Why Returning to the Fold Hurts Less Than Freedom: Armstrongism's Grip on Minds and Families

 

Exit and Support Network recently shared this update about a former Philadelphia Church of God (PCG) minister:

June 19, 2026

I don’t know if you have heard anything about this, but Jim Cocomise is back attending the PCG and is with his wife and most of his family living in Florida. I guess he decided it wasn’t worth losing literally everything. –[name withheld]

For many who exit the more abusive Armstrongist groups, the decades of threats about losing salvation, combined with the shunning of family and friends, can simply become too much to bear. The heartache of isolation often outweighs the relief of leaving, leading some to return to that abusive environment just to restore relationships. This pattern reveals how deeply perverse Armstrongism is at its core—its masterful manipulation of members' minds.

We experienced this firsthand in the old Worldwide Church of God days. Ministers stood on the stage in Pasadena and told 1,200 people sitting in front of them that if they ever left the church, their marriages would fail, their children would despise them, they would lose their jobs and if they owned a business, it would fail, and ultimately they would NOT be part of the Kingdom of God. Maybe—just maybe—if they were a repentant Laodicean, they might be granted a second chance. And that their mistake was permanently recorded in the Book of Life under their name.

Just how sick can Armstrongism be?

Take a look at these quotes from the PCG section on The Exit and Support Network site. They illustrate how the PCG manipulates members. Note that this is not unique to PCG—it applies to almost every Church of God (COG) splinter, even those that perceive themselves as more enlightened, like UCG or COGWA.

Here is “that” false prophet himself, Gerald Flurry:

“And those people who leave the PCG and have been here, well, if you just want to look at it the way it really is, we’re in a war and they are deserters, and in the civil wars, war, deserters were shot! So its not a small little sin.” 

 

These are Flurry’s exact words and it was said about a local elder who left PCG.

Then there is this painful testimony from a former PCG member describing how deeply it hurts when friends and family turn their backs:

I’ve recently left PCG and it’s shocking how my so called “friends” won’t have anything to do with me as it will cause problems for them. Out of all things, that’s what cuts the deepest. Maybe others have heard the same statement: “I love you (or I care for you), but I can’t have anything to do with you anymore,” and, “You’re in my prayers,” or “I’ll pray for your repentance.” How would they feel or respond if God said that same statement to them?? It would be a different story then. I’m sure they’d be pleading.
PCG rambles on about having love for each other, but they choose to forget about the very scriptures that talk about brotherly love and “laying down our lives” for our friends and brothers. [See I John 3:16-18] This is what Christ did. Isn’t that the same example we are told to follow? How is what any of these members act in PCG godly? God doesn’t get rid of people out of His family and refuse to have anything to do with them again!! That’s not love! [Note by ESN: Read about GF’s No-Contact” Ruling.] So what gives PCG people the right to do that to people?

It is no wonder Armstrongism is rotten to the core when its leaders show such little respect for Jesus Himself. Gerald Flurry stated in a Key of David program:

I reviewed transcripts of the December 17th Key of David program entitled, “Christ Declared the Father,” and in it Gerald Flurry makes this statement: 

 

It’s the Father’s name that we honor. We honor His name above Christ’s, above everything because He’s the Head of the Family. Christ has a marvelous responsibility, as well, but He’s not the Head of the Family. 

This directly contradicts passages like John 5:23 (“That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father”) and Philippians 2:9, where Christ is given a name above every name. If there appears to be no love in PCG, perhaps it is because there is so little genuine focus on Christ. 

That last observation strikes at the root of the problem in most of Armstrongism.

After years in the PCG, one former member observed:

After having been in the PCG for a number of years, it finally became increasingly clear that this “church” did not worship and praise God through Jesus Christ and perhaps this is the reason that the majority of their teaching and preaching stems from the Old Testament books. 

