The Unspoken Splinter: It's Hard to Become an Atheist

There’s something many Christians don’t realize, and many atheists don’t talk about: it is very hard, scary, and time-consuming to leave your faith and become an atheist. Becoming an atheist (or agnostic, polytheist, etc.) tears at the fabric of your personal identity, rips out all the mental, emotional, and (il)logical safeguards you previously placed your faith in, and decimates your support networks and communities. As a former Christian, I know this firsthand. And it frustrates me that this isn’t talked about more, among Christians and among atheists. So here I am, talking about it on the internet.

https://authorofconfusion.com/2018/03/24/its-hard-to-become-an-atheist-what-christians-dont-realize-and-atheists-dont-talk-about/

Christianese and The “Lazy Atheist”

The Christian community has an extensive lexicon of terms and phrases, something I like to affectionately call “Christianese.” Christianese does some pretty silly things with the English language. It puts prepositions in strange places — only in youth group do you “love on” someone, a term that is both puzzling and slightly pornographic. Christianese also peppers sentences with unnecessary proper nouns and adverbs — “Lord, just…” is a common way to start every sentence in a group prayer.

Christianese also has a selection of phrases for people who leave the faith, including: “backslidden,” (primarily Old Testament) “fallen away” (primarily New Testament) or “lapsed” (primarily institutional). These words all suggest that to leave the faith is an act of laziness, weakness, or lack of trying. If you no longer climb up, you slide back. If you no longer hold on, you fall away. If you no longer adhere to a set of rules or responsibilities, you have lapsed. With this kind of language ingrained in the Christian community, it’s no wonder that they view people who walk away as being weak (either mentally, emotionally, or spiritually). This couldn’t be further from the truth, but the subtle negging of this particular mind game is admittedly brilliant.

Becoming An Atheist Is A Struggle

Listen, leaving a faith you grew up in is not an easy thing. It’s a painful, introspective, self-aware process wherein you strip yourself down to your elements and reassemble yourself piece by piece. It will inevitably include feelings of panic, loss, guilt, anger, frustration, and betrayal, none of which are pleasant and all of which need to be worked through sufficiently before finally coming to terms with your atheism. You will be forced to wade through conversation after frustrating conversation with other Christians — in small group, in church, over lunch with friends, in lecture halls — where the questions eating away at your mind are dismissed with the same Bible verses or institutional catchphrases. Even at my college, surrounded by some of the most intelligent minds in Christian academia, I walked away with either insubstantial fluff or mind-bending interpretive theories, both of which left me wanting to pull my hair out.

Becoming an atheist doesn’t happen overnight, either (although terms like “backsliding” and “falling away” make it sound like a quick, split-second kind of thing). The process of leaving the faith can take years. I started having those first deep, world-shaking questions about my faith four years ago. I’m still adjusting to this new life, weeding out old biases, teaching myself that cosmic guilt is unnecessary. I’ve listened to the many debates, read dozens of books, watched hundreds of videos, inspected multiple holy texts, exposed myself to innumerable worldviews, and exhausted most of my close friends (both religious and otherwise) with persistent conversations on the subject. It’s time-consuming and intentional. It’s not a slip-up, not a mistake, not a lack of attention or concentration, and certainly not weakness.

Choosing To Stay An Atheist Is A Struggle, Too

Once you become an atheist, choosing to stay one presents its own challenges, which require strength and mental clarity. If you come from a background of faith, you will find that the people who used to be your greatest support system either vanish, become hostile, or look at you differently. Sure, the lucky atheists among us might have family or friends that accept them and love them regardless of their lack of faith, but the point remains: you now embody everything they think is wrong with the world. You are now, more or less, the “enemy,” the thing their God said to watch out for. If you are not hated, you are pitied. And you are always, always to be disproved, by word, deed, or prayer.

