There is a fascinating group on Facebook called Worldwide Church of God I Can't Wait For Sundown and Other WWCG Musings that is filled with people who have escaped Armstrongism. It is funny, irreverent and filled with some appalling stories. There was one the other day that struck me as truly appalling. Appalling that any minister would ever tell a woman such a thing. It's no wonder people have no respect for the ministry of the Churches of God anymore. It is from a thread on what caused people to leave the church.
After divorcing my abusive husband I went to the minister (Abner Washington) to become "unbound" so that I could start dating again. He refused to do that and told me that "if God wanted me to be a doormat, then I should accept it." That was the beginning of the end for me.
Sadly, this is not an isolated case in Armstrongism. It still is happening LCG, UCG, PCG and many of the other splinter groups. Women seem to be mere chattel, to be used and abused, while putting on a happy face all the time.
There have been many women who have had to leave abusive husbands because of the violence, yet COG ministers would tell them to stay because their reward in the Kingdom was far better than the pain. Some of these women ended up being beaten so bad that they were unrecognizable. Others have been killed.
One of the "churches" in Pasadena was the Imperial Gym. It was run for many years by a man who would have made a great Gestapo agent. He was a mean, nasty, vindictive man who ruled his congregation with a rod of iron. No matter how much people complained, WCG kept him there. The ministurd/pasturd told a young woman, who was unmarried and had gotten pregnant, that "...her bastard baby would never be in the Kingdom of God because of her fornication."
The men who plotted and schemed behind the scenes to form new COG's had a golden opportunity to set things right and truly be shepherds that took care of their flocks. Instead, they continue to support child molesters, rapists, abusers, and others in their ranks instead of caring for the hurt members. There is a pox on the heads of UCG, COGWA, PCG, LCG and others that continue to allow this.
The abusive attitudes were endemic and included all ages and both sexes. I personally suffered from the undermining of my then wife who kept complaining to and denouncing me to the ministry.
ReplyDeleteI now recognize that she was a candidate for psychiatric treatment, but all of us were somewhat in that category due to our brainwashing.
"One of the 'churches' in Pasadena was the Imperial Gym. It was run for many years by a man who would have made a great Gestapo agent. He was a mean, nasty, vindictive man who ruled his congregation with a rod of iron."
ReplyDeleteWhich one are they referring to? Robbin Webber?
It wasn't Webber, he was at the Auditorium. Need to find my old pastors book and see if he is in there.
ReplyDelete"By their fruit you shall know them".
ReplyDeleteYes, the love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, meekness, faith, temperance: All not there.
So what does that tell us?
What do we know about them?
When I started my current job, one of my computer passwords had "Doormat" in it.
ReplyDeleteOf course, as a COG member, I noticed how ironic that was.
Ah, no, Robin Webber wasn't always at the Auditorium. For quite a few years he was the pastor of the Imperial congregation I attended as a child.
ReplyDelete