CoGgers and Facebook
Since last weekend’s diatribe against Facebook by False Prophet Ronald Weinland, about half of the PKG members with Facebook accounts have deleted them. I’m not surprised that so many have done this. Rather, I’m surprised at how few have done so. Hopefully a few of the holdouts will decide to delete their PKG accounts instead.
As redfox pointed out, False Prophet Rod Meredith’s LCG is taking the opposite approach to Facebook. From their article:
By posting to your Facebook page a link to an article, telecast, booklet or other item from the Church websites, or by linking to Church material from your blog, your social network comes into greater contact with the Church. Please read the May-June LCN article entitled, Christian Communication in the Information Age, for helpful pointers on the effective use of this media.
In contrast, back on March 15 of last year Ronnie threatened to disfellowship anyone who represented on a social networking site their membership on PKG. After that sermon, PKGers disappeared from the Internet in droves.
Somehow I prefer False Prophet Ronnie’s approach to Facebook.
Tags: Facebook
Mike, can you give any numbers on how many COG PKG persons on Facebook.
Are those PGKers on Facebook tithe paying members or just interested parties?
As has been observed by others who have commented here, sounds to me like Ronald is becoming more unravelled.
His response has always been to exert more control over the members. I recall being chastised for sending out a group
email and being told the correct way to correspond was one on one.
As I recall Spring 2008 he became a bit “distressed/depressed” after his trip to Jerusalem didn’t bring about physical results.
He had said in a sermon that Laura got him back on track – Sounds like he is really struggling again.
There were around a hundred or so baptized members or immediate family members on FB a few weeks ago. Now around half of that.
Well, per the ol Trib Calculator we are definatly now past the 20% time mark, for the second time… 20% of the GREAT Tribulation is past, gone, we don’t have to be afraid of that coming back to bite us again (what a relief…). Of course the GREAT Tribulation was none to Great during the first 1/5th of its current run (current because there could be a 3rd go at this whole thing) but I must ask, isn’t the GREAT Tribulation supposed to be Great, Awesome, obvious? The first 20% had only the normal bumps and jumps of any normal time in man’s history. In fact it is rather hard to see how the GREAT Tribulation is Great? It is rather typical of day to day life. I must assume that this has been a real let-down to ol Ron.
How long will the rank and file keep a tithing when the GREAT Tribulation continues to day in and day out typical of every other day in our human history?
Pretty boring I would say if one was to ask me. Is there, like, an intermission at 21 months?
I don’t know of any UCG attention with Facebook. I do think there’s an official UCG Facebook page, but I haven’t checked. UCG doesn’t really care about what its members do on there, as long as we’re not vulgar or anything. We’re all on Facebook. I wonder if playing Mafia Wars is rotting my soul?
Also speaking of this, was there something official about the sudden disappearance of our observers? Something Weinland said, perhaps? I’ll just assume they got rebuked by Wayne Matthews to stop speaking to us. But I do find it odd that they both fell off the map at the same time. Perhaps that particular threat/warning/whatever was a single effort sent to many people. I can’t complain though. As much fun as trainwrecks are, I like coherent dialogue.
Since we’re already this far into the “Great Tribulation”, some things need to start poppin’ before too long.
It seems that it should be apparent, a good while before Pentecost 2012, that this is another failed prophecy for Ron.
Hopefully some of his congregation (hopefully some) will realize that.
It seems to me that God didn’t need to say 3 1/2 year GREAT tribulation. He could have just said 3 years since we are pretty much past 1/2 of the first year already with “not so much GREAT….devistation”… How anti-climatic God’s great tribulation is turning out to be….
Of course I believe when God does something it’s pretty awsome on any human scale, therefore I don’t believe we are in any time of Great Tribulation. Give me a break!
The fact that these people will just “drop” anything as simple as Facebook when RW says to makes me sick. They are not free thinking or critical thinking people. If RW told the women to no longer wear pants, makeup or cut their hair they’d fit well into the RLDS group.
“If RW told the women to no longer wear pants, makeup or cut their hair they’d fit well into the RLDS group.”
I’m surprised Weinland is telling them they can do any of these things in the first place; more proof that he’s deviating from standard Armstrongism. In the church before the changes, none of that would have been allowed.
Just another example of a cult leader- mind and thought control. Which begs the question: why are so many afraid of this weasel?
When the PCG denounced Facebook a couple of months ago, within a week or so all of the 2 dozen or so members that I knew on there deleted their accounts. It is amazing, looking in now from the outside, how easily controlled the members are.
I think this is due to being taught about the Government of God – that if you defy the leaders of the church, you are defying God himself – being rebellious. That’s how I felt anyway. Now that I am out, I have been very, very naughty (and joined Facebook!!).
Kirrily XPKG says: “I think this is due to being taught about the Government of God – that if you defy the leaders of the church, you are defying God himself – being rebellious. ”
I guess RW has learned well. The “Government of God” was also used by Herbert in the WCG to keep things in control.
