Friday, January 31, 2014

Dennis Muses: "Otherness and Chosen are Illusions"

"Otherness and Chosen are Illusions"

There are no Chosen People in reality.  There are no special groups ethnically or spiritually.  For every chosen people there are all the rest in the "unchosen" folk.  For every "Holy Nation" and a "People of His Own" there are the unholy and rejected. For everyone that believes in being a King or a Priest there are the common folk they intend to rule over politically and religiously.




This "otherness" reigns supreme in the cultic history of first the Israelites in the Old Testament and then that of ALL the MYRIAD of early Christ followers spawned by the various views of him expressed in the New Testament.  From the specialness of Abraham over all others to the 144,000 male virgins who have not soiled their spirituality with women in Revelation, otherness rules.  Those that come out of the nations are not Gentiles in Revelation.  Revelation is a Jewish Christian book and it is Jews of the Diaspora that are not quite as chosen as the 144,000 who join the group.  The Goyim are not wanted in the Book of Revelation and the otherness is not for them. It is me not you, us not them and we not they.  It is not true, but the need for it to be true is strong in religion.



We are all familiar with Zechariah 14:


16 Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. 17 If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain. 18 If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord[b]will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.
20 On that day holy to the Lord will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar.21 Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite[c] in the house of the Lord Almighty.


I realize it may be just me, but that approach to sincere worship never seemed all that inspiring to me.  "If you don't come to my services, I will starve you out."   Reminds me of a sign south of Greenville on a barn that says "Love Jesus or burn forever in hell."  Nice motivator!  Can you imagine Canaanites and Egyptians trying to sing Hebrew Hymns?  Can you imagine the utter contempt seething from the unchosen and others who are forced to attend when the song leader says.."Smile brethren?"  I can't.  Forced compliance just seems to be the formula for insincere worship to me.  Notice to that not much is said about Assyrians, Persians and Babylonians who regularly kicked Israel's ass over the centuries.  Being unaware of Inca, Aztec and Mayans  as well as Celts, Romans and Vikings will certainly mess up the seating arrangements.  It is a ridiculous concept of otherness and chosen versus unchosen.  As well, the author here had no concept of anything but his enemies coming to him or else. While somewhere it says "Come, let us reason together," it doesn't really mean it.  The Temple still stands, his proper form of sacrifice and worship is full swing as it was and horses with bells are always going to be part of the picture.  It's a rather  "soon" and "shortly" prophecy that once again did not come to pass.  Worship by threat and coercion so that we can win and you can lose is no way to run whatever truth is.  We won't go into the DNA fact that Israelites of yore were disenfranchised Canaanites of the lower classes much like the Palestinians are today. Don't believe every story the chosen tell you about their conquest of the unchosen.

Sorry...they weren't a Christian people
The Bible says in Deuteronomy...

Otherness produces pogroms and holocausts. It gets soccer  and football fanatics beaten and occasionally killed by the otherness of others.  It splits and divides churches over and over each being more chosen and true than any others.  Otherness multiplies by division and adds to itself by subtraction of others.  Reading through the various and multitudinous screeds in The Journal where on man runs the ad with endless reasons as to why one needs to swing over to his otherness is burdensome.  Cooperation amongst the chosen and otherness obsessed is simply not an option.

No, no, no....it is "In as much as you have done it unto the least of these, MY BRETHREN....Not nasty non RCG people.

The Apostle Dave Pack is big on special, chosen and otherness. In his mind, he fancies himself as the "me" to have those in the splinters rally under.  It can be no other way and it is a ridiculous concept. Never going to happen in this age.  Dave Pack would never attend a "come let us reason together session" unless he was in charge of it and everyone followed his reasonings, which as we know, have failed miserably of late.  In his mind, his minuscule Church is the only one on the entire planet that is worth the time of those so disposed to be sure they are in the really true and exactly right church.  It's a kind of sickness actually. After all, the Biblical consequences for being in the wrong one seem to be quite severe so one must get it exactly right or fall into the unchosen category.  No stress there.  Here is one man who fancies himself the one chosen minister of the God of the whole universe or all universes overseeing  the otherness of a few thousand folk out of billions.  That is otherness at it's best in the COGdoms of God. It is also ridiculous.  For some reason it is inherent in humans to need to feel special and chosen above others to understand mysteries and even additional expansive elements of scripture that no one else sees or even would want to see if they were clear and critical thinkers.

Flurry and Weinland got all caught up in otherness as well along with Bob Thiel and have made fools out of themselves.




