Spiders and Snakes

Narcissism and the Rise of Split/Splinter and Sliver Apostles

Until I was about 45, I never knew what a narcissist was , or at least had only vague ideas of what the mental state of one given to such actually meant.  In hind sight , and in my own WCG experience, I was surrounded by them and it should be obvious now after all these years of the rising Apostles, Prophets and Wanna Be's , the Worldwide Church of God, was infested with them waiting for the right time to rise to their perceptions of ministry and power.  I do recall a few times listening to the sermons or ideas of or having to react to members rage at what their local minister was doing to the local church or to them personally, and wondering whatever happened to "Let him who is greatest among you be your servant."?   I understand Ron Dart also noticed that and said as far as he was concerned that was the only scripture about Church Government that mattered. Yet it certainly has escaped the split/splinter and sliver types beyond comprehension.

We have all here on Banned heard the term and seen it defined but let's remind ourselves:

A 2012 book on power-hungry narcissists suggests that narcissists typically display most, and sometimes all, of the following traits:^[7]

• An obvious self-focus in interpersonal exchanges
• Problems in sustaining satisfying relationships
• A lack of psychological awareness (see insight in psychology and psychiatry, egosyntonic)
• Difficulty with empathy
• Problems distinguishing the self from others (see narcissism and boundaries)
• Hypersensitivity to any insults or imagined insults (see criticism and narcissists, narcissistic rage and narcissistic injury)
• Vulnerability to shame rather than guilt
• Haughty body language
• Flattery towards people who admire and affirm them (narcissistic supply)
• Detesting those who do not admire them (narcissistic abuse)
• Using other people without considering the cost of doing so
• Pretending to be more important than they actually are
• Bragging (subtly but persistently) and exaggerating their achievements
• Claiming to be an "expert" at many thing
• Inability to view the world from the perspective of other people
• Denial of remorse and gratitude

It is not just a male Apostle issue

Why those who still follow those who have risen to the top of the ash heap of the WCG , with all of their obvious inflated views of themselves , to the point of seeing themselves spoken of in the scriptures , remain blind to this psychological state of mind in their leaders is beyond me.  It seems the mind grows numb when the more outlandish and ridiculous the claims of the leader are repeated weekly from their bully pulpits.

They ARE wrong, wrong, wrong in their bold pronouncements , over and over and over again, and still the sheep are stuck in the pen hanging on every word.  It goes against the natural reaction of humans to quickly release or brush off a spider or a snake. Why not in these cases?  Is the message so strong and so threatening as to what will happen to YOU if you don't believe ME, the member goes brain dead and cannot think critically about what they are being told?  Are they afraid they will "not make it into the Kingdom"? or get fried like the errant Jews and non-RCG types?

How many times can one be bullied into selling homes, sending in retirement monies or giving property and resources to these wolves in wolves clothing?  Why do they quickly believe it when a man says, "And yes Brethren, I am an Apostle" as if just declaring it makes it so.  Not to mention getting "double portioned" under dubious circumstances.  And the many many more blatantly stupid and false statements these offshoot Apostles make that we are all very familiar with here at Banned.

If you are a lurking follower of Mr. David C Every Title in the Bible is ME, Gerald Just Leave Your Families Behind and Follow ME, Ron I Will Get It Right Someday, Bob We and ME at the Continuing Church of God , Rod I'm Not Kidding Fellows and Girls or any other human being who feels compelled to tell you how all of life, history and the Bible points to them, take a good read of the common and well known traits of the narcissists among us and those given to religious delusions about themselves and think it over long and hard.  Your own future mental health and that of your family and children are definitely at stake. 

Ian Boyne, The Journal, Ambassador Watch and This Blog

The Journal: Issue 188

The latest issue of The Journal is out and there is an article by Lonnie Hendricks (an occasional contributor here) concerning Ian Boyne venturing into the lions den of this blog and Ambassador Watch.

The post that Ian contributed to was this one: LCG Preaches The Godly Love Is The Most Important Quality the evolved into a discussion of the policy of the COG when it comes to disfellowshipping members, Ian had this to say:

The response of Anonymous 12:23 is a perfect example of my thesis that the elephant in the room is the Bible---at least if one is applying a conservative hermeneutic to it. The Bible clearly gives the ministry the right to excommunicate for doctrinal reasons.Does Anonymous disagree with that? Even liberal scholars would admit that ,while saying one might choose to ignore those passages in favor of a higher principle To say that Winnail was unloving simply he applied a tool which we all knew upon becoming members was a part of the church's toolbox is, respectfully, nonsense. All organizations have rules of association and dissociation.I don't know the particular case It might well have been an abusive disfellowshipment But to suggest the act itself is contrary to Doug Winnail's pronouncement of love is a non-sequitur.