 

Of course the ministry doesn’t out right deny Jesus. They will speak about Him, especially during the spring holy days, but to worship Christ, to sing praises to His name or to speak power to truth according to His name is unheard of. It’s almost like they are ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. [Romans 1:16] This denial of Christ is very subtle; Gerald Flurry [in speaking about other Christians and churches] makes statements like: 

 

“They focus on His person.”

“If they keep looking at the personality, they don’t see what He actually said.”

“You hear about Jesus Christ all the time, but do you hear about His message?”

Sound familiar?  

Very recently, I spoke with a member friend, that feared going against “government” but this person made the statement the Jesus and God are not the same. Prior to leaving the PCG, I heard a sermon by Wayne Turgeon [Flurry’s son-in-law] entitled, “What Would the Father Do?” In the sermon he mentioned, “I would not be caught wearing a bracelet, more or less one with the initials “WWJD” on it” (What Would Jesus Do?). 

 

Now, what is so amazing about this is that if he would have read John 5:19 he would have known that Jesus would do the very same thing as the Father: 

 

“…The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” 

 

Their belief seem to be this, “Jesus is okay but God the Father is better, and we at the PCG are better than the other Christian groups, because we don’t worship Jesus.” 

 

In John 10:30 Christ said “I and my Father are one.” But the PCG seeks to divide this one relationship, perhaps to make it fit better into their organizational chart [originally formulated by HWA]: God the Father first, Jesus second, Herbert Armstrong third, then under him, Gerald Flurry. 

 

On their TV program in a lesson entitled “Christ Declares the Father,” Gerald Flurry made the following statement: 

 

“Christ has a marvelous responsibility as well, but He’s not the Head of the Family.” 

 

This may sound enlightening to some, but to me, it sounded very carnal minded. Again, their thinking seems to be, “Jesus is lower than God the Father and therefore is not worthy of praise and honor.” 

 

In the same program Gerald Flurry makes another carnal minded statement: 

 

“It’s the Father’s name that we honor. We honor His name above Christ’s, above everything because He’s the Head of the Family.” 

 

Well, so much for John 5:22-23: 

 

“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.” 

 

The reason Gerald Flurry may not be able to say “Jesus is Lord” is because, based on what he teaches, he doesn’t believe that He is Lord

The organizational chart remains clear: God the Father first, Jesus second, Herbert Armstrong third, then Gerald Flurry. Flurry has repeatedly emphasized that Christ “is not the Head of the Family” and that the Father’s name is honored “above Christ’s, above everything.” This stands in direct opposition to John 5:22-23, which states that all judgment is committed to the Son so that all should honor the Son even as they honor the Father. Plus, can you imagine anything so heretical as an org chart with God-Jesus-HWA-Flurry-etc.? The sheer stupidity is appalling. Through 2,000 years of church history and millions of real martyrs, old Herb and Six Pack Flurry gets the number three and four spots!

Why is it so hard for members to leave this controlling cult mentality?

Years—often decades—of indoctrination create a powerful psychological and emotional prison. Leaders weaponize fear of eternal damnation, painting leavers as “deserters” worthy of execution in a spiritual war. Families are held hostage through no-contact policies and shunning, turning loved ones into enforcers of compliance. Members are conditioned to view the outside world (and even other Christians) as deceived Laodiceans or worse. The social structure becomes their entire identity, support system, and perceived path to salvation. Leaving means risking not just family ties but the very foundation of their worldview.

For many, the terror of being “cut off from God” and losing everything familiar outweighs the promise of New Covenant freedom—life in the Spirit, resting in Christ’s finished work, and simple relationship with God apart from legalistic control. Some try “plain old freedom from religion” only to find the scars run deep. The mind games are expertly crafted: you’re either all in with “God’s government” or you’re rebelling against the Almighty. It’s no surprise some crawl back, choosing the known pain over the terrifying unknown.

