Friday, September 28, 2012

James Malm: Angels Are Tattle Tales



The apostle is talking about angels today.  Since we have already discovered on a previous post our guardian angels are actually ourselves who have time warped back in time after we were made spirit beings, Malm wants us to know that our angel is spying on us and and running to God with all the gory details.  Now if we are the ones spying on ourselves, what's the point in running to God since we have already been made a spirit being?  It all get so confusing in Armstrongism.  So many different viewpoints all just as nutty as the next.

Jesus taught us that angels were “ministering spirits”  somewhat like servants and tutors for the children of a great man.

Gal 4:1   Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.

These “Ministering Servants” are given to us as helpers in our embryonic spiritual state, and when we are chosen and become a part of the resurrected BRIDE; we shall then be elevated as a grown child is elevated above his father’s household servants.

God has appointed angels as our helpers and they are always present before the Father with news for him of how we are doing.  Our Father loves deeply and is watching closely as to how we are doing and how we are progressing and overcoming.
You had better beware though that your angel, or yourself, is not an agent of the devil because you will be cast into outer darkness and will die along with unrepentant sinners.

Ez 18:4   Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Who must pay those wages?  ALL unrepentant sinners!  and that includes angels who are unrepentant sinners!

God has already passed judgment on Satan and those angels who follow him; there judgment is to be cast into utter eternal darkness  Jude 1:13  Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

And what is utter eternal darkness but the oblivion of death?

But can an angel die?

Did the very Creator God die for us?  If the Creator God himself could give up his God-ship to die for his creation; then the sinful angels can also be destroyed for their wickedness.

Show me, where in the scriptures does it say that angels cannot die, if God should choose to destroy the wicked among them?
 Other craziness by the apostle:

God is eternal and exists as long as he wants to exist, and can voluntarily give up eternal life, if he so chooses.  Lessor spirits are subject to the commandments, judgment, authority and power of God!


Thursday, September 27, 2012

Fred Kellers Killing 'god' Is LOL Funny!



This was on Yahoo on a thread about what a wonderful fun day Atonement is.  Apparently it is also  hilarious that Armstrongism's god is such a blood thirsty murdering thug.  LOL brethren!  LOL!

It is a day to rejoice and not feel ugly because you are hungry!

One of my favorite memories was of a minister, Fred Kellers, who came out and yelled at us, "God is RIGHTEOUS to destroy his enemies!"  lol. Once he brought a statue of Mary out & broke it with a hammer, to everyone's astonishment.

UCG: Feast of Tabernacles Rap



A reader here just sent me this. This is sure to get the conservative Armstrongites in a tizzy!
Will Dave Pack and Gerald Flurry make their own version next?  
How about Dave in his speedo and Gerald with his prayer rock.  
What a sight that would be!  
Snicker, snicker.

Dave Pack's Mind of God




In light of the blog post below about pastor-gods in the Church of God, here is a quote from God's most important man on earth who has the world's largest and most effective ministry ever to grace humanity.


Dave Pack

What a joy to spend all day with the brethren-Sabbath services, luncheon and then an extensive Bible Study answering the longest list of questions I have ever received at any Bible Study (some were still left unanswered). It is obvious that the brethren are studying and are interested in knowing the mind of God. This is a far  cry from my last years as a pastor in the early 1990s.

The Cult of Pastor-god's in the Church of God


There is a great blog that is by a former pastor (non COG) which is called Why Churches Suck.  Sadly it is no longer being updated. He has an article about the personality cult of pastors in churches. I have included his entire post below.  It is too good to see fade into oblivion.

Armstrongism is filled with the cult of "Pastor-gods." Just look at Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, Ron Weinland, Rod Meredith.  These men can do no wrong.  People get giddy with excitement at the mere presence of these men in their midst.  People get tears in their eyes when they see these men.  Their writings are on par with scripture and considered just as sacred.  They get seats of prominence at all functions and at church. They build enormous edifices supposedly dedicated to God but in fact are monuments to failed virility.  Fellow ministers jostle and beat their way  to be at the top next to these men.  Walking over others backs to advance is considered sacred duty.  Members literally bow to their magnificence when they cannot make any decision without first asking their pastor-god for approval.

What has been your experience with Pastor-gods in the Church of God?

The Cult of the Pastor-god



When the church is at its healthiest, many people contribute to the life of the body with gifts they’ve been given.  One of those gifts is “pastoring”, or care-taking.  Mixed with all the other gifts in the body, the whole community is healthy, alive, free, and an expression of God’s love in the world that is obvious and undeniable.

But this is very rare among church gatherings.

