Herbert Armstrong's Mind Conditioning Technique That Roped In the People

Today, I want to write a short bit into the Methodology that Herbert Armstrong used to brainwash - yes, brainwash - those who subscribed to the Ambassador College Correspondence Course into the way he was thinking. This will help for you to see how he did what he did, and how he conditioned the mind to accept his theology. 

The text below is from the Ambassador College Correspondence Course, lesson 2, from 1955. Let's take a look. 

Rewriting The Mind

Perhaps the most important thing that Herbert used was mind conditioning. He did this by causing you to rewire the mind to focus only on what he wanted you to focus on. By using specific, cherry-picked scriptures without context or background, he would ingrain the particular scripture he wanted you to look at into your mind. He would have you focus only on those particular scriptures - to read them, to re-read them, again, and again. This technique literally "burns" the scriptures that Herbert deemed important into your mind. 

Herbert admits that this technique is "intended to show you where to look" - to "help" you to "know" how to study the Bible. This focus on particular scriptures - called "cherry picking" - is used to bolster his way of belief and to support his doctrines. Notice that there is little in the way, if any, context whatsoever to the scriptures. Take a scripture, explain it the way you see it, and then have the individual re-read it, and re-read it over and over again, and then - importantly - writing it down. 

The principle here is to literally rewire your brain to accept the conclusions that Herbert Armstrong came to, by focusing on individual scriptures and not the context of the scripture, the chapter, the book, the timing, or anything at all. This, again is "mind conditioning", used to distort and change the true meaning of the scriptures which can be only understood by proper context and understanding of the entire message written. 

Writing It Down

Herbert said the writing is "EXTREMELY NECESSARY". This is also why note-taking in church services was emphasized so greatly. When you hear or read - AND you write - it ingrains it into your brain. 

From an article at Forbes.com, it says this: 

Writing things down happens on two levels: external storage and encoding. External storage is easy to explain: you’re storing the information contained in your goal in a location (e.g. a piece of paper) that is very easy to access and review at any time. You could post that paper in your office, on your refrigerator, etc. It doesn’t take a neuroscientist to know you will remember something much better if you’re staring at a visual cue (aka reminder) every single day.

But there’s another deeper phenomenon happening: encoding. Encoding is the biological process by which the things we perceive travel to our brain’s hippocampus where they’re analyzed. From there, decisions are made about what gets stored in our long-term memory and, in turn, what gets discarded. Writing improves that encoding process. In other words, when you write it down it has a much greater chance of being remembered.

This technique was understood by Herbert as an advertiser. He knew that when we write it down it "encodes" into our long-term memory. From day one, from the Correspondence Courses to sermons - what would we write down? Individual scriptures - and sometimes, the pastor's explanation. This method of brain-washing, or mind-conditioning, caused us, in combination with other tactics, to accept one scripture and one explanation over context and correct biblical literacy. 

Half an Hour a Day

Herbert understood it wasn't just writing a scripture down and the explanation and stopping - he made sure it GOT INTO YOUR HEAD, by causing you to study his chosen scriptures with his personal explanation - and reread it - and write it - at LEAST half an hour a day. This combination of encoding and time will rewrite anyone's mind if they are open to it. And anyone who listened to Herbert Armstrong was well aware he was using the power of his authoritative voice to believe what he was saying. The more you read, wrote, and read and wrote again, the more you began to accept his beliefs as true beliefs. Again, completely ignoring other scriptures and context. 

Emphasis on Large-Type Words

Have you ever wondered why in the world Herbert Armstrong always typed in Large Type words? He was using advertising techniques. On this vein, check out the 20 most effective words in sales and see how Herbert implemented some of these. Read this article on creative print advertising to see techniques Herbert used as well. 

Yet Herbert admits here - in plain language - exactly why he uses bold, capital letters in his material, such as the Ambassador College Correspondence Course. HE says "pay no attention to the small type", but read the large type words. This is the method to read all of his literature to get to the core of what Herbert wanted you to get in your head - all of the Co-Worker letters, the Personals, the Pastor Generals - all of it - ignore the small type and read the large type to get what he wanted into your head. This is how he subliminally got to people, using the power of printed text. This was another aspect of mind conditioning he used to brainwash his people. This is how I have come to see exactly how Herbert was thinking, and coming to conclusions about his entire empire and mindset while reading his material. He knew exactly what he was doing. He also knew you'd forget in time this technique, but it would be in your head subconsciously. In short, he was training you how to read his material the way he wanted you to to get the results he wanted. 

Other certain splinter leaders continue to use this technique to brain-wash their followers as well. 

What was not used in this method? Context and Questions. This was classic: Here's a scripture. This is what the scripture says. Write it down. This is what it means. Next scripture. Rinse, and repeat. This was how they "proved" their doctrines. This is how they "proved" their understandings. People bought this for one reason: They were subliminally conditioned. 

I will write next time about the methodology he used as to "where to start" reading the Bible, and why he chose that particular method. It has to do with one word: Fear.

submitted by SHT

The Ambassador College Correspondence Course: Tinfoil Bob has determined he needs to add to it.

How many of you ever completed the Correspondence Course that the old Radio/Worldwide Church of God put out?  Most church members only know it in its abbreviated form of 32 lessons which was eventually shortened to 12 lessons.  Those who grew up in the church in the "Radio" years remember the mind and butt-numbing 58 lesson course.  Remember all of those wonderful hours parked at your dining room table diligently reading each lesson and handwriting out every single Bible verse it referenced?

Each lesson was meticulously planned out so that you never had the opportunity to question what was being presented.  After all, this was coming from God's College and therefore had to be 100% right!  God would NEVER lead the Apostle astray into letting something as miraculous as the Correspondence Course EVER be filled with error!

