Friday, December 21, 2018

It's About Truth

The ideology that Herbert Armstrong has dictated in his doctrines, ideas, predictions, speculations, and heresies is morally, spiritually, and ethically reprehensible in every sense of the world. The very core of his work goes undeniably against the very fruits of the Spirit of God and the very core of the heart and soul of what Jesus came to reveal, to accomplish, and ultimately, to give His life for. 

Jesus did not come to bring one set of people to abject poverty while another set of people rob, steal, and dine on their dimes. Jesus did not come so the little children had to sit silently and listen to their ministers talk about death, destruction, false prophecies, corrections, rebukes, and absolute lies. Jesus did not come to enable abusers to abuse. Jesus did not come to promote racism, white supremacy, bigotry, Gulfstream Jets, mansions, and GQ suits. Jesus did not come to advance a religion of arrogance, greed, chauvinism, and bullying. 

Jesus did not come to this Earth 2,000 years ago to advance the causes of uncontrolled and unchecked power. Jesus did not come to this Earth 2,000 years ago with a weak, powerless, dismal Gospel that was just waiting for a worldly-oriented businessman to raise up a scheme that would collapse in just about 50 years. None of these reasons are why Jesus came. 

When we look at the legacy of Herbert Armstrong, and it's splinters, we can, without any effort, bring forth volumes of information of the lies, the falsehoods, the distortions, the cover-ups, scandals, misrepresentations, and harm that have disseminated from the "House of God" in Pasadena for decades upon decades. We can, without any effort, bring forth volumes of testimonies - painful, real, honest testimonies of the chains and the shackles that the doctrines of Armstrongism - taught by biblically and theologically illiterate leaders - that prove not only the dark and wicked attitudes that prevail in the thick sewage of Armstrongism, but prove the spirit of evil that has shattered and broken thousands upon thousands of lives in it's destructive wake. It's not isolated. It's the force, and the strength of destruction that to the end, even decimated itself into slivers and shards, where little remains of what once was. 

Now, today, we have a few that continue to believe - some wholeheartedly and with sincere conviction - that somehow they and they only hold the keys and the answers to life. Answers that not only completely trample and trash everything that Jesus ever came to accomplish, but hold people in chains of bondage, ruining families, destroying relationships, destroying opportunity, causing division and separation time and time again. Now today, we have a few that are divided amongst themselves, making merchandise of the brethren to advance their own miniature empires led by men thirsty and hungry for power and control - lying, deceiving, and destroying without regard to reach their own ends and to maximize their own schemes. 

And then there are those who finally wake up to the realization that they were involved in a world of darkness pretending to be light. These come out of the dense fog of Armstrongism in a world of trauma, hurt, and disbelief. Many even have come to reject Christianity itself, and embrace the concepts and notions of a godless universe. Others have retreated into a world of reclusive living, untrusting and unwilling to allow themselves to submit to such a scam ever again. - subject to lie after lie after lie, over and over again. 

There is no doubt as to what they - the perpetrators of Armstrongism and all of it's injustices - want those who shine light on the problems - to do. They want us to "get a life", to "shut up", to "grow up", and to roll over and play dead, and not say anything about the abuses that continue unabated. They want those who see, who hear, and tell others to "mind their own business". Then, they accuse the ones who speak out of being blasphemers. Of being haters. Even of being devils. They accuse those of the same attitudes they have no problem displaying, while making themselves out to be the bearers of light and hope. Many have cast judgement against them, without authority, up to and including their eternal lives, without realizing or knowing that only God holds the keys of life and death in His hands - or the one who came to save us. They don't acknowledge the depth, the width, the height, and the length of the love of God in Christ our Lord that exceeds the pathetic boundaries created by that businessman, Herbert Armstrong, who only understood the physical realms, and even then, didn't have a clue. 

If your watched your son or your daughter - with so much potential to live - get involved with a man or a woman who constantly oppressed them. Who constantly told them everything they were doing wrong in every area. Who stripped them of their ability to make decisions. Who stripped them of their responsibilities. Who eventually would take as much of their rights, responsibilities, and income as possible - and then that man or that woman who did that went out and built a house, living off their income - lying to them, over and over again - promising them the world while they were chained up in the basement, living off whatever they could scrape out - would you not be outraged? would you not want to tell someone? Would you not want to do all you could to help that person understand their situation? Especially your son and daughter? Or would you expect them to sit down, shut up, and bask in willful neglect and disbelief about the whole thing? Would you be on the side of your son or daughter, or the abuser? 