There are also very personal reasons staying an atheist is hard. If you’re going through a difficult time in your life, it’s really hard to no longer be able to feel like a higher power is watching out for you. If something bad happens to someone you care about and you can’t be there, you feel at a loss to help because you no longer believe prayer works. If someone asks you “Why do I face this challenge?” or “What happens after death?” the answers get a lot more tricky. (On the other hand, questions like “Why do bad things happen to good people?” get a lot easier to answer.) These are trying experiences, especially when you used to feel connected, safe, like you had the answers.

Atheism Is Worth The Struggle

So, why become and stay an atheist? It’s different for different people, and I can only speak for myself. I went to a Christian college where we were encouraged to ask hard questions about faith and the Bible. (PERSONAL NOTE: We weren't) I asked the questions that didn’t have acceptable answers. Believe me, I looked for those answers. If you could have seen 20-year-old Vi staggering out of the library with a dozen thick tomes on the subject of God, you would have laughed. I decided I couldn’t logically come to the conclusion that God existed (at least in the form that Christians claimed He did). It wasn’t even a choice at that point. My brain literally wouldn’t allow me to reenter that warm, fuzzy world of faith, even if I’d wanted to. It was like waking up from a dream and not being able to fall back to sleep.

Once that happened and I came to terms with that loss, I realized that other things I had been living with — a pervasive sense of inherent dirtiness or unworthiness, fear of the corrupt outside world, the ghostly promise of societal persecution, the mental gymnastics required to morally justify Hell, the concept of sin itself — had been lifted from me. The freedom and lightness of being that I’ve felt since then is rivaled only by my newfound ease of mind and spirit. But the point is that this did not happen all at once, it did not happen without sacrifice, and certainly did not happen without years of critical thought and work that continues to this day.

A Call To All Christians With Atheists In Their Lives (AKA All Of Them)

Dear Christians, atheists know you will never agree with them about their lack of belief. Reasonable atheists don’t expect you to. We are grateful when we can have civil conversations about our differences without fear or anger. But the one thing you can do for the atheists in your life (and no matter how insulated in the community you are, I guarantee you have atheists in your life) is respect the intentionality of walking away. We are not weak. We’ve done a very difficult thing, something many people wouldn’t even dare to do. At least give us the courtesy of acknowledging that.

LCG: Real Men Don't Have Crippling Emotions

From an LCG source:

Did you know it's a virtue to be a cold hearted, aggressive ass? 

This TW cover article by Wally Smith should clarify it for you...

..."At the same time, the ability to emotionally detach oneself from the circumstance at hand in order to “get the job done” is a praiseworthy trait, allowing for clarity and achievement at times when emotions would be crippling." Is Masculinity Really Toxic?

"Sadly, society seems to be attempting to define men out of existence at the very moment in history when we may need them most. The God of the Bible speaks of terrible times ahead—an overdue rendezvous with the consequences of our rejection of Him, His laws, His design, and His guidance. The period to come in human history will be like no other has ever been, and no period afterward will ever match its ferocity and horrors (Matthew 24:21; Jeremiah 30:7).

Yet the Eternal reveals plainly what He is looking for to forestall such days—and what He fails to find: “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one” (Ezekiel 22:30).

Assertively—even aggressively—fighting against the crowd to do what is right, standing up on one’s own two feet when the rest of the world is crawling on its knees, and being strong enough to bear the intense weight of society’s pressure to conform to corrupt standards without deviating from what is true… All of those sound like the sorts of tasks for which men are made. Let us hope there are some left. 

Are there real men left in LCG? Is anyone really left in LCG to stand in the gap?

What do You Mean, NO MAN? (Answer to WAT)

"My first big question for you is, do you really know what you are fighting against? The next big question would be how are you going to get around "NO MAN". The John 6:44 no man can come to me unless the Father which has sent me draws (drags) him."

First, let me tackle John 6:44 so you can understand the viewpoint that I understand here. John 6:44 states:

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day."

The proper perspective, I believe, to look at this scripture has to do with the reconciliation of man to the Father through Jesus Christ. I don't want to turn this post into a preach fest, but you asked me questions, and I have to respond by scripture: 

"For if, while we were God's enemies, (speaking of the Father)  we were reconciled to himthrough the death of his Son, (Jesus) how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved." 

