Ambassador Watch

Testimony

2009-07-10T17:45:00.003+12:00

Invest nine short minutes. I hope "Sientspirit" continues the series, and some of those in denial about the church's past watch this one.

The intro on YouTube reads: "I go into detail about the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) and end up taking almost 10 minutes to talk about it! I hope I kept it interesting enough; I found it difficult to explain WCG to outsiders, especially in a succinct fashion. Hopefully, you have a little understanding of where I'm coming from once you've watched this video. If you have any questions about the church, feel free to ask! I'll be talking more in detail about certain things that I either only touched on briefly or left out entirely."

Phone a Friend

2009-07-09T12:18:00.006+12:00

Here's a query from David V. Barrett, a researcher on WCG:

It's very difficult to count how many members left Worldwide either for the offshoots, or for other Churches (I know that some who accepted the new beliefs now attend other Evangelical Churches without the Worldwide baggage), or dropped out of religion altogether, but it must be easier to know how many ministers left Worldwide -- after all, they were on the payroll. Do you happen to know if this number (or percentage) has ever been quoted? I don't recall seeing it.

Does anyone know if the figure has been indeed been published somewhere? I haven't got a clue, other than saying "lots," but I seem to remember folk once marking off the disappearing ministers using a booklet of photographs put together after a ministerial conference during the reign of Joe Senior. Anyone able to source that publication (it used to be online) and/or indicate the number of elders who subsequently dived overboard (or were forced to walk the plank)? Obviously a number would have simply retired, or died in the time since then, so a simple comparison with a current list of ministers would overestimate the loss.

The research in question, a PhD thesis, is now almost complete and should be an invaluable contribution to understanding the WCG/GCI backstory.

Ezra, Columbus, Milton & Mormons

2009-07-08T20:07:00.006+12:00

I've been reading 4 Ezra.

To be honest, it wasn't easy to track down. In some bibles it's called 2 Esdras, but in most bibles it's missing altogether. Even Catholic bibles, which contain ripsnorting potboilers like the first two books of Maccabees and Tobit. But be warned, the 2 Esdras in the LXX isn't the 2 Esdras we're talking about... just the book of Nehemiah in drag.

Actually it's more complicated than that. 4 Ezra is the major part of 2 Esdras, which is a composite work. Chapters 1 & 2 – a Christian addition – were taped on later, as were the nightmare-like chapters 15 and 16. 4 Ezra is, properly speaking, the big chunk in the middle.

A comprehensive edition of the NRSV will however include 2 Esdras (the HarperCollins Study Bible, for instance) along with the much underrated Revised English Bible (with apocrypha.)

Is everybody clear so far? There will be a test at the end.

I went searching for 4 Ezra because it's a component in a paper I'm taking this semester on theodicy in the Hebrew Bible. Theodicy (sounds like theoddity, only different) is the difficult art of explaining God's goodness in a less than perfect world. Apart from theodicy it's also full of what many people call “prophecy.” In fact at times it seems to echo the Little Apocalypse of Matthew 24, at others Daniel. Trivia item: 4 Ezra is widely quoted in Mormon circles as evidence for their beliefs on the Ten Lost Tribes (the relevant passage is 13:39-47 – nobody tell Craig White or Dankenbring!) James White, husband of Seventh-day Adventism's Ellen G. White, also mined it for prophetic proof texts, but that's a digression.

But let's set aside the apocalyptic stuff and return to the oddity of theodicy. Here's Ezra. Not the real Ezra of course, but a literary Ezra cut from whole cloth, who after pouring out a troubled prayer is provided with the personal ministrations of an angel called Uriel to clear things up. Ezra is a sensitive, compassionate guy, deeply disturbed by the suffering of his nation and the apparent harshness of God in consigning the vast bulk of humankind to a terrible fate after death. The angel Uriel is, in contrast, a priggish unbending toad – and you get the impression that he's also as thick as a plank – who is quite content to see the vast majority of humanity consigned to the eternal concentration camps of the damned.

