All Is Vanity

noun, plural vanities.1. excessive pride in one's appearance, qualities,abilities, achievements, etc.; character or qualityof being vain; conceit: Failure to be elected was a great blow to his vanity.

2.  an instance or display of this quality or feeling. 

3.something about which one is vain or excessivelyproud:His good looks are his greatest vanity. 

4.lack of real value; hollowness; worthlessness:the vanity of a selfish life. 

5.something worthless, trivial, or pointless.

There has been an interesting conversation on a Facebook page about how the church tried its utmost to wipe out gratitude and the ability to accept gratitude because it was labelled as vanity. This is ironic considering how vain most of the upper leadership of the church has always been and still is.  Just look at Bob Thiel, Gerald Flurry and Dave Pack, three of the vainest men the church has ever produced, but that is another ongoing story.

Many have told stories how difficult it is today, as adults to accept praise and gratitude from others. It was so ingrained in them that to accept praise was a vain attempt to puff up one's ego.  Praising other members for jobs well done was to make them big headed and seeking glory.

Just look at Herbert Armstrong's absurd waffling on woman and make-up.  Every single time it was all about vanity.  While he continually berated women for looking beautiful, he was out buying the best custom designed suits, shirts with his initials embroidered on them, silk ties and expensive cuff links.  Of course, there was no vanity there because the apostle needed to dress impeccably in order to meet world leaders and talk about a "strong hand from someplace."

God's most superfantabulous man has this to say about women and makeup, which translates into them being whores and prostitutes.

The Pull of Vanity

Psalm 39:5-6 states, “…verily [truly] every man at his best state is altogether VANITY…Surely every man walks in a VAIN SHOW [an image].” Vanity is a powerful force in all human beings, and it is far stronger than most understand. Each person must have a healthy respect for the pull of vanity at work within him. Be honest with yourself, and admit that this tendency is within you.

Pride and vanity are why the Encyclopaedia Britannica defines “cosmetics” as “…products nobody needs—but wanting them is human nature. Today, the desire to look better, smell better, and thus feel better causes consumers worldwide—mostly women—to spend an estimated $65 billion annually on personal enhancement—cosmetics” 

Everyone wants to look or be considered pretty—or even beautiful. The pull of vanity begins early in life. Modern society places enormous emphasis on beauty. As a result, recent studies demonstrate that even very little girls are unhappy with themselves to the point of depression, with many actually contemplating suicide as a result! They feel that they do not measure up to their peers or favorite movie stars. Today, the obsession with being beautiful has led nearly 10 million adolescent and teenage girls into eating disorders. 

Consider the meaning of the word mascara. If we just accept the word for what it is, then it becomes its own honest statement from the cosmetics industry. It comes from the word mask, and the word masquerade also derives from it. In essence, to wear mascara is to wear a mask—and to masquerade as something that one is not—for the purpose of vanity and perceived beauty 

Many women who used cosmetics in these cultures also took their lead from Semiramis and adopted the use of cosmetics for the purpose of harlotry. History shows how women applied makeup to change their appearance and seduce men. Harlots and “matrons” (the female leaders of prostitution rings) were specifically recognized by their silk, jewels and cosmetics. The Truth Hidden Behind Makeup

Dave has done nothing more that take Herbert Armstrong's turn of the century beliefs and re-word them for 2017 to continue belittling women, making them "less than" and subservient.

Here is Herbert Armstrong and his twisted reasoning on how makeup causes vanity and is, therefore, a sin.

Spirit, Not Letter of Law

   "But," some might exclaim, "I never thought of any connection between lipstick and the Ten Commandments! Surely the Ten Commandments do not say anything about painting the lips or the face."  

   Perhaps you have a surprise coming. Just read on, and you shall see that God's Law is all-inclusive. It covers the WHOLE DUTY of man. It covers, in principle, everything that can be sin!  

   So what we need to find out, in order to know whether the use of lipstick and makeup is wrong, is just as simple as that! The only question is whether it transgresses GOD'S LAW! Whoever continues in sin, willfully, after receiving the knowledge of the Truth is doomed to eternal DEATH! 

