October’s almost ending and I almost didn’t make a mention about that this time of the year, I always commemorate my exodus from the Worldwide Church of God (as it was known then) during October 1998. I have told many people many times that during that time it was supposed to be a “leave of absence” but that leave of absence became permanent and I thank God personally for that direction. Enough of 27 out of the then 28 years of my life of being systematically lied to and being manipulated like a ping pong ball. It was the journey towards freedom and a recapturing of true sanity or simply “capturing” sanity for the first time (I guess only a little more time may tell which it really was). Trust me there was a lot of ups and downs during these 12 years which led into some rethinking on many previous ideas that I had and to accommodate new ideas and concepts in the process. I don’t know where it will take me but I am very certain that I will NOT allow ANY man (or woman for that matter) to dictate in any terms of how I think in spiritual terms. I believe in God, Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit, I do not need ANY middleman in between. If that offends anybody, that’s tough and that’s life. The past couple of years or so I have posted various clips of The Who’s, We Don’t Get Fooled Again and this year’s no exception. Enjoy!
Clips of Hank Hanegraaf in Crisis (OK let’s say controversy)
Stumbled on Youtube and found these clips dealing with CRI (Christian Research Institute) President Hank Hanegraaf in controversy. Actually this is old news but former WCG bloggers like Aggie and Gavin Rumney are the biggest “non-fans” of Hank since the beginning. I have always admired Hank’s stand to make a clear distinction between the Kingdom of Christ and the Kingdom of the Cults (where some more liberal humanists would blur the lines and believe in a group hug no matter what wrong doctrine it is). I met Hank at The People’s Church in Toronto in 1999 and found him very cordial in person. He was nice enough to autograph my own copy of Christianity In Crisis. Though I may not agree with every word with some Sabbatarian Christians, I still to this day defend their right to observe a day for God, I had no use for Hank’s caricature of them doing so. I knew for some time that his predecessor’s (Walter Martin) family has some conflicts (and they sound legitimate) with Hank to this very day. It is my hope that Hank, if he is sincere and the allegations proven substantially true will make peace and reconciliation in the spirit of Matthew 5:23.
Another blast from the past: The late Stan Rader on the late great Tom Snyder Show (NBC)
You might grown up in the WCG:
As a young child you believed that the movie Raiders of The Lost Ark was Mr.Rader’s idea.
Then you grew up and challenged the validity of the late former WCG treasurer Stanley R. Rader’s claims. You can go here to the late great John Trechak’s Ambassador Report on the 411 of the Rader claim. Also the late John Snyder (I remember him very well in my 20’s on CBS) asks some pretty tough but fair questions on the validity of Rader’s claim. As I said, I remember Tom Snyder on CBS (did not remember him on NBC) back in the ’90’s and trust me, he was more a gentleman to Rader than he was to Christian Coaliton’s Ralph Reed. I apologize for the quality in some of the clips as it was recorded by a station that was received by antenna. Enjoy!
In Memoriam
Art Gilmore
1912-2010
“THE WORLD TOMORROW!!!” Many of us who were longtime members and/or who have grown-up in the historic Worldwide Church of God, will remember that ominous voice either in the radio programs or television show. Never a baptized member of the historic WCG and its successor GCI (Grace Communion International), Art Gillmore began to associate himself with the sect during 1939-40 in doing the introduction and ending of the The World Tomorrow program first done by Herbert W.Armstrong on radio (and then later with his son Garner Ted). After the death of Herbert Armstrong in 1986, Art Gilmore continued to do announcing for the program on television when David Hulme, David Albert, Richard Ames (and Ronald Kelly in ’89) took over the broadcasts up until the early ’90’s. He did voice over work (and did a little bit of acting) other than WCG broadcasts we all knew him for. His credits include: “The George Gobel Show,” and he began a 16-season stint as the announcer on “The Red Skelton Show.” He was also the narrator on the TV series “Mackenzie’s Raiders,” “Men of Annapolis” and “Highway Patrol,” . For those who didn’t know this fact, he did the voice of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Yankee Doodle Dandy (starring the late great Jim Cagney—great movie for the whole family). Art Gilmore’s earthly course for 98 years was finished last Saturday on September 25th. We here at Life After The WCG send Art Gilmore’s family our sincere condolences.
