Armstrongists are unlikely to accept anything that refutes their views: Herbert Armstrong said it; they believe it; that is that. Herbert Armstrong is the arbiter of all truth. No one in the Cult of Herbert Armstrong Mafia wants to learn anything about opposing views, no matter what the evidence may be or what science can disprove. This is especially true in the realm of British Israelism and prophecy, Sabbaths and holydays, church eras, tithing, authority and paganism. The Old Testament is in effect unless specifically done away in the New Testament unless its inconvenient to Armstrongism.
There is a scientific and rather unflattering scientific reason for this: The brain of the Armstrongist is wired that way. The brain itself will reject anything that it is not wired to accept.
To understand the background of this, watch the video about how conservative and liberals that look and act differently. Follow the additional information at The National Journal discussing the Battle for your Brain.
By extension, Armstrongists think differently than non Armstrongists because their brains are wired quite differently: It’s biology — something that you can’t just talk your way out of (or in to).
We’ve seen this on blogs and websites over and over again: There is no basis for any real discussion because the brains of Armstrongists are incapable of receiving truth.
As Brian Resnick says, it isn’t clear at this point whether the brains in questions are that way from the beginning or if they have been changed at some time in the past. Did Herbert Armstrong attract people whose brains were wired a certain way or did exposure to Herbert Armstrong actually change the brains of his followers?
This certainly explains rather handily why people continue to follow David Pack no matter how outrageously his prophecies fail. Ronald Weinland followers in the PKG are unlikely to leave the fold at this point, even though he has been convicted of five counts of felony for Income Tax Evasion and was sent to prison by a jury of his peers. People will likely follow the false prophet of sixty years, Roderick Meredith in spite of what Jesus said in Matthew 7:15 because they are wired that way. PCG members are likely to continue to bear the heavy burdens of Gerald Flurry for the duration. Congregants will continue to attend the UCG and CoGWA in spite of the fact that there’s little difference between them, because the followers are hard wired to accept the preachments of sects. No one can offer scientific facts. People are unimpressed that DNA evidence refutes British Israelism. False prophecies are passed off as mere speculation even though they might be signed “In Jesus’ Name”. Armstrongists will continue to conveniently ignore the Bible when it shorts out their wiring and might blow their fuse.
And that’s a good explanation why Armstrongists won’t change: They are wired wrong.
Well, they attribute this “wiring” to the workings of their version of the Holy Spirit. But, there is one positive. Based on their own growth statistics, there would seem now to be a shortage of people whose brains are wired to be receptive to Armstrongism.
Personally, I’ve always needed to test and retest everything that I believe I “know”. There is just so much more information available today, and it seems to be more readily digestible, able to be assimilated, and nourishing to the soul to all except those hardwired to be culties.
BB
The Holy Spirit is responsible for incest, pedophilia, abuse, narcissism, false prophecies so much a part of the Cult of Herbert Armstrong Mafia? The Holy Spirit rewired Ronald Weinland’s brain to commit felony tax evasion? The Holy Spirit rewired cult leader’s brains so they lie and take your money? The Holy Spirit rewired brains so they covered up and made excuses for their bad behavior.
I don’t know.
That sounds more like the spirit of the modern corporation.
Only modern corporations are sometimes a bit better than that. Sometimes.
Will we ever get the truth? Well, there is The Journal — news of the churches of God. A lot like what Robert Thiel is pushing. The editor attends the Church of God Big Sandy. There are articles in The Journal by the pastor of the CoGBS. The Journal seems to be ‘objective’ but behind the scenes, it looks quite a lot like it’s biased toward the CoGBS. If it is, it would certainly explain a lot.
The issue? How the brains of the staff and editor of The Journal are wired to produce what they are producing.
This is the stuff of PhD theses.
Anyone from the CoHAM want to get a MRI?
Or how about a simple brain wave analysis by Dr. Robert Hare to prove they aren’t psychopaths?
Or maybe it’s genetic? Lets have all the leaders in Armstrongism tested by Dr. Phil to see if they have the anger / warrior gene.
Anyone taking bets?
The members should all be asking themselves the questions that you asked in the first paragraph. The problem is that their wiring dictates that they deny that such conditions even exist. Their wiring switches some of the key “I”s to “0”.