   It is not enough to say, as one woman wrote me: "I am willing to obey God in all things I THINK are His will." We must obey what GOD SAYS is His will, and cease doing what GOD SAYS is sin.  

Lipstick Not Mentioned by Name 

   The English word "lipstick" is not used anywhere in any English translation or version of the Bible. Nor do we find the modern words "makeup" or "cosmetics." Most people have believed that the right or wrong of using makeup is not directly or specifically mentioned in the Scriptures.  

   Actually, God's Word does reveal directly and specifically whether this alteration of the appearance of the face is sin! This will come as quite a surprise to nearly all who read this. 

   How is it possible that painting the lips, cheeks, or eyes could be either forbidden or approved by God's LAW? It's time we realize that the Spiritual Law covers every act of right or wrong.  

   God's Law is a great inexorable overall Law of SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLES! It is not merely ten literal commands. It must be obeyed according to all the scope of its SPIRIT, as well as its literal letter.  The Truth About Makeup

Herbert Armstrong and the ministers of the various splinter groups use the word "vanity" as a means to control members.  No one deserves praise, other than the Dear Leader.  Just check out the Facebook pages for Living Church of God, Restored Church of God and the Philadelphia Church of God and witness the slobber fest church members heap upon church leaders and ministers.  It is actually stomach-turning to read at times.

Notice how praise works:

Why do we need praise?

It's no secret that being praised often makes people feel good. Pride, pleasure and increased feelings of self-esteem are all common reactions to being paid a compliment or receiving positive feedback. This is because being praised triggers the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps control the reward and pleasure centres of the brain. As well as making us feel good, dopamine can also contribute to innovative thinking and creative problem-solving at work.  The Power of Praise and Recognition

The church never praised its members and continually warned that praise was only worthy to God.  Church of God members have never been able to do anything right in the eyes of the leadership. The church members were always being blamed for something.

"Christ has had to delay his coming because YOU were not ready!"

"Loma Armstrong is dying because church members were "backed up" and hard hearted."

" The church is struggling financially because YOU have not sent in your FULL tithe or made extra offerings."

"The upcoming ministerial conference will not be able function properly unless YOU fast and repent. Brethren."

"Unless YOU send in MORE money, God's House cannot be built!"

It is no wonder that many adults today who have escaped the clutches of Armstrongism have difficulty in being praiseworthy. The church did its utmost at times to dehumanize the members and make them "less than."

If one is a Christian, that person knows that praise is a good thing to do.  But in order to praise God, one must also learn to praise each other, otherwise, the praise is empty.

2 Chronicles 5:13-14

in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised the LORD saying, "He indeed is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting," then the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.

1 Peter 1:7

so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Revelation 19:5-6

And a voice came from the throne, saying, "Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great." Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. 

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Letter To Rod Meredith About Ordaining Bob Thiel

Dear Dr Meredith

It has come to my attention that there has been a grievous oversight in God's true church, and I know that you will be keen to correct it immediately once you have been made aware of the situation. Bob Thiel has still not been ordained!

As you know, Dr Meredith, Mr Thiel is actually DOCTOR Thiel. In fact he has TWO doctorates, one in Naturopathy. This is surely equivalent to a theological degree, as I recollect all those bylines in the 1960s Plain Truth by your uncle "Dr C. Paul Meredith" - and HE was just a vet!

Bob also has a legitimate PhD from an obscure but accredited university. This is a major accomplishment, especially for someone who demonstrates limited grammatical and proof reading skills. I mean, how many double doctors does God's Philadelphian Work have at its disposal? This man is a treasure!

Plus, Dr Thiel has labored as a church host for years, and gives learned sermonettes on subjects like Marcion. Again, Dr Meredith, I wonder how many of the leading evangelists in God's Work would even know who Marcion was? Yet here is Bob providing this high quality edification for the lucky brethren in southern San Luis Obispo County.

But wait, Dr Meredith, there is more! Dr Thiel has his own website which provided vital information to the world in the wake of the Wisconsin shootings. For example, Dr Thiel correctly pointed out that it was inappropriate for outsiders to put up crosses as a sign of respect for those slain because crosses are pagan. This brave, principled stand was widely commented on!

