The Perfect Red Heifer™

The Perfect Red Heifer™

Armstrongism is on the nutty fringes of the outer limits of human belief, some how made to seem perfectly reasonable until some objective analysis is done by societal standards and scientific observation. How is it that if you don’t agree with the daft rubbish that some how it’s your fault and you just don’t understand?

The Cult of Herbert Armstrong Mafia isn’t the only daft religion and the new series, Dig on the USA Network brings to light what happens when extreme religion goes to great lengths to insure the establishment of their view of the world:

The really scary thing is that the creators of the series did a lot of research and found that there is a basis for what they present: They may have dramatized, but there are groups out there plotting and scheming to do the things portrayed in the show, to bring about the apocalypse, Armageddon or something (we’ll know more as the series unfolds). Look at Dig – inside the Episode: Episode 1:

About midway, they bring to light the story of the red heifer. As they say, if you Google the “red heifer” you will see there are people who believe that this could happen. Do you have questions? You will be rewarded. Of course, you will end up with ever more questions. Be warned: These groups aren’t just messin’ around. They’re serious. This is life and death stuff to them. Dig deeper — to coin a phrase, trust no one.

The red heifer is being raised in Norway. The Rabbis inspect the newly birthed heifer to see if there are any stray hairs that are black, which would absolutely ruin the sacrifice — but thankfully, this particularly young cutie is perfect for sacrifice, and so we are off and running. Apparently, the red heifer sacrifice is really, really, really important to Jewish prophecy for some reason. It doesn’t make sense to me, but it sure does to them.

It turns out that there is a connection to Armstrongism. The USA Network TV series is about people of extreme faith and the lengths they will go to when they believe God is on their side. Of course, He isn’t, so you can be certain this will all end in tears. Nevertheless, one of the features of the series is the Jews seeking out the Perfect Red Heifer™ for some sort of funky sacrifice signifying the… well.. it’s not clear, but it’s truly important to somebody to bring about the end of days, the coming of the Messiah or something.

I know The Perfect Red Heifer™ well. In the WCG, I knew a Jewish lady and her husband who certainly was in the center of things — at least in her own mind. She was a prophecy buff, and the main reason she joined up with Armstrongism was the prophecy of the end times. Of course, you know that couldn’t have lasted, particularly with the advent of the Tkach era, so she and her husband hied off to the Messianic Jews in hopes to find more of what she wanted. I was in her home one Sabbath post-WCG and she nattered on and on about The Perfect Red Heifer™ rather obsessively. I told her about the Herbert Armstrong incest and she accepted it, saying that it did not surprise her.

Well, here it is over a decade later and I’m pretty sure she’s still looking for that Perfect Red Heifer™. She was certain over 10 years ago that the Jews already had one picked for sacrifice on the altar to bring the Messiah or some such. I’d say that the best use of the Perfect Red Heifer™ is stew meat by this time if the poor thing is still alive.

It’s just plain nuts.

And the Cult of Herbert Armstongism Mafia sects aren’t much different than this kooky Jewish lady looking for the coming of the Perfect Red Heifer™.

Holy cow!

It never ceases to amaze how extreme Armstrongists can be: Strongly held daft cult ideas which just has to be!

This is just one such example.

Kudos to USA Network.

Although… here’s hoping it doesn’t give anyone any ideas….

The Journal is Cursed!

The Journal, Issue Number 170 (February 28, 2015) is out and has a surprising announcement in the “Letters from our readers” — Ambassador Ogorek disfellowships and rebukes The Journal on page 2:

Ambassador, God the Most High, canceling JOURNAL subscription and ads. I rebuke you in the name of Jesus Christ, turn you over to Satan for destruction, you and your newspaper, for violating the right of integrity concerning my creative works, my news ad. To you, your family and friends: No trespassing.

Ambassador Vincent Ogorek
Elk Grove, Ill.

Oh, dear. Bad news for Dixon Cartwright.

Dixon explains what happened:

Mr. Ogorek’s reference to THE JOURNAL’s alleged violation of his “right of integrity concerning my creative works” is an apparent allusion to a disagreement Mr. Ogorek and JOURNAL publisher Dixon Cartwright had about the Old English typeface. Mr. Ogorek specified Old English as a way to emphasize words and phrases in his ads (the last of which appeared on page 7 of issue No. 169). Mr. Cartwright refused to set words, including names of deity, in all-capital letters if they were in the Old English font.

