Masons Fighting to Silence Apostle Malm? (Updated)

Apostle Malm is continuing his snit-fest today on the Masons.  To Malm, Masonry is a Satanic conspiracy to kill off the one true church i.e. The Churches of God.  What would Armstrongism do with out it's myriad of conspiracy theories?  It's the Masons, it's the Jesuits, it's the Zionists, it's the atheists, it's the Jews, it's the Illuminati, it's the Pope.....on and on it goes.

Rader is the big meanie that brought Masonry into the church The Apostle also says Herb was a lower degree Mason.  Why Apostle Malm lies about that I have no idea.  There is no documented proof that Herb was ever a Mason.  Other church leaders yeas, Herb no.

The Apostle then goes on to describe the characteristics of Masons and how they are certified liars.  This is what he says:

Masons are also accomplished liars, who are experts at spinning partial truth so that it becomes the opposite of the whole truth. This spin has been used for six thousand years to twist the word of God and to justify themselves.  Watch out for the type of statement [which I have heard from Bob Thiel so often]  that: “I said that but I meant this, it is YOU who have misunderstood me”; as they refuse to accept responsibility for their words.

 The Apostle has perfectly described the Churches of God and all its leaders.  Armstrongism is filled with accomplished liars.  Look at Flurry, Pack, Cox, Rittenbaugh, Coulter, GTA, HWA, etc.  The Church has always had spin doctors at its ready.  The Legal Department staff were the biggest spin doctors of the church.  Many times blatantly lying to the members. The Public Relations offices also were excellent spin doctors and still are to this day.  Years ago I had the Department Head for Accounting tell me that they could take any figures and make them say what they wanted.  Church accounting departments in all the COGs have lied to members,

As for  Prophet Bob, he just gets no relief  :-)

These folks are experts at dissimulation, distraction, blaming the questioner for lack of understanding and splitting off a particle from the truth and then twisting it to mean something different.  They are experts at using human reasoning to get around any zeal for God and his commandments.

One great example of this is Leona McNair and how the Church went into damage control mode and blamed her for what was happening.  Never mind the fact that Rod Meredith stood up in front of over 700 ministers in Tuscon and publicly defamed her.  Never mind the fact that McNair was no bastion of saintly virtue.  the Church and Meredith worked overtime to discredit her.  If only she had been a submissive wife and kissed Raymond's feet every night none of this would have ever happened. If it had not been for the Ambassador Report and local church members and community members fighting on her behalf she would have never prevailed.

Many a person has worked himself to the bone with total loyalty to his employer and never made it into the big time, while being passed by, by others who seem to have everything go their way.  Did you ever wonder why?  It is because you are not in the club.  To be a success in this world one needs to know the right people who can help you and set you on your way.

This method of reasoning has always been a cop out in Armstrongism.  Members could never advance up in companies because they did not play the party game, did not work on Saturdays, and a myriad of other accusations.  When Apostle Malm says stupid things like this he spits in the faces of church members that have run successful businesses, advanced up in the State Department, been City and Government leaders, ethical attorneys, etc.  All without ever being Masons.  Armstrongism is always about blaming "the other."

The auditorium was itself carefully constructed so that the worshippers would always face the East and an upper room was built in which to hold lodge meetings.

The next time the Apostle reads this blog and copies it over to his he had better get the facts straight!  At no point did I EVER say that an upper room was used for Masonic meetings.  No Masonic meets were EVER held in the Auditorium!  That is a plain, simple FACT!  Sheesh, I am starting to type like Herb!

Since Apostle Malm has set himself  up as a truth teller, a prophet and Apostle he should really guard his words more carefully.  Apostles have no record of lying.  James Malm has.  That alone damns him as a false teacher.

Update:  The Apostle says he is working on a list of Church of God ministry who are Masons and will publish it this fall.  This is all too fun!

Today’s post will be on this subject due to the tremendous response I have received. It will be very heavy on exposing what Masonry is all about and how it gained control of HWA and the COG. By the end of the year [I Hope] the names and proofs will enable this thing to be broken wide open. I know the evil in high places that I am fighting. James

Where's Dale Schurter?

Since this blog exposed the many different beliefs held by Dale Schurter that were opposite of Dave Pack's, he has been conspicuously absent from the scene.  Is Dale going through reeducation at the campus of the world's largest Church of God?  Is Dale getting his eye's anointed AGAIN so that he can come back on the scene as a proper Packite who toes the party line?

Perhaps Prophet Thiel could join us below.
Oh wait, it's an evil, satanic football game.

Can you help us find Dale?

COG's Filled With "Wishy-washy Mental Goo and Slobber"

Reading COG related blogs are always fun.  Get a load of this back slapping for Apostle Malm:

To all who sneer and think that James Malm is a nut-case, I would like you to consider that James has stated with specificity as to who will do what and around when those things he believes scripture shows are going to take place will do so.

Now go and look at the rest of the entire corporate COG phalanx of prophecy teachings. ylou will find a big bunch of equivocating and wishy-washy mental goo and slobber, filled with all kinds of caveats and escape hatches enabling those who say them to say later either, “I never exactly said that” or “only God knows for sure and all we can do is wait till it happens in order to understand”.

By this time next year, James will either be proven correct or will be noted as one more sincere and well-intentioned zealot who got it wrong. If such an outcome takes place, I fully expect James (based on his willingness to do so in the past) to admit when and where he got things wrong and sincerely, appologize
to those he (unintentionally) misled and be the wiser for any mistake(s) he made.

Notice how they are already giving the Apostle a way out.  "Oh, he was sincere, but wrong, don't fault him for that."  ""His predictions were ahead of the times."  "Don't judge him because he was really sincere."

