Lake Of Fire

Old Home Week at the PCG Compound

2006-01-29T09:43:00.000-08:00

Prophet Flurry over at the Trumpet web site (www.thetrumpet.com) makes a plea in the current editorial for all of God's sons to return to Him. Flurry urges all ex-members to recall the glory days under Herbert Armstrong, the Elijah, and become like Elisha. The inference is that Flurry and to some extent the PCG is Elisha the Prophet crying, "my father, my father." If only the ex-members would return to their senses and to God they would come home to the Philadelphia Church of God. The eternal lives of these people hang in the balance.

Maybe I'm just getting too old and cranky. Perhaps I am truly lost and headed for eternal destruction. If it saves me from being ruled by Gerald Flurry, I think I will enjoy the peace and quiet of non-existence. There are many coggers I would rather not listen to for eternity along with the other zealots and religous tyrants of the past and present.

Many people are hung up on the idea of eternal life. It seems to be a top-seller among humans seeking devoted followers. We exist in a finite universe, and do not have the capacity of mind to contemplate eternity, but we want it anyhow. Most people don't want to die, myself included. That seems like a natural way of thinking for beings that know they are going to die. My guess is that bees don't spend a lot of time in churches praying.

A question one might ask is why do we think this way? Some say that god placed the human spirit in us. This is a black box in the human brain that you can't see on an MRI, but was invented by religious types as a matter of faith. It gives us our consciousness and the ability to ponder God. We can't detect it by our senses, but we know it's there because...why else would we act like this? Sound reasoning at its best. Oh yes, and this "spirit", well it can transcend the boundaries between the physical universe and the dimension beyond time (where god lives). Pretty slick.

I pose an alternate. Our genes combined with our environment make us act/react in the ways we do. No demon influences, no angelic hosts, no invisible spirits pushing and pulling at us. We are physical and act on physical changes in our bodies. That means thinking by electro-chemical changes in the brain.

Eternity--makes a nice bumper sticker, and fills the collection plate.

New Year's Predictions

2006-01-13T12:02:00.000-08:00

The New Year has been rung in, many are working on their resolutions. Some at the PCG are considering revolutions instead.

"This year could bring major changes to the Middle East. The most dramatic will likely involve the Jews losing East Jerusalem—an event to watch for as Israeli elections approach in March."

The above quote is taken from www.thetrumpet.com. As always the language is unclear. Every veiled prediction is qualified with words such as likely and could. Hardly language fitting for a prophet.

The staff here at the Lake has been sweating over our predictions for the New Year. It hasn't been easy, we do not put ourselves in the prophet or apostle class. Any predictions we make have only a bare chance probability of coming true.

Top 10 Predictions for 2006

1)Conflict in the Middle East will continue, including Iraq, and the Israel/Palestinian conflict.

2)Religious people all over the world will pray that God will wipe out their foes and restore true government and true religion to the earth. These people will continue to live isolated, non-charitible lives. Some will kill themselves in an attempt to please God. Men, not God will administer the required teachings.

3)Disease will continue in the world, killing millions this coming year. AIDS, malaria, influenza, TB and other diseases will top the list.

4)Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and other natural weather patterns will occur.

5)Herbert W. Armstrong is dead for 20 years waiting for the resurrection.

6)The retirement fund of those left holding the bag at ex-WCG will continue to grow.

7)Dave Pack will buy several new suits and continue to brag about being God's man with The Plan. He will unleash several tirades against the opponents of God's Work.

8)For some people God's Plan will be vividly clear.

9)For some people God will continue to be a mystery.

and finally,

10)Gerald Flurry, in an attempt to trump Dave Pack will elevate himself to the status of a god, taking on the new name Dagon of the Philistine Church of God.

Have a happy and prosperous 2006.

Holiday Poetry

2005-12-16T09:37:00.000-08:00

The holiday season is upon us and it seems that all the best sites are featuring poetic pieces. So, I have put together a little something I'd like to call...

Twas the Week Before a COG Christmas (with apologies to everyone)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Twas the week before Christmas
From the North to the South
The Prophets were crying,
"A pox on your house"

Gerry and Rod, Dave and yes Ted
He's still on the air
Yet he's definitely quite dead

Elijah has come, Elijah has gone
For twenty long years
He's been under the lawn

Faster than eagles
On wings he once flew
No Christmas for him
Nor Stan Rader, the Jew

Tsunamis still roll
Earthquakes still clatter
Apostles and Prophets know what is the matter

The Lord will descend in five
Maybe ten
The trumpet will sound at Armageddon

We're in the Last Hour
Last Minute, Last Tick
Last year for a parcel
From Jolly Saint Nick

So if you're out on the town
and spy a man in a suit
Briefcase in hand
and shiny new boots

White hair like the snow
His manner quite merry
And yes he does glow,
Nose red from the sherry

It's only a flashback
a dream or a spoof
Just like the man that comes
from the roof.

Happy Holidays.

Trade Your Mule for a Starship

2005-12-03T20:23:00.000-08:00

Tis the season once again. For some to be merry, for others to dust off their quill, or website and start the yearly comparisons between Santa and Satan. Most like to point out that Santa is merely Satan spelled wrong, but a lot of us know that Santa really means Saint. The people warning us about Satan believe in a literal Lucifer the fallen archangel. I am not sure Lucifer exists, though my car did act up a few weeks ago. Could have been a demon attack.

Always ready with the answer, traditional coggers teach that Satan deceives us about his existence, making his job of destroying us a lot easier. They are not falling for it though, they know he walks around like a roaring lion waiting to get a toe in the door. And we know what happens if he gets a toe in--boom! Down comes the door and we get booted into the lake.

All religious holidays have their symbolism. It is when we ignore the symbolism and try to read a literal meaning into Biblical references that we get caught in the trap of proof texts, days and times, and the cycle of failing prophecy. For the good of all of us, lighten up a bit and see the underlying meaning of ancient religious practices. Parts of this book have not been updated for thousands of years!

Arguments over "the reason for the season" open up a real rat's nest of perplexing beliefs. Those nasty little details include the date of Jesus' birth, the virgin birth, non-Christian symbols and their appropriateness, wise men, stars and little drummer boys. There are some who even question whether Jesus existed, and can produce a fairly reasonable argument for their case. In the end most people behave in a manner taught to them by their family and society around them.

Two thousand years after the start of the Christian religion there is still no broad agreement on who or what God is and what he or she wants from us. Yet many persist in trying to convince others that they have the true path to righteousness. Labels get thrown around: heathen, pagan, barbarian, cult, Laodicean, Sardis and "the world". It's a mess and sometimes there is a war to set things straight.

For a long time I bought into the party line and withdrew from the world, came out of Babylon and spent many holidays alone while others celebrated and had a good time. I do not believe I resented it, I felt comfortable with that decision, I believed I was doing what God wanted of me. But it was a difficult struggle and I waited eagerly for those days to pass. Having gone through that experience, I do not believe that it contributed positively to my spiritual state, and it brought me closer to depression than to God. Armstrongism blames me for being weak in faith. I blame it for wasting my time.

I have since learned of the many false historical facts and religious beliefs preached by the WCG and can see that group for what is really was. I can also see that buying my grandmother a Christmas present would really not have been a huge deal. Too late now though.

My current view on Christianity is that it plays fast and loose with the facts of history and of science. To buy into it in its current form is asking too much. But I live in a society and a family that has parties and buys presents every year at Christmastime. I really do not want to live in a cave any longer, so my alternative is to share in those celebrations while maintaining my own self-respect. Yes, I do buy the odd present or two. But I don't go to any church services, or get mired in the myth and fable of the holiday season.

So to those that feel troubled at this time of year, and fight the loneliness on God's behalf I share my compassion. But I also believe that if there is an all wise and loving parent out there, his thinking would have to be way beyond the capability of those who wrote the Bible to even comprehend. Most of them rode mules. To that Being, all religious festivals and symbols would be utterly useless. The business of running a universe (or parallel universes) has little to do with ancient Hebrew slaughters, or Roman Saturn worship. Those are the domain of cave-men playing with sticks and stones.