And now Bob Thiel has expanded his wonderful website to include historical information on the Church of God in New Testament times and the first centuries. Already the fine scholarship he demonstrates has left Papists like Jared Olar (who is also counted among the anti-COG demonaics at XCG) speechless (other than making relevant critiques and citing facts in rebuttal.) Just take a look at the superb article Bob provides on Polycarp: again - who else even knows who Polycarp was (apart from Jared Olar - and being a Catholic he clearly doesn't count!)

Dr Meredith, please bear with me just a little longer while I mention Dr Thiel's excellent articles which have appeared not only in the church members' magazine, but even in The Journal, where they witness against the Laodicean subscribers who would otherwise have only been exposed to Brian Knowles, Dave Havir and other highly questionable sources.

So it was with shock, SHOCK, that I read Bob's recent disclaimer on his website: "I have not been ordained as a deacon or an elder."

I would personally like to recommend Dr Thiel for ordination as he is so clearly qualified - overqualified even - to be a minister in your great End Time Work to restore Apostolic Christianity. His gift for tact and respect when commenting on other Churches of God especially qualifies him to develop fraternal ties with those separated brethren in the United Church of God. I know that you will act expeditiously to bring him into the highest levels of ministry in the LCG.

With deep sincerity
GR

From Gavin Rumney's blog

Why Scooby-Doo Was A Threat To The Church of God

The post below was on a Facebook page recently and shows just how controlling the chruch was in telling members what to do.

I have permission to repost this by its author:

My momster would never let me watch Scooby Doo... Scooby was even the focus of several sermons... it was considered "evil" because they glamorized witches, monsters, drugs, demon possession, and the occult.  

Of course, as soon as I escaped, I embraced EVERYTHING the cult ever railed against.  

I almost instantly became a fan of Scooby Doo!  

I just had a thought - I wonder if Scooby Doo was hated so much, not because it glorified the occult, but because of the other things it taught: 

Scooby Doo taught kids to question everything. It taught us that even if we were afraid, we should face those fears and keep searching for clues until we find the truth... It taught us to see through the distractions and follow the evidence to the end... 

and above all, it taught that all the supernatural boogeymen were just men in masks! 

All those lessons go against EVERYTHING The Worldwide Cult of Herbie wanted us to think. Herbie ruled through fear, so they NEEDED us to be afraid. They wanted us to believe everything they said without ever even thinking of questioning them... They needed us to depend on them completely and not make ANY decisions without their approval... and above all, they were TERRIFIED that if we ever opened our eyes, followed all the clues and looked too close, we would see that their beloved "Modern Day Elijah" was nothing but a perverted old con, a man in a mask!!  

I can almost hear the creepy old bastards voice now: "And I would have gotten away with it too... if it hadn't been for you meddling kids!"

Chester L Roberts II

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Bob Thiel Has Another Meltdown: I am NOT a Fake Theologian!!!!!! Rod Meredith Said So!

I can feel the butthurt from Bob Thiel all the way down here in Pasadena!

Almost-arrested Elisha, Elijah, Amos, Joshua, doubly blessed, self-appointed, world renown Mayan authority, and certified false prophet had a meltdown over a previous posting about his Naturopathic business.  A reader posted that Thiel was not licensed to practice in California.  Thiel did not like being attacked by yet another LCG member, and thus the spittle started flying.

While many of my health and theological views are not 'mainstream' (nor were Jesus'), calling me a quack is wrong. 

Third of all, let's deal with this fake degree nonsense. I have a B.S. for the University of LaVerne and an M.S. from the University of Southern California. Those degrees are not fake--LCG's Dr. Michael Germano also has degrees from those same universities. My Ph.D. in nutrition science and is from Union Institute and University--it is also not fake--COGWA's Ralph Levy also got his Ph.D. from the same university.  

