Lies And The Lying Liars Who Tell Them

A recent post on the NACBoard caught my attention, it being an excerpt from the New Apostolic Church's "Our Family" magazine from the May 2009 issue, "Divine Service in Tule", p. 29 English edition, the NAC's "Chief Apostle" Wilhelm Leber speaking (bolding mine):

"What is even more important is God's promise to hold our right hand and lead us. That is why," said the Chief Apostle, "the question is justified: Do you really allow the Lord to lead you?" As positive examples from the Bible, he spoke of Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, all of who permitted the Lord to lead them. In contrast to this, the Chief Apostle also made reference to Korah and his followers, as well as to the rich young man who could not follow the Lord Jesus.

"From this we conclude that if we
* believe the Lord and trust in His loving care,
* fear him,
* are prepared to serve Him,
* do not oppose those whom the Lord has given us as vessels of blessing, and
* are prepared to follow Him

our life will be blessed and we will ultimately reach the goal of our faith," said the Chief Apostle as he concluded his sermon.

"Do not oppose those whom the Lord has given . . ." - ???

How exactly does one determine whether or not someone was a vessel given by the Lord? Is there an official certificate signed by God himself that would prove such a fantastic claim? Is there a badge given to individuals making the claim that they are "God's Anointed" that would prove their apostolic authority?

I can barely contain my amusement - and annoyance - at the huge set of stones it takes someone (or in the NAC's case, a group of deluded someones) to claim that they and they alone are "God's Anointed", "vessels of blessing" given by God himself that should not be opposed.

What complete and utter nonsense. Liars should be opposed whenever and wherever they are encountered. That's how you stop lies from spreading. That's how you stop insufferable charlatans from convincing people that they're on a mission from God.

Wilhelm Leber (and the rest of the New Apostolic Church's self-appointed "apostles"), unless you can back up your fantastic claims with some actual evidence, do shut up. You mentioned the Band of Korah in your sermon - are you that deluded that you think some kind of punishment will befall those who "oppose" you? What exactly does that mean? Is it considered opposing you to point out the lies you tell to people? Then consider me your opposition.

Any time you'd like to see the "special powers" you think you have in action, you let me know. Critical thinking and verifiable evidence will always overcome the pious lies and superstitious nonsense promoted by delusional charlatans.

Scientific Proof That God Exists!

Faithful "New Apostasy" reader/contributor Phoenix alerted me to this item. Now, whenever I wonder whether critical thinking exists amongst the membership of the New Apostolic Church or not, I simply have to read this page to get my answer.

Not even one person could point out that quotes from certain scientists are simply quotes, not "proof". Not one individual had the presence of mind to point out that opinion does not equal fact. No one stepped forward to point out that some of those quotes were taken out of context, and some have been refuted by the people attributed to them, most notably the quotes attributed to Einstein and Hawking. No, if it sounds good, they'll swallow it all down and ask for more. It'd be funny if it weren't so sad.

I'll say it because it needs to be said: "Quote mining is not scientific proof of anything - they're just quotes, folks."

EDIT: 2 hours after I posted this, a NAC skeptic responded to the NAC Singles post. Hope springs eternal!

"I See Dead People!"

I'm having a lot of fun reading some of the stuff on the NAC Singles website, in particular the featured news story about a New Apostolic member who claims to be able to see "angels, souls, spirits, demons and much more" after receiving a visit from none other than the archangel Michael. The angel informs our hero that "very few people reach the level of faith that you have reached", and proceeds to lay out a "plan" that God chose for him before the foundations of time. It's all in a book NAC member and former minister Jim Rybak wrote. He also has a website where he offers to "heal your energy" and tell you all about your chakras and auras. Oh, and just in case you wondered whether he's abandoned his NAC beliefs, he's still a church-going member who sings in the choir.

How does one reconcile the teachings of the New Apostolic Church with such new-age tripe? Has this faithful member ever offered his divinely-inspired insight to one of the NAC's "apostles"? If so, I wonder how that played out. What about the NAC members at large, what revelations can Jim offer the faithful now that he sees dead people? And what about those pesky demons and spirits, how can we spot them should we want to avoid them? If only Jim can see them, it seems there's some important information that he has a duty to disseminate to the great unwashed masses who haven't achieved his awesome level of faith.

Delusions are a fascinating thing. But have you ever noticed that there's never a lithium dart laying around when you really need one?

Understanding The Bible The NAC Way

I saw this missive from Wilhelm Leber, "Chief Apostle" of the NAC, on the New Apostolic Church International website:

... I would still like to stress the following: according to the New Apostolic understanding of faith, the Apostle ministry has been endowed with the authority to interpret Holy Scripture. This does not mean that believers will not profit from reading the Bible. But it falls to the Apostle ministry to interpret the Bible, to clarify matters, and to provide instruction in faith. In so doing, Scriptural passages are considered in their context, since overemphasis on individual statements can lead to the wrong conclusions.