I think God must be laughing at us somewhere, waiting for us to grow up.

Give a gift to the food bank this Christmas, and call your grandmother.

KTHO

A Message from your Future Leader

2005-11-26T17:07:00.000-08:00

The following quote is from a person with the truth of God.

"Firstly, you may believe that HWA was a charlatan, but if we push that belief to its logical conclusion, it'd mean that you, I, and the thousands out there in cog-land were never called by God. For God does NOT call people to follow charlatans. This is not to say that HWA did not make mistakes, and lack understanding in doctrine and procedure. But the same is true of you and me. Yet we don't see ourselves as charlatans. Or do we?

Secondly, when it comes to the bible, I don't have any opinions. For an opinion is only the ignorance we express when we don't know the truth. If know the truth, why would we need opinions? Finally, it is said that imitation is the best form of flattery, provided of course we understand what we are saying."

It's this kind of short-circuited reasoning that traps many immature and unsettled people. Take apart the first paragraph, you get the assumption: "God does NOT call people to follow charlatans." The writer is sure that he knows what God does, and how God thinks and acts.

Also, is it possible that you or I were never called by God? Yes, it is at least equally possible one way or the other. Actually, coggish reasoning would have the probability of being called much lower than not being called given that "Satan has deceived the whoooooolllle world." How many times have you heard that one.

Making mistakes and not knowing correct procedures does not define charlatanism. The speaker is trying to dodge the real issue by throwing something else out to confuse the real matter at hand. Someone duped by a person perpetrating a fraud is not guilty of the fraud. This should be obvious. The people duped by HWA are not charlatans. Co-conspirators (ministers, evangelists, other henchmen) would be.

Beware of humans pretending to know the absolute truth. They have killed many millions of people. Claiming to know "the truth" about anything is a flawed human endeavor. We should not be too smug; reality sometimes proves us wrong a few hundred years down the line. In many cases these laws are good enough until something better comes along e.g. Newton's laws vs. Einstein's theories, God the Eternal vs Trinity vs Elohim.

As I have said before, religious zealots often get caught up in being right. They must be absolutely right in order to bolster their church's view of the world. To permit change is to admit failure. Failure in understanding what the church holds as truth. The implosion of the WCG shows us all what happens when a) you remove a tyrant b) you change church doctrine.

Ka-boom. Beware of falling tithes.

KTHO

Lipstick and other Cosmic Questions

2005-11-08T08:54:00.000-08:00

Master of Disaster Gerald Flurry has released the latest issue of the Trumpet magazine. I have not been fortunate enough to remove myself from the mailing list so far.

Inside is a littany of articles detailing the ultimate demise of Western, in fact worldwide civilization. The result of living contrary to God's Law.

Here are some of the article headings.

"Wake-Up Call"
"A Jewel in America's Crown-Lost"
"Urban Anarchy"
"Descent into Barbarism"
"Tragedy of Biblical Proportions"
"Israel's Bleeding Wound"

Those happy little eye-catchers are just from the table of contents. The chapter headings within the articles are jammed full of woe and foreboding.

One statement that jumped out at me was, "God controls the weather. The Bible says that earthquakes, droughts, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and tsunamis are anything but normal. These intensifying disasters are not God's fault. They are our fault. National tragedies are upon us, and will increase one hundredfold because of our disobedience to God's law and our rebellion against His authority."

[Note: The Bible also says that a donkey talked, and the earth stopped rotating.]

Same old song and dance. PCG logic is that God created a universal law. It is not His fault that you are disobeying this law because He created you a free moral agent. You could simply choose to do the right thing. In "Mystery of the Ages", Armstrong indicates that many have never even heard the name of Jesus. Think of a Chinese peasant living a few thousand years ago. So it seems that at some point along the line, like when Adam fell from grace, God gave up on humanity to follow their own devices.

But wait! God controls things like weather, and national governments. And God is calling out special people like Moses, David, Herbert Armstrong, and Gerald Flurry. So He is still playing with the works. Just like most things in cogdom, and in religion itself, there is always an answer. The answer is never clear, and the answer is never subject to scrutiny.

Religion asks, sometimes demands of us to believe in things that simply cannot be proved. When I say proof, I mean directly without needing any special middle man to show us the way. As our knowledge increases we understand things that people 1000, 2000, 6000 years ago did not. Why do we struggle with that? It seems very difficult, and I cannot explain why. We accept it in engineering and medicine, but we recoil at holding religious leaders to the same standard. At some level we feel comforted. But the facts rise up like a stench in our faces.

Millions upon millions murdered, misery, ignorance, hatred, politics, sexual scandals including multiple thousands of children abused. These are the things that religion claims to stand against. Yet these are the very things perpetrated by religion. Even the coggers that do not directly take part in war long for That Day when the Eternal descends with a shout and kills millions upon millions.

This kind of god seems like a human with bad behaviour given super-power status. Give me a real god for once.

Given that mahem and murder is gone out of fashion in most religious circles today, exception being radical Islam, many have taken to modernizing God's image. Ministers use the Bible to show attributes of God's nature that apply to today's surroundings. Pam Dewey's talk relating to the Matrix is an example of this. This is spin, and like putting lipstick on a 4000 year old pig. Nobody has answered the fundamental (or technical) questions around God's existence and what, if anything God requires of us.

Sure they claim to know, and they enjoy standing at the podium giving modernized presentations using their Dell Pentium 4 laptop or PowerBook G5 using their laser pointer. But the laser beam is still pointing at a black hole. A lot of people are talking, but God's not answering.

My current position on God, post cog, is very simple. God may exist. God may not.

Wishful thinking, circumstantial evidence (e.g. Moses saw His rear-end), rites or feelings will not bring God into existence. Also, we do not have the capability at this time to prove that beings other than ourselves do not exist in some other reality. We are stuck with reality as it presents itself.

Focus on the here-and-now and let eternity take care of itself. It's out of my control. All I can do is lead a peaceful life in harmony with nature and my neighbor.

Isn't that what God really wants anyway?

KTHO

The Apocalypse--Some Practical Considerations for Worldwide Domination

2005-11-05T08:48:00.000-08:00

The following is a public service announcement from the Trumpet magazine.

With the Bavarian Benedict able “to win over and rally all the world’s
Catholics” and a rising political twin [Stoiber] who will likely lead Germany
and even Europe, it appears Europe’s future as a resurrection of the Holy Roman
Empire is coming very close to fruition.

The PCG's 2010 deadline for the end of the age places some near-term prophesies on the horizon. Yet, with less than 5 years to go, their articles are still laden with qualifications like "will likely lead". I am not a general, but I am thinking that it takes at least a few years to get an army ready for world domination. It takes things like trained soldiers, munitions, vehicles, planes, boats, nuclear weapsons and a public information campaign to name a few. The PCG's rhetoric must change to reflect confidence in their prophet--no more likes, maybes, or possiblys.

Germany is in fact spending on its military. For example, "The German Navy is seeking parliamentary approval for a contract for four Type F 125 surface combatants in the first half of 2006 and for the new warships to be commissioned at two-year intervals starting from 2012." This quote is taken from www.Janes.com.

Nothing seems to indicate the kind of spending and ramp-up required for an Apocalypse, beginning in a few short years. Another article outlining the stretched German military is located on the following site, www.cdi.org/terrorism/germanreforms.cfm.

Some proponents of prophecy might point to the fact that the Beast power will be a combined force not just a single nation. However, doesn't it seem strange that the leader of such a massive effort is not super-capable in the final hour before battle?

Then there's the captivity part. Ever add up the total number of persons in "Israelite" countries? Try it some day if you are bored. If you are a future universe leader, you should have these numbers ready for the press conference. We're talking hundreds of millions of people here. Taking a round number like 500 million, even if 90% of them are left dead, that's still 50 million that must be carried off to the gulag. All of that requires ships for US (30 million), Canadian (3 million)and Australian (2 million) victims, and those walking from Sweden (800,000) will clog the roadways.

