The Truth Shall Make You Free: EPILOGUE

published by: 

The Truth Foundation

11 Laurel Court

Freehold Township, New Jersey 07728

1981

EPILOGUE

I. THE BROKEN CONTRACT

(pg. 295) This book was written under contract to Andrews and McMeel, Inc., a Universal Press Syndicate Company. The manuscript was submitted in segments through the month of October 1979, with the final pages being mailed on November 9, 1979.

The contract was negotiated and signed over a period of only a few weeks in February and March of 1979. President Jim Andrews and Editor Donna Martin were aware that I had never written before, but based on a sample chapter were well satisfied that I could write the book without using a ghost writer. Having previously published a book called "The Real Jesus" by Garner Ted Armstrong, they were familiar with the WCG, and anxious to have my manuscript.

    

In negotiating my advance, they had to stay to the low side as they felt legal expenses could be high, and thought they should be prepared for a lawsuit. In fact, Donna Martin said that if they were sued, it would even help sell more books.

 After submitting the manuscript, I grew increasingly concerned as I received various reasons and then finally obvious excuses why it had not yet been approved by Jim Andrews. This continued into March 1980, until Donna Martin began to be unavailable, and seemed to forget to return my daily phone calls. Finally, on April (pg. 296) 19, 1980, 1 received my manuscript, with the following letter form Jim Andrews, dated two days earlier.

            Dear John:

            After going over your manuscript carefully I must regretfully inform you that I do not find it  acceptable  for publication. While you do indeed have a fascinating story to tell            about the case against the Worldwide Church of God, I'm afraid that the number of hours             of editorial work that would be necessary to put this manuscript into publishable form        makes its publication   prohibitive. Add to this the additional legal fees that we would incur to substantiate every allegation in your book so as to preclude any support for the     libel suits which would very ikely ensue, and you can well appreciate our problem. It is        most unfortunate that we do not feel             this is a feasible project for our book company, but   we do feel we should release you to seek another contract if possible. In any case,         although we could legitimately ask for the return of your advance since the manuscript is   unacceptable, we have decided not to do so.

            Please accept my apologies for the long delay. It was in fact only recently that I had the    time to     thoroughly review the manuscript.

            Sincerely yours,

            James F. Andrews

            President

I could not accept this letter at face value, as they were automatically forfeiting $7,500 in advances already paid. This, in spite of the fact that the contract called for my refund of advances if I submitted an unpublishable or libelous manuscript. It appeared that Andrews wanted to get out of the deal, and hoped that the $7,500 would be enough of a sop to send me away quietly. Obviously, it would not make sense for me to sue. It would be better to seek another publisher or, failing that, to publish the book myself.

I was told in a later phone conversation that they were no longer interested in religious books. That, however, is no cause to break a contract. Could there be another reason? Could it be that they still had a book in print by Garner Ted, and thus be concerned because he did not come off in my book as well as they had hoped?

Or could there be another reason? Read Chapter 20 again. Then consider the fact that in the summer of 1979, between the signing of my contract, and the submittal of the manuscript, that Time, Inc. bought an interest in Universal Press Syndicate. Time, Inc. (pg. 297) publishes Time Magazine, which is considered by many to be part of the "Establishment press". At least seven officials of Time, Inc. are reported to be members of the Council on Foreign Relations, with Hedly Donovan, Editor in Chief and Sol Linowitz, also being members of the Trilateral Commission.

As a result of the broken contract, many months were lost in bringing this book to publication, but God always provides a way for His will to be fulfilled.

It is said that books are often suppressed. The reader may evaluate the facts and draw his own conclusions. My opinion as to how the WCG leaders fit into the satanic conspiracy of one world

rule are more firm than ever

II. WATCHDOGS OF THE SACRED TRUST

In September 1979, the formation of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability was announced. This organization, located at 1444 Wentworth Avenue, Pasadena, California, was formed after nearly two years of effort on the part of several Christian leaders. They felt that the repetition of scandal regarding so many religious groups would bring about harsh legislation unless certain standards were established and adhered to.

Membership and a seal of approval is granted only to organizations meeting their standards. Compliance with standards must be supported by substantial documentation. A summary of standards follows:

            1. There shall be an active, responsible governing board, a

            majority of whom together are not employees/staff, or immediate

            family members which meets at least semi-annually, having policy

            making authority.

            2. Required annual audit by a public accounting firm performed in

            accordance with generally accepted auditing standards with the

            financial statements prepared in accordance with generally

            accepted accounting principles.

            3. Audited financial statements shall be available on request.

            4. An active audit committee, a majority of whom are not

            employees/staff shall be established by the governing board of

            the organization.

            5. The organization shall carry on its business with the highest

            standards of integrity and avoid conflicts of interests.

(pg. 298)

            6. The member organization shall have a clearly defined statement

            of faith, consistent with the Evangelical Christian perspective.

            7. All programs and activities of the organization shall be

            consistent with its stated purposes and objectives and donated

            funds shall be applied for the purposes for which they were

            raised.

