If you were a pastor in the old WCG you may remember Bernie for this class act. From AR64 we read:
Editor: There is no telling what the latest plan is. But in the September WN (p. 7) Bernie Schnippert, WCGs treasurer, stated that the first priority would be “to fund a retirement plan for faithful full-time ministers and employees who meet the criteria of age, years of service, loyalty, membership status and other requirements not delineated here.” After that, if there is anything left over, the plan is to perhaps use some for other, not as yet determined, purposes. So, no need to worry. Tkach and friends will be well provided for.
The Worldwide church of God attempted to annihilate peoples personality, individuality, will, and character. The stranded souls that hitched their wagon to this organization unknowingly supported a power-hungry pharisaic and fastuous authoritative cult leader and his son, Garner Ted Armstrong. For all the alarums and excursions, the fact remains that without knowing it, we nurtured these two ungrateful incubi's. For that I can only ask for forgiveness.
After my WCG experience, I went to college to educate myself so I would have a greater understanding of the world about me and to understand why I ever fell for HWA's scam religion. This lead me to the conclusion that the appropriate action to take, in my judgment, is to provide people with opportunities to learn, develop, and exercise their potential as human beings, by freeing them from men who exploit and abuse them. This website and others are my vehicle to do just that.
13 Replies to “Worldwide Church of God Death Notice.”
The life of Bernie Schnippert further illustrates, despite certain commonalities, how unique and different all of our individual paths are. HWA, and his organization, the WCG, had their own version of a success story for young people in the “end times”. Fair-haired children of a certain level of intellect would be identified in the early stages of their personality development, and would be groomed through various ways to prepare them for Ambassador College, where their lives were somewhat mapped out for them in advance. Bernie was one of the ones who was identified, and who complied with that game plan, starting at SEP in Texas, where I first met him. By the time the time he made it to Ambassador College, it was fairly obvious that he was destined for some sort of leadership role within the Armstrong movement.
It would seem that his story was somehat predictable up until that point in time. However, his path diverged very sharply from that of his classmate, Dave Pack, as well as from those of many of the other young people who had been groomed and programmed by the system, as Joseph Tkach, Sr. ascended to the lofty position of Pastor General of WCG, and ushered in an era of totally new doctrinal approach. At that point, Bernie became just as much of a departure from the majority as was Herman Hoeh, and I would imagine every bit the enigma to those who remained with the pre-change doctrines.
In making these comments, I am attempting to be non-judgmental. There are certainly others for whom I would have much harsher words. Bernie appears to simply be a by-product of the system, although not the type of by-product that we might normally imagine. It appears that he had a good life, and leaves behind a family that loved (not feared) him. Armstrongism is amongst the most powerful of intoxicants, a severe modifier of personality and behavior. It would appear that Bernie Schnippert was one of those who resisted at least some of the badness, and made some difficult decisions in attempting to reverse that badness. Perhaps the best thing I can say about him is that had I run into him at the supermarket last week, I would probably not have made a conscious effort to avoid him.
A pattern was established within the old “Radio” Church of God for identifying, qualifying, and grooming the young people who would later be brought to Ambassador College for further indoctrination and training, to become leaders in supporting the movement. Familiarization with, and preliminary testing of these individuals began with Summer Educational Program in Booth City, Big Sandy, Texas, iirc. in 1962. There seemed to be two types of campers there: Those who embraced and went along with the program, and the rebel, outlaw types. Some from this latter category were intentional rebels, and others just kind of fell into it because of the neighborhoods in which they had grown up. My early recollections of Bernie are that he was one who went along with the program, a non-rebel.