Mr. Cartwright, who considers himself to be a typographer after operating a typesetting business for many years, said Old English set in all-capital letters is an “abomination” and that no self-respecting typographer would inflict such a “monstrosity” on readers. Doing so is “probably a violation of the Third Commandment” if it involves names for God, Mr. Cartwright quipped.

Mr. Ogorek said Mr. Cartwright’s refusal to set Old English in all caps was “over the top” and a few weeks later turned Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright and their newspaper over to Satan.

Mr. Cartwright and his wife, Linda, have been de-facto disfellowshipped several times over the years. The first notable excommunication occurred in 1995 in letters from Big Sandy WCG pastor Don Mears.

Mr. Mears, in separate letters to Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright, explained that he had “heard” that Mr. Cartwright no longer wished to fellowship with the WCG and that Mrs. Cartwright had actually stopped attending.

A writer of a letter to THE JOURNAL several years ago pronounced a curse on Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright, asking God to inflict boils on their faces “the size of hen’s eggs.” Mr. Cartwright says he doesn’t remember the specific reason for the curse, only that the letter writer seemed upset.

Well, you know what Proverbs 26:2 says, the curse causeless shall not come. So we have to believe, based on Scripture, Dixon Cartwright deserves it. Who knows?

Here’s what Olde English looks like:

Imagine that in all caps. Further imagine an entire article of Olde English in CAPS! Still, Mr. Ogorek has a point. The Journal is pretty messed up.

We’ve pretty much disproved the religion of Herbert Armstrong and you can find the evidence in The Foundation of Sand. British Israelism is total rubbish and Herbert Armstrong used it as a basis to become a spectacular false prophet. There’s no latitude for discussion and no one can argue with the science. The whole religion is just plain stupid.

Of course, there are other sources that expose Herbert Armstrong Crackpotology:

 In part I, Religion: The Anglo-Israelites, you can find this text:

But the Anglo-Israelite seeds had been planted. One of the earliest American Anglo-Israelite treatises was Two Sticks, or the Lost Tries of Israel Discovered, by an anonymous minister in the Church of the Brethren. But it was J.H. Allen’s Judah’s Sceptre and Joseph’s Birthright, published in 1902, that introduced bible students, among them Herbert W. Armstrong, who would later spread the doctrine through his Worldwide Church of God. Not until the 1920s would Anglo-Israelism capture a large audience in the U.S.

Anyone who professes British Israelism is a kook. You can get more of this information at the British Israelism website from the online book, The Spectacular Failure of British Israelism. The Journal is quite the promoter of British Israelism and the kooks who profess it. Notice the article on page 3, European democracy lost! by Brian Harris. Notice what this crackpot says on page 4:

Punishment exacted

Germany has fulfilled its dubious task of exacting punishment on all 12 modern-day descendant nations of ancient Israel, now located in the United States and Britain and the nations of Western and Northwestern Europe.

Today Germany again dominates Europe economically and politically and has already developed the Arian rocket, launching several tons of payload into orbit from its base in South America.

With a huge budget the Germans have created the European Space Project, building rockets that can easily be deployed against America and Britain as were the Vengeance 1 and 2 rockets used on London during World War II.

England ceasing to exist

It is shocking how Germany is literally being forced into the leadership position in Europe, and the German dream of world domination is being stimulated once more.

National characteristics are an interesting study. Knowing German origins, Churchill said: “Germany has displayed a belligerent nature in the last 2,000 years. They do not change.”

The German people will change when they are eventually given God’s Spirit of peace, but for now they will do His bidding as He disciplines America and Britain, returning our nations to the love of His laws by national destruction and captivity.

Dixon Cartwright allowed this nonsense without comment. Outside of the fact that Britain is not a lost tribe of Israel, Germany is not Assyria, there’s another prominent problem with this rubbish article. Hasn’t anyone told Dixon Cartwright that the current British Royalty is from Germany? A quick check at Wikipedia should have sufficed. Dixon Cartwright isn’t much of a journalist — he’s a purveyor of nonsensical idiocy.