A good ol’ Texan feast 2010!
Today is the last day of The Festival season of Sukkoth or best known to this audience as The Feast of Tabernacles, or technically The Eighth Day (Last Great Day in XCG circles). It is ironic that after the Worldwide Church of God (now Grace Communion International) aggressively rooted out their own festival celebrations in their own denomination (and I have discussed my own objections about it many times), it is interesting to see other denominations getting interested in The Feast of Tabernacles. Also, there are those who STILL want to endlessly argue the fact that keeping the festivals and Armstrongism go together. Well ask this Nigerian based group about the origins of their group or label them Armstrongite. Not a wise idea. The following clip is from a Torah observant Messianic Jewish group in good ol’ Texas celebrating the Feast, country style. You might not agree with everything they say theologically but I, for one admire their enthusiasm and dedication. I wish all those who are ending their celebrating today at sunset, that they had a joyous and wonderful feast.
Forget apatheist, employ the word “atheist”.
Those from fellow Canadian astronomer and astrophysicist Hugh Ross to fellow current and former bloggers James Pate and very conservative Catholic Daren Carrey were telling me all along about Bill Maher. The terminology “apatheist” was just cover for his atheism they all argued. On Larry King Live last night he has actually confirmed their argument. He said to Larry King, “I’m against building mosques, churches, synagogues, temples anywhere, because I’m an atheist and I think these are places that perpetuate mass delusion.” Does this mean no more watching him on Real Time (bootlegged from Youtube)? Does this mean I will end tags on this blog called “Bill Maher’s war against religious stupidity?” NO!!! I don’t agree with Bill Maher on everything and there some things that I do agree with him deeply that we can be considered almost “soul mates”. I don’t do groupthink from anybody, left,right, radical Islam or millitant atheist. Period. Deal with it. Same goes with Bill. For those who read this blog almost a couple years ago, I even backed up Andrew Sullivan’s rebuke on Bill Maher’s approach to religion warning him that he was being a bigot. Still to this day, I believe Andrew Sullivan was and is right. For over 13 years actively watching Bill Maher on television (and online during the late 00’s and 2010), I have seen his position evolved from that he believed in God, hated organized relgion and seen the clergy as middleman or bureaucracy (a similiar, note not identical position I have) from his coined term of being an apatheist in which he described, “I’m not an atheist, though, because the belief that there is no God only mirrors the certitude of religion. No, I’m saying that doubt is the only appropriate response for human beings.” Now he has come out and says he’s an atheist. I hope he can learn from the school of The Old Atheists, in which the old school atheists beieve that not everybody can be an atheist and it’s not in the best interest for everybody to hop on the bandwagon (The New Atheism, of course is in the opposite view). A friend of mine who I would classify in that school of atheism made a strong suggestion that I needed to go to church. Not to be indoctrinated but to be molded in character and continued direction. A person like that is a very good friend. Bill Maher would do better if he followed that approach and understand the concept of good faith vs. bad faith as Andrew Sullivan suggested. He’d be a better person for it.
Rosh Hashanah – 2010
I have been for years made strident and yes sometimes harsh statements on CBN’s Pat Robertson (and I still believe the statements were very necessary), I have liked his son Gordon (at least he gives the appearence of saneness and kindness) but for the purposes of the blog post, that is strictly neither here nor there. The real point of the post is how if any Christian desires to celebrate the Biblical Holy Days given to God to Israel in Leviticus, this is how it should be done. With joy, thanksgiving and thanks. In addition, it is never complete without the Messianic music of Paul Wilber to add to the mix. As I said, I have made stern comments against Pat Robertson but I must also be bold and congratulate him condemning Pator Terry Jones proposed Quaran book burning, saying that he wants Muslims to be saved (which I find this a more Christ-like attitude this time. Keep it up Pat!). I wish all who celebrate this festival and the other festivals to come (Atonement and Tabernacles) a joyous and blessed season to all. Click on this link to see this splendid concert of Rosh Hashanah – 2010.