When one arrived in Pasadena (or probably on either of the other campuses), one would be surprised at just how many of the students one already knew from SEP. It was no great shock to me that Bernie would be part of the entering class of Freshmen in the Fall semester of my second year at AC. It became apparent, early on, that he was one of the serious students who would make it into some sort of leadership role. One of the exchanges I remember with him happened when I offered him a beer from a recently acquired sixpack. Shortly thereafter, I needed to go to another dorm, and began to say my goodbyes, but Bernie asked me if I could stick around until he finished the beer, “just to make it legal.” I smiled and remained there as he requested, not volunteering the information that I, too, was in reality underage. Clearly, he had some convictions concerning right and wrong. And, he was cool about it, kind of natural. That is probably why I remember that example which he had set, a few very short moments, even today, decades later.
I was somewhat surprised, after the “loyalists” left WCG, rejecting the Tkach changes, that Bernie remained with the group in spite of the changes. My opinion is that he could have been a leader in either faction, just as would Herman Hoeh, another thinker who proved to be an enigma to the loyalists. They were probably both where their consciences and convictions told them that they needed to be. I was not affected, either positively or negatively, 9by any of the goings on from the era of the changes, because I had left in 1975. However, my opinion is that somebody needed to dismantle the cruel and false empire that had been built by HWA. It would have been impossible to do this without at least some lives being changed, or people hurt. Had this not been done by the Tkach’s and their team, we would most certainly have wanted somebody else to do it. As concerns Bernie, and his life’s work, the needle on my meter is pointing ever so slightly towards the positive pole. My sincere condolences to his family.
Well said Bob. Bernie was the least of the problems at the wcg. I recall some stories on the guy. He could be commanding and dominating when he felt he needed to be or wanted something.
I can say that I am thankful for Tkach trashing Herbie’s doctrines. It was at that point I began to think outside the box again. My dependence began to crumble. “Gods true church” was a crock of shit. The very concept that God needs a true church is self defeating. The idea that other groups who show more fruit of the spirit than the WCG are of Satan the devil was the clue to enlighten me. Then the Tkach money beg in the “worldwide work” newsletter was the final straw.
I was sitting on the shitter when my moment of enlightenment hit me. “My god, this is all about money”. To make a long story short, I hooked up with another small non harmstrong church and after a time saw how they practiced mind control. The songs became more like chants. The ministers eyes looked around to see who wasn’t buying into his devious lie as the chant song carried on and on. It was an epiphany! I kid you not on the story. Everything I read on mind control became clear.
Yes, we should all be thankful for those epiphanies, James. I believe the quote regarding organized Christianity which you have just under the masthead on the main page reflects considerable wisdom, and is rightly cautionary. When we look at the secular teaching profession, it appears that there are a few outstanding teachers, who are in it for the pure love of working respectfully with developing minds. Some others are just in it because it is a job and they get a paycheck. That small cadre, or minority, of effective and rightly motivated ones, appears to be even smaller in the ministerial profession. We witnessed such an exaggeration of bad factors amongst the ministry of WCG that I know, I for one, have been hypersensitive towards any similar factors and attitudes exhibited by non-Armstrongite clergy. Our experience almost makes one put these people on trial, meaning that trust is nearly an impossibility. Not that I ever 100% trusted the Armstrongs, but over the past 6-7 years, I’ve encountered less than a handful of Christian ministers that I might be inclined to trust. That surely validates your quote.
By the way, sorry for the duplicate posts. I was convinced that one had become lost in cyberspace. The CAPTCHA system can be finicky.
WordPress had a brute force attack yesterday. One of the reasons I use the captcha system and a complex password system. I had to manually approve the comment because my webhost took down the servers in order to preserve and protect the integrity of the websites they host.
But what about the retirement plan? Did it get set up and how does it compare to other institutional plans? The fact is all of us need set up a good retirement plan. You will need demand or work only for employers with pension or similar type plan, a personal tax free retirement fund, and the government plans to get by. You live longer with a few days of work or social activities during those golden years of independence.
Perhaps you should ask Dennis Diehl just how well Bernie’s retirement plan worked.
That’s the thing: People coming through AC can seem pleasant and everybody gives them a free pass for that, not recognizing that they have not one shred of integrity because Armstrongism is a terribly corrupting influence.