I personally as a minister choose not to disfellowship for doctrinal disagreement I consider most of the doctrinal disagreements my congregants have to be inconsequential and even those which might be significant I don't disfellowship for because I have the pulpit to counter them I don't doubt my ability to do so. In my congregation I have a group of fellows who routinely on the sabbath discuss all kinds of doctrinal ideas and freely disagree with what is taught from the pulpit They pose no threat and they are going nowhere for they can find no better alternative and fully see the bankruptcy of orthodox Christianity. This another Jesus, another Gospel that Anonymous refers to seems to be coming from that foolish, reactionary view that any emphasis on Christ is Protestantism through the back door. The same obscurantist nonsense that caused Charles Bryce to leave Living. Some of the fanatics will leave Living to go elsewhere because of the small reforms taking place there which Chief Pharisee Malm deplores.But the ministry has the right to withdraw the hand of fellowship Look at the harsh, strident words Paul had for those teaching a different doctrine. While Armstrongism continues to accept the Bible as its rule book, you can continue to expect disfellowshipment In my view it ,is used far too frequently and carelessly and often is a mask for the theological incompetence of ministers Here in Jamaica I offer a platform for those who disagree and I use the pulpit to proclaim the tenets of Armstrongism so that the membership is firmly grounded in Biblical truth Yes, in my view Armstrongism represents Biblical truth I hold that provisionally and tentatively ,fully aware that I could well be proven wrong. I keep reading widely so if I am wrong,I will, hopefully, find out and then renounce Armstrongism. If there is any book anyone wants to recommend or any scholarly material which might prove useful in opening my eyes ,please recommend it And yes I have already read all the scandal-revealing books like Tangled Web, as well as those by Marion McNair, John Tuit, William Hinson --every single one written by every ex-member And ,yes ,every issue of Ambassador Report .Give me some intellectual arguments now.

But, please ,let's not talk foolishness about disfellowshipment automatically and necessarily indicating a lack of love Ian Boyne

March 28, 2016 at 3:20 PM 

Because I want people to freely comment, I rarely contribute to the conversations. I feel the people should have the ability to express what they need to say, though I will delete an occasional post from obviously nasty people.  What this has allowed is scores of LCG members and other COG members to find a place here that they can comment and express their frustration at the current state of affairs of their respective churches.

Ian and I did however have several email exchanges which were rather pleasant. I think he was surprised that I was not an atheist with a chip on my shoulder.  I also told him that if we ever sat down to talk about things that we would probably have more in common than he imagined.
It is quit obvious though that he and I both do not agree on some things.

I find his take on "reimagining Armstrongism" interesting, though I see no way imaginable that it could survive in the long run.  There are too many bodies scattered along the road over the last 80 some years to make preserving Armstrongism as a viable belief system.

Weather or Not and As God Tries to Get Your Attention....

Who Will Bob Thiel Divine Blame for Hurricane Matthew?

https://www

.youtube.com/watch?v=rIj7AAQvDGE

The Pope

Gays

Hillary

Trump

Miami Dolphins

Obama

All the Other Continuing Churches of God
The Laodiceans
Drugs

You
Us
Them
?

You Decide

Why Is Living Church of God Embarrassed About Its Message? (Updated)

Rod Meredith and others love to proclaim they have a forceful message that is important to get out to the world.  They claim to be a bold witness for truth's lost to the world.  They and only they have the true words of God to call to task the evil world they live in.

From Rod Merdith warning about your gay neighbors, unisex bathrooms and rampaging Chinese/German/Muslim hoards,  to Jimmy Meredith preaching at the annual Christmas party, these great messages can no longer be heard online without giving LCG your name and getting a password so you can listen.

Gerald Weston has laid down more laws as he rises in power.  He and only he was will approve which messages the unwashed masses can listen to online.

Live broadcasts are no longer open for anyone to view.  

David Good’s service for COGWA - which allows non-members to request a password to view live Sabbath and holy day services - has been discontinued by LCG. Only recorded sermons that have been authorized by Gerald Weston will now available.  

Roderick Meredith will of course decide if the livestrem service on Christmas Eve during the Family Weekend festival is to be open to everyone, as it was last year.  COG News

Any church that claims to be presenting a witness to the world does NOT hide their sermons and articles behind password protects. LCG needs to do this because Rod Meredith, Gerald Weston, Richard Ames and others says stupid things.

It has nothing to do with the "milk and meat" nonsense that the church has always used. Babes to the "truth" don't need milk sermons anymore than regular members need "meat" sermons. 

If prospective members actually knew what LCG preached they would run the other direction. After publicly being shamed by Meredith's sermon contributing to the Milwaukee murders, LCG knows it can't afford to the have sermons freely up online for the public to listen to.  

Boasting that your message is BOLD and a WITNESS TO THE WORLD is a lie when you hide behind firewalls. The gospel is free to anyone who wants to listen and cannot be thwarted by embarrassed men hiding behind passwords to protect their uninspiring, legalistic, and graceless messages. 

Ron Weinland: The Abhorrent Narcissistic Liar

Everything felon Ron Weinland has said over the last decade has been a complete lie.  Along with his money grubbing mentally ill second witness wife and his money laundering son and daughter, he is right now trotting around  Europe on the dime of his few remaining members.

Sadly Weinland is not unique to the sick men that the Church of God has produced over the last 80 some years.  Look at Gerald Flurry, Dave Pack, Bob Thiel, James Malm, Rod Meredith and all the other men leading COG's around the world.  They have all self-appointed themselves as arbitrators of Godly wisdom, of which they are all bankrupt in.

