Monday, April 26, 2010

RCG Disparage "British Israelism"--Why?

Recently I read an article from Dave Pack's RCG about racism, Jeffrey R. Ambrose's article Racism--Is There a Solution? It contains a fascinating section on British Israelism which is designed to cause RCG members to be incurious about other forms of British Israelism, and effectively hide the fact that HWA stole this idea from them and taught it in a way he liked.

Richard Brothers (1757-1824), John Wilson (1799-1870), Edward Hine (1825-1891) and J. H. Allen (1847-1930) all taught this long before HWA. Original British Israelism, although completly inaccurate, was not noticeably racist, unlike other forms of it which have arisen in recent times. It was this gentler British Israelism which HWA adopted and fostered upon his followers.

Let us now see what Jeffrey R. Ambrose's article Racism--Is There a Solution?, has to say about "British Israelism":
“British Israelism”

British Israelism is a corruption of the biblical truth regarding the modern descendants of the “Lost Ten Tribes” of Israel. So-called British Israelists often equate the now-antiquated British Empire with the kingdom of God. This is at odds with Scripture, which clearly states that Jesus Christ will establish this kingdom (government) at His Return, still in the future. (See II Timothy 4:1.)
The truth is HWA stole what Ambrose calls "the biblical truth regarding the modern descendants of the “Lost Ten Tribes” of Israel" from British Israelism. The COGs' understanding of this doctrine is based on HWA's spin of this doctrine.
It is true that the Jewish inhabitants of the modern state of Israel on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean, as well as the Jewish Diaspora around the world, do not represent all of the 12 tribes of ancient Israel. They are primarily descended from Judah, one of the 12 tribes.

Ed Koch, the Jewish mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989, was quoted in U.S. News and World Report as saying, “The 10 Lost Tribes of Israel we [Jews] believe ended up in Ireland.” In fact, the British Isles are among a number of places to which these tribes migrated.
Europeans are not descended from Israelites. It is not true regardless of whatever Koch is alleged to have said. I am also disappointed to see that this quote of Koch's is not properly referenced. Where precisely did he say this?
But many British Israelists exclude the Jews altogether, portraying them as scheming impostors. They also apply the “master race” idea to Anglo-Saxons—conveniently, since most of them are of this background. In its worst forms, it closely resembles neo-Nazi white supremacist thinking.

British Israelism is a particularly dangerous and repugnant form of racism because it claims to be justified by the Bible. This causes some people to accept its validity without close scrutiny and pushes others to recoil from the Bible under the false assumption that the idea is found within its pages.
Here the article discredits British Israelism by linking it with its virulently racist manifestations. That will cause RCG followers to be incurious in regards to this movement. Then they will never discover how similar old pre-HWA British Israelism (J. H. Allen, etc.) is to what is taught by RCG. Ambrose is referring to various truly vile racist ideologies, such as so called 'Christian Identity', which also use the idea of British Israelism, but he simply labels it all as British Israelism. This helps to hide the truth about the origins of British Israelism. HWA did not get it by just studying the Bible.

Those racist ideologies, by the way, are very dangerous and scary. Although when most people hear it most of us, quite rightly, think it is crazy, but some people still fall for it as may be seen in the link provided here.

1 comment:

  1. Armstrong opened up Pandora's box with British Israel-ism.
    Every white supremacist group has within its pages, the doctrine of the supremacy of the white man. Over the years I have seen Armstrong's name used by them and his booklets quoted from.

    "You must adopt a new identity — getting a new self-concept — a new ego. You must redefine yourself and your life in cult terms."
    This unfortunately cause the people to change their behavior, attitudes, beliefs, thoughts, and personal feelings from what they were before the cult. This is the hook that changes your personality and redefines you.

    Dispensed truth and social definition of reality.

    The cult and its leaders are the source of all Truth, Wisdom, and Knowledge. The leader proclaims the new doctrine, the new revelation. The cult defines reality and declares what the truth really is.

    The cult leader is not held accountable for his actions.

    He doesn't stand for re-election. There is a rubber stamp Council of Elders or Board of Directors or Board of Trustees that can discipline him or replace him if he fails to perform his duties properly, but never does.

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