Sunday, December 18, 2016

Scientology and The Living Church of God



From an LCG source:

I recently happened upon a new show on A&E called "Scientology and the Aftermath". It drew me in immediately because of its similarities to my experience with the Global/Living Church of Rod.

The Scientologist have achieved what ACOGs could only hope for in in terms of their membership and size but the ACOGs, LCG and PCG especially, have nailed the member abuse just like the big guys.

I can just imagine Rod Meredith and Gerald Weston tuning in to A&E to learn new cruel and abusive ways to manipulate, control and destroy anyone who dare question them or anyone who fails to 'understand' that they are to be obeyed because they 'represent Christ'.

The leaders of Scientology practice "Disconnection" which is akin to ACOG's  "marking". Family members and friends are forced to shun whomever the leaders decide they should without evidence or explanation. To do otherwise puts one at risk of being 'disconnected' themselves and everyone fears that because their whole lives and all their friends are within the church (sound familiar?).

They also practice something called "Fair Game" which basically means it's okay to defame, lie about, set-up, etc anyone that questions the church or fails to demonstrate 100% obedience. They believe that the "ends justify the means" which is completely on track with how Meredith and Pack think (and we already know that these men are completely fine with lying if it serves them)

The manipulation of followers and the overtly evil and corrupt leadership of these groups is eerily similar to Armstrong splinters. 

Listening to survivors tell their exit stories is eye-opening and powerful. I literally prayed that as many ACOG members as possible would see this show in hopes that they would see how their minds were being controlled. I hope Meredith/Pack battered sheep with see these stories and feel empowered to make the change no matter how hard it is. I know that many of them know in their hearts that their churches are not the church of God and yet they lack the courage to brake away and truly seek God and obey him. Put not your trust in man...

Here's the link to the show:

CGI: Bill and Wayne’s Excellent Adventure in Politics




Bill and Wayne’s Excellent Adventure in Politics
By
Lonnie C. Hendrix

The Church of God International has reaffirmed its bona fides as a legitimate part of the Armstrong Church of God culture. Like their counterparts within the ministries of most of the other descendants of the Worldwide Church of God, Bill Watson and Wayne Hendrix have made clear that they are firmly in the conservative/Republican camp when it comes to American politics. The CGI’s latest webcast, Post Election Discussion, is an adventure into the political mindset of most folks within this culture.

They begin their conversation with a discussion of the liberal/Democratic media bias which they claim should be obvious to anyone with an ounce of sense (sound familiar?). According to Bill and Wayne, the media was in the tank for Hillary. The way they see it, the media neglected the stories about her “ethical” problems; and instead focused on calling poor Donald Trump a racist, misogynist and homophobe (the implication being that there is not one shred of evidence to support the use of such labels – in other words, please ignore all of The Donald’s statements during the campaign). As with many other issues, they pine for the good old days when journalists were neutral and exhibited “professionalism” (like the folks over at Fox News?).

Next, they move on to an examination of some of the statements which various celebrities (Cher, Snoop Dogg, Kelly Clarkson) made expressing dismay over the results of the election. They proceed to make fun of the distress that many folks have felt over the election of Donald Trump. They simply cannot seem to understand how anyone could be that disenchanted with the results of the 2016 election. According to Bill and Wayne, most of the protesters are paid by the likes of George Soros and his allies to do so. In other words, the notion that these crowds might be motivated by genuine disgust with the result is not even worth considering.

For Bill and Wayne, God is in control – the right person to fulfill God’s plan always wins. Barack Obama was exalted to tear down America, and Donald Trump was anointed to set things right.
At one point, they even go so far as to compare Trump’s ascendancy to the U.S. Presidency with the ascension of Josiah to David’s throne. They even venture to speculate as to what degree Trump might be able to “turn things around.” At the very least, they conclude that Trump will probably be able to slow down America’s decline. In fairness, they do finally admit that the analogy is not perfect – that Mr. Trump is no saint, and that his focus is very secular in nature.

In their analysis of Trump’s victory over Clinton, they conclude that a vote for her would have been a third term for Obama. Fortunately, according to them, the American people voted against Obama’s policies (what happened to their assertion that Clinton was an extremely flawed candidate with serious ethical issues). For them, Donald Trump was the champion of the average American – ordinary folks – the common man. There is no mention of the fact that Trump won with 46% of the popular vote (meaning 54% of Americans voted for someone else for president). There is no mention of the fact that Clinton received almost three million more votes than he did (I guess those Americans don’t count as average, ordinary or part of the majority they have in mind).

Finally, almost as an afterthought, Bill and Wayne address the issue of whether or not it is appropriate for two elders of “God’s Church” to discourse on political issues. Of course, they conclude that it would be remiss on their part not to address the topic. Apparently, they feel that their perspective (inspired as it is by the Holy Spirit) is indispensable to a right understanding of the issues involved. Thus we are left to wonder, do these guys honestly believe that they are presenting God’s perspective on the 2016 election? AND, if that isn’t what they are suggesting, why should church members be interested in anything they have to say on the topic?


One thing on which we can all agree with Bill and Wayne:  The country is very polarized/divided. Nevertheless, finding ourselves in agreement on this one point, one has to ask:  Why would two ministers of Almighty God decide to take sides in such an environment? Wouldn’t the more prudent course for a minister be to stick to religious/spiritual issues? What do you think?