Philadelphia Trumpet Does It Again

When you see the January 2012 issue of The Philadelphia Trumpet, the feature story is about Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple who died in October 2011. This man is applauded for his computer genius, focus on his vision - and rightly so.

What is less trustworthy is once again that the current events focus, very similar to The Plain Truth, is biased by the author. The few quotes are intended for people to relax and take in this material as though it was a journalist reporting about Steve Jobs.

Steve was FAR MORE COMPLEX than presented in this article, and you should read his biography rather than reading The Incredible Human Potential which the PCG now define as "our book" after they bought copyrights from WCG.

One of the points that caused Apple to have great success was, in part, the creation of their own web browser - Safari - which allowed very fast web browsing on the internet when you bought a Mac. Long time readers of this blog will remember that the PCG originally defined the internet as "dangerous", something many of us laughed a bit at since they had a website at that time.

So it doesn't really matter for Flurry-supporters what tool they must use as long as they can get in some tithes and offerings for their Armstrongite endeavours. Never mind the double standard because everything is interpreted by what fits the local minister.

Articles, when taken out of context, may appear very positive, but you need to have the full picture to get a grasp of how Armstrongism is presented in this 21^st century...

The Last Great Day by Benjamin Grant Mitchell

Currently, I am reading the book The Nostradamus Prophecies by Mario Reading, but the next book to be devoured is The Last Great Day by Benjamin Grant Mitchell.

Ben is an author who experienced the cult of Armstrongism firsthand too, and therefore his book is an important part of telling the story about Armstrongism, so I am looking forward to reading this book. It came by airmail a couple of days ago - and it's only because Mario's book on the disappeared Nostradamus prophecies is so exciting that I couldn't quite avoid getting that book read first... :-)

Article Worth Reading About David C Pack

Regular readers will already know about the blogroll I have running in the left hand side menu, but I surely want to recommend you read the article about David C Pack which can be found right here: http://otagosh.blogspot.com/2011/11/packs-pipedream.html. It is well worth reading, and I fully agree with the author behind Otagosh.

Have a nice weekend everyone. :-)

Fourth Reich Ramblings From Gerald Flurry

In the November/December 2011 issue of the Flurry magazine (The Philadelphia Trumpet) there are two things that immediately caught the eye.

First, the Personal talking about the rise of Germany. Lo and behold, just because Herbie could guess right for once, it is now made out to be "the big authority". Flurry wants to know how he could know this, and how the Armstrongite movement could be so "right"?

Well, Flurry is asking questions upside down, which is often done to create the right mind control environment, because he should have investigated 1972 in Prophecy before asking such a question.

The fact remains that Scripture is VERY CLEAR about how we should consider false prophets. When predictions flied from pulpits all over the globe announcing 1972 and 1975 noone saw apologies from ministers who were in empire costumes... :-)

Just because Flurry could find two sensationalist journalists who could be quoted to indicate something circular to fit the square holes (when manipulated extensively) doesn't make it truth.

But, of course, for the faithfuls all that is said from Oklahoma must be true when Flurry says it... ;-)

Another important thing to watch is the claim for mental sanity by reading the article in the magazine. Sounds much like practicing without a license... Buyers beware, if mental stability lies in beating kids with paddles, belts etc, I think you know the rest...

Wondering what foolish things will come as the January 2012 issue arrives, because Gerald Flurry will without a doubt have some specific interpretation of Herbie being dead for 26 years on January 16th... Those who follow your BS (pardon my French) sure wallow in some crazy ramblings.

Condolences - Passing Away of Sydney Hull

Long time church members will probably already have heard this, but I was equally surprised to read on the Living Armstrongism blog of the passing away of Sydney Hull on March 13^th 2011. He had served as Regional Director of South Africa in the Living Church of God run by Roderick C Meredith, a.k.a. Spanky.

Although we strongly disagree with ministers of Armstrongism, it is no doubt a very sad time for his wife, Dot Hull, who lost her husband - and I do send my sincere condolences on her loss.

Harold Camping Now Says October 21st 2011

Harold Camping remains vigilant with new explanations, and now says October 21^st 2011 IS the final date. When May 21^st came and went, he now invented a new explanation: http://www.familyradio.com/x/whathappened.html...