Fake theologian is another falsehood hurled above. LCG's Dr. Douglas Winnail advised me to get my foreign Th.D. in Christian apologetics, early church history, when I consulted with him about it in 2004. He also had some limited involvement with my program. While the school does not have USA accreditation, my doctoral dissertation was 589 pages, single-spaced, with 1302 references, plus hundreds of scriptural references--and that is much longer than the dissertation for my USA-accredited Ph.D. After I graduated, Living University gave me the title "Adjuct Assistant Professor for Theology." But since I left LCG, I did not end up teaching at LU--but make no mistake about it, the leaders at LCG did not consider me to be a fake theologian. Furthermore, Dr. Roderick C. Meredith appointed me as an advisor to the evangelists on doctrine and theology back in 2009. 

Additionally, LCG's Dr. Meredith told me on multiple occasions that God may consider me a prophet. When I counseled with two LCG ministers about it (Dr. J. Fall and Gary Ehman) both told me that I did NOT need to have any ordination to be a prophet. I would not accept that. Instead I prayed that God would resolve the prophet matter for me in a visit to Charlotte, NC in December 2011. At that time, while being anointed, LCG minister Gaylyn Bonjour prayed that I be granted a double-portion of God's Holy Spirit and told me that this was reminiscient of the passing of the mantle (2 Kings 2:9-13). He told me what he did was done and could not be undone. He also brought up the passing of the mantle up with me again on March 23, 2012. But other than telling Dr. Meredith, etc., I took no action related to a church until December 2012 when it was clear that the top leadership reneged on too many promises and did not have the integrity to lead the final phase of the work.  

Perhaps it should be noted that like David who was privately anointed by Samuel, then later publicly anointed years later, years after the private anointing by Gaylyn Bonjour, I was pubicly anointed by Evangelist Evans Ochieng (who had a GCG/LCG background) and Overseer Samuel Ofusu (who had a Church of God, Seventh Day background) in front of about 60 witnesses.  

Read his entire hilarious narcassitic defense here.

It is all about Bob. It always has been.  Look at me!  LOOK!!!!!!!

Gerald Weston Mocks Christians

Gerald Weston has a letter up on the Tomorrow's World website that starts off with this blurb about Rod Meredith:

Longtime readers of Tomorrow’s World have read and become familiar with these “Personals” from Editor in Chief, Dr. Roderick C. Meredith. Sadly, Dr. Meredith, who is nearly 87 years old, has been diagnosed with an advanced stage of cancer, and his days appear to be very limited. It grieves me to inform you of this, as I have known Dr. Meredith since I first took his Freshman Bible class at Ambassador College in 1965. He has asked me, his designated successor to his office, to write this issue’s Personal and relieve him of that task.

Weston then moves on to do what Meredith has done for decades, bad mouth Christians who are not part of the Living Church of God.  Meredith has been republishing his old 1960's thesis on his bastardized version of what he thinks Christian history should look like.   As most here already know, his version of "true" Christianity is appallingly void of truth.  Christian history to Meredith is a narrow defined group of people whom he claims were constantly being persecuted, due to an impotent god that could never keep his word active and was continually losing it. Christians did not exist until Herbert Armstrong and Rod Meredith came on the scene.  "Truth" can only be found residing in these men and their churches.

Weston continues:

Change is never easy, but it is an important part of life. One thing you can be certain of is that while our personalities may vary, the same basic truths that you are familiar with in Tomorrow’s World will remain. All of us here at Tomorrow’s World are deeply committed to what we often refer to as the Truth. We recognize that the true Gospel of Jesus Christ was being corrupted as early as the first century, not long after Christianity began. For, as Jude tells us, “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

What Weston really needs to be saying here is that he and the rest of the COG's have corrupted Christianity since the early part of this century by teaching lies and heretical doctrines.  Weston, Meredith and Armstrong all claimed to follow this thing they call "jesus" but never really identified with the man or anything he said or did.  The New Covenant was the furthest thing from their minds as they whored themselves out to the law.  The law has always trumped and has been promoted by the same Judaizers that prevailed in the church in the first century.

The church in the first century had to be constantly on guard to all of the Judaizers that kept trying to lead the people back to the law instead of following Christ.  The same thing happens today with Pack, Flurry, Thiel, Malm, Weston, Kubik and others that place more importance in the law than the new covenant.

