Fearing to Question Faith

Fearing to Question Faith

If you wish to see the good, the bad and the ugly side of people of faith, just question the faith. I was a pastor soaking in Christianity and the Bible for three decades. I heard, read and studied all the plain and simple truth in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. I can tell you the truth is neither plain nor simple and rather liked Paul's description of it all as being "the present truth." At least calling truth something that is currently understood gives some wiggle room for those times which shall come to grow a bit in the grace and knowledge that most Christians think they are open minded enough to really do. Most I know grow neither in grace, unless they attach a few dozen laws that you must keep to be one of the good people, nor knowledge which seems to scare the bejesus out of them when they really run up against it.

I fully understand the anxiety caused when faith fails and why questioning it causes no end to grief and strong reaction. As humans, we are aware of our awareness.  We know we will die.  That is troubling and we spend large parts of our life in denial of that.  Faith, any Faith that assures us that we will go on after death, even faith in quantum physics and the non-religious possibilities are all held on to so that our anxiety is kept at bay. It is why people argue and fight over religion.  If you are able to plant doubt in my mind about my faith, Mr. Anxiety returns and I will do almost anything to keep that from happening.  Religion calms our anxious souls from the meaning of impending death and dissolution of the body.  We get rather fond of living and know we are fond of living.

I had little satisfaction as a student asking questions of the WCG teachers and "theologians."  A question well put and not in line with current or rather cemented truth could get you put on the pastor's terrorist watch list.  The best answer I ever heard to a question was when HWA was asked, "who are the Two Witnesses?"  He said,  "Joe Blow and Harry Smith!"   I have met many Joe Blows along the way since then.  As a pastor, and in hindsite, I realize when I was asked questions, I either answered as expected (and believed true) and felt a bit threatened if the question was outside the box of what I understood at the time.  However, most members were not good question askers.  You have to know what questions to ask to ask a good one.  Some asked, especially publically, to show off how much they had studied and were merely kiss up to the pastor.  Those were easy to spot.

By far, the writings I have done that have proven to be the most popular for the open minded and enraging for those who enjoy that frame of mind a bit less, have been on Questions Your Pastor Will Hate. Many appreciate the questions and admit that they too have had the same questions as they sincerely study the text of the Bible stories and accounts of varied topics. These are the people who see the politics behind the texts. They admit that James and Paul really did bash heads and Peter was bashed by Luke and John as one who was totally unworthy of any authority in the church. Judas had betrayed Jesus and Peter had denied him, so that's pretty much the end of them in the eyes of John, Luke and Paul.

The story of Annias and Sapphira in Acts 5 is not a story about Peter killing two church members for not coughing up all the money they had "pledged" to the church. It is a spoof that the readers of Luke and Paul's community would understand of the buffoon Peter who, like the two church members who said they would give something to the church and didn't, said he'd never leave Jesus and fled. Peter who said he'd do one thing and did another is now punishing a couple who said they'd do one thing and did another. It was hilarious and a poke at Peter the Pathetic according to Luke and Paul.

 John mentions Peter three times in his Gospel and each time sandwiches Peter stories between two comments about Judas. The point is not missed on the original audience as is the story of Peter being forgiven three times by Jesus tacked on to the end of John's Gospel to show Peter is just as able to be forgiven as anyone else. (Side note: A really fascinating possibility is that the 21st chapter of John is the Missing ending of the pro-Peter Gospel of Mark. Mark is known to have no good ending to the Jesus story. It's ending has been added to make up for the bummer ending at Mark 16:8. John, on the other hand, has two obvious endings in chapter 20, the real ending and chapter 21, the forgive Peter ending.)

At any rate, to question the story is to run great risk of abuse at the hands of the faithful who need the stories to be literally true as they learned in Sunday School and that all the characters of the New Testament Church loved each other in Jesus and got along famously in the faith. That is very far from reality, but don't question it.
I can't tell you how many, while not near as many as those who appreciate the inquiry, take the time to write and remind me I will change my mind when I am frying in the fires of Hell in the judgment. No one has bothered to answer one question posed, but they just know I should go to hell for asking it. Some who write are subtle in their warnings to me. Some sound like a human form of God who will warn me to "gird up my loins" (my loins are just fine) and get ready to answer, but that's where it ends. I guess they feel God himself is about to break out upon me for asking questions about the faith. So far so good. Some talk to me like I imagine Moses talked to the Children of Israel when he was really angry at them in God's name. Some are not so subtle as one reminded me that "Dennis, words can get you killed." Well the history of religion that does not appreciate questions proves that!

Is it wrong to notice the inconsistencies, errors, goofs, bad science, poor examples, contradictions, animosities, politic and real history of the Bible? Depends who you ask. Those who believe that none of those things exist in the Holy Book would shout "yes!" In my view, the answer is "no it is not." Why is it OK and even something one should demand of their honest selves? Because ideas have consequences. Because the stories and ideas expressed in the texts are used to control people in various life circumstances. Because some use the mythologies of the Bible to make up literally real laws that effect women and children, and generally not in a good way. Because many are kept in fear, guilt and life long shame being reminded way too often that they, as a human, are worthless without divine intervention. Being born right the first time, as I have said in the past, is a truth that is kept far from their consciousness.

It is always right to ask questions about that which seems like it deserves to have a question asked. If you can't imagine Joshua raising his hands and stopping the earth from rotating without planet wide consequences...just ask your Pastor how can that be. Of course be ready to hear, "with God all things are possible," which is not what you asked. If you can't picture penguins and polar bears ambling down to the middle east to get on the Ark, just ask your Pastor about that. If you wonder where dinosaurs or Homo Erectus fit in, just ask your Pastor. The answer might be ill informed, but it's ok to ask.

If you notice that Paul never quotes Jesus, yet gets to write most of the NT heavy meaning of Jesus, just ask. If you notice that Paul thinks Peter, James and John, the disciples of Jesus don't seem to have anything Paul needs to learn from them and he learns nothing from them, and think that's kinda strange...just ask.  When Paul says he learned nothing from Peter, James and John and the Jerusalem types, I have to admit, it took me back a bit.  Paul seems somewhat of a loon to me now.