I checked the Carnival Cruises web site, and their largest ships hold around 3000 people. Given that the evil taskmasters will cram their captives in like sardines, let's up the capacity to 6000 people per ship. That's 5000 boatloads of captives from the US that must make a cross-Atlantic voyage. It was hard to determine the speed for an Atlantic crossing but one estimate puts it at 80 hours (http://www.bluebird-electric.net/the_blue_ribband.htm). That's 400,000 hours total travel time, 16,666 2/3 days. Hey there are a lot of 666s in there, maybe I'm on to something after all. That totals over 45 years.

I won't continue this farsical exercise, but you can see from these crude numbers that to get everyone to the gulag before the trumpets start sounding, and to give the Laodiceans some repentance time, it would take about 30 top notch cruise ships going 24/7 for 730 days to transport 41,096 people per day at seven boats per day carrying 6000 people each. That number is probably not realistic given maintanance and other timing issues, and weather.

The raw numbers from this little exercise almost seem plausible, but they do not consider transit time from destoryed cities and rural areas, the manpower required to escort these captives and other resource issues. We saw recently the catastrophic results of Hurricane Katrina and the manpower required to handle a city of about 1 million. Can you imagine transporting 30 million people after a nuclear holocaust has destroyed infrastructure, and made the country radioactive in may areas?

Doesn't seem realistic when you look at the big picture.

This has been a small rainy afternoon exercise. The point behind it all was to think through just one of the many claims made by Prophets and Apostles. Such thinking and questioning is discouraged in many congregations resulting in accusations of disloyalty or demon-possession.

"Just believe", they say, "the Bible tells me so."

KTHO

In Need of a Warm Bath?

2005-10-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

Things have been quite hectic around the lakeshore for a few weeks. Several times I tried to collect my thoughts and write something coherent, but the words just didn't fit right. Perhaps I am suffering a little from COG burnout. Or perhaps my system could not handle the increased stress of reading more apostolic or prophetic meanderings. Or maybe I have been fighting a demon.

The difficulty writing about the PCGs, RCGs and LCGs of the world is that they more or less stay on the same old worn out groove. We who have been there, done that, move on to a new way of thinking. We have our say, hopefully saying enough to make others think twice about following in our footsteps. Gerry builds his compound and watches the EU, Dave makes himself more important and becomes nastier, and Rod continues to warn of that near but far off day and slips into his twilight years. Good ol' Joey packs up the suitcases and heads for his retirement years a very wealthy man. One gets tired listening to these hacks who really do not deserve much attention. Their accomplishments in the good works department would only be visible to those owning an electron microscope.

Unfortunately there are innocents involved, those that cannot get out of the clutches of these groups until they are of legal age, or run away. I think running away would be better then being subjected to religious abuse. The longer you stay, the longer you spend on Dr. Phil's couch when you finally come to your senses, if at all. So I reminded myself of that to keep motivated for these rants. Lest I get flamed, I care about the rest of the members too. They all deserve a free mind.

Young members in the teenage years struggle just as much as adult members. They are in the midst of forming their identity, and their personal view of the world. What they experience in the real world is highly contrasted to the opinions they hear on the Sabbath. Added to that, they are singled out at school and at work for being religous freaks who cannot take part in many normal events. Friendships are few and life is very isolated and lonely. There are exceptions, of course. Steven Flurry's high school basketball career may be one of them :)

If the teen identifies with the church and its leaders, then things go more smoothly. Parental relationships are less tense, they feel a connection with a cause and acceptance by others they view as role models. If a teen does not connect with those in the church, intense struggles eventually follow. Parents are chastened to control Junior or risk the big "D" (disfellowship). If all else fails, Junior is left ostracized from the family.

I remember the wife of a PCG deacon I met many years ago. She told me of her sons, four of them, all but one in the PCG. Her eyes welled with tears as she struggled to hold back her feelings. Son number four was an outcast, headed for the Great Tribulation, and it was breaking her heart. A quiet rebuke from her husband in Italian stopped her emotional reaction.

Harsh, to be rejected by your parents and brothers. But people do strange things when they believe their eternal salvation is on the line. Add to that a universe ruling position in God's Government. The universe in black and white. For us, or against us.

I was once in that mindset and perhaps that's what made me so vulnerable to Armstrongism in the first place. As a teen I loved learning how things worked. It was exciting learning "the" answer. Gave me a sense of safety I guess. Knowing how the universe worked. I failed to appreciate how many possible paths there are to a solution. That feeling of security turned out to be a huge paradox. It cost me big time in money, friends and family.

My impact on the lives of teen Coggers has been microscopic, and will continue to be unless my career as a rock star or Hollywood icon blossoms. Not likely in this lifetime. But perhaps a few net surfers will read this and gain some solace knowing someone out there understands them.

So this one's for the forgotten ones. Those young people wondering what it's all about. For those dreading the next Sabbath service, or this year's Christmas season. Wondering if they will ever go to a classmate's birthday party. Or put on a Halloween costume. Wondering if their parents will ever speak to them again if they decide to leave.

Or how hot the Lake of Fire really is. (BTW: It's really rather nice, especially the sulfur bath)

KTHO

Life Is

2005-09-20T09:30:00.000-07:00

I have recently read a blog entry by Joseph Tkach III relating his views on belief, faith and Christianity (http://www.livejournal.com/users/jeva/34028.html). He writes clearly and calmly.

Unfortunately, I am much less eloquent, and looking after a 1 year old baby means that I must write very succinctly.

However, I have read and heard people use similar arguments for "god"--pick a flavour--and creation. They say things like, "Well, everything seems to work so well in the universe, so therefore the only reasonable explanation is that some super-being designed it." Or things like, "I have such a strong belief that there must be another existence after death, otherwise what would be the use of living?" They call that belief, without proof, faith. There they remain, happy with their faith, and content that it is impossible to really know. They feel safe and secure.

This is a dangerous example of human-centric thinking. The earth is teeming with life. Is that life useless? Does that life exist solely to benefit humans? Unfortunately, that has been a foundational belief behind many religions and non-religions alike. We are seeing the results of that thinking in pollution, global warming and other trends.

Life is not useless because a human mind thinks it so. Nor is it useful. Life is.

We make many assumptions to reach the above conclusion. For example, we assume that the universe was designed by a super-being. We assume that the creation exists for humans. We assume that as humans we have custodianship over the earth as a responsibility to god. Some assume that if we screw things up badly enough, God will rescue us and give us a second chance.

And as a wise man once told me, to assume makes an "ass" out of "u" and "me". Then we end up sending thousands to religous leaders who fly around in planes and drive in limos...

Don't close your mind to the possibilities. Examine the things that could make your assumptions fail along with those that make them possible. Is there a God? Could be, but I just don't know. What makes me ask that question in the first place? Obviously something in my brain chemistry triggered it. Some people say that it is an outside force--God's calling through his Holy Spirit--could be. Or maybe it's the "human spirit". Neither have been seen nor measured and for either to be acting on our brain, wouldn't they have to be measurable? If Gerald Flurry had an MRI of his brain, what would we see that would differentiate him from the average human?

Could the Bible be speaking symbolicly or metaphorically? Maybe it's a development of evolution that puts that thought there. Maybe some part of human psychology and being raised in a family/tribe over thousands of years.

The point is, the more we learn, the more we know. And the old answers just don't cut it any more. Faith has to change along with knowledge and understanding, so stay flexible or Santa won't be coming to your house this year.

KTHO

The Dark Star

2005-09-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

For those reading Ambassador Watch, here's a link to one author's web site containing information on the possible link between astronomy and the symbols of Revelation.

http://www.darkstar1.co.uk/

2005-09-13T07:41:00.000-07:00

This is a quote from God's leading man on planet earth, Dave Pack.