Weston then moves on to mock present day Christians in various countries who are being slaughtered for their faith.  

Reports out of the Middle East, North Africa, and other scattered places in the world tell of beheadings and killings of professing Christians. It takes great courage in some locales to profess the name of Christ! One can only admire individuals who put it all on the line when faced with such dire consequences, and one must wonder, “Do I have such courage?” It’s easy to think we do, but there is a test you can take right now that will answer that question.

According to Weston and Thiel, the men, women and children being slaughtered in Egypt, Syria and elsewhere are just a bunch of dumb ignorant f__ks that died for all the wrong reasons.  They died worshipping satan, unlike the true believers in the LCG who wait to be slaughtered by invading German armies or taken as slaves to the European Union. This is the exact same thing the pissant Bob Thiel does when he calls Christians "so-called" or "improperly named."  No one is as good as they are or knows as much as they do.  These spiritual perverts seem to go out of their way to pervert the gospel message:

Galatians 1:6-9

6-9 I can’t believe your fickleness—how easily you have turned traitor to him who called you by the grace of Christ by embracing a variant message! It is not a minor variation, you know; it is completely other, an alien message, a no-message, a lie about God. Those who are provoking this agitation among you are turning the Message of Christ on its head. Let me be blunt: If one of us—even if an angel from heaven!—were to preach something other than what we preached originally, let him be cursed. I said it once; I’ll say it again: If anyone, regardless of reputation or credentials, preaches something other than what you received originally, let him be cursed.

Weston, Thiel, Malm and the rest of the "leaders" of the church have cursed themselves due to their lies, specially when it comes to prophecy.  Every single one of them has lied about prophecy and have had one failure after another.  They refuse to face the fact that if just one little itty-bitty prophecy fails then they are all false prophets.

You can read the rest of Weston's abomination here:  Living the Way

Did God Let HWA Preach Incorrect Information Just So Pack, Flurry, Malm and Thiel Could Reveal The Truth Later?

A question was asked that pretty much sums up the current state of affairs with the various self-appointed, lying false prophets of Armstrongism who claim their god has revealed specially hidden knowledge that is only available in the end times.

...I mean God COULD have said to him "there's more yet to be revealed, I'm not telling you the half of it; you know I have My own purposes....". But instead He allowed HWA to preach, if not a lie, then at the very least, a very incorrect misunderstanding that deceived many. 

So did God allow Herbert to preach incorrect and misleading information just so Pack, Flurry, Malm and Thiel could be the end time true witnesses? If that is so, then what a cruel joke the trickster god has played upon the church!

Pack, Flurry, Thiel, and Malm are the four biggest culprit's in blatantly lying that their god has given them new knowledge or an inside track as to how prophecy is supposedly "coming alive" in these "end times."  These four stooges are the most visible liars the church has right now.  That being said, it does not let the lies of UCG, LCG, COGWA and others off the hook either.  They lie just as equally.

Follow Gerald Flurry As He Flies Around The World Wasting PCG Members Tithe Money

FlightAware

Sit back and relax as you follow ALL of Gerald Six-Pack Flurry flights with his new Gulfstream jet as he continues his quest to imitate everything Herbert Armstrong did.

Will he soon have all the metal fixtures in the jet gold plated like HWA did?

How long do we have to wait till he starts paying off world leaders for an audience so he can preach about "a strong hand from someplace?"

We can also watch as they fly his grandkids around the United States for their Irish Dance competitions.

Number registration of PCG's Gulfstream G450 jet.

See it full size here.   FAA Registry

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On a Personal Note

Indulge me a bit in sharing how one can go from being a minister in WCG, or any church for that matter, to an informed skeptic and I suppose now atheist which simply means, to me, one who does not emotionally or intellectually need a Deity to explain the world and my own part in it.   It means I do not feel compelled to live in either the Bronze or Iron Age in my thinking and beliefs.