What would Jesus do?

What would YOU do? 

For all the time we spent in Armstrongism, we heard four words in our hearts and minds throughout the whole experience: Tithe, Pray, SHUT UP, and OBEY. Today, those same leaders WISH we would tithe, WISH we would shut up, and despise our "rebellion" against their tyrannies. We got up, and we said "NO MORE". We ignored their constant threats against our eternal lives, and cast them aside as worthless. We rejected their nonsense, their false prophecies, their lies, their arrogance, their abuse, their judgemenal attitudes, their greed, their sneers, their cold, heartless attitudes of worldly gain and greed, and their shouts of powerless authority. Make no mistake - their words are powerless. They have been disarmed. They hold no power - except on those who give them such power through fear. 

Let me be clear on this: None of them hold any power over ANYONE, except the power of fear and deception. Not oneof them has uttered one prophecy of truth, one speculation of substance, one word of power - just disappointment and lie after lie. Who remembers the guy who "cursed" his detractors to no avail? Or the guy who made up such ridiculous prophecies about 2013 and ended up proving himself a liar? Or the guy who believes he was ordained and never was? What about the man who started it with over 200 false speculations, a man with rage, temper, and in his own words, an "evil nearly impossible to overcome"? The only power they've ever had over anyone are those who believe they have power. 

We don't. We have been freed. We're here. They are powerless. We have a voice. It's not hatred. It's standing up to the Lectern of the Internet through the Banned By HWA Arena in front of a crowd bigger than any Feast of Tabernacles site with volumes of information and indisputable facts. It's booming the truth of what Armstrongism was really about "AROUND THE WORLD", And really is. Not one person has EVER been able to refute any of the claims that have been revealed. Because they cannot. Because it's truth. And truth is all it's ever about.

submitted by SHT

23 comments:

Unknown said...

Sing Along Time! Sing along to the tune "I Am Woman" by Helen Reddy 1971

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rptW7zOPX2E&start_radio=1&list=RDrptW7zOPX2E


I am C-O-G Member , hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an' pretend
'Cause I've heard it all before
And I've been down there on the floor
No one's ever gonna keep me down again

Oh yes, I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong
(Strong)
I am invincible
(Invincible)

I am C-O-G Member
You can bend but never break me
'Cause it only serves to make me
More determined to achieve my final goal
And I come back even stronger
Not a novice any longer
'Cause you've deepened the conviction in my soul
Oh yes, I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong
(Strong)
I am C-O-G Member …

Anonymous said...

You what the truth is? You will all DIE Hope Less!!!

David Rickman said...

Great article as always here on "Banned". As Christmas is fast approaching I'd like to wish everyone a very happy Christmas & a very merry new year!

Anonymous said...

It's about truth - you would not want to approve my comments. That's the truth!

Anonymous said...

What is Jesus doing? What are YOU doing?
It appears that there are a few people here who think they are doing a great work by assuming that all those people they have selected to judge are evil people and they have the right to broadcast around the world the evils of these people. Apparently Jesus has told them to do what Jesus doesn't seem to be doing. It could be that God is training people in these organizations to deal with a world that has lost direction. Something to think about.

Anonymous said...

Nice hit piece! Completely balanced.

Anonymous said...

If we are so powerful why are they eating stake while I nibble on stale peanuts?

SHT said...

"You what the truth is? You will all DIE Hope Less!!!"

That's a lie. Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' love and faithfulness.

Your words are powerless.

Anonymous said...

Truth?

That's something in which we are supposed to grow, isn't it?

So, why on Earth would LCG post as this week's "new" sermon a sermon given in 2004 by John Ogwyn? And why was the sermon, which was recorded in August 2004, given a 2011 copyright in the end credits? It's quite an admission on LCG's part that a sermon given 14 years ago is the best it has to offer today in 2018.

