tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28426681.post2036028286829421709..comments2023-11-05T20:19:44.812+13:00Comments on Ambassador Watch: 10 Bad Reasons to go "Bah, humbug!"Gavinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060097218905523899noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28426681.post-2946112576533057872006-12-02T13:53:00.000+13:002006-12-02T13:53:00.000+13:00Gavin,
I like "Anonymous",s idea of seasonal lyri...Gavin,<br /><br />I like "Anonymous",s idea of seasonal lyrics,limericks etc.<br /><br />We should have a "competition" and email the "best" to those COG orgs most worthy of receipt of such.<br /><br />jorgheinzjorgheinzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04861721301533701943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28426681.post-967724434225551042006-12-02T12:47:00.000+13:002006-12-02T12:47:00.000+13:00Well, Scott,
Your list, as republished by Gavin, ...Well, Scott,<br /><br />Your list, as republished by Gavin, seems to be geared to those who aspire to become spiritual Jews. Nothing against the Jews and all, but I have my heart set on becoming a spiritual Negro! I figure that'll get me where I really want to be, which is to a state of being able to play better guitar in the Kingdom. <br /><br />The Armstrongites will probably mob Moses and Ezekiel, or want to bask at the feet of Gamaliel. But, I'll be wanting to sit in on some serious sessions with Muddy Waters, Freddie King, or Earl Hooker. <br /><br />So, maybe I should be celebrating Kwaansaa, and experiencing a foreshadowing of what it'll like to be a brotha in the Kingdom???<br /><br />BBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28426681.post-31542225177834857772006-12-01T12:47:00.000+13:002006-12-01T12:47:00.000+13:00On such a holy forum as this we cannot wish our fr...On such a holy forum as this we cannot wish our friends transmissible greetings.<br /><br />However, we can wish you a <br />MERRY MYTH-MAS.<br /><br />jorgheinzjorgheinzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04861721301533701943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28426681.post-9411933482623451942006-11-30T12:45:00.000+13:002006-11-30T12:45:00.000+13:00Check out Garrison Keillor's
"'T'was the Night be...Check out Garrison Keillor's <br />"'T'was the Night before Christmas"<br /><br />http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/programs/2004/12/25/scripts/twas.shtml<br /><br />Dry humor from a recovering fundamentalist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28426681.post-50168205807118772202006-11-30T12:12:00.000+13:002006-11-30T12:12:00.000+13:00Come,all folk and do not dream
Of Xmas pud all cov...Come,all folk and do not dream<br />Of Xmas pud all covered in cream.<br />Do the deed and grab a plate<br />And helpings three have you ate.<br />Without a vision people die,<br />Enjoy the double, whisky ply.<br />Let no killjoy spoil your play,<br />Santa still comes Xmas Day.<br /><br />jorgheinzjorgheinzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04861721301533701943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28426681.post-17065322184268591832006-11-30T11:58:00.000+13:002006-11-30T11:58:00.000+13:00Gavin,
Rewording the carol slightly,
let's all de...Gavin,<br /><br />Rewording the carol slightly,<br />let's all deck the halls with boughs of FOLLY and put on our GAY<br />apparel,as the text states.<br /><br />Should we keep these days symbolic<br />By getting drunk and alcoholic?.<br />Christmas time has come around,<br />SIX-PACKS surely will abound.<br />Give to Christ , and in a hurry,<br />SEND YOUR PREZ TO GERALD FLURRY.<br />The end draws nigh as some portend,<br />So let them have a FINAL SPEND.<br /><br />jorgheinzjorgheinzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04861721301533701943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28426681.post-55000687875720279522006-11-30T10:50:00.000+13:002006-11-30T10:50:00.000+13:00Armstrongites have never wanted to acknowledge the...Armstrongites have never wanted to acknowledge the principle of overcoming evil with good, such as re-treading an ancient pagan celebration and making it Christian. They do not want to look at the current state of the celebration but they want to instead burrow back into history and discover a tainted genealogy and reject what is now because of what was back then. This, of course, is a form of legalism. They are unable to appreciate the substance because they are so pre-occupied with form - in this case, an ancient form.<br /><br />This creates perplexing situations for some Armstrongites. At one of the WCG congregations I used to attend, the pastor and is wife did not wear wedding rings because they were pagan. I have been told by some Armstrongites that men's ties are pagan. And what about all the Armstrongite women who do not celebrate Christmas direction but becoming second hand participants by taking advantage of all of those Christmas sales? They rub elbows with Christmas shoppers and fuel the Christmas econmic engine with their dollars, but then claim that they are unsullied. As usual, the Armstrongites are debtors to perform the whole law, at least the law as they see it. <br /><br />If we begin looking for pagan associations, they will be everywhere. But why should we let the pagans own our reality. We need to stake a claim and not waste our time examining ancient pedigrees and giving these connections more weight than what they deserve.<br /><br />-- NeoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28426681.post-19079142366026463602006-11-30T03:14:00.000+13:002006-11-30T03:14:00.000+13:00United people are getting out in the snow,