Distorted perception makes us vulnerable to overestimating the integrity of people even while we get ripped off royally. Just because someone treats us nice doesn’t mean he’s not a con — in fact, the most effective scoundrels seem to be the nicest — until they pull the rug out from underneath you.
Dennis was unfortunately left in a position where he was forced to choose between two alternatives which he found to be equally unacceptable, because neither fit his evolving beliefs. A secular organization might have paid little attention to these beliefs, but unfortunately, from the Tkachies perspective, he got lumped in with the others who would not go along with the changes, even though he neither shared those ministers’ beliefs, nor was he involved in starting up any of the splinter groups, which were considered detrimental to the original organization. In other words, he got caught in a gap, a very bad gap! I personally believe that he should have received some sort of partial retirement benefits based upon his years of service to the organization up to that point in time. The WCG, as I understand it, had been his only employer, and he also had a family to support at that time.
There are allegations that people in the past had been paid by the WCG under HWA for their “loyal” silence. Allegedly, members of the Armstrong family were amongst those who had had their lifestyles “subsidized”. Allegedly, this continued under the new administration, only with a new set of beneficiaries. Most certainly, the meager amounts required to at least make up for Dennis’s lost Social Security benefits could have been found within the funds of the WCG, but unfortunately, corporations, and attorneys look at precedents. If WCG paid Dennis, as a “non-believer” in the new doctrines, imagine the class-action suit which could have been prepared on behalf of the other “non-believer” ministers who retained some version of the original doctrines while starting up the splinters. WCG, therefore, made him into a sacrificial lamb. It’s not right, but this is what happens when churches rely on secular courts, and base their practices on what may or may not hold up in a court of law. That works as a two-edged sword on the trust equation, where accountability to either ideal becomes impossible.
“It’s not right, but this is what happens when churches rely on secular courts, and base their practices on what may or may not hold up in a court of law.”
So much for not taking your brother to court. It is convenient when the corporation might lose some monies but when the cult wants to fuck someone else, they do indeed take them to court! They should have shut up shop and paid for those who surrendered their future to the cult. They were after all, employees.
Yes, James, they behave like liberal activists. When the Bible doesn’t work in their favor, they take whatever seems to be the path of least resistance to accomplish their selfish objectives. It’s just a moral crime that a group that would sell the rights to all of the damnable, harmful, heretical, bogus HWA booklets to Gerald Flurry couldn’t find some creative way to take care of Dennis.
The Cult Church Corporate adopted the worst of the Corporate Model and implemented it badly. If you have doubts about that, read “Moral Mazes” by Robert Jackall to see just what goes on inside the Cult of Herbert Armstrong Mafia. It’s nothing new: Psychopath Corporation with no empathy, no conscience and playing games.
Herbert Armstrong took people and corrupted them through seduction. Especially the ministers became used to the Corporate Perks (like the fleet of cars they could use for free), writing off stuff as business expenses and having salaries and benefits which overcompensated many of them when they had no worth at all.
Back in the 1990s, I worked as a manager at Weyerhaeuser Corporate in Federal Way on the first floor at the window looking out at the man-made lake with the black swans in it. In 4.5 years I learned about all there was to learn of Corporate Process including, but not restricted to, Project Management, Information Mapping, Quality Process (for solving problems) and a host of other valuable skills, including the corporate ethics. Wanting to be helpful, I passed the summaries of these to Robert Dick, then the Chairman of the Board of the United Church of God an International Association (UCoG I Ass). I was innocent and naïve.
I wondered why he never got back to me so I could explain the material: It was, after all, only a summary and needed ‘fleshing out’. The reason, of course, was hubris: The pasturds of the flock just new that they could understand everything just by making up and imagining the details to fill the gaps in their knowledge — just like they always did as Herbert Armstrong taught them. I have to say that this extreme arrogance is exactly why we can prove Armstrong wrong, because we can use science to prove their beliefs wrong and show that they are not at all of the real world. To counter our absolute proof which would hold up in a court of law, they ignore us, just as the Misfortune 500 does to their detractors.
