Exploring The Common Denominator
Priests.
Just what do you think of when you hear the word “Priest?”
Wiki offers the following description: “Priests and priestesses have been known since the earliest of times and in the simplest societies. They exist in all or some branches of Judaism, Christianity, Shintoism, Hinduism, and many other religions, as well, and are generally regarded as having good contact with the deity or deities of the religion to which they subscribe, often interpreting the meaning of events, performing the rituals of the religion, and to whom other believers often will turn for advice on spiritual matters.“
We will skip the urban dictionary this time around and focus on the profession.
In the Christian religion, the priest (the second grade of clergy) is someone that claims to be called of God, who exemplifies Christ and Christ’s church, and works towards the reconciliation of all people with God and one another. They perform leadership duties in administrating the sacraments, worship services, and serve the membership in the area where they live and work.
Sounds warm and fuzzy doesn’t it? However, there is another side of this coin. Unlike any other profession, the priest stands as an intercessor between you and the Supreme Creator known as “God.” He is the middle man in the equation and claims that he will lead you on the “narrow road” that leads to eternal life.
No politician would boast such a claim, but the priest does. Claiming more power than any government authority on earth, the priest sews his noesis fabric into a set of doctrines that he guarantees as the way, the truth and the light. The crucial main ingredient is faith. The membership are told to have faith in God, and if we look at what the priest is really saying, it is “trust me.” Faith we understand is the confident belief or trust in a person, idea, or thing that is not based on proof. So how do you know if this person, the priest is trustworthy?
To trust one, you put your faith under that persons control. Faith involves a concept of approaching events or outcomes, and is used conversely for a belief system not resting on legitimate proof or material evidence. Informal usage of the word “faith” can be quite unspecific, and can be used in place of “trust or belief.”
Putting your faith in Armstrong-ism.
Generally speaking, in the realm of Armstrong-ism, some of these priestly leaders continue to go through life back-stabbing, back-biting, exhibiting anger and hostility towards others of the same or even different “faiths.” They are not to be trusted by the summation of mentally balanced people. They have few if any true friends. They are the egotistical elite, placing themselves at the center of the world with no direct concern for others.
But our dear priests have a winning formula! Kindly, charismatic, showing outward respectability, loving and caring for their fellow man, their expressed wish of sharing the gospel and leading others to worship the deity they have chosen for us, is all a bit much to stomach. The reality is that some who possess leadership positions in the various churches, use the the membership as if they are ATM machines. Others of the priestly ilk pick and chose from the faithful for sexual trysts. Some desire your children. The truth is, this is an ecclesiastical power structure which is an oases for pedophiles, adulterers, stalkers and even murderers.
The organizational hierarchy co-operates to keep such misconduct from becoming public knowledge. They fail to oversee, educate, investigate or properly discipline the misconduct of the ministers, deacons or elders. They ensure that criminal behavior (not limited to those in leadership positions) is never prosecuted or punished. You have just got to wonder if there is a mechanism of institutional restraint built into the system.
They are wolves masquerading as shepherds. They are what Wyatt Earp was to law enforcement in Americas Old West. Lawless, disgraceful and without a conscious, this ophidian cabal hides behind the facade of righteousness. Where is the righteous rage and singular purpose to prevail over this corruption that is contributing to the mental diminution of both adults and their children within the corporate church?
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”
—Albert Einstein
The Fox and the Grapes.
- “The fox who longed for grapes, beholds with pain
- The tempting clusters were too high to gain;
- Grieved in his heart he forced a careless smile,
- And cried, “They’re sharp and hardly worth my while.”
—Aesop (ca. 620–564 BCE)
This fable is about people who attempt to hold antagonistic ideas while attempting to maintain their belief system simultaneously. As the prophecies that enticed us into Herbert Armstrong’s family business continue to fail, we all have asked ourselves “What makes it worth their while to stay?”
One of the great motivators of all time, used by both politician and priest, is the extraordinary psychological incentive known as “fear.” Following the successful soap salesman, the ministry uses diatribe, Herbert-style lunacy, to its utmost limits. Every despicable word, and manufactured falsehood paints a perfect picture of Armstrong style hysteria and bestowed hebdomadally as they unveil “a lesson for those with eyes to see.”
