British Israelism was at the center of one of the greatest standoff tragedies in the history of the United States.
cultured
Who can forget the senior banquet hosted by Herbert Armstrong for the Ambassador College Seniors? Before graduation, he wanted to expose the AC students to culture, replete with gold and silver place settings and fine crystal, accompanied later in the evening by Herbert Armstrong himself playing the piano — nocturne in e flat major op. 9 no. 2 by Frederic Chopin, was it? Everyone who saw the video at the Feast was so impressed. We were all impressed, that is, until we learned that Ross Jutsum ‘sweetened’ the playing by, well, playing the piece. It was just another one of those situations where Herbert Armstrong cheated. You know, like claiming to obey the Ten Commandments while committing incest with his daughter, being a chancellor of a college when he hadn’t even finished high school, paying 9.75 of his income as a tithe and having a donut and cup of coffee on the Day of Atonement while 95 year old widow ladies fasted and went without. It just seemed he had to cheat and ‘fudge’ everything and even got coconspirators to participate with him.
Herbert Armstrong was high on music — he said repeatedly that it had to be ‘melodic’, which, if you think about it, pretty much defines what music is. He liked to play ragtime on the piano in his youth and was fond of most classical music (except for that demon inspired stuff, like “Let me come in, let me come in!”). Yes, Ambassador College was a real classic and even had rather famous people come play in the Auditorium. He brought refinement to the community. Well, it was Pasadena, so what can we say? Have you seen downtown?
We’re not certain that the Worldwide Church of God membership really caught on, particularly during the days of Garner Ted Armstrong appearing on Hee-Haw and what with the popularity of Bluegrass in the Southern States. We’re not sure that the members really appreciated the finer aspects of culture in their life, but that may be because they had to give so much of their livelihood in tithes, offerings, building fund and Herbert Armstrong induced emergencies when he overspent in his manic mode… or perhaps drunken alcoholic sot, three sheets to the wind mode.
It’s time, of course to reach back in time and bring Armstrongists and former Armstrongists back up to speed by presenting a video about the history of classical music (unfortunately missing one of the most famous composers, P.D.Q. Bach):
You are now cultured.
Stay humble.
Winter
“Ignoring science has led to the crumbling of society.”
If there is one thing you should take away from the video above, it is that “Ignoring science has led to the crumbling of society”.
Rome rejected science and slipped into the dark ages.
Society tends to declare war on science to serve Ideological Agenda.
Science is much more than a body of knowledge and applications. It’s a way of thinking; a way to unravel the world’s mysteries, to see its beauty, where we can look at all the facts to make informed decisions, instead of relying on preconceived notions and biases. Science doesn’t choose a political party, it simply adheres to evidence….
Remember that a vote for science is a vote for knowledge and progress, based in reality.
Michael F. Flynn wrote The Autumn of Modern Science in a guest editorial of the April 2016 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact in which he notes that ‘modern’ society is moving away from science and moving to the social realm — in other words, emotions and the way people feel are more important that observations and facts, ultimately leading to the ‘Autumn’ of science where science is relegated to a lesser role in making decisions and setting a course: “The thought-cliche for ‘good’ is now ‘sexy,’ and products are sold by buff men and women seldom wearing white lab coats.
Indistinguishable from magic
During the twentieth century, progress took on ironic overtones among elites. Post-modern made a sudden and dramatic appearance. “Urban” and “urbane” parted company, as did “artst” and “artisan.” This terminological ferment signaled the emergence of new ways of thinking.
What does all this mean for science in the coming age? Some bold forecasts:
As it becomes more important to feel than to think, the Scientist as Culture Hero will fade. Too many scientific findings, flaunted prematurely on the evening news, are questionable, wrong, or retracted. Science has become associated with pollution and other problems. The radicals and intelligentsia grow disenchanted.
People will still do science for the old reasons. But political funding will channel more and more research toward political goals. The perception of the scientist as a hired gun will grow — especially if standards of proof are relaxed or theories are accepted for their elegance and mathematical beauty. Having been in turn the Handmaiden of Philosophy, then of Engineering, science in the coming age will become the Handmaiden of Policy….
The result will be a “science-less science.” Lots of facts, rules of thumb, and heuristic models, but few insights into nature. But causal principles that are not known (“manifest” are hidden (“occult”).. And the manipulation of matter through occult powers is called “magic”.