The tragic return of people like Jim Cocomise to the PCG highlights a painful truth: Armstrongism doesn’t just teach bad doctrine—it engineers dependency and fear so effectively that freedom feels more dangerous than bondage. By subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) diminishing Christ, elevating human “government,” and enforcing loyalty through family destruction and salvation threats, these groups maintain ironclad control.

Yet the New Covenant offers something far better: direct access to the Father through the Son, liberty from the law’s curse, and love that never shuns the repentant. True brotherly love lays down its life—it doesn’t cut people off for questioning a flawed human leader. Jesus is not a subordinate figure in some cosmic org chart; He is Lord, worthy of full honor, praise, and trust.

Kknow that leaving the fear behind is possible. Many have walked this road and discovered the joy of freedom in Christ—real relationships untainted by conditional “love,” and a faith rooted in grace rather than terror, or in no religion at all. The cost of staying may preserve earthly ties for a time, but it comes at the expense of truth and spiritual health. As painful as the exit can be, the alternative is a lifetime (and beyond) of manipulation by men who claim to speak for God while denying the very heart of the Gospel. Choose freedom. Be a follower of TheWay.

Jeremiah 31:31 and the New Covenant: How Armstrongism Completely Botched It (With Hebrews 8 Rubbing Salt in the Wound)

Jeremiah 31:31 and the New Covenant: How Armstrongism Completely Botched It 

(With Hebrews 8 Rubbing Salt in the Wound)

Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 31:31-32, ESV)

God Himself dropped a prophecy that should have ended the entire "let's drag Sinai into the Church Age" charade. Yet Herbert W. Armstrong and his ever-shrinking parade of self-anointed successors somehow twisted this divine declaration into theological gymnastics worthy of a circus sideshow. "New Covenant? Sure, but keep all the old rules, pay your tithes, and don't forget the Feast sites!" Brilliant strategy, boys. Really makes you wonder how they "rightly divide" anything besides their members' bank accounts.

God, never one for vague corporate memos, lays it out crystal clear:

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:33-34)

This isn't some minor software update to the Mosaic system with added Armstrong-flavored content like triple tithing, pork police, and calendar wars. No, this is a full system replacement. Internal transformation via the Holy Spirit. Universal knowledge of God—no elite "Philadelphian" headquarters bureaucrats or modern "apostles" needed to interpret for the peons. And best of all: complete, permanent forgiveness. Not the "repent, re-qualify, and grovel before the minister" hamster wheel these groups adore.

Jesus Himself confirmed it: "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20). But why stop there when Hebrews 8 exists to absolutely eviscerate the old system?

Hebrews 8: The New Covenant Smackdown

The book of Hebrews doesn't pull punches—it quotes Jeremiah 31 and then joyfully plants the boot on the old covenant's neck:

"But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second." (Hebrews 8:6-7)

Faultless? The old one was a glorious failure precisely because of those stubborn human hearts. So God promised something vastly superior. Then comes the knockout:

"In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." (Hebrews 8:13)

Obsolete. Vanishing. Ready to disappear. Take a good long look at that, Bwana Bob Thiel, Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, Jon Brisby, Samuel Kitchen, and the rest of the COG relic collectors. Your precious hybrid "spiritual old covenant" that you peddle as essential for salvation? The Bible calls it outdated junk, fading into irrelevance like yesterday's failed prophecy date. The old had a weak priesthood, a shadowy tabernacle, and repetitive sacrifices that could never perfect anyone. Jesus brought the real deal—a better High Priest, better promises, and actual rest.

Where Armstrongism Went Off the Rails (Spectacularly)

The entire Armstrongist empire is built on studiously ignoring Hebrews 8 while cherry-picking "Israel" prophecies to prop up their British Israelism fantasy. They love yapping about a "New Covenant" in sermons—just enough to sound biblical—before burying it under mountains of Old Covenant baggage. "The law is written on your heart now... so keep it exactly like ancient Israel or you're disqualified!" How profoundly convenient for maintaining control, extracting cash, and disfellowshipping questioners.