It is idiotic comments like this that allow other false prophets to get a toehold in Armstrongism.  That is what allowed McNair, Waterhouse, Blackwell, Pack, Flurry, Hulme, Meredith and others to get by when their predictions all failed. So far we have over 650 of them and still counting.

Van Robison on "Thinking About Life"

Thinking About Life

I confess that there are so many issues about life on earth that make no sense, that it leaves me frustrated.  Sure, for those of us who experienced years of the Worldwide Church of God, we learned what truth is not.
We know that religious hierarchy stinks.  We know that men who stand in pulpits and pretend to represent God are far off base.  We know that tithing is a very false doctrine.  We know that many have made prophecies about the future and were very wrong.  We have learned that charismatic personalities can often persuade the gullible and naive.  We have learned that FEAR and GUILT are tools of control.  We have learned that the Bible is NOT infallible and inerrant, and that it is interpreted in as many different ways as there are specks of sand upon the seashores.  We have learned that anyone can potentially be caught up in cult groups and man-made religious beliefs.

Beyond all that, when we read that "they shall lay hands upon the sick and they shall recover", it does not always happen and even in most cases does not.  I have yet to see a paralyzed human being healed instantaneously, or a paraplegic restored and I have prayed for both categories of such people.  I have been in a nursing home where some human beings are nothing more than physical and or mental vegetables, and all the prayers never had any result that was positive.  I have been to two Benny Hinn "Healing Crusades" and have witnessed first hand the emotional impact such events have upon thousands of human beings in attendance.  I have read many books by the most famous "healing evangelists" or preachers known to man, such as Kathryn Kuhlman, Smith Wigglesworth, Oral Roberts, John G. Lake and others.  I even attended an Oral Roberts "healing crusade" in Amarillo, Texas as a young child and was overwhelmed with what I saw and experienced.

Once, some years ago my wife and I traveled to a church to hear a man who proclaimed that he had "raised" something like 14-people from the "dead" in Mexico, in his personal ministry and over a period of years.  During his talk, we were all spell-bound with what he had to say, and during the service, in through the doors came a family rolling a man in serious condition (Lou Gehrig's Disease, as we learned) on a hospital bed.  Naturally we expected a "miracle", because after all, here was the man standing in the pulpit who "raised people from the dead."  After the service, the guest minister was ushered over to the bedside of this man who was at death's door, and nothing happened.  The sick man went out the same way he came in.  Our disappointment was deep.

Once, my wife and I attended a service at a church where the guest speaker and his wife, had a "healing" ministry, where people supposedly had their teeth filled with "gold" where their cavities were.  The guest minister asked that anyone who wanted gold fillings to come forward, and a friend of mine and myself, along with others went forward.  The "minister" looked in our mouths with a flashlight and literally said "I see nothing but gold."  In our gullibility of course we thought that our fillings had been turned to gold.  When we went home and looked in the mirror, there was no gold.  Naturally our disappointment was enormous and such an experience only added to our loss of faith and confidence in the clergy class of people.

In my personal life, I have experienced church beyond the Worldwide Church of God.  My personal church life includes charismatic, pentecostal, baptist and other groups and even including what is called "house church", which is not controlled by any church organization.  In many organized churches they have what is called "cell groups", which I have also been a part of in years past.  Ultimately my wife and I came to the conclusion that 100% of all organized churches are man-made institutions and having nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ.  Admittedly Jesus Christ has NEVER approached me personally, in a visible and physical form and spoken to me, so much as one word and yet I still believe in Jesus Christ.

In spite of all the negative church experiences, Jesus makes sense to my reason.  I will never embrace atheism.  I concede that what is called the "Bible" is full of myth, legend, human fabrication and yet it is astonishingly the most read "book" in the world, and argued over more than any other writings in human experience.  In fact the "Holy" books of the major religions of the world are to my thinking the reason for so many problems in human life.

Indeed God is a mystery and I have never found a satisfactory answer to human suffering.  I have never known anyone who has not suffered in human life.  Suffering is both physical and mental and life is overwhelming at times.  Who can comprehend why there are tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and what we all call "natural" disasters?  Who can comprehend why humans can be so intelligent and genius and at the same time so stupid as to be idiots, which to my thinking is what all wars are---insane?  Why can't life be for positive and constructive purposes instead of idiot and never ending wars of death and destruction?  Why sickness and disease and mental anguish and torment?

The only conclusion that I have been able to come to is that "the wisdom of God is greater than the lack of understanding of human beings."  As far as what happens after the death of the body, no one has a clue, other than what we all read in ink on paper, which is nothing more than human say so.  Atheism offers no hope.  If there were no hope of life beyond the physical human realm, then human life is to my thinking without meaning and purpose.  What makes sense about Jesus to my reason is that He taught "love your neighbor as you love yourself", "do unto others as you would have them do unto you", "blessed are the peacemakers", "blessed are the meek" and so forth.  In essence what Jesus taught in one word is LOVE.  Anything attributed to Jesus that would appear to contradict Himself, makes no sense and to me is very questionable as to its real source.  As far as we all know Jesus Christ never penned anything and all that we know of Him is strictly based upon what men write.

We can choose to believe or we can choose not to believe.  Strangely, no matter how we believe about God, it does not change the fact of His existence and if He does not exist, it does not change that reality.

Personally, I choose to believe.


Van Robison

It's A Masonic Conspiracy!

Bet you never knew that ALL the McNairs were Masons did you? What about David Hulme? Rod Meredith? Imagine Rod as a Mason - Oy! Stan Rader we have all heard about and Tkach too. Is any of it really true or is this just another conspiracy theory for the mentally disturbed in Armstrongism to latch on to in order to make themselves feel special and set apart?