And so the golden summer of science is sliding into Autumn.
However, within the Cult of Herbert Armstrong Mafia, it’s already winter time for science. It is cold and freezing. The winds are howling. There is a biting weather chill that scrapes the bone. Science has been rejected for magic and thus, sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic.
For the longest time, Dr. Herman Hoeh was the ‘hired gun’ to take science and history and deform them into the distorted perceptions requisite to support the End Time Apostle. He was a hired church cult corporate hack to churn out supporting ‘evidence’ for the pronouncements of the madness of the [false] prophet. He knew it was wrong, but he had a mandate to manufacture fabrications to impart credibility to the very daft kook, Herbert Armstrong.
To Herbert Armstrong, science was only a tool to wrench twisted paradigms into viable doctrines and he didn’t care if it was true or not, just so long as it supported his great swelling ego. It is all to gain an advantage to propel those in power to greater heights of power, money, control and influence — as well as conspicuous affluence.
Science is all about observation. Observation is the very last thing Armstrongist leaders want people to do. The leaders want their followers to believe what they tell them. What the leaders tell them is abject lies which are inimical to science. Science will disprove the doctrines of the Armstrongist Churches of God. The leaders do not want the followers to know. The leaders want their congregants to believe British Israelism. The problem is that the observations of the scientific method demonstrate that British Israelism is absolutely ridiculous. The problem is that most of the members of the Cult of Herbert Armstrong Mafia do not have the talent to understand science. To them, it is magic. Not only is it magic, but it is magic which is flexible to bend to their beliefs and wishes. Most of the members have an appalling lack of scientific ability. As an illustration, over at the Ronald Weinland False Prophet blog, one of the former PKG members disclosed that they believed the world was flat. This created a storm of furor as others on the forum attempted to change the opinion of this person. The person actually cited some ‘proof’ materials and videos that the earth is flat.
One of the many problems of Armstrongism is that people make assumptions about others in their midst. People in the WCG sat with one another every week for decades and thought that they were all speaking (and believing) the same thing. The Tkaches come along and suddenly you find out that the people sitting next to you for all those years don’t at all believe the same thing you do. A great rift of divide ensued. The disparate viewpoints simply can not and have not been reconciled.
The cult of Armstrong must be antiscience. There is no other choice. If people knew and understood science, they would know that what Armstrongism teaches is all lies. The alternative universe constructed from sheer conjecture simply cannot exist in our own universe. Germany isn’t going to head the European Union to begin World War III and send what’s left of the Americans and Brits into slavery — it isn’t going to happen in the next 3 to 5 years and it isn’t going to happen in 300 to 500 years. There will be no Place of Safety at Petra. It isn’t going to happen. Of course, the Armstrongists will live in denial because Winter has come for science in Armstrongism land.
As a result of ignoring science, Armstrongism will crumble and the Armstrongists — those few who are left — will fall into their own Dark Ages.
For a religion which preaches so much about God and claims He is the creator, the Armstrongists certainly hold God in contempt. If God really did create the universe and is behind all truth, then God is the ultimate Scientist, Technologist, Engineer and Mathematician. He has to be, because even with our advancements, we barely understand how things in the universe really work. It took years to map the human genome. Apparently God understands things so complex that even after another thousand years, humanity will still be in its infancy compared with God.
But the Armstrongists insult God. They make snide comments about ‘that DNA nonsense’. If you really believe God created everything, DNA isn’t nonsense and you had best take care because if God truly exists, He may forgive you for your deficiencies, but He certainly isn’t going to tolerate your defiance.
Beware! View the following video by Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson about what happened to Islam when an Islamic scholar named Hamid Al-Ghazali deemed science evil:
The Armstrongist leaders want to be the .1% of the world ruling class with special privileges of power, wealth and prestige, free to pursue their passions, including Irish Dancing, without any accountability, dominating their peasants / Proles trapped in an agrarian dystopian society subject to magical thinking without science to release them from shackles through truth. The Armstrongists want to suppress science so they can ply their abuse upon hapless helpless miserable impoverished people without regard for their well-being or happiness. The damage they will do if they reach ascendancy will be collateral because they care only about themselves and their privileges. They will hold the world in superstition if they get the opportunity. And if they get their way…
Winter is coming.