Thanks for the Memories

Helen Wheels (Claire Voighent) said...

"Dennis is not a scientist. If you are looking for a massage with a happy ending by all means go to Dennis."

Response

DennisCDiehl said... 

Well that's about as crass as it's ever gotten here except for perhaps me suggesting you go fuck yourself which I won't do as it is crass and not generally what I would say. It always sets me back reading the inane and downright ignorant comments many make here with regards to not only myself but the content of postings which never really get commented on with any depth or thought. Just look at the mostly ignorant, glittering generalities  and insipid comments made on my Whale of a Tale  posting.  (Which is my last)

One doesn't have to be scientist to agree with a scientific presentation and quote them you fool. It's what you or religious types do as well when you aren't theologians either but I guess that's different in you mind..

For the record I have two state therapeutic massage licenses and am Nationally Certified as a Master Therapist. I spend hundreds of dollars a year on continuing education on ethics, bodywork and medical issues with clients, young and old. I am specially trained in Oncology Massage for those in chemo and cancer treatment and specialize in headache and stress treatment which 99% of the population seems to suffer with.. I have a very ethical and successful practice here in Portland and work every day and will til I drop because of the love of Christ that flowed through the Tkaches who promised one thing over the years and did another to my harm and because of my naïve trust in fools.  

My clients are mostly professionals in a very wealthy part of Portland and are doctors, nurses, dentists, psychologists, financial advisors, professors and real estate types.  Some come to recover from abuses and life tragedies. I have clients who come to me to cope with  their Parkinson's' Disease or their debilitating headaches which interfere too much with their real lives. I love what I now do and where I now do it.  

It's been a long difficult transition for me personally from WCG to here.  I got here by way of drama, trauma, divorce, depression, anxiety , a few failures and some scary moments.  I've had my heart broken and that too was my fault.  I've sympathized with my few friends in ministry who took their lives by choosing a long term solution to short term problems. I understand the temptation.  

I was asked to start my own church back in the day and leave WCG and the Tkaches. No. Once was enough. Pastoring in Greenville, SC on the heels of Gerald Weston and his legalist cronies was enough to begin my wake up call. 

I joined no split, splinter or sliver. I did not set myself up to keep my ministry going at all costs because , as Joe Tkach said, "If you quit all you can do is get a job at Walmart." I worked hard to change careers and take care of myself only  and do every day to help good people. I earn every damn penny I make and deserve it.

I get insulted, labeled and scorned regularly here on the blog for speaking out on my experience but that was a cheap shot. I'm the ONLY former minister who writes by name,  posts a genuine pic ture and shares from the heart here. I have shared my struggle with anxiety and depression caused by working in the scandal riddled WCG way too long believing I could be an agent of change. I have admitted to my faults and failures during messy and difficult transitions. I have been about as open as I know to be with the sole purpose of helping those who may also be in messy mental, emotional and spiritual transitions.  

Why don't you give me a call, 864 905 9506 or give me your number and we can discuss it. Email me if you're incapable of using the phone. Denniscdiehl@aol.com  I will post the discussion between us.

Also, I am not the resident "minister." I am not a minister of any kind.  I wish I had never been one but I would not be here if I had not been there. I am me. An older and wiser non-believer  after decades of trying to believe the unbelievable and see clearly what is clearly not there to see. I grew up more religious than most here and could quote whole chapters of the Bible as a child because that's how Dutch Reformed Calvinists raise their kids. I'm only responsible for me in the final analysis of how to live  my life and neither you nor anyone else gets to live it for me as I don't get to live yours.  In short, I don't fucking care in reality what you think or say but it does take me back a bit obviously and punch my "screw it" button.  

I wrestle every week with dropping Banned from my "to do" list because, for me, there are really no meaningful exchanges or even friendships to build on. Thank you for your stupid comment and waking me up once and for all to the folly and foolishness of presenting topics beyond the ability of most to consider,  clinging rather to fables and myths drummed into their heads by Herbert Armstrong and now the raging fools of the splits and splinters.

Call me Claire. It will be a call you'll never forget.  I'll be home this evening waiting...  If you call I will report our outcome  here and be finished with it. 

It's "Extremely Unlikely", but "Possible", but really "Impossible"....

