word "joy" he is not using it in any traditional sense. It is more akin to type of "joy" experienced by Jews and Russians who had the opportunity to be made "free" through "work" during WWII.

Zeal!

• "Truly many are all wrapped up in themselves and want to try do an absolute minimum to just get by."

• "Most people are doing what they are told and not because they love pleasing God, or because these festival messages are so inspiring." (And they certainly are inspiring. NOT!)

• "Where is the true passionate love that says, 'How can I please you my Lord?' Where is the going the extra mile to please God?"

• If you're finding it hard to get excited about ancient obsolete laws, then you are a BAD person.

• If the feast doesn't feel like a burden, rest assured, you're doing it wrong!

* "Spiritual" feasting: Give me 9 days straight and I'll give you the letter of the law."

• "At the 2013 Feast I want to study the Ten Commandments. This week’s material, and the covering of the other laws, statutes and judgments in Leviticus and Numbers, completes the whole Commandments and Law study."

• "Please be aware that this will be a Feast somewhat different from the traditional WCG."

• "The Sermons and Bible Studies will be consistent with the teaching on this blog." (Facepalm...)

• "It will be a Feast of much strong "spiritual" meat; not a vacation in some tourist site."

•  "You can be sure that presentations will be full of meat and not long-winded, boring; same old, same old." (Yeah, right.)

• "The Feast will be about making the most of our time for "spiritual" instruction." (24/9 wall-to-wall sermons/bible studies about keeping the physical letter of Old Testament laws.)

• "I am not a trained speaker...the content is most important...The delivery will improve [eventually]..." (Zzz)

• Prepare to be inspired by browbeating harangues for 192 hours nonstop!

• Forget about spirit, intent, practicality, or sensibility. It's all about rote, unthinking, literal, physical, strict pharisaical obedience to more arbitrary and obsolete "commandments" than you could possibly wave a stick at.

• Do NOT expect to hear any messages about mercy, forgiveness, or Jesus, as such topics encourage a lack of "zeal."

"Chairman Malm:  100% Agreement ONLY! Dissent “WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!""

• "This site is reserved for those who have proved the doctrine at this site to [James Malm's] personal satisfaction and are solidly on board."

• "Sacred Names people and others who want to attend only to push heresies will NOT BE TOLERATED." (Malm's ex-wife is NOT welcome.)

• "Larry has taken a stand on the calendar, however he does not agree on the meanings of the Festivals etc, and has said that he will not attend our Feast site because I will not allow dissent." (Larry is NOT welcome.)

• "One Strike and You're Out" policy. (You will become instantly NOT welcome.)

• No fake 'love love' unity will be permitted, or Satanic unity through pagan hand holding.

• If you don't feel like you're walking on eggshells or navigating a minefield, rest assured, you're doing it wrong!

** Physical" feasting: Eating, drinking, and other pleasurable indulgences during the feast

• "Church people even purchase goods and services on Sabbath and Holy Days, especially in restaurants...FOR SHAME!" (If I could choose a second word, it would be “shame.”)

• "Seek a room with a kitchenette." (You will NOT be eating out during the feast!)

• "If that is not possible a small cooler to keep a few perishables overnight."

• "A simple mid day meal of a salad, a pear, and some Edam cheese." (It’s very important that the cheese be Edam…)

• "All grocers have very convenient ready to eat choices from veggies and dip plates, to readymade salads, fruit, sandwiches, cookies and sweets, cheeses, bread, etc."

• "This will not be...a feast of booze; it will be a [purely figurative] feast at the table of the Lord."

• Curtail wasting too much time indulging in physical pleasures such as eating and sleeping, or nonessentials such as bathing and tooth brushing, because these are needless distractions that take time away from focusing on god and his word during the feast.

• The less time you waste eating, the less time you will waste in the bathroom, as it is not proper to read the bible while pooping.

• Other pleasurable indulgences, such as having sex with one's wife or with a prostitute, are frowned upon even during non-holy time.

Traveling to the feast

• "Staying in a motel is not a problem as we pay and get settled BEFORE any Sabbath or High Day."

• "Arrive early enough to take care of all necessaries before the first High Day or Sabbath."

• "Inform them that no service will be needed on Sabbaths or High Days; which usually delights them."

• "People claiming to be converted Godly people have paid bills, packed belongings, cleaned their temporary dwellings and traveled on this High Holy Day...This is a DISGRACE and a blot on your garments."

• Always remember the 3 most important words in Malmism: Preparation, preparation, preparation!

Accommodations

• "If we all camped on a local farm and met in the barn and truly kept the Feast rejoicing together; what would it matter if we stayed a day beyond what we calculated?"

• "If funds are a major problem [you] might consider camping out on [your] farms or in [your] back yards."

• While on the farm, one should probably be careful not to accidentally feed or milk the animals or accidentally spread physical manure on the sabbath (but spreading spiritual manure is okay).

• "Those who have nowhere to go, might chose to go to a place where they can study intensely without the distractions of the many carnal activities usually associated with the modern feast observance."

• "Apartment dwellers might, as a last resort only; set up a tent indoors to [physically] act out the analogy of being travelers in a strange land." (???Why???)

• Whatever you do, ignore the biblical commandment to build a booth!

Proper attire

Men:

• "Tzitzit fringes have been superseded by the holy spirit which it represents. However the fringe is certainly lawful and desirable. It is highly likely that this will be required like circumcision, in the coming Kingdom of God and  I would never object to anyone who chooses to wear one."

• "The uncovering of a man’s head, and that does not mean the shaving of his head, but the removal of the hat or covering; was a sign of courteous respect for God."

• "We are not to cut our hair or beard in the fashion of making our face look deliberately circular as a sun symbol."