---
"...it is not the purpose of God’s true Church and Work to “repair” or “fix” a world cut off from God—a world He is punishing. His people are supposed to recognize—and deeply understand!—that what is happening here is that a loving God is punishing His disobedient children. God’s people should always think of it this way. Like any parent chastising his child, God does not want interference with the punishment of His children. More than any others, true Christians should understand this! God’s people must not fight Him. What human parent, when he is disciplining his child, wants a neighbor interrupting by trying to comfort the child in the middle of the process, thus muting—directly countering, in effect—at least some of the punishment? Regarding the world, with its affairs, difficulties and disasters, Christ taught, “Let the dead bury their dead” (Matt. 8:22). The Church once understood this meant let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead! Further, Christ is also saying, “Do not interfere with any so-called ‘love,’ when punishment is the kind of love necessary here.”

The job of God’s Church is to warn about and explain why the punishment!

In addition, recognize that God does not want what are His tithes and offerings, which are designated solely for preaching the gospel, for warning modern Israel and for feeding the flock, to be spent directly FIGHTING HIS PURPOSE."
(taken from ambassadorwatch.co.nz)
---

Notice the nice tie-in to tithes at the end. How fitting for a man of God.

Do you ever get the feeling that the Bible is used to pretty much validate every point of view, opinion and abuse of power? Mr. Pack can site a quote to seemingly approve of ignoring your neighbor when bad things happen, but anyone with a casual knowledge of the New Testament can also remember Jesus commending "good Samaritan" acts, and condemning those who publicly acted righteous. Remember love towards neighbor Dave?

Jesus was a man of action. Jesus was a man of the people. He went among them helping and serving and healing. Jesus did not stand far away shouting a "warning" while calling for "tithes and offerings". Jesus does not sound like Dave Pack.

Remember what Jesus said to those that asked him about the tower falling and killing some very unfortunate folks. He said that they were no more wicked or evil than any other man on the street--it just happened. Faulty engineering Dave, not a spanking from God.

The stark irony is that the very qualities Jesus came to teach us, and those that the coggers insist will be enforced in the coming Millennium, they preach against. Giving to your neighbor, helping others, sharing your wealth to give someone a hand up, protecting those in danger, healing the sick. Can you imagine a world with those ways of life practiced by mainstream society? Yet when these old school coggers have the opportunity to "let their light shine" and teach others to do the same, their ministers shout, "No! Don't help those people. It's God's punishment! Just send in tithes."

It's like they have given up, gone off in a corner shouting with some sort of pathological self-righteousness. What would they do if the trouble was right next door? "Sorry lady, I can't rescue your dying children from that fire, it's God's punishment you know. I can't interfere. But maybe you would like a copy of Mystery of the Ages?"

Hurricane Katrina was a catastrophic disaster to the Gulf Coast of the United States. Hurricanes are natural events, they occur every year in the Atlantic. As far as I know they are not supernatural occurences. The flooding in new Orleans was caused by engineering that failed, not an angel of God with a shovel. Man built the levee system, man caused the marshland around the delta to disappear, man built a city below sea level. Man built buildings and homes that could not withstand winds at hurricane level.

People need your help to restore families and lives that were devastated by this hurricane. Don't send help to Dave, he's got God on his side.

www.redcross.org

KTHO

The Low Down on Flurry Town: PCG 101

2005-07-25T08:25:00.000-07:00

This is in part an answer to the person who posted a response to one of my rantings on That Prophet, Gerald Flurry. It is also an attempt to summarize just what family members and friends often struggle with when dealing with a loved one who becomes ensnared in such a group.

So much of what is written and discussed about Coggish groups becomes a mixture of opinion, fact and emotion. Generally speaking, whenever religion is brought into a conversation fireworks are soon to follow. Especially when one person feels that they know what God wants. People seem to have a bad habit of focusing on the minor points and clinging to them with all their might e.g. circumcision, dress length, and hairstyle meanwhile losing track of the big picture.

They forget to ask themselves the question, "If the God I believe in exists, what is he really interested in accomplishing here? What is the vision that He is working towards?" In my view human relationships are important, as well as the one we have with our natural environment. We cannot cast a blind eye to suffering and misery the world over and pretend to be doing "God's Work". Nor can we destroy the earth, and pretend that everything will be fixed at a later time by an invisible God with a magic sweep of His hand. That is irresponsible thinking.

Gerald Flurry is an ex-minister of the Worldwide Church of God. He was and is an ardent follower of Herbert W. Armstrong. There are many web sites exposing the details of Armstrong's ministry such as Ambassador Watch (ambassadorwatch.co.nz) and the Painful Truth (www.herbertwarmstrong.com). In essence Armstrong turned to religion in the early part of the twentieth century after many unsuccessful business careers. Unfortunately, we will never know how much he personally believed in the things he taught or whether his teachings were just a part of the overall marketing plan. Of course once the idea took off he had to keep going, and maybe did eventually start to believe himself.

Armstrong's church was initially called the Radio Church of God and he started a radio program in the 1930's. Armstrong's beliefs were tied closely to the Church of God 7th Day (hope I am not getting my flavours mixed here). He was accused at times of borrowing from other groups, and in particular of plagiarizing books like United States and Britain in Prophecy (from a similar work by J. Allen, Judah's Sceptre and Joseph's Birthright).

Much can be written about Herbert W Armstrong. I think some background is important in understanding Gerald Flurry and where he is headed in the future. I will leave out the details of Armstrong's personal life, as juicy as they are, and focus more on the brand of religion he sold.

Armstrong started preaching on air during wartime (WWII), and his message involved the impending return of Christ to the earth. [This didn't happen in case you are wondering] He continued with his message apparently unshaken with his lack of prophetic accuracy. His church taught against all things having a "pagan" origin: birthdays, Christmas--well pretty much every major Western holiday. He worked to establish a college in Pasedena California and cranked out ministers and trained followers to teach the corporate line and keep the lay members under control. His message was always one of urgency, Christ was always just over the horizon. The Church must prepare the world by announcing His arrival. And that needed money, lots of it, up to three tithes. That's right, up to 30% of your gross salary. In Canada where we can pay on average 30% just to the government, there's not a lot left over. Continual requests for special donations to the building fund or the jet fund or the hot tub fund or whatever was on Herb's mind at the moment were frequent.

There was another attempt at a second coming in 1972. That was a bad decade in general with Armstrong's heir Garner Ted Armstrong being sacked and disfellowshipped for being a sexual predator and bad for the corporate image.

Armstrong died in 1986 at the age of 93. His empire collapsed, and exploded as ministers fought for power and broke away to start groups of their own. That's where Gerald Flurry enters the picture.

Gerry views Armstrong as a father figure. Most likely because his own father was an alcoholic. Too bad he didn't have a better role model, this could have saved others a lot of problems. He holds Armstrong's writings as near scripture, calling the book Mystery of the Ages, "The most important book since the Bible". He has waged court battles to gain publishing rights, and lost. The Philadelphia Church of God ended up paying 3 million dollars to the Worldwide Church of God to gain the publishing rights. But these guys are spinmeisters, they turned a legal defeat into a great victory for God. I can just hear them saying something like, "God has provided a great victory, and has opened a window of opportunity for us to get MOA to the whole world."

The PCG holds to most of Armstrong's teachings and has added some "new truth" of its own. New truth is a code phrase for, "we're adding something new because the old thing didn't really make sense." No worldly holidays, Sabbath observance, following the Old Testament food laws, observance of the Old Testament Holy Days and tithing are standard operating procedure.

Flurry has a catalog of his own writings and publishes a magazine called the Philadelphia Trumpet. He also has a television program called The Key of David. There are a few internal publications for members only--the general public would view these as completely strange and not understand the many references and code words that are found. Flurry's key document is called Malachai's Message and he considers this to be the Little Book of Revelation, delivered to him by an angel directly from God. There is some evidence that it may have been delivered by the US Postal Service. Some allege that the book was plagiarized from writings by Jules Dervaes.

Flurry believed his initial message was to warn the Church (Worldwide Church of God)for straying from the teachings of Armstrong. He read a little further into his Bible, and found that his mission changed to warning the world, and Israel. Israel is another code word for the United States and Britain and several other western nations. This is all based on the group's belief in British Irsaelism. So Flurry's new mantra is that of a warning and watching work. He is watching the Germans (and the European Union) for us (considers himself like Winston Churchill), and warning us that the end is nigh. Flurry also considers himself a Prophet--That Prophet--most consider that a reference to Christ in the Old Testament.