Otherness and chosenness seems to be much of the glue that holds good folk in the seats  (well except when they gyrate) of rather transparent and dangerous to your actual spiritual health helpers of their joy falsely so called.  Everyone likes the idea of being set apart and special.  It just isn't actually true, but it feels good.  It feels safer and that in a pinch, the God of all the Universe has your name near the top of His list to deliver, save, help and feed should the need arise. It is somewhat dis-illusionioning to find out that is not so but having illusions of choseness and otherness is comforting as long as you don't really need it proven to you.  I have buried far too many children of the chosen ones whose Angels must have been on vacation when they were sorely needed to intervene.  Arrows did fall on their right and left and they did fall nigh unto the chosen families as well....  I never found a parent beating on me  to where I had to hold their arms until it passed and screaming "why!!" to be much proof of otherness in any special way.



We truly are all one.  We have lost that view in the otherness and choseness that politics and religion sticks us with if we are so inclined.  This short "sermon" resonates very well the truth that we are all the same, all from one source and all equal.  There are not people more equal than others.  There are huge egos and small minded men who fancy themselves as special and more in tune with their idea of truth than others, but the ego is the false self and full of, well you know.   I am having some of my dad's cremains swirled into a galaxy and embedded in crystal to remind me that we are all conscious stardust for now and we shall return to it.

Enjoy this short sermon on the reality of we all are in the universe and the universe is in us.  THIS is exactly what and how I would give one more sermon to the Churches of God if I had the chance...   I know how he feels and how little place choseness and otherness would have in his vocabulary as well.

Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson


Ego, specialness and misapplication of scripture has done more for disunity  and confusion in the Churches of God than any Satan could ever inspire....

  

Me! Me! Me! The Clarion Call of the Churches of God



Thursday, January 30, 2014

Samuel Martin's Former COG Babysitter Says: "...we were empowered to use the paddle if necessary because we were helping to instil character into little kids. Horse Feathers!!! We were bullies."



Samuel Martin, son of the late Earnest Martin of COG fame, actively works to stop the age old practice of corporal punishment on children.

Martin writes:

I post a fair number of testimonies of my FB page from people who have written me letters. I don't normally put names or places, but in this case, I am going to modify my normal procedure because the person whose testimony I am going to post is not only a former member of the World Wide Church Of God (the denomination that I grew up in until age 9), but Margaret Halford is my former baby sitter in real life when I was growing up in England, where I was born and where Margaret still lives.
Margaret's story:  Spanking Never Felt Right
"Spanking never felt right. It felt like bullying and I think it was. I know for my own part that when I spanked a child it was because I was at the end of my rope and wanted to exert my power!!!

Gosh that sound horrible doesn’t it … but I think it is true. I have taken care of children for about 12 years now professionally and I would never spank someone else’s child and I have seen how much more results I can get by being firm and by following through on consequences for actions.

As babysitters in the WCG [this is the abbreviation for the World Wide Church of God] we were empowerd to use the paddle if necessary because we were helping to instil character into little kids. Horse Feathers!!! We were bullies. I remember reading once that hurt people hurt people and if you hit a child what is to stop them from thinking that hitting is not a way to get a desired result. It worked on them didn’t it? . Just look at the emotional state of so many ex WCG kids now grown. At Imperial [the Church School] in England we were subjected to what amounted to daily paddlings for some. It made me very nervous to go to school. My parents didn’t actually believe much in spanking and my very first experience with it was at Imperial a Math teacher decided I needed to be punished me for erasing something on my page. I was 17. I was so embarrassed and after that, quite honestly afraid to express myself for fear of further punishment. My point is…I didn’t “learn a lesson” I just shut down so I wouldn’t be hurt again."
You can read Samuel Martin's book here on spanking in the Christian community: "Thy Rod and Thy Staff, They Comfort Me: Christians and the Spanking Controversy"

Samuel's Blog is here:  The New Foundation for Biblical Research

Yisrayl Hawkins House of Yahweh Cult Starts New Organization To Brainwash Children



The House of Yahweh cult in Abeline, Texas has started a new "educational" branch of the cult that is seeking to brainwash children and their parents into their wacky ways.  Their new outreach program to destroy more minds is called Peaceful Solution Character Education Incorporated.

Like so many in Armstrongism the HOY seeks to go back in time to simpler way of life.  Just one look at the picture from the front page of their site proves that.  A wholesome looking white family sitting around the dinner table.

Hawkins goal is to take his message to the per-kindergarten children through high school and beyond.  Like the Scientology cult, Hawkins also wants to take his message to prisons, rehab centers and juvenile detention centers.

