Sunday, August 18, 2013

"When it comes right down to it, being lied to about Santa Clause did far less damage in my life than being lied to about 1975."




There is a great post on All About Armstrongism today about the Church of God's greatest LIE that was fostered off on tens of thousands of gullible members are pure truth.



The Church for generations taught the “evils of Christmas” to the Church, condemning it with fervor and blasting out about how “Satanic” the day was,, it’s origins, “Saturnalia”, and of course, teaching how it was lying to their children about Santa Clause.

Truth is, they really needed to shut up about it – they were involved in their own lying. Even Herbert Armstrong said they got “carried away”. And the subject to bring that point home is 1975.

1975 is one of Armstrongism’s biggest embarrassments. And biggest fears. With members fearing losing 1/3 of “their friends” that they knew at that time (which was stated with certainty in the book) to world disasters on Armageddon proportions,  they were scared. Scared stiff. Some to the point where they had everything packed and ready to go. Children were told that they would have to leave “at any time”. Some children were so scared of this, they were literally traumatized at that time – mostly by the fearfulness and panic of some very zealous parents who listened – and believed wholeheartedly – to the patently false speculations of Herbert Armstrong, who, according to an article in “Tomorrow’s World” magazine published by the Church, “regretted it deeply”, regarding the church’s – as he called it “appearance” or “coming close to” setting dates.

Check out the entire article here: "Let's Get Real"

Dennis Musing on...

 

Feast Gifts!!!!


 
I still have that picture in my head of going into my 12ish year old son's room and upon exiting seeing countless small pieces of paper taped to the back of his door.  It was the moment I recognized my kids actually did look forward to the "Feast."  He had a piece of paper for each day left until the next festival and removed one every day in countdown fashion.  Even I never did that with Christmas!

 
Years later, that same son, now with his own family and far removed from the Church stopped at Jekyll Island Feast site and just stood in the back recalling what he perceived as his good old days.  Then he left.

 
But of all things, it was those "Feast Gifts" we gave them along the way that were the stuff their memories were made of.  For kids, it was the substitute for not keeping Christmas of course.  It was even better than Christmas we would tell them to lessen the downer it must have been when they actually came upon the Christmas season.  I grew up with Christmas as did most of us, but it was not actually the big deal to me that "The Feast" was to be in my WCG experience.  Today one son is a non church participant and we have a good relationship and my oldest is a practicing Catholic who enjoys the stabililty and form the church has to offer.  When he was in catechism class he'd call me to ask stuff like,  "now tell me the story of _____________ in the Bible, so I can get through these classes ,  and don't tell me whether it really happened or not!"   :)

 
Preacher Boys (Stuff Fundies Like)

Of course it was not really the Feast, i.e, Church, they were excited about. It certainly was not the sitting or the "happy" hymns.   It was not the sermonette that so often seemed, to me, like a time wasting filler so we could say we spent a lot of time at church.  It probably was not the special music unless they were stuck doing it with YES/YOU choirs.  Lord knows it was not the sermons, but I have to say as well that, in spite of enjoying my youthful experience growing up in the Presbyterian Church, I cannot recall one sermon ever given either.  I do remember in detail the picnics, hayrides and Boy Scouts sponsored by the church.

 

Scholar for my attendance like Bueller, so no use for a.. – Avian
 
 

 It was the time off, the location, the beach, the friends, the freedom that they looked forward to.  And the gifts...

 
 

and...
  

X-Wing Fighter - Star Wars Collectors Archive

 and...

 
Print Star Wars Exclusive Jabba the Hutt's Throne Playset Review


                                              ...specifically comes to mind back in the day


But as the years have worn on and those times are past, it occurs to me, after seeing such craziness in religion as represented by the James Malm, Gerald Flurry and Dave Pack types, I thought it might be good to encourage everyone associated with these under trained, over funded and ego centric know nothings some Feast gifts that would probably do them some good.  As Dave Pack might say,  "I don't think I have ever received a Feast quite like this before.  Maybe I did once,  but nothing quite like this.


                                                     For your consideration:

 


 

and how about...


CeeTec Publishing


or...


Home - Sermon on the Mount: Campus Bible Study Library Resources

or God forbid...

 
Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible - Book of Galatians

 

Personally I would give these as a feast gifts just to let them know that mere Bible reading and then just reexplaining in a sermon what everyone just read is not really being a theologian with the responsibility to actually inform people about all things religious and life changing ...

 

          Book review: Bart D. Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus. | Godswill Ministries                         bart d. ehrman | Tumblr     


                                                                         


                Bart Ehrman, Questioning Religion on Why We Suffer : NPR                                                 621419


                                                                   





but not...

 

The Old Testament: A Manual of Christian Living on Vimeo