There are no real morals. Ethics involves the end justifies the means, even though neither one is particularly moral, ethical or legal. The ministers are utterly selfish along with being terribly politically motivated, just like monkeys in a tree, all of them striving for the top banana, but limited by the interaction of their competition, just like a cutthroat corporation or government agency. Their behavior is reprehensible, but to their own thinking, in the dysfunctional venue of Corporate Competition, it seems perfectly reasonable.
And everywhere you look, it gets worse and worse.
These are not the humble servants of Jesus; they are ravening wolf predator hirelings developed by Herbert Wolf Armstrong (and they say the ‘W’ stands for nothing).
It gets worse.
Their motivation is all about dopamine: They are junkie addicts, looking for their next fix. Here’s a small (and disgusting) sample of the bigger picture:
Over at the Weinland False Prophet Blog, Bilbo put it rather succinctly:
Interesting discussion. I thought I saw some parallels between Armstrong type religion and gambling addiction. The similarities are there. Chasing an unlikely reward, house always wins, environment designed to keep you there, inability to clearly reason regarding sunk costs, lost investment, other addiction harms, embarrassment to face others, self-delusion … to the point where some casino players are unable to even make it to the bathroom, because they just *cannot* risk someone else getting the payout of all those quarters they put in.
… although it makes a lot of sense. It’s the way the business works. Casino psychology …
From the perspective of the Casino (the House): The customer is paying for the experience. For the time spent there. For the blinky lights and free drinks and dancing ladies and of course, the games. The payout of a major prize is incidental. It might happen, but that’s the lure to part customers from their money. The CEO sleeps at night because the “entertainment” was the product a customer got in exchange for being parted from their money.
From the perspective of the Church CEO (the House): The customer is paying for the experience. For the time spent there. For the fellowship, life advice, feeling of salvation and obedience to whatever is true in the cosmos and of course, the tithes. The actual Second Coming of Christ is incidental. It might happen, but that’s the lure to part customers from their money. The CEO sleeps at night because “God’s way of life” was the product the customer got in exchange for being parted from their money.
From the perspective of the casino attendee: The customer is paying for the incidental. Wants that big prize. Wants the poker hand, or the slot machine to start flashing. The entertainment is filler, and is used as a consolation prize (well at least I had a good time). Potentially gets addicted and chases it to the exclusion of a normal life.
From the perspective of the church attendee: The customer is paying for the incidental. Wants that big prize. Wants Jesus to return. Wants the earth to part and the sky to light up. The lifestyle is filler, and is used as a consolation prize (well at least I’m living God’s way of life). Potentially gets addicted and chases it to the exclusion of a normal life.
See how similar that is?
… so with Armstrongism we have a franchise model of business. Enterprising individuals can spin off a franchise, be assigned a stock ticker (PKG, PGI, CGI, whatever), and peddle their branding of what is the same item made in the same factory in China, just with different decals. You’re free to run your business as you please. Your storytelling ability, location, choice of demographic – these are important to consider to gain members. Different businessmen have different styles. Some accumulate large real estate valuations via campuses and go on television. Other prefer lower overhead with work-from-home and telecommuting ability and stick to pdf ebooks. Some ministers clear 7 figures. Dealing souls is a very lucrative business model.
Truly they have turned the simple and wholesome message of our Creator and our Savior into warez to be peddled, most literally.
Bob, I don’t understand why you single out liberal activists as ones particularly guilty of following “the path of least resistance to accomplish their selfish objectives.” I have observed that activists–zealots–of all persuasions do whatever they can get by with to accomplish their objectives. And don’t forget that it is Ayn Rand’s libertarian followers who most enthusiastically follow the dictates of selfishness. In fact, they fly the banner of self-interest.
The difference from the ACOGs is that leaders of these groups present their self-interest as the interest of God.