Uriel basically says, don't worry your silly little head about this Ezra, one of the joys of the saved is to look across on to the torment of the wicked. Grab some popcorn and enjoy the screams.

Slight license there, but it's not too far off. Quote: “Their second joy is to see the souls of the wicked wandering ceaselessly, and the punishment in store for them.” (7:93)

Here's the thing: Ezra doesn't give any ground at all. He politely agrees with the snooty know-all Uriel, then comes back again (and again) for another crack at challenging Uriel's Hitlerian idea of justice.

Think of Abraham bargaining with Yahweh over the fate of Sodom, or Job protesting his fate as Satan's (and Yahweh's) plaything. Like these canonical kin, 2 Esdras can be considered subversive literature.

If you feel like a little bit of a change from the usual biblical fare, you could do worse than dip into 4 Ezra, which is interesting on the level of literature, even if you're skeptical about the scripture part. Sure, it didn't make it into either the Hebrew or Septuagint canons, and it is believed to date from the same time period as Revelation, but among those who drew particular inspiration from it were such luminaries as Christopher Columbus (who quoted 6:42 to Ferdinand and Isabella in campaigning for financial support for his New World expeditions) and Paradise Lost's John Milton. You can read it (in the RSV) here.

Otagosh otagone

2009-07-07T20:30:00.006+12:00

AW's sister blog has been withdrawn. Remember (if you're ancient enough) those letters the High and Herbal One wrote to co-workers long ago... each setback was portrayed as another clever leap forward.

Well, it isn't that way. Two active blogs is one too many, and to be utterly frank, otagosh was a bit pretentious and not nearly as much fun as this one. So, in the best tradition of making a virtue of necessity, the two have now been combined.

So expect to see an occasional biblioblog item appearing here among the usual curmudgeonly rumblings about Joe, Gerry, Spanky and their gangs. I'm sure you'll be as excited as I am at the prospect of a posting on 4 Ezra. No, really, 4 Ezra: how could Ronnie Weinland possibly compete with that?

More changes are in the wind for next year: a new domain and associated blog to replace AW. Not to panic though, there's six months to go yet.

Holy Trinities Batman!

2009-07-06T08:35:00.007+12:00

I have a copy of Is God a Trinity? on file, published by the WCG way back when. In those distant times there was little doubt about the answer: no!

But times have changed, and what appears to be the first booklet published under the GCI brand is titled A Brief Introduction to Trinitarian Theology.

This time round they're not even bothering to ask the question.

The kind of trinitarianism GCI promotes isn't the standard version you'd find in Catholic, Lutheran and Orthodox communions, but a variety pickled with the MSG of junk theology, marketed under the labels "Barth" and "Reformed," and produced in porridge vats with the patented perichoresis ingredient by Baxter Kruger, the terrible Torrances, and their ilk. Perichoresis, you ask? How to put this delicately... God (to quote Wikipedia) enjoys "mutual interpenetration."

This particular concoction has universalist dimensions, so much so that the booklet even asks the rhetorical question Isn't this universalism? and consciously distances itself from bog Calvinism. Well, that's commendable I guess, but the fact remains that it stills build on a Calvinist foundation (as does Arminianism - which can only make sense as a reaction to Calvinism.) You buy a cheap Ford, strip it down and soup the coupe... is it still a Ford?

Well, it sure ain't a BMW.

Who's the author? There's no attribution in the online edition; GCI seems to be using the same anonymity policy as the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society. Part 1 sets out the case, and part 2 is a kind of "catechism" that rehearses possible questions. If you reside in the USA, Joe & Co. will graciously send you a free copy. If you live elsewhere, you'll need to read it online.

