Saturday, January 26, 2019

We All Wonder: Why Are So Many COG Members Attracted To Such Crazy Men As We Have Leading COG's today? :)




Why People Believe Weird Things

About the book

book cover
In this age of supposed scientific enlightenment, many people still believe in mind reading, past-life regression theory, New Age hokum, and alien abduction. A no-holds-barred assault on popular superstitions and prejudices, with more than 80,000 copies in print, Why People Believe Weird Things debunks these nonsensical claims and explores the very human reasons people find otherworldly phenomena, conspiracy theories, and cults so appealing. In an entirely new chapter, “Why Smart People Believe in Weird Things,” Michael Shermer takes on science luminaries like physicist Frank Tippler and others, who hide their spiritual beliefs behind the trappings of science.
Shermer, science historian and true crusader, also reveals the more dangerous side of such illogical thinking, including Holocaust denial, the recovered-memory movement, the satanic ritual abuse scare, and other modern crazes. Why People Believe Weird Things is an eye-opening resource for the most gullible among us and those who want to protect them.



“Humans are pattern-seeking story-telling animals, and we are quite adept at telling stories about patterns, whether they exist or not.”
Michael Shermer 

“There are many sources of spirituality; religion may be the most common, but it is by no means the only. Anything that generates a sense of awe may be a source of spirituality. Science does this in spades.”
Michael Shermer

“Smart people believe weird things because they are skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons.”
Michael Shermer 


"This page is quoted from chapter three of Michael Shermer's book Why People Believe Weird Things. The chapter, titled How Thinking Goes Wrong, contains a list of "Twenty-five Fallacies That Lead Us to Believe Weird Things". These 25 Fallacies cover nearly every aspect of how non-skeptics, non-critical thinkers, pseudoscientists, and yes, even scientists, fail in their thinking processes and end up accepting conclusions based on incorrect assertions and false logic. Also presented are Hume's Maxim and Spinoza's Dictum, both important tools used in critical thinking."




From  Why People Believe Weird Things

Heresy Does Not Equal Correctness

(Nor does perceived "persecution" Gerry, Dave, Bob, Ron and all you minor players who believe weird, self centered and deviant theology)


"They laughed at Copernicus. They laughed at the Wright brothers. Yes, well, they laughed at the Marx brothers. Being laughed at does not mean you are right. Wilhelm Reich compared himself to Peer Gynt, the unconventional genius out of step with society, and misunderstood and ridiculed as a heretic until proven right: "Whatever you have done to me or will do to me in the future, whether you glorify me as a genius or put me in a mental institution, whether you adore me as your savior or hang me as a spy, sooner or later necessity will force you to comprehend that I have discovered the laws of living" (in Gardner 1952, p.259). Reprinted in the January/February 1996 issue of the Journal of Historical Review, the organ of Holocaust denial, is a famous quote from the nineteenth-century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, which is quoted often by those on the margins: "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as self-evident." But "all truth" does not pass through these stages. Lots of true ideas are accepted without ridicule or opposition, violent or otherwise. Einstein's theory of relativity was largely ignored until 1919, when experimental evidence proved him right. He was not ridiculed, and no one violently opposed his ideas. The Schopenhauer quote is just a rationalization, a fancy way for those who are ridiculed or violently opposed to say, "See, I must be right". Not so.


    History is replete with tales of the lone scientist working in spite of his peers and flying in the face of the doctrines of his or her own field of study. Most of them turned out to be wrong and we do not remember their names. For every Galileo shown the instruments of torture for advocating a scientific truth, there are a thousand (or ten thousand) unknowns whose "truths" never pass muster with other scientists. The scientific community cannot be expected to test every fantastic claim that comes along, especially when so many are logically inconsistent. If you want to do science, you have to learn to play the game of science. This involves getting to know the scientists in your field, exchanging data and ideas with colleagues informally, and formally presenting your results in conference papers, peer-reviewed journals, books, and the like."