Editor: There is no telling what the latest plan is. But in the September WN (p. 7) Bernie Schnippert, WCGs treasurer, stated that the first priority would be “to fund a retirement plan for faithful full-time ministers and employees who meet the criteria of age, years of service, loyalty, membership status and other requirements not delineated here.” After that, if there is anything left over, the plan is to perhaps use some for other, not as yet determined, purposes. So, no need to worry. Tkach and friends will be well provided for.
Editor: There is no telling what the latest plan is. But in the September WN (p. 7) Bernie Schnippert, WCGs treasurer, stated that the first priority would be “to fund a retirement plan for faithful full-time ministers and employees who meet the criteria of age, years of service, loyalty, membership status and other requirements not delineated here.” After that, if there is anything left over, the plan is to perhaps use some for other, not as yet determined, purposes. So, no need to worry. Tkach and friends will be well provided for.
The life of Bernie Schnippert further illustrates, despite certain commonalities, how unique and different all of our individual paths are. HWA, and his organization, the WCG, had their own version of a success story for young people in the “end times”. Fair-haired children of a certain level of intellect would be identified in the early stages of their personality development, and would be groomed through various ways to prepare them for Ambassador College, where their lives were somewhat mapped out for them in advance. Bernie was one of the ones who was identified, and who complied with that game plan, starting at SEP in Texas, where I first met him. By the time the time he made it to Ambassador College, it was fairly obvious that he was destined for some sort of leadership role within the Armstrong movement.
It would seem that his story was somehat predictable up until that point in time. However, his path diverged very sharply from that of his classmate, Dave Pack, as well as from those of many of the other young people who had been groomed and programmed by the system, as Joseph Tkach, Sr. ascended to the lofty position of Pastor General of WCG, and ushered in an era of totally new doctrinal approach. At that point, Bernie became just as much of a departure from the majority as was Herman Hoeh, and I would imagine every bit the enigma to those who remained with the pre-change doctrines.
In making these comments, I am attempting to be non-judgmental. There are certainly others for whom I would have much harsher words. Bernie appears to simply be a by-product of the system, although not the type of by-product that we might normally imagine. It appears that he had a good life, and leaves behind a family that loved (not feared) him. Armstrongism is amongst the most powerful of intoxicants, a severe modifier of personality and behavior. It would appear that Bernie Schnippert was one of those who resisted at least some of the badness, and made some difficult decisions in attempting to reverse that badness. Perhaps the best thing I can say about him is that had I run into him at the supermarket last week, I would probably not have made a conscious effort to avoid him.
BB
A pattern was established within the old “Radio” Church of God for identifying, qualifying, and grooming the young people who would later be brought to Ambassador College for further indoctrination and training, to become leaders in supporting the movement. Familiarization with, and preliminary testing of these individuals began with Summer Educational Program in Booth City, Big Sandy, Texas, iirc. in 1962. There seemed to be two types of campers there: Those who embraced and went along with the program, and the rebel, outlaw types. Some from this latter category were intentional rebels, and others just kind of fell into it because of the neighborhoods in which they had grown up. My early recollections of Bernie are that he was one who went along with the program, a non-rebel.
When one arrived in Pasadena (or probably on either of the other campuses), one would be surprised at just how many of the students one already knew from SEP. It was no great shock to me that Bernie would be part of the entering class of Freshmen in the Fall semester of my second year at AC. It became apparent, early on, that he was one of the serious students who would make it into some sort of leadership role. One of the exchanges I remember with him happened when I offered him a beer from a recently acquired sixpack. Shortly thereafter, I needed to go to another dorm, and began to say my goodbyes, but Bernie asked me if I could stick around until he finished the beer, “just to make it legal.” I smiled and remained there as he requested, not volunteering the information that I, too, was in reality underage. Clearly, he had some convictions concerning right and wrong. And, he was cool about it, kind of natural. That is probably why I remember that example which he had set, a few very short moments, even today, decades later.