Loo Paper

2009-07-04T08:13:00.006+12:00

LU - Living University - can now issue degrees. Not accredited degrees, mind you. The vagaries of the US system elude this writer, but the nice people at UNC seem to have given the LCG go ahead to issue bits of paper. Here's how LCG is reporting it:

On June 9, 2009, Dr. Erskine Bowles, President of the University of North Carolina, accepted the findings and recommendation of a UNC staff report regarding Living University’s request for exemption from North Carolina licensure. Exercising authority delegated by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, the President declared Living University exempt from licensure to conduct in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Associate of Theology and the Bachelor of Theology degree programs under provisions of G.S. 116-15(d) and the Rules and Standards for Licensing Nonpublic Institutions to Conduct Post-Secondary Degree Activity in North Carolina with respect to religious education.

Meanwhile a prodigal pastor returns to Charlotte's embrace. An announcement from Spanky:

We would like to welcome back Mr. and Mrs. Rees Ellis, pastor in Belgium and Northern France, and brethren who have decided to reconnect with the Living Church of God after our unfortunate and regrettable separation about 10 years ago. Mr. Ellis spent several days this week here in Charlotte discussing aspects of this reconnection with me, Mr. Ames, Mr. Apartian and Dr. Winnail. The discussions about reconnecting actually began with Mr. Carion before he died.

Does this mean Ellis now gets a steady income?

Joe's Deeply Sincere Apology Strategy

2009-07-01T15:09:00.008+12:00

Has Joe Tkach apologized to you for all the garbage the church put you and your family through?

No?

It seems it ain't because he hasn't been trying.

Thus spake the Unelected One recently, commenting on Curtis May's in-house "reconciliation" ministry:

[T]rying to reconcile with former members is probably the least of it because they don't want to be reconciled. We tried and tried hard. We wrote letters to several people, and they write back and say 'stop harassing us.' In the letters we [say we] are sorry if we caused any offense, is there is any way we could reconcile? And the letter comes back 'if you write and harass us again we will get lawyers.' I thought wow, that is the response... so we are very willing to reconcile, but from that end we are just sort of waiting till it just comes to their mind. It's kind of like the old analogy of the dog that gets hit by a car and split open and lying there, and you go down to help the dog but he’s trying to bite your hand, and that’s how it's been with a lot of those folks, although as time goes on some are becoming more and more, uh, willing to at least talk or have some level of friendship.

One of our former pastors, you might remember a guy named Dennis Diehl. Some might remember his name. He went all four years in Pasadena for college, but after he left us he became half a Buddhist then became an Atheist, and I don’t know where he is now, but he just wrote me a letter two weeks ago saying he forgives me for everything so, uh... yeah, so I wrote back and said I am so happy then we can be reconciled, kinda be like we can be friends in college again, and anything I can do you know I am willing to do, so its happening but its the merest trickle.

Speaking only for myself, at no stage in all the years since I left WCG/GCI, including those before AW came along, has anyone in that church's ministry bothered to initiate contact, let alone apologize. Any "reconciliation" attempt came from my initiative (I attended a couple of services in Wellington around the time the New Covenant teachings were introduced.)

Interesting to see the mention of Dennis, though I'm not sure Joe quite represented him correctly. Notice though who made the approach.

Speaking at the same gathering of client ministers in Canada, Joe played the YouTube item below to much amusement. Who'd have thunked it!

So, did you get one of those letters from Joe or his underlings?

Related link: Dennis' new (?) website

The Sugar Police

2009-06-30T19:05:00.003+12:00

There have been stories over the years about church officials checking members' cupboards for the signs of Laodicean backsliding. Yes brethren, we're talking about Satan's subtlest refinements: white sugar and flour.

Back in the seventies, one such Godly enforcer was, allegedly, Joe Tkach Snr. In fact, if memory isn't playing tricks, the suggestion has been made that he was one of the more thuggish "home visitors".

But is there any documentation? Is there anyone out their who can recall the details, or point to a source for this tale?

A COG researcher is looking for just such published documentation for this bit of oral lore. If you have first hand knowledge of Tkach Snr's kitchen raids (on member or ministerial residences), or can point to existing references to this effect (online, or in hard copy), we'd love to hear from you.