Years ago I took a personality profile test found it so accurate, down to the kinds of gestures I use and why, that I suggest to Joe Tkach that all ministers and leader types take one. This, from my naive perspective, might just prevent sending the same, ill placed and probably not really called to serve anyone but themselves type ministers from going on and on and hurting one congregation after another. WCG had this very bad habit of transferring it's problem ministers rather than confronting them. They said no to testing. Now I know why. People hate the insecurity that comes from knowing they aren't as special as they think they are. I'd challenge any leader of a WCG split, splinter or sliver to take one.  They won't ever....ever.

Being out of the loop, it took me years to figure this out. It took me years to admit that what I was seeing in WCG was happening as my ENFP personality, which is Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling and Perceptive, also is founded upon the idea that people like me are negotiators, ministers, counselors and even massage therapists,  simply hates conflict. Or as my son said so aptly said once, "dad, you'd take a stabbing lying down." That hurt, not the stabbing, but the fact he was right. It's my loathing of conflict I have found that some, like Dave Pack, leader of the Restored Church of God, and others, who are what I would consider abusive, personality driven and more narcissist than shepherds, actually thrive on. Or as Stanley Rader, personal counsel to Herbert Armstrong once said, "I don't care what you say about me, just spell my name right." True narcissism. And so I dismissed in my mind what my heart was telling me was so and went about the business of pastoring people in concepts I still had faith in, even if I could see that the higher up one went in the business of religion, the more your brains turned to shit and you forgot where you put your spirit.

But even more than that, even more than losing faith in a particular church, I knew I was losing faith in faith. I had seen too much that was real and did not match the great promises of the Bible. For all the conflict over healing and doctor care, make-up, and all that I generally labeled as "majoring in the minors," I never asked anyone to do or not do what I would or would not do myself. My conscience is clean when it comes to being an enforcer of stupid things in years gone by. I found that "ask and you shall not have, do not ask and all things are possible", worked just fine in most cases and the years have proven my gut feelings correct in thinking that "someday, none of these things will be issues."

Back to the original thought. I have always been a seeker and open to new things even as a minister. Actually my internal definition of a minister seemed to contain the "keep looking" clause, but that was rare among my peers who felt they had found once and for all, as I did too, but now don't. I think my working mostly alone, apart from the big cities and multiple ministers in one place, probably saved me from scrutiny. The few times I did work with other ministers it was ongoing drama and egomania. I found it entertaining but stupid as well and it took me years to see it was more widespread than I imagined. So even as a minister in a "One True Church," I could see the Bible itself had problems that my Church and all Churches simply do not want to address.  There are many issues, Biblical and secular churches and pastors don't want to address.

Even as a kid in Sunday School, the stories in the Bible generated many questions about how such things could be in reality. Did Joshua really stop the earth from rotating so the Israelites could kill more Amelakites? Answer: NO. Not only is it bad science, but it's a just plain stupid reason to stop the rotation of the earth! Also, no one else on the planet noticed, which made me suspect.

Did 600,000 men, plus women, children and hangers on really trek around the Sinai in a group for 40 years leaving no signs of it? NO, they did not, at least not that many or for that long. I once read a study on how long it would take those in the back of a group that large to get moving once the front of the group started to move. It was weeks! It's mythology adopted to give a small insignificant people, who now get way too much attention, a history. How many times have we almost found Noah's Ark? Always a great story in the news that just goes away. It never happened, at least not in anyway the Bible describes.

Homo Erectus 1.8 Million Years

Over time, I came to see that evolution of all life, including man, is generally true, details to unfold as time goes on. The defensive arguments of the Creationists are lame. Not to them, because they need to believe it, but to me, because I don't. I'm not afraid not to believe the unbelievable. I'd rather be ahead of my times than behind. The 4.5 billion year old meteorites, the 2.5 billion year old banded iron and the 1.8 million year old early human tools in my room inform me more than the Bible and Genesis.

I have had my DNA taken back 100,000 years to Africa (I'm Dutch) and tracing the personal journey my cells, blood and spit have taken to get "me" to America. Fascinating how my saliva proves that in the distant past, "I" traveled through Yemen, Iran, Iraq, the Russian Steppes and left into Europe as Cro-Magnon, routing the Neanderthal who were already there, but lacked the imagination I had to rid the place of them in 18,000 years or so. I love that explanation and journey far more than I do those of the Bible, because it is true.