Michael Shermer

Burden of Proof

Who has to prove what to whom? The person making the extraordinary claim has the burden of proving to the experts and to the community at large that his or her belief has more validity than the one almost everyone else accepts. You have to lobby for your opinion to be heard. Then you have to marshal experts on your side so you can convince the majority to support your claim over the one they have always supported. Finally, when you are in the majority, the burden of proof switches to the outsider who wants to challenge you with his or her unusual claim. Evolutionists had the burden of proof for half a century after Darwin, but now the burden of proof is on creationists. It is up to creationists to show why the theory of evolution is wrong and why creationism is right, and it is not up to the evolutionists to defend evolution. The burden of proof is on the Holocaust deniers to prove the Holocaust did not happen, not on Holocaust historians to prove that it did. The rationale for this is that mountains of evidence prove that both evolution and the Holocaust are facts. In other words, it is not enough to have the evidence. You must convince others of the validity of your evidence. And when you are an outsider this is the price you pay, regardless of whether you are right or wrong.
Michael Shermer

Bold Statements Do Not Make Claims True

"And yes Brethren...I am an Apostle"

Something is probably pseudoscientific if enormous claims are made for its power and veracity but supportive evidence is scarce as hen's teeth. L. Ron Hubbard, for example, opens his Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, with this statement: "The creation of Dianetics is a milestone for man comparable to his discovery of fire and superior to all his invention of the wheel and arch" (in Gardner 1952, p.263). Sexual energy guru Wilhelm Reich called his theory of Orgonomy "a revolution in biology and psychology comparable to the Copernican Revolution" (in Garnder 1952, p.259). I have a think file of papers and letters from obscure authors filled with such outlandish claims (I call it the "Theories of Everything" file). Scientists sometimes make this mistake, too, as we saw at 1:00 P.M., on March 23, 1989, when Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann held a press conference to announce to the world that they had made cold nuclear fusion work. Gary Taube's excellent book about the cold fusion debacle, appropriately named Bad Science (1993), thoroughly examines the implications of this incident. Maybe fifty years of physics will be proved wrong by one experiment, but don't throw out your furnace until that experiment has been replicated. The moral is that the more extraordinary the claim, the more extraordinarily well-tested the evidence must be.

Michael Shermer

Unexplained Is Not Inexplicable

 Many people are overconfident enough to think that if they cannot explain something, it must be inexplicable and therefore a true mystery of the paranormal. An amateur archeologist declares that because he cannot figure out how the pyramids were built, they must have been constructed by space aliens. Even those who are more reasonable at least think that if the experts cannot explain something, it must be inexplicable. Feats such as the bending of spoons, firewalking, or mental telepathy are often thought to be of a paranormal or mystical natures because most people cannot explain them. When they are explained, most people respond, "Yes, of course" or "That's obvious once you see it." Firewalking is a case in point. People speculate endlessly about supernatural powers over pain and heat, or mysterious brain chemicals that block pain and prevent burning. The simple explanation is that the capacity of light and fluffy coals to contain heat is very low, and the conductivity of heat from the light and fluffy coals to your feet is very poor. As long as you don't stand around on the coals, you will not get burned. (Think of a cake in a 450° oven. The air, the cake, and the pan are all at 450°F, but only the metal pan will burn your hand. Air has a very low heat capacity and also low conductivity, so you can put your hand in the oven long enough to touch the cake and pan. The heat capacity of the cake is a lot higher than air, but since it has low conductivity you can briefly touch it without getting burned. The metal pan has a heat capacity similar to the cake, but high conductivity too. If you touch it, you will get burned.) This is why magicians do not tell their secrets. Most of their tricks are, in principle, relatively simple (although many are extremely difficult to execute) and knowing the secret takes the magic out of the trick.

    There are many genuine unsolved mysteries in the universe and it is okay to say, "We do not yet know but someday perhaps we will." The problem is that most of us find it more comforting to have certainty, even if it is premature, than to live with unsolved or unexplained mysteries.

Michael Shermer

                           









Why Are So Many COG Members Attracted To Such Crazy Men As We Have Leading COG's today?



When Herbert Armstrong was alive, the church had its fill of crazy men rising up with all kinds of lunacy, BUT they never gained much of a following due to Armstrong's threats, his magnetic personality, and his stable of henchmen threatening salvation issues. Self-appointed prophets, Elijah, and others regularly delivered messages to the front desk at the Hall of Administration of the Worldwide Church of God. Each and every one of them ended up being massive failures in their prophecies.

Fast forwards to today and we have a whole stable of crazy men who have actually diverted members into their perverse ministries.  From Gerald Flurry who now imagines himself a King and in possession of the new coronation stone that Jesus will come back to sit on. Dave Pack, who declared "all things in common" in order to shame members into sending him all of their retirement funds, cashing in stocks, selling homes and basically bankrupting themselves in order to obey Dave's commands. Then there is James Malm who has whored himself out to the law in such a sick manner that Jesus is surely shaking his head in heaven in the biggest "WTF" moment he has ever seen. And then...then there is Bob Thiel.  Even God the father is appalled at the sheer arrogance and self importance that drips like putrid honey from his mouth.