Some others are (were) : “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?”
“There is a way that seemeth right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
“For your thoughts are not my thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.”
These scriptures were used to DISARM people from thinking for themselves, and using their own God-given reasoning.
At least that was my experience. And I have to admit, once these kinds of scriptures are used on someone in an evil way like this, it’s awfully hard to come out of it.
Karen Mustard says: “They are not free thinking or critical thinking people.”
A cult-leaders dream !!
DRMR,
I couldn’t agree more. This tactic is often used to cover the trail and to prepare the sheep for some sort of shearing. It is despicable when this is done. It is favored tactic of JWs. They beat you into submission with this and other techniques and you get a miserable as hell and wonder why? Why you’ve got the ‘Truth’ don’t you? GRRRR
OK, I’m better now. : D
Dill
Anyone have that diatribe on file? I wanna hear what he said. You know I don’t listen to him any more. I just get @#%#@ off when I do.
Thanks.
No transcript. But here are some timestamps from the sermon audio version with announcements (total length 1:58:47) available until 4:30 Eastern Time this Saturday:
1:37 Facebook, Myspace (believed HWA was god’s apostle) [Meanders before starting diatribe]
1:38 amazed that some ministers could believe HWA not an apostle
1:41 [diatribe in earnest now] Some deleted FB accounts, some are critical of RW
1:42 some love FB more than god, would be fearful, will not have FB in World Tomorrow
1:43 should just use email, upset ones worst offenders
1:44 use email to communicate with friends
1:45 protecting identity. Some just send lists of members. Adding non-members to church
1:46 some in networks not in COG, some in COG not in church
1:47 some got upset with God’s prophet, god knows and RW receives it from god
1:48 told elders not to be on open forum
1:49 Ron restrained himself.
1:50 no FB or MS in the millenium
1:51 be fearful if you got upset with god’s prophet
Also starting at 0:22 spends a couple of minutes warning against the Internet in general.
A couple of decades ago, when I was based in L.A., I went to the Synanon Center to do some work on their equipment. This was a drug and alcohol rehab center run by a man named Chuck Dederick. I’d read about it in the paper, because they had a resident who was a celebrity, the man who had played Stymie on The Little Rascals.
Anyhoo, the first person whom I saw was the receptionist, and she was wearing a crewcut hairstyle, very unusual for that era. I was told that Chuck had had a series of visions, the most recent of which was that all of his people should wear crewcuts! They’d been through other visions prior to this, such as a ban on all white sugar products.
This was later exposed by the media as being a mind control cult, masquerading as a rehab center. People known as “squares”, who had no lifestyle problems, also lived in this residential facility because they liked the highly structured environment. When the place finally fell apart, it became known that Chuck was still practicing alcoholism, even as his center was attempting to assist others towards sobriety. I was long out of WCG when these incidents occurred, but the pattern was very reminiscent of what I remembered from WCG’s methodology.
The US Constitution recognizes and celebrates our natural rights as human beings. When church or cultic groups attempt to thwart these rights, such as freedom of speech or freedom of the press, it should raise a gigantic red flag for all involved. I think it is commendable for any of the ACOGs to simply leave it up to individual members whether or not to set up Facebook accounts. I’m even amazed that Meredith’s group would see past cultic secretiveness, and actually encourage personal evangelism by their members who have Facebook accounts. And, I say this even though I disagree with the majority of traditional ACOG doctrines!
BB
Interesting,
The bible tells us that Jesus wants us to be go out into the world and spread the Good News. Be fishers of men.
But, these cult leaders teach the opposite….they don’t want their flock to go anywhere but to the cult leader.
Todd:
You are of course correct, our Lord Christ commands us to “Go Out” and to be “Fishers of Men” and is kind enough to give examples of how to do this. But the scriptures don’t mention restricting forms of how to do this “Going” and “Fishing”, with the exception of how to avoid false teachers…
Ergo Ron is, again, delusional if stating he knows how this “Going” and “Fishing” is supposed to happen and what format they are to take.
But to give Ron his due, if he really thinks he is getting Gods word directly to his brain via spiritual conduits, then he really thinks he has THE answers. That is assuming he is not a scam artist which I think he is, but a delusional one who also wants to stroke his “ego” while making $$.
It must be very odd being Ron Weinland. Very pressured and stressing attempting to prove the un-provable, define the un-definable and making error after error doing this work…
I do so wonder what his next dodge will be (that’s the scam artist side of him) when he, during the upcoming sabath he hints at, redefines the timeline, makes an addendum to the 50th truth, or makes another lame “we’ll all fast” command that will alter the future.
Which will it be?
“….they don’t want their flock to go anywhere but to the cult leader”
and they BETTER bring their wallets……or else!
An Exodus from Face Book
nytimes.com/2009/08/30/magazine/30FOB-medium-t.html
Dill Weed