Their c...United people are getting out in the snow,<br />Their children playing games all aglow,<br />The Winter Solstice you see,<br />Is celebrated by the UCG,<br />But they call it something else so you won't know.Douglas Beckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05639275357879979640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28426681.post-73593361750459946422006-11-30T02:57:00.000+13:002006-11-30T02:57:00.000+13:00"If the argument that God revealed his days to man..."If the argument that God revealed his days to man from the time of Adam were true, then maybe the pagans paganized the true days and not the other way around."<br /><br />That argument is not true. There isn't the slightest hint in the Bible that the annual festivals of Leviticus 23 were revealed to Adam, or to anyone at all prior to Moses. Nor was anyone ever commanded to celebrate those festivals but the Jews, the Israelites.<br /><br />"Did Paul keep the days? Read acts."<br /><br />Paul was Jewish. Paul also participated in Jewish vows. Read Acts. When was the last time an Armstrongist grew his hair long and then had his hair ritually shorn to offer his locks to a priest as a sacrifice?<br /><br />"Did Polycarp or Polycrates? Read the fathers."<br /><br />Not as far as we know. They did have a Christian Paschal observance on Nisan 15 (not Nisan 14 as is commonly believed), but nothing is known about them celebrating the Jewish feasts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28426681.post-48603022067535794202006-11-29T21:13:00.000+13:002006-11-29T21:13:00.000+13:00So where and when do we send our Holiday limericks...So where and when do we send our Holiday limericks, lines and lyrics in this year, Gavin?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28426681.post-21651738335088549272006-11-29T18:42:00.000+13:002006-11-29T18:42:00.000+13:00Firstly, I did not like the GN 'cover' for the chr...Firstly, I did not like the GN 'cover' for the christmas article, it was a rehash of the old WCG ho, ho, hoax ad that was used on the TV and in the PT. For anyone trying to get the attention to teach others that Christmas is not scriptural by being offensive, well, they must really be out of it.<br /><br />I cannot understand how a church that teaches love so much could continue the rash approach to something that many cherish, although it is not a proper holiday.<br /><br />Comparing the Son of God to the Queen, mum and others though, Gavin, is off target to say the least.<br /><br />In another area, God calls the Holy Days, his days. He was giving them to Israel, he had them to give. If the argument that God revealed his days to man from the time of Adam were true, then maybe the pagans paganized the true days and not the other way around. Even if the 'world' kept those days around the harvest, that in no way implies that God took pagan days, like the church did three hundred years after Jesus.<br /><br />Did Paul keep the days? Read acts. Did Polycarp or Polycrates? Read the fathers. <br /><br />Alan, you said you, "never understood the significance of holloween....being 'pagan.'" I guess the early church would agree to people dressing up as witches, ghosts, skeletons, wrecking things, having hell nights, begging for candy....what does any of that have to do with God?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28426681.post-23909405504320977572006-11-29T14:18:00.000+13:002006-11-29T14:18:00.000+13:00Xmas, like any of the feast days are a reason to e...Xmas, like any of the feast days are a reason to eat, drink, and be merry. It is what mankind has always done!<br /><br />Both started out as special days for the groups participating. But like anything, they evolve into something quite different from the original idea.<br /><br />Xmas pagan? Yes.<br />Feast days pagan? Yes. <br /><br />Everything is pagan on the earth! In the past, man used religion to explain away the unknown. As man evolved in the intellectual sphere, science began to explained what religion attempted to.<br /> <br />The whole idea of religion seems to be most laughable at best. Granted, everyone wants answers to the big questions that we all have, but having a faith in one idea and hard facts for the same, which are you to embrace?<br /><br />The answer reveals much about the COG'ers and the intellectual processing that moderates their conclusions!<br /><br />Kscribe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28426681.post-31430966356705100632006-11-29T07:26:00.000+13:002006-11-29T07:26:00.000+13:00Well, I think Xmas (in today's society) obscures C...Well, I think Xmas (in today's society) obscures Christianity similar to how the law obscures grace. At least the law served a purpose and had a function, unlike the questionable celebration of Jesus birth. I believe Xmas clouds Jesus Christ by parading meaningless eye candy and obligatory gifting to the average American. Still falls into "vanity of vanities" for me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28426681.post-26390150519740556782006-11-29T06:04:00.000+13:002006-11-29T06:04:00.000+13:00What's the big deal?
United isn't a real church, ...What's the big deal?<br /><br />United isn't a real church, it just plays at being a church.<br /><br />Actually the UCG is just a social club [albeit one which provides salary and pension for its Church Corporate Executives].<br /><br />xMas is the time of year for the Winter Games in the UCG. Without it, United would have to fall back on just having the Feast of Tabernacles for the people to rise up and have fun....Douglas Beckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05639275357879979640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28426681.post-35002814433747133662006-11-29T05:10:00.000+13:002006-11-29T05:10:00.000+13:00I've never understood the significance of Hallowee...I've never understood the significance of Halloween and Christmas being "pagan". I grew up in the WCG on Saturday and a different protestant church on Sunday. (Two parents, different beliefs.) I heard all the rhetoric about paganism but all I knew was that Halloween allowed me to dress funny, act goofy, and score some candy. Christmas often meant visits with grandparents and presents and decorating a Christmas tree (although not in my parents' house). I can see no way that God can be unhappy with the spirit of those holidays as we celebrated them.<br /><br />The COG argument to that, I think, is that my thoughts are not God's thoughts. Fair enough. Perhaps he has some (to me, not understandable) reason why I should not participate in those holidays. Does he hold my lack of understanding against me? It's interesting to me that COGers (at least in the past) portray God so much more viciously then he is portrayed in the Bible itself. Where did this come from? Read the Old Testament. For every plague and "kill every one of them" order there are pages of exhortation to justice and mercy, and enormous amounts of grace. As I've said in the past, I really don't think the God portrayed in COG tradition and theology matches the God in the Bible. It's a corrupted picture of God.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28426681.post-42068771817528862182006-11-29T03:15:00.000+13:002006-11-29T03:15:00.000+13:00As a Catholic friend of mine says, we don't need t...As a Catholic friend of mine says, we don't need to just put Christ back in Christmas -- we need to put the Mass back in Christmas. ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com