As crazy and as mentally ill these men all are, nothing compares to another man who is attracting COG members to his message. That person is Tim Carpenter of "I Saw the Light Ministries."  A lot of his stuff sound just like Armstrongite ideas, until you weed further down into his writings.

Here is some of the things he writes about:

Help for Vampires

Leviticus 17:10-11
10 And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
To learn the different kinds of real vampires please visit the Vampires Studies website. They are NOT affiliated with us and they are not necessarily meant as a help to vampires but rather as a research and study page for people to learn what real vampires are. I recommend reading it with caution only after prayer and only if you think you may be a vampire. Then return here for help to recover from this satanic affliction. When you click on their link above, it will first come to an internet archive page (because their webpage is no longer active). Click on the word "impatient" and the page will come up quicker!
For help in recovery from vampirism, read our "How to overcome anything" article.
Also, Be sure to take daily supplements of Vitamin D at least 1000-4000 mg per day. Also take Garlic capsules or even better eat real garlic in your pasta dishes. This boosts your immune system to fight any virus that might be related to that kind/type of vampire. Sun exposure is important. Be of Gods Light, not of darkness, avoid all appearance of evil, be transformed by the renewing of your mind in Christ Jesus. Jesus is the answer for all kinds and all types of vampires. By Christ Blood YOU can be HEALED!!! 
And then there is this:

Who or What Are Aliens?

Aliens and UFO's are a fascination with many people. What are they? The truth is that many of the UFO's are top secret government and military operations.
  • BUT there are also real aliens and ufo's.
  • BUT they are NOT the type of aliens that many people believe in.
  • They are actually half human and half demon.
  • Some of them are 100% demon.
  • They are NOT something to be fascinated with.
  • They are real and they are in scripture.
  • There is no reason to focus on them.
  • You should not focus on them. You should not be giving them attention!
  • Don't feed their desire for attention!
  • Don't be fascinated with them, we have much more power then they do!
To learn more about these demonic beings, please go to the following websites which explain in great detail what they are and what the Bible says about them!
And this:
Satanic snow globes 
Gazing Ball, Crystal ball, garden gazing ball, glass orb, witches ball, snow globes
Far from harmless, these glass orbs open a direct line to the other world. Used for divination (fortunetelling, scrying, clairvoyance...)when the heavy crystal balls were too expensive, witches often used glass-ball fishing floats, colored glass balls, or magic mirrors. They do not keep evil away. That is a myth. Pagan objects do not keep evil away. Think about it. These garden balls are also related to the UFO sphere orbs. Remove these crystal or glass balls from your property! Would Jesus have a gazing ball in his house? The Almighty has powerfully confirmed to me that the snow globes are also evil. They are the same as the gazing balls & are open doors for evil spirits.  

Paisley (design or pattern)
The Paisley design or pattern is very common on clothing, purses and do-rags (du-rags, bandanas, skull caps). It is of Iranian origin and has connections to the antichrist religion of Zoroastrism. 
Statues, dolls, nik naks, figurines of people, angels, Jesus or animals, including stuffed animals
These are Graven images. The Bible warns us to not make any graven image of anything alive, whether it be on the land or in the air or in water. An graven image is a 3D shape of any thing that if it was alive, it would move. It doesn't matter whether it is made out of plastic, wood, metal, gold, silver, glass, cloth, cotton or whatever. 
 There is much, much more here: Common Household Pagan Symbols / Housecleaning
People like this make some people feel special because they have supposedly received god given information that will set the apart from the deceived people around them. What is really happening is they are following liars and frauds that deliberately keep them away from the one the should be following.

Friday, January 25, 2019

A Seat for Every Butt



Not being Flow Chart Design literate,  may I suggest a similar flow chart to help people negotiate the Splits, Splinters and Slivers?  I would suggest it continue from "You Should Be Jewish" or in the case of leaving the COGs completely and not happy with Grace Community International,  you begin with "You Should Just be a Boring Generic Christian Then" and go on to find a stable Christian denomination that suits fits one's needs.. 

Should one end up "Atheist" perhaps an additional couple of boxes to indicate a preference for  being thrown in the Lake of fire alive or dead or "Eternal Punishment" vs "Eternal Punishing"?

OR...

“And above all, you must be asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by its paint and panelling…the question should never be: ‘Do I like that kind of service?’ but ‘Are these doctrines true: Is holiness there? Does my conscience move me towards this? Is my reluctance to move to this door due to my pride, or my mere taste, or my personal dislike for this particular door-keeper?”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity 



          But as best as we can and everyone already believes they do...
“Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing”
Thomas Huxley