 If you notice the Birth or Resurrection of stories as written in the Gospels don't match very well and seem contradictory, just ask. If you say "they seem to be contradictory," be prepared to have the word "seem" jumped upon, but you still have the right to ask. I'm not saying you'll get a good or correct answer. You might, but probably not. But you have the right to ask. And you certainly have the right to notice the many problems in the Bible if you know the Bible well enough to notice in the first place.
If you wonder why the five women in Jesus family line are all fallen women, just ask.  It is fascinating. 
If it ever crossed you mind that Jesus death was not the worst in history. Thousands were crucified in far more terrible ways than Jesus.

If you wonder why, if Jesus knew he was coming back in three days and God knew he would get him back better than ever in three days, that was such a great sacrifice for God or Jesus, just ask.  If the thought "weekend inconvenience at best," or "shouldn't a real sacrifice stay dead,"  or " Every type of sacrifice in the Bible that is said to point to Jesus stayed dead, why not this one?"  just ask.   I am not being disrespectful. These are questions I was asked and I had to think them through long and hard. 

What do you tell a teen who asks "If Mary was not married to anyone when she got pregnant and God, who didn't marry her either,  got her pregnant, did God commit fornication?"   Go ahead, give it your best shot.  How about, "If God impregnated Mary but she was pregnant "by the Holy Spirit, the Third Person according to some ...what's that all about?"

One thing is for sure. If you are a genuine seeker and you truly notice that the Bible has some real problems with what we truly know today about many topics and even within itself in the form of many contradictions and editing done by one to correct the problems of the other, it's ok to ask. A real seeker cannot not notice what they notice. You can't go back to the lame apologetics that many offer to explain away the problem as if there is no problem. You can't unsee what you do see. You can't unring a bell. Oh..you also have the right to expect not to be penalized for asking in the first place. Just don't count on it.

Dennis C. Diehl
DenniscDiehl@aol.com

It's A Sin To Say 'Happy Birthday' to the King James Bible

Official King James Bible Site

Stupid comments on COG related sites never fail to amaze me. It's no wonder Armstrongism is looked upon with such derision by the world!

The King James version of the Bible is currently celebrating it's 400th Birthday. There are all kinds of official celebrations going on around the world.  However, not so in Charlotte South Carolina where God currently dwells. In true hypocritical COG fashion, Bob Thiel points out that it is a sin to celebrate birthdays as the one and only true Church, the Living Church of God believes.

The King James Version, translation of the textus receptus into English happened four hundred years ago.  Here is some of what Fox reported:

Happy 400th Birthday to the King James Bible

– The Most Influential Book in the English Language

FOX News – May 2, 2011

The poetic power of the King James Bible is part of our heritage. Around the world people have been comforted by the words, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” They have been challenged by, “Be strong and of good courage.” They have celebrated with the proclamation, “Fear not . . . For unto you is born in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”
The early 16th century was a tumultuous time in Britain.
Fifty-four scholars labored nearly seven years. In spite of its title page saying that the KJV was “newly translated,” the committees were instructed to follow the Bishops’ Bible when possible. Because the Bishops’ Bible depended on the work of Tyndale, more than 80% of the KJV is Tyndale’s wording. The KJV was published in 1611 and within 50 years it was the dominant English translation of the Bible—a position it held for 300 years. http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/05/02/happy-400th-birthday-king-james-bible-influential-book-english-language/

Of course, early Christians never celebrated their own birthdays, but I kept the headline because the KJV Bible probably was the most influential book in the English language.

This one is a pretty good whitewash of King James, but still interesting.

New Government In Canada A Sure Sign Of The Endtimes

Bob Thiel, apologist extraordinaire for Spanky Meredith, has made another prediction.  You would think after the hundreds of failed prophecies and predictions made by Rod Meredith that Thiel would learn to control his tongue.  But no. 

Thiel says that the current shake up in the Canadian government is a sure sign that we are close to the end times.  Canada is set to suffer horrendous persecution according to Armstrongite mythology with invading German armies, meathooks, concentration camps and torture galore.

Or will it be the Chinese?  Or the Muslims?  Armstrongism has been filled with all kinds of deadly scenarios in the last few years.

How might Stephen Harper help fulfill Bible prophecy?  But here are some key points to consider:

1. We are getting close to the end of God’s 6.000 years for humans to rule themselves their way in Satan’s world.
2. Canada will experience the great tribulation (Matthew 24:21, the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7).
3. Because of the timing of him being in office, Stephen Harper’s very presence (as well as his planned and unplanned actions) should be enough to enable the fulfillment of various end-time prophecies.
4. Getting the majority government he wanted, means that he will have more influence than he has had so far in office.

Despite having natural resources and many overseas international trading partners, because of its geographic location, its economic history, and what is recorded in biblical prophecy, Canada is tied in with the United States of America.

To a great degree, Canada is expected to share the fate of the USA, which ultimately will not be good.

A God Eager To Zap You

Apostle Malm is all indignant today concerning those that profane his so called 'sabbath'.  A reader of his site posted the following comment which they both obviously take great delight in seeing what happened to one of the cooks. 

It seems that a COGWA congregation held a potluck/dance during UB.  What irritates the writer and Apostle Malm is that they cancelled Sabbath services that day so that those who were driving a long distance could meet together in fellowship with a potluck and a dance.

But their biggest offense was that on the last day of UB several men cooked turkey, lamb and briskets to feed the congregation gathered for the last 'holy' day of UB.  Pay particular attention to the last sentence.  In the writers mind and in Apostle Malm, is evidence of God's righteous judgement in action for all the church to see!  Profane the 'holy day' and suffer God's wrath!

The Sabbath before last day of Unleavened Bread, all services in North Carolina were canceled. ( COGWA )  A catered meal was planned $20.00 per person  children free.  And a dance that night. There were  190 or more present. Arranged by Ron Kelly. It was held  in Burlington N C.  A long Sabbath drive for many.