I was somewhat surprised, after the “loyalists” left WCG, rejecting the Tkach changes, that Bernie remained with the group in spite of the changes. My opinion is that he could have been a leader in either faction, just as would Herman Hoeh, another thinker who proved to be an enigma to the loyalists. They were probably both where their consciences and convictions told them that they needed to be. I was not affected, either positively or negatively, 9by any of the goings on from the era of the changes, because I had left in 1975. However, my opinion is that somebody needed to dismantle the cruel and false empire that had been built by HWA. It would have been impossible to do this without at least some lives being changed, or people hurt. Had this not been done by the Tkach’s and their team, we would most certainly have wanted somebody else to do it. As concerns Bernie, and his life’s work, the needle on my meter is pointing ever so slightly towards the positive pole. My sincere condolences to his family.
BB
Well said Bob. Bernie was the least of the problems at the wcg. I recall some stories on the guy. He could be commanding and dominating when he felt he needed to be or wanted something.
I can say that I am thankful for Tkach trashing Herbie’s doctrines. It was at that point I began to think outside the box again. My dependence began to crumble. “Gods true church” was a crock of shit. The very concept that God needs a true church is self defeating. The idea that other groups who show more fruit of the spirit than the WCG are of Satan the devil was the clue to enlighten me. Then the Tkach money beg in the “worldwide work” newsletter was the final straw.
I was sitting on the shitter when my moment of enlightenment hit me. “My god, this is all about money”. To make a long story short, I hooked up with another small non harmstrong church and after a time saw how they practiced mind control. The songs became more like chants. The ministers eyes looked around to see who wasn’t buying into his devious lie as the chant song carried on and on. It was an epiphany! I kid you not on the story. Everything I read on mind control became clear.
Yes, we should all be thankful for those epiphanies, James. I believe the quote regarding organized Christianity which you have just under the masthead on the main page reflects considerable wisdom, and is rightly cautionary. When we look at the secular teaching profession, it appears that there are a few outstanding teachers, who are in it for the pure love of working respectfully with developing minds. Some others are just in it because it is a job and they get a paycheck. That small cadre, or minority, of effective and rightly motivated ones, appears to be even smaller in the ministerial profession. We witnessed such an exaggeration of bad factors amongst the ministry of WCG that I know, I for one, have been hypersensitive towards any similar factors and attitudes exhibited by non-Armstrongite clergy. Our experience almost makes one put these people on trial, meaning that trust is nearly an impossibility. Not that I ever 100% trusted the Armstrongs, but over the past 6-7 years, I’ve encountered less than a handful of Christian ministers that I might be inclined to trust. That surely validates your quote.
By the way, sorry for the duplicate posts. I was convinced that one had become lost in cyberspace. The CAPTCHA system can be finicky.
BB
” The CAPTCHA system can be finicky. ”
WordPress had a brute force attack yesterday. One of the reasons I use the captcha system and a complex password system. I had to manually approve the comment because my webhost took down the servers in order to preserve and protect the integrity of the websites they host.
But what about the retirement plan? Did it get set up and how does it compare to other institutional plans? The fact is all of us need set up a good retirement plan. You will need demand or work only for employers with pension or similar type plan, a personal tax free retirement fund, and the government plans to get by. You live longer with a few days of work or social activities during those golden years of independence.
Bernie scores a 10 for that one.
BOB wrote: “But what about the retirement plan? Did it get set up and how does it compare to other institutional plans?”
How about a ‘golden parachute’ retirement plan. At least for the chosen few.
Its the way the Americans deal with each other.
Now Bob, you can take the same oath that the harmstrong pastor takes. Raise your right hand and repeat after me:
“I’m on my honor to do my best,
to help myself and cheat the rest”
Congratulations, Bob. Your now ministerial material.
Perhaps you should ask Dennis Diehl just how well Bernie’s retirement plan worked.
That’s the thing: People coming through AC can seem pleasant and everybody gives them a free pass for that, not recognizing that they have not one shred of integrity because Armstrongism is a terribly corrupting influence.
