Friday, June 2, 2017

LCG Members Fearful of Breaking Sabbath Are Showing Up Sick At Services


One thing Armstrongism has instilled in members is the command from the Dear Leader that they are REQUIRED to attend services every Sabbath day and to not do so is essential spitting in God's face.  Because of that, members have shown up sick at services, infecting the rest of the congregation.  Due to the fact the church prohibited members from going to doctors, disease spread rapidly through children to adults.

LCG members have been told, from on high, to STAY HOME if they are sick.  They have been instructed to call a minister or elder and have them come an anoint them or ask for an anointed cloth.

For many years, LCG members have voiced the disappointing experiences they have had with ministers when they have asked for prayers. For a large number of members, the minister and elders re too busy to assist them and generally ignore their requests.  Some have had spouses on deathbeds and the minister is too lazy to show up or even return a call.

Health Issues at Sabbath Services—Must Read
Over the years, we have asked brethren not to come to Sabbath services with a contagious illness. This is based on the quarantine principle in Leviticus 13:21, 31, 46. If you are sick, please stay home until you are well, to avoid spreading illnesses to others. This is part of showing love and consideration for your neighbor (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39). While the Sabbath is a commanded assembly (Leviticus 23:3; Hebrews 10:24-25), and we should be at church under normal circumstances, it is not showing love if we expose others to illness. We would rather pray for you... than join you! If you do need anointing, please contact your pastor or local elder to be anointed, or, if necessary, to receive an anointed cloth. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.—Church Administration Department
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Narcissists in the Pulpit

"There just must be some personality disorder that causes people to lose their capacity for embarrassment. What other explanation could there be?"
Biker Bob

             "Does God Allow His ONLY True COG Leader To Teach Falsehoods?"

BannedHWA



Narcissism in the Pulpit


"Without doubt, the highest ranking item on our website in terms of popularity (tens of thousands of clicks), this lengthy but much-viewed article has been a help to many.


(Excerpts)

"Generally it takes a long time before this devious individual is identified for who and what he really is, and some of the most gifted are able to survive for years in one location. Many though will have short tenures. Depending on the size of the congregation and the perceptiveness of the leadership it may take 6 months to a couple of years before the problem is clearly perceived— that the pastor is devoid of spiritual depth, personal character, and really could care less about the welfare of the sheep. If the destructive characteristics are not identified and the narcissist is allowed to minister long-range, serious problems will manifest. The NPD pastors can be very abusive and destructive to the church, and wreak havoc in the personal lives of those closest to them— particularly staff and leadership." 


Copying Authorities:

 Most of the narcissists you will deal with in the pulpit will be educated people, with high IQs, middle class backgrounds and good schooling—but as you get to know them you will think their thinking and behaviour is not only illogical but borders on bizarre. You will have to get to know them quite well in order to understand them. Realize that their life is filled up with bits and pieces that are borrowed from other people—people whom they see as authorities in specific areas. These authorities will usually be people that they have met or know, and may not even be viewed as an authority by other people—just by the narcissist. It is from these people that the narcissist will form his opinions, tastes, ideas, specific behaviours—all those things that make up their visible lives.

“Some narcissists seek to imitate or even emulate their (ever changing) role models. It is as if by imitating the object of his envy, the narcissist becomes that object. So, narcissists are likely to adopt their boss’ typical gestures, the vocabulary of a successful politician, the dress code of a movie star, the views of an esteemed tycoon, even the countenance and actions of the (fictitious) hero of a movie or a novel.” (Vaknin)

Criticalness:

Staff members will be the brunt of nit-picky criticalness day in and day out. Nothing will ever be good enough and most everything will have be changed to suit the bosses wishes. A thick skin is a prerequisite for working around the narcissist.
“And they criticize, gripe, and complain about almost everything and almost everyone almost all the time. There are usually a favored few whom narcissists regard as absolutely above reproach, even for egregious misconduct or actual crime, and about whom they won’t brook the slightest criticism. These are people the narcissists are terrified of, though they’ll tell you that what they feel is love and respect; apparently they don’t know the difference between fear and love. Narcissists just get worse and worse as they grow older; their parents and other authority figures that they’ve feared die off, and there’s less and less outside influence to keep them in check.”

Authoritarian:

The narcissistic pastor is obsessed with who has the power in the church. They may even pick one or more people that becomes their authority and sounding board for almost every decision. They may argue vehemently with that person, but will always want to know their opinion.
“At other times, the intimidation dynamic may be more overt, such as when the NPD person directly wields his authority by making continual references to the differences in your positions of power, professional stature, status or money.” (Payson p. 39)

‘Narcissists are totally and inflexibly authoritarian…. 