When I was a pastor and WCG was changing over from Holydays to Holidays, every doubt about the Biblical story of Jesus birth circumstances and the actual narratives came out. I felt that if they could flip over to something so theologically lame as Christmas, I could finally examine my doubts about the whole story. Needless to say, the birth narratives, over which the Church said I studied too much, are not coherent, do not agree, are two different stories, are not known by Mark, John or Paul and find their origins in pagan mythology. All Paul knew of the physical Jesus, who he never met or quoted, was that he was "born of a woman of the tribe of Judah." Nothing special there. Long story.

From there, I discovered that the story of the dying Sons of God in history, such as Osiris, Mithras and Jesus, were retelling of the larger story of the journey the real SUN of God takes around the 12 constellations of the Zodiac every year. It is no coincidence that the SON of God and the SUN are crucified in the Spring on and around the Spring Equinox or that Jesus was the Lamb of God as was the SUN in Aries, the Lamb when it was "crucified". For Jesus to be "with you until the end of the age," means more the age of Aries which ended 2000 years ago with Jesus death and not the end of the world as fundamentalist Christians insist. 

It explained all those 12 tribes, 12 sons, 12 disciples, 12 Apostles etc, that surrounded the "SON" on his one year ministry, according to Matthew, Mark and Luke, but three years according to John. It's no coincidence that in Revelation, God is surrounded by 24 elders, which are the hours in the day. To me this makes perfect sense and the fact that Matthew's Gospel accounts of Jesus ministry through the twelve months of his short ministry, exactly match the story of the SUN through the twelve signs of the Zodiac. Stories in the Bible that make no sense literally on earth, (like the Magi seeing Jesus star in the East and following it West to his house) often make perfect sense when you understand them as astro-theology. The story of the dying Son/Sun of God takes place every year over our heads. Light is the great revealer, but light also hides. You won't hear that story in church! Nuther long story. I suppose years ago I did wonder why in Malachi, the "Messiah" or Jesus as Christians said it pointed to, was said to be "the Sun that arose with healing in his wings." If you know of the Egyptian sun symbol with wings, you'll see how old a concept that was.

So while I find the story of the Bible in the heavens, as below...so above etc, I don't fear the literalism of the Bible anymore, nor would I teach it. This is, in part, why I feel strongly about those that are manipulated by ignorant and pushy pastor types, into supporting something literally that is not literally to be supported. Ideas have consequences and we see that every day with religion gone amuck. Spirituality, as I have always noted, comes from within and doesn't need your money nor for you to show up Wednesday evenings, Saturday or Sunday.

Now to some, the reason I can go on this journey of discovery and enlightenment, while painful at times, is because I was never converted to the truth of past affiliations. I think I was. I was a true believer for a long time. But when I saw how quickly those in "high" places could change and demand change, everything I ever doubted bubbled up and here I am. 

I have both a deep resentment for those that have hurt so many and a gratefulness that I was able to get out and not have the drama of all that followed. The local church I last pastored was already using me as a punching bag in place of those they really resented enough. Remember, I don't like conflict, much less being the imagined target and cause of their anger. I learned to tell people I was never one of them, but one of "you" working for "them." I grew up Presbyterian and well outside a lifelong WCG mentality. I did manage to remind Joe Tkach that he was reinventing the wheel and that what he found so so new in Jesus, was so so old a story to the vast majority of those who came to WCG in the first place. For that I was told later that "HQ thinks you know a lot about Jesus, Dennis...but they don't think you KNOW Jesus." Uh oh.... :) Actually I think I know about Jesus more than they can possibly imagine... at least the Jesus of the Bible. It seems real contemporaries of Jesus know little or nothing of a Jesus who was known everywhere according to the Bible.

And so I have lost faith in just having faith. I like the facts more than I like faith. I understand faith and I agree that sometimes there is nothing to have but faith until facts come forward. But I do not substitute faith for facts. Eventually faith falls to facts.  