Pioneered by President Yisrayl Hawkins, The Peaceful Solution Character Education Program began in 1994 with parents and teachers who were disturbed that positive character development was rapidly deteriorating in our society. Their concern prompted them to embark on a mission to stop the decline and bring back positive social behaviors to society.

President Yisrayl Hawkins, also Curriculum Director and Author of the Peaceful Solution Character Education Program, has been diligently presenting the Peaceful Solution Character Education Program to individuals, community representatives, as well as world leaders through books, forums, conferences, television and radio talk shows and international meetings.

Where is the Peaceful Solution Character Education Program being taught
  • Schools – pre-kindergarten through high school, private schools, home schools, alternate school programs, secondary education
  • Communities - after school programs, community centers, apartment buildings, youth centers, WICCA, apartment complexes, boys/girls programs, summer programs, church programs
  • Judicial System - prison facilities, courthouse reform programs, drug rehabilitation centers, juvenile detention centers
  • world wide web – www.peacefulsolution.org
  • PSCEP Promotion Team - certified Peaceful Solution Character Education Program Representatives travel to various states to present the Peaceful Solution Character Education Program to government representatives, Judges, public gatherings, schools and recreational centers

I would certainly hope that no educator in the Abilene school system would stoop so low as to enter the HOY cult compound to be 'trained' by the Hawkins cult!



It is appalling to see a court judge praising a program that is put out by one of the more dangerous cults of Armstrognism. I guess it is OK that HOY leaders can have underage sex with children the program is claims to protect.  That it is OK to have multiple wives, abuse women, force children into slave labor on the compound property and beat them when they cant do more.  These are all documented things that the HOY does to their members and yet this judge stands there and praises Hawkins and his cult. It is no wonder the judicial system in this country is in such a mess!

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

FICTIONAL ACT, NONFICTIONAL SPIRIT OF SOME IN ARMSTRONGISM


I love the "remnant" Fine Arts Hall window casing.  They way some are acting on Facebook you would think teh abomination of desolation had happened!

Dennis says: Let's compare Wanna-Be Theologians with Real Ones

Let me weave a tale for you...

VS

Let me explain something to you

or


Elaine Pagels-Let me explain Revelation to you

or


Dr. Bart Ehrman-What constitutes proof?

Peter Nathan on Sweatpants and Proper Sabbath Dress at Home on Saturdays



Some things never change even after splintering and splintering.  Knowledge seems to be stagnate or decreasing.





A question was asked, If we are going to have Friday night Bible Study, what should be the proper clothing to wear? Sabbath dress, casual, or what? Clearly we are coming before the Eternal, we do need to give some regard to that.  Being the Sabbath already, what do you do for Sabbath dinner on Friday night? Do you come home from work and just carry on in your work cloths, or do you tidy up and get ready for the Sabbath? I think putting it in the context, helps appreciate that maybe it would be wise to get out of the work clothes and get into something that would be acceptable before the Eternal. When all is said and done, we are asking the Eternal to be present to guide and direct our deliberations, so appropriate attire, Sabbath wear would be more than acceptable for it.

Now, you’re at home, what do you wear at home on the Sabbath?  When I get up in the morning, I don’t put a tie on straight away, I put a shirt on first, of course.  Having put a shirt on, I don’t have to put a tie on do I?  First thing at home.  I think there is appropriate thought in terms of how do we dress ourselves on the Sabbath day.  If we run around in sweats all Sabbath day and just get dressed up to go to services, is that appropriate for us? Maybe we need to give a little more thought on how we conduct ourselves on the Sabbath day, and dress ourselves in an appropriate manner.

Bob Thiel: Apostle and Chef Overseer Claims He Uses Truthful Logic Unlike Steven Hawking



God's greatest gift to the Churches of God, Dr. Apostle and Chief Overseer Bob Thiel, says that Steven Hawking is not as intelligent as he is.

Hawking came out recently with an article that has caught the eye of many in the scientific community where he declares that 'black holes' do not exist.

Bob who also claims to be a scientist who has had his articles published in various journals wants you to know that he is better informed than Hawking because of the simple fact he is a member of the true church.

Thiel trys to smear Hawking and all scientists with a typical COG stance that scientists don't know as much as they think they do.  That translates into the following:

"These scientist are ignorant about the real true because they reject God.  Since they reject God they are not part of the TRUE CHURCH and are therefore ignorant about all truth.  They are tools of Satan sent out to spread the evil of evolution in the world.  We, as COG members, know more than they do because we have the REAL truth."

You can see that stance in Thiel's very first paragraph below.