Distorted perception makes us vulnerable to overestimating the integrity of people even while we get ripped off royally. Just because someone treats us nice doesn’t mean he’s not a con — in fact, the most effective scoundrels seem to be the nicest — until they pull the rug out from underneath you.
Not impressed.
Certainly, Dennis isn’t.
Dennis was unfortunately left in a position where he was forced to choose between two alternatives which he found to be equally unacceptable, because neither fit his evolving beliefs. A secular organization might have paid little attention to these beliefs, but unfortunately, from the Tkachies perspective, he got lumped in with the others who would not go along with the changes, even though he neither shared those ministers’ beliefs, nor was he involved in starting up any of the splinter groups, which were considered detrimental to the original organization. In other words, he got caught in a gap, a very bad gap! I personally believe that he should have received some sort of partial retirement benefits based upon his years of service to the organization up to that point in time. The WCG, as I understand it, had been his only employer, and he also had a family to support at that time.
There are allegations that people in the past had been paid by the WCG under HWA for their “loyal” silence. Allegedly, members of the Armstrong family were amongst those who had had their lifestyles “subsidized”. Allegedly, this continued under the new administration, only with a new set of beneficiaries. Most certainly, the meager amounts required to at least make up for Dennis’s lost Social Security benefits could have been found within the funds of the WCG, but unfortunately, corporations, and attorneys look at precedents. If WCG paid Dennis, as a “non-believer” in the new doctrines, imagine the class-action suit which could have been prepared on behalf of the other “non-believer” ministers who retained some version of the original doctrines while starting up the splinters. WCG, therefore, made him into a sacrificial lamb. It’s not right, but this is what happens when churches rely on secular courts, and base their practices on what may or may not hold up in a court of law. That works as a two-edged sword on the trust equation, where accountability to either ideal becomes impossible.
BB
“It’s not right, but this is what happens when churches rely on secular courts, and base their practices on what may or may not hold up in a court of law.”
So much for not taking your brother to court. It is convenient when the corporation might lose some monies but when the cult wants to fuck someone else, they do indeed take them to court! They should have shut up shop and paid for those who surrendered their future to the cult. They were after all, employees.
Yes, James, they behave like liberal activists. When the Bible doesn’t work in their favor, they take whatever seems to be the path of least resistance to accomplish their selfish objectives. It’s just a moral crime that a group that would sell the rights to all of the damnable, harmful, heretical, bogus HWA booklets to Gerald Flurry couldn’t find some creative way to take care of Dennis.
BB
The Cult Church Corporate adopted the worst of the Corporate Model and implemented it badly. If you have doubts about that, read “Moral Mazes” by Robert Jackall to see just what goes on inside the Cult of Herbert Armstrong Mafia. It’s nothing new: Psychopath Corporation with no empathy, no conscience and playing games.
Herbert Armstrong took people and corrupted them through seduction. Especially the ministers became used to the Corporate Perks (like the fleet of cars they could use for free), writing off stuff as business expenses and having salaries and benefits which overcompensated many of them when they had no worth at all.
Back in the 1990s, I worked as a manager at Weyerhaeuser Corporate in Federal Way on the first floor at the window looking out at the man-made lake with the black swans in it. In 4.5 years I learned about all there was to learn of Corporate Process including, but not restricted to, Project Management, Information Mapping, Quality Process (for solving problems) and a host of other valuable skills, including the corporate ethics. Wanting to be helpful, I passed the summaries of these to Robert Dick, then the Chairman of the Board of the United Church of God an International Association (UCoG I Ass). I was innocent and naïve.
I wondered why he never got back to me so I could explain the material: It was, after all, only a summary and needed ‘fleshing out’. The reason, of course, was hubris: The pasturds of the flock just new that they could understand everything just by making up and imagining the details to fill the gaps in their knowledge — just like they always did as Herbert Armstrong taught them. I have to say that this extreme arrogance is exactly why we can prove Armstrong wrong, because we can use science to prove their beliefs wrong and show that they are not at all of the real world. To counter our absolute proof which would hold up in a court of law, they ignore us, just as the Misfortune 500 does to their detractors.