Gerry has settled into his Edmund, Oklahoma campus, trying to rebuild what Herbert Armstrong once had in Pasedena. I read in his literature that he pegs 2010 as being a good time for the Great Tribulation to start. The Great Tribulation is the time of worldwide war and natural calamity just before Christ's return. Memebers in good standing will be shuttled off to Petra at that time. Petra is an ancient rock fortress in Jordan, mentioned (somewhat vaguely) in the Bible as a place of safety. The reference some believe is in a prophetic section of scripture that refers to the second coming and time of trouble for Israel. Flurry also predicts persecution by the state before that event (that's the worrysome part).

That is a high level view of what the PCG is all about. When you have a family member that becomes entrenched in the teachings of Flurry and his henchmen this obviously sends a shock through your mind. However, the COGs as far as I am aware have never been ones prone to violence (other than a good dose of spanking), and don't seem prone to harming themselves. There is a longstanding tradition of not seeking medical care. This is viewed as a test of faith and members often anguish over the final decision to seek treatment. It should be noted that Armstrong and others made good use of the medical profession while preaching a different message. They stopped publishing this belief after becoming concerned over legal challenges, and now publicly state that these are "matters of conscience".

What's he teaching? Flurry is teaching his followers that God has called them to be future leaders and teachers in God's Government. Once they are baptized and receive the Holy Spirit, to reject that calling (code words: "fall away", "return to the world", "become Laodicean")is to put your eternal life at stake. Those are the key hooks. For others there is the added social element or some psychological need for "living, loving, learning, leaving a legacy" at play. But I am not a professional so please consult one if you need medical help. Flurry really pushes the God the Father line, and to leave the church is both rejecting your Father and losing your eternal life. Those are high stakes for someone who is not highly motivated to leave.

Isolation is a key factor in breaking the group's hold. To counteract the actions of the PCG, someone needs to introduce alternate behaviour and get the person away from the group. In essence, re-programming, but I really don't like that word. Everything the member is being taught fights against that, for example,

-Satan is against all of us, he wants to destroy you, he will use family or friends to get to you (again eternal life is at stake here); Isolate, induce fear
-you need to study hard, attend services, do not attend family birthdays, holidays, etc.; Isolate, indoctrinate, modify behaviour

Personally things got to the point where my view of the world moved past that of the COGs in general. Reality didn't match what they were teaching, so I started to read outside the approved material. My personal relationships were straining at the seams, my family relationships had declined, my work life was impacted, and I needed to change. Everyone does not follow the same "exit strategy".

My recommendations cannot be specific enough to help in every case. I will say to keep the lines of communication open. Anger and ridicule only further the case for isolation. Rarely do individuals leave their existing community, Flurry does not require them to live on a compound. Discuss beliefs openly and educate yourself, so that you can challenge the group's ideas without getting lost in a maze of proof texts and memorized "facts" about the Bible. Keep it human, don't focus on the idealistic. I think I would be more aggressive if children were involved. They are losing years that time cannot replace.

So that's Flurry 101. Perhaps I will discuss more on doctrine and methods later in Flurry 102. Some searches on Google will no doubt fill in many gaps.

KTHO

Profiting from Death

2005-07-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

Does your church, it's leader, or your God profit from death and suffering? If they do, is this a moral activity?

I think this is a timely question given the events in London the past week. Herbert Armstrong and his trainees use similar tactics to generate a response from members and from the listening audience through various media outlets. At one time they used radio, then television and also print. Armstrong is now dead, but his techniques are alive and well.

The premise is that we are living in the end time. God has allocated 6000 years for man to run the show, and then there will be a divine government (dictatorship) set up. The government will be comprised of the god family and those humans that are converted to spirit beings at the second coming. Those issues can spawn a whole series of discussions, but to stay on topic I will leave them as assumptions.

Another premise is that as time advances, world events will get worse. Crime will increase, natural disaters will increase, wars, etc. You know the story. Apparently the only way that a super-being can get through to a stubborn, wooly-headed human is to break him at the point of death, or to threaten death, and hope for repentance. I can teach my daughter to act appropriately without threatening to kill her, so why can't the god of cogdom? Interesting topic on its own.

Since the world began natural forces have acted to change the face of the earth. These forces resulted in Tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, fires and more. On top of that humans have worked to modify the environment and stress the natural systems that support us. Science tells us that as the human population increases, the demand for resources increases and so does pollution. Solutions to these problems must be found. None of this should be a big mystery to anyone who has watched TV or read a newspaper in the last few decades. Yet this is pointed out to be another "sign of the times". Oh really? Just like it was in 1844, 1934, 1972, 1975? And that's just a few of the COG-related "end times". imagine if we include all of the other religious groups and their predictions of "the End".

Terrible things happen. These events are on the front page of every cogger magazine, on all of their TV programs and preached from sea to sea as proof positive that your minister has "the Truth". Pay and pray and you're on your way--to Petra of course. You might get a stone suite next to Gerry the Rockin' Prophet. I think in older times they called this a tomb. Leaders such as Flurry, Pack and Meredith rely on hyping these events such as the bombings in London to put a little fear into their listeners. The fear is intended to produce an action. A listener might write in for literature, request to attend services, send in dollars to keep the warning message alive. For members, these events are seen as an affirmation of firmly entrenched beliefs. It is not a controversial fact that responses increase after a television program recently following a disaster, when the speaker delivers an "end time" message.

Does your church benefit when it delivers a message like this? My opinion is that it does, and that it delivers this type of message on purpose to increase listener response. Part of that response is a cash inflow. The cash inflow is to support "God's Work". So your God is profiting too, the money is flowing right into His headquarters on earth. Doesn't this seem a little crass? God making a profit on the death of his own children? Even if you believe He is not trying to "save" them at this time, generating cash on their death is hardly a wholesome business venture.

I'll discuss more on these issues later. But the next time you see Ger' or Big Dave with a new suit or spiffy new tie, you should ask yourself whether this is what your Bible meant when it stated that it was unfair to muzzle an ass when plowing. Or was that an ox?

KTHO

Robert Brinsmead, Barefoot Bushman and a Church Picnic

2005-06-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

Australia is a beautiful country. It's a contrast of tropical coastlines and hot dry desert. I hope to travel there someday to view first-hand its natural beauty. There are two Australians I would visit if I had the chance. The first owns a crocodile farm and I watch him frequently on television--The Barefoot Bushman. He's just plain cool, and it would be a great time just to follow him around for a day. The second played a large part in helping me think straight after many years of Armstrongism, his name is Robert Brinsmead.

Some reading this blog may know a bit about Robert Brinsmead. He was a Seventh Day Adventist minister, and a scholar of sorts. He made several religious transitions in his life, and published important articles on Christianity, the sabbath, and the historical Jesus. I believe that he transitioned to another world view since those articles were published in Verdict, but the material in those writings challenges the reader to think differently about Christianity. His writings are particularly relevant to Armstrongites given the historical relationship between the Chuch of God and the Seventh Day Adventist movement. Do a search on Gilbert Cranmer, William Miller and 1844, the "Great Disappointment" if you would like more information.

During the summer of 2001 I attended a local PCG church picnic. It was OK as far as picnics go, lots of food and a few interesting things to do. One of the activities was a softball game. I have played a lot of softball in my previous life as a non-cogger and I have always enjoyed the sport. This day, I thought, would be a great chance to play with my new found friends and share some laughs and a little exercise. Well it didn't quite work out that way. I had never played with a group of such bickering, whiny crybabies in my whole life! They complained about the teams they were on, they complained about the rulings of the umpire, they heckled each other on the field. I was shocked, expecting well-behaved, sportsperson-like behaviour and getting the opposite. I never forgot that moment and I think it served to drive a wedge between the PCG's false front and the real deal.