These lesson are not so much about spiritual issues as they should be, but they are about the core character of these self-satisfied, amateurish doomsday prophets. They consistently voice from the pulpit an extensive treatise whose hypothetical propositions (prophecies) are put forth without a shred of evidence or scholarship. With the catastrophic power of corporate church fascism and with the repression of an authoritarian government, they will never allow the blue ribbon tithe payer to rise up and challenge them as to their agone prophecies. If challenged, they will try to convince you that they are of unstained ethical standards and representatives of an all knowing and loving God. Suchlike the authoritative state, the church and the leaders are never erroneous in their edicts.
The rotting structure who’s foundation is built on the failed prophecies and falsehood of Herbert W. Armstrong can not stand. The door has been kicked in and the structure trembles before the fall. The fable of British Israel-ism has evolve and continues to evolve, all to fit the times we live in. World events present new problems for the Armstrong groups. The world players are changing with antagonistic states or groups rising up and challenging America. Will the membership remember what they hear from the pulpit? Will they demand an accounting from the leadership when their prophecies fail?
History shows us that the minority will continue to follow the repressive, heavy handed mind control groups. What will be left as this structure fails? You will see small groups of people shuffling from one end of the demolished shack to the other end. Like rats, they never leave, just doomed to become religious nomads within the structure of Armstrong-ism.
Conclusion:
Fear is the apical motivator that keeps people involved.
Fear of the ministry.
Fear of losing a fictional crown.
Fear of isolation by the current membership after leaving.
Fear of learning what is behind their cognitive dissonance.
Fear of change. Like the fox who could not obtain the grapes, they quit and renounce the objective goal. These are the real losers in the crumbling Armstrong empire. They will live in fear, unable to achieve their personal goals, in or out of the church. To these I say “Stay. You belong in tinfoil-hat land.”
“Armstrong-ism may have been conceived in philosophical theory, but it quickly degenerated into meretricious Lysenkoism.”
—James
Impressive.
Glad to see the promised blog on priests. Very good.
The mystery to me is how so many Armstrongites never see through the obvious. They hop from one discredited organization and self-proclaimed spokesman for God to another. Or, they return to the slop of the “Christianity” they repudiated in the beginning.
It seems to be a desperate need on their part to have some mythology to hold onto no matter how belittled, robbed and oppressed they are. I truly feel sorry for so many of my former associates who have never been able to seize the freedom they could have. And now, instead of simply celebrating the turn of the year at a solstice, we are subjected to the same old astrological, sun worhipping nonsense our ignorant ancestors were subjected to by the priests of whatever virgin-born deity they championed.
Thousands of years of basically no progress at all. It’s depressing.
Thousands of years of basically no progress at all. It’s depressing.
Not only is it depressing…it’s dangerous. The folks who back up those priests are now armed with more than pikes and torches. Not that they are going to fly any airplanes into buildings though, right? Or, build a nuclear tipped missile to reach Israel from Iran…no, of course not, religion is “peaceful”.
Even more dangerous when one comes to the realization that there is no interventionist god waiting in the wings to put a stop to it all. All that we can look forward to coming on the clouds of heaven is those same nuclear tipped missiles. It certainly isn’t Jesus.
Here is something that came over the internet yesterday from Australia. It ties right in with what we are discussing:
This is an article from Australia and sent by the FFRF (Freedom From Religion Foundation) news in Madison:
Pell opens Christmyth slagging season early with usual cheap shot
Release Date:
Monday, November 29, 2010
Atheists are astonished by the latest attempt from Cardinal George Pell, Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, to demonise the growing number of Australians who live without religion.
Speaking at a Mass celebrating the appointment of General Peter Cosgrove as Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University, Pell preached that atheists “are frightened by the future.” He went on to say that “It’s almost as though they’ve … nothing but fear to distract themselves from the fact that without God the universe has no objective purpose or meaning. Nothing beyond the constructs they confect to cover the abyss.”
Once again, Pell’s comments fly in the face of all evidence. In truth, atheists live their lives with an integrity and intellectual rigour that Pell and his Church can only dream of.
Far from seeking to cover the abyss, the atheist looks a hostile universe full in its face without recourse to the emotional security blanket of religion and the supernatural. Unlike Pell’s Church (which has become a byword for superstition and resistance to scientific thinking) the atheist sees the world on its own terms, without the rose-tinted glasses of the promise of an afterlife.
