Wise Words fom Byker Bob: Armstrongism tried over and over DOES NOT WORK!
Ya know, J, last summer I was listening to the Michael Medved program. On this particular occasion, he was observing how every couple of decades, any one of several influential professors on some of the larger ivy league campuses will attempt to rehabilitate the concept of communism. And, the first thing this person will state is that communism really is not a bad way of life if we could only get the right people running it. They'll
blame tyrannical dictators for the failure of the philosophy itself.
Now, Medved wondered, how many times do we have to try communism and have it fail before we realize that the very philosophy corrupts leaders and makes them into the oppressive types of tyrants that are universally associated with communism?
That for me was a huge lightbulb moment! I knew immediately that this had a direct parallel to the typical Armstrongite doctrines, and the ACOGs! How many times do we have to experiment with the so-called 18 restored truths before we realize that that very system will always produce oppressive leaders, and very toxic cultic behavior????? It's a cause and effect relationship, and though Armstrongites consider themselves to be Christians, the ACOG system always produces very unChristian behavior! I suppose you could privately practice Armstrongism in your home, and not do anyone any harm, but the minute you turn it into an organized group, voila! Hello cultism!
Far be it from me to try to dictate peoples' choices in their religious practices, but I personally feel that anyone who goes from ACOG to ACOG, attempting to find the "good" one is just kidding themselves.
blame tyrannical dictators for the failure of the philosophy itself.
Now, Medved wondered, how many times do we have to try communism and have it fail before we realize that the very philosophy corrupts leaders and makes them into the oppressive types of tyrants that are universally associated with communism?
That for me was a huge lightbulb moment! I knew immediately that this had a direct parallel to the typical Armstrongite doctrines, and the ACOGs! How many times do we have to experiment with the so-called 18 restored truths before we realize that that very system will always produce oppressive leaders, and very toxic cultic behavior????? It's a cause and effect relationship, and though Armstrongites consider themselves to be Christians, the ACOG system always produces very unChristian behavior! I suppose you could privately practice Armstrongism in your home, and not do anyone any harm, but the minute you turn it into an organized group, voila! Hello cultism!
Far be it from me to try to dictate peoples' choices in their religious practices, but I personally feel that anyone who goes from ACOG to ACOG, attempting to find the "good" one is just kidding themselves.
Source: Shadows of the WCG blog, response to article: Scattered and in Disarray 05/27/07
Labels: Armstrongism, Byker Bob, state of the XCG splinters, Wise Words
As one who is on a mailing list of a certain failed experiment in Armstrongist Communal Living, I am repeatedly reminded of the abject failure of the venue. The brother-in-law of the Exide Battery Man has this property for Sabbatarians on an old military base [unfit for human residence] which he set up for the compound of believers. Things have gone awry, what with the fire that burned a part of the compound, the lawsuits, the lack of money so bad that now they can't pay the utility bills.
Within this backdrop, the organizer of this fiasco refers over to the UCG youth program to show how the philosophy of his own particular brand of Armstrongism would work if only people followed it in the spirit of intent -- a premise not only unprovable but thus far has shown to be quite ineffectual.
Things are not going well. The court case has been draining resources. The mortgage payments are behind. The latest wrinkle is that the utility bills can't be paid.
As a work of faith, it is a bust.
One would think that if God were behind it, nothing could stop it. It seems as if nothing can keep it going.
It is just a matter of time.
Be warned though: The Lord over the manor is in steep decline, but the final results probably won't be in until many years from now.
Judgment takes a very long lifetime: Failure takes its torturous time to put the failed experiments out of its misery.
Posted by
Unknown |
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Ever since The Worldwide Church of God adopted changes and shifted from Armstrong-ism to evangelical Christianity, I have watched in utter disbelieve beneficiaries of the Armstrong movement come out to rubbish what they helped him teach over the years. Some of them did build careers out of Armstrong's teaching for decades! I simply don't believe that the leaders who undertook to introduce the changes were honest then and even now.
Mr Armstrong could be blamed for some errors common to human beings not least among then racism with a bias in favor of Anglo-American supremacist, legalism which made some of his ministers and followers develop a holier than thou attitude akin to the Pharisees of Jesus' day. His teachings concerning prophecy and exclusive salvation for only his church membership led many critics to accuse him of being a cult leader.However, despite all the weakness, any fair minded person would say Armstrong was honest in what he did and taught. He faithfully ran the race that was marked out for him to the finish line.
But how about Mr Tkach and his group? For years they followed a man who they claim was a deceiver! As adults they were either pretenders or sheer opportunists who don't believe what theyare teaching at present. Evangelical teachings have been here with us from the days of Martin Luther and protestant reformation, why did they have to join Armstrong's sect? If an honest person found himself in the position of mr Tkach - that for decades you followed and taught lies then you discover the true way to salvation - the only way to extricate yourself from the falsehood is to resign and explain to the entire membership why you think the group was wrong. The next step is to join any of the multitudes of evangalical groups you find. If he was honest with his new conversion, christians would have expected himto act like paul - leave the pharasis alone and join the right group! Why cling to leadership and benefit emmenselly from sale of assets left by mr Armstrong and lay off all those opposed to HIS doctrinal changes?
Posted by
mark wanyonti |
Friday, September 26, 2008