Apostle Malm is on an anti-Masonry snit-fest today. It was all a Masonic conspiracy that destroyed the Church of God.  According to Apostle Malm and Christan conspiracy nutjobs, the Masons have been instructed by Satan Lucifer to infiltrate all religions and destroy them.

The Apostle notes that for decades the WCG had articles and booklets on Masonry.  Jack Elliot had written several articles on the subject.  Then along comes Stan and the brakes go on and the booklets and articles are removed.

One thing that Apostle Malm did not know about was the Auditorium.  Years ago there was a man touring the building and he informed me he was one of the people that helped construct the building through the auspices of Daniel, Mann, Johnson and Mendenhall.  He claimed that the entire Auditorium was built with Masonic symbolism.  The Auditorium is a cube shape (take away the white pillars that disguise it).  It faces East so that all worshippers in the  building always faced the rising sun. There was a room in the ceiling area on the upper left side that was appropriate to Masonic symbolism in its placement.  The colors used. Various shapes in the design.  He also said that Masonic coins were located throughout the building in different locations, placed there by workers.

Nor did the Apostle mention this delightful little tidbit: the bridges over the lake intersect into a female sexual symbol with the fountain symbolising the penis with it's rigid shaft and spurting water.

Of course all of these things are nothing new.  There were rumors of this in the mid to late 70's, so much so, that GTA stood on the stage one day and said that some of these weird people who believe this kind of stuff would get "turned on by piano legs."

Never mind the fact that a huge percentage of Armstrongite churches have met in Masonic, Elks and Odd Fellows Halls over the decades.  I guess that all seeing eye staring down at us was Lucifer's way of infiltrating the church.

Van Robison On: "Splinter Group Cocoons"

Splinter Group Cocoons

In the world of religions, every group without exception lives within the walls and confines of the thinking of its founders and leaders.  Every Bible college and every Bible correspondence course is tailored to the thinking of the author or authors of those institutions and study courses.  Bible colleges are manufacturers of clones of their own making.  There is a two fold purpose for Bible schools and this is to perpetuate their peculiar beliefs and $money.  They are businesses that provide income to their existence and like a machine they make molds of their own teachings, which are rubber stamped in the young people who are caught in their web.

In the Worldwide Church of God, Ambassador College was the means to a never ending supply of Herbert W. Armstrong clones.  Young people are very impressionable, pliable and like clay---moldable.  Only those who are capable of independent thought and thinking, break out of the mold.  Many live their entire lives within the confines of their programmed minds and thinking, while some eventually break free and run as fast as they can.

This is true not only of the Worldwide Church of God and its many splinter groups who live in religious cocoons, but it is true of all groups, including Mormons (Brigham Young University),  Jehovah Witnesses (Watchtower Bible School of Gilead), Southern Baptist (many colleges), Seventh Day Adventist (Southern Adventist University), and the list is endless.  Of course many "Bible" schools and colleges also offer liberal arts and studies in non-religious venues.

Every religious group wants to perpetuate itself and there is no greater means to do so than "Bible" colleges.  In reality they are not "Bible" colleges, they are clone manufacturers of their own particular beliefs.  Many young people aspire to position and influence over others and so hence off to "Bible school" they go to become "pastors" and "preachers" of "truth."  What they really become are clones of how they have been indoctrinated to "think."  Have you ever had two people knock on your door and attempt to persuade you to listen to them or read their Jehovah Witnesses material?  Many have and I have also.  I admit that these people are generally friendly, sincere and zealous, but at the same time they are NOT independent thinkers, they are parrots.  They are programmed robots of Jehovah Witnesses indoctrination.  I always feel sorry for the two young people that I have seen with white shirts and ties walking down the street, who are intent to proselytize anyone who will give them an ear to Mormonism.

Young people in general don't have the experience to discern, but with time you would think that as people become older they would become wise.  Sad to say, many never become wise to the serpents, snakes and wolves in sheep's clothing who devour.  Worldwide Church of God splinter groups are all led by clones of Herbert W. Armstrong and they are NOT "the Way, the Truth and the Life."  There is NO mediator between God and man, aside from Jesus Christ, for those who still believe in Jesus Christ.  Religious cocoons are not a new phenomenon and they have been in existence for a very long time.  Public persuaders are often pretenders.  Most likely the common factor as to why so many will follow these fake religious rulers is simply FEAR.  However, God is NOT a monster.  The "Bible" may portray God as a monster, but I would suggest that in fact the so called "Bible" so misrepresents and distorts the true character of God is so many parts, that it is the very reason so many have warped views of the true nature and character of the Creator of all life and the universe.  No loving parent would act toward their own children the way the Bible portrays God as acting toward His own human creation, in many parts of it.

Splinter groups of the Worldwide Church of God, are living inside religious cocoons.  In nature, cocoons break open and the butterfly or moth is set FREE.

Van Robison

New Arabic Bibles = Beginning of the Famine of the Word (According to Armstrongites)

This week there have been several news stories about a couple of Bible translations being produced for use in Muslim dominated countries.

New Bibles: No 'Father and Son' in Trinity

New Arabic and Turkish translations of the Bible from three reputable North American Christian organizations are brewing controversy because they no longer contain the words "Father" and "Son" in the Holy Trinity. In addition, the phrase "Son of God" has been removed. Why? "These terms are offensive to Muslims," say the publishers, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) and Frontiers.