Their system couldn't survive the truth: the New Covenant isn't about becoming "spiritual Israel" cosplaying Old Testament rituals to earn brownie points with God. Christ fulfilled it all. The law on hearts produces real fruit by the Spirit, not the fear-soaked, gritted-teeth obedience that defined decades of ruined lives, broken families, and ministerial abuse in these groups.

The Glorious Implications (That They Desperately Ignore)

Total forgiveness. Direct access to God. Freedom from the shadows that pointed to Christ. Grace that empowers instead of a law that only exposed failure. This is what the exiles from Armstrongism discover: actual life, not perpetual performance anxiety.

Armstrongism didn't merely misunderstand Jeremiah 31 and Hebrews 8—they performed a full-on doctrinal inversion, standing these glorious truths on their heads to protect a dying system of control and cash flow. While God announced a better covenant with better promises, these self-appointed experts doubled down on the obsolete, peddling the same legalistic poison that couldn't save Israel and certainly won't save anyone today. Their "one true church" routine, complete with prophetic failures, Kenyan scandals, luxury lifestyles funded by the faithful, and endless calendar/tithing obsessions, stands exposed as the very embodiment of the "faulty" old system God replaced.

Yet the good news rings louder than their desperate radio broadcasts and member letters ever could: the days foretold by Jeremiah are here. The old has passed away. The new has come in the person and finished work of Jesus Christ. No more middlemen demanding your paycheck to "qualify" for a kingdom they can't even accurately predict. No more fear-driven rule-keeping that leaves souls exhausted and families fractured. The Holy Spirit writes God's law on hearts not to resurrect Sinai, but to produce living faith that looks like Christ.

If you're still trapped in one of these splinter groups, do yourself and your loved ones a favor: open Jeremiah 31 and Hebrews 8 without the headquarters-approved filters. Let the Spirit speak directly, as the New Covenant promises He will. The freedom purchased at Calvary isn't a future reward for perfect Sabbath or Feast attendance—it's a present reality for all who trust in the better Mediator.

Stop earning what Christ has already given. The hamster wheel stops here. Real rest, real relationship, and real life await outside the shadows of Armstrongism. The new covenant isn't just better—it's everything the old one could never be.

Freedom isn't coming. It's already been delivered.

Silent Pilgrim

Annihilationism: Armstrongism and the Death of God

The Sea of Galilee, a Location Where Jesus Preached about Gehenna

Annihilationism

Armstrongism and the Death of God

By Scout

My Dad, now deceased, fought in the Battle of the Rhineland in World War II. While he was mostly reticent about his involvement, he did from time to time pass something along. He told me about something that happened in a German city, whose name I do not now recall, that I found shocking as a youngster. He said that the Americans had hit the city with a rain of incendiaries that used white phosphorus. White phosphorus pieces from the explosions were embedded in the bodies of German civilians. White phosphorus burns in air and if smothered will re-ignite. The German civilians – men, women and children - jumped in the nearby river that passed through the city and the submersion in water stopped the white phosphorus from burning. Yet, they could not leave the river because the phosphorus would re-ignite. The Germans had no way to deal with this on a massive scale so German soldiers walked along the banks of the river and shot the civilians to end their misery. A scene out of hell. This conveys some of the emotional impact of annihilationism. The German civilians burned for a while and then they were executed. Death was a mercy. If one ascribes annihilationism to God, it is good to know something about it.

For people who persist in rejecting God, there is ultimate punishment. At least that is what many Christian and non-Christian religions teach. That punishment may take place in many forms. The most common form in Western Christianity is Eternal Conscious Torment in hellfire. But many reject this notion because it is difficult to believe that God would punish someone eternally for a finite number sins. So, in some quarters, the idea of annihilationism was promoted as a “kinder, gentler” form of finite punishment and some scriptures were gathered around it. Others, like many of the Millerite-derived denominations claim to exegete annihilationism from scripture. Herbert W. Armstrong taught annihilationism and it most likely came from the Church of God (Seventh Day). Here is a CG7 statement:

“At its (Millennium) conclusion, the unrighteous will be resurrected to suffer annihilation at the great white throne judgment” (Statement of Faith Church of God (Seventh Day), 2013.)