You know, I’ve asked myself, what kind of person would a theory such as British Israelism appeal to, to the extent that he actually made it the basis for a religion which he was founding? He’d have to be a racist elitist to start with! And, that pretty much typifies a lot of the doctrines. The child rearing doctrines are going to appeal to naturally abusive people, the medical doctrine to people who get off on human suffering. Authority, the future opportunity of being rulers and kings, appeals to totalitarian egomaniacs. These doctrines appeal to the lowest elements of human nature, and crowd out natural compassion for homeless people, desire to help free people from enslaving dependencies, and commitment to the betterment of surrounding community. Armstrongism appeals to those who already have twisted personalities. To those people, it just seems so right, as if they had finally found people to whom they could relate and with whom they could naturally fellowship.
In short, the people who enthusiastically join and support Armstrongism do so as a result of their own anthropomorphism. They embrace a religion which is a natural embodiment, expression of, or extension of self.
BB
Byker Bob, there’s another dynamic at play here: The prophecy angle. Herbert Armstrong declared that British Israelism was the key to prophecy. He was so insistent on it that in the 1950s no one could join the Radio Church of God without espousing British Israelism. That is why today, no Armstrongist CoG can exist without British Israelism. Even the UCG which is tacitly attempting to downplay British Israelism still have articles which tacitly use British Israelism. For example, the Good News, March – April 2015 has an article 2015 – A Year of Triumph or Trial for America? Note this paragraph:
“Moses’ warning to ancient Israel is especially relevant to 21st-century America. Read it in Deuteronomy 28, where God promised blessings for obedience and curses for violating His laws. God dealt patiently with ancient Israel, and He will deal patiently with us today—but only to a point. Has America passed, or is it about to pass, that point of no return?”
British Israelism is there in spades and isn’t going to go away, even though it is covered up.
A lot of people are attracted to prophecy — they are curious and they want to know what is going to happen. They want to know the future. Armstrongism sounds so positive and confident, so it’s natural for people to trust Armstrongist false prophets. They ‘sound right’. That’s the hook that brings a lot of people in. Once hooked, those espousing British Israelism find it almost impossible to get free of it because every negative news report makes them think that prophecy is being fulfilled. For many people who have left Armstrongism, it may be years before they can normalize and not automatically think that the United States and British Commonwealth are being punished because as Israel, they are not obeying God. This is heady stuff that’s tough to ignore once the brain is rewired to accommodate it. I really believe that British Israelism is destructive and highly addictive: It’s the spiritual equivalent to cigarette smoking — an addiction which is difficult to overcome.
The problem gets worse when people have so many others around them in the group reinforcing their rubbish thinking, making it seem real when it is just a delusion.
“… the brains of Armstrongists are incapable of receiving truth”
If so, why did you and I leave? Why do so many keep leaving? Why are they a fraction of their size today from what they once were?
The answer is quite simple (and embedded in the referenced articles): The brain changed. Neural pathways were rerouted.
You are thinking that begs the question. How did the brain change happen — after all, if the brain doesn’t change, behavior is pretty much going to remain the same.
People change when they have something major personal happen to them. Sometimes, it is a traumatic event for them or those they know personally. It can be a powerful new piece of information that can’t be ignored. Let’s take Bill who left the PKG recently. He endured false prophecy when Weinland’s predictions didn’t come true, and it wasn’t easy because he had quit his job. He managed to find another and “soldiered on”, but, as he said, “My eyes began to be opened up however as I along with a bunch of others were invited to The Weinland’s home during the Feast of 2012.” He saw the disparity between his subsistence level living and the living standards of the Weinlands. He comments:
“What I DO remember was how absolutely fabulous their house was! Their home was no palace by any means but it was in a very exclusive neighborhood, and I couldn’t help but notice the his ‘n’ hers BMW’s in the garage.
“A thought went through my mind——I don’t live this way, and I’m struggling………struggling mightily! It was particularly a hardship to get to the Feast that year as I didn’t have enough money to pay for a room and it was too late to ask for “assistance”. Only by the good graces of a couple brethren, I was asked to share the room with them with no cost to me. I did help drive on the way out (I’m in Central PA) so that took a big burden off of me.”