Anonymous said...

If we are so great and awesome, which we might well be, has anyone compared the search engine ranking of this site to those of the UCG, LCG, RCG, PCG, etc. Where do we come in? Are we kicking their butts?

Byker Bob said...

100% truth is unknown to man. There are always going to be mysteries. Some of the stuff we seek is always denied. Like a race with a Willys 77 Gasser I chased all over Pasadena some Saturday night in 1973, and somehow never could get staged with him at a red light.

BB

FFS said...

A great article,SHT. I have to face-palm over the comments of 5:32, 4:35 and 5:29 so far. It is obvious that they haven’t read and understood what you are saying, the proof you are providing about who their leader was and is in the cogs. Their minds are so closed and brainwashed, they just can’t see it, though you’re making it so clear!
Someday they will know and understand.

Anonymous said...

Feliz Navadad.

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:58 PM, John Ogwyn was a total dipstick.

TLA said...

The worst loss to LCG was the loss of John Ogwyn while still a relatively young man in his 50s.
The trend has been downhill as leadership continues to age and die off and younger, talented people are not being brought along.

Sweetblood777 said...

Tell me, when Yahshua said that you shall live abundantly, did you think that He meant the ministry? If the cog ministries have taught us anything, its that they live abundantly and the flock struggles. Shame on them, and double shame on the members who have shown that they love abuse and are too cowardly to walk out.

Anonymous said...

@ TLA, John Ogwyn died of a very treatable MRSA infection, but in fact he died of a broken heart. Privately, he despaired over Rod Meredith's horrible conduct, but since Rod had privately selected him as LCG's next Presiding Evangelist, Mr. Ogwyn bottled up his despair in the hope that he would be able to fix things in the future. The Brookfield massacre is what ruined him, as it showed him that LCG had no special protection from God, and the stress of ministering to the victims weakened him so severely, physically and emotionally, that when he contracted MRSA he decided not to accept the simple medical treatment that would have cured him. He preferred to die in the faith than endure any more of the toxic LCG environment. How very, very sad.

Anonymous said...

5.29 PM
"What is Christ doing. What are you doing..." These are the vague questions typically asked in most UCG articles. Instead of a clear, strong message, one gets these eastern religion type questions. Like something out of the 1972 Kung Fu TV series. They take members hard earned money and profess mush to the world. The United Fallen Asleep Church of God.

TLA said...

Thanks anon 6:34 You confirmed my opinion of John Ogwyn

Anonymous said...

6.34 AM
So according to you, John Ogwyn chose suicide by not seeking medical treatment. Or did he expect God to heal him, which never happened? Apples, Steven Jobs delayed conventional medical treatment by exploring alternative medicine. The delay resulted in his death.
Do you have any proof that John chose to die by rejecting medical treatment? Just because this is a dissident site, doesn't mean that such serious accusations, without proof, should be publicly made. If I were a family member of his (I'm not), I would definitely be offended by your post.

LCG Expositor said...

Rod Meredith lost 4 of his closest advisors in a 2 year stretch: Carl McNair died, John Ogwyn died, Don Davis (Rod's right-hand man at the start of both Global and Living) was kicked off council of elders, and CAD Charles Bryce left the council and his CAD job, after being undermined by Rod while in the field. After that, with no advisors, Rod embarked on a hate-filled campaign against all the other COGs.

TLA said...

Maybe John Ogwyn put it all in God's hands.

Tim said...

6:30 said: “ . . . John Ogwyn chose suicide . . .”

I wouldn’t classify what Ogwyn did in refusing medical treatment as suicide (if that is what he chose to do). It’s like TLA said, “put[ting] it all in God’s hands.” For instance, I’ve been suffering chronic pain on and off for several years without a cure despite resorting to conventional and alternative practitioners. I’ve come to the point in my life that I feel quality of life is more important than quantity. So I’ve prayed to the Most High to either mercifully heal me or mercy kill me. And if I were to contract an illness that would further reduce the quality of my life after “treatment” I honestly would rather refuse the treatment than have what little life is left in me extended and with it my suffering. No where in the Bible does it say I need to preserve my life at all costs by accepting Western “medicine.”