They want to be authority figures and, short of that, they want to be associated with authority figures. In their hearts, they know they can’t think well, have no judgment about what matters, are not connected with the world they inhabit, so they cling fanatically to the opinions of people they regard as authority figures — such as their parents, teachers, doctors, ministers. Where relevant, this may include scientists or professors or artists, but narcissists stick to people they know personally, since they aren’t engaged enough with the world to get their authoritative opinions from TV, movies, books or dead geniuses/saints/heroes. If they get in trouble over some or another opinion they’ve put forth, they’ll blame the source– ‘It was okay with Dr. Somebody,’ ‘My father taught me that,’ etc.” (Ashmun) 

Rarely will you see a narcissist pour themselves “whole-heartedly” into their work (though they will usually tell you how many hours they put in), because they really have no passion for their work. Rather they are borrowing their opinions and preferences and tastes from whoever strikes them as an authority at the moment....'

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Dave Pack: RCG members to be telepathically told when they have escaped


Dave claims that Restored Church of God members around the world, and a few converted Church of God members who jump on board, will receive an instantaneous message from his 'god' that will let everyone know at the exact same moment that they have escaped.  His 'god' has to do this because Dave claims he does not use a cell phone or a computer, and therefore will not be able to tell everyone at the same time they have escaped.  Because many RCG members don't own computers or cell phones, and those who do don't check email regularly, they will not know when they have escaped.

Now just think about that.  If you had escaped some serious tribulation that was going on, don't you think you would know it and not need a secret message from Dave's god?  The more Dave speaks the more it is obvious the man has some serious brain malfunctions.

Here’s the question—how do we…you…I…know that everyone receives the same instruction on the same day, in the same way? How do we know that? How do we absolutely know that everybody escapes together? And the answer is, it happens at the 1,335—not the 1,336 or the 1,334, -3, -2 or -1, depending upon when you get the email, you see, or the voice message on your phone, if that’s what we think, because the Bible says “Blessed is he that waits [which means “happy” is he that waits], and comes to the [1,335]” (Dan. 12:12).
Everybody comes to the same date, you know, at the same time! You know, no matter where you are…what time zone. Presumably, you could be asleep or awake…depends on where you are in the world when it happens. But everybody is waiting for that date—not some other date. Get that in your head. We escape together, which absolutely destroys any idea that you’re going to hear it from me or from Headquarters or from your local minister. That’s out! It’s impossible. It’s logistically impossible—not improbable or difficult—it’s impossible, and that’s why we’re given Zechariah 3Zechariah 3 is not a one-off about Joshua and certain people in front of him. Think of it more as the cookie-cutter that is not only coming to you, but has to, because there’s no other way.
Think of it this way, it’s not a rolling happening that could take days, or a rolling period of waiting where some wait a little longer than others. It’s the event of a single day when we escape, and when you understand that, it just brings right up in your face…you’re confronted directly with…there is no way the Church, from Headquarters, even in this technologically amazing age, could guarantee that we could reach everybody and tell them “Congratulations! You escaped.” A lot of people don’t even have phones. Some don’t have emails, and what if they didn’t check it? How do you absolutely know that it’s certain, that it’s not fraudulent? And the answer is, you’re going to have to hear it directly from the only Being that can bring about your escape, and that’s why Zechariah 3 is there.
Now something else is kind of fascinating…And I hope that I made that clear. There is no way…Let’s imagine that at one minute after midnight…Before I go on, I’ll give you one more example…one minute after midnight, my time, or whatever is the best time for all, for all peoples of the world in their time zones to hear…I’ve now got 23 hours and 59 minutes, because it only comes to me, or it comes to all of those at Headquarters, which is kind of what we thought back in the Worldwide days…sort of that it would come from Headquarters. Now that’s not what the Bible says, but we were left to speculate.
We have 23 hours and 59 minutes—if God so generously apportioned us that time—to reach out as fast as we could to as many as we could. And you know and I know, there are people that don’t check their email; that don’t pick up, don’t check their voicemail. I don’t. I don’t use a cellphone or a computer. I would need to be told directly, okay? Maybe some others theorize they wouldn’t. But I would just like you to consider, you know, your minister…we might not even reach your minister and there went a whole congregation—“Well, we’ll pick you up in three-and-a-half-years. Sorry, you know, your minister didn’t get the email” or the phone call or whatever.