• "we are not to shave round circles on our hair as sun symbols and we are not to shave our heads and beards in mourning."

• To be clean shaven is okay (drapes, not carpet).

• No word from James about whether a suit and tie is required, or if some ancient robe or tunic is more proper for appearing in before god. Somehow, I doubt James owns any nice looking clothes.

• Do not wear a phylactery, tefillin or frontlet. (Please leave these at home.)

Women:

• "Feminine hair...should be covered in a gesture of modesty and respect for her husband, when she prays or discusses the word of God." (24/9 during the feast.)

• "[A married woman] removing or refusing to wear a covering veil represented an unfaithful wife, a fallen woman, an adulteress...For a woman to go uncovered was to be seen as a rebellious or adulterous wife...a lewd woman is to have her veil removed..."

• "[Women] are simply not to cut our hair into anything resembling a 'masculine' style."

• No unclean furs such as mink, but unclean furs such as badger may be okay since they were used in making the OT tabernacle. Furs and makeup are probably signs of feminism.

• "I am amazed at the number of strapless dresses, mini-hemlines, plunging necklines, and sprayed-on applicator dresses that are worn for purposes of worship."

• Wearing a burkah might be interpreted as a sign of a bad attitude. (Please leave these at home.)

The blowing of shofars

• "There is no excuse not to obey the commandments and observe this Feast as God has commanded! With Shofar, Shoutings and Rejoicings!"

• If you are one of the rare individuals in modern society who does not already own a shofar, you'd better order one now, because a shofar and an offering are the two items you are definitely not going to want to show up without.

The waving of branches

• "Here we have a direct command to take branches and to rejoice with them for seven days."

• "Boughs or branches of goodly trees are to be cut on the very first day, the High Holy day of this Feast."

• "The palm and willow are specifically mentioned, however we are NOT told that these branches are limited to the palm and willow."

• "The branches [people] represent the main harvest of humanity being brought into the Temple [family] of God."

• "We are to rejoice with our branches; to represent the great rejoicing as the main harvest of humanity is brought into the family of God!"

• "if [you don't do this] you are losing out on a valuable lesson and much understanding of the meaning of this Feast."

• It isn't clear exactly what "valuable lesson" one might learn from stick waving, but perhaps James will clue in the elect to this esoteric knowledge during the feast.

• Just to be safe, you might want to go online to the Jewish websites and order your citron, or etrog, now. The good ones go first. Any observant Jew knows that your branches are meaningless without your citron.

*** "Davidic" dancing vs. "carnal" dancing

• "Biblical dancing was never this touchy feely embracing dancing...not the ballroom dancing style...and not the usual COG big band carnal dance at the Feasts."

• "Dancing before the Lord as David involved songs of praise and dancing for joy in the Eternal."

• "It was always dancing as an expression of joy closer to the Jewish dancing or a kind of leaping for joy and rejoicing before God. We should be doing that at the Feasts."

• "This is too energetic for Sabbath but excellent for the middle Feast days."

No word from James about whether it is proper or improper to "shamelessly uncover" oneself as David did.

Prayer

• "Prayer is degraded into an emotional experience; indeed much such prayer is not to seek God, but to impress those present by voluminous flowery and impressive language."

• "Hand holding is a definite emotional bonding between people; instead of a personal contact with Almighty God...The pagan concept behind this tradition is to demonstrate UNITY by holding hands together."

• "Hand holding is most definitely wrong and has its roots in witchcraft."

As you attend the Feast-gulag 2013 with James Malm, not only will it be a time of mind-numbing agony, you'll also know you're pleasing god. How can you be so sure? Because Chairman Malm said so, and he certainly sounded sure when he said it. Imagine being sequestered away with these jokers who have self-selected themselves as some of the most judgmental people in all of Armstrongism. It promises to seem like an eternity of cloistered boredom, pointless study, minimal food and drink, and a vow of poverty. Obviously this is the perfect preparation to acclimatize you to the kind of happiness, fun, and excitement you can endure all the time in the wonderful kingdom of god you're preparing to be imprisoned in forever. With James Malm, you never have to worry about what happens when you die, you're as good as dead already. Don't forget to smile, comrade!

Something James Malm is blind to is how truly odd and unusual he is. He assumes he's an average specimen, but he is ANYTHING BUT normal. His eccentric lifestyle might compensate for his emotional deficits and chemical imbalances, but normal people could NEVER live such a suffocating and INTENSE lifestyle. How many repeat priso-, um, customers do you think James Malm will have at next year's concentration camp, once they fully realize the mistake they made by coming the first time?

As you prepare for James Malm's first feast, here's a little song you can hum to put you in the mood and inspire a little "feast fever."

Accentuate the Physical

by Johnny Mercer & The Pied Pipers

Gather 'round me, everybody

Gather 'round me while I'm preachin'

Feel a sermon comin' on me

The topic will be sin and that's what I'm ag'in'

If you wanna hear my story

Then settle back and just sit tight

While I start reviewin'

The attitude of doin' righteous

You've got to ac-cen-tu-ate the physical

E-lim-inate the spiritual

Latch on to the negative

Don't mess with the Apostle In-Between

You've got to spread gloom up to the maximum

Bring "fun" down to the minimum

Have zeal or tribulation is

Liable to walk upon the scene

To illustrate my last remark

Herbert and Dave Pack, Malm and Roderick

What did they do

just when everything looked so dark?

Man, they said:

We'd better ac-cen-tu-ate the physical

E-lim-inate the spiritual

Latch on to the negative

Don't mess with the Apostle In-Between

You've got to spread gloom up to the maximum

Bring "fun" down to the minimum

Have zeal or tribulation is

Liable to walk upon the scene

~~ Head Usher ~~