Yahoo! News gives three examples that are causing the controversy:

• Stories of the Prophets from Wycliffe and SIL is an Arabic Bible that uses an Arabic equivalent of "Lord" instead of "Father" and "Messiah" instead of "Son."
• Meaning of the Gospel of Christ from Frontiers and SIL is an Arabic translation that removes "Father" in reference to God and replaces it with "Allah." In addition, the word "Son" is either removed or redefined. Matthew 28:19 reads: "Cleanse them by water in the name of Allah, his Messiah and his Holy Spirit" instead of "baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
• In a Turkish translation of the Gospel of Matthew, Frontiers and SIL have used the Turkish language equivalents of "guardian" for "Father" and "representative" or "proxy" for "Son."

http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/whatsnew/default.jsp?story=20120130-1307

Christian Today Australia has this to say:

The words "Father," "Son" and "Holy Spirit" are integral to preserving the true meaning of the Gospel and should never be tampered with, some ministries say. But some Bible translation organizations – such as Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), have argued that in certain cultures, keeping the literal translation creates the wrong context and does not portray the relationship between God and Jesus Christ correctly.

Controversy is swirling around the Arabic and Turkish translations of the Bible. The word "Father" is replaced with "Allah" (meaning God in Arabic), while "Son" becomes "Messiah."

One example of this change in the text concerns Matthew 28:19, which instead of "baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" becomes "Cleanse them by water in the name of Allah, his Messiah and his Holy Spirit."

The reason for this modification, both Wycliffe and SIL say in similar statements released which address the concern, is so that Muslim readers of the Bible are not confused into thinking that the relationship between God and Jesus is a physical father-and-son one, where God is the biological father of Jesus.

"We, along with all other Wycliffe organizations worldwide, strongly affirm the eternal deity of Jesus Christ and require that it be preserved in all translations. Scripture translations should promote understanding of the term 'Son of God' in all its richness, including His filial relationship with God the Father, while avoiding any possible implication of sexual activity by the Father," The Wycliffe branch in Canada explained in a statement. New Arabic Bible to be translated without terms 'Father' and 'Son', sparks controversy

This of course has gotten many Armstrongites wrapped up in a tizzy.  The pretend Armstrongite Jews on Yahoo, HWA worshipers on Facebook and various splinter cult leaders jumping into the fray.  All that is missing so far is Prophet Thiel adding his two cents to the mix.

To illustrate how ridiculous some of those comments are here is a choice tidbit from a COG Facebook page:

We always knew that there would be a "famine of God's Word" in accordance with the prophecy in Amos 8:11, but that it would be as a result of banning Bibles, but Satan is more subtle than that. Satan has produced polluted versions of the Bible based on twisted and false translations from corrupted texts.

Thank God for the internet and translations such as Fred Coulter's faithful version which preserve God's Word as far as humanly possible, by someone guided by the Holy Spirit, so that we can still "rightly divide" it.

Famine of the word?  Because of two Bible translations that exist out of HUNDREDS  of others?  What planet is this idiot on?  And then to say Fred Coulter has the RIGHT translation?  Fred Coulter???????  The "preacher" that reads bumps on peoples heads in order to diagnose what's wrong with them?  Phrenologist Fred has been attempting to promote this book for several years with gullible church people forking over  big bucks for useless garbage. Talk about a polluted bible version!

It's funny how everything attached to Armstrongism is always "preserving God's word as humanly possible" and yet the entire organization is rapidly dissolving into nothing.  Did God go and lose it all again?  Is God really that weak of a god  that so much of Armstrongism has made him out to be?

I just have a sneaky suspicion that these bibles will have more of an impact in peoples lives in those countries than any Armstrongite splinter cult ever has or will ever have.

Dennis On: Faith Without Anxiety is Dead

Faith Without Anxiety is Dead

To write or not to write?  That is the question.  I find myself in a bit of a quandary over whether to address this topic of post-WCG anxiety.  I strongly suspect it to be a great part of the experience that many have when leaving the comfortable confines of friends, church and the comfort one gets from knowing how all of life will turn out for you.  I could have never imagined the existential anxiety that is generated from the loss of religious belief and faith.  I do now.  

Evidently, I did not invent this.

Lynn Min

"Spirituality can make a significant difference in sufferers of anxiety. There exist numerous studies indicating that religious people are less likely to become anxious than their nonreligious counterparts.

In 1993, researcher Harold Koenig studied the relationship between religious involvement and anxiety in 2,969 individuals. He found that young and middle-aged individuals who attended church at least once a week were significantly less likely to have anxiety-related disorders than those who did not attend church regularly. Devotional activities such as prayer and Bible study were associated with lower incidence of agoraphobia and other forms of anxiety. Regular church attendance was also correlated with lower levels of anxiety.

Anxiety can be viewed holistically. Their beginnings manifestations are not simply psychological, physiological, or social. It is the interaction of all of the above, plus the spiritual.  Consider the following example of the spiritual component of anxiety. Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl pointed out the type of anxiety which follows from the belief that one's life has lost its meaning. In other words, if I begin to believe that my life is without purpose, the result can be anxiety. While the resulting anxiety is coined a psychological disorder, the root of it lies in the deep spiritual search for life’s meaning. "

 I am writing this while having yet another round of the anxiety that seems a genuine tendency for me personally as a result of the loss of faith, friends and fellowship along the way.  I could be smarter perhaps and keep it to myself and just get through, but what is the use of a common experience if you don't share it.  I am quite able to blow off the advice I know is out there to "come back to Jesus,"  or "you're problem is...."  I cannot help how I feel nor can I help the conclusions I have drawn, for now, over this entire WCG fiasco.  


My only choice seems to be does it dominate the rest of my life, or can I find a safe place to file it all away as just another experience meant to teach and take one further on a more genuine life journey?  The impression of being stuck has hurt personal relationships and probably contributed to the loss of friends and contact.  I also can't seem to help that as stuck is stuck and it would probably be obvious when unstuck has become the norm again.  