Had the WCG followed such standards, there would be no legal problems now. In fact, Armstrong and Rader, had they been true to God, would have been in the forefront in establishing such standards for others to follow, as an example of proper Christian stewardship.

ECFA executive director Olan Hendrix is, in one respect, in full agreement with the California Attorney General, having stated, "Every Christian charity must be fully ac countable to

its giving public. Each dollar must be regarded as a sacred trust."

III. WCG TRAMPLES DAVID ROBINSON'S CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS

Rader has stated that the hearing for an ex parte receivership was illegal. He has claimed that the ex parte action was a result of dishonesty among the lawyers and judges.

    

Yet on June 2, 1980, WCG minister Sherwin McMichael, and Henry Cornwall obtained an ex parte temporary restraining order, which halted the release of David Robinson's book "Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web." The suit was filed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Robinson lives, and now pastors an independent Church of God.

Testimony in later court hearings showed that the plaintiffs were acting on behalf of the WCG, and that the WCG was paying the legal fees.

The very same people who claim that the First Amendment is being trampled by the State of California in its effort to correct their alleged fraudulent activity in handling of Church funds, felt no guilt in trampling Robinson's constitutional rights to publish a book.

In the later hearings, the courts decided in favor of Robinson, and his book was released.

Why such an effort to prevent release of Robinson's book?

In Chapter 19 is Robinson's account of his meetings with (pg. 299) Armstrong. This was read by him to me over the phone, from what was to later become part of his book. This account was copied and distributed to many by Robinson in manuscript form. When Church officials became aware of Robinson's plans to include such accounts in a book, they moved against him.

Robinson's book is a devastating account of hypocrisy and false leadership in the Worldwide Church. Most revealing is the fact that Garner Ted is, as many have stated "truly his father's son." He was not the first member of the family to engage in sexual sins. His father had set quite an example. What could be worse than a man engaging in incest with his daughter? According to Robinson, this is one of the many things of which Herbert Armstrong, the selfappointed apostle, is guilty. No wonder God has turned his back on the Worldwide Church of God.

IV. GARNER TED AND THE CHURCH OF GOD INTERNATIONAL

What about Garner Ted and what he called the "new beginning," the Church of God International? Were all the good things that he was saying being said with sincerity, or did he, like a politician, know what the people wanted to hear?

In July 1979, the CGI distributed copies of the Constitution and By Laws. This document provided that "The Chairman and Pastor (Garner Ted) shall hold office in perpetuity by virtue of having been chosen by the divine authority of Jesus Christ..." "The Chairman shall have power and authority to appoint and/or dissolve any and all committees...Constitutional amendments required a two-thirds majority of the board and approval of the Chairman. In other words, Garner Ted would have full veto power over all actions.

The provision for removal of the Chairman required a unanimous Board decision. With the Chairman's wife and brother-in-law on the Board, such an action would be highly improbable, even under the most extreme cases of irresponsibility. Would Shirley Armstrong vote her husband out of a job paying over $40,000 per year, plus fringes such as free restaurant meals nearly every night, expense account for the Cessna 310 plane, and other percs?

(pg. 300) Truly, it appeared to be a WCG rerun after all!

The Constitution created an uproar among the members. Had Garner Ted forgotten that most of them were the thinking people who had left the WCG?

Hastily, a constitutional committee was appointed. I was one of several who were called to make suggestions. Special meetings were held for the general membership. Slowly the furor died down, and no affirmative action was ever taken.

In January 1980, Jack Martin, who had become the Publishing Director of the CGI, was fired by Garner Ted. He was planning to resign, but was fired first, as he had begun to publicly state: "It remains to be seen whether this is going to be God's Church or just Ted's Church."

Immediately following Martin's firing, Allan Heath, Editor of CGI Publications, quit. At the same time, Wayne Cole, after only a few months as Director of the Ministry, resigned. He was true to his word. He had told me in June 1979 that he would never be part of another spiritual fraud. He said that as soon as he saw Garner Ted setting himself up as an authoritarian despot, he would leave. He did just that. If only other ministers in many other churches had the same courage of their convictions.

Also, at about the same time, Wesley Ward resigned from the Board and left the CGI. He had been chairman of the constitutional committee. Aware that he had been used, he left. Ward said, "Ted thought he could use me as a rubber stamp. Well, I was the only one on the Board who wouldn't be a rubber stamp. Ted's no different than his father."

And Wayne Cole had something similar to say. He said, "Just like his father, Ted uses and abuses people."

While following in the ways of his father, trying to establish his own private religious business, Garner Ted appears to have reverted back to other types of conduct. It appeared for a while as though he had repented of his past sexual sins. Perhaps for a time, he did.

    

More recently, he has been seen stumbling out of a bar called the Foxy Lady. He was known to hang out in a place that was raided for drugs. A young real estate saleswoman was asked to meet him at a bar to discuss his real estate requirements. She was shocked to find out that his true intention appeared to be his desire to have an affair with her.