Scripture is insistent that Satan is a liar and deceiver. Some how Mr. Ogorek turning over The Journal to Satan seems rather redundant, since the Devil seems to have taken over a long time ago.

 The Journal is a window into an insane asylum.

Atheist Summer Camp

Hey kids! It’s time once again for your folks to begin planning for summer! Sure, we haven’t even hit Spring and the Days of Unleavened Bread yet, but you know reservations can take the best spots and the money has to be set aside for a week of fun at camp!

While it is true that a number of the Cult of Herbert Armstrong Mafia sects have summer camps, it’s high time you and your parents reconsidered their programs and look for alternatives, given that the Founder, Herbert Armstrong, was a failed false prophet who did terrible things to his own children. Camp Orr, Minnesota doesn’t exist any more and there’s no Garner Ted Armstrong to stop by and visit with the young… sters (thank G… Oh, never mind).

I know what you’re thinking. You probably are suspicious. And why not, when you have someone like Tim Hawkins making fun of Atheist Summer Camp:

Very funny.

There are tens of millions of atheists in the United States — the number has doubled in the past few decades (assuredly, partly thanks to Herbert Armstrong: When people began waking up to what a fraud he was, starting to do some research, think for themselves and finding that he was just full of it, many saw that his supposed ‘proofs’ were so much sloppy research promoting lies — and finding no compelling reason to believe, left the fold). No one should be surprised that there is a separation of church and summer camp. There is a wave of atheist summer camps, offering a god free alternative to the traditional religious summer camps:

It’s a relief for the campers to spend time with kids like themselves. Note that Chandler Gary didn’t have any atheist friends near where he lived and he’d like to hang out with some — he’d like to go to a friend’s place and not have to listen to prayer before eating (the Armstrongists are famous for asking God to remove poison from the food: Just think, atheist moms don’t put poison in the food for their children, so don’t have to ask God to take it out and not putting poison in the food saves a lot of time, not to mention money and trips to emergency). Notice too, he’s actually been bullied by his Christian friends. Wait! What? Is that what Christianity is all about? Did Jesus command to bully your enemy unbelievers? It was nice for the kids to be able to attend camp where they weren’t limited, bullied or hurt. Socrates Cafe sounds interesting. Camp Counselor: The best way to become an atheist is to study the Bible (Amen to that!). The children think that people find comfort in God because of the unknown (we all know the truth — Armstrongists believe because of what they think they know about the future [which isn’t going to turn out the way they think], which means that they believe in God because of the (wrong) known). It’s really hard to take responsibility for yourself and much easier to just let someone Else come in and make things better. At least the atheist kids can admit they don’t know.

You can look at the activities at Camp Quest: You will find the standard stuff, like:

  • Archery
  • Campfires
  • Canoeing/Kayaking
  • Climbing
  • Crafts
  • Dance
  • Drama
  • Field Trips
  • Games
  • High and Low Ropes Challenge Courses
  • Hiking
  • Horseback Riding
  • Overnight Sleepout
  • Photography
  • Singing & Songwriting
  • Sports
  • Swimming

Of more interest are the intellectual pursuits:

Educational

  • Astronomy
  • Biology & Evolution
  • Critical Thinking
  • Ecology & Environmental Science
  • Ethics
  • Famous Freethinkers/Humanist Heroes
  • Fossil Hunting
  • Invisible Unicorn Challenge
  • Philosophy
  • Science Experiments
  • World Religions

One item stands out more that any other — an activity which was never and will never be pursued by the Armstrongists: Ethics. Anyway, they are devoid of it, so would be totally incapable of teaching it.

Parents can never know where this can lead. Long ago, Carl Sagan took a teenager ‘under his wing’ so to speak. He was very nice to the young man and helped him with his understanding with science. Decades later, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson honored his mentor by rebooting Cosmos.

Not all of us at the Painful Truth are atheists (in spite of what the Exit and Support Network may say), so we aren’t necessarily advocating Atheist Summer Camp, but on the other hand, we absolutely oppose Armstrongist summer camps for obvious reasons.