Why Rod Meredith and Herbert Armstrong Treat/Treated Members With Such Disdain

Link to article this is from is at end.

Those without structural visualization, including Herbert Armstrong, Garner Ted Armstrong, Roderick Meredith and a whole host of others, simply do not understand the universe or the world around them. They are linear abstract thinkers. They have no need of science. Their universe is magical — filled with all sorts of miraculous things which defy logic and science. There is a tenuous connection for them between cause and effect. This partly explains their lack of any concept of being a false prophet will lead to the lake of fire (with the caveat that the Bible is true). It makes no sense to them. They completely compartmentalize the consequences of their actions against the future in the universe and their world. They believe in potions (anointing oil), incantations and magic spells (prayer, fasting and prayer). They believe that the can change the world with the power of their mind (meditation). They can do the same things under the same conditions and positively expect wildly differing results. 

With Herbert Armstrong, there was an additional problem: His father had high structural visualization — he even, apparently, had a patent for a type of furnace. Ironically, it appears that Herbert worked for his father in a factory at one point in his youth. Understand though, Herbert Armstrong could never understand his father: It was problematic, because Herbert Armstrong lived in a universe quite different from his father. He could not visualize the things his father could; he could never do the things his father did. On the other hand, since his mother had no structural visualization, Herbert could certainly relate to her much better. 

Herbert Armstrong could never respect what he could not understand. He could not understand professionals, technicians and technologists with structural visualization. He devalued them. Their only worth to him was if he could use them and manipulate them so he could get what he wanted. This also contributed to his narcissism because he could never really relate to those farmers in the 1930s that became the backbone of his Radio Church of God. Later, in the 1970s, the image and perception of wealth attracted those without structural visualization into the Worldwide Church of God which aggravated the problems for those mechanics, farmers, technicians and technologists who entered into the WCG. Herbert trivialized them. He treated them with contempt. He saw them as lesser lights. The important people to him were those rich and famous who bolstered his image, both to others and to himself. He had to have photo ops with people who were just as deficient in talent as he was, but who had style and image over substance.

When Herbert Armstrong had his psychotic break and spent whole days in the Central Library in Portland, Oregon, he had found the writings of Greenberry George Rupert, which he found so compelling that he, through his magical thinking, believed that Jesus Christ was personally teaching him through the works of G. G. Rupert. He adopted them all in totality with no attribution, teaching them as his own — the tithing system, the feasts and… wait for it… British Israelism. Because he only understood magic and not science through his lack of structural visualization, he fell for British Israelism, hook, line and sinker. He would not have been able to understand DNA evidence, even as those today without structural visualization also cannot understand the DNA evidence, which utterly refutes British Israelism. It should also be seen that the other proofs that British Israelism is a kook idea would not have been understood as well. Archaeology debunks British Israelism, but because Herbert Armstrong and the Armstrongists don’t have structural visualization to understand archaeology, they are completely mystified as to why anyone would reject it. It’s because some of us have superior talent, that’s why. It doesn’t matter though, because who respects superior talent these days: It’s the rich, famous and well-connected that have the respect — it is those who possess style over substance and a lot of it. Smell nice, look good, sound right, and the world is yours. Well, not the world… society is yours. Society runs on magic not science, the same way Herbert Armstrong did. 

Read the rest of the story here:  2 of the 10 most horrible things about Herbert Armstrong

Herbert Armstrong has been brought back from the dead and has been reanimated to speak

Stephen Gildbreath runs one of the most pathetic Church of God "ministries" out there in the internet.

He puts up HWA on his "screen" as if HWA was actually preaching in his studio living room.  Gilbreth has even animated Herb to move his mouth and head in order to make you feel more inspired.  You really should listen to at least the first10 minutes of Herb's bombastic rant.  Screaming and shouting at the DUMB brethren who are ignorant morons.

Gilbreath self-appointed himself as a minister just like Bob Amos Thiel did.  Both "preach" equally bad; who after they finish, you have to stop and wonder what the hell did I just listen to? Both "preach" on topics that have no relevance to human kind.

Deceitful COG Leader Dares To Lecture Members On Being Deceived

Bob and Dagon

Only in a Church of God will you find a self-appointed deceitful leader dare to claim church members can be deceived.  Of course they are being deceived by everyone but himself.

This comes from a man who is so deceived that he takes a simple prayer of blessing by Gaylyn Bonjour as an apostolic ordination prayer that sets him apart as the ONLY true church leader on the face of the earth today. Where would the church be without Prophet/Apostle Bob Amos Thiel in its midst?????

Prophet Amos Thiel has this to say about deception in the church which he ironically titles: Self Deception Can Be Quit Costly

Jesus taught that Satan was a liar and the father of lies:

44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it (John 8:44)

Of course, Satan takes advantage of deception and encourages humans to deceive themselves. Recall what happened to Eve:

14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. (1 Timothy 2:14)
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:6-7)

But what about Christians? Can Christians fall victim to self-deception?