5/3/08
There is always the possibility that I am wrong.  That is reality.  I don’ believe it for a moment! (snicker) But, I’m not haughty and arrogant enough to believe that I am without capability of being wrong and deceived. And I have been and will continue to act upon what I believe to be true and not upon the “if’s” and possibilities of being wrong.  How can one function that way?

12/29/07
You know, one of things as well, what if Ron Weinland and what he says does not come to pass in April and what if these things don’t happen in 2008?  There is really a simple answer. I’m a false prophet.  I get tons of email.  I get email every day from people saying, “Well I guess in 2009, a lot of sarcasm comes out, I guess you will be saying this and saying that trying to explain to people.  No I’m done!  I will end being a minister.  I will end being a prophet.

5/6/06
We have one more Passover.  Possibly two more Feasts.  Depends on a period of six months to one year here and everything is going to come unloosed on this world.  Do you understand how close we are?

7/1/06
That’s why I’ve tried to say some things and in one respect it should be a little shocking to us. Like I said last Sabbath. I’ll not be your pastor in a little over two years from now. Because you won’t have ANY PASTOR!  (shouting) to lead, guide and direct you to teach you Sabbath by Sabbath, holy day to holy days.  Like I said from 2008, I’m not planning on hosting a Feast of Tabernacles.  I’m not going to rent a building.  I’m not going to sign a contract.

7/8/06
How’s that honor God? How does that please God and what kind of patience has he shown us. To know you only have two years left or less. Still come before God in Sabbath services

7/22/06
Its not a real comfortable spot to be in. Just to be real candid with all of you. To set everything on the line and say I will not be your pastor.  There will be about a two-year period after the book is published, after it’s out there. You won’t have any pastors. You won’t have the ability to do the things you are doing today.

9/23/06
You don't know where you are going to be because you are not going to have any control over it.  We are not going to have the freedom to get out there in the car and go where ewe want in that last 3 ½ years. You know just have the freedom of movement where you would like to be.  You will have people to report to.  They will be over you. Europe will be over us as far the nation is concerned here.  They are the ones to do the conquering, to set up and take control fi you will of government and any movement that happens. We will be here for their bidding and pleasing with whatever they want us to do.

10/07/06
We understand we are fast approaching a period of time, a 3 ½ year period where we will not be able to meet like this in a fine hotel and fellowship, having food and in halls like this and come together as God’s people to worship our God.

11/04/06
If you really believe that in a year and half from now this country is not going to be this country.

1/03/07
Like I said I feel sorry for young people because I can’t imagine having these kind of stresses upon you being told that there is basically a year left of perpetration for you, a year and half maximum and all you know what is gonna break loose, so to speak out here.  Maximum one year and half, that you have in your life.  That means you don’t have to worry about going to to college after that.  You don't have to worry about your job after that.  There’s a lot of things you wont have to worry about, but you will have other worries.  You can’t plan ahead anymore.

3/03/07
When I make a statement that there will be no president taking office in 2009, because that’s when they take office in January 2009, you know they can go in and maybe start some elections, we are already starting some now, oh you think that's a fun thing. Starting earlier and earlier all the time. People declaring presidency, you know. And I think No you are not going to take office!  I have to do that.

5/5/07
Please understand having special things happen to you, visions, dreams, other things of other natures, it did not come from God!  Use wisely the remaining time you have to seek God because when the 3 ½ years of final tribulation begins those freedoms will come to an end till the day Jesus Christ has returned.

9/28/07
Can you imagine when you are being preached to, when you are being spoken to by the God family Elohim, because that’s the next Feast of Tabernacles when Jesus Christ returns.  All of this earth

7/12/08
I know there has been some anxiousness, a little bit of anxiety on some people’s parts, when all the sudden, oh you know we have some more time and we could have had a Feast of tabernacles.  Well that as decided last Feast of tabernacles we would not have a normal feast of tabernacles.  There will be a Fest of Tabernacles every year from here on out.

10/27/07
There is coming the end time tribulation of massive destruction and war.  These things begin next year and are finished by the fall of 2011. 

12/01/07
There is coming a time here when you will not have the freedom to go and search the internet, you wont have the freedom to go and listen to sermons online, you are not going to have the freedoms and opportunities that you have right now.  Yu only have a few months left to do these things.

3/29/08
If by Pentecost that it is not powerfully clear and abundantly clear that there has been a great deal of destruction that will encompass a 1/3 of all plant life in the US and at least the clear results of this mingled with blood, the death of very much animal life and the beginning of death of human life, I WILL STIOP PREACHING!  Just so all the critics and everyone else out there will under stand, I AM TRUE TO MY WORD in these things.  If for all the critics, if by the end of July, and most likely by Pentecost, if nothing has caused death I will make it very clear I am a false prophet.  When we are told a third of all plant life will be destroyed, that is exactly what it means.

5/23/09
Is this really going to happen?  Is he really a prophet of God?  Is he really the end time witness?  YES, I AM! (shouting)