Below is a prime example of what some men in the COG do to bastardized the law to fit their absurd and idiotic belief that the law is more important than Jesus, grace, justification, and mercy.  They never talk about Jesus but come up with this asinine bullshit to manipulate their followers into believing they are actually following some creature they claim is god.  Even Herbert Armstrong finally realized that this idiocy was unnecessary!

This is the latest from the Chief Pharisee and bastardizer of the law, James Malm.  It is more important for him to weigh down his followers with heavy yokes of burden than it is to revel in grace.

The next High Day is the New Moon Feast of Trumpets.  The first possible date that the New Moon could be observed from Jerusalem is after sunset ending 10 September.  It is impossible that the Feast of Trumpets 2018 could occur before 11 September by the calendar that God gave to Moses. Please see our articles on the Biblical Calendar which God gave to Moses and how HWA accepted that calendar but was later led astray, believing that the modern Rabbinic Calendar was scriptural when it is not; go ahead and read his own words on the subject! 

In fact a sighting at sunset ending 10 Sep is extremely unlikely and if not seen that evening the Feast of Trumpets will be on 12 Sep. I will have more information about local conditions closer to the anticipated date.

If that is not confusing, get a load of this legalistic mumbo-jumbo where the Chief Pharisee expects his followers to set aside TWO days to keep the Feast of Trumpets, just in case.  Seriously? Jesus weeps!

What to do?  

Since the first day of the seventh month is a high day I always recommend that two days be set aside ahead of time. First the expected day and second the next day, just in case the moon is not seen as expected.

The High Day is still only ONE DAY, but for advance scheduling it is prudent to set both days aside, unless the day happens to be the first day after a 30 day month; and then to observe only the one day as the sighting is confirmed.  

This year I think that the chance of a sighting on the first day is improbable and the second date is the most likely, but I must cover all the bases to avoid misinforming people.

Personally I do expect Christ to restore the planetary cycles with the original creation of twelve 30 day months making one solar year when he comes, as part of the restoration of all things [again please see the calendar articles for more on this]. If that happens all of this difficulty will vanish and if not I am quite certain that he will instruct us further.

Galatians 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Acts 15:10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke (the law) upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear.

Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled in the yoke of bondage. [the law]

Desperately Searching For Jesus In The Improperly Named "continuing" Church of God

Where's Jesus in the improperly named "continuing" Church of God?

Below is the latest list of non-salvation topics that Almost arrested, but not arrested Bob Thiel has posted on his site.  Not one single mention of Jesus, but loads of irrelevant topics about nonessential things that have no relevance to one's salvation or relationship with God.

Why is it that almost all of the self-appointed men who lead the various splinter groups are so ashamed of Jesus?

• Brexit and the ‘Doomsday Brexit Plan’
• EU proposes billions for ‘Digital Europe’ surveillance: This would assist 666
• Bilderberg 2018 conference beginning
• Certain Jewish military solutions and prophetic understandings for Gaza are in conflict with what the Bible teaches
• EU decides on anti-USA tariffs and seeks to increase European Space Agency budget
• The Tribe of Judah is NOT lost
• Vladimir Putin: ‘Russia does not want to split EU’
• Genesis Q&A
• Department Of Homeland Security Compiles List Of All Bloggers, Journalists, & “Social Media Influencers”
• Two pontiffs named Boniface
• Good health as a law of success
• Eric Peters: In The Global Trade War, America Has “All The Cards”
• The Catholic ‘cathedra’ is NOT in Vatican City
• Mahmoud Al-Habbash: Muslims cannot give up any part of Jerusalem
• Are you sure you know the meaning of life?
• BibleNewsProphecy: End of the Eurozone?
• De-Dollarization Escalates: “African Economy Needs More Usage Of Chinese Yuan”
• Sermon: Great Monarch in 50+ Beast Prophecies
• SDAs vs. Bible on the Millennium
• Denmark is the 6th EU nation to ban burqas: Will there be war between the Europeans and the Arabs?
• Finance expert says Europeans are in ‘over their heads’ as Trump TRADE WAR begins
• Jesus FAQ and ‘Gay Pride Month’
• World War 3 and the Time of the Gentiles
• Justin Martyr: Saint or Apostate?
• USA to impose tariffs: Mexico, Canada, EU upset: Germany’s Maas wants EU first to replace America first
• Mathematicians conclude that the Universe had a beginning
• Bill Nye has beliefs contrary to those of a real ‘science guy’
• Synthetic vitamins and false religion are harmful: But many swallow both
• Could there have been humanoids before Adam?
• Did WCG and the Bible predict loss of ‘freedom of the press’?