One will have to wonder what this guy is going to say on October 22^nd 2011.

Will be fun to see. This guy hopes to have nine lives, apparently, and makes quite a mockery of religion with his date-setting.

Mind-Control From Leadership

Mind-control from leadership in offshoots of the WCG apparently goes far beyond the time when you are a member in such a cult. When you look at the article "Who's Behind the Burkas?", you will find indications about virtual fatwas going out from ministers in an attempt to silence criticism.

Pure presumption about what God would do to critics.

It never occurs to such minion ministers that they may be doing the work of Satan - in confusing people - and that it is actually in everyone's best interest to expose this type of work.

Without ever presuming a Godsent in this - I would like to add.

Nothing sickens me as much as people needing alibis for what they do. Stand up for your opinions, and don't start calling it a "mission" of anything!

It is an after-effect of the mind-control in cults that people NEED some kind of acceptance before they have the guts to expose the bad things they experienced - and that should be shared among ALL offshoot information agents.

The reason for being online should be to share information that can help others come out of CONFUSION. Not just to bring them into another confused mindset.

So if those who expose this type of information want to be succesful it's time to work fully together, sharing links with one another so that ANYONE interested in coming out of Armstrongism has a chance to get the information they need.

As a consequence of this, the month of August is a month where I will be adding links to sites that are ACTIVE, and BENEFICIAL in sharing with one another. Let blooming plants get more fertilizer, and let those who don't focus on these people caught up in any of the cults of Armstrongism wither.

We NEED to cooperate to be more effective.

Getting Rid of Armstrongism Mind-Control

Getting rid of Armstrongism mind-control is a long, and for many slow process. The indoctrination of age-old notes is something you need to get rid of, and teaching an old dog new tricks is difficult. Herbie was right about one thing: it's difficult to unlearn what you have already learned - and this was used very effectively in the repetition for emphasis concept that went through the entire organization, and still does in numerous offshoots today.

Getting rid of Armstrongism is instrumental in allowing you to see what is ACTUALLY written in the Bible. You will find that when you read entire chapters in the proper context that many of the scriptures used to say one thing while within Armstrongism, but a whole new thing once you read what God originally intended to be written.

Have you got rid of old traces of Armstrongism mind-control? Please share your thoughts for others to learn also. Thanks beforehand

Spanky Is At It Again...

Spanky is at it again, this time in his june member letter to the faithfuls. He now emphasises a couple that were spared from a hurricane. Normal thinking people would call it pure coincidence, remembering Ecclesiastes 9:11 which says the following:

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race [is] not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

The strange part, for those unfamiliar with Armstrongism at its core, is that people were for a long time encouraged to trust in the Lord rather than spend any money on insurances. Naturally, the ministry didn't take quite the same chances - as was documented for many years in the Ambassador Report written by John Trechak.

When people who WERE members were hit by disaster, the Ecclesiastes scripture was used to avoid answering why people were not spared. But if they ever dared ask questions about why it was more important to tithe (to the organization, then the WCG) than to show wise stewardship, they were declared "rebellious"...

So even though it is always good to see people being lucky, it can't be proved to be anything but pure coincidence. Even when Roderick Meredith wants to avoid the historic implications of his wonder story.

Have a nice weekend everyone. :-)

The Various Perspectives on Bible Translations

When it comes to Bible translations there are various perspectives. Some treat it almost as doctrine that you should use either the King James Version from the 16^th century, or the New King James version published in 1982 by Nelson Publishers. In the WCG there was a translation calling for the Moffatt translation. It was used by founder, Herbert Armstrong, and therefore considered almost anathema to call it just a paraphrase.

Nonetheless, and this will come as a shock to some Armstrongites, the Moffatt translation WAS a paraphrase - just as is the New International Version or the Good News Bible traditionally distributed by bible companies all over the globe.

What translation should you use today?

Use the one you feel is easiest to read, and use a concordance for deeper studies along with reference works, a Bible dictionary etc. Don't let others decide what you like best. Studying the Word of God should be pleasurable and easy to read - not a question of what level of reader you are.

So start thinking for yourself, and make your own choices. Choosing YOUR preferred translation is the first step in that positive direction. :-)