The Iceberg of Reality.

theil-torpedo
The Way of peace they know not;
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;
no one who walks along them will know peace.
Isaiah 59:8
Click For Larger Version.
The WCG experienced the calamitous collision with the iceberg of reality 28 years ago when Herbie went to his final reward.

The Beginning of the End

It was quite perplexing to watch the events of the Worldwide Church of God unfold. When the founder Herbert Armstrong died in 1986, a new leadership under Joe Tkach Sr. and company tried to correct many of the gross errors in doctrine that the cult held for so long.

After HWA’s death, despite the efforts of some, the good-ship Armstrong ground to a halt and began to sink. The flares were fired. Nobody thought she could sink. But the gates of hell prevailed and sink she did.

Some have asked if Joe Tkach so despise Herb, that he set out with a devious plan to scuttle the Armstrong empire. I personally doubt his intentions were to destroy a financial empire that would have been a cash cow for himself.

Years after the old man died, Junior waved his magic wand and created Grace Communion as a lifeboat to insure his existence and prominence after the WCG. Joe sold off what he could and scuttled what was left of Armstrongism, shoving off in his protestant lifeboat leaving behind the broken and befuddled.

Sinking Lifeboats

If we were able to obtain daily income and weekly service attendance from the current ACOG’s we would easily see that a trend is developing that will take them out of existence in the next several years. We have the break with United, then Bob Thiel’s little cult who broke from Meredith’s abomination. All these factions caused a drop in the income and influence of the COG’s. The hemorrhaging thankfully continues on. The steady stream of members are now cast in all directions, and the clueless Bob Thiel doesn’t even realized that he himself is helping to destroy the Armstrong movement. We appreciate your efforts bro! Really we do!

But wait, theres more!

The lack of a charismatic personality, leadership, and the dynamics of control cannot hold this mess together. Today, in 2014, there are three major groups attempting to function as a WCG copy-cat-cult. None of them have the successful money-making formula laid down by Herbie, and all are at war with one another competing for the ever shrinking, blue ribbon tithe payers money. One attack after another, the ACOG cults destroy the cohesion that once held them together as a family of believers. Divide and conquer should be the strategy towards ones enemies, not your brethren!

So with that in mind, open your song books to page….and sing…

Onward Christian Soldiers

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,

with the cross of Jesus (Your current gurus name here) going on before.

Christ, Armstrong the royal Master, leads against the foe;

forward into battle see his banners go!

(In Armstrongism, the foe is the world at large, along with the other “group(s)” the leaders and members)

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,

with the cross of Jesus (fill in the blank as above) going on before.

At the sign of triumph Satan’s (the competition) host doth flee;

on then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!

Hell’s foundations quiver (grow stronger) at the shout of praise (self praise);

brothers, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise.

(Taking ones pride and exemplifying their group above another)

Like a mighty (dysfunctional) army moves the church of God;

brothers, we are treading where the saints Satan has trod.

We are not divided, (not) all one body we,

one in hope (hopelessness) and doctrine, one in charity (poverty)

(Divided they are. No unity, no peace, slander, hatred and constant war are the fruits)

Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,

but the church (cult) of Jesus (Armstrongism) constant will remain (fail)

Gates of hell can never gainst that church prevail;

we have Christ’s (gurus) own promise, and that cannot fail.

(The Balkanization of Armstrongism is the hallmark of failure and the result of constant war)

Onward then, ye people, join our happy (oppressed) throng,

blend with ours your voices in the triumph song.

Glory, laud, and honor unto Christ (Herbie) the King,

this through countless ages men and angels (Satan) sing.

(Happy throng? Terry Ratzmann, a creation of Meredithism, a sub-cult of Armstrongism. How many more are waiting in the shadows?)

 

The U.S.S. Armstrong sunk years ago, but on the life boats the band(s) still plays on. To this very day, the groups that follow Herbert’s cesspool of doctrinal error and corruption try to mimic what was prophesied, what was said, how it was said. The very art of mimicking Herbert in every possible way has nothing to do with the following and worship of Jesus Christ, but with the worship and devotion to Herbert W. Armstrong and their leading evangelist guru.

Negativity. The Driving Force Behind Armstrongism

As the year marches on we will see the transpiring of more fear, division, competition, and much more hatred. The crap that these ignorant, godless gurus distribute to each others and their sheeple will escalate as it has in the last several years. 

Meredith and the other gurus ignore basic psychology. People need love, hope and freedom in life. All of us need the bond that only family can provide.