Ashes of the Wicked

See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch… And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes (“dust”, Jewish Study Bible) under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 4:1, NRSV)

There is nothing in the surrounding context of this scripture that would make us think that the topic of eternal punishment is being addressed. Bodies are burned but we are not given any data on the state of the pneuma or spirit. This is certainly a punishment but it is a leap to convert it into an eternal punishment dispensed at the final Judgement. The text is simply talking about good and bad people on this earth and what happens to them in a particular case in history. No doubt some of the German civilians written about earlier eventually became ashes under the feet of American soldiers without any implication of eschatological punishment. The scripture says a lot by what it does not say.

Connecting this passage with Gehenna in the New Testament is dubious prooftext. Neither the passage in Malachi nor the instances of Gehenna in the New Testament seem to be focused on the final Judgement. To concoct a connection is to compound misinterpretation. Dr. Eitan Bar (His book titled “Hellfire Deconstructed: An In-Depth Study of the Bible Verses About Hell” contains a chapter on the Jewish view of Gehenna and how Jesus used the example of Gehenna.) wrote the following about the concept Gehenna at the time of Jesus:

The term "Gehenna," used by Jesus in the New Testament as a metaphor to describe the condition of suffering and divine consequences, was understood by Jews of the first and second centuries primarily as symbolizing harsh consequences rather than a destination in the afterlife.

Other current research indicates that Gehenna was a deep ravine to the south and west of Jerusalem. The archaeological evidence concerning its ancient use is controversial and inconclusive. The “garbage dump” characterization is apparently a Rabbinic creation from the Middle Ages. The literary motif shows it to be a place of an undesirable or regrettable death.

The Death of God: An Objection to Annihilationism

There is only one way that God can die. This death is not a cessation of being but a cessation of being sentiently perceived. While both would involve the deletion of God from the picture, the former is impossible but the latter is not. Here is a simplified thought experiment. Consider the microcosm consisting of God and one person. In this little world there is a dual perspective where God is aware of the person and the person is aware of God. If God destroys the person utterly, the microcosm ceases to exist. And the person is no longer aware of God. So, in that loss of awareness, God also ceases to exist. In the extinction of the life of a God-aware sentient being, God becomes extinct also.

I do not believe that God intends ever to become extinct in any way, either literally or in effect. He does not create sentient beings with the expectation that they will ever go into dissolution. Or that he would, in effect, go into dissolution through the existential loss of a sentient being. This is the weakness of annihilationism. It is a sword that cuts in both directions. If God is the father of all, then the loss of a sentient being is a great tragedy. But it is more than that; it is a defeat of God. In his absolute state, God failed to rescue someone who was important to him.

For me, the annihilation model does not work. I think it is absurd to believe that God can be trammeled. Some who reject God may be beaten with few stripes and other with many as a process of reformation but it is illogical that the absolute God would completely lose anyone to total dissolution.

The Summation

This opinion piece is apophatic. I am not declaring the details of what happens to people who persist in rejecting God, but what that outcome is not. For instance, it is not the Millerite idea of annihilationism because that idea does not reflect the divine nature. It does not fit with the Jesus who clearly identifies his purpose and charter. He says, “Behold, I am making all things new.” The idea that rendering a human being non-existent is somehow making something new is cynical. God does not deal in cynicism. God sits on the throne of grace. We must navigate by that star.