I find I don't find comfort in teachings I doubt or in history that is not presented as it really was or is.  I am not inspired by those who are so sure the Bible is without errors or contradictions knowing they refuse to even look at what the problems might be.  That behavior, common in the COG perspectives , simply does not work for me.  I know how COG ministers think and I know how little study outside the acceptable box they do.  I also know current COG ministers and frankly, a number of other minister types who freely admit, to me, their skepticism and realizations, but you would not know it when you hear them preach or write.  I have heard the phrase "I know that is true, but I will lose my job," more than once from these men.   There are two of them, the one inside and the one they show, and their church only sees the one they present to them.  They also seem much less inclined toward anxiety living in two worlds instead of picking one.  Something does not have to be true either literally or at all to keep the beast of anxiety at bay.  All it takes in belief that it is so, even it it isn't.

For example, I have always had a problem with prayer.  Oh I know the should's and must's of it all, but it was always difficult for me.  I always had a sneaking suspicion that I was just talking to myself.  I did a lot of it though.  But then I realized how sincere the prayers of the people of faith are when they find themselves in harms way and beg God to save them and they die some horrible death.  I wonder what a Christian in Somalia feels when they get a gasoline filled tire hung around their neck and they know what's coming or have to dig their own grave while soaking in gasoline.  I know they are begging God to help them and there is no help coming...ever.  I have buried a lot of children who inspite of "Their Angels do always watch over them," are quite dead and no Angel showed up in time. Then I think how stupid my asking for a calm spirit or a bit more security in this or that area of life really must sound to a real Deity who neither helped the poor soul in Somalia begging for mercy or saved the child leaving muddy hand prints along the edge of the pool trying to get out.  I just think like that and it does indeed fuel an anxiety that simple faith, justified or not, seems to keep at bay.

I think the world needs its skeptics to keep those who use critical thinking in what they accept into their beliefs honest.  I say critical thinkers because frankly I knew few if any among my ministerial peers.  I read some of the articles they write to inspire their current followers and just shake my head over whether or not they really believe what they say or are just on auto-pilot saying what they are used to saying or are expected to say.  A recent update from LCG showing how pet store pythons left to grow big and eat the animals in the Everglades relates to prophecy is a great example of this silly kind of connections that are almost unbearable to read. I suppose runaway cudzu is also a sign that time is short.

So here I sit and spin out an anxious, which really a somewhat fearful, chemistry.  Perhaps the price of knowledge is anxiety.  I know it is a byproduct. I felt ever so much more safe in the group.  No matter what happened, I had hundreds of friends there to answer the call.  We all had each other. We all believed the same thing,  and whether it was right or wrong did not matter.  Shared errors. if never looked at, are comforting.

Critics will use the fact that those who press ahead and aren't easily sold the ideas of others having anxiety as proof that they are outside of the grace and plan of the Deity.  I don't believe that either.  If we left everything up to the church, we'd still be in the Dark Ages.  Progress is fueled by inquiry and even the anxiety caused by just standing still, or getting stuck perhaps.  If everything is totally comfortable, where is the need or motivation  to learn anything else or examine what the current belief is?  Belief is not the same as truth, but ever so much more comforting.  Is not passivity, compliance and "whatever you say," the dream state for the one man religious show to get his followers in?  I simply cannot do it.  I felt this disturbance often at the Feast when other ministers gave their standard sermons and everything in me was saying,  "and you know this?" or "yeah, yeah, fine...can you speed this up?"  My bad.

So now, during the course of writing this  (I am at school with the occasional student wanting to talk to me), I feel the anxiety lifting.  Writing off loads it for me as does talk with a patient and understanding friend.  I love study and learning the things I was never told either because they weren't known or were but not spoken.  I can only take my journey.  The Universe is beyond huge. In the scheme of things we are just one of billions of galaxies each containing millions of life yielding planets.  Quantum physics and cosmology informs us that reality is not what you think it is and we may just be one grape on a cluster  of many universes in one local vineyard.  Paleontology informs us that evolution is generally true and the mythology of Adam and Eve is merely that.  I kinda knew this all my life but now we know more than at anytime in the history of humans, we are conscious hairless apes with an amazing past.  This does not preclude the existence of a Deity, but perhaps does the cultic one of the OT.  While fundamentalists will argue for the mythologies of the Bible being literally true, they are not.  While the stories have a meaning, it is not related to literal origins of everything from the Grand Canyon, language or conscious humanity.  

So the price of breaking free seems to be a round or two of lonely, bouts of anxiety and a smattering of with  at times for good measure as meaning takes a hit. .  I suspect this is the normal progression in the lives of those that are seeking rather than judging everyone based on what they feel they have found and no longer need to let any new information in to rain on their parade.   That approach, in spite of the anxiety produced in not clinging to fables, myths and hearsay as being literally true or comforting is simply no longer acceptable or an option.  I cannot unring the bell of  skepticism formed by my WCG experience or the facts that I have let in to inform me on theology and religion.  If I could do it again...well I wouldn't have.

Thank you for listening...

Dennis C
DenniscDiehl@aol.com

LCG Sees Propehcy At Work In Everglades

Leave it a COG to find prophecy fulfilled from Pet shop rejects

02/05/2012 a.m. Here is the latest Living Church of God World Ahead Weekly Update from Rod McNair. It mentions changes in Europe, TW in French magazine, Passover, Church survey, Living Youth programs, Feast registration, upcoming new Feast website, world news items, and comments about face-to-face time.