Now let's look at John 6 in context: 

43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly I tell you,the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” 52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. 60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” 61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.” (NIV)

My understanding is as such: The Father God has been reconciled to man through Jesus Christ, who died for us and lives in us. The Spirit is what gives life (The Holy Spirit whom lives in us), and the flesh counts "for nothing". The focus that Jesus said was this: That it is a matter of who believes and who does not believe - those that believe that Jesus is the Son of God and those that would betray him. Jesus said that this is the reason He said no one can come to himself unless "the Father has enabled them" to believe. 

The question is on belief. Jesus has made clear that any and all who believe in Him have life. This was proven as evidentiary by the acceptance of the Gentiles by the Holy Spirit who gave the Gentiles the same gift as the Jews - an event that absolutely rocked the hearts and minds and the worldviews of the Jewish Church. Those who did not believe were not drawn by the Father (God is never about forcing people to believe something or not, He gives choice), those who did believe did so because the Father accepted their belief even before Jesus actually died on the Cross. 

Every man who believes is accepted by God. It doesn't make them perfect, it doesn't make them immune to sin - but it allows the ability of repentance through acceptance of reconciliation to the Father only provided by Jesus Christ. It is this message that Armstrongism is against - stating that reconciliation to the Father has not happened yet, is STILL A FUTURE EVENT EVEN NOW,  that the world is still ruled by Satan except those few who believe in Armstrongism, and that those in the world are deceived and cut off from God, thereby not receiving or taking part in any reconciliation to the Father, whether Jew or Gentile, unless accepting of the doctrines of Armstrongism and the keeping of and bonding to the entirety of Law. This is contrary to the teachings of the New Testament, of Paul, of the Acts 15 Council decisions, and of the entirety of the reconciliation proof of God to man through the acceptance of the Gentiles without the necessity of the keeping of the Law as was mandated to the Jews in the Old Testament. This is where the "No man" difference is put to a test. So the question I have for you, then, is simply this: Did the Father reconcile man to himself - and who does that apply to? Armstrongism, or all who believe? 

The other question that you pose is "do I know who I am fighting against"? Scripture answers that question in Ephesians 6:12: 

¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.(NIV)

The bottom line to your question is this: The Father has been reconciled to man through Jesus Christ. Mankind has a choice: To believe, or not to believe. This is a personal choice, not done by force or coercion. No man can come to the Father unless drawn by the Father, to make the choice of belief. The issue is if one believes, or does not believe - in their heart, mind and soul - of who Jesus says that He is. The Father knows who does and who does not in their heart, and by their heart shall they believe. This is not a question of who is or is not accepted into Armstrongism or Armstrong's doctrines. It's a matter of belief in the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

submitted by SHT

UCG Lectures Elders on British Israelism

These were two of the topics that UCG discussed with their Elders on the Sabbath; something Herbert would NEVER have done!  Also, a large percentage of UCG ministers and members no longer believe the mess that British Israelism is and know it has no relevance to anything in the kingdom to come.  While the tales may make fascinating ready, it has no real impact on a Christians walk with God

Instead of discussing this malarkey as "truth", perhaps at the next conference they might discuss something really radical...Jesus.

Galatians 3:28-29 

In Christ’s Family

28-29 In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ’s family, then you are Abraham’s famous “descendant,” heirs according to the covenant promises.

UCG Elder's Conference Discussed "The Great Compact"

Why is it that the amazing leaders of the Churches of God have to create new phrases in order to discuss subjects that Christians have understood for centuries?  The plan of salvation has always been known, except in the Church of God which has had to attach all kinds of rules and regulations in order for any ACOG member to qualify for it.

UCG held its Elder's Conference this past weekend in the spectacularly beautiful City of Cincinnati, Ohio.  This one topic stood out from the others as one of the more bizarre topics that they were lectured upon.

I assume this will be a discussion on salvation, but this, after all, is a Church of God where nothing is as it should be.

