Restored Church of God Abuse Contributes To Suicide

From a letter on a Networks of Doom web site.  Sent to me by a former RCG member today
Restored Church of God's Malicious Ad-buy Strategy

This letter was in the comments section of the article.

The Restored Church of God (RCOG) is indeed a cult. How else could you describe a so-called church where they use documented mind control tactics to persuade their members? What else besides a cult would work so hard to get their members to sell their houses and give it to Pack’s fund, take out second and third mortgages, give up to half or more of their income, put themselves in unbelievable debit, give up all of their friends and alienate their family, divorce their spouses (if not their first spouse, then all other spouses are considered illegitimate and must be scraped off)? Their charismatic sermons instill anger and hatred of all other people who are not in the church. This church prays on people who are searching for structure and a strong message, and they proceed to take everything away from them and then use flattery, ego stroking, and mind control tricks to turn these people into unbelievable zealots. Hatred of everyone and everything else that is not the church is just the tip of the iceberg.

The doctrines and teachings of this cult are extremely charismatic, invasive and destructive, but they get away with it because their ministers are masters of manipulation. They know how to stroke the victim’s ego and make them believe that they are special, sooooo smart for choosing the right church, and one of the chosen few who will be a part of the REAL church when the end comes. Everyone I met that was associated with this church was an incredibly smart, but also incredibly ego driven person that was constantly seeking approval or validation for their life choices. Like any other cult they really know how to find your soft spot and dig in. They want the smart, opinionated and ego-driven types. They convert them into drones who work endlessly to fund the Pack money and power machine. If you disagree in the slightest with anything (that includes wanting to ask for more clarification on a point or asking a “but…” question), you are tossed out on your ear.

Sorry to rant on about this, but I have had several dear dear friends completely ruined by this church. One eventually committed suicide because they had nothing at the end. The church took everything from them, demanded more and provided no support, no help, no love, and was only interested in deconstructing them and turning them into something I could not even recognize any more. One dear sweet lady is now convinced that she betrayed God and is just a tortured soul who will likely never again know any sort of hope or peace with God.

I just hope that someone, somewhere reads this and avoids getting involved with this cult/church. There are so many good, hopeful and happy churches in the world that it hurts my soul to think of the people that are hurt so badly by this terrible cult.

David C Pack: "Everyone who has challenged me has either died, been seriously injured or has been eliminated from the work."

David C. Pack has left a trail of destruction in his wake ever since he was made a ministurd.   Lives have literally be destroyed because of this man ever since the late 1980's.  That sick legacy continues to this day with his latest failed prophecies and cover-up to his sick obsession with money.  The fact that people like Dale Schurter and others willingly  turn a blind eye to Dave's disgusting behavior and lies demonstrates how sick the mindset is of some entrenched in Armstrongism can be.  They give up being a follow of Jesus to being a follower of a disturbed little man.

The following is from the Ambassador Report 32, page 1048

David Pack's Reign of Terror

On the night of(4 y/o stabbed by her Mom) Roxanne Elliott's death, one of the last people - probably the very last one - Lois Elliott phoned before the tragedy was WCG minister David Pack, pastor of the Buffalo (North), New York congregation..

Armstrong Follower Held In Murder of Daughter On Sept. 20, 1984, Armstrong follower Lois Marie Elliott of North Tonawanda, New York was charged with second- degree murder. Police say that before dawn that day, the 36-year-old woman stabbed her four year-old daughter to death in the child's bed, knifed herself in the chest, in an apparent suicide attempt, and then telephoned police, saying, "I killed her." Officers dispatched to the scene discovered the pajama-clad body of the little girl, Roxanne Elizabeth, in her own bed. She had already died from multiple stab wounds, mostly to the chest. Mrs. Elliott was found nearby bleeding from a wound to her own chest. (The Buffalo News, Sept. 20, 1984, p. 1 and Sept. 21, p. C- 5.) Elliott was divorced from her WCG-member husband Frederick R. Elliott of Kenmore, New York, and had been living with her widowed mother Olive Baldassara. Mrs. Baldassara was home the night of the tragedy, but was apparently asleep in another room during the attack. 