Church Science Falsely So Called: : A Whale of a Tale Revisited and Updated

Ambassador College and all offshoot versions were not and are NOT places to learn anything about how the real and natural world works.  Ambassador did not teach one how to make a living, how to think critically or anything remotely true about science and how the world came to be.  It also did and still does a terrible job with theology.   Reading the Bible and endless comments and speculation on mythological tales and Bronze Age perspectives do not, and cannot lead to truth in the sciences.  

"A Whale of a Tale" was the Churches clever and easy to read answer to what some perceived as the impossibilities of whale evolution.  A quick read and "poof!" , the average church member and student had THE answer to it all.  Of course, they did not.  They had a scientific apologetic to get them through the need for the Church to be correct and scientific inquiry mistaken, but they failed miserably and do to this day. 

We have learned more in the past 25 years than in the previous 25,000

"A Theory of for the Birds" was also the shallow church version concentrating mostly on just how could a woodpecker not knock itself out pecking and just how could feathers not just poof into existence to facilitate flight.  We now know feathers, evolved long before they ever were also adapted to flight.  Feathered dinosaur fossils are a regular discovery these days and it was not because they needed to fly.  But that's another story.

The totally discredited and long ago outdated text for Second Year Bible At Ambassador

The deep study of the topic was to outline the book and hand the outline in at years end.

But that's another story too....

The Shallow and Mistaken Church version debunking Whale Evolution

"Disagreements between incompatible beliefs cannot be settled by reasoned argument because reasoned argument is drummed out of those trained in religion from the cradle."

 Richard Dawkins

(Sorry, I think this is hilarious)

A Short Course in Whale Evolution for those so inclined

For those willing and able to pay attention for more than two minutes

"Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence." Richard Dawkins Correct! The Bible tells me so. Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen. Meaning... "Now faith is the assurance of what we hope is true, based on absolutely no evidence that it is true." Faith has no place in Science and true scientific inquiry does not rely on faith for its conclusions.  Church or Church Schools may be a place to muse on the Wonderful World Tomorrow, but they fail miserably in their understanding of the Wonderful World Today, and always will.

Living Church of God Finally Admits A "Worldly" Education Is Not Wrong

Living Church of God has now decided that it is not always wrong to get an education in so-called "worldly" colleges and institutions of higher learning.  Now that LCG's so-called university has had to be shut down, like most of the other COG's so-called college/universities, it now admits that God just might be using "worldly" educators for a higher purpose instead of them all being agents of Satan.

But, like any good COG out there, there is an ulterior motive behind this new direction in thinking...the better the education the better the money, thus more tithes can be sent into HQ to keep the Meredith and McNair boys supported in their expected lifestyles.

The Value of Education

Over the years, some have concluded that worldly education is of little value for true Christians. Since Satan is the god of this age, and Christians are to come out of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4; 6:14–18), some have assumed that getting an education in this world is ungodly, a matter of vanity and/or a waste of time. Such ideas overlook the fact that God used individuals who were schooled in this world in powerful ways. Moses was raised as a prince in Egypt and was “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” (Acts 7:22). Solomon was knowledgeable in many fields—including botany, zoology, and human relations—and he collected wise sayings in the book of Proverbs (1 Kings 4:32–34). Daniel was one of a group of intelligent young Jewish captives who were educated in Babylon before they were used by God (Daniel 1:3–4). Paul studied at the feet of Gamaliel, the leading rabbi of his day, before being used by God to write 14 books in the New Testament. Numerous studies show that more education can result in higher incomes that can enable Christians to provide better for their families. In today’s world, in pursuing an education, we must also be alert to the social, moral and intellectual pitfalls that are also part of academic environments. Christians who understand the Truth of God and the Plan of God should wisely take advantage of the opportunities to gain an education—whether academic or vocational—that will help them prepare to serve others now and in the Kingdom of God.

Have a profitable Sabbath,

Douglas S. Winnail