An unexpected vocation

2009-06-29T21:42:00.003+12:00

It's a tragic story about a good man, tragically slain. Once you fight your way past the incongruity of it all, you'll appreciate that the report - covering a major moment of reflection in Jamaica - depicts a good man who brought great credit to his community of faith, the Worldwide Church of God. I'm sure most readers here would want to echo the condolences expressed to the family of Greg Gordon.

But you might well have to battle with the surreal elements first.

A tip of the hat to "DP" who sent in the link.

Thriller - the final note

2009-06-26T16:28:00.008+12:00

Michael Jackson is dead, and the talkback station I listen to on the long drive home is full of it. Jackson was a trailblazer in the world of music, and that - rather than the controversies that plagued his personal life - will endure.

And here's the thing: the true mark of a recovering cult member. I'm reminded of the article in the WN, December 1980, in which Herb slagged off The Beatles - a kind of anti-obituary to John Lennon.

What's the bet that one or more of the grumpy old men who represent the hierarchy in today's COG's will leap into smug mode and bewail the attention given to the departure of the king of pop? How many sermons this coming Sabbath will take cheap shots?

My personal tastes in music run more to Beethoven and Tchaikovsky than Jackson, but you'd have to have been living in a cave not to have been hugely influenced by the Gloved One's music and dance, one way or another. Let's hope that this time the lords of COGdom have enough nous to avoid the snide sliming of a great if flawed talent.

Related link: MAM on HWA.

Addendum:

Well, slap me silly, Clyde Kilough has leapt into the breach with this GN commentary on Jackson's death. I hate to admit it but, fair is fair, he does a reasonable job and makes some telling observations. I did gag a bit at the end when he talked about encouraging "normal" childhood. He should listen in to the testimony of the lost generations of "church brats." But, all said and done, it gets a 6/10.

Weinland & Harpur: A Match Made In Hades

2009-06-22T18:51:00.004+12:00

Mike over at Flavor Aid reveals that Ronnie Weinland was a warm-up act at ideacity for Tom Harpur. It seems Ron, after giving his own address, was upset to hear Harpur's talk and, like Elvis, left the building.

Which says an awful lot about just how completely dense Weinland is. Harpur is a well known Canadian. Before gaining notoriety as a proponent of the mythical Jesus position, Harpur (an Anglican clergyperson) was a popular liberal Christian author - with a high media profile. In fact, I have a couple of his earlier books (prior to The Pagan Christ) sitting on a shelf somewhere. And yes, there's a copy of The Pagan Christ there too (though I'm not all that impressed by it.)

My point is, if you were speaking at something like ideacity, wouldn't you want to do a little research - even if it's just a bit of googling - to see who you're on with?

This thought never seemed to have occured to Witness Ron. Here in far flung New Zealand even a doofus like me knew more about Harpur than Ronnie, who took offense, then apparently spat the dummy and left in a huff.

The ideacity organisers must have had a wicked sense of humor to put Harpur on immediately after Weinland. It'd be hard to find a greater contrast. Harpur is understated, eloquent and intelligent. Ronnie is... well, he's Ronnie.

Many of those folk who sat through Weinland's presentation were probably drawn there because of Harpur. Ron was the equivalent of a free Tom & Jerry matinee feature.

Which seems somehow quite apt.

Related link: Tom Harpur's website.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

2009-06-21T14:54:00.006+12:00

According to a report by Dill Weed, Ronnie Weinland's appearance at IdeaCity in Toronto brought forth... laughter.

God's Super-duper Witness spoke to a bunch of elite Canadians who actually paid for the privilege... and there was laughter!

Sit down Ron, let me explain it to you. Would you like a cup of tea first? No? Well, okay, it's like this.

You are a noodle-head. Now please don't take that personally. Maybe there's a genetic flaw. You might not be totally responsible for your delusions of self-importance.

