Dennis Leap: Blanket Training Still Church Doctrine; Wives and Children Must Come When Called

Anyone that ever grew up in the church in the 50's - 70's know all about "blanket training" of infants and small children   Parents were supposed to force their child to lay on a small piece of fabric on the living room floor for 2 hours straight without making a noise or crying.  If the child cried thy were to be spanked and put back on the blanket.  This was to be repeated endlessly till the child could fully complete 2 solid hours of quiet time. 

If a child cried in services or made loud noises they were to be taken to the restroom and beaten till they stopped.  

Growing up in the Cincinnati church in the early 60's, under Carn Catherwood, the child abuse that went on then was appalling.  Spokesman Club sold paddles that were one inch think with holes drilled in them to cut down wind resistance.  I remember vividly when I was 5 or 6 watching one father take his child out to be spanked and the child saying loudly so that all could hear, "Daddy, please no!  No Daddy, don't spank me!" Other kids cowered in silence as they watched him walk down the aisle with the frightened boy. Catherwood used to tell parents that he wanted to hear the paddle hitting their kids and to hear them cry when spanked.  He wanted to hear them cry as he preached.  20 swats, no matter what.That "blanket training" is still church doctrine in the more aberrant COG's, particularly the Philadelphia Church of God.

Dennis Leap is back laying down the law when it comes to children and church. He has 4 major rules that must not be broken, otherwise the child may not make it into the kingdom due to the fact that they have become rebellious cigarette smoking, drug addicted fornicators that end up in heavy metal bands playing songs dedicated to Satan.

Dennis Leap writes: Teach Your Child Self Control:

Rule 1:    Blanket training

Teaching a child to sit and play quietly or sleep on a blanket during Sabbath services has been a tradition in God’s Church for decades. This training not only stops noisy interruptions during services, it is also a foundational plank for building self-discipline in children. 

Failing to apply this blanket training makes the teaching of self-discipline more difficult as children mature. Not blanket training shows a lack of love and respect for the brethren attending services with you and your family. God’s people need to attend services in undisturbed surroundings where they can hear God’s messages without regular interruption. Granted, there will be times when a disruption is unavoidable. Yet it is the parents’ responsibility to make sure noisy interruptions by their children are infrequent and dealt with immediately.

Practice each day by spreading a blanket on the floor and having your child sit on it quietly for about an hour. My wife always did her Bible study at the same time. Be sure to sit next to the child. When your child attempts to move off the blanket or makes noise, tell him “No!” once. Move the child back onto the blanket or give him a hand signal (forefinger against the lips) to be quiet. When your child moves off the blanket or makes noise a second time, discipline him or her. Continue the process until your child accepts the fact that he or she must remain on the blanket and be quiet. This is self-control in action. 

In the next rule from Leap he discusses that children must be taught to come when called.  Men re to use their wives as an example.  Wives are to come when called so that the children will come like Mommy.

In the church there was a far more sinister reason for this, one that I heard repeatedly growing up   "You need to learn to come the moment I call you r name, because it may be the time we need to flee and you will get left behind if you do not come immediately "   What could be more sickening that to tell a child that!

Rule 2: Teach your child to come when called (just like your wife does)

Start teaching your child to come to you when he is walking securely on his own. If you have done blanket training, you’ll know that your child understands you. 

My wife and I generally waited until our children were about 18 months before we began “come here” training. We set aside an evening to do this. We called them “come here nights.” I’ll be honest—this is a tough one.

Once children are up and running on their own, they do not appreciate being interrupted from what they are doing. To command them to come to you requires them to give up what they want to do and do what you want them to do. Children want to be their own authority. To submit to your authority requires self-discipline. 

There is great advantage in teaching this skill at an early age. Your children will find it difficult to submit to God’s authority if they do not learn to submit to yours. Their physical and spiritual safety depends on obedience to direct commands. 

The same fearful shit is being pounded into kids!  

On “come here nights,” I told my child to come here. I allowed my daughters a brief amount of time to hear, think and respond. If there was no action, to make sure she understood, I would ask either my wife or an older sister to come here, and she would do so, to demonstrate. Then I would repeat the command to the one I was working with. If I did not get the appropriate response, I disciplined her. I repeated the process until I received an immediate response. Depending on the child, some “come here nights” were short events—others were not. Be prepared to invest considerable time if necessary.

After you beat your child, it is important that they appreciate the spanking.