UCG, like the other ACOG's can't understand the plan of salvation because it still ignores Jesus in order to prostrate themselves at the altar of the law they have set up as their true idol.

Sunday, May 5 

The Compact 

The greatest agreement ever made is still honoured and always will be. This great compact is forever, and the outcome is certain. It was made for our sake. We must know what it is, and how it impacts our lives individually and the church today. Understanding the mystery of this eternal compact allows us to assess where we are on the spiritual spectrum of God’s plan. 

Are we on it? Is the path ahead clear to us upon whom the ends of the earth have come? When we properly understand the mystery of this great compact, it gives us the capacity to know where we are and who we are in the great plan of God. It is the heart of everything that is. (Bill Bradford)  Conference Brochure

If you want proof that this is a wierd topic just try Googling it.  It is a completely COG made up phrase.

Gerald Weston: LCG is the Church of Love

Did you know that the Living Church of God is the most loving COG because they keep correct doctrine? Because of that love, we also know that LCG has true disciples!  Amazing!

Every few years the leadership of the Living Church of God has to remind its members that they are to be loving towards one another and be reminded that the top leadership truly loves them. Never has there been a Church of God that loves its members more!

Remember that love?  That love that was shown the Scarborough's when  LCG maligned them and publicly sought to humiliate them?  What about the love that just oozes from Rod McNair's fingertips?  We have seen LCG members share stories of that love on this blog over the last 8 years and it has not been very loving!

Gerald Weston has this to say about love, correct doctrine, and the LCG.

Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). This is a powerful statement and should not be minimized. However, contrary to what many profess, love is more than a warm feeling in one’s heart. It involves sacrifice and caring actions toward God and toward our fellow man.

The Church of God has always sought to demonize Christians outside the small circle of the Armstrong Churches of God.  They never measure up to the glorious standards that LCG or the COG sets.  All others are "fake" or so-called" Christians who "claim to profess" Christian ideals.  Only real love and real truth are to be found within the ACOG movement.

Correct doctrine is vital to the Church of God and love is at the heart of correct doctrine. After all, the Bible is an expression of the mind of God and God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). The Apostle known for his love tells us, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). So why is this subject so important that I take time to address it in this monthly letter with you dear members and co-workers?

When has "correct doctrine" ever been a benchmark of the ACOG?  It always claims that it is, but with 400 some different active splinter groups there are 400 different ideas on what doctrine should and should not be.

Doctrine, we might say, is simply teachings or instructions, and in this case, the teachings of the Bible. The Apostle Paul confirms that doctrine is important. He warned the Church of God at Ephesus that they “should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. . .” (Ephesians 4:14). And he urged the members in Rome to “note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them” (Romans 16:17).

Doctrine is simply the teaching of Jesus.  That inconvenient dude that most ACOG's have built pillars of stone upon where they have engraved the law. Jesus has never been able to crawl out from under the weight of that monument to the law, which is probably the reason most of them cannot find him.

Right doctrine is what allows us to have unity. Paul told the Corinthians that they should all speak the same thing, meaning they should be unified in the basic doctrines they were taught by Paul and other ministers of the truth (1 Corinthians 1:10). And he pointed out that we must strive to keep the unity of the faith: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).

When has the Armstrong Church of God ever been unified?  Rebellion and schism created it and continues to form it to this day.  Unity is NOT part of the ACOG way.

As for the Living Church of God following Paul...truly laughable!

A servant of God must teach sound doctrine as found in the Bible, not ideas with roots in pagan philosophy and heathen practices. He must also be bold in proclaiming the truth and in fulfilling God’s command, “Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet; tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins” (Isaiah 58:1). We live in an age where God is despised, because this generation, especially, hates His laws. Biblical values are rejected at every turn and a totalitarian-minded elite is convincing a whole generation to do everything it can to wipe out any remembrance of God and His Word. The “culture war” is, more precisely, an assault against God.