Then on last day Unleavened Bread a great feast was held in the Raleigh area. Several men cooked meat and trimmings for 85 app.  Turkeys lamb and beef brisket was cooked on the High Day. 80 lbs of meat and all was eaten as reported to me per my inquiry. This is the congregation that Clyde Kilough pastors. Just learned  that the  gentleman doing the cooking had a mild heart attack and has to see a cardiologist.

Then Apostle Malm goes on with another snipe at a UCG elder that cracked a joke on the night of UCG's 'passover.'

 It is also reported that a certain overseer of a Passover service in UCG BI was busy cracking jokes and appeared less than sober at the Passover.

This seems consistant with the general fixation on personal pleasure and pollution of the Sabbath and Holy Days extant in most COGs today.

Thank goodness I easily understood that all this law keeping silliness was not required of Church members when the changes started happening.  The sad part is watching people who had a knee jerk reaction and now are far more legalistic than WCG ever was.  They have placed a yoke and a burden on their members that robs them of all joy, happiness and peace.  They will never be able to measure up to all the rules and regulations and will be constantly beating themselves up.

Sadly they perceive their only hope is their yearly 'passover' service where they think their slate has been wiped clean on that night. Their only problem is that the very next day or so they will break one of their laws and their suffering will begin all over again.  It is a vicious endless cycle of hopelessness perpetuated by spiritually deviate church leaders.

UCG In Another Church Meeting Hall Controversy

UCG seems to have big issues with congregations that build their own buildings.  After decades of meeting in school gyms, Masonic and Elk's Lodges, many COG groups decided to build their own permanent buildings.  Some in WCG started this and it carried over into UCG.

An earlier UCG Church hall controversy happen in West Virginia around 2002-2004.  A UCG Church member in Bluefiield was a branch bank manger for a local West Virginia bank.  During her tenure there she embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars.  She was generous with that stolen money and helped UCG build their own church building in the area.  Later when the US government found out she had been stealing money they repossessed  the building from UCG and prohibited further meetings there.

Now switch to Houston Texas.  After meeting in eleven different locations from May of 1995 to December 1996  a wealthy group of  UCG members in Houston Texas decided they wanted to build their own building.

From The Journal:

On that day UCG-AIA president Les McCullough and treasurer Tom Kirkpatrick, both of the Cincinnati, Ohio, area, addressed a combined meeting of Houston North and South. Mr. Kirkpatrick had served as associate pastor of Houston North during the initial planning for the building.

The purchase of the property and construction of the building at 20737 Broze Rd., in the Houston suburb of Humble, were made possible by a large donation from a Houston couple, along with other special offerings, fruit sales and other fund-raisers, and other donations from the Houston North brethren.

The Journal spoke with Houston North pastor Jim Franks, who described the building as a "great blessing to be used primarily for Sabbath services and other church-related activities."

No plans for its use as a Feast site are foreseen, Mr. Franks said. The 10,000-square-foot metal structure is comprised of an auditorium that can seat 600 people, four classrooms, a room for parents to care for small children, an office, a kitchen and a large foyer suitable for weddings and other events.

"If you can remember what the Feast-ad building on campus was like, our building is similar to that," he said.

He was referring to what used to be called the Festival Administration Building on the former Ambassador College campus in Big Sandy.

With the Houston North church the largest United congregation (about 300 in regular attendance), the brethren there have faced a struggle to find a suitable location to conduct services.

During the first 18 months of United's existence (May 1995 to December 1996), Houston North met in 11 locations. The last meeting hall (Magrill Elementary School) informed the church in 1997 it must find another location for services.
The school granted the congregation an extension on its lease while the brethren explored other possibilities. At that point the process began of obtaining permission from United's home office in Milford, Ohio, to purchase property and construct a building for the congregation.

Unusual situation

Church officials are quick to point out that Houston North's situation is an unusual one and that the construction of the building was made possible by generous private donations and by the more than 100 members who labored for countless hours to obtain such a facility.

Now jump to 2011.  No one from UCG had any idea that there would be a huge split in the Church and a new group forming.  The  problem with United was that the people who paid for the building are now part of COGWA.  COGWA is demanding the building stay with them, and UCG is being a hardass and saying the building belongs to them.

Apostle Malm has this little blurb today:

On Jan. 30, 1999, the members of the Houston North congregation overwhelmingly elected to grant UCG a special warranty deed. The brethren were confident this document was written in such a way that the building would be held in trust for sole use by the local group. This action was taken in a spirit of trust. Thus, a deed along with a “side agreement” was prepared. The wording of the 1999 Church survey makes the wishes of the brethren quite clear:

“We can deed the property in the name of UCGIA, which is a 501(c)3 corporation, to be held in trust for the local congregation. The property would be controlled by the local congregation and could not be sold without local approval. … If UCGIA were to dissolve or abandon our fundamental beliefs, then the local group would still maintain control. The property would not be lost. All of this would be written out as a part of the deed, similar to what is currently done with a restricted donation.”

It was the expectation of the brethren that in the event of an irreconcilable dispute with UCG, the building would revert back to the local group. Contained in the original documents was language that attempted to address what would happen to the facility in case of dispute, but no one at that time could have foreseen what eventually transpired at the end of 2010. As a result of the unforeseen events of December 2010, the language of the documents proved problematic for purposes of protecting the rights of the local brethren to regain title to the building. Though the local congregation has expressed both a moral and lawful claim, after consulting with legal sources, it was unclear as to what the outcome of a legal challenge to retain control of the building would be. However, the local group in Houston has not waived any of its legal rights, and the situation remains under review.

Over the past few months there has been dialogue with UCG concerning the possibility of leasing or purchasing the building, but the conditions for lease or sale imposed by UCG were not satisfactory to the Houston North membership. Based on demands from UCG to vacate by April 26, the only alternatives to the brethren were to leave or face a lawsuit. Thus, the Last Day of Unleavened Bread was the final time for the congregation to use Broze Hall.

These two UCG buildings are not an isolated case.  There are other issues going on with other UCG buildings.  COGWA is demanding use of the same buildings as UCG.  Just more COG 'Christian ethics' on display.

