Apostle Malm: A Vain Jangler On Law Keeping?

The apostle wrote today:

We are to stand on God’s word and not on the words of the heathen, pagan fables or endless genealogies about whether we are distantly related to some king and that make us something;  we are not to indulge in such nonsense which cause doubting of the truth and confuse people away from the word of God.

Well, that pretty much writes off a lot of Hebrew Scriptures since many deem genealogy as vital information.  Even Jesus' genealogy is high up there.

The apostle the writes a perfect description of himself:

Vain jangling; meaning a sound that signifies nothing.  many false teachers have now arisen and thinking of themselves as some great teachers are spouting vain nonsense not understanding what they are trying to teach.

Apostle Malm's has arisen in Armstrongism with what he perceives as a vital message that is sheer nonsense.
 
He then writes about an impossible scenario that neither he nor any of his acolytes are capable of doing:

People who keep all the commandments of God can do so because God’s spirit is in them and leading them to behave in a certain manner and to avoid certain wicked things, they keep the law by the very nature of God dwelling within them, because they have a new nature imparted to them through the indwelling of God’s spirit.

The Jews were never able to do this and cannot to this day. Christians cannot and never have done this and most specifically the Malmites are incapable of doing this.

The apostle then writes the main point of his preaching, its all about control!

The law exists to control the wicked nature of the natural man.

Grace frees and is entirely free.  No amount of slobbering over the law will earn you grace.  Freedom trumps law any day. Malmites and most Armstrongites cannot grasp the  concept of freedom from law.  They need control.  They need structure.  They need some outside source telling them what to do.

He then writes:

The law condemns wickedness. The law does not condemn the righteous. The law is there to keep people from wicked or evil behavior. It is there to keep people from sinning.

Apostle Malm fails to see that the law condemns the righteous along with the "wicked."  The law absolutely condemns the righteous because not a single human on earth has ever been able to keep the law.

Ron Weinland and Steve Dalrymple On Church Expenses

Mike has another great post on his blog about Ron Weinland and the trial.  Juror 251 is back with more information.  He points out how Ron's right hand man came out looking like a fool.

And then Steve Dalrymple took the stand…


The prosecution asked him what kinds of things he would consider to be church expenses.  Then they asked him what kinds of things he would consider to NOT be church expenses.  They asked him if he traveled or dined out with Mr Weinland, and he confirmed that he did attend an Elder’s meeting at one time in Las Vegas.  When asked why the meeting was in Las Vegas, since there was no church, or logical reason other than personal entertainment to go there for a meeting, he testified that it was Mr Weinland who chose their meeting locations. {I am aware of elders conferences in Las Vegas in 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011.  The last two established as being in the 5-diamond Venetian Resort Hotel Casino}.

It was at this time that the prosecution asked the judge for “leeway” with the witness, and this was granted.  It began to get very interesting…

The attorney began showing Mr Dalrymple receipts for various “expenses” of Ron Weinland.  He showed him receipts from a spa.  Mr Dalrymple did not know what “deep-tissue” was that was listed on the receipt, and had to be told that deep-tissue was a kind of massage.  Apparently a very expensive massage.  Would that be an appropriate church expense?  He stumbled and mumbled, and said that if Mr Weinland had a bad back, then it could possibly be a church expense.  He did not have an explanation for the next receipt, which was another deep-tissue massage, this time for Laura.

The prosecution showed receipts for shopping, from the Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas, and a couple receipts from Nordstroms.  Were those church expenses?  He began to visibly shrink within himself, as there appeared to be no way for him to continue to defend his Prophet.  No, those did not look like church expenses.





The prosecution showed receipts from the Union Pet Clinic, listing many expensive bills for veterinary care for the Weinland’s dog.  Did Mr Dalrymple think that medical care for the dog fell under the umbrella of church expenses?  No, those did not look like church expenses either.


Steve Dalrymple took the stand with the air of someone who was going to do everything in his power to defend Mr Weinland’s actions, even though he was a witness for the prosecution.  He left the stand looking like someone who had been crushed by the knowledge that their hero was in fact a human being, and a very flawed and dishonest one.

There is much more to the post here Porch-Mouthed Ron

Apostle Malm: I Do NOT Set Dates! Well, Maybe Just A Little

Apostle Malm claims he has NOT set dates for any prophecy to be fulfilled.  He does a Clintonesque dance around his many specific dates he has set over the years. "I did NOT sleep with that woman!" "I did NOT set dates!"

Today he writes:

Since 2008 I have calculated the 1,335 days back from the moment the day of Pentecost begins and have said that IF IF IF this was to be the year then the abomination would be set up around that date.  I NEVER said that anything would happen on that date, I only said that IF that would be the year, then that was the date that the abomination MIGHT POSSBLY be set up.

I have done this annually:  To try and get people to understand the count and to cover all POSSIBILITIES.
Of course a certain cogwriter each year posted that I had set another wrong date, and when I wrote to explain my postings and asked him for a correction or retraction I was ignored.

In fact there IS a prophecy which reveals the year of the setting up of God’s kingdom!  I had published that also in 2008 at the main site, but it appears that Bob has not done his homework before condemning me each year.

