Thursday, June 28, 2012

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