How to put this gently... you were the light entertainment.

Now, now Ron, worse things happen at sea. Take this box of tissues. If at any time you feel faint, just put your head down between your knees and wriggle your toes.

Have you ever heard the story of the Emperor's New Clothes Ron? Well, you're kind of like the Emperor and the tailors! Your theology (using that term loosely) is built of nothing more than hot air, and anyone with an ounce of sense can see that you're buck-naked (thankfully we're using a metaphor here Ron. Do you want me to explain that?) The Emperor was conned by a couple of shyster tailors Ron, but you seem to have done it to yourself. Which is kind of sad really. Not as sad as the poor jerks you've convinced, of course - the ones who sacrifice to bankroll your megalomania - but still sad.

Public scorn and rejection won't change your money-raking success though, will it Ron? You'll just puff out your persecution complex and carry on regardless.

But those folk at IdeaCity knew, and Ron, so do we. Good grief Ron, even Bob Thiel knows.

Maybe you're mad, or just bad, in need of therapy, or just plain greedy. Not my place to say.

But Dill Weed - and the other bloggers who've been snapping at your heels - have it right.

Are you familiar with the concept of repentance Ron? How about restitution? Does the word humility enter your vocabulary somewhere Ron? No, not as a club to bludgeon the sheeple Ron, I mean to apply to yourself and your activities?

What's that Ron? You'll have the last laugh?

Well, okay, that's nice. No, you can keep the box of tissues. You're free to go, I know you're a busy man, what with clearing the post office box for tithe checks and all. What's that? Just my opinion? Yes, you're absolutely right, just my opinion, and what would I know - or those wicked people in Toronto for that matter.

What's that? Me laughing too? Oh Ron, how could you think it?

Neil's spiel

2009-06-20T12:57:00.003+12:00

I never cease to be amazed by the diversity of opinion out there in former-WCG country. We, the children of the Herbal diaspora, are an incredibly varied lot, ranging from wooden biblicism to radical atheism.

Take Neil Godfrey for example. Here's his potted bio on Ironwolf. Yes, I realise he's an Ocker, but, c'mon now, nobody's perfect. And here's his blog. Despite the dippy blog title (did I mention he's an Aussie?) this guy is incisive and articulate (even if he does hail from Toowoomba.) It's definitely a blog to follow if you're one of the evil, depraved Atheist brigade that hangs out in the comments zone here on AW. Despite obviously heading straight for Gehenna fire (which he would have anyway, especially if he supports the Wallabies) Neil seems well read and highly knowledgable. At the risk of being zapped by a lightning bolt myself, I've added a link to Vridar in the sidebar.

Die Meistersinger - Zweiter Teil

2009-06-20T09:21:00.005+12:00

It's one of the assured results of the disintegration of Armstrongism: Humpty Dumpty can never be put together again. Yet Paul Kieffer reminds us that it ain't necessarily so. Extraordinary times bring forth extraordinary developments.

So lets do a little intemperate speculating...

Fact: Roderick C. "Spanky" Meredith isn't going to be around much longer. He is the center of gravity for his LCG sect, and when he "passes on" the rubber bands will snap and his sect will disintegrate under pressure.

Fact: Things are not good at the moment for the income of the COGs. In the wider Christian community things are very tight, and now is surely the time the COGs can boast of how tithing pays back the faithful tither. Except it doesn't. Income is down, and duplication of resources is inexpedient.

Fact: COG brethren are connected by ties of family across the artificial boundaries. Kieffer's forum posting is an excellent example. Hardliners like Bob Thiel may puff and pout, but many members would be delighted to see the paper walls come down.

A cynic might suggest that Kieffer is trying to position UCG to conduct a mop-up operation when LCG self-destructs. After all, a significant number of Global Church of God refugees - both ministers and members - came over to UCG after Spanky decided to take back his toys last time. But we shouldn't factor out a naive altruism either. Should we?