Important Things That Occupy the Minds of Conservative COG Members

You would think that COG related boards around the country would be enraptured with William and Kate's wedding in London today.  Considering William will eventually sit on the Throne of David after his nutcase dad is dethroned or abdicates.  But noooooooooo, not a word so far.

Instead these are the important topics of discussion with the rabid pre-1986 HWA loving COG members:

UFO OVER SAKURAJIMA / JAPAN (VOLCANO AREA)
evidence here: The Big Wobble

Scientists find Extraterrestrial genes in Human DNA
evidence here: Canadian National Newspaper

This writer seems to be more concerned about the poor chickens than the human lives lost.  But then he goes off the deep end and into some incredible stretching of his imagination about God frying the earth. Why are Armstrongites so giddy about their 'god' punishing humanity?  They get all breathless about how humanity will suffer.  They want it to happen.  I guess they think it will prove them right.

"I will Make Your Heavens Like Iron And Your Earth Like Brass"

  Leviticus 26:19, last part, "I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like brass." I am sure that you all have heard about the destructive tornadoes that have struck several of the southern states killing millions of chickens in several chicken houses along with a very large number of people. I, also, feel sure that all of you are aware of the constant rains and more rains that are striking the crop growing areas including the local area. As I said earlier, the local farmer friend of mine told me that his ground is so saturated with rain making for soggy fields that he has been unable to have gotten into the fields to have gotten his crops planted that remain much overdue!!

  Now, my question! With the now muddy fields, will God soon now turn on the heat with scorching sun to bake the fields into brass fulfilling Bible prophecy; referring to our sins?!! It will be interesting to see, since we are so very close to the end!!

 Um, how many hundreds and thousands of times have we heard THAT statement?  So far seventy years of spouting that claim has NOT produced the desired outcome they all want.  Instead, they just sit there taking in the lies over and over, year after year, decade after decade.

Prophet Malm: "I Don't Have The Money to Set Up Feast Sites"

End-time prophet James Malm is 'establishing his credentials'.  He wants those dumb sheeple in all the various COG's to know that they are wayward, law breaking, unrepentant  Laodiceans.  How dare you ignore the end-time warning message that  the Elijah is giving all of you!

I am not starting a church organization (at least not yet, anyway!); I am giving a warning and a wake up call to all of the “Called Out”.   We have all been deeply asleep and it is necessary that we wake up and understand the signs of the times.

 God is sifting out the people who will stand solidly on his word alone as true pillars; from those who are lukewarn for the law of God; who are compromisers; who are perhaps zealous for a corporation, yet who are really lax in complete obedience to him. Blah, blah, blah!  This is the same broken record that Armstrongism has been trumpeting for decades.  "You dumb sheep will never get it right!"  "God has delayed Christ's coming several times now because you are NOT ready!"  "Wake up!"

This sifting process is quite simple; it involves waking peiople (sic) up to an intense study of God’s word while revealing those things which have been sealed until the end.
This revealing will separate those who are humble enough to really study from those who think they know it all. (i.e. if you dare to ask questions you are NOT humble, therefore you are in direct rebellion against God.  You have a lukewarm attitude and as a result God is NOT revealing anything to you.)

Prophet Malm is predicting another breakaway of COG members from UCG, and COGaWA sometime after the Feast his year.

Thousands are visiting and studying; that does not mean that they agree or that they support what I say.  The situation is in a state of flux and development.
This will not settle out until the fall Feast or shortly after.  Only then will the full fruits of what is going on become clear.

Prophet Malm is telling his followers to add an extra day to the Feast this year.  But more importantly he does not have the funds to set up Feast sites around the world for the TRUE BELIEVERS (i.e.  his followers)

I advise people to go to the Feast as they have planned: THIS YEAR.  Those who want to observe the Feast on the days that God commands should book an extra day for the FoT.  They should also observe Trumpets and Atonement at home or with like minded frends (sic).  I just do not have the funds and the helpers to set up sites across the globe.  I will of course be publishing on the Feast as I did for the Feast of Unleavends and much may come between then and now. 
It will be around the Feast time or soon after that things will become clear!

How great will be the day when these self proclaimed crack pots shut their mouths! How many more lies, false prophecies and stupid predictions do they need to make before people realize they have been spoon fed baloney, unnecessary doctrines and outright lies?

Appalachian Mountains and Sacred Harp/Shape Note Singing

Many of my distant relatives live in the Appalachian mountains.  It is  picturesque part of the country.  It is also a region that is rich in religious and cultural history.  Many of the songs in US history have originated in this region as has many  spirituals that are sung in churches today.  There is an incredible way of singing that is unique to this region called Sacred Harp/Shape Note singing (see  videos below).  Bible stories and music are part of the oral tradition of this region.  These stories and music are passed down from generation to generation.  Something that is not done in the rest of the country.  Young people to elderly will sit in a room for hours on end singing bonding generations together.  This region of the country has always been looked upon as the backward region of the country and spoken of with derision.  The US government cares little about so many in this region except for its rich natural resources.

In checking out some of my favorite blogs today I found a link to this story about the mountain top strip mining that is destroying the region.  Mountain tops have went from this:

 to this:

What I found unique was a Baptist publication that was voicing their objections to this kind of mining.  Usually Baptists could care less about environmental issues such as this. Their view, like Armstrongism, is that "God is going to soon return and burn it all up anyway.  It is better to save souls than worry about the environment."

In his prize-winning volume titled Uneven Ground: Appalachia since 1945, Appalachian scholar Ron Eller comments:


"Appalachia endures as a paradox in American society in part because it plays a critical role in the discourse of national identity but also because the region’s struggle with modernity reflects a deeper American failure to define progress in the first place.... We know that Appalachia exists because we need it to exist in order to define what we are not. The notion of Appalachia as a separate place, a region set off from mainstream culture and history, has allowed us to distance ourselves from the uncomfortable dilemmas that the story of Appalachia raises about our own lives and about the larger society."

In her groundbreaking study, Appalachian Mountain Religion, Deborah McCauley writes that Appalachia harbors a unique form of Protestantism born of "oral tradition," the "centrality of religious experience," and the "reality of the land." McCauley concludes that "the mountainous terrain that is the Appalachian region has had enormous impact on its character, its texture, and its religious values."