Much more often, the group is dominated and defined by the personality of one person: the Pastor-god. 
The Pastor-god is not merely a contributor within the body; he is the voice, the face, and the authority in the church.  He is the boss, the CEO, the example, the teacher, the father-figure.

In the Cult of the Pastor-god, they are called “God’s anointed”.  They are the one who communicates God’s word to the followers.  They are the mouth, while the church is the ears.  Their part is to provide care and discipline to the people; the people’s part is to listen, honor, and follow.

And in many churches, this model works flawlessly.  People really want someone to lead and protect them—without it they feel vulnerable and lost.  And of course there are no shortage of people willing to assume this role of the Pastor-god.

The Pastor-god claims to not want adulation and adoration from the people, but inwardly they crave it.  The people claim they don’t believe their pastor is a god, but they treat him like he is.  When the pastor makes them proud, they heap accolades.  When the pastor does not live up to his god-like standard, they look for ways to take him down.

When the Pastor-god is there, the people feel safe.  When the Pastor-god goes away, the people are devastated.  

Of course this is nothing new—people are afraid to be leaderless, as was the nation of Israel when they demanded a leader:
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” (I Samuel 8:19-20)

God reluctantly gave them their leader, an outstanding young man named Saul.  Their craving for a leader was satisfied, but it was wrong; what resulted was anxiety, strife, war, madness, and death.

 
One of the reasons churches suck today is because they are much less like the body of Christ and much more like the Cult of the Pastor-god—or "the cult of personality."  More and more within the church are recognizing this disturbing reality:
“...evangelicalism is not so much a religion as a series of fast-moving personality cults.” ― Frank Schaeffer 

Thinking about this, I could not get the image of an old Star Trek episode out of my mind.  It’s called Who Mourns for Adonais and it’s about the Enterprise crew coming face to face with Apollo, one of the gods from earth’s ancient culture. 

 
Remember this one?

As the episode goes, back when the gods (turns out they were actually aliens) came to earth, the primitive people saw their power and naturally fell down to worship them.  Under their authority, people felt cared for--and the gods were happy to have the attention.  It was a comfortable, but immature and ultimately dysfunctional relationship.  The gods’ part was to provide care and discipline to the people; the people’s part was to listen, honor, and follow…

…just like in the Cult of the Pastor-god.

In those days, to defy the gods was a fearful thing—as Captain Kirk discovered when he dared to defy Apollo’s authority:
Kirk: “Apollo, we’re willing to talk, but you’ll find we don’t bow to every creature who happens to have a bag of tricks.”
Apollo: “Agamemnon was one such as you, and Hercules--pride and arrogance.  They defied me, until they felt my wrath.”

Have you ever been called “proud” or “arrogant” by a pastor-god when you questioned their authority? If you have, you have come face-to-face with the Cult of the Pastor-god.

 

Apollo expected these people to fall down and honor him just like people did in the ancient days.  But Kirk, recognizing the dysfunction of such an authoritarian relationship, continued to defy—and the conflict escalates:
Apollo: “I could sweep you out of existence with a wave of my hand, and bring you back again. I can give life or death. What else does mankind demand of its gods?”
Kirk: “Mankind has no need for gods. We find the one quite adequate.”
Apollo: “We shall not debate, mortal.  I offer you eternal rest and happiness according to the ancient ways. I ask little in return. But what I ask for I insist upon.”

The one thing he cannot handle outright defiance; he can only insist on its authority, and promise judgment upon the one who dares defy them.  If you do decide you need to escape the cult, understand one thing:
There is no gentle way to get out of the cult of the Pastor-god.  

If you are struggling to get free from a pastor-god cult, please re-read that last sentence a couple more times. This will be a battle of wills.

Eventually, Kirk and his crew had use force to disable Apollo’s source of power.  Apollo was reduced to his true, powerless nature.  



In the end, Apollo lost everything and is reduced to tears:
Apollo: “I would have cherished you, cared for you. I would have loved you like a father loves his children. Did I ask so much?”
Kirk: “We’ve outgrown you. You asked for something we can no longer give.” 

And there’s the thing.  Even people who have been raised life-long in a pastor-god cult are realizing they can no longer give outright honor and obedience to a religious authority figure.  And they shouldn’t.  Our leader is Christ, not the one up front with the loud voice and the big platform.
 
 
More and more people in the body of Christ are finding true “body life” outside of the Cult of the Pastor-god--but it hasn’t come without a price.  The emotional turmoil that comes from separating from an old authority figure can be intense, even devastating.  

I’ll repeat: There is no gentle way to get out of the cult of the Pastor-god.  

I have my war story of leaving the Cult of the Pastor-god, and I know many of you do too.  If you want to share your story in the comments, please feel free