Rule 3. Teach your child to respond positively to correction 

When you discipline your child, make sure he responds with a good attitude and right behavior. Make it your goal to not finish a correction session until your child demonstrates a good attitude, repentance and right behavior. This requires love, patience, strong teaching and time—a lot of time—on your part. It will be worth all your effort. As Paul says, there will be great rewards when you meet this goal. Your child will be happier and on the road to real success. Remember, positive response to correction will help your child forever.

Next in is important to make you children work or do activities, especially memorizing the bible. 

Rule 4. Encourage your child to take on activities that build self-discipline

Memorizing scripture is also a valuable self-discipline builder.

Then to instill more fear into parents an children, he ends his article with he following comment:

This year we traveled to the Feast on an airplane, with a Church family with small children—and there was peace and tranquility! I was actually able to study and reflect on the most important Feast days of the year. What a pleasure it was to be in the company of well-trained children. 

God forbid if your child ever has to sit next to Leap on a plane.  If he or she does I hope it screams for the entire flight!

 

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COG Pastor Was Murdered Over Money

More to the story about Ed Acquisto killing John Cloud in a cemetery.  Both were COG members and Cloud had his own church that he pastored.

Edward Acquisto was given a “significant” loan in 2011, Police Chief Thomas Blakey said, and an argument about paying it back led Acquisto to shoot and kill John Cloud of Kingston, Mass., in the town’s Pocasset Hill Cemetery on a Monday night earlier this month. 

Blakey would not say how much Acquisto “legally” borrowed from the congregational church he and Cloud belonged to, but did say Acquisto apparently reneged on the agreement to pay it back. 

“It does not seem that there was anything substantial paid back,” Blakey said. Newport Daily News

After Acquisto shot and killed Cloud, he then ran from the police till he was cornered and shot as he emerged from his car holding a gun.

Acquisto was killed in a driveway of a home on Ford Farm Road, across from the town cemetery, after a brief police chase about an hour after he shot Cloud in the cemetery. Acquisto drove into Fall River after shooting Cloud and was chased back into Tiverton by Fall River and Tiverton police who spotted his car about a half-mile from the Tiverton border. Acquisto was shot and killed by police after emerging from his car with a gun in hand.  Newport Daily News

Even The Drudge Report had a link to it today:  COPS: 80-Year-old Kills 81-Year-old by Grave

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Why British Israelism Is Wrong: There is NO Pure Race

UPDATED: More Turmoil in Charlotte As Meredith's Gestapo Agents Fire Well Respected John Robinson

John Robinson

The previous video here was pulled by LCG due to the mounting negative publicity over its mistreatment of the Robinson family.  The members are questioning the horrible tactics of the leadership once again and LCG is not happy at being in the spotlight with more negative publicity.

A source added today:

Due to negative feedback from Robinson being fired the official word is that he'll be working from "home". 

This reminds me of the story parents would tell their kids about the family dog being sent to live on a farm when in reality they had it put to sleep.

A thinking person would think that Rod Meredith would have learned a lesson with the Leona McNair lawsuit and the impending Scarborough lawsuit, that is to keep his mouth shut and stop his knee jerk reactions.  But no, he has to lord it over his members and treat the good people like dirt while  coddling and overlooking the dizzying array of corruption that permeates his Charlotte HQ and upper echelon ministers.  All Meredith, McNair and Little Jimmy are doing is driving the loyal and sincere members out of the church because of their unChristian actions.  Meredith no longer has the attraction of the older COG membership and is incapable of drawing in new members.   Members are leaving  daily as Charlotte sinks deeper and deeper into corruption.  The mistreatment of members continues unabated; all to satisfy the delusional desires of power in a select few men.


From an LCG source:

One of the spies within the Charlotte congregation overheard the very well-liked John Robinson make a less than flattering statement about LCG administration and reported it to the Head of the SS, Rod McNair. Rod in turn gathered his investigation team (Jim Meredith and Wyatt Ciesielka) to see that justice was served (LCG justice that is – much different than actual justice).

Undoubtedly, Robinson was doomed PRIOR to the pretend investigation because standard operating procedure for Lil’ Jimmy, Arrogant Wyatt and Lying Rod McNair is to convict and then “appear” to be working backwards to prove that their verdict was warranted. One can also assume that this crooked Gestapo investigative team asked other people about Mr. Robinson but likely failed to ask his side of things until it was too late and the accused had already been sentenced by the Rod of God who can see into the hearts of all men to make his determinations.

My guess is that Robinson’s “less than flattering statement” was about one of these corrupt men or the ever vengeful Rod Meredith himself. There is no other explanation as to the swiftness and vengefulness of their abrupt actions towards the popular and dedicated John Robinson.