There are no real morals. Ethics involves the end justifies the means, even though neither one is particularly moral, ethical or legal. The ministers are utterly selfish along with being terribly politically motivated, just like monkeys in a tree, all of them striving for the top banana, but limited by the interaction of their competition, just like a cutthroat corporation or government agency. Their behavior is reprehensible, but to their own thinking, in the dysfunctional venue of Corporate Competition, it seems perfectly reasonable.
And everywhere you look, it gets worse and worse.
These are not the humble servants of Jesus; they are ravening wolf predator hirelings developed by Herbert Wolf Armstrong (and they say the ‘W’ stands for nothing).
It gets worse.
Their motivation is all about dopamine: They are junkie addicts, looking for their next fix. Here’s a small (and disgusting) sample of the bigger picture:
Dopamine Jackpot! Sapolsky on the Science of Pleasure.
Over at the Weinland False Prophet Blog, Bilbo put it rather succinctly:
Interesting discussion. I thought I saw some parallels between Armstrong type religion and gambling addiction. The similarities are there. Chasing an unlikely reward, house always wins, environment designed to keep you there, inability to clearly reason regarding sunk costs, lost investment, other addiction harms, embarrassment to face others, self-delusion … to the point where some casino players are unable to even make it to the bathroom, because they just *cannot* risk someone else getting the payout of all those quarters they put in.
… although it makes a lot of sense. It’s the way the business works. Casino psychology …
From the perspective of the Casino (the House): The customer is paying for the experience. For the time spent there. For the blinky lights and free drinks and dancing ladies and of course, the games. The payout of a major prize is incidental. It might happen, but that’s the lure to part customers from their money. The CEO sleeps at night because the “entertainment” was the product a customer got in exchange for being parted from their money.
From the perspective of the Church CEO (the House): The customer is paying for the experience. For the time spent there. For the fellowship, life advice, feeling of salvation and obedience to whatever is true in the cosmos and of course, the tithes. The actual Second Coming of Christ is incidental. It might happen, but that’s the lure to part customers from their money. The CEO sleeps at night because “God’s way of life” was the product the customer got in exchange for being parted from their money.
From the perspective of the casino attendee: The customer is paying for the incidental. Wants that big prize. Wants the poker hand, or the slot machine to start flashing. The entertainment is filler, and is used as a consolation prize (well at least I had a good time). Potentially gets addicted and chases it to the exclusion of a normal life.
From the perspective of the church attendee: The customer is paying for the incidental. Wants that big prize. Wants Jesus to return. Wants the earth to part and the sky to light up. The lifestyle is filler, and is used as a consolation prize (well at least I’m living God’s way of life). Potentially gets addicted and chases it to the exclusion of a normal life.
See how similar that is?
… so with Armstrongism we have a franchise model of business. Enterprising individuals can spin off a franchise, be assigned a stock ticker (PKG, PGI, CGI, whatever), and peddle their branding of what is the same item made in the same factory in China, just with different decals. You’re free to run your business as you please. Your storytelling ability, location, choice of demographic – these are important to consider to gain members. Different businessmen have different styles. Some accumulate large real estate valuations via campuses and go on television. Other prefer lower overhead with work-from-home and telecommuting ability and stick to pdf ebooks. Some ministers clear 7 figures. Dealing souls is a very lucrative business model.
Truly they have turned the simple and wholesome message of our Creator and our Savior into warez to be peddled, most literally.
Bob, I don’t understand why you single out liberal activists as ones particularly guilty of following “the path of least resistance to accomplish their selfish objectives.” I have observed that activists–zealots–of all persuasions do whatever they can get by with to accomplish their objectives. And don’t forget that it is Ayn Rand’s libertarian followers who most enthusiastically follow the dictates of selfishness. In fact, they fly the banner of self-interest.
The difference from the ACOGs is that leaders of these groups present their self-interest as the interest of God.