Not content with mischaracterising atheism as weak and fearful, Pell went on to make the extraordinary proposition that “Australian society will become increasingly coarse and uncaring … if Christian principles are excluded from public discussion.”
To state that without the supervision of the Church the Australian people would turn to delinquency is frankly insulting. Millions of atheists and agnostics around the world live their lives ethically and with integrity.
Perhaps what Pell finds so threatening is that they do so according to principles drawn from their own reason and experience, not from slavish obedience to the adulterated writings of ancient and ignorant tent-living goat herders.
Moreover, given the damage that “Christian principles” have inflicted (Northern Ireland and the former Yugoslavia to name two recent examples), surely the days of Catholics claiming moral superiority should be over.
Media Contact:
David Nicholls
Atheist Foundation of Australia Inc
Private Mail Bag 6
MAITLAND SA 5573
We’re all certainly aware of some of the “tells” which follow us around for years after we’ve left the cult, but since we were promised by the “Apostle” that our destiny was to become “Profits” (not a mistake! Intentional misspelling!), Priests, and Kings, I’m afraid we’d need to include such desires in the category of these “tells”. Once you’ve been indoctrinated into that line of thinking, it’s heady stuff, and difficult to jettison.
I had not been aware, at least until Allen Dexter shared this with us, that some former ministers (to his credit,not Allen) in the ACOGs are so desperate to hang on to their ministerial status that they resort to mail order credentials from such organizations as Universal Life Church, and just keep on ministering and teaching anyone who will listen to them, long after they’ve been disfellowshipped. I mean, we’ve all shared jokes about these bogus credentials, and worthless AC credentials in the past, and some of us even have them as a joke, but apparently some shameless ones take them seriously! The desire to be someone or something important or special was one of the hooks that lured so many into WCG.
If anyone from the ACOGs is tuned into our blog here, in all fairness, bogus titles and degrees are somewhat common in the field of religion or philosophy, not just restricted to the followers of HWA. Unfortunately this is common knowledge and it’s yet another factor which makes scientists and other highly educated professionals question the integrity of sincere believers, and anyone in the field of theology who has a legitimate, accredited degree or credential.
As a final thought, I just can’t wait for the next installment, James! One thing is certain. At least there are no “bogus” pornographers!
BB
Just as a clarification, Bob, I was never an elder or anything else formally ministerial in WCG. Nor did I get my present credentials from Universal Life. I got them from The Congregational Church of Practical Theology after completing their correspondence course requirements and having my Ambassador credits accepted(they had become accredited in the meantime), and I got them specifically so I could legally do marriage ceremonies in Arizona.
When I found I could set up my own organization for $10, I filed the name, Arizona Church of Love and Harmony with the Arizona Secretary of State and issued a certificate of ordination to myself and my wife.
This was totally legal and no different from what all organizations do. I do not go out preaching stupid nonsense to anyone. I am not looking for a following, and the few hundred dollars I make each year ushering people into what I hope will be a happy married life certainly doesn’t make me rich ala Armstrong, etc.
Incidentally, I also have a free ordination I got online from the Humanist Society. I was a member of their Phoenix branch before moving north where there presently is no chapter.
I guess you think the organization you are presently part of has some legitimacy superior to others. I don’t share your view but recognize that you have a right to believe that if you choose to. To me, all churches, and Jesus himself, are totally bogus. That’s why neither God nor Jesus enter into the name I filed.
Bob,
What a wicked challenge you leave me with when you pen:
“As a final thought, I just can’t wait for the next installment, James! One thing is certain. At least there are no “bogus” pornographers!”
The mind of the pornographer is devious.
Lacking any morally relevant integrity, they go forward and exploits the fabric of humanity while destroying the very basis of human dignity. The mind of the pornographer is not what you think. They put forth “pictures and scenarios” that burn an imaginary world and ideology into ones mind.
These are the people who exploit others in a world that only exists for the expressed purpose of creating a following and profit for themselves.
They place before the follower, images, deceptions, fantasies, and lusts that burn this “new reality” into the minds of the gullible. It is as a narcissist dreams. Control!
Control the opinions, control the thoughts, control the actions and you create a monster that is unleashed on society.