The problem with the entire course is that was nothing more than an elaborate "proof-text" of what the church believed after "proof-texting" scriptures to fit their interpretations.

Here is the definition of proof-texting:

Prooftexting (sometimes "proof-texting" or "proof texting") is the practice of using isolated, out-of-context quotations from a document to establish a proposition in eisegesis (introducing one's own presuppositions, agendas, or biases). Such quotes may not accurately reflect the original intent of the author,^[1] and a document quoted in such a manner, when read as a whole, may not support the proposition for which it was cited.^[2][3][4][5] The term has currency primarily in theological and exegetical circles.

This is to be distinguished from quotations from a source deemed a hostile witness, which inadvertently substantiate a point beneficial to the quoter in the course of its own narrative. Even when lifted out of context, those facts still stand.

Many Christian ministers and Christian teachers have used some version of the following humorous anecdote to demonstrate the dangers of prooftexting: "A man dissatisfied with his life decided to consult the Bible for guidance. Closing his eyes, he flipped the book open and pointed to a spot on the page. Opening his eyes, he read the verse under his finger. It read, 'Then Judas went away and hanged himself' (Matthew 27:5b). Finding these words unhelpful, the man randomly selected another verse. This one read, 'Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."' (Luke 10:37b). In desperation, he tried one more time. The text he found was: 'What you are about to do, do quickly.'" (John 13:27)^[6]

The church was quite adept at twisting scripture to fit the interpretation it wanted the members to believe. Most members never knew it was happening.  After all, if Herbert said it, that settled it!  Since it was settled it could never be questioned.  God forbid if anyone dared to read a book that might have an opposite viewpoint!

That brings us to today, as Doubly-blessed, Almost-arrested Tinfoil Bob Thiel has determined that he need to correct the old Correspondence Courses.  Tinfoil Bob, like almost all the other splinter group leaders has never had an original thought in his head.  He has spent years copying and imitating everything the church did.  Now he has determined that he needs to add his great interpretations to these old courses.

We have been making progress on literature and clarifying matters for an upcoming Study the Bible Course lesson. Working on that lesson (number 15) caused me to do a lot of research and add many scriptures that were not in the original course from the 1950s. We expect that lesson to be available next Spring.

Speaking of the Study the Bible Course, we have been working on getting all the English version lessons online by themselves, as opposed to only being available in the magazines. This should be ready fairly soon.

Can any of these self-appointed pissants ever write or preach anything NOT already done by HWA and his crew?  Not a single new thought or interpretation for the 21st century.  No new way of looking at things that have relevance for people of this world.  No one humble enough to admit mistakes were made and interpretations were wrong.

Humility is not a word any present-day Church of God leader knows or exemplifies.  They cannot because they REFUSE to follow the one person who taught them what it was to be humble. Liars and boasters of themselves and their supposed good works of magnificent campuses, auditoriums, great websites, booklets in Swahili and other African languages, the list can go on and on because it is always about themselves.

Herbert Armstrong, as arrogant as he was, at least had a vision.  Something bigger and grander for members to look forward to as a unified group on a journey together.  Today's COG leaders have no vision.  The beat their chests as if they do and boast a lot, but they are visionless.  Herbert Armstrong could circle the wagons and realign people to his cause when it got waylaid, yet today we see scores of little men who cannot inspire people to join up with them to complete the grand vision Herbert Armstrong envisioned.  They have ended up being like dung beetles rolling their little balls of malevolent teachings up the side of an ever-growing pile of stinking crap.

YHVH's Great Test

Retired Prof said...

Dennis, your comment about the story of Abraham and Isaac is pertinent to an anthology I am composing, with the working title "Fables of the Gods." The pattern is to summarize a story that includes a god or gods from one ancient tradition or another. Then I follow it with a moral like those attached to Aesop's fables.

Here's the moral for this story: "Not being human themselves, the gods see no reason to follow basic rules of human decency when they play a practical joke. Deal with it."

Your emphasis on Abraham's culpability is equally justifiable. In fact, way more so, if we're talking psychology instead of theology.

RT  Even as a child in Sunday School, this story puzzled me but also terrified me.  What father would do that? What if the voices in his head were wrong?  How damaged and distrusting of his father would Isaac forevermore be?  What did Mrs. Abraham think of this?  It never made sense to me and I never took it as a story of great faith worthy of note.  It seemed a manifestation of mental illness. At any rate, I was NEVER inspired by it.  And in the Dutch Reformed Sunday School classes, Abraham got a pass and was one of the great men of the Bible.  Not in my young world.

So for your consideration, this sums up an alternative answer to the whole thing nicely for me and would have had I seen it as a child!   :)

YHWH's Amazing Test

NOTE

There is also some consideration in theological circles that the story was a transitional story between the Age of Moses and Taurus the Bull,  4000-2000 BCE where Bulls and Calves were the prominent icon of worship (i.e. Golden Calf worship)  and the now beginning of the Age of Aries, the Lamb. Thus the change in symbols to be used in worship.  

(An "Age" is noted as the 2100 years or so the Sun is found in each of the 12 Constellations ending in one complete cycle of 25,000 years, called the "Great Year")

Even Mithraism, which preceded Christianity,  notes the change with the God Mithras slaying the Bull in it's iconography making way for the new age of Aries.  The death of Jesus in the story marks the end of the Age of Aries with the death of the Lamb of God and the beginning of Pices, the Two Fish  (ahem) and the Church Age of Christianity. I personally think when this Age, which is about to end and whose sacred fluid is blood, without which there is NO forgiveness, the Age of Aquarius , the Water Man, will find the sacred fluid of the future to be WATER.  .