Narcissist of the Year: Bob Thiel’s Greatest Achievement Is Convincing Himself He’s an Expert at Literally Everything

   

We here on this blog love to take potshots at Bob Thiel, and for good reason. He is, without question, the Church of God’s most spectacularly self-serving narcissist. This man didn’t just wake up one day and decide he was special—he officially crowned himself the savior of the entire Church of God movement by “restoring” authentic first-century Christianity. Or so he claims, in between paragraphs that are mostly about how brilliant he is for doing it.

The Churches of God have certainly never been short on narcissists over the decades. In religion, as in politics and business, the people who actually move the needle tend to have egos the size of small planets. That part isn’t new. What is new is how Bob Thiel has taken garden-variety narcissism and turned it into performance art.

In literally every article he writes, every booklet he publishes, every radio talk he gives, and every sermon he preaches, the central character is not Jesus, not the apostles, not even Satan. No, the star of the show is always Bob Thiel. He somehow manages to make himself the hero, the victim, the prophet, the victim again, and the final authority—all before the end of page two.

And if you thought his religious self-promotion was already Olympic-level fraud, just wait until you look at his other great hustle: playing the part of world-renowned naturopath and health expert. Bob loves to style himself as “Dr. Bob Thiel,” complete with a Ph.D. in nutrition science from some outfit and a dazzling list of licenses, credentials, and awards. But when anyone bothers to check? Everything Bob says is fraudulent.

Last year, The Painful Truth site did a deep dive into his licensing claims, and the rabbit hole was deep and eye-opening. 

He claims he was registered as a naturopath in Washington D.C. back in 1996. True enough—except that license expired in February 2010. He still trots it out like it’s current authority. He claims to be licensed as a naturopathic scientist by the State of Alabama and licensed as a naturopath by North Carolina. Cute. Those states don’t even regulate or issue such licenses for naturopaths. The credentials simply do not exist.

Then there’s Idaho, where he claims a license as a naturopathic physician from Bingham County. Adorable story—except those were old, low-level county things from the early 2000s with zero real state backing. They were repealed years ago, and actual state naturopathic licensing in Idaho didn’t even begin until 2020. His “license” predates the real system by more than a decade.

In California, he boasts an “Instructor Credential in Naturopathic Medicine.” Reality? California does not license traditional naturopaths as doctors. At best, he can hand out nutritional advice while being required to clearly disclose that he’s unlicensed to practice healing arts. He got an enforcement case opened against him for failing to do exactly that on his own website. Meanwhile, he created his very own “California State Naturopathic Medical Association,” declared himself its past president, and announced that it was “by far, the largest association of naturopaths in California”—all while using his own home address as the organization’s headquarters. How efficient.

He also claims fancy titles like science editor for some naturopathic group and awards such as “Research Scientist of the Year” and “Physician of the Year.” Searches turn up nothing. No records. No verification. Just more self-inflated hot air.

It’s the exact same playbook he uses with religion: appoint yourself the ultimate authority, exaggerate or invent your credentials to prop up the image, then demand everyone else recognize that only you have the real truth—whether it’s about the Bible or about which supplements will save your life.

Everything Bob says is fraudulent. In his endless religious material, he’s the center of the universe. In his health-guru persona, the impressive-sounding licenses and titles are smoke, mirrors, expired paperwork, nonexistent regulations, and organizations he apparently founded in his living room. The man has turned self-promotion into a full-contact sport, and he’s somehow still shocked when people notice the emperor has no clothes… and no valid medical license either.

Truly a modern marvel. If only restoring “authentic first-century Christianity” worked the same way as manufacturing your own fan club and expired credentials.

Check out the excellent article here: Investigating Bob Thiel

Wade Cox’s Christian Churches of God Cult: Armstrongism's Most Deranged “Church” Where Jesus Takes a Backseat to Three-Year Hazing Rituals

Picture this: You think you’re walking into a Christian church, but instead you’ve stumbled into Wade Cox’s ultra-exclusive private club. Sorry, newcomer — you don’t even qualify as a real member at first. No, you start as a pathetic little measly guest until the overlords decide to “induct” you through baptism. Until that magical moment, you’re basically tolerated but irrelevant.

