Musings: A Cup of Coffee and Two Small (For Now) Fish

Philippians 4:8, NIV: "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." 

OK, I can do that...

I was sitting quietly this morning, coffee in hand, and spending time with my therapist. Actually two therapists in the above 60 gallon "Goldfish Bowl". It also serves as a Television as I have not owned one in 20 years.  Obviously with John Denver playing in the background many things come to mind.  Turning 70 when I am 27 in my head also helps

😲

Poems, Prayer and Promises

I've been lately thinking about my life's time
All the things I've done and how it's been
And I can't help believing in my own mind
I know I'm gonna hate to see it end

I've seen a lot of sunshine
Slept out in the rain
Spent a night or two all on my own
I've known my lady's pleasures
Had myself some friends
And spent a time or two in my own home

And I have to say it now
It's been a good life all in all
It's really fine to have a chance to hang around
And lie there by the fire
And watch the evening tire
While all my friends and my old lady
Sit and pass the pipe around

And talk of poems and prayers and promises
And things that we believe in
How sweet it is to love someone
How right it is to care
How long it's been since yesterday
And what about tomorrow
And what about our dreams
And all the memories we share

I got to thinking about my brother and all the years of a quick dinner after church and then off to the State Hospital to visit him. This was a weekly ritual.  It was in that State Hospital in Newark New York much of the fixer in me felt the tug towards ministry. After all, it was the greatest story ever told and ending up in WCG is no mystery to me.  With a blind, deaf and speechless brother, those Wonderful World Tomorrow scriptures beckoned.  They don't speak of such things in the Dutch Reformed environment. You live, you stay in church, you die and you go to Heaven. That's it.  Even Hell never came up with the Dutch. 

 I have recounted the brother story a number of times, so as to avoid the "here we go again" problem, I'll just leave the story at that.  The experiences every week seeing what can go so badly wrong with humans, mentally and physically as they mixed them all together back in the day, needless to say, molded my worldview from about age 5 onwards. And too...it was the 60's.

That being said, I got to thinking about Dr Bob Thiel. Behind the scenes of his life, I know he, his wife and siblings if present have the same challenge , or at least I believe this to be so and correct me if I am mistaken, with a special needs child.  I don't know the nature of it.  But I do know the challenge it must be as a parent. I know the work it takes to keep up with it all and the extra care needed to keep the family together and thriving. I know it's hard mentally, emotionally and spiritually. The well meaning, I suppose, Presbyterian minister of my parents day told them at some point "Well, you must have done something wrong or you'd not have had a handicapped child".  A bit enraging of course but that crack motivated my mom to spend the rest of her life being the perfect mom, perfect woman and perfect human being.  She spent a lot of her life, it seemed, proving "I'm not dirty!"  I miss them both, of course, but they made it to just under a hundred years old and died within months of each other as we suspected they would. 

  I also know how appealing the "Good News of the Wonderful World Tomorrow" can be and why one can end up not only embracing it because of our own special needs but because of having such a challenge in the family.  It may explain  a lot of the zeal to believe and do the right things and share that belief. We all do it as only the subjects and motives change I suppose. 

That being said, credit where credit is due and all differences, and my own theological or weather related criticisms aside :),  for the moment, I understand the quiet behind the scenes struggle and burden special needs children bring to the family table. This includes, of course, Mrs Thiel and any other children whose lives also are affected in many ways in such an environment growing up.  It does bestow compassion , patience and a perspective that seeks hope that perhaps only those who have experienced it can understand.  I have also seen it tear families to shreds with the stress and strain of it all.

I just wanted to honor and say something positive Dr Bob Thiel and family though  in spite of our observations about  the Wild World Church of God experience, splits and splinters. 

Gotta go...

My therapist says we're not finished, wrap it up and to pay attention, or she will move on to another appointment

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COG Lunatic In Edmond, OK and Donald Trump

As we have pointed out on this blog many times, the Church of God has created some of the craziest and irrational men ever imaginable with all of them claiming God is on their side. These same vainglorious men believe they have the foresight to make sound logical decisions and prophetic predictions that are impossible to be wrong.

Gerald Flurry continues to make idiotic comments and predictions to keep his fledgling flock fearful of impending doom.  In Flurry's virulent hatred of Joesph Tkach Jr., his seething hatred lets his demons dream up many wild and fantastical scenarios for the end times, an end-times that Flurry believes Joe Jr. will initiate.

With decades of alcoholism destroying his brain cells, that mentally unstable mind has made several predictions over the last year that Joe Tkach Jr will soon be meeting up with President Trump and initiate plans in getting the Philadelphia Church of God and its members kicked out of the United States.  That is one of the reasons PCG is now looking to open a new office in Jerusalem, but that is a subject for another time.