That still didn’t induce him to leave, however. It took bad teeth: “this past year I’ve been dealing with severe dental issues to where eating a number of things at this past Feast was sometimes pure torture! I’m in great need of having ALL of my teeth pulled (16) and getting a full set of dentures.” That’s what did it:
“Nothing was said however as far as “Bill are you able to take care of that?” “Do you need help getting your teeth and gums taken care of?”
“I wasn’t asking for help, but sometimes a little acknowledgement can go a long way. I do have dental insurance, but it’s the type that you have to pay the initial cost upfront, and then they’d reimburse you 50%. Well this is all going to cost $2820 after it’s all said and done as I recently had a dental appt at years end. Someone in the church had offered to pay for the cost initially, but then said that they spoke to Steve Dalrymple about getting assistance, and he said for me to get three quotes for maybe something cheaper.
“I said huh?? Where I went IS the cheapest place as the place is called Affordable Dentures and I’m not sure how Steve got involved in the first place as I hadn’t gone to the church in the beginning to ask anyone for anything. So this individual was in a way backing out, and got the church involved. I was a little peeved at that as I REALLY hate to ask anyone for anything. If someone offers that might be a different story, but this person getting a third party involved changed the dynamics for me.
“I then came to the conclusion that if I’m going to take care of this, it’s going to have to be on my own without the church! I don’t live in a over quarter million dollar home, I don’t drive a BMW, I don’t get to travel all over the world and stay in nice hotels, I don’t get to do any of that! So maybe, just maybe if I weren’t sending over 20% + (that includes keeping second tithe) of my income to the church, I MIGHT be able to get the needed dental work done, and keep on going.
“So that’s what I did………..sent them a letter letting them know I was no longer going to fellowship with the church.”
We saw what happened to Benjamin Dickman in a previous post: He suffered terribly under the hand of David Pack at the Restored Church of God compound.
Personally, I’ve suffered for years at the hands of the arrogant fools of Armstrongism. They were the cause my brother died; they were of no help for my son with mental illness; they treated me with contempt. Several things changed my mind: Gavin Rumney showed me that British Israelism was rubbish; I learned that the Jewish calendar was just plain stupid; I learned the true history of a true church was fabricated; and finally… well, you know, having three of my websites taken down by a cult leader who then threatens a $100,000 law suit is sort of a mind-changing event.
Over and over again, I see that people will absolutely WILL NOT leave Armstrongism just based on ‘polite discussion’. The wired presets are in place. When a major event occurs to disrupt the mental patterns though, people WILL leave because enough is enough.
But all things being equal, things will go on as they were from the beginning and unless something really major happens, the brains of Armstrongists are incapable of receiving truth.
There are a few additional factors.
We humans all make cost-benefit analyses. Unbelievably, this is one of the precepts of Armstrongism, although they limit it to a one-time application, rather than an ongoing process of life. “They” did teach us “count the cost”. If these churches were better managers of the environments and circumstances which they create, they would make sure that ongoing costs of being part of it all did not exceed the benefits of membership. Financial demands would be toned down, enforcement of authority would never come to the point of the straw that broke the camel’s back, and tangible assistance would be given (as other churches and charities actually do) for the financial and health emergencies of members. This strengthens a faith community, and weights the benefit side of the cost-benefit equation.
Secondly, life is a series of “snapshots in time”. There is constant change. As an example, it has been said that every 7 years, the human body goes through a complete cell exchange. We don’t know the full effects of minor cell mutation or basic chemistry, but these processes become part of the aging process which does alter world view, and personal tastes. Also, when you first meet someone, start a new job, or join an organization, that marks a starting point for a process of change. Your first impression, on which commitments are often based, is not a true and accurate reflection of those entities. It sometimes requires at least six months for enough facades and barriers to break down so that the true picture emerges. If that true picture ends up being far too weighted towards the cost factor of the equation, people are capable of making dramatic change purely for needs of survival!
If one becomes convinced that God is inspiring prophecy, and speaking that prophecy through certain individuals, one equates those individuals to God, accepts their authority over all aspects in life, and actually makes them the gatekeepers for spiritual events, such as places of safety, and the Kingdom. There are Bible-based examples of this in antiquity, so for some, it becomes easy and natural to accept that this same phenomenon exists in real time, today, and relates to them personally.