The 2,300 day Prophecy reveals that the Kingdom will be set up in 2016 and counting back the 1335 day means that the abomination will be set up around Sep 16 in 2012.

Of course both the Sep 16 and the 2016 dates are dependent on the veracity of the facts and the accuracy of the counts.  This is why I have NOT even set a date for 2012!

Note, he does not set dates, even though he set a date and then unset it again.  His acolytes actually swallow this drivel!

Are Christians Intellectually Stupid?

One thing about this blog is that it attracts readers from both sides of the aisle in regards to Christianity and Christian belief..  Many now despise Christianity while others find deep richness in it for their lives.  Others are devout believers that also believe in  evolution and do not take the Bible as being literal.  These folk are disconcerting to both camps. In spite of that, most here have at least found the freedom to use their brain instead of letting others tell them what to believe and how to believe it.  I think we all had enough of that!

Someone forwarded me a link tonight to a recent article by Joe Tkach Jr about this very issue.  I am curious as to your take on this:

On a flight to Dallas last week, my seatmate was James – a nice fellow in his late twenties. James was somewhat full of his intellectual capacity and thought the world was full of stupid people. Christians, he explained, were exceptionally stupid, because they seemed to be oblivious to the discoveries of science. In his estimation, they were like people who believed the earth was flat. James was obviously proud to consider himself an atheist.

I enjoyed the look on his face when I told him that I was one of those so-called ignorant Christians. I mentioned that he might not have heard of surveys showing that 40% of scientists are agnostics and 40% are Christian. I told him that I knew personally several believing scientists who work on the cutting edge of scientific discovery. I reminded him that Francis Collins, who was the director of the Human Genome Project, is a devout Christian. James seemed interested to hear more.

I told him that I am amused by TV characters like Dr. Sheldon Cooper and his “Bible belt” mother in the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory; and by Alice, the assistant to the vicar in the British sitcom Vicar of Dibley. I also admitted to him that some Christians would benefit from more education. But I told him that I’m annoyed that it is now acceptable to portray Christians as simpletons. These TV characters are definitely not typical of most Christians.

I explained to James that many of the concepts we grow up believing are myths. For example, there is the commonly held idea that even educated people in historic times believed that the earth was flat. However, the historical record does not support this idea. As noted by Jeffrey Russell (professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara) in Inventing the Flat Earth: Columbus and Modern Historians, the flat-earth theory is a fable used to denigrate pre-modern European civilizations.

The historic fact is that as far back as 330 BC, Aristotle pointed out that the shadow of the earth on the moon is always circular. In 240 BC, Eratosthenes calculated the earth’s spherical circumference. The Venerable Bede, who lived over 700 years before Columbus, explained the varying duration of daylight in terms of the roundness of earth, reasoning from the Bible that spoke of the “circle of the earth” (Isaiah 40:22).

Some of the most notable scientists through history were Christians. In the sixth century, philosopher and theologian John Philoponus anticipated the modern physics of light and atomic structure based on the doctrines of the Trinity and creation. Galileo was reading Philoponus as he calculated the movement of the stars, laying a foundation for our modern understanding of the cosmos.
Unaware of all this, James was intrigued. I hope I left him less sure that Christianity is only for dummies. I’d like to think I helped him shift in his thinking from being an atheist to an agnostic.

Of course, many assume that atheism and agnosticism are synonymous. They are not. There is a significant difference in the two. It is fashionable today to say you are an atheist. Writers like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchins have made names for themselves by ridiculing religion in general and Christianity in particular. They have suggested that if Christians cannot convincingly demolish the atheist argument and prove God exists, the only sensible default position for an educated person is atheism. But hold on a minute. Atheists claim that God does not exist, so it is up to them to prove their point. They can’t, of course – philosophically you cannot prove a negative. When cornered, most atheists have to admit to really being agnostic. Agnostics say they do not know whether God exists. This is a reasonable position for people who have insufficient evidence (and/or interest!) to make a decision.

Guess Which COG Group Had It's "College" Accredited?

Grace Communion International/Worldwide Church of God's seminary has received accreditation. Something that none of the splinter cult "colleges" and "universities" will ever accomplish. 

Russell Duke writes:

Hallelujah! I am thrilled to announce that Grace Communion Seminary has been accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). Here is the first paragraph from the letter we received from DETC President Michael P. Lambert:

The Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council met June 15, 2012, and it is a pleasure to advise that the Commission granted accreditation to Grace Communion Seminary for a period of three years. We extend warm congratulations to you and your staff on this initial grant of accreditation.

This accredited status is effective immediately, and applies to all courses offered by GCS. The Accrediting Commission of DETC is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency. The Commission is also a recognized member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The DETC report listing Grace Communion Seminary (under “One Institution Gains Accreditation”), can be viewed by clicking here. The DETC report states that GCS was founded in 1947. This is due to the fact that Grace Communion Seminary is a business name of Ambassador College.

Dave Pack's little Ambassador Center, United's  ABC center, Flurry's HWA "college", and Living's Living "university" are unaccredited puppy mills for training new ministers.  All are denomination specific and hand out "degrees" that are worthless pieces of paper.