When has the Living Church of God ever "cried aloud and spared not?"  They deceptively spread their version of the truth on cable and Internet stations in mediums that they whitewash their story to in order to be put online. LCG presents themselves as visions of light and glory to the stations and channels while secretly looking at them as deceived heretical fools.

Sure there are a lot of LCG members who truly do exhibit love towards others, and some even towards those outside the LCG circle, but not so much so with the leadership.

Perhaps on Pentecost, the next high day in COGland the Living Church of God leaders could instruct members to give their offerings to the local food bank or homeless shelter and go there and serve that day.  That would truly be the Holy Spirit in action!

How are we certain that that "calling" is actually from God? Could there be an alternative explanation?

What about the Truth said: 

SHT, you have missed the big point that answers your question. I think you were as many others were, children of parents that came into the WCG. The majority of this group could never completely embrace what their parents believed and it was to no fault of their own that they were not exactly like their parents. The big dynamic that you have missed is the calling from God. The same calling that pushed, pulled and in some cases dragged themselves into something they had no real desire to get into and went against their sound reasoning of I have better things to do in life.

First, you are correct - I am from a lineage in the Church that started with a baptism tour by McNair/Meredith - a long, long ways back. I do have to address your statement of "The Calling from God" - a "Calling" that pushed, or pulled, or dragged people into the Worldwide Church of God. This in itself is a whole article and research to get into at another time, and one I intend to get into, but that's for a different time to break that down. The big questions have to be: 

A) How are we certain that that "calling" is actually from God? Could there be an alternative explanation? 

B) What evidence is there that such actions would be God-ordained? 

These are the primary questions at the root of your argument as to the large point to the major question here. We have to deduce and determine, factually, that the actual reason why people were "pushed, pulled or dragged" into the Church was because God determined it was to be so. This must be done using fact, evidence, historical truths, and personal reasons for each individual case. 

This calling or strong urge then led to accepting the reality that the wages that they had earned from sinning was death. This now led to the accepting that a perfect son was sacrificed for us and with the act of baptism and the acknowledgment that now having Christ indwelling in a person, you could not now expose Jesus Christ to sin. So the Sabbath, which the COG calls the test commandment and is of the 1st five commandments that relate to the worship of the Father becomes a desire to be kept because it was made holy and God says He wants that person to convocate with him and like minded people. The same applies to the Holy Days. These acts of keeping the Sabbath or Holy Days are physical acts expressing what Jesus Christ called the greatest commandment - to love the Lord thy God with your whole heart soul and mind. Many of the people that remain in the COGs count it a blessing to have to keep 1 day in seven and 7-14 other days with God and with those begotten of God because they get to start doing now what they hope will be in earnest in the near future - the return of Christ and the eventuality of eternally dwelling with God.

This is the bubble within what you call Armstrongism and is the bubble that has perplexed you personally. You have asked how could God call people into such an error filled organization or how could their be true Christians in the COGs. I don't have a direct answer to those questions but it could be that god wants to show the world that a small group of people in the midst of much error and evil can acknowledge love and worship him when most on the outside say it is impossible.

You state first that 

A) The wages that they had earned from sinning was death. No argument on your point. I think that that is something that all people who claim a belief in Jesus Christ believe. This isn't at first a major differentiator. 

B) You state that there is an acceptance that Jesus Christ died for us and with the act of baptism we could not now "expose Jesus Christ to sin". Let me stop here. Scripture says Jesus Christ became sin for us, in our place. There's a big difference between "exposing Christ to sin" - we all our sinners, only saved by grace - and Christ becoming sin for us and dying for us in our place so we can then be reconciled to God through his death and life. Therefore, this statement you make about "exposing Jesus Christ to sin" is redundant, because Christ has already become sin for us. 

C) You state that this desire to "keep the Sabbath and Holy Days" is the main thrust of holiness, physical acts of expressing what Jesus Christ calls the greatest commandment, to love the Lord. Here's the problem. When the focus becomes physical acts to show love to God, the actual spiritual acts that constitute daily life and living in the Spirit of God become secondary and less important. Historical and present truth shows this to be the case. The emphasis of Armstrongism must be spiritual first, not physical - whereas Armstrongism reverses this and makes it physical first, then spiritual. The heart might be in the right place, but the batteries have been put in backwards. 