Once you finally get dunked, congratulations, sucker! You’ve now earned the glorious privilege of a three-year probationary period — a spiritual boot camp where you must grovel at the leaders’ feet, binge-watch every single one of Wade’s rambling, eccentric sermons, and open your wallet wide and often. Only after proving you can “go the distance” with this nonsense might they — in their infinite mercy — grant you the sacred title of voting member.

But don’t get too excited! They can still boot you or strip your precious voting rights over the tiniest little infraction. One wrong glance, one missed sermon, one insufficiently enthusiastic “amen” and poof — back to the minor leagues you go.

What an absolute load of Armstrongite bullcrap.

Of course, what else could we expect from a group so hopelessly chained to Old Covenant legalism and — dare we say it — Islamic-style authoritarian control structures? Jesus and that wonderful New Covenant? They barely rate a mention, except when it’s time to roll out the “angry pissed-off dude coming back to wreck havoc on humanity” routine. That’s their favorite Jesus, after all.

Membership, they solemnly declare, is reserved for “rational and disciplined people in fellowship that have the capability to overcome.” Translation: only the most obedient, wallet-open, Cox-worshipping rule-keepers need apply.

The position of CCG is simply this. All things are run decently and in order. The church has appointed representatives who are responsible for the various operational and legal responsibilities of the church. We comply with the legal requirements of the nations in which we operate. 

People may come into CCG in guest or fellowship status. Until they are inducted and baptised they are on guest status. Once they are baptised they come into fellowship and are placed on a three year trial to be proven in the faith and to satisfy themselves also that they can last the distance. There is no guarantee they will be admitted to voting membership at all. Although usually that is offered to rational and disciplined people in fellowship that can overcome.

We don't mind if people wish to leave or disagree with us but if they disagree go and find someone with which they do agree as that is required of them by Christ under God. No baptism is valid if it is not done by an appointed person with the authority to baptise. There only a few churches of God that we recognise as having a valid baptism. Without that you will not enter the First Resurrection and receive the Holy Spirit and come under judgment.

Somewhere on this planet is Christ's true Church following God's laws and the Testimony of the faith, or Christ is a liar. If it is not CCG then go and find it and when you have done so come and tell us and we will sell all we have and go and work for them. However, don’t tell us it is some lawless rabble that has no structure and no appointed officials that are not subject to order and discipline and which does not follow the laws of God and the nation in which they operate and are not accountable to their brethren.

How generous of them! They’ll supposedly sell everything and join the “real” church… just as long as it’s not some disgusting, lawless, unstructured group that — horror of horrors — actually believes in the New Covenant and the finished work of Christ.

This is textbook cult behavior wrapped in pious language. By rejecting the New Covenant of grace and clinging desperately to Old Covenant shadows, these folks have developed exactly what Scripture warns about: reprobate minds. Minds that trade the freedom and rest found in Jesus for endless rules, human gatekeepers, financial shakedowns, and three-year loyalty tests.

Jesus already paid it all. The veil is torn. The Holy Spirit is given freely to every believer. No probation. No “induction.” No Cox-approved hierarchy standing between you and God.

But hey, if groveling for three years under Wade Cox sounds like the abundant life to you, by all means — enjoy your “rational and disciplined” captivity. The rest of us will be over here enjoying actual New Covenant freedom.

Come out of her, my people. The exit door is wide open.

New Video: Deconstructing British Israelism

Unity Through Splintering: Dead Ted’s Timeless Hypocrisy Classic

If you happen to stumble upon the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association website, you’ll quickly get the distinct impression that dear old dead Ted is still alive and bellowing from the grave as boldly as ever. The site acts as a digital mausoleum, faithfully preserving most of his sermons, books, and booklets like sacred relics from a bygone era of one-man-show Armstrongism.