Building on the work of Eller and McCauley, Greg Griffey insists that: "By destroying the mountainous landscape of a geographical region formed millions of years ago, we are now effacing, and thereby choosing to forget, storied identities that have beckoned habitation, provided navigation through space, and evoked senses of rootedness in the mountains for thousands of years." His thesis explores "the interconnectedness of place, the environment, and religious and cultural thought," a communal network challenged by mountaintop removal in "tangible and intangible" ways. Vanishing Mountains

Sacred Harp/Shape Note singing:

Reblog: When Tornadoes Miss Gay Universalists

Here is a great post on the Dancing on Saturdays   blog that illustrates the mindless hypocrisy of so many ministers today..  With over 200 people killed in the recent batch of tornadoes it will soon be time for the COG ministurds and leading evangelicals like Pat Robertson and John Piper start spitting their spittle.

When Tornadoes Miss Gay Universalists

Apr 28, 2011 by Chad

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Leading evangelicals have determined that discretion is  the better part of valor and will therefore wait until all the storms have passed and casualty counts have been determined before they assess which of their favorite pet sins God is judging.

Preliminary reports predict that this could be a toss up.   A gay man in Birmingham was untouched in the suburban home where he lives with his life-long partner but not so for the happily married heterosexual couple who lives across the street.

“We don’t know what to think,” the couple is reported to have said.  ”We have been having proper sex for decades and never dreamed this could happen to us.”

Meanwhile, in Cleveland, TN, a family who reportedly read and loved Rob Bell’s controversial book, Love Wins, made it through the night unscathed.    Just down the street, however, a family who reportedly told Bell to go to hell are presently living in it.

“It’s a crap shoot,” shared one evangelical pastor who wished to remain unnamed.   “I think God may be trying to test our resolve on this one.   Maybe the gays and the universalists were just in the wrong houses last night.  I dunno.”

Rest assured, judgments will be passed soon enough.   We can count on it.

COG Zombie Pastors?

 Click on the link below to see the entire cartoon.

There is a great cartoon today on The Naked Pastor blog.  His 10 signs describe so many COG pastors and evangelists.  Just put Spanky or Six Packs face in place of the zomibe and.......well, you get the picture.....

The God Named Lettuce

The God Named Lettuce

I recall, oh say a thousand times, sitting in Bible Studies in the Ambassador Gymnasium and HWA beginning his study with, “Elohim is a uniplural word.  I could feel my chest sink, my posture slouch and in my head I was begging the Deity to “please, not again!”    Next, we would hear, again, “And God said, “Let US make man in OUR image, after our likeness….”   And thus, in my rather passive aggressive mind, the study was going to be on the Uniplural God, Elohim, whom I had nick named “Lettuce”  from my disdain of hearing the words “Let us….” over and over and over and over and over….

 

Christians are brought up to believe that the Old Testament is such an amazing document because it is the first to portray the true monotheism of reality in the spiritual world.  It does not.  What we have is the fact that Israelites believed in more than one god but that YHVH was the high God who deserved their worship.

When, in the Ten Commandments, God is quoted as saying “You shall have no other gods before me….for I the Lord THY God am a jealous God,” we are being given the rules of engagement in a world of many gods.   A better translation might be, “You shall not bring any other gods into my presence.”  Reason?  “For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God.”  There are other gods in Israel and they all knew it. All they needed to do was not bring into the presence of YHVH and all would be good. 

Clearly the Old Testament teaches the existence of many gods.

“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods (Elohim).  Who is like you…”  Exodus 15:11

“For the Lord is a great God (El, singular) and a great King above all the gods. (Elohim)

“Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will.” Ps 103:21

“Praise him, all his angels. Praise him all his host!”  Ps 148:2

These “hosts” and “angels” are all members of the Divine Council of the Gods with El being the chief god.  BTW…The original “El” was Canaanite in origins. 

And so let us speak of the great God “Lettuce.”

“Let us make man in our image.”  The speaker here is YHVH El, the Chief God over the divine council of whom “the Satan,” whom we see fully accepted as a council member more in the book of Job, familiar to most of us. El is speaking to the Council of the lesser gods and telling them that humans will be made after the image of these gods and in their likeness. And so it was.

An interesting and surprisingly blunt admission of this multiplicity of gods is found in Deut. 32:8-9

“When the Most High (Elyon) apportioned the nations, when he divided human kind, he fixed the boundaries of his peoples according TO THE NUMBER OF THE GODS. (Elohim). The Lord’s (YHVH a lesser god than Elyon) own portion was his people, Jacob his allotted share.”

Here we have a rare and somewhat embarrassing admission that there was a god even higher than YHVH. The Most High was Elyon who had the authority to divvy up the nations between the other lesser gods.  In this account YHVH is a lesser god who was placed over the limited geographical area inhabited by Jacob.  This is why it was always well understood that the power of the god diminished the further away from its allotted land.  If they strayed too far, they qualified as “foreign gods,” which we all know were powerless in the new areas and definitely false.  You know, “My God is the true god, and …well…your’s is the Satan, or lesser and pow erless god around here. “

So we learn that  YHVH and YHVH Elohim may have several implications.  This can mean that YHVH is the god over a band of lesser gods or that YHVH is a god that comes from a class of gods known as Elohim.  

And now let us speak of the God “Lettuce.”  Back to those Bible studies by HWA that began with the chilling and “oh please not again!” words, “There were Two Trees in the  Garden of Eden.”  Towards the end of his life, it seemed to me that HWA could only conduct studies that were the ones he could give on auto pilot.