Basically, to help demonstrate that various scientists, despite claiming to be somewhat certain about many things in the universe, simply do not know as much as they act like they do.  And, they are often changing parts of their explanations.
According to Thiel only 'truthful logic' can be found in the COG.

I listened to a radio interview from New Zealand recently where the scientist being interviewed admitted that just as much  antimatter should have come to being when matter did, that this is a puzzle to him and other scientists about the origin of the universe.  Those of us who believe in the Bible and the use of truthful logic realize that since God created the universe, He simply could have chosen to produce much less antimatter than regular matter.
Thiel calls scientists the same thing he calls Christians outside of the COG, they are all so-called.  They are nothing more than ignorant fakes who follow Satan and his demons. Only those enlightened in the COG belief system are the REAL scientists and Christians.

Instead of accepting this, many so-called scientists (they are so-called when they accept beliefs that they know contradict various laws of the universes) claim that they need more time to develop alternative explanations.  And many have been claiming this for well over a century.  Whether or not there are ‘black holes’ or ‘grey holes,’ the Bible properly teaches:
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, (Romans 1:20-23).

Dennis Announces: That's me on the right with the Fish Hat

As Pastor of the Banned HWA Church of God....Gentlemen, I have some bad news for you.

Sometimes it becomes necessary for the preservation of the Body of Christ to dis-fellowship and dis-member those who stray from the flock for cause.  In doing so, we neither take pleasure in this procedure nor do we wish the individual emotional harm or spiritual turmoil even though inflicting such by themselves is an artform.  In addition, some may need to be marked as not helpful to the growth, stability or sanity of those Sheep in need of a kind and loving Shepherd, and MUST be avoided.  However, we gots to do what we gots to do.  



Sadly I cannot figure out how to photograph my HWA issued Ordination and get it to post, but this ordination of HWA  proves that it is God-Christ-Peter, James, John , Paul...Herbert W.Armstrong-Garner Ted Armstrong-David Antion and myself, along with a few other leading ministers, that are in true Apostolic and Ministerial succession and good to go.  I have the spiritual authority to do this.

I claim this authority because when baptised by a true minister of God and ordained into the minister with the express knowledge and blessing of Herbert W. Armstrong, Garner Ted Armstrong and David Antion along with a cast of others, I was not  baptised or ordained into any Church of MEN, but into the spiritual body of the Church of God , wherever that is.  If I need to write and post a four hour sermon with all the proof texts and analogies that would be necessary to prove this to you, I will do so.  It would certainly be something the likes of which you have never read, would be awesome and would add additional  and expansive elements to your view of me and my calling.  I believe the room would literally gyrate along with your seats when you come to grasp this clear and obvious truth.  

Now I realize that in the past, dis-fellowshipping and dis-membering was a from the top down thing.  Minsters can do this to YOU but , of course, YOU cannot do this to ministers.  However, God has shown me this is not so.  While being anointed for an ailment...well never mind.

THEREFORE:

It is my joy, um sad duty as Pastor of the Banned HWA Church of God and for the protection of all Sheep residing in the one body of the True Church Worldwide to announce the Dis-fellowshipping, Dis-membering and Marking of the following individuals from the Body with cause.


Apostle Gerald Flurry
AKA "Helper of our Joy-Joyful Gerry"

Reasons:

Self ordination and title taking without peer confirmation

Claiming to see himself spoken of by the Prophet Malachi as "That Prophet"

Wasteful and ill advised spending of the hard earned tithes of the brethren

Religious Nepotism

Reinventing, at great expense to others, the failed Ambassador College Paradigm

Sheep bashing and other serious breaches of the "mind your own business" rules for successful leadership

...and lots more

Apostle Ron Weinland
AKA "All Access" revoked for now
 #OHSPS3.5"

Ron Weinland: "When I Disfellowship People I Remove God's Grace, Help, Protection and God's Favor From Them "

me too Ron....

Reasons:

Self Ordination with no peer confirmation

Spending too much money he did not earn on things he did not need

Gross Religious Nepotism

Putting a date on a book with a time-times and half a time shelf life now five years later

Boring sermons that were ill prepared and non-gyrational

...and lots more

Apostle, Watcher and Joshua as Spoken of By the Prophet Haggai David C. Pack
AKA-Mr. "I forgot it , Pull Big Triggers and THEN I will dis-member you!"