Could history be about to repeat itself? Maybe. The breakup and reunite script was played out decades ago in COG7, with minor splinters then splitting off in both directions. A united UCG/LCG is not an impossibility once the Presiding Egotist is safely planted under the turf. Even if only 70% of both memberships went with the merger, the gains would be huge.

The new magazine title: maybe The Good News of Tomorrow's World (UCG does the better job here.)

The new TV title: The Good News of Tomorrow's World (LCG has the glitzier studio and more lurid production.)

Who knows, maybe the rat-tag remnants of CGI might buy into the package too.

But what on earth would they call the newly united United church?

Within a Decade

2009-06-17T16:55:00.001+12:00

What a complete plonker Gerry Flurry is!

That, of course, is merely a statement of my honestly held opinion. There are, it seems, a number of people who think that, to the contrary, he should be taken seriously.

Those folk need to take notice of the front cover of his latest Trumpet magazine.

"Major news sources ask Will Christ Ever Return? Yes, He will. And probably within a decade!"

Haven't we all heard that before?

The "major news sources" reference is to Newsmax, described on Wikipedia as "a propaganda and media organization of the American extreme right-wing..." I guess that passes as "major" for the like-minded house-writers cloned at PCG.

Weirdly enough, this same issue contains - along with the usual hateful political dilettantism and drivel - a story about Herb Armstrong's misplaced sense of apocalyptic expectation. As the tale goes, back in the 1920s a group of journos were shooting the breeze about "what would be the most astonishing and dramatic newspaper headline." One hack suggested "Second Coming of Christ Happened This Morning!"

Little did they know that the future End Time Sole Apostle was in their midst, who sagely then observed: "You men may live long enough to write that headline."

The last laugh was on the High and Herbaceous One: as Bonnie Prince Stephen drolly observes, "As it turns out, they didn't. Neither did Mr. Armstrong."

And the lesson is? Well, whatever it might be, it has clearly zinged straight past the Edmond heir-head.

Die Meistersinger von Bonn

2009-06-16T17:26:00.009+12:00

(Erster tiel)

Paul Kieffer is highly regarded by his elder-colleagues in UCG, and has been elected as an international member of the COE (check out his profile.) Paul is also a keen contributor to the Elders' Forum, and not exactly stand-offish about putting radical ideas up for debate. Consider this example...

Paul Kieffer (Bonn, Germany)

This message may be shared.

I appreciated the positive comments made re: the Living Church of God's media efforts. My father-in-law John Burquist is an elder in LCG. On several occasions my wife Monica and I have attended LCG services as guests, accompanying Mr. Burquist. Other than one time when brief mention was made in the sermon on LCG's understanding of New Testament governance, everything I heard was pretty much identical to what UCG teaches. The atmosphere at services was -- well, like at UCG services. :-)

"Chicago Bill" Bradford mentioned the potential synergy effect between our two organizations.

This topic may be especially interesting in the non-English language areas where there is considerable duplication of effort in producing materal [sic] with basically the same message. Via my good contacts in LCG, some years ago I inquired informally about the possibility of "joint publishing" a booklet in German where UCG's and LCG's beliefs are practically identical. For various reasons the idea went nowhere.

Personally I prefer the proactive approach, rather than inertia. I take comments seriously relayed to me from a fellow elder about what some young people say who fellowship across organizational boundaries. "Wait till the older generation dies off, then we'll get this impasse resolved," is what some of those young people think.

The recently revised guidelines for accepting an invitation to speak outside UCG have no effect on the policy re: required approval for non-UCG speakers being invited to speak at UCG.

I don't know how it could be worded, but I think a revision of that policy to exempt or to "soften" the required highest level approval for an LCG elder to speak at UCG would be a very positive signal toward LCG (without UCG expecting any reciprocal action being taken by LCG in return).

Is UCG "big" enough to take this first small step for CoG mankind? :-)

I think we are.