Truly amazing when you consider that the only apostles who may have been able to claim such authority were the original apostles mentioned in the Bible. The New Apostolic Church believes that their apostles were "called" in the 1830's after some zealots had a few dreams and visions. Oh, and after the church went through a few schisms, too. The NAC apostles are all laymen, there's not one of them that has had any formal theological training, yet somehow it "falls" on these self-appointed men to interpret the Bible and tell everyone exactly what it is they're reading. And to "clarify matters". Gotcha.

If, as Willy says up there, scriptural passages are to be considered in their context, can any NAC "apostle" point out exactly where in the Bible it mentions people flopping around on the floor in the 1830's and appointing these men as "God's Ambassadors"? Can they show me where the Bible mentions a "Chief Apostle" being appointed by God in the 19th century?

If not, I think it's safe to say they're full of crap.

Anathema maranatha!

I've been reading some posts on the NAC singles site lately, just to see what the faithful have to say for themselves (the site is not an official NAC-sanctioned site). Unfortunately, there isn't much that isn't the product of indoctrination. Take a look at this current example of clear, rational thinking:

THE LORD IS COMING. Am I ready! Am i still clinging to earthly treasures and things. As a Minister it is sometimes scary to see how many of us do not realise the earnest of the time. Are we ready for the First Ressurection because??? i AM UTTERLY SCARED NOT TO BE FOUND WORTHY.

How sad, to be terrified of "not being found worthy", as if spiritual "worthiness" were something that could be quantified. To spend life living in dread of a fictional event that has been "imminent" for over 2000 years now. The writer continues:

Please Brothers and Sisters let us Pray earnestly for each other and more so for those of our Bretheren that do not understand or who haved turned away.

Not content with feeling miserable all by himself (I assume the writer is male, because the New Apostolic Church doesn't ordain female ministers), the need to spread the dread is so great that he prays to his god that those who have rejected the offer to live an eternity doing only what an all-powerful deity thinks they must do forever and ever will be returned to the fold, so they too can live in fear for the rest of their days until they die, never having realized "the goal".

Thanks, but no thanks. I don't need your prayers, nor do I want them. I'm immune to the self-loathing and fear that has captured your mind.

With us always, or not?

No, I don't mean Jesus. Indoctrination.

Anonymous asked in the "Death of a Salesman" thread: "Does the indoctrination not only cause members to experience atrophy in their ability to think and reason, but also lead to irrational justifications? Does indoctrination ultimately lead to the ability to be in a perpetual state of denial?"

I'd like to explore this question and others like it. Certainly indoctrination is not unique to the New Apostolic Church, but how do New Apostolics deal with it in their everyday lives? Does it ultimately affect who you really are and what decisions you make or have made in your life? What about those who have left the church, are they still victims of the indoctrination in that their life decisions are based on it at some (if not every) level?

I'd like to think that I've come a long way from being the indoctrinated automaton I could have become in the NAC, but I also find that dealing with indoctrination is a daily battle. Every day I have to remind myself that certain thoughts are not my own, they were put there by others who honestly thought they were doing me some good. Or did they?

Death of a Salesman

So I'm thinking about the first post for this blog, and I decided to write about something that has been bothering me for the last month or so. A man (I won't use his real name) who used to be very involved with the church, a man who had information regarding possible financial misdeeds of the church, took his own life after a series of personal financial setbacks became too much for him to bear. After reading many of his posts on the NACBoard, it was somewhat of a shock to learn that he'd done himself in, but I guess we never know all the burdens others might carry.

I pity him. I wonder what happened to his faith in God that he decided death was a better alternative for him than waiting to see what else life had in store for him. He used to preach about how great God was, how God would sort everything out, all the misdeeds and financial monkey business of the men wielding power in the church would somehow make the church stronger, because wrongs would be righted. I pity him because other than getting a half-hearted apology from the church that he loved for the things he had to endure due to the actions of evil men, nothing has ever come to light regarding Michael Kraus and his dirty dealings with the church finances. Not one scrap of evidence, not even any real accusations. It's all ancient hushed history.

To his dying day, this man professed his love and wide-eyed devotion for the worldwide figurehead of the New Apostolic Church, the "Chief Apostle". He had been told what would happen by a Chief Apostle, how the whole scenario would play out, and even though 2 other Chief Apostles would take control of the church since the day he got that word, nothing ever came of it. And when all was said and done, not one "Chief Apostle" could be bothered to tell the truth about what happened during the iron-fisted reign of Michael Kraus, District Apostle for North America. Not one of these phonies could stand up and say "This man knows the truth about what happened." And more importantly, not one Chief Apostle could give this man financial help in his time of need, especially after knowing the burden of silence he'd agreed to carry, all so these men could continue living their good, prosperous lives.

I don't know what to make of all of it. And like the financial dealings of the New Apostolic Church, perhaps I never will.