Narcissism and the Rise of Split/Splinter and Sliver Apostles
Until I was about 45, I never knew what a narcissist was , or at least had only vague ideas of what the mental state of one given to such actually meant. In hind sight , and in my own WCG experience, I was surrounded by them and it should be obvious now after all these years of the rising Apostles, Prophets and Wanna Be's , the Worldwide Church of God, was infested with them waiting for the right time to rise to their perceptions of ministry and power. I do recall a few times listening to the sermons or ideas of or having to react to members rage at what their local minister was doing to the local church or to them personally, and wondering whatever happened to "Let him who is greatest among you be your servant."? I understand Ron Dart also noticed that and said as far as he was concerned that was the only scripture about Church Government that mattered. Yet it certainly has escaped the split/splinter and sliver types beyond comprehension.
We have all here on Banned heard the term and seen it defined but let's remind ourselves:
A 2012 book on power-hungry narcissists suggests that narcissists typically display most, and sometimes all, of the following traits:[7]
- An obvious self-focus in interpersonal exchanges
- Problems in sustaining satisfying relationships
- A lack of psychological awareness (see insight in psychology and psychiatry, egosyntonic)
- Difficulty with empathy
- Problems distinguishing the self from others (see narcissism and boundaries)
- Hypersensitivity to any insults or imagined insults (see criticism and narcissists, narcissistic rage and narcissistic injury)
- Vulnerability to shame rather than guilt
- Haughty body language
- Flattery towards people who admire and affirm them (narcissistic supply)
- Detesting those who do not admire them (narcissistic abuse)
- Using other people without considering the cost of doing so
- Pretending to be more important than they actually are
- Bragging (subtly but persistently) and exaggerating their achievements
- Claiming to be an "expert" at many thing
- Inability to view the world from the perspective of other people
- Denial of remorse and gratitude
It is not just a male Apostle issue
Why those who still follow those who have risen to the top of the ash heap of the WCG , with all of their obvious inflated views of themselves , to the point of seeing themselves spoken of in the scriptures , remain blind to this psychological state of mind in their leaders is beyond me. It seems the mind grows numb when the more outlandish and ridiculous the claims of the leader are repeated weekly from their bully pulpits.
They ARE wrong, wrong, wrong in their bold pronouncements , over and over and over again, and still the sheep are stuck in the pen hanging on every word. It goes against the natural reaction of humans to quickly release or brush off a spider or a snake. Why not in these cases? Is the message so strong and so threatening as to what will happen to YOU if you don't believe ME, the member goes brain dead and cannot think critically about what they are being told? Are they afraid they will "not make it into the Kingdom"? or get fried like the errant Jews and non-RCG types?
How many times can one be bullied into selling homes, sending in retirement monies or giving property and resources to these wolves in wolves clothing? Why do they quickly believe it when a man says, "And yes Brethren, I am an Apostle" as if just declaring it makes it so. Not to mention getting "double portioned" under dubious circumstances. And the many many more blatantly stupid and false statements these offshoot Apostles make that we are all very familiar with here at Banned.
If you are a lurking follower of Mr. David C Every Title in the Bible is ME, Gerald Just Leave Your Families Behind and Follow ME, Ron I Will Get It Right Someday, Bob We and ME at the Continuing Church of God , Rod I'm Not Kidding Fellows and Girls or any other human being who feels compelled to tell you how all of life, history and the Bible points to them, take a good read of the common and well known traits of the narcissists among us and those given to religious delusions about themselves and think it over long and hard. Your own future mental health and that of your family and children are definitely at stake.