John Robinson was ordained in 2010 as an LCG deacon in Austin, Texas and then was quickly fast-tracked into a minister because Rod Meredith wanted to bring him to Charlotte to work as an editor for LCG’s Tomorrow’s World magazine.

John married the sister of Tess Ciesielka making him Wyatt’s brother-in-law. John and Wyatt are polar opposites. John is kind, considerate, quiet and likable  Wyatt’s character and reputation by comparison is shameful; especially for an alleged “man of God”.  Wyatt is the type of guy who would lie, cheat or steal if he thought it would push him just a little further up the LCG ladder. Ethics, truth and a humble attitude perpetually evade him. When John moved to Charlotte, he knew that he would be associated with Wyatt because of the family connection so he was quick to tell those meeting him for the first time that he was, “nothing like Wyatt”.  

John’s friendly personality, love of God’s word and humble attitude quickly earned him the love of many in the Charlotte LCG congregation (likely making the immature Wyatt jealous). The most annoying thing about John was the fact that he was a Rod Meredith cheer leader and undyingly faithful to LCG, even when they were behaving badly. John was also very involved with LCG’s youth activities and was respected as a leader among LCG’s young adults.

Last Wednesday at LCG headquarters John was fired and stripped of his rank as minister without warning. To add insult to injury, Meredith wants him gone as soon as possible.

All of this over an unflattering statement. The administration at LCG headquarters truly has thin skin. They are so puffed up on themselves that they can’t take the slightest bit of criticism without feeling inspired to annihilate the offender. 

Timing for this bully behavior couldn’t have been worse with members already upset over the recent re-emphasizing of LCG’s doctrinal “upgrades” (the rapture and the falling away of the world), the change of command to the Hard-ass Weston and the acceleration of activity in the Scarborough lawsuit.

People in LCG are starting to become more and more disgusted with the administrations over-reach of power and authority. It is precisely behavior such as this that shows the writing on the wall. We have all been through it enough at this point to know that a split is imminent. 

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Church Head Admits Atheists Are Right

Let's Get Logical By Joseph Tkach Jr. (Speaking of Life Series)

By James Baldwin

Let's understand what logic means: The study of the principles of correct reasoning. It is thinking that aims at a conclusion. It can be subject to errors and these errors can be studied to great advantage when someone is trying to foist something over on us like proving that which cannot be proved.

Today's aggressive atheists like to point out that God cannot be found through science and conventional logic, or by looking for God in the deep recesses of the universe. As believers, that doesn't bother us because we know they're right. God can't be found using those tools.

Then Mr Tkach moves onto the old evasive standby that has served religion so well, faith. Let's look at the dictionary to understand faith in this context.

Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material existence.

A modern writer describes faith as the act of pretending you know something you don't now.

God can only be known through God's own revelation of himself. The proof of God's existence is in the realm of faith, not in the realm of science. Belief in God is a matter if faith, not in the realm of science. It's a faith issue. God reveals himself to us.

Again, faith is only making believe,  lacking logical proof or any material existence.

A quotation from The Macmillan Encyclopedia of Philosophy (1966) concerning popular arguments for the existence of God reads on this wise:

It is even more common to speak of faith in God as if this were a specially compelling reason for belief and moreover, one beyond logical criticism. Faith however, is merely determination to believe and no kind of reason. (Vol 6, P 107).

So, what happened to HWA's little booklet on proving God exists? Well, after HWA passed away his successors got some higher education and advice discovering he was wrong and scrapped the booklet. Here is a comment from a highly educated leader among the Episcopalians, Bishop John Shelby Spong:

Our God has also been taken away from us. For us, however, that removal of God did not occur in a single moment of violent defeat. It rather happened over a period of centuries as the steady and relentless advances in knowledge altered forever our ability to believe in the God content that stood at the heart of our sacred tradition.  "Why Christianity must Change or Die", P. 29 (1998)                                                                                                                 

We cannot park our brains at the door of our places of worship in order to accept as real the words that were used to interpret God in years past but that can no longer today illumine our understanding of God. (P 18.)

...we already know that we can only know God by his spiritual revelation of himself, not by studying science.

Spiritual means not tangible or material.

***That won't come through science, it will only come through the Holy Spirit.

Another entity that cannot be proved.

Again, the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Philosophy has a handy explanation of the problem of proving the existence of God:

Argument about the existence of God is rare (in 1966) for religious beliefs are effectively supported in our society by means that are not principally rational. (Vol 6, P107).

This helps explain why in the early '60s i was ill-equipped to question what the WCG and Ted Armstrong were teaching. I wasn't trained to think critically or be able to do research. Today, this environment has richly changed with access to the internet and the implosion of the WCG.