Living Armstrongism: Why We Must Remember What Happened To Us

Friday, April 2, 2010

Why We Must Remember What Happened To Us

Continuing on the previous post on the importance of remembering what happened to us under Armstrongism, here's a (non-COG related) article some may find intriguing which shows why it is so important to remember even that which seems to be very well known.

It's a column from The Times, No, Fritz, We Won't Stop Mentioning the War by Mr. Dominic Lawson. (Note: The Times will be payer only from June 1 thanks to Rupert Murdoch. So you might want to copy this.)

What I find fascinating about this column is that it shows how events that occurred so long ago still have such an effect upon us.

It tells of one wealthy German philanthropist, Alfred Toepfer, who was perfectly respectable, until someone noted that he used to collaborate with the Nazis, being a sponsoring member of the SS, and about attempts today to convict a man suspected of participating in SS massacres in the Netherlands, and the sale at auction of a 1931 letter by Hitler sent to a British journalist.

This article, I feel, shows clearly how absurd and ridiculous it is for some Armstrongites to insist that we should just 'get over it' concerning the abuses we suffered because of these Armstrongite cults.

Sometimes we imagine that the past can be viewed as being radically separate from the past. I don't view it like that. The present is but the continuation of the past.

Because our pasts continues to effect us in such a way as that, that is why I have done what I did and made this humble blog.

2 comments:

KenApril 2, 2010 at 5:42 AM
Thanks for this post. Although I have been free of Armstrongism for five years now, I have kept several pieces of the literature to refer to so that I never forget why I left (as if that were possible...). And that's why I started my own blog on the subject, all this time later. We all have our own ways of processing the experience, and we can only hope that it will help others to be able to do the same...

Maybe we won't be truly free until we "get it all out of our system," but it's part of the process. But minimizing it or pretending it never happened would never make it go away.

Am I bitter? Yes. I spent half of my life in a state of superstitious, judgmental, "us vs. them" mentality, supporting a system full of liars, thieves and hypocrites -- fully believing that I was going to be spared from the worst of the worst simply because I payed, prayed and kept the right days. I sincerely believed that I was going to one day "rule with Christ," although I shunned the very idea of practical experience in the here and now -- no voting, no military service, no contributing to real humnitarian causes, etc. But as long as we didn't smoke, eat pork or watch Friday night tv, we were "good Christians," and God was going to give us the opportunity to throw the book at all those heathens in the "World Tomorrow."

The "Church" has been "sighing and crying" and praying "Thy kingdom come" for over 70 years, since the beginning of Armstrong's "ministry" -- an entire generation of human beings has lived out their lives since his "conversion" -- and yet, the world goes on. Since my de-conversion, I have wondered what exactly is the point of praying, "Thy will be done"? If there is a god, he is going to do what he is going to do whether his followers pray for it or not. And if they have been praying, "Thy kingdom come" for all of this time, what is he waiting for?...

Armstrongists love to say that things are worse in the world now than they have ever been. But people one hundred years ago could have said the very same thing from their own perspective in time. To quote a one-hit wonder from the 80's, "The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades..." The world is full of problems, but simply paying and praying isn't going to solve a single, solitary one of them. The COGs declare that contributing to humanitarian efforts is akin to "putting a band-aid on cancer." To which I would say, "Give me a band-aid over a 'Plain Truth' any day..."
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Redfox712April 2, 2010 at 1:59 PM
Thank you for your comment.

I'm glad you liked it.
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Fall of Berlin Wall NOT Proof HWA was Right

It is often asserted that the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 proved that HWA was right and he really did see the future.

This of course is nonsense. Herbert W. Armstrong said that Christ would return within twenty years in his book Mystery of the Ages. (PCG has since deleted those words so someone in there knows HWA spoke nonsense.) How convenient for them to forget this.

Also Herbert W. Armstrong never said the Soviet Union would collapse. He thought it would survive intact until a few years after Christ's return. It shows how biased some many in the COGs are that they never seem to notice this. This inconvenient truth is just tossed into the memory hole.

It is true that HWA said that some Eastern European states would break away from Moscow's orbit and join the European Empire he said would arise at any moment. But he never talked of the Soviet Union collapsing. He did not teach that. Also he portrayed the rise of the European Empire to be far quicker then what has actually happened. In Mystery of the Ages Christ was supposed to return by 2005 at the most.

So assertions that the fall of the Berlin Wall somehow prove that HWA was right is just complete nonsense spread by people who, for whatever reason, are still in denial that HWA was a false prophet who merely talked out of his own "human reasoning".

Truth about Roderick C. Meredith

What sort of man is he? A man who could say things like this.

"Mr. Armstrong has reminded us again that we are to disfellowship any members who attend GTA's [Garner Ted Armstrong's] campaigns, church services or other meetings. Some of our weaker members apparently do not realize that this man is in direct rebellion against God and His government! We must not allow them, or ourselves, to rationalize about this matter, to try to "help the underdog," or in any other way lend support to one whose gross immorality, whose long standing "play acting" and hypocrisy, and whose direct insubordination to the Government of God has long been and is now a source of confusion and DIVISION among God's people. So, as per Mr. Armstrong's instruction, I charge and exhort every one of you faithful ministers of the living Christ to explain this in no uncertain terms to your members, to warn them about this cause of division and then to disfellowship any who consort with GTA or any of his fellows." (Roderick C. Meredith, Pastor's Report, May 21, 1979, pp. 1-2.)

See here for this statement's context.

David Robinson on Roderick C. Meredith

WCG minister David Robinson had this to say about Roderick C. Meredith in a letter he wrote to him on September 19, 1979.

"During the ten years I have been an employee of the Worldwide Church, you have been poorly spoken of by most of the ministers and employees I have known. I vividly remember the absolute unbounded glee that was openly expressed by a good number of respected men in the church when you were first "shanghaied." [In 1972.] I could begin by naming names, which I am sure would shock you. I was one of the few who stood, where possible, for you. Your tenure as superintendent of ministers, as I believe the office was then called, was looked on as nightmarish. While you held office during the years of growth, most of those whom I know gave you very little credit for that growth. Almost everyone whom I know, whether they be former friends of yours, or continuing foes, recalls insensitive and terrible things you have done. Without exception, at least among my acquaintances, they all credit you with an unbridled lust for power and list you as one who is willing to pay the price of gaining that power, no matter what. I have, through many of the last few years, believed you had principles you would not violate. Many a man of experience in the church assured me of my error. Events have proven me wrong and them right. Mr. Armstrong has himself been widely quoted as saying of you that you were so righteous that you were so "righteous you were unrighteous." " (David Robinson, Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web, Chapter 16, p. 207.)

Of course it is impossible for me to personally verify these assertions but people deserve to know what this knowledgeable man had to say about him.

Living Armstrongism

Friday, April 2, 2010

Why We Must Remember What Happened To Us

2 comments:

If You are new please read this

Fall of Berlin Wall NOT Proof HWA was Right

Truth about Roderick C. Meredith

The Truth About Europe and Prophecy

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Truth About The Key of David's Gerald Flurry and his PCG

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