Da Vey and manufactured miracles

[Ham]

OK.. I know some real ones happened- I personally witnessed a few. But.. by far and wide, anything miraculous, at least in the last twenty years coming out of that place seems to me to at best "manufactured".

Shortly before I left, the leadership was fishing rather heavily for anything supernatural. Somehow, you were a hero if you somehow ended up getting your favorite parking spot at K-mart.

And miracles were rather vague, and questionable. Things like "things could have been a lot worse if WE did not have OUR people prepared for such and such..."

While they demand higher standards from their followers, the measuring stick for what is or what is not a miracle seems to have relaxed, greatly. No longer do they need to actually produce anything. No healings, no wonders. It the followers will obey, the "miracle" seems to have evolved to a form of what did NOT happen. "See? You obeyed your leader, and your kid did NOT get run over by that car". And it seems the followers buy it.

Of course, this makes their job much easier. "Da Bot says, devils from lower Slobovia are planning a mass attack upon god's pure household, even as we speak".

A week later, nothing has happened. Some leader stands up all teary eyed, saying how "thankful" he is for da Bot, that had such forsight to avert such a disaster. And everybody just sits there.. glassy look in their eyes.

But once is not enough. We have a history of "disaster after disaster" that apparently was averted by the MOG/WOG, somehow by "standing in da gap" with the strength of Samson, averting said disaster. Oh well, I guess they have to "earn" their keep somehow.

I have been trying to put some of these events together on a timeline. Anybody out there know anything?

[rascal]

Well ....

In 76 there was some disaster to befall us that the *wake up america* tour was supposed to have diverted.

In 79 there was the communist takeover schedualed that was narrowly averted due to the believers.

Those in the know were supposed to be hording food water and prepare to run for the hills.

Y2K was supposed to destroy the world as we knew it in 2000, all averted thanks to twi.....

[Ham]

Just an added thought.. seems that this new "definition" for a miracle makes it a win-win situation for THEM. If it doesn't happen, it's because of their greatness. If something bad does happen to you, woe unto you! You must have been extra devilish or something, even though you obeyed the stupid mandate to the letter.

And then you serve as one more example to the others of what happens to somebody who was "lazy", "recalcitrant", or some such nonsense.

To me, at least anymore, these kind of explanations sound like a guy who failed to raise somebody from the dead because the dead guy just wasn't humble. Just another recalcitrant fool that refused to cooperate.

[dmiller]

quote:

Shortly before I left, the leadership was fishing rather heavily for anything supernatural. Somehow, you were a hero if you somehow ended up getting your favorite parking spot at K-mart.

And miracles were rather vague, and questionable. Things like "things could have been a lot worse if WE did not have OUR people prepared for such and such..."

Guess they have to do something to keep the interest there. They have little else to offer.

[J0nny Ling0]

I saw plenty of real miracles. And so did my wife. And we still do.

[Ham]

Well, I saw a few too. Prayed for several people, and the miraculous did occur. But as a whole, I think miracles, especially anything big enough to command anybody's attention, was highly over-rated at the least, to manufactured at the worst.

And the measuring stick was greatly shortened. By the mid-90's, it seemed they were digging down to the bottom of the barrel to have any message of "victory" to proudly proclaim to the household..

I think those of us who were really humble and tried to glorify God saw some real stuff happen. But I would not attribute those results to "the greatness" of da vey. Then, and especially now.

Slowly, over the years, I think the leadership evolved into something not much different than a witchdoctor. Always on guard, having to constantly "prove" that their "spells" were effective, and that they commanded the proper respect.

[Jim]

Advanced Class '79. VPW announced that leadership went to Three Mile Island and prayed for the hydrogen bubble in the reactor to go down, and it did. Later reconstruction of the accident showed that there was no hydrogen bubble...

[J0nny Ling0]

Yeah Hammer, I agree with your last post. Too bad people had to gage their spirituality on their "spiritual success", whether real or contrived.

Our spiritual success comes from our redemption through Jesus Christ our Lord, period. Works be damned...