I couldn't resolve how people with the "Holy Spirit" would behave way worse than someone who didn't. It just didn't make sense. That's when things started to turn around and I began reading "outside" material and checking the facts more thoroughly. The PCG would claim that Satan got to me. I reviewed Church History, British Israelism (at the time there was new DNA-based evidence to the contrary), and finally Herbert Armstrong's sordid personal behaviour along with Garner Ted's history of debauchery. These men lived like millionaires on the tithes of others, some who lived in abject poverty and persecution. It never did make sense, and I was finally admitting it to myself. I was sorry for the things I inflicted on my family and friends in the name of this religion. Unfortunately, we can't relive history.

I did not go back. It was difficult for many months, internally rehashing the threats of eternal death and disgrace. Some things were actually true: was Satan really getting the best of me? Time passed and for once in a long while I felt truly free, like a great burden had been removed from my life. I had made the right choice.

Thanks Mr. Brinsmead for giving me the courage to question.

KTHO

The Branch

2005-06-13T07:49:00.000-07:00

Somewhere in the long list of appropriated titles for Gerry the Rockin' Prophet must be The Branch. For he has certainly crawled out onto a limb, and the axe is being sharpened.

Ambassador Watch noted an ESN article (http://home.datawest.net/esn-recovery/mike_ep/flurry/listen.htm) discussing a recent sermon tirade by Flurry. Those of us who are familiar with the PCG know that Gerry and company are defenders of God's Truth against a really, really mad Satan. According to Flurry, Satan knows his time is short and he is really irate. He is furious mainly with God's church, the WCG and its offshoots of course, and secondarily with Israel (primarily the US and British Commonwealth nations, and the remaining modern 12 tribes). So Satan is inspiring his church, the Catholic Church, and his own commonwealth, the EU, to smash Israel and persecute the Church of God.

Flurry is a prophet sent by God Himself to warn physical and spiritual Israel. His supporters are guaranteed a place of safety in Petra while the world fights a deadly nuclear war followed by Christ's return. Flurry contends that the PCG's work will lead a Great Multitude to repentance. Flurry also claims that his followers will be leaders and teachers in the World Tomorrow, and be universe rulers after the Millennium. Pretty good reward for a little misery in this current life.

And believe me, Flurry's Church is miserable. I spent some time there and only met one person that I would call happy with his spiritual surroundings. I would also call him dangerously delusional. And annoying.

Flurry teaches that the only way God can reach a stubborn humanity is to allow it to progress to the brink of destruction, and then intervene with force and capital punishment. Peace will flow from death and martial law. The lion will lay down with the lamb, unless there is a law against inter-species fraternization. If so, they will be barbequed and served at the Feast. He also preaches racial segregation for the good of humanity.

I have to admit that if an angry super-being appeared near me and started melting fellow humans I would take notice. I wouldn't offer any back-talk. But can't a reasonable person ask: "Why would an all-powerful, all-wise and loving being do this to his children?" This description seems more like Sauron (Lord of the Rings) or The Emperor, Dark Lord of the Sith (Star Wars) than an all-knowing, all-loving God of mercy and charity. "Gee Fred, I know you kept all of the other 9 commandments, but you were working down at the nursing home on Saturday's when you should have been listening to ol' Gerry over there." ZZZAP! Try the second resurrection I guess.

We will never really know whether Gerry takes all of this seriously or not. Some people get in so deep that they start believing their own tall tales after a while. They also motivate others to do the same. But with Gerry the branch keeps growing and growing, and so does his anger. Anger at a world that just won't listen to him and makes him feel unimportant. I believe that he really does want God to punish this evil world because it has inflicted so much pain in his life. He was an outcast suffering from the pain of having an alcoholic father. Herbert Armstrong provided an opportunity for Gerry to be someone. Someone with admirers and respect. We see that taking on new proportions: minister, pastor general, That Prophet, King, Future Ruler of the Universe and member of the God family.

Have pity on this man, but don't give him power over your life.

KTHO

Going Round in Circles

2005-05-31T19:27:00.000-07:00

Apostle come-lately, Big Dave Pack deserves some attention. Big Dave has been spouting his wisdom for several years now. He seems to have a small cottage industry built up around publishing his ideas on divine truth. One day he decided it was time to take it up a notch. Dave wasn't satisfied being a minister or a plain old servant of God's people. His flock was growing and they needed someone to really admire. Titles are important in some COGs, social standing, and God's approval are paramount. The Restored Church needed someone who stood head and shoulders above the other splintermeisters, prophets and leading evangelists. It was time for Dave to be God's leading man on the earth. An Apostle was born.

In a sermon posted on the RCG web site Dave states that those in God's church have protection from being killed. This statement is in response to the multiple-murders of several LCG members in Milwaukee.

First of all, notice the implication of this type of logic. Pack is saying in effect, "Those people were killed in that other church. God protects those in the true church. Therefore that church was not the true church. Our's is. You are in the right place people." Keep sending those tithes.

In contrast, I remember reading of many, many murders, everyone from lay members, right up to the Boss Himself outlined in your own Bible. The history of the "true church" as published by the WCG also repeated this theme, seemingly as a sign of righteousness.

Big Dave is repeating a formula used by would-be religious manipulators everywhere.
X is true, we believe X, therefore we are true believers. Unfortunately, not everyone is great at BS detection. You have to be mature and work hard at determining whether X is true or not. Some are just looking to belong, and belonging to a group with special divine stature, and it's own Apostle...well, you could do a lot worse, couldn't you?

Could get you killed my friends.

KTHO

Straight Shooter

2005-05-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

I recently read about the LCG and their doctrinal code which is kept out of public circulation. Did Jesus have his own canon? A secret set of rules?

I read a "little book" called The Essential Jesus. Can't seem to locate it in my library at the moment, perhaps it was taken to Petra. Could be a sign folks. The authors scoured the New Testament in search for the authentic sayings of Jesus. It condensed these sayings and teachings into a few short pages. It was a refreshing read even if you are not in the literal Jesus camp.

When I hear of Rod Meredith's scrolls of the secret society archived away never to see daylight again, I am not moved. I am not moved by those who claim to be this, that or the other Prophet, bashing and disfellowshipping all opponents including entire nations, nor am I moved by self-aggrandizing Apostles.

Consider the straightforward and simple message contained in the basic statements of Jesus. Love for enemies, caring for the poor and needy, treating others with fairness and equality. It truly was a message of service and basic kindness.

Contrast that message with rules and regulations, hierarchies of "enlightened" enforcers, doctrines kept in secret (LCG), lavish personal lifestyles built on the tithes of others while refusing to help the poor and needy.

These belief systems are almost the opposite when it comes to real action. The doing part of life. One message says over and over again, "Do for Others". Let's call it DO. The second message says, "Do Unto HQ". Let's call that one DUH. Apologies to Homer Simpson. I hope you can see a difference.

Sitting in a local congregation listening to secret codes of religion and then returning home to stay locked away from the world only leads to misery. It doesn't help anyone and it doesn't build character and skills for the World Tomorrow. If you believe that is coming sometime soon--always in the next 5-15 years. If you want to learn to serve everyone, then you have to practice serving everyone. Cutting your pastor's lawn or laying out chairs in a hall is a nice gesture, but how about a stint at the local food bank.

I think Jesus would have dropped in there once in a while.

KTHO

On the Grid

2005-05-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

I recently decided to donate some spare computing resources for scientific research. For computer geeks, grid computing is an interesting topic. Thousands of computers all over the world are used to tackle huge research projects. A small piece of software is installed on your computer. Next, your computer is given its own small portion of work to complete. The results are sent back to the master computer and combined with the results of others around the world to piece together solutions to really big challenges. For example, the World Community Grid is currently working on the Human Proteome Project.

"The Human Proteome Folding project will provide scientists with data that predicts the shape of a very large number of human proteins. These predictions will give scientists the clues they need to identify the biological functions of individual proteins within the human body. With an understanding of how each protein affects human health, scientists can develop new cures for human diseases such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, SARS, and malaria." (www.worldcommunitygrid.org)

For some, these projects signal an impending Greaaaat Tribulation. Perhaps even the Mark of the Beast. However, those in Cogdom know what the real mark is. Is there a hidden agenda of European domination at work here? What about humans trying to use genetics to cure disease, isn't healing a matter of faith?