But when all they receive from their Master(s) is negativity, shunning, breaking up of families, fear driven faith and threats, something is going to break. This frustration and anger played out nearly a decade ago at a LCG church meeting.

Recall Terry Ratzmann.

In Terry Ratzmann’s case, the man took on the title of a mass murderer, forever enshrined in the publics memory as the guy who shot up Rod Meredith’s cult. Yes, lame excuses were passed around that there was a medical explanation behind the shooting. I don’t buy it for a minute. Like most here, we have lived this type of life. It’s a life of religious masturbation. You never get to the point of climax!

The “Flog log kid” Herbert Armstrong, always told us that the end was near, even picking dates in the future. When 1936/1972/1975 turned to shit, he threw a disclaimer into the mix saying he never sets dates. Other times he flat out blamed the membership for his gross failures. For those who read this blog and others like it, you understand that this is escape plan “B” when your prophecies crap out. Even the false prophets of other religious organizations take this exact same route of deception. It is the psychology (behavior pattern) of deceptive narcissistic men.

If Herbert W. Armstrong had lived in ancient Israel, he would have been put to death by the religious leaders of the times by the authority of the very God that he proclaimed. According to the “Almighty” of the bible, there was only one penalty for a false prophet, and that being death. So why do the people of these organization put up with these lies? Maybe they are using the “church” as a social club, or perhaps for the adrenaline rush they get from some very “scary” prophecies. Or is it because they are cowards who cannot face life and reality? I am sure there are a host of other reasons, but let us consider this matter further.

Being deceived means you do not know any better (ignorant of facts) but when the facts are made clear and are thoroughly documented, what should be your next move? Ignore them at your own peril or having some personal integrity and act on the new information? People of moral integrity are those who merit respect, having a “bottom line principle”. It is what they will accept and nothing lower. Integrity is a loyalty virtue, loyalty toward oneself. Showing fidelity to those values, principles or commitments that constitute their own identity.

The flip side of the coin, those who lack integrity, they trade their own views for the views of others who are more authoritative, and stay in step with opinions of others, being so much less demanding of themselves. These people betray action on their own views for gain, status, reward, or approval. This in itself is a serious character flaw. This is also the prostitution of oneself. A sellout.

 The War to End all Wars

The war to end all wars within the Armstrong movement will be when the people stop following and allowing these failures, these losers, these charlatans, these abusive “freaks” to use and abuse them as they get their pockets picked clean. How many times have we all heard from the miscreant’s behind the pulpit that HWA was “Gods Apostle”? The person of integrity would ask themselves “Does God use pedophiles to preach his word?” The answer to this comes in the mail when I read the letters from those who would rather kill me than to face the fact that they have been had by a con man, and continue to be had by con men, and that the Herbster DID fuck his daughter for a period of around ten years. I must say, these people lack any form of integrity. And they are suppose to rule the world under Christ? Shit, give me the lake of fire! I don’t need a push, I’ll jump in head first!

In conclusion, if America does go into a time of hyperinflation and when feeding ones family should be priority #1 (for the religious infidel it is priority #2 or #3) a decision will have to be made.

When that time comes, watch Dave Pack’s empire disappear in a flash, watch Gerald Flurry struggle with the banks that financed that white elephant in Edmond. Watch the members struggle to survive in a world known only by their fathers or grandfathers.

A time known as the great depression.

Meredith, Flurry, Thiel, Malm, all of these gurus, we can only hope that they will emulate the bankers of the 1920’s, by throwing themselves from the 13th floor of the Armstrong casino to the pavement below.

Let the Games begin…

Live video feed from the Apostle’s grave!

11 Replies to “The Iceberg of Reality.”

  1. When I read this post, two things came to mind, Marshall McLuhan and Samuel Beckett.

    Marshall McLuhan is known for his statement, “The medium is the message”. I’d like to look at my exposure to the COGs on the basis of the medium.

    WCG – Radio, GTA; became a member, only watched the television program a few times
    CGI – GTA on television; some interest; watched regularly for a while
    PCG – Ad in Readers Digest, watched television program; some interest, abandoned later
    Started to read COG-critical websites
    ICG – Internet – some interest, downloaded some audio; emailed; lost interest
    Stated contributing to COG-critical blogs
    LCG – Internet – listened to a few podcasts of television program but little interest
    CEM – Internet – interested, listened to radio program as podcast; emailed; lost interest around the time Ron was hospitalized
    All others – Internet – no interest other than content analysis

    In the radio days, there was very little information available about WCG, HWA, GTA – perhaps a mention on radio or television, magazine article, or in the library. It wasn’t until the Internet became popular that information pro and con became readily available.