 I felt the same way about Gerald Waterhouse who simply seemed to flip a switch, sometimes probably not knowing exactly what church area he was now in due to his extensive travels around and around to all the churches.  In all my time in WCG, I never heard Gerald Waterhouse give any other sermon topic besides the one he was considered “an expert” in.  I don’t question his sincerity but I did question his sanity at times.  The man simply spent years on auto pilot to where even the “conviction” seemed contrived or at least way too habitual.  Frankly and in hindsite, he was the the Goebbels of the WC G.  He was the propagandist that kept us all “inspired.”  I hated those visits. I told the elderly and those with small children not to feel guilty if they could not come midweek for a four hour harangue and speculation on things that probably would not happen the way he felt they would. It was unfair and unkind to the elderly and really to all to sit for so long and gain so little from it.  Of course there were Gerald Waterhouse groupies but I stayed away from them as much as possible with my very bad attitude about the value of his visit.  I often had to go multiple times in a row due to pastoring multiple churches.  It was a real groaner for me.  Towards the end I finally got up the courage, with a kick in th e shins delivered under the table, to tell him that his visits caused me more problems and need to deal with member fears and concerns than the inspired.  He just looked at me.  I then got really brave, what the heck, I was cooked now…and asked him what he was going to do or think when HWA died? His answer made me realize my ministry was coming to an end in time.  He said, “I’ll believe it after three days and three nights.”  All I could do was sigh and get ready to endure yet another four hour trial.

At any rate, back to the God Lettuce and the concerns about the now accomplished fall and sin of those created by the “Us” of the Council in “Our image, after Our likeness.” 

“And the Lord God said, ‘The man (hey I thought it was the woman who sinned?) has now become like one of US, knowing good and evil. “  Right here I have to say I always wondered what was so wrong about humans knowing right from wrong?  And if the knowledge of good and evil, right and wrong came only from eating from a forbidden tree, how can humans be blamed for sin since before eating it, they did not know right from wrong or good from evil?  Kids, not clouded by the filters accumulated by adults over the years think like that.  No problem, it gets shamed out of them for even asking.  

 

Back to the story.  ‘ He MUST not be allowed to reach out his hand (hey what about her?!) and take also from the Tree of Life and eat and live forever!’  So the Lord God banished him (Hey, what about them!) from the Garden of Eden  (BTW, the Sumerian version calls it the Garden of Edin), to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man (Can Eve come with me?) out, he placed on the East side of the Garden of Eden Cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth  to guard the way to the Tree of Life.”  Genesis 3: 22-24

Now once again, as a kid, I wondered how you kept people out of an area by only guarding the East side of the compound?  Could they, if they wished, not sneak back in from the North, South or West?  I would almost bet that this Cherub in the story was the Constellation of Orion who rises in the East, huge obvious with an upraised sword twinkling with starlight, but I spare you.  Astrol-theology at its best.  Literally the story makes no sense, but in the sky…very nice touch.

The Plain Truth is that both trees, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and The Tree of Life were God-Food Trees. Only the gods were allowed such esoteric knowledge and only the gods were allowed to live forever.  El and his Elohim , or Council of the Gods, could simply not abide the idea that worker drones in the original Sumerian myth could attain godhood and know such things.  And so they were driven out to work even harder on the planet to survive.  

An additional funny comes later when Cain gets booted from his space for killing his only brother and son of the only other two humans on the planet, Adam and Eve.  (Seth is called the third). His fear is that “whoever finds me shall kill me…”  Ummmm Cain!  There are no other humans   “out there.”  You killed your only other brother and caused there to only be you, mom and dad on the planet for now.  THERE IS NO ONE ELSE OUT THERE TO KILL YOU!  However, El/YHVH failed to clarify this and told Cain not to w orry about that and that if someone did, they would really be sorry but the mark God puts on him would prevent that. I guess El also forgot there were no other folks out there to cause Cain a problem. 

Myths brought to earth can get corny out of their original context. 

So there you have it. El was NOT talking to anyone who would eventually become Jesus. That’s all made up a few thousand years later to explain how a Jesus could have been around forever and a godman.  In context, gods forbid, it was about the polytheistic beliefs of, first of all the Sumerians, and then the Hebrews who tweeked the original story for to give themselves their own special origins.  Insignificant types often contrive huge stories to give themselves amazing pedigrees no matter how phoney.

The Hebrew Sabbath origins also sprung from the original Sumerian creation myth where it was the gods and El who were wanting peace and quiet on the Seventh Day but could get none due to the complaining of the worker drones who tended the god-food trees in the Garden of Edin. When they finally drove the humans out, they rested on the Seventh Day…finally. The Hebrews tweeked the story to mean that both gods and man would rest on the Sabbath.

And so now we can, for the first time and as never understood  and now revealed by me, understand a God called Lettuce.    

 ( I guess I could add, "And Brethren, I don't believe I have ever given a sermon quite like this before.  Maybe something like it back on Feb 17th, 1989 but really that was nothing like this.  I'm sure you have never heard anything like this before...ala Dave Pack, but I won't :)

Dennis C. Diehl
DenniscDiehl@aol.com

The Most Difficult Forgiveness of All

The Most Difficult Forgiveness of All

Forgiveness is such a difficult topic to deal with and has so many complicated dynamics. Either it is almost an impossibility for people to grasp, or maybe it is so simple, we simply don't get it. It's probably both.


Religion is all about being forgiven.  God forgives humans through Jesus. Jesus forgives us if we ask.  And of course, without the shedding of blood, there is NO forgiveness of sin, however why nor has always personally escaped me.  What's so difficult about the Deity saying, "I forgive you."   Enough with the blood already...


Most of the time we focus on either being forgiven by others, which has it's own dynamics, or trying to figure out how to forgive those that hurt or offended us. Everyone has both kinds forgiveness going on and so it can get complicated at times. We often are motivated by the idea of "well, I guess I have to forgive them because they said they forgave me...how dare them, damn it." Even the Bible encourages Christians to forgive simply because they were forgiven by God,through Jesus. It even says that God forgave us, not for our sake, but for Jesus sake, which seems a bit like missing the intended mark. I want to be forgiven for my sake for Jesus sake!


Frankly, most don't really forgive but rather let it go to a point of trying not to think about it and yet it simmers on the stove, always available to continue in some form of drama or painful memories to throw back and forth like lawn darts trying to hit the ring right in the middle and claim points over.