Flurry, like many other COG leaders and ministers, look at President Trump as the ideal man to be in that position.  They feel that the entire world is going to hell and that temporary conservative leadership extends the return of Jesus just long enough to allow them to do a final push in getting their gospels out. Many of them look at Trump as the proper man to be in charge because he is white.  Many COG leaders despised President Obama with a passion. The idea that a black gentile was ruling over them was appaling. We know this because many of them said so and also because of how they reacted when Mayor Bradley was the first African American mayor of Los Angeles.  They found that abominable.

This all makes Satan really angry and he is starting to work overtime in bringing about persecution to the church.  From being banned on Youtube, having Twitter accounts shut down, to being told they cannot preach on certain subjects, Flurry and other COG self-appointed leaders are preparing for intense persecution.

Herbert Armstrong, using Rod Meredith and Gerald Waterhouse as his mouthpiece, created such absurd scenarios that kept COG members in a constant state of panic and impending doom.  From being tossed into concentration camps by the invading German armies to parents eating their children due to famine. I even remember being told in sermons how church members would be put on rockets and shot into space where they would die because the Catholic church hated us so. Then there was the story on how we would be hated so much that the U.S. government would put up on old jet planes that had cracks in the wings and force us to flee to Petra in them, with the hope the planes would crash.  Satan was and still is sorely pissed.

The Church of God's leadership has always needed scare tactics to keep the gullible sheep in line and ready to dole out money for their end-time pushes and final witnesses.  Of course, to add to fuel to the fire it is vitally important to still blame Joe Tkach Jr for all of their miserable failures. After over two decades of one failed prophecy after another, they need their demon to place blame on to sidetrack members from seeing their bitter truth.

Joe Tkach Jr has not been in charge of the church for over a year now and has zero interest in the pathetic personality cult ministries languishing out there. He also certainly has no interest in coddling up with President Trump in getting COG members kicked out of the country. The lies that these stinking turds tell their members make them more pathetic day by day.

From Gerald Flurry to Bob Thiel to Dave Pack and to Ron Weinland, the idiocy and false prophecies these fools make know no boundaries. No government will strike them down, only their own stupidity will do that.

It is time members wake up from their induced stupors and open their eyes to these lairs and leave them and along with their jets, campuses, and worn-out curtains.

The Things We Tell Ourselves To Stay

THE THINGS THAT WE TELL OURSELVES TO STAY

By

Lonnie Hendrix/Miller Jones

When I think about my own experience in the realm of Armstrongism, I am reminded of all of the things that I had to believe to maintain the illusion that I was in the right place. I think too about all of the folks who are still part of one of the many descendants of the old Worldwide Church of God. How do they justify their continued affiliation with a movement that has been so thoroughly discredited? How do they get around all of the evidence that Armstrongism has been/is an abject failure? I think about the many posts and comments that have appeared over the years at Ambassador Watch, Banned by HWA, The Painful Truth, Living Armstrongism, Dixon Cartwright’s The Journal (and a host of other sites and sources), and I wonder how anyone could still occupy a seat in any church affiliated with Armstrongism!

How is that possible? In thinking about this, it occurred to me that continued association with Herbert Armstrong’s religion requires one to engage in make-believe. Indeed, when I look back at my own experience, I realize that I engaged in a great deal of make-believe for the last several years of my association with Armstrongism. I wonder if any of the points that follow will resonate with folks who have shared this experience with me? Maybe you can think of others?

In the face of so much evidence that Herbert Armstrong’s theology is a complete failure, we PRETEND that:

All of that history/evidence referenced above doesn’t exist AND/OR

Friendships (and the resulting fellowship) are more important than the cognitive dissonance which I experience when I attend services or discuss church teachings with others AND/OR

This collection of doctrines which we refer to as “THE TRUTH” didn’t originate with Herbert and are consequently not tainted by his many failures AND/OR

These doctrines have spiritual and intellectual appeal regardless of their origins (the late Ian Boyne liked this one) AND/OR

Herbert Armstrong’s obvious mistakes and sins don’t mean that God couldn’t/didn’t use him AND/OR

Herbert didn’t make any mistakes – that he was God’s vessel for revealing truth to mankind (Gerald Flurry is fond of this one) AND/OR

Other interpretations of Scripture are not plausible/possible/practical – that all of the scientists, historians and theologians who contradict Herbie’s teachings are wrong and/or deceived AND/OR

The motivations of all of those who are critical of Herbert and his doctrines are evil and/or inspired by Satan AND/OR

The only real problems with Armstrongism arose from Herbie’s notion about church governance AND/OR

All of the hurts and damage which were inflicted on current and past church members either didn’t really happen or doesn’t matter if it did

What do you think?