One piece in particular stands out like a rotting corpse: The Church and the New World Order. In it, dead Ted trots out the tired, standard Armstrongist argument that is still being pompously leveled at “worldly churches” today — even though this screed was written long before the Great Apostasy and the glorious, never-ending splintering of Armstrongist groups into a clown car of competing mini-splinters.

Today’s various COG factions, from Bwana Bob Thiel to Gerald Flurry and the rest of the self-appointed pack, absolutely adore crowing about how deceived and hopelessly divided the worldly churches are. All while engaging in world-class gaslighting by pretending that today’s Churches of God aren’t splintered into a ridiculous, backbiting mess — with each tiny group fiercely clinging to its own unique, freshly reinterpreted, and conveniently self-serving flavor of Armstrongism.

The hypocrisy is not just astounding — it’s breathtakingly shameless, predictable, and downright comical in its blindness.

Everyone knows about religious differences. From our earliest recollections of our own church experiences, or from our civics and history books in school, we learned that Jews and Christians are different; that the Jewish race, generally speaking, reject Christ as the Messiah, while nominal Christians believe Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Savior of the world. 

 

We know there are Buddhists, Shintoists, Taoists, Confucianists, Hindus, and adherents of Islam. We know about most of the major denominations; Roman Catholicism, the Anglican Church, the Dutch Reformed Church, the Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, Episcopalians, Nazarenes, Church of Christ, First Christian Church, Pentecostal churches, and dozens more. It requires a sizeable book or a large section in an almanac just to list them all. 

 

It is plain, from simply informing oneself about how many different churches there are, that they are not all together. They hold different beliefs and customs. Does any one of them believe they are wrong? When thousands of people find their way to their neighborhood church building each week, are they entering a building and participating in a worship service they believe is wrong? No, of course not. 

 

But can all of them be right? 

 

Obviously not, for they are deeply divided, and ne’er the twain shall meet. There is deep-seated division between the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Division which caused the shedding of much blood; division which tore nations apart. Very large history books detail how and why the Church of England rejected the primacy of the popes in Rome, and how the Anglican church was formed. There is a vast amount of literature available about the Protestant Reformation; how many millions of members in dozens of denominations refused to submit to the popes in Rome. 

 

Clearly, if any one of these churches is 100 percent right, then all the others are wrong. There simply cannot be different churches, teaching different doctrines, with different customs and practices, who are part of an undivided church.

Oh, the delicious irony. dead Ted (and every one of his spiritual descendants) loved pointing fingers at the divided “world” churches while running what has since become the most fragmented, ego-driven religious dumpster fire in modern Christianity. Each little COG pope in his tiny kingdom insists he alone has restored “the truth once delivered,” yet they can’t even agree on calendars, titles, prophetic timelines, or how to fleece the sheep without getting caught.

The hypocrisy is astounding. These groups mock the Protestants for their divisions while splintering faster than a dropped box of Legos at every perceived slight, doctrinal nuance, or power struggle. Thiel, Flurry, Pack, Brisby, Kitchen, and the rest preach unity in theory while practicing ruthless division in practice — all while demanding absolute loyalty from their dwindling followers.

It would almost be tragic if it weren’t so absurdly funny. They condemn the “deceived” churches for not agreeing on everything, yet their own movement has produced more “one true churches” than you can shake a disintegrating Ambassador College diploma at. The same old arguments that sounded so clever in the 1970s now just expose the rotting foundation of the entire Armstrongist enterprise: a man-made system built on authoritarian control, failed prophecies, and breathtaking self-deception.

If you still can’t see the hypocrisy staring you in the face, perhaps it’s time to stop listening to dead men (and their living imitators) and start reading the New Testament for yourself. The real Jesus offers freedom, not another endless parade of self-appointed “watchmen” fighting over scraps of Herbert’s empire.