Jesus warned that most Christians in the end times would be deceived:

14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ — and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked — 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. (Revelation 3:14-19)

Although most Laodiceans do not believe that they are deceiving themselves, Jesus said that they were. Jesus said that Laodicean Christians needed to repent–they need to change. 

In addition to doctrine and how they lead their lives, there are serious prophetic deceptions that the Laodiceans have fallen for. A list of 30 prophetic deceptions that various Laodiceans believe is in the article The Laodicean Church Era. Believing several of these will insure that Laodiceans will not realize that the Great Tribulation is here until it is to late for most to flee (cf. Revelation 12:14-17). 

Self-deception is common. Try not to fall for it. The word of God is truth (John 17:17), hopefully you will believe it enough so that you will resist Satanically-encouraged self-deception (cf. James 4:7).

In addition to the church era malarkey, Amos Thiel is the king of lies and deception in the church right now.  At least Flurry and Pack just put themselves in their positions, not through someone  blessing them with a prayer that was NEVER meant what Amos Thiel claims.

Bob Thiel has a long string of deceiving utterances since his self-appointment as God's most highly favored.

He tacks on his title the name of "Dr."  Most never bother to check that he got his "Dr." title from an pseudo-university in India.  He also trots forward that he took classes at Fuller Seminary and other places as to give the impression he graduated from these institutions.

Church of God Perspective calls him out on that, as has Gavin Rumney and many others.

Take his “doctor” title. Doctor of what? If I came to you and said I was a doctor and gave medical advice, wouldn’t you assume by my actions I was a doctor of medicine? Likewise, if I went around putting “Dr” on my books, and the books were on religion, would you not assume my doctorate was in theology? And, if those things turned out not to be true, wouldn’t you believe I was a fraud? And, rightly so! [Update: Thiel now claims to have a ThD; see “Doctor” Thiel Responds] 

Buried deep within his website is the admission that “I have studied graduate level Early Church History from Fuller Theological Seminary and other schools in and out of the USA, and after a lot of writing, was granted a foreign Th.D. in early Christianity. A doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree was earned from the Union Institute and University (1993) where I studied various biological sciences and research methodologies.”Bob Thiel is still a liar and false prophet 

Church of God Perspective has also taken lying Bob "Amos" Thiel to task over his deceitfulness:

Bob Thiel has yet to deliver a real message to anyone, except supposedly about himself. Obviously, this is a narcissistic view of how God speaks to His people. Bob Thiel has yet to speak a message, declare it a message from God and then have it come to pass! 

Here are the “Four Tests” COGWA wrote about with my rebuttal to COGWriter Bob Thiel’s self-aggrandizing article: 

1. Does the conduct of the prophet reflect godly character? 

Absolutely not! COGWriter Bob Thiel’s arrogance in rebelling against his former organization (after praising them so long in public, BTW) is reminiscent of Satan’s rebellion against God. His finger-pointing and judgmentalism towards others proves he is the quintessential Laodicean (the people judge — others, that is). 

2. Do the predictions of the prophet come true? 

What predictions? All Thiel does is rehash a mix of biblical prophecies intermingled with pagan prophecies to create an abomination of predictions. Yet, where is the “thus saith the Lord…”? To be a prophet, you have to prophesy, and he has yet to do so. 

3. Are the words of the prophet consistent with Scripture? 

No. His organization, as well as his parent group LCG, add all sorts of traditions of men to their beliefs, including but not exhaustively forms of government (idolatry of men), criticisms of observing the anniversary of one’s birth, laxity on the sanctity of marriage, church eras, and more. 

Worse, he includes many pagan and un-Christian prophecies as part of his message. A true prophet of God would not need to do this to the extent he engages in it. 

Essentially, his emphasis upon being a “Philadelphian remnant”, a self-contradiction that a school child can see, means he is preaching a different message, a different gospel, than the NT does. 

4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit [such as an attitude of judgmentalism], which ye have not received, or another gospel [such as the message of being “Philadelphian” rather than a message of what Christ will do when He returns], which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
…
12 But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

~ 2Co 11:4,12-15

4. Do the people benefit spiritually from the prophet’s ministry? 

No. The only benefit is Bob Thiel’s enrichment and supposed elevation of status. The people he leads will be lead into the wilderness of false teaching and idolatry that characterizes so many that Satan has grabbed ahold of before they could see the truth (Cf. Lk 8:5, 11-12). 

Simply put, too many church organizations take on titles of prophet, apostle and even sillier terms jerked out of context from the Bible in order to entice you and I and anyone else who will listen to follow them rather than God.

Bob Amos has sadly fallen for the exact same self deception that infects Gerald Flurry, Rod Meredith,  Dave Pack, Vic Kubik and all the other mini-wanna-be's that have set themselves up as power leaders.  Every single one of them lie to the brethren, preach false heresy and utter idiotic prophecies and warnings.  Not a single one of them even attempts to be a servant that stoops down to wash the feet of their members.  None of them have any humility.  Arrogance and self-aggrandizement is the order for the day.