Humans working together to solve problems is a major part of daily life for most individuals other than hermits. Even Prophets and Apostles need the effort of countless minions to support their world-saving activities. For mere mortals even flipping burgers at your favourite restaurant involves a whole host of coordinated tasks. Let's face it, humans were made to work together.

The new findings and efforts around genetic research pose an interesting challenge for staunch COGgers. For years the medical establishment has been held in near contempt for being an affront to the healing powers of God. Seeking medical treatment was made a test of faith. Ironically, various leaders chose to seek the services of medical doctors when divine healing was not forthcoming. Those familiar with HWA and the stories surrounding his treatment while berating members for the same will know what I am talking about. From my knowledge no leader has willingly died from refusing treatment. However, two prominent wives have died, Mrs. HWA and Mrs. Flurry. That is a topic for another day. The treatment of women within these organizations.

As science advances, we see no successful effort by a divine being or an earthly representative to stop it. Some say He will--within the next N short years, send a cheque please. It is in the group's own best interest for scientific ignorance to continue. Control is much easier with an ignorant population. Just throw some complex figures in the Philadelphia Trumpet and voila, you have trumped evolution for those who can't do the math or haven't visited www.skepdic.com.

Current predictions have a cure for many cancers being found within 20 years. This time frame is based on new findings in genomics. What if a cure for HIV/AIDS is found? What happens to God's punishment on the wicked? Perhaps it wasn't severe enough, and a newer more threatening menace will arise. You might hear a minister say that a cure for AIDS will never be found. However, gene therapies already exist for several diseases. I think it is only a matter of time before the dominoes begin to fall. In the current generation all these things will come to pass :)

Did God do it? Did your local pastor/evangelist/prophet/apostle/HWA walk into a hospital and clear the beds? As fallible as the medical profession is we can compare stats on those who lived and those who died. We can't do that with religious healers because they refuse to submit themselves to measurement. That would insult God they say. Even Jesus could not heal when non-believers were in the house--they were put out. Can you imagine a physicist saying, "I can prove that this experiment works, only if those that question my methods and results are put out of the room." Would you send your child to that school?

You send your child to that church.

Do something worthwhile with your PC. Find a grid project and contribute to humanity.

KTHO

2005-04-19T00:52:00.000-07:00

The smoke rose, the bells rang and the crowd cheered, "Benedict, Benedict!" Ratzinger is now Pope. Good for him, bad for those tired of hearing the continuous flow of Anti-EU/Catholic pronouncements coming from Herbal offshoots over the past decades. I recall Gerald Flurry taking particular notice of Ratzinger in a past issue of the Trumpet. His German roots and his office of the "Holy Inquisition" play well into Flurry's prophetic insights.

Flurry won't be the only one yammering about the new Pope. John Paul II was just too old and feeble to be a convincing anti-Christ. He wasn't quite mean enough. Ratzinger has star potential. Sharp-minded, Germanic roots, EU friendly and a staunch conservative. Just the type to lead the world into a humanity-ending holocaust. Well, that's what a littany of writers will be saying as every event in Europe and beyond is associated with a Vatican/EU conspiracy.

Money will be required--lots and lots of money. The warning must be intensified, the message must go to Israel. Send in your cheque. The end/last end/final end/last hour/Bag End is nigh. The 9 Riders have gone forth in search of the Ring. Oh wait, I am mixing my metaphors again. Satan has intensified his attack as never before. Only those who will escape will understand and heed. You are one of those chosen to escape. Don't delay, don't disobey. Pray and Pay.

Save your money for popcorn. You'll need it while watching CNN's coverage of the Great Escape to Petra.

KTHO

Testing the Prophets

2005-04-01T09:28:00.000-08:00

The door to eternity is about to open for Pope John Paul II. The Catholic leader has received his Last Rites according to news reports. Sheeple are gathing around the world to pray for their leader. We will see if God intervenes.

COG leaders such as Gerald Flurry have long predicted that the next Pope will be the final Pope leading Europe into the Trib. They claim that the EU will invade the Middle East and catch "Israelite" nations e.g. US, Britain and its former colonies in a surprise nuclear attack. Those of us who survive will suffer slavery, starvation and death.

This is punishment from God on those of us who have not followed his ways. They also teach that "the world" has not been given the Holy Spirit and cannot follow His ways and cannot even understand His ways. So God is killing people for not understanding things He has made them incapable of understanding. Ahhh, makes so much sense now doesn't it?

Let's watch history unfold and compare the predictions with the results.

Keep the Heat On
Mr. Asbestos

Fleecing the Flock from the Top Down

2005-03-30T21:01:00.000-08:00

God's Government. Those who have spent any time with the WCG and its offshoots have heard a lot about it. Herbert Armstrong thought he had it then changed his mind and implemented something more resembling the Vatican than what we see in the New Testament. That Prophet and others are adamant that they are God's governors on Earth and that they will be slotted into the Heavenly Hierarchy as soon as the Last Trumpet sounds. But what have we learned about hierarchies? What have we learned about governance from the WCG and its offspring?

The WCG today hardly resembles the organization it once was. Organizational structure was one of the most significant things that Joe Jr. and his band of merry men kept in place. That structure is what keeps you and I from demanding our money back in a class action lawsuit. It is allowing Joey and a select few individuals to be the sole benefactors of 50 or more years of giving. Individuals lived in poverty and sacrifice responding to Armstrong's endless pleas for more money. Even those on the payroll are not safe. Everyone that can be let go will go to cut costs and increase owner equity. The owner: Joe Jr.

Articles and whole books have been written on Herbert Armstrong's spending habits. Web sites have documented pianos, gold, crystal and private jets. Warning: if your Apostle has his own jet and you are eating SPAM then something's wrong. I don't intend to document Armstrong's follies with the checkbook again here. Suffice to say that things just didn't go off the track with Joe Jr.

If you are living in a Western style democracy then it should be obvious that the government exists to serve the needs of the governed. In the past it was often the reverse. The government existed to serve the needs of a king or other regent. Flurry has stated that this is the type of government that God will implement in the Millennium. Several leaders seem to get giddy when shouting that God will rule with a rod of iron. Just after he spanks the nations. They see themselves as one of those that will be breaking the rest of us as potsherds.

The justification for this is always, "God is perfect. We will be perfect when we become gods. Therefore it would be silly not to demand total obedience." On the surface this appeals to some people. The assumptions are that there is a perfect, loving and caring God Family that will show us the way, and that if we don't "get it", they will kill us. Some say we will have 100 years to "get it".

How comfortable are you with your COG leader wielding omnipotent power over your life? Have you allowed this to be done already on a human level? Do you think that having unlimited power gives perfect character and the ability to teach and lead? Power=Power. That's all.

What has your organization done for you lately? Your community? The homeless? The hungry?

God's Government is not responsible for them? Pity. Just send your tithes to HQ and wait for the next financial statement.

Keep the Heat On

Mr. Asbestos

We're all Dupes

2005-03-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile, down on the compound Gerry the Rockin' Prophet has unleashed another editorial in this month's Trumpet.

In the article Gerry utters, "We learn nothing from history. The “endless repetition” of catastrophes will continue until we become victims. That is what happens to dupes!"

Seems a little harsh. Perhaps a dog wandered too near the prayer rock that day.

Gerry covers a topic familiar to his readers. The warning message of Winston Churchill. Flurry often draws comparisons between himself and Churchill. Winston Churchill was called to save the Israelite countries, Flurry has a mission that has much more universe-shaping potential and comes with its own compound. Perhaps when the Trib draws nigh Gerry will don his hat and coat and start quoting Napolean. According to That Prophet the end should be around 2010. Though I am not sure if he means The End, Last End, Final End, Final Hour or Last Second. We will know when we see Herb coming in the Millennium Falcon to swoop Gerry off to Petra. In case you haven't heard, backing Gerry is your ticket to Petra.