Intelligent Quote of The Day
The ‘problem’ is that people simply do not turn to religion for truth or facts. They turn to religion to be affirmed, for someone to tell them their brief life in the giant universe matters. Successful religious organizations understand this. The real problem, IMHO, is that the second you depend on someone else to tell you that you’re a ‘good’ person, you have handed at least some of the reigns of personal sovereignty over to that person/organization.
The people who have the power to tell you how great you are also have the power to tell you everything that is wrong with you. Unfortunately much of organized religion depends on these “white lies” of approval. Those “white lies” don’t mean a hell of a lot without the fear of hell, or at least the fear of a “meaningless” existence.
—a poster in the Facebook version of The Free Believers Network giving their opinion on the pitfalls and dangers of organized Christian religion.
RIP Clark Pinnock:1937-2010
A fellow Canadian and a great but controversial scholar has suddenly ended his earthly course. A sudden heart attack this past Sunday ended the life of Clark Pinnock, 73 (who suffered also from Alzheimer’s disease) who was an annhilationist (which I was until a few years ago, approximately 2004) and a wider hope Christian like myself (meaning the majority of the human race will be saved as opposed to the Augustinian-Calvinistic view where only a minority saved) but who had the most controversial view on Open Theism in which where God chooses NOT to know everything. Open Theism was one of his doctrines that I could not and still cannot personally grapple with—esepecially coming from an Armstrongist background which sort of taught their own kind of open theism but this is not the time to dwell on that but celebrate a man’s life who was a fundamentalist at some point in his life but began to see “gray” areas and say, “Yes! Gray is beautiful!” From The Associate Baptist Press, it states: ” At a 1987 conference on biblical inerrancy, Pinnock said that moderate Baptist scholars were never far removed from the biblical theology of rank-and-file church members. He said Southern Baptists’ approach to the Bible was really not inerrancy but rather a “simple Biblicism,” and that the “inerrancy controversy” was invented as a political weapon.Of course, that view did not come with a price from his detractors. Almost got kicked out of The Evangelical Theological Society, a good number of academics voted him to stay on as a member (talk about saving hyde). Kudos to a man who was not afraid to change and see and think things outside the box. He states, “So I do not apologize for admitting to being on a pilgrimage in theology, as if it were in itself some kind of weakness of intelligence or character. Feeling our way toward the truth is the nature of theological work even with the help of Scripture, tradition and community …. A pilgrimage, therefore, far from being unusual or slightly dishonorable, is what we would expect theologians who are properly aware of their limitations to experience.” Amen to that! All is I can say that it looks like heaven’s getting crowded (and that’s a good thing). I hope at least 40 to 50 years from now when my earthly course is finished, I can finally meet and greet and be in ETERNAL fellowship this scholar on the other side with many of the other saints! Rest in peace, Mr.Pinnock for the great day to be REVISED and UPDATED by the AUTHOR!
Here’s a PDF link on some of his views on annhilationism for those interested.
Intelligent Quote of The Day
It seems many churches and Christian groups by default have to have the less intelligent, more narrow-minded and change-resistant people making up most of their numbers. The intelligent, questioning, ready-to-change types either get bored of the system or they learn new things that are incompatible with the system (that causes them to either leave or get kicked out).
—A poster on The Facebook edition of The Free Believers who rightly critiques church leaders who make darn sure that independent thinking in their churches is squelched.
Life After The WCG: A Spirital Pilgrimage of an Independent Believer 