Here is one of the world news items:

Too Many Hungry Pythons. Burmese pythons were introduced into the Florida Everglades in the 1980s. They escaped from captivity and pet owners also dump them when they become too large to keep. The pythons are prolific and can grow to more than 15 feet long (5 meters) and weigh 150 pounds (75 kg). A new Davidson College study reveals rapidly declining populations of indigenous Everglade mammals (e.g., raccoons, deer, opossum, and others), by more than 90% since the late 1990s. Researchers believe the skyrocketing python population is to blame. New research demonstrates that salt water, once thought to be a barrier that confines snakes to the swamp, is really no barrier. Some experts believe the pythons could expand their habitat throughout much of the Southeastern U.S. (FloridaToday.com, January 31, 2012). The Everglades directly border Miami resident ial neighborhoods. What could happen when pythons run out of native species to eat? The Bible identifies some sobering events that will occur at the end of the age. The Apostle John wrote of the fourth seal, the “pale horse,” that will result in the death of one quarter of the earth’s population, by the sword (war), hunger, and the beasts of the earth (Revelation 6:7-8). Jeremiah’s prophecy adds more detail, highlighting how birds and beasts of the earth will “devour and destroy” (Jeremiah 15:2-4). Florida’s pythons could be one tool that God eventually uses to bring these prophecies to pass. For more information, review our booklet: Revelation: The Mystery Unveiled!

Dennis

Dennis On: "The Joy-Filled Kingdom of Men"

The Joy-Filled Kingdom of Men

I'm not so sure I'd enjoy being ruled by the fundamentalist or theologically challenged Christians I know. They just know that they, the true true saints, will rule the world under Jesus Christ. This makes me nervous and I'm not so sure it will be source of my never ending joy realized when Jesus returns to rule us all with a "rod of iron." 


Somehow the use of seminars, luncheons and field trips never seems to dawn on Jesus or God as a way to better teach us poor ignorant slobs. I respond much better to genuine information and question asking. I'm just not sensing much that questions will be tolerated but rather we'd all be given a loose leaf binder with all the questions already answered..end of discussion. 


It is my hope the Rod of Iron thing is made up by the men who love to rule with such things. In becoming as little children, you'd think rods of iron would be prohibited as an acceptable way to solve problems and teach truth. I know, there is a way that SEEMS right to me but ends badly, God's ways are not my ways.  God does not see things as mere men do.  And of course, the wisdom of man is foolishness with God, but I just thought I'd mention it.  Actually the Proverbs tell us the Rod of Correction will be good for kids and a good beating won't kill them, so there ya go!  


I'm not holding out a lot of hope for the Clergy I know.  They don't get along very well among themselves. The screamers among them seem to compete for the recognition and preeminence and the rules they believe they will enforce upon all mankind within their reach are down right depressing and frightening. Worse yet, they don't seem to be able to agree on which rules are rules, which are suggestions and which are done away with. I do know they tend to want to be in charge and not just work for the Lord in lower positions.  Everyone wants to be a King or Priest it seems. All Priests and no Indians or something like that...


In their perfect Theo-world there will be no dancin' or card playin'. No hair longer than that of the 1950's and no dresses shorter than ankle high. They will be made mostly of boring colors and put you in mind of your grandma. Clothing will be boring because that proves your sincerity and humbleness of spirit. A uniform of some sort would be even better according to some.  All children will wear Y.O.U. clothing I guess.  All fundraising will be accomplished selling Ten Commandment Plaques.  And those tattoos are going to have to come off!  Tattoo Eradicator would be a great profession to go into in this Kingdom.  Tons of business. 

 

You'll be forced, because it's the rule, to go to Bible studies on Wednesday nights and church EVERY Sunday, or Saturday depending.  You'll agree that Jesus really was born on Christmas and really died on Easter for all the appropriate reasons. You will be baptised by immersion or sprinkled depending. You're repentance will be heartfelt and genuine and you will become perfect like God is, or else of course. In fact you'll agree with what you are told to agree with even if you don't. If you don't, you will keep that very very quiet. However a local pastor says that God knows our thoughts, so that will be a challenge. I just know he's gonna tell!


As far as entertainment is concerned, you will love Andy Griffith and hate American Idol.  Movies will be strictly monitored and you will learn to love "The Sound of Music"and "Oklahoma" as you never thought you could, or else. Stores will close on the appointed days and times and only sell the appropriate Christian things. I imagine only Christians will be allowed to even own or run a store. Oh yeah, the non-believers will be dead.

Concerning science, well, hold on to your hats. Evolution, which is literally true, will be banned and creationism and the Fall of Man because of woman in the Garden of Eden, which is not literally true, will replace it. Your vacations will be to the Creation Museum in Arkansas or Kentucky. Science will be ever so much more easily understood. Phrases like "Quantum physics tells us," or "human consciousness studies inform us that," will be replaced by "God says." In fact, every finding of archaeology, paleontology, astronomy and every other "onomy"and "tologies" will be replaced with "God says." A degree in science won't take long at all and the answers will become so much easier to come up with on the test. All the science you need to know you will find in the Bible....mostly the Old Testament.  


Clergy will replace politicians and giving to the State will be regulated by Old Testament laws on tithing and many other such things you won't believe how happy they will make you. It will be to one's advantage to become a Priest of the Most High if you ever expect to accumulate any real material wealth. The Ten Commandments will be suspended long enough to steal the unbelievers blind, rape their wives, enslave their children and kill those who can't see the light as it is revealed to them. If you should find yourself in any kind of conflict over why you have to be so compliant and believe the unbelievable, this is why Jesus has his very own rod of iron. He will convince you that you need to adjust your attitude and you will do so nicely and with sincerity. After you learn anatomy by seeing eyes and tongues dissolve in the appropriately "God is Love" wrath, , you'll feel more inclined to obey and be happy.


Now we can all hope the above nightmare scenario in the hands of Christian Fundamentalists will never come to pass. However, we have ample Old Testament predictions that Jewish fundamentalism will prevail in a very similar way. The above mentioned pastors will be forced to give up Sunday for Sabbath, Easter for Passover and Christmas for the Feast of Tabernacles.   Christian Pastors , falsely so called, will be really surprised! Most will claim they are merely farmers once they see what's in for the false prophets and ministers of Satan among them. 