(pg. 301) Garner Ted is known now as one who makes a fool of himself in public places around Tyler, being loud and boisterous, seeking to be the center of attention, and making a spectacle of himself. Strangely, he accused his father of the very same thing.

    

Garner Ted and his establishment of the CGI started out so well. Many of us were encourged, and thought that he was truly yielding himself to Jesus Christ. Recent events have shown that this was just a short lived deception. While the CGI still exists, it is faltering. The thinking people have left, many worshipping with independently formed Churches of God.

    

Income has dropped from a high of $25,000 per week to less than $15,000 per week.

Garner Ted now has his own little group of idol worshipers, taken from his father. They just happen to prefer bowing down before a younger golden calf.

V. WILL RADER WIN?

On April 25, 1980, all employees of the Worldwide Church of God were terminated. With their letters of termination, they received a letter from another organization called "Herbert W. Armstrong The Apostle of the Worldwide Church of God and His Successor, a corporation sole." The terminated employees were offered employment with the Armstrong corporation,  conditioned on strict loyalty to all rules, regulations, doctrines, teachings, and beliefs of the Church (meaning Armstrong).

Further, part-time employment elsewhere was forbidden. Termination could be with or without cause, without severance pay or other benefits. An employee's spouse was also required to agree with and sign the new employment agreement.

As a result of this maneuver, the WCG members were left thinking that they were a member of one group, while in fact, their ministers would now be in the direct personal employment of Armstrong or his successor. It does not take much intelligence to deduce who that would be. Most ministers and other employees have now been compromised to the point where they have signed this document.

Clearly, any minister signing such an agreement is unfit to represent himself as a minister of Jesus Christ.

Through the summer of 1980, the Church leaders began a major (302) advertising campaign, taking their battle against the Attorney General before the public. Full-page advertisements, at the rate of two or three each month, were placed in major newspapers, such as the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Church members, through their tithes, were actually paying a small fortune for Armstrong and Rader to engage in a massive campaign of self-aggrandizement. As an example, the Wall Street Journal full-page ad costs $42,000 per day.

While the legal battles continued, Rader succeeded in enlisting the support of many California politicians to his cause. Seeing the level of corruption in politics, it is easy to see how Rader could gain the support of many politicians. Their game is the same. They just play in different arenas.

    

With the added support of many church leaders of various denominations, some deceived by him, and others fearful of themselves being exposed, a bill was introduced to the California legislature by Senator Nicholas Petris. The bill states. "Except as the Attorney General is empowered to act in the enforcement of the criminal laws of this state . . . (he) . . . shall have no power with respect to religious corporations." In effect, the bill, if it becomes law, will prohibit the Attorney General from acting on behalf of a church in an action against leaders who are suspected of misappropriating funds. The Attorney General would no longer be able to seek recovery of monies for a church. The only avenue would be criminal prosecution, a much more difficult task.

In May, the Senate passed the bill and in August it was passed by the Assembly. If Governor Brown does not veto the bill, it will become law in June 1981. While it would not be retroactive to a time prior to the current action, it would in effect, many feel, neutralize any further attempts by the Attorney General to continue in his actions against WCG leaders.

    

The tragedy of such a law going into effect is that California would most likely become the home of anyone seeking to perpetrate fraud in the guise of religion. Eventually, some of these frauds may get so out of hand that the law will be repealed. The backlash in such an event could in fact bring about real religious oppression, which Rader has deceived many into believing that this law is designed to prevent. In such a backlash, one could expect laws of oppression to be enacted.

(pg. 303) Can religious leaders perpetrate fraud, and get away with it? It may seem like they can, perhaps for a time. But they will always live in fear of being caught.

    

In Isaiah 33, the prophet was inspired by God to write that the sinners in Zion (symbolically speaking, the Church) are afraid, that fearfulness has surprised the hypocrites. And in verse 18, an astonishing statement: "Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? Where is the receiver? Where is he that counteth the towers?"

    

Study this, using a concordance, and you will see that the sinful religious leader will be in constant fear of being caught. He will fear having to give an accounting. And he will fear that his pulpits, pride and honor (his banquets and speeches) are to be counted and found to be worthless.

And what if we must continue to watch as Church leaders seem to get away with fraud and deceit. We can only accept that God is allowing it for a time, allowing people to be fully responsible for their own actions, whether they will follow the truth of Jesus Christ or the false ways and lies of certain men. Rader has stated to David Robinson that it is a higher duty for men in responsible positions to lie.

Not only false teachers, but also those who willingly follow them, shall finally perish. If you are following such a false leader, read what God inspired Peter to write.

            "But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they  understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

           

            And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in  the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

            Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an   heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

            Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

            But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbade the madness of the prophet.

            These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

            (pg. 304) For when they speak great swelling worlds of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantoness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.

            While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is lie brought in bondage.For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

            For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

            But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."

            - II Peter 2:12-22

            "Come out of her, my people, that be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. " (Rev.18:4)

            "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."    (John 8:32)