How would someone become dislodged from that??? Abject failure of the prophecies is powerful enough to make a percentage of members rethink their assumptions (it did for me in 1975), but the majority often accept explanations about alleged incomplete understanding, or delays in time because of a lack of readiness. Undeniable disproof of a cherished belief (British Israelism, church history) can also foment change, but somehow, people give the founders and teachers a pass on this, as well. When and how do people reach critical mass on these things? I am convinced that just as there are differences in thresholds for pain, there are thresholds related to belief, as well. As with everything else, these are plotted against time. I believe that the people for whom we are most concerned would be our family members, and close friends from the past. Some of them just appear to have much greater thresholds for bogus theology than we ourselves had.
In the end, for ACOG members, the equation is not just a simple cost-benefits thing. It is a cost-benefits/penalty thing, with the church assuming the position of sole administrator of the benefits or penalty, and the member left to deal with whatever the cost may be. They falsely use another mathematical principle, the substitution axiom, to achieve and maintain this status.
Without actual proof or testing of the equality, the leaders equate themselves, and their church to God, Himself. Caveat Emptor.
BB
Bob,
That is a most excellent reply! For those in the PCG, what this means is the cost out weighs the benefit. But for those in Flurrys cult, they seemed to have lost hold of their own minds. When Flurry had his fainting spell last year his followers responded. It is not what was wrote so much, but the mindset behind the members who wrote it.
‘Our Dear Beloved Apostle Mr. G. Flurry. You are in our thoughts and in our prayers. Jon and I can barely hold back the tears. We just feel like weeping continually. Thank you for all that you do to sacrifice for this world and for all of us. We are so humbled and corrected. We need to sacrifice more of our time to hold your arms up in finely beaten prayers for God to strengthen and protect you. May those angels be surrounded around you fighting off Satan and his demons trying to take you out of the way. We are here for you. We know that you have given up any type of normal life just to serve God and to serve this world. Thank you for all you do.’
Another: ‘Thank you so much for working as very hard as you do – that new revelation about the book of Ezekiel you have from God MUST be pretty important for God’s Church, for Satan to be striking at you this way – Thank you also very much for trying to push through your fatigue to deliver this very important sermon – Please do rest now though and regain your strength – maybe best now at this point when you do start to feel alittle tired and run down to just stop and get the rest you need – We will always wait patiently to hear any new revelation from God at your mouth.’
The membership equates him as a spokesman of God. One that the creator of the universe communicates with. They see his ministry as being one of service. Of sacrifice. The leader is the God figure here in which they must sacrifice to. What they refuse to see is the whole picture.
Count the cost. Do you want to be beaten down emotionally? Told that you are worthless and of no value? Now the leadership tells you that the ministry is of great importance. The ‘elite’ of God. Don’t speak back to them for God has ordained them for their position!
Your son’s or daughter’s commits suicide. They can’t handle the stress of being part of the cult. Perhaps they were disfellowshipped and cannot ever fellowship with their own family again. Whatever the reason, the ‘church’ orders the splitting of families. And they are successful in doing so. The membership never see’s the other-side of the equation. The real cost. They have become the infidel that Jesus spoke of.
– See more at: http://armstrongismlibrary.blogspot.com/2014/01/gerald-flurry-fainting-spell-happened.html#sthash.5OAHOtXN.dpuf
Thanks, James!
One of the bits of information that has come into the forefront about the ACOGs as a result of this “Bill” sharing, whom Douglas mentioned, is that the people in these groups actually do take it seriously when they are told not to read certain materials, and not to look into or question certain things. PKG members were told not to read or listen to any news items concerning Weinland’s trial, and the vast majority obeyed that edict! Over the past few years, the information and the persuasive writing skills on our so-called “dissident” sites has been honed into a very persuasive tool. But, we are down to the old rhetorical question, “If a tree falls in the middle of the forest, and nobody is there to hear it, did it actually make sound?” We believe that we have access to the church members, but in reality, that access has been prevented by their leaders. It seems to be even more effective than the old iron curtain.
BB
‘We believe that we have access to the church members, but in reality, that access has been prevented by their leaders. It seems to be even more effective than the old iron curtain.’
It is the people who close their minds. They believe what they are told to believe. As you can see I blame the members also. They close their ears and minds to alternative information that would free them if they would only think through the situation they find themselves in. Sad really. Typical Americans.