    The medium has changed, but the “message” hasn’t changed very much – I think a message that worked on radio doesn’t have the same impact on the internet.

    And Samuel Beckett? Probably best known for Waiting for Godot; a play in which two men keep talking about someone who never shows up. I’m sure you get the message.

  2. Good analysis. If this were on the main page, you would probably get a barrage of hate mail, and it might even trigger a bunch of old ACOG ladies to visit their local gun show.

    The ACOGs are fighting a war of attrition. There is authoritative information, a few mouse clicks away, which totally debunks various components of their doctrinal approach. Back in the 1950s, when my parents were first attracted to the Radio Church of God (boy, I hated telling people what church I went to, just because of the name!), who even knew of British Israelism, let alone having objectively presented rebuttal readily accessible? Also, mainstream Protestantism has gone back and done a better job of supporting their particular beliefs with scripture, history, etc. The Armstrongs used to say that no other churrch groups delved deeply into the Bible, and this is no longer true. While Christianity appears to be on one of its periodic waning pendulum swings, oddly enough, Bible scholarship has actually increased. In fact, all scholarship has increased. That is what Armstrongism is truly fighting. Most people are more sophisticated, and readily recognize hocum.

    These days, in order to go on a weirdo and begin taking on a strange ascetic lifestyle, people require much more substantiation than the say so of an authoritative professional radio voice. In spite of doomsday predictions, how many everyday people have even altered their lifestyles in such a way as to reduce their carbon footprint, let alone paying three tithes to some whip cracking guru who sees ancient paganism in everything and believes that life as we know it is about to collapse to the Germans?

    It’s over. But, until the fat lady sings, we will probably witness some things that would be hilarious if they weren’t hurting some otherwise sincere people. I can’t wait to see David Pack standing in front of a now well known logo, saying “ION TV! Positively entertaining,”.

    BB

  3. Perhaps the song should be “Onward cretin soldiers”.

    Back to media – Dave Pack’s 2014 “Fruits Letter” (always a chuckle when imagining various meanings of “fruit”). Despite the lack of hard numbers, there appears to be a big demand for print media – magazines, literature, and snail mail. This could indicate more success in broadcast media than the wunderbar web wowser (Aust/NZ meaning, not Inspector Gadget). Or it could be attractive to luddites and technophobes. Whatever the reason, hardcopy and postal services are certainly more demanding in human and financial resources.

    So RCG pulled in more than $10 million? Estimating the expenditure, he’s going to need a healthy incoming cashflow to keep his mini-empire running.

  4. “magazines, literature, and snail mail” are used mostly by the older generation that cares not for the digital world. Pack has himself wrapped his cult in toilet paper and is reading for the final flush. He has become the author of his own destruction. Rightfully so.

  5. In Dave’s Fruits letter is this little claim:

    “We teach everything Mr. Armstrong taught—no exceptions!”

    So aluminum pots and pans are better than stainless steel?

    Commenting on the Fruits letter, COGWriter wrote:

    “Probably no other claimed COG group … made as many publicized prophetic blunders and proof of being false as RCG did.”

    With the exception of WCG, of course! He did write “probably”.

  6. In Pack-ass’s letter, we read…
    “The Work as a whole has actually started a decisive UPWARD trend since last November…When WE please GOD, He expands His Work He is doing through us!

    Its like his church will grow if god ain’t pissed at the members. Let god be pissed. Its gods work, let him do it!

    Dave needs to threaten to start the work over with seven of his Wadsworth Ohio sons, like Herbie did with the 7 Japanese sons. If your going to walk and talk like Herbie, ya got to get the act right!

    1. Re: Herb’s threat

      While HWA was a reader of Mein Kampf and not the Red Book, Chairman Mao made a similar threat: if he didn’t get what he wanted from his party cronies, he would go home and start the revolution all over again…

  7. It’s emotional extortion: Pay up or God won’t love and bless you any more.

    If I have to pay for “protection” it’s likely because I’m the victim of some sort of Mafia scheme.

  8. James Malm seems to be criticized more by other COG leaders than in the COG-critique (aka “anti-COG”) blogs. The latest seems to be COGwriter’s response to Jim citing “one man who left LCG a year ago who styles hiself [sic] a prophet” who uses non-Biblical teachings (such as the extensive quoting of Catholic authors).

    In his response, Bob takes an offensive position, priding himself on being a denouncer of false prophecies. Too bad Bob wasn’t around to warn everyone about 1972.

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