D) It may be true that the Sabbath rest familiar to the COG's of one day off may constitute a blessing to many. Many Christians also enjoy the Rest of God by the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit all the time. I'm not blemishing your belief and your understanding of the seventh-day Sabbath. I am pointing out a difference of opinion that has happened since the conception of the Church, a difference starkly polarizing now as it once was between Jew and Gentile. As Paul said, it is a matter of preference. You are stating here, that the main people in the COG Sphere of Armstrongism have sided with the Jewish side of the argument, and have lost favor of the Gentile persuasion of the argument. You may have a solid point here, but it must be verified as to if the calling was actually from God, or if the "calling" was simply a siding of agreement with Paul, or agreement with the more Jewish-centered Christians in the whole argument of question. 

E) I'm not doubting there are true Christians in the COG's. Christians are people, not any corporate Church. God meets people where they are, and works with people personally. I don't believe I've ever stated I don't believe Christians are in Armstrongism. I do, however, fully believe Armstrongism as a whole is NOT Christian as a denomination or organization - though again, I believe there are Christians who go to ACOG Churches that do have the Holy Spirit. 

These called out ones understand when they read Paul who tells them to see their calling or make their calling and election sure. Unfortunately these same people equate their calling to the entity they were called to and can't see right now where the truth has been mangled and trampled.

Selective reading of Paul is pretty common in the COG's. It's looked through a filter, a lens, that is only read through the delivered message of Herbert Armstrong. The entire context of Paul's writings in the NT constitute a clear picture of what is required to make a calling and election sure. Armstrongism dilutes this message completely. 

Although these people are in a bubble it is still permeable to the appalling conduct of their leaders which is most unfortunate. Most of these people are not going to leave until something big happens. Hopefully that big thing is what they are waiting for - God in their very midst.

Here is the big dilemma. Where is God in the appalling (that's putting it mildly) conduct of their leaders? We even have illegitimate pastors out there who have not even been ordained trying to run a sect! Every type of atrocity is out there in Armstrong Churches of God way out in the open. When one focuses on Jesus, totally and with pure focus, then God will be within them and work through them and make change from the inside out.

submitted by SHT

What Is it that makes Armstrongism SO appealing to those who support it?

It's a valid question.

What is it exactly, that makes Armstrongism SO appealing to those who fully embrace it's completely flawed ideologies? What is it about Armstrongism that has caused people to completely deny reality in their quest for truth and understanding?

Despite the full brunt of historical evidence which is a free and open library for the browsing, Armstrongist supporters wear blindfolds and earplugs in the face of such dramatic affronts to their concepts and mindless imaginations. Despite the full brunt of hardships and assaults on rightful living, and despite the full brunt of even half-ways intelligent rebuttals to some of their most easily dis-proven theological embarrassments, they continue to relish in the madness of constant deceptions and continual delusion. They do not believe it is deception, nor do they believe it is delusion. To them, it's reality - even though clearly, and without any legitimate dispute, it is anything but reality. It is clearly, and unarguably, complete non-sense - made up by one man, with one vision, and one dream, fueled by vanity, ego, conceit, and power.

With that framework clear - what is it, then, that makes Armstrongism SO appealing to those who support it? It is the clear embracing of the concepts and imaginative dreaming of exactly the mindsets of the one who started it all. Namely, vanity, ego, conceit, and power.

Armstrongism is a fairy tale land of make-believe for many who did not, in real life, achieve, attain, or grasp the lifelong dreams of authority they may have wanted in their human lives to that point. For others, it was an avenue to create within that very structure the very embodiment of real power, using ego, and vanity, and conceit to achieve just such.