Reasons:  (short list)

Self ordination with no peer confirmation

Extreme Religious Title Taking

Inability to cooperate and work with or for peers and superiors

Inability to understand there are superiors

Reinventing, at great expense to others, the failed Ambassador College Paradigm

Misuse of tithes and offerings

Inability to understand religious and theological boundaries

Gross misapplication of Scripture for personal gain

Making scripture mean what it never meant for personal aggrandizement

Abuse of superlatives in writing and reality

Being about the numbers and claiming not to be

Gross misunderstanding of the true nature of "Fruits"

Prophetic hooliganism's

Claiming Einstein persona non grata because he had "wild hair"

Reading his own writings as a sole source of theological truth

Inability to admit to false prophetic peepings and mutterings

Claiming God is "Crystal clear!" about his confused 2013 prophetic train wreck

Mistreatment of office staff and brethren under his loving care

Humiliating and emasculating COG ministry that may wish to join him depending...

Going strange and weird and forgetting he said:

  "I want to make a statement about...me...now, if I became deceived, I will never tell you what I'm going to tell you now...I am telling you if I go off into strange ideas, misconduct, rebellion, you name it, don't follow me. I want to tell you that now, because if I start doing that I'm gonna try to get you to follow me! I'm gonna come to you and tell you it doesn't apply, it doesn't mean me, no, no, no, no, no, no, it's OK to follow me because ABCD and XY and Z. Do you understand what I'm saying? Listen to me now, when I tell you don't follow me if I go off into weird ideas, or if I get off into other things that are total absolutely unscriptural conduct, because if I do I'm gonna paint it with a different face and try to get you to follow me. Do you understand what I'm saying brethren? Please remember that, because I promise you that if I become deceived, I'll forget it, and I'll want you to forget it...And I hope you'll remember it well enough to quote it right back to me...But I'll tell you what, I'm not going anywhere."

...and not really going anywhere and lots more

Dr. Robert Thiel
oops...no wait...sorry
(Note:  I personally do not have the heart to "disfellowship" RCM. I have found him to not have an insincere bone in his body concerning his perspectives on what he believes the Bible says and his own calling of years gone by.  I may not be able to explain it and have little to agree with him on, but it's just how I have always perceived him to be.  I suppose to me it is "behold a man in whom there is no guile" and is MY experience with the man.  When he says he was tolerating and just being nice to Bob Thiel as Bob claimed to be a prophet and was not in RCM's or anone else's mind, he was speaking the truth  and trying to be kind hoping BT would wake up)


On the other hand....
Dr. Robert Thiel
AKA "Bobby Floppy Hands"

Reasons:

Floppy hands

Giving 5 minute talks for over an hour

Self ordination and title taking with no peer review 

False title taking

Seeing a "Double portion of the Spirit" where there is none

Inability to with work with or for peers or superiors

Having no superiors in the earthly realm

Bad prophetic skills

Mistaking Internet News and Blogs for Spiritual and Prophetic insight uncommon to man

Having no understanding of they dynamics of weather in the modern world

Poor set design and presentations

Poor grasp of football

Poor grasp of reality

Joseph Tkach Jr.
AKA  "Bugsy Jr"

Reasons:

Grand Theft Church

Gross and reckless theological change without consideration for the spiritual lives and sacrifices of the brethren

Getting snookered by the Trinitarianism

Leading and organization he should have left 

Nepotic acceptance

Letting Ted Johnston write the "Surprising God" Blog which I'm sure does surprise any real God

Destroying all that our parents, family and peers contributed to out of a sincere desire to know what the Bible said and meant

Keeping the money for himself, "like taking candy from a baby."

Leaving many good men with years of sincere service without a dime of retirement and living like a King himself

For collecting Rolex Watches...or so I am told


We wish these men no harm but that they would repent rather than justify, modify and act as if they are not responsible for the trail of tears and disrespect for sincere seekers they have accidentally attracted to themselves and who have no idea just what they have gotten themselves into mentally, emotionally, economically and spiritually.


Please remember next week's pot luck after services.  Women are to bring all the food and singles  please bring a watermelon

Now brethren...let's smile, take up our hymnals and sing out on "My Friend and guide..."

SMILE BRETHREN!!

  1.'Twas not a foe who did deride,
        for that I could endure;
     No hater thus who rose in pride,
        else would I hide secure.
     But thou it was, my friend and guide;
        we did as equals meet;
     We walked to God's house side by side,
        and counsel blended sweet.

 2.  His speech more smooth than butter was,
        yet in his heart was war;
     More soft than oil his words appear,
        yet sharp as drawn swords were they.
     But Lord Thou will in judgment sit
        and bring them down to woe;
     And in the deep and darksome pit,
        in ruin lay them low