I have people in my life who I hope in time would forgive me and I have issues with some for which I need to keep growing toward a more complete and genuine forgiveness. I am at a stage where I am able to look back and see that sometimes what seems such an insult is really an opportunity to grow past something where things can work out better than it ever could have without the push. It is not always this way, of course, but can be if we look for the good in the "bad," which often lurks there grinning at us.


I'd like to talk a bit about the one kind of forgiveness that seems the most difficult of all. That would be forgiving YOURSELF. Forgiving yourself is something that is the final issue to be resolved when offenses have occurred for which forgiving or being forgiven has run it's course. We either can forgive others, and we do it over time and in degrees, or we can't. We are either forgiven, again over time and to various degrees, or we are not. We can control the pace of the one, forgiving others, but not when, if or how others forgive us. That is their issue, not ours, even though we wish it could be given in such a ways as to feel genuine and perhaps open some new doors to reconciliation in any way.


But forgiving yourself feels almost impossible. Why? First of all, there is that funky part of our nature that feels our forgiving ourself is contingent on being forgiven FIRST by others for our offenses. Once they do that, then MAYBE, one can think of forgiving themselves. The problem is you might wait until hell freezes over before you are given permission of this kind to forgive yourself. If you forgive yourself without being forgiven by others, there tends to be a voice in your head that says, "How dare you forgive yourself. We have not forgiven you yet. What are you thinking!" It is followed by, "when we get around to forgiving you, we will let you know and then you can play at forgiving yourself, you jerk."


You see , forgiving oneself seems to others a some form of denial or that you don't take what has happened very seriously. To forgive yourself is to send a message that you are rather shallow or oblivious to the pain caused, when in fact, only you know that it is the depth of the pain that makes you want to be able to forgive yourself and move on. NO ONE can be harder on me than me. That is my own experience. I am the monkey on my own back when I cause pain to others. Perhaps others don't know this, believe this or even want to think this as it might take away some of the sting they can inflict if they choose to, but it is true. Most sensitive people, who even care about this topic are way ahead of their accusers in self condemnation and knowing the pain they have caused that they seek forgiveness for. There are flippant types who hurt others and seem oblivious to it. I do not speak of this type of person, nor is that who I am.


Secondly, as mentioned, we feel that if we forgive ourselves, even if there is no forgiveness extended to us, we are not taking the drama seriously enough. I felt and can feel guilty if not careful for even enjoying life as that might prove I don't take things seriously enough on this topic of forgiveness. "No I won't forgive you. You don't seem miserable enough yet." So often, being forgiven includes requirements and proof you are really sorry for the offense and prove it day and night, over and over by being miserable, practically forever...amen.
Sometimes the requirements that one must meet to be forgiven are just impossible to comply with. Sometimes there is a temptation to comply just to feel forgiven, but it won't last as the two really can't be connected.


Forgiveness is a clean experience that allows everyone to be who they really are and think as they really think, no apologies. Anything less is mere compliance for a time and then of course, on go the masks until the next time they fall off. Messy forgiveness is the obligatory kind usually enforced by a fear that if we don't, then Jesus or God or some Deity might just not forgive us of our picky little sins, that we really have very few of.
So in order to forgive ones self, one has to not connect the forgiveness with performance as proof. I can only speak for myself, and I am sure this would be a point of contention, but when I cause the need to be forgiven, I was doing the best I could at the time of the perceived problem. We always do our best at any particular moment which is different from doing better as others might wish us to do to come up to standards they feel are more correct, in their view. But doing better is a future thing. Doing our best is what we always do at any moment we do what we do, or we would do better!


Finally, it is hard to forgive ourselves because we tie being able to do that with fixing that which we are needing to be forgiven for. I am a fixer and caretaker by nature. That is how I am wired. ENFP according to Meyers and Briggs. That is Extrovert, Intuitive, Feeling and Perceptive. People like me become ministers, counselors, negotiators and of all things, massage therapists. So I have not strayed far from how I was wired at birth. We are negotiators because we tend to see both sides of all stories and the points that both sides make for their views. But the downside to this is that we can get stuck in views and not make decisions. If we can't fix it, we can't move on. If we can't fix it, then we don't mean it. If we can't fix it, then we are shallow and gutless. The fact is that some things just don't fix. That is painful but true. All things broken cannot be fixed and if forgiveness of the self is based on first fixing that which is broken, or different, or changed or one sided, then you can't forgive yourself and never will. And so you spin. Damned if you do and damned if you don't. Stuck between rocks and hard places, heaven and earth, the devil and the deep blue sea.
But, fixing is not a criteria for forgiving yourself. It can't be because we can't always fix that which is broken but we must forgive ourselves as a part of real living.


So examine how things came to be.


Know that you probably were doing the best you could under the circumstances at that time and that is not the same as doing better, but these are two different things.


Don't base your need to forgive yourself on whether anyone else on the planet forgives you for what you have done, not done or said you wished you could do.


Realize that, of course, you have taken this all very seriously. This might be proven by, oh say, the tears, the anxiety, the doubt, the head banging against the wall, the depression, which is anger turned inwards. It might be the shame you feel which is a perception that you have not lived up to tribal or religious expectations, as if most do, or the guilt over breaking the taboos of the group. Only you need to know how seriously you take that which happens in life and do not let your forgiving yourself depend on whether others give you permission to do so.


And finally, some things don't fix. Just getting back into some box that doesn't work is not a fix. Patching is not fixing and trying to be what others expect as the only way to fix is patching and masking. Often things don't fix because one is not accepted for what they are, how they think or what they believe. This is why many with marital problems separate for six months, return, separate for three months, return and then separate for one week , return for their socks and can't fix it.


Forgiveness is not something to take for granted, but a healthy life includes the ability to see through this topic in practical ways and forgive YOURSELF as well, and maybe even first of all.

Dennis C. Diehl
DenniscDiehl@aol.com

Happy Easter!

Controlling Relationships In The Church

Most of us have heard the horror stories over the years about the broken relationships caused by Armstrongism.  When you entered the church you were expected to leave the world behind, associate with fellow believers and mark as 'Satan's own' the rest of humanity.  We have seen the families in the church ripped apart by its divorce and remarriage doctrines.  By parents refusing medical treatment for children causing deaths. The mindless rantings of Rod Meredith that lead one of his parishioners to go on a shooting rampage during church services. And more recently with Gerald Flurry's asinine rantings prohibiting PCG members of having any contact with parents, children, brothers, sisters, and relatives who had left a COG.