This is the bold new step... or at least one of the bold new steps (yes Mildred, there are others) that the UCG's leading lights are tossing around.

Of course, after years of "reading between the lines" in order to make sense of the machinations of the lads in Pasadena, it is possible to be just a tad cynical about this particular suggestion...

(Zweiter tiel to follow)

UCG's new brooms

2009-06-08T20:41:00.006+12:00

Things are changing in the United Church of God. Remember the brouhaha when Aaron Dean spoke to a non-UCG group? The "powers that be" censured him severely, only to then have their noses rubbed in it when Dean was elected to the Council of Elders. Now, with more new faces added to the governing body, changes are in the air. Here is the preamble to the new guidelines on speaking to outsiders.

The United Church of God, an International Association (hereafter UCGIA), acknowledges that the Body of Christ is a spiritual organism transcending corporate boundaries. We do not claim that all Christians are among our fellowship, neither do we claim to be the only organization through which God may be working. UCGIA desires, therefore, to promote unity and cooperation and to share our beliefs and teachings within the broader Church of God community.

UCGIA also believes that a Christian teacher, in following the examples of Jesus Christ and the apostles, is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God with other individuals and religious organizations, whenever granted opportunity. This responsibility encompasses professing believers and non-believers.

But wait, are those storm clouds gathering on the horizon? There are some very unhappy campers, in particular those who championed the old ways. The new force is also pushing several items on their agenda that have the potential to be highly divisive. It seems the generational change is not going to go unchallenged.

Poor old Clyde Kilough!

PT testimony on growing up gay in WCG

2009-06-08T06:19:00.002+12:00

James, the editor over at the Painful Truth site, advises that he is featuring a new article, an autobiographical account by a former "church brat" of what it was like growing up gay in the WCG of the 1980s. Following the account is an interview by the editor.

Wiener World

2009-06-01T09:00:00.006+12:00

Everything you ever wanted (or perhaps never wanted) to know about Ronald Weinland: it's freshly updated (May) and available at http://ronaldweinland.info/. Goofy photos, links, an end-slime chronology (whoops, forgive the typo) and much more. I believe we have the indefatigable Mike over at Flavor Aid to thank for this. Doubtless the Mighty Witless (oops, another typo, silly me!) will feel flattered.

Norm churns out new SN

2009-05-31T22:36:00.006+12:00

Way back when I first began writing about the various COG splinters, Norm Edwards was considered a shining example of decency and balance. That was before the Port Austin fiasco. Norm remains on the scene these days, bloodied but unbowed. And to prove it here's a link to the latest incarnation of his magazine, Servants' News (US circulation 760).

Good news: according to one of Norm's mates a vegan diet counts as fasting, though Norm backpedals in an adjoining column. Global Warming? No worries, Norm has read a book - all 95 pages of it! - on the subject from someone at Answers in Genesis, so that's settled. Polygamy is bad - maybe Norm is fighting some weird Mormon teaching that's infiltrated his independently minded supporters. And there's lots of PR about COG7's Spring Vale Academy.

Not as flaky as Dankenbring, but still pretty "off the wall." For those who think that remaining COG and going independent is the answer, Servants' News proves just how wrong they can be.

Speaking of Dankenbring, his 400 page exposition on BI is available for free download (the paper version could set you back $35, though I doubt it's sold more than a handful of copies.) Willie's BIversion has flip-flopped the Ephraim identity to the US, making the Brits Manasseh. The story of how the flip-flop version originated is told in Greg Doudna's Showdown at Big Sandy,(along with the most devestating rebuttal of the whole BI fantasy available in print.) I'm also not sure Willie did his case (such as it is) any favors by swallowing whole the Los Lunas inscription hoax (the subject of his prologue), but regardless of questionable content it's classic Willie: hit 'em with a gee-whiz teaser then wow them with a string of supposed "facts." Great fun as long as you don't take it seriously.