Let's take a quick look at how happy we will be when the Messiah comes from the Jewish Christian perspective, and how deep our joy must be, or else.

Zechariah 14:
(1-2) Jerusalem under siege from the nations.
Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
See, I told ya the Ten Commandments would be suspended for the greater good!  But not to worry.  It's a YHVH trap and those who were gathered against Jerusalem because they were gathered there by God will be sorry they showed up....
(12-15) Enemies are forever plagued.
And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths. It shall come to pass in that day that a great panic from the Lord will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor, and raise his hand against his neighbor's hand; Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance. Such also shall be the plague on the horse and the mule, on the camel and the donkey, and on all the cattle that will be in those camps. So shall this plague be.

See, I told ya you could still have lots of good stuff if you were the chosen ones and you'd learn anatomy in new and interesting ways! A man's life may not consist of the abundance of things he possesses, but that sorry belief will be put to rest in this huge booty raid.  I'm not sure there are going to be all that many horses, mules, camels and donkeys if this really is a time in the future but what do I know.  It could happen.

(16-19) All the nations come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.

And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

See, I told ya have to give up the pagan Christian holidays and absolutely fall in love with the Jewish Holy Days, or else.  You see, being forced to be happy and obey is the way. Force makes you sincere or else. You will love church or else.  You know..kinda like those poor North Koreans that had to show sincere grief over the loss of Kim Bong Bill or risk a the need for some re-education summer camp.  At the Feast, when you asked, "How did you come into the truth?" you can say,  "It wasn't raining so I thought, "what the hell, I may as well go to the Feast and act interested."  

(20-21) The common is made holy.
In that day "Holiness to the Lord" shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the Lord of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.

See, I told ya Church was going to be a lot different and you better not be one of the not so special ones!  Again, it appears horses will make a major comeback as a mode of transportation.  


Doesn't being under enforced, for your own good, religious rule sound inspiring? For those who have traveled through the WCG/UCG/PCG/PKG/LCG/GCG/RCG/LSD/DDT/MSG/STP Wild World of God Church experience, what human leader, now God as God is God, would you like to be under?  And you can't prefer to just be yourself and even born right the first time.  You must pick one!  You must feel evil, wicked, worthless, poor, blind, naked and a general loser with no hope unless you love being associated with this one and only way to be.  Rather insane isn't it....


 I sincerely hope this is not what "and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free," really means. Freedom under religious rule and control is truly frightening and depressing.  


Remember...

" Those who can make you believe absurdities

can make you commit atrocities."
 Voltaire ...

Dennis C
DenniscDiehl@aol.com

New Dave Pack Mobile Clinic For Defecting Ministers

Van Robison On "Censorship in the Worldwide Church of God"

Censorship in the Worldwide Church of God

As a former member of the Worldwide Church of God, during the lifetime of Herbert W. Armstrong, I can well remember that reading the literature or material of anyone outside of the "true church of God", was forbidden or discouraged.  Herbert W. Armstrong would say "don't believe me, believe your Bible", but then the cult would tell its members not to listen to anyone other than their own church leaders.  What motive would any religious leader or group have to censor alternative opinions, books, reading material or vocal lectures, unless there was FEAR that they might lose members to alternative possibilities?  Living in a cult cocoon stifles the ability of anyone to learn that there is a vast world outside of the cocoon.

Many religious leaders, religious organizations and political groups hate FREEDOM of thought.  Cult religious groups insist that they and they alone are the bearers of "truth."  Even human governments live in perpetual FEAR of losing their power and control over the common people.  Propaganda, disinformation and distortion, suppression, silence and twisting of facts and truth are common in the world in which we live.  The Worldwide Church of God, was NOT the "Church of God", but was the brainchild of Herbert W. Armstrong.  Herbert was a master deceiver.  Herbert was a wolf in sheep's clothing.  The religious and even the political world have always from the beginning of human existence, been potential deceivers.

How many members of Worldwide Church of God splinter groups, cower in fear that they might be found out, but who secretly read websites such as "Banned by HWA?"  If any such reader is reading on these types of websites, let me encourage you that the world is vastly bigger and greater than any splinter group of the Worldwide Church of God can imagine.  It is only when a human being steps outside of their comfort zone, that they come face to face with the FACT that there are possibilities about God, the Bible, life on earth and existence that are light-years beyond the confines of cult mentality.  There are dimensions of thinking that will
leave a human being speechless, when anyone with a little courage "risks" learning beyond the censorship of the confines of self-appointed "ministers" of Worldwide Church of God splinter groups.

Life on earth DOES NOT revolve around Herbert W. Armstrong, anymore than it does any splinter group of the WWCG, or its self-appointed mediators who think they stand between God and their members.  Censorship of views and perspectives that differ with "accepted" views is a tool of tyranny.  I wonder if Herbert W. could come back from the grave, if he would admit that he was an abysmal failure as a "teacher" of what real truth is concerning God/Jesus Christ?  Just think people, every single leader of every splinter group of the WWCG will eventually kiss the grave and return to dirt.  If dead men could talk, I wonder if they would change their tune about their activities while they had their being?

Censorship is common in human life among the religious rulers, as much as it is common in the world of politics and other matters in human life.  Anyone who differs with the status quo is naturally and automatically
demonized by those who do not want alternative views expressed.  The primary tool used by those who censor, is to demonize, terrorize, ridicule, assassinate the character of opposition, cause fear, cause guilt, make people think that truth is evil, and belittle opposing views.

History is rife with examples of those who were burned at the stake, tortured and put to death for no other reason than that their expression of their own thoughts about issues engendered animosity from the "elite"
rulers who hated opposition.  We all know that Jesus Christ was the greatest Whistleblower the world has ever known, and He exposed the religious frauds for what they were and are---WOLVES!  BEWARE!!!