Looking back I can see that one of the most effective ways our church controlled people was by controlling their relationships. If a leader could convince the followers that loyalty to the group was actually loyalty to God, then that leader had the ability to control everything about the followers from something as big as personal relationships to something as small as whether or not they shaved.
One way relationships were controlled was by encouraging members to rat on each other. Of course, this was masked in Scriptural language like, “exhort one another to love and good works.” But what it really meant was that there was no confidentiality. This made for guarded friendships, at best. It was simply impossible to build deep, meaningful friendships when I wasn’t sure if my “friend” was going to report on me to my grandparents.
All this violation of personal boundaries was justified by our belief that we were literally responsible for each other’s souls. If we failed to “stand up for God” in the lives of our brethren (aka, get involved in their personal business), we would answer for that at the judgment seat of Christ.
Fear of God, fear of man, fear of eternal repercussions dictated and motivated much of our relational interactions.

From Friendships In High Demand Cultish Groups

Spanky Training His Heir Apparent?

Has Rod seen the writing on the wall? Has all of his failed prophecies and predictions started to wear him down? Rod has brought in his son Jim to be his right hand man and to start training him.

Is LCG soon to go the way of GTA's little sect?  When you check out GTAEA's web site you would never know GTA had died unless you did some fishing around on the site.  Mark Armstrong is not a good speaker so all they can do is replay over and over old GTA programs. Necromancy seems to be alive and well in the various splinter cults of Armstrongism.

Given Jim's track record from when he was in Pasadena growing up, LCG is in for a bumpy road!  Will the obsession for fake prophecy, sex and queers continue on?  Time will tell.

How do spiritual leaders benefit from being abusive?

Here is an interesting little blurb from a web site called My Savvy Sisters

Her comments below describe perfectly the various leaders of the 700 some splinter cults of Armstrongism.

My Savvy Sisters: How do spiritual leaders benefit from being abusive?

Interesting question! The benefits vary from group to group, and leader to leader. It depends on the end goal of the group and the leaders themselves. Some groups are driven by money, and others by power. Some religious groups also exploit sex as well. Other groups serve to meet the psychological needs of the leader.

The primary group leader of a group generally fits a typical narcissistic profile, what some have termed the Machiavellian Personality after the famed Prince Machiavelli. With only casual contact with such an individual, one would never suspect that they had anything less than the highest moral character, but this is just on the surface. In addition to being very charismatic, charming and keenly shrewd, they never show humility, they believe that ethics apply only to the weak (so they are exempt from moral standards which serves their exaggerated sense of entitlement), and they prefer to be feared (prefer an authoritarian style of control). Despite their capacity for arrogance, they can feign compassion and humility impeccably when it suits their objectives, yet they have a very limited capacity for showing true empathy to others. Those who tend toward this profile demand a great deal of attention and praise, and they thrive on the power others surrender to them.

Your question also speaks to a dynamic found within spiritually abusive groups themselves. The sub-status of a type of “middle management leader” that is bestowed on followers within spiritually abusive groups provides “true believers” with status, prestige, and the rewards of approval and worth. Groups promote an external basis of worth, discouraging individuals to derive confidence and well-being from within themselves. The profoundly powerful sense of reward comes with these positions in middle management within the system, and members lust after them because it offsets the discomfort of the shame-oriented control measures used in such groups to control members.

Women Ruling Over Men

Apostle Malm will not be too happy to learn that COGaWA has a woman in charge of a summer camp for church youth.  How soon we all seem to forget that MEN are to remain in charge of all aspects of the church.  Women are not to lead, rule or teach men.  Yeah right!  There are some women in the Church of God who would certainly make better ministers and leaders than some of the evangelists and splinter group leaders today!  On this I do have to at least congratulate COGaWA on doing SOMETHING right!  :-)

COGWA Youth Camps

There Is No Other Warning Quite As Important As Mine...

Apostle Malm seems to think he and his message are the most important thing on earth right now. He has a word of warning that you all had better be heeding!  Reprobates!  Delusions of grandeur......?

Apr 21st 2011

By: admin

I am coming out very strongly now and I will continue to do so as the Conferences take place and this year progresses.  The brethren and elders will NOT be left without a warning.  This is NOT some game; it is a matter of life and death; now and for eternity.

People Are Wicked And Need To Be Painfully Spanked

Apostle Malm has more wonderful comforting words of wisdom:

Israel was a hard, stubbern, rebellious,  stiff necked people; who insisted on doing things their own way and refused to keep even the physical Covenant with God.  If one adulterer were stoned it would have ended adultery for another generation.  The law was harsh because the people were wicked and needed a powerful example to get through to them that they were living in a manner that would lead to their death.

We must not forget the great mercy of God.  When an evil deed is repeated often, it becomes a deeply ingrained habit.  The quick death of the unrepentant stopped that repetition in its tracks so that these folks could be resurrected into a better world without a deeply ingrained habit of evil to overcome; and with an experience that they would not want to repeat. Capitol punishment is a mercy to the criminal and his victum and to society at large.

 We are now in a society where there is great sympathy for the evil doer and little for the potential victims that are saved by the putting away of the evil doers.  Through this we have become the most wicked and sinful people.  The fruits of our liberalism are obvious.

God is a mighty God, who does his will for the ultimate good of all peoples.  Sometime that involves a hard spanking and some pain, yet it is for an awesome purpose. Who are we to speak evil of our Maker?  Who are we to say that he is the auther and creator of evil?  Are those not the thoughts of Job as he had maintained himself against the judgement of God?

Armstrongites always take great boastful pride in proclaiming that they will become god's and rule over worlds in the world of tomorrow.  Given how mentally ill some of these people are, particularly those in charge of various splinter cults, can you imagine them in charge of a world in the Kingdom of God?   Being sent to Armstrong's lake of fire would be a better alternative than living in a hellish world ruled by these people!