Ah... ze Frunch

2009-05-30T19:45:00.006+12:00

"France's 1996 list of dangerous cults, for example, contains 172 groups, including Jehovah's Witnesses, Hare Krishnas, the Worldwide Church of God, the Unification Church..."

It's not true what they say about the French you know. Obviously they're a heck of a lot more perceptive than your typical pseudo-Israelite Anglo.

Anyway, the quote comes from TIME magazine. No word whether there's a more recent edition of the cult list. AW's advice? Quick Joe, fly across the ditch (you've gotta have frequent flyer points to burn) for a breakfast croissant, with garlic basted escargot, and give the French department responsible for these things a copy of your book while you're there, that'll sort things out. Quick, not a moment to spare!

On another subject entirely, here's a blog post about the Wolverton Bible, including a few nice examples of Basil's work.

Up the Amazon and Flying Free

2009-05-26T17:41:00.006+12:00

At last. John Morgan's exceptional book - Flying Free: A Journey from Fundamentalism to Freedom- is now available on Amazon, and at a better price than elsewhere. This is a large quality paperback book, and I've raved about it before. A review of the first edition can be found here. A lot of rubbish has been published over the years by insiders and outsiders alike, much of it pushing the authors' personal agendas. Flying Free soars above the petty self-justifications and tithe-farming ploys to tell a genuine story of one man and his involvement in the WCG from childhood to freedom.

The nice people at Amazon even give you a chance to look inside and, dear lord, there's even a peek at the back cover endorsement by a certain Kiwi stirrer!

New Buzzy Book

2009-05-23T18:31:00.011+12:00

Former Ambassador College teacher Sir Anthony Buzzard has moved on from his earlier treatment of the Trinity in a jointly authored volume with fellow Armstrong refugee Charles Hunting (currently unavailable on Amazon, but procurable from Atlanta Bible College), to a solo title of 400 pages called Jesus Was Not a Trinitarian.

The newer book appears to avoid some of the clangers that plagued the earlier tome. Buzzard is, of course, not arguing from a place of scholarly objectivity, but making a case for a biblical unitarianism. This is the perspective that is aired in the One God seminars organized by Ken Westby, and influential in unexpected corners of the WCG diaspora.

For a critical pro-trinitarian review of the book, click here. It appears however that the reviewer is every bit as one-eyed as the author he critiques. Provided you share the same assumptions Buzzard does - about the inspiration of the Bible and the factual status of the gospel accounts for example - he seems to make reasonable good sense.

Eureka?

2009-05-22T06:53:00.005+12:00

I had one of those "eureka!" moments this morning reading a comment on a very long thread that has the theists and atheists playing tag wrestling. I'm not sure I had thought of it quite this way before.

Armstrongism, in a sense, seems to me to be a step toward atheism. It did a very thorough job of debunking and discrediting the mainstream religions. Anyone who sincerely joined WCG, as I did, first became convince[d] that the mainstream churches did not have god's truth. To us, only WCG had god's truth.

Then, along came Joe Tkach, who brought the shortcomings of WCG to our attention. In this sense, Tkach did us a big favor. He broke the hold the cult had over us. But, for many of us, once the spell was broken, the genie could not be put back into the bottle. We had already proven the mainstream churches were false. Now we saw WCG was also false. What then was true?

Maybe that explains a lot.

Those wacky Anglicans

2009-05-19T19:02:00.003+12:00

Okay, so I'm no longer going to be embarrassed about past association with the Worldwide Church of God. I admit it: I thought nobody could compete with the nutty proliferation of half-baked splinters that Armstrongism produced. The truth is, however, that there is one Christian group that can indeed give the WCG (or GCI) a run for their money.

Meet the Anglicans, and specifically the wacky Anglicans of the USA.

Yes, brethren, it seems we're far more mainstream than any of us ever guessed!

Actually, Joe Tkach might like to emulate this little Power Point presentation. It wouldn't take much to adapt for the holdouts in Glendora.