Bob Harris of the
Church of God a Christian Fellowship does not like the idea that people look up to the current Pope. Pope Francis has a better reputation with people than Herbert Armstrong did.
At least the Pope tends to practice what he believes. Last year on
Maundy Thursday he washed the feet of two women and a Muslim man. This year he washed the feet of disabled persons. Rabid conservative Catholics raise holy hell over those two acts. Yet, Pope Francis continues to disrupt and go against "official" teachings which intrigues many people.
Harris is apparently disgusted by people liking the Pope and setting him on a pedestal as a"hero." Down through the ages humanity have set certain people up as hero's, men and women who have done great things or have been outspoken usually on the behalf of the downtrodden and disenfranchised.
Of course in Armstrongism we have out own set of "hero's" that continuity get discussed as stalwarts of the faith. Herbert Armstrong, Rod Meredith, Gerald Warterhouse, Dick Armstrong, and others. Its perfectly OK for this kind of hero worship but not Ok for Pope Francis.
It is perfectly Ok for Gerald Flurry to imitate every aspect imaginable about Herbert Armstrong. It would not surprise me at all if Flurry wears the same kind of underwear that HWA did. He has HWA's prayer rock, named his fake college after him, bought various Ambassador Auditorium accoutrements, paid millions of dollars for the rights to HWA's books after losing the court battle.
The idolatry of Armstrongite hero worship in Flurrydumb and Packdumb is appallingly grotesque, but that is never discussed by the splinter groups.
While we give a fleeting nod to selflessness, our society reveres
those who vainly set themselves upon pillars to be honored and even
worshipped. The entertainment industry is a self-aggrandizing
enterprise, a distraction to show how Satan is transforming this world.
Our end-time age is warned against this practice: “But the rest of
mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the
works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of
gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor
walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or
their sexual immorality or their thefts” (Revelation 9:20-21).
It is easy to point out obvious idolatry that we should avoid. What
is difficult as a Christian is to not become blinded by subtle idolatry
that is at times embraced by the world. In a recent CNN article about
Pope Francis the author states, “The popular pontiff has also made a
positive impression among Americans in general: Nearly three in four
view Francis favorably. The new survey suggests that the Pope is
arguably the most well-regarded religious figure among the American
public today, said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. According to
one study, Pope Francis was the most talked about person on the Internet
this year, and even atheists have professed appreciation for the
77-year-old pontiff." This kind of hero worship, whether it is of debase
or lofty ideals, is still false worship. Judgment is coming to those
that practice it.
So the question is Bob Harris, when are you going to speak out about the hero worship of Herbert Armstrong and other COG leaders from the past and present? That hero worship is false worship too.