One of the things that irks me with Flurry's message is that he seems to be itching for an all-out war. Time after time he berates America and Britain for being soft on, well, everybody. They've lost the pride of their power. Won their last war. Won't use their power. Scared to fight. No real men left. Leaving Iraq too soon. Need to teach Iran a lesson. Then at the end he closes with, "Thankfully, this is all leading directly to a peaceful and happy civilization. “It is darkest just before the dawn.” Thank God the sun is about to rise in this dark and evil world."

Seems to be saying that he wishes the US would blast "the Gentiles" from the planet. But he is willing to accept a compromise. Either the EU will take care of the situation or JC and the boys will clean house. Either way Gerry gets his body count.

Don't look for death Gerry. Enjoy life. Be kind to a stranger. Sponsor a child. Make a compassionate difference in this world. Maybe that will prepare you for the next one you so dearly long for.

Keep the Heat On,
Mr. Asbestos

Spanky the Exhalted Rod of Correction

2005-03-26T18:17:00.000-08:00

Just when I was about to turn my focus to other issues there seems to be more happening on the LCG front. Don Haney dared to breathe some fresh air and spent some time free thinking. Retribution was swift and the Rod of Correction was quick to
separate such a dangerous man from the flock. A letter was written by the apostle in waiting detailing a long list of sins on the part of Mr. Haney. I have summarized them as follows.

Personal attacks
Causing Division
Being the tool of Satan as Satan tries to discredit and confuse God's people (twice)
Going public
Disloyalty
Arrogance
Not being a Team Player (I think he stole this from Dilbert)
Trash-talking the brass
Having unusual ideas
Making accusations
Being Satan-like (again)
Making accusations behind the backs of the brass
Causing Division (again)

Meredith quotes a letter from an enlightened member which states,
"I believe this letter [Haney's] to be a direct attack by Satan, and am quite sure that Mr. Haney has absolutely no idea what he does. Neither at the time I'm sure did Terry Ratzmann—which tragedy Mr. Haney is using as a platform to promote his own theories, and self-promotional opinions."

Meredith concurs with, "Dear brethren, the above letter certainly spells out the true nature of this situation." He then sums up with the following conclusion, "So any of you who follow this misguided man will soon find yourself in a "blind alley." You will end up in a tiny little group— cut off from having an effective part in the very Work Jesus Christ is doing in these last days. You will demonstrate to God—and to the loyal brethren—that you are able to be easily deceived and turned aside even over comparatively small issues."

Tiny, ineffective group? Perhaps Meredith should reconsider that statement given that a billion or more other Christians are celebrating Easter this weekend.

The strategy being used here has been around for about as long as humans have divided themselves into groups. Each group has cherished opinions, customs, Truths or skin colors that set it apart from other groups. History seems to show that only rarely do those in control decide to share authority.

The LCG form or government sounds all too oppressively familiar.

Group's leader: often aggressive male type either physically or psychologically threatening
Group members: in general agreement with group leader for reasons that work for them
Group's customs: beliefs or traits that make people feel special and set apart from other groups

What happens if someone in the group causes a stir? Someone stands up and says, "Hey. Why am I living in a trailer park eating pure beef Spam while the Grand Poobah is flying around the world in a private jet at my expense?"

Grand Poobah gets really riled at someone pushing at his cheese. He likes the control and the high living. Grand Poobah must therefore create a great threatening display of anger perhaps involving the waggling of jowels, finger shaking or Bible thumping. A few quoted verses from the sacred writings of the group are also helpful. The stiree is labeled with many anti-group names to make that person threatening and undesirable. Sometimes that person is offered a chance to humble herself before the group and remain a member with lesser standing.

In severe cases where the stiree has caused a greaaaat fuss such has not been from the beginning of the...(sorry flashback)...that person is said to have a daemon. Or in the worst of cases is in fact Satan's mouthpiece.

This scenario plays itself out all too often and sometimes results in witches being burned or heretics parted with their inner organs. In modern times burning at the stake is illegal except maybe in Texas. The outcast is left to suffer the psychological burden of a fate worse than death--the Second Death. Yes, friends. The Lake of Fire.

Keep the Heat On,

Mr. Asbestos

Theological Thermodynamics

2005-03-25T06:37:00.000-08:00

Such a fitting topic for the Lake of Fire blog. Theological Thermodynamics.

Dr. Jeffery Fall writes the following paragraph on the LCG web site.

"God’s intention is that you receive this powerful spirit body, no longer subject to the second law of thermodynamics. But, God knows for you to be happy and fulfilled, as such a powerful spirit being, it isn’t enough to simply change your body, your mind must also be changed. Your mind needs to be fully trained in the way of peace and harmony and outgoing concern. What good would it be if one lived forever and yet had an angry, rebellious, miserable state of mind? Who would want to be miserable forever? God wants you to demonstrate in your life now that God’s way of life works for you, that you can fully apply His spiritual laws and be happy. God will not allow anyone to live forever escaping His physical law of thermodynamics until they have demonstrated they will follow His spiritual laws. Are you interested? Please request your free copy of our booklet, Your Ultimate Destiny.
This is Jeffrey Fall with commentary for the Living Church of God. "

Just in case you are a bit rusty on your physics the following site has an easy to read description of the Second Law.

http://www.entropysite.com/students_approach.html

Nothing like throwing in some pseudo-science with the weekly sermon. Appeals to the intellectual vanity of the experts in the crowd. Need I mention Compendium? For now we will pass over all of the "God knows" and "God wants". Who really knows? He kills the good, he kills the bad, babies and innocent animals. How can a person tell whether they are in the good books or heading to the Lake?

Unfortunately Dr. Fall doesn't actually explain how the laws of thermodynamics do not apply to God or other heavenly beings. We cannot validate his claims with repeatable experiments and observations. Unfortunately, that leaves me to conclude that he is BS-ing. Sorry Dr., that's a load of caca.

I know that people today demand answers. I have scoured the Net to meet the educational needs of my readers and I have located a real gem. Some of you are losing sleep at night wondering, "just what is the Lake of Fire really like?" Here it is. A site that actually calculates the temperature of the Lake of Fire based on official Biblical forecasting. Looks like it is quite a bit greater than 525 degrees C. The bad news for the born again crowd: it would appear that Heaven itself is 525 degrees C.

http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/hell.htm

Keep the heat on,
Mr. Asbestos

Words of a Fool

2005-03-24T17:57:00.000-08:00

"And while these reports appear to be true, I would like to make a few observations about how the Red Lake shooting is being handled in the media compared to how some in it handled the Ratzmann incident.
As far as I have been able to tell:
1) No one is calling the Red Lake tribe a cult
2) No one is interviewing people who have a known bias against the Red Lake tribe
3) No one is asking members of the Red Lake tribe if they will leave it now
4) No one is asking why bother with psychiatric help or medications as they did not prevent this--even though the shooter was known to have made threats to carry this out
5) No one is asking for an investigation into the beliefs of the Red Lake tribe
6) No one is asking what each teacher taught that might have set the shooter off
7) No one is intentionally providing misleading information about the Red Lake tribe"

Taken from http://members.aol.com/cogwriter/nnews.htm

The thoughts expressed above border on the idiotic. I am not sure who the writer is trying to convince. It would seem that the comments are addressed to someone already deeply in De Nile. (Thanks Dennis)

COGs are hell-bent on the Apocalyse. Their way of life is to be separate from society. They claim to be in the pre-saviour stage doing their best to warn a dying world that just won't listen. Poor us. If we would only tithe to an Apostle or a Prophet or a washed up Evengelist maybe there would be some hope in our future. In fact their theology claims that we are incapable of listening because we have not received a special calling. If you think that sounds like obtuse reasoning stay tuned. I'm just scratching the surface.

Why would the media or any other right-thinking person ask probing, doubt-casting questions to the poor, misunderstood, unappreciated LCG? Should the public be ashamed for bringing to light the doings of the many mini-Herbs claiming apostolic succession? NO WAY. We ask questions because these groups have been ruining lives since the day they were founded. And their ancestors ruined lives before them.

Sorry COGwriter, if your fearless leader wants to be an apostle or lead spokesman for God on earth then he'd better be able to step out and face humanity. He might enjoy living in the real world for a while.

Mr. Asbestos