Van Robison

Prophet Thiel: Would Jesus Watch The Super Bowl?

I find it interesting that Living Church of God's biggest false prophet  is speaking out yet again on how demonic and evil the Super Bowl and American football are.  Yet, in LCG's homes across the country there will be tv sets turned on to watch the game.  Beer will be consumned, hot wings munched on and junk food galore.  LCG members will be cheering for their favorite teams.  But not so in the Thiel household.  They'll be sitting around watching Bambi and polishing their halo's.

False Prophet Thiel writes these silly tidbits:

Since most people in the USA have, at one time or another, made some hint of professing following Jesus, a relevant question may be:

Would Jesus watch the Superbowl?

 I could not reconcile loving my neighbor as myself and cherishing my flesh and not doing violence to any man by watching others do it in a football game.

 The Superbowl will do harm to participants in it.

The New Testament also warns Christians against being violent or approving of those that are (Romans 1:28-32), while history records that early Christians would not watch violent sports.

In the 20th century, the late Herbert W. Armstrong wrote:

Football (American football) is a violent body-contact sport. It is often played with an attitude of hostility and is dangerous and is fraught with physical injury…Soccer does not embody the same evils. (Plain Truth, July-August 1984)

Since it is more important for Thiel and Armstrongism to follow HWA than it is Jesus, I guess they must be giving approval for the murders, rapes, stalkings and abuse that went on in Armstrongism over  the decades.  Football is evil but these things rampant in Armstrongism are not. You never see the False Prophet Thiel speaking out against these evils happening right now in LCG or COG.

I conclude with more comments from the false prophet, so incredibly stupid they don't deserve a comment:

Would Jesus watch the Superbowl?
Perhaps, some might say.  And some may ridicule and/or dismiss what I have written.
Yet if Jesus did watch the Superbowl, would He watch it and hope that one team would tackle and crash into members of the other team?  Or might He watch it, if He did, so He could make social commentary against the violence and/or distorted priorities of the land?
This is something that Christians, and others, should think about.

Another Restored Church of God "minister" Has His "Eyes Anointed" But By What?

This latest Restored Church of God "minister" to admit that he the "anointing" of his eyes is Gene Zhorne.  He writes:

We eventually found The Restored Church of God’s website and the book “Anoint Your Eyes” on the “Why the Worldwide Church of God Apostasy and Splinter” webpage. One word: wow! We learned how obeying Christ’s command would give us clear vision to see the miserable state into which we had drifted—and allow us to recapture the portions of the Truth we had lost over the years.

 As we read more of the book “Anoint Your Eyes,” we came to the sobering reality that we too were “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked”—just as Christ said all of His people would become in the final era of His Church. This was a terrible shame on us before our Creator. Yet, our spirits were forged during this time of deep personal reflection. 

Zhorne goes on to write about the subjects that are important to Packism:

To grasp all that it contained, we had to read the book a second time. One pass was simply not enough. We then went on to read The Government of God – Understanding Office and Duties, The True Church – One Organization, or Many?, Surviving Perilous Times, There Came a Falling Away, among many other books offered in the Splinter Explanation Packet (SEP). 

For a group that claims to be Christian take a notice of the important topics that occupy this list. Nowhere do you see these sick little men ever talking about Jesus, the message he brought, the example he set, and the grace he delivered.  You can spend quit a long time on RCG's web site before you ever see them talk about Jesus.  There are hundreds of pages on law and commandments and other useless nonsense, but scant information about Jesus.  Jesus came to lighten the burden and set the captives free.  Pack and his sick cult are all about taking people hostage and imposing hundreds of rules and regulations.

Zhorne then makes in incredible claim that he is too blind to see how this perfectly describes Packism.

The Book of Numbers, Chapter 13 and 14, brings out an interesting parallel in the commandment that God gave to Moses. He was to select a man from each tribe to spy out the land of Canaan—the “Land of Promise.” They were to be “strong and of good courage,” and to bring back the fruit of the land, as well as a good report. Yet after searching the land for 40 days, only two men, Joshua and Caleb, out of the 12 who were sent, gave an accurate and positive report—that there was a land flowing with milk and honey. The rest were afraid of the land’s inhabitants. They lacked faith in God to fight their way into the land of promise. Because a different spirit was present in Joshua and Caleb, only they made it.

Pack and other deviant men in Armstrongism had a chance to search the "promised land" of God's unconditional grace and redemption for the milk and honey it gives to believers.  Instead these deviate men come back with law, government, rules, more law, and every kind of imaginable bondage they can weigh people down with till they are so burdened they give up hope and submit to their deviancy.

When will those that claim to follow Jesus start trusting in Jesus and turn their back on the dishonest, fearful and fear-producing deviancy of Packism and is small cabal of sick ministers?

Zhorne claims that listening to lies of those that speak out against Packism are destroying your chance for the land of promise.  I can state with absolute confidence that following the lies of these deviant men will destroy any spirituality that might be trying to break forth.

Just as God, in Deuteronomy 22:9, tells us not to mingle seed, neither should we mingle truth with error. The end result with seed is a greatly inferior, tainted product, and the same can be said of the beliefs held by human beings. Error, like leaven, eventually spreads throughout its host (Gal. 5:9). But unlike leaven in bread, the end result for one with God’s Spirit is that He eventually loses it, and with it eternal life.

I agree with Zhorne's comment above.  No one that claims to follow Jesus should  be mingling with the errors and filth that is Packism  It is an inferior, tainted product that is destructive to the core.

How sobering.

Yes, it is indeed sobering that 2,000 some people can prostitute their lives to one of Armstrongisms' most degenerate splinter cults.   Even Flurry and Cox, as mind numbingly stupid as they are, pale in comparison to these morons.