For others, traditional religion had, for one reason, or another, burnt them severely - whether it was Catholicism, or Protestantism, or any other form of organized religion which had shown itself, to them, as a fully evident fraudulent system - Armstrongism provided bucketfuls of theories as to why Corporate Christianity was as untruthful as they had observed it to be. With stories of abuse and freshly laid paths that all led to evil and paganism from within their horror stories of Corporate Christianity past, they were more than eager to embrace a different, seemingly refreshing concept of what they took to be a new light of truth.

This new light of truth, in fact - was the spark that all of these people began to fully indoctrinate within themselves, regardless of what exactly their specific reason was. Their leader, Herbert Armstrong, or whichever splinter leader they bought into later on down the road - spoke with enough convincing argument and authority that - when juxtaposed against the lies they had bought in the past, simply seemed to make sense and were appealing to minds that rejected what they thought was correct in the first place. Perhaps, in previous experiences, they experienced the abusive Southern Baptist Pastor, or the deviant Catholic Priest. Perhaps, in previous experiences, they remember the commercialism of secular Christmases, or the perceived emptiness they may have felt chasing Easter eggs on Easter morning. Or, perhaps, they simply were not taught the tenets of actual, authentic, Christianity - instead trapped in a televangelist-oriented, money-abusing system bent on money, authority, and power - and fled it, only to be attracted to the exact same system by someone else who told them they, well, were not after their money, and were not, initially, believing the system was about money, authority, and power. In short - they were duped once, then were duped again.

In a majority of so many of these cases was one common characteristic that was embraced. The idea that what was before was wrong - so what is now must be right.

And you have to admit, from the surface - in the worldview that it was in the 20th Century - it seemed right. It certainly did seem right! Technology - the space age - in fact, the nuclear age - made a convincing argument to Herbert's theories. The rapid rise of Armstrongism and growth led a sense of credibility to the argument. It's hard to argue when your emotions are completely overtaxed with 14,000 other people who are believing what you believe, and are of the same mindset! If they are right, and you are right - well then, it must be right, and that's that, right?

And that - right there - was the seed and the trap that made it all appealing. Here's a new and different way of living and thinking that opened up new doors to a whole new world of opportunity. But with all of the available opportunities and traditions were the acceptance of unquestioned and unchecked power from those in charge of the system they were embracing. The kicker that said "I'm in" The belief that down the road, in just a few years - is the absolute assurance that Herbert's ideas were true - including you being a part of a World Rulership where you, yourself, would be one of those in the King's Inner Circle, ruling and governing in - you guessed it - authority, luxury - and power - right back to square one.

The only thing is?

Herbert's ideas were not true. They were lies. They were built on financial greed and empirical lust. They were built on irrational concepts of racism and superiority. They were built on worldly business models, with the capstone worldly treasures that would make the top rich and powerful in their world, and the poor impoverished and shackled. The promises of a Utopian government in 3 to 5 years were false. The promises of interpretations of prophecies were also just as false. The ideas of the majority of the ministers were - you guessed it - false. In fact, Herbert's empire was just as scandalous, just as abusive, just as divisive, and just as greedy as anything you'd find in what they came from in the first place. The end result was disappointment, disillusionment, and a deep hunger for facts without the emotional and/or spiritual concepts that hurt them so much in the first place. And what was created? Dysfunction, Distrust - and in many cases, agnosticism and atheism. And in most cases? Anxiety, depression, trauma - to name just a few behavioral issues that were born from the cesspool of Armstrong's Atrocities.

Bringing it back around to the original question. What is it then, NOW, that makes Armstrongism SO appealing to those who support it - despite all of the above, or the reasons, and what not?

It can only be one thing. And it's best described summarily in just five words.

It is, what it is.

Their entire lives, full extended families, decades of memories, and a host of other entrenched webs are simply worth more than what it would be to start new. So, even though there are other more appealing options that look available despite the disgust of the deceit they plainly see, not changing anything would be, to them - a greater risk of collapsing their entire life's structure than it would be to leave the structure and build new. In other words - they fear it would all collapse on them before they get out to start new.

Thus, the appeal the remains, honestly - in totality -  is for many - rooted in just ONE word.

Survival.

by SHT