GCI Taking Magazine Online Because of Money Issues?

Grace Communion International is taking their Christian Odyssey magazine from print version to an online version.  Citing rising printing costs, this move is deemed necesaary. 

As the cost of printing and mailing increases, small circulation magazines and newsletters have to think seriously about abandoning a print edition and going on-line as what is called an e-zine. We knew we would have to do it with Christian Odyssey sooner or later. Well, it’s sooner. The next issue of Christian Odyssey will be the last one we produce as a printed magazine. After that, we will continue with an on-line edition.

We realize there is a risk in making a move like this. Some will welcome it and find the electronic format exciting. Others will not like it at first, but, as I did with my Kindle, they will get used to it. However, I am afraid some will be tempted to throw up their hands and say, “Count me out.”

We really don’t want that to happen. So we are making our next issue a transition issue, in which we will do our best to explain how everyone can have access to Christian Odyssey. Even the most dyed-in-the-wool technophobes may be surprised at how easy it is, once you know how (or have grandchildren, who seem to be born knowing how).

Many are wondering if the continuing drop in income is part of the issue.  There was a period of several years the WCG was losing a congregation a week. Regular church attendance still is in decline as of 2012

As congregations continue to shrink in size many are leaving to local churches that are well established in their local communities. Most don't want to sit around and watch their congregation die a slow painful death.

Since WCG/GCI no longer controls or owns The Plain Truth, they used Christian Odyssey as their vehicle to church members on Christian Living.

Dennis On: "Would It Really Be So Bad?"

 

Would It Really Be So Bad?

 

I have no personal doubt that modern human beings are the current end result of a process millions of years in the making that brought us to where we are today. 

 

 

Most of us grew up innocently enough in the care of parents and institutions that simply could not believe that humans were the highest form of now hairless apes, that somewhere in the fairly recent past became more conscious of themselves than all the previous editions.  I grew up with Adam and Eve just as much as everyone else did and never thought to even question the story as literally true until I was much older.  In fact, soaking the in the profession of theology delayed waking up to the reality of human origins even more than it should have. I have kidded about "next time...University of Pennsylvania-Paleontology", but I am not really kidding.  Problem is, I have no guarantee of getting a next time, so I better us this time well. 

 

Not many critically thinking people believe the stories of the Bible, whether they be that of Adam and Eve , Noah and the Tower of Babel to be literally true.  They are myths and not even myths of original Hebrew origins.  It is easy when one lives in a very small box of limited scientific interests or curiosities  to think that in reality, most do not believe the Book of Genesis to be meant as science.   Oh we have the Creation Institute types.  One can find a Bibleland Park to keep the myths seem real or tour a replica of Noah's Ark, but it is all just good theatre. 

 

Church of God types or good fundamental Baptists simply cannot imagine that the Bible is not all they have been told it to be.  In many ways it is the Greatest Story Ever Sold.  But a story nonetheless. 

 

The people who do the hard work of science and follow it wherever it takes them letting the facts clarify and speak for themselves know that those who sit in their studys reading the Bible are not really qualified to undo the reality of discovery.  Most who refuse to believe in human evolution or evolution in general simply refuse to study the issue choosing rather to just say that they believe the Bible.  I remember debating Art Mokarrow and Ron Mosley in Dallas and mentioning Donald Prother's newest book on Evolution-What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters, having Mosley interrupt to announce that he "had that book."  I missed my chance to ask if he had "read that book," but I knew he had not.  I suspect he probably didn't even have it. 

 

It is really very threatening, evidently, for literalists to give up ground on what in years to come will be so undeniable they will look even more foolish than they do now.  Knowledge being increased is not all bad you know.   Beats ignorance being increased and in some places, ignorance is pulling ahead of knowledge out of sheer panic.

 

Personally, I don't mind being the current end result of human evolution.  I like being a hairless ape with intellect and consciousness which is a big step for sure.  

 

It is still hilarious to hear ministers here in the South cry out from their pulpits that "If I came from a monkey, why are there still monkeys around today!!!"  The audience laughs and the man does not know what kind of a fool he just made of himself nor do most of his audience.  Apes, Chimps and Orangs are our cousins and we share a common ancestor about 5 million years ago.  We are not descended from them.

 

I remember being a lecture where the creationist guru laughed that there were no Stegasaurus that had one horn, then two, then three.  I laughed back since the fossil record shows exactly that in stunning detail.  Fish really do into Amphibians as Tiktaalik shows us.  I had the awesome opportunity to hold the skull of this fish  with legs and flippers, gills and lungs, teeth  and the ability to live in shallow water and land in my hands.  Awesome. 

                    

 

Same feeling I got when i saw the original Neanderthal Skulls found on Mt.  Carmel in Israel at the Israeli Museum in Jerusalem.  Simply awesome.

 

In the long and short term, it doesn't really matter what we believe as beliefs are ...well...just beliefs.   Faith is what we tend to have before we get the facts and then the facts test faith and usually pull way ahead.  Personally,  I love my cousins..

 

..