 Even a good Buddhist will say that sometimes there is nothing left in life to do but have a good laugh. A good laugh and "faith" sometimes are the same thing. When I had my kids immunized in 1974 when it was not fashionable theologically in WCG, I did so because facts over rode my faith factors. When Herbert Armstrong said in a Bible study that dinosaurs probably couldn't reproduce because they were created by Satan who couldn't either, I went with the cover of National Geographic  I saw on his coffee table in his office that displayed dino eggs. That happened a lot over the years when I listened to one minister or another on various topics they really knew little about. Mixing religion with science is lame.

 I"m still an extrovert, intuitive, feeling and perceptive. I still do "counseling" and I still hate conflict and confrontation. I don't, however, believer I will take a stabbing lying down again.  

Transitions are messy and in looking back, mine certainly was.  As Frank sang, "Mistakes I've made a few. But then again, please don't make me mention them..." or something like that .  Older, wiser and more settled is the end result.  Moving to Oregon was the best thing I have ever done and only the second place I choose to move to in my live rather than have the church tell me to do it.  If I can see Mt. Hood or Mt St Helens on the way home from work which I will do til I drop, it's all good. 

 I suggest you find out what you are and you'll understand your life in much more detail. Humans are hardwired the moment the sperm hits the egg...the rest is conditioning, programming, tribal expectations, fear, guilt and shame that keeps one in line with the group, religion or organization.

I also simply want people to think before they get hurt by those god-haunted types who run on emotion and the need to control. 

Sometimes we have to loose our minds to come to our senses. You can loose a lot of other things along the way when you do that, but being more authentic is well worth it. It's what ENFP's treasure almost above all other things.

Thanks for listening.....

UPDATED: GCI Purchases New HQ Building in Charlotte, North Carolina

See story here:  New Home Office purchased

Grace Communion International has purchased a building in Charlotte, North Carolina for their new HQ building.   Located close to the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, it will allow easy access for ministers to fly in an out for conferences.

GCI purchased a building in Glendora , CA after selling the Pasadena campus and moved their HQ to 2011 E Financial Way.

The new facility in Charlotte offers them 27,000 sq. ft. of office space as well as a place to store the historical archives of the Radio/Worldwide Church of God/Ambassador College.

Loopnet had this:

Property Shark states that the current value of the property which includes the building and 45 acres of land to be worth around 2.3 million, though the source that sent this info says they paid close to $3,000,000.

More details here:  Property Shark

This is sure to be really irksome to the Loving Living Church of God that has its HQ in Charlotte also. Perhaps they can have a joint picnic soon. Both churches now have a membership size of around 7,000 or less, each

When one steps back and looks at all of this, it is actually a sad sight to behold    From a premier campus that was a showcase to the world, to HQ's in industrial parks, it is a sad conclusion to the COG empire. From 100,000+ members to hundreds and hundreds of splinter groups with 5,000-7,000 or less, it is a sad legacy to behold.  Some groups are more legalistic than Herbert Armstrong ever imagined, and other groups are freed from the shackles of legalism, yet in spite of all of this, the church continues to fracture and dissolve.  Eyes are now upon LCG to have issues once Rod Meredith dies and others are looking at another major split to happen in UCG as it inches closer and closer to abandoning the law and embracing grace.  While I have to see that one to believe it, many say it is in the works.  

Now we wait to see if Gerald Weston will take over a Welcome Basket when GCI officially moves in.  It is only a short trip up the road for a friendly visit to reminisce over old times!

By merely hearing my voice and being faithful to me, you too can escape!

Superfantabulous Dave has the power to save you!

We just had a family of five come with us from Sardis. It’s an interesting discussion—the promise God makes to Sardis. If people from the Sardis—a family of five this week…We’re still booming just like we were in November, by the way. No slow down, not at all…And I mean a family—wonderful—a husband, wife, three children; Church of God Seventh Day in a foreign country, came with us. You know what? If they stay faithful…This might be one of the first sermons they hear. I think they started this week…then they escape.