----------------

David Pack's Reign of Terror 

On the night of Roxanne Elliott's death, one of the last people - probably the very last one - Lois Elliott phoned before the tragedy was WCG minister David Pack, pastor of the Buffalo (North), New York congregation.. Exactly what was said, we don't know. At least not yet. That information may well come out should Lois Elliott ever recover sufficiently to stand trial. What is remarkable, however, is how often Pack's name seems to appear in conjunction with tragedies in the WCG. For a number of years now, no WCG minister's name has appeared more often in letters written to the Report complaining of ministerial abuse. 

Pack, a burly 6-foot, 5-inch Ambassador College graduate known locally for his authoritarian style, has so incensed some in his flock that a group have circulated an open letter detailing his abuses and have called for his removal. The letter describes Pack's ministerial leadership as a "Reign of Terror." On the cover page, addressed to WCG headquarters leaders, they wrote: "David's power-crazed quest to totally dominate the mind, body, and spirit of church members has not been done in a corner and has been done clearly in view of all to see at headquarters in Pasadena." 

On the following 13 pages of their letter the allegations about Pack read like a horror story. The authors contend that Pack constantly intimidates members, uses threats and mind-control methods, is given to extreme emotional outbursts, is highly political, believes in winning at all cost, has disfellowshipped members for trivial faults, prescribes diets while "playing M.D.," insists on being addressed as Mr. Pack, enjoys wearing skimpy, skin-tight shorts to sporting events, has actually worn a wolf costume to church socials, enjoys putting down women, and told one married woman with children, "It would be better for you to shack up one night with a man than wear makeup." 

The letter quotes Pack as having said, "Everyone who has challenged me has either died, been seriously injured or has been eliminated from the work." And, "God backs me even if I am wrong." 

On page 7 the authors made this statement to Pack (emphasis ours): Doesn't it bother you that while you were in charge of the Rochester and Syracuse area there were three suicides? One can only wonder why they chose to kill themselves while you were their main advisor in the area. Perhaps you suggested to one or more of them that they would in no way make it into the Kingdom of God.... A statement such as, "You are no longer in the body of Christ," could have caused one to give up and kill himself. The above quote was written well before the Elliott family tragedy. Some who knew little Roxanne and her mother Lois Elliott wonder if it might have been a prophecy.

Bob Thiel: We Are Going Spend Eight Days Reading The Law At My Feast Sites

Bob Thiel, the non-ordained self-appointed Chief Overseer of the Continuing Ed Church of God, is waxing eloquent today about past COG feast sites he has been to, starting in the mid 70's.  At that time ten's of thousands would be attending feast sites.  Those days are looooong gone since the Worldwide Church of God  split into hundreds and hundreds of little personality cults.  The church used to mock Christianity for its many different denominations and yet Armstrongism has turned into the same thing.

Every single one of these splinter groups claim their group are the only ones keeping it properly.

Thiel, in his ever  present arrogance, make such a claim.  His group and only his group are reading ht law this feast.  There will be no talk about Jesus or anything he did and accomplished, but plenty of bull about the law.

The only Feast of Tabernacles’ sites that I am aware of that are following the biblical instruction to read the law every seven years at the Feast of Tabernacles for 2013 are those of the Continuing Church of God. 

Are You Obsessed With HWA To The Point of Madness?

Another intelligent post by Anonymous.

Anonymous said...
The Bible, not hwa, said that the jews would return to the land of israel, but you continue to pretend that hwa said it.

You people are obsessed with hwa to the point of madness. All you can do is puppet the same cliche lines over and over.

You are not even 100 years old yet you think your point of view to be above a prophecy that foretold an actual event several thousand years in advance?

How about offering a coherent rebuttal instead of a bunch of giggles, farts and cliche insults???

September 19, 2013 at 9:24 PM

Even the mainstream media recognizes that HWA was a failed prophet, as does a large percentage of COG members/ex-members.  His prophesies failed, lain and simple.  All the cliched insults by loyalists trying to defend his reputation show how blind some people allow themselves to be.

Notice Anon makes no mention of the idolatry, giggling and farting that Ron Weinland, Gerald Flurry and David C. Pack  do about HWA.  It's OK for these men to prostitute themselves to a memory that was filled with a swath of destruction that ruined tens of thousands of lives as they continue that legacy.

Jelly and the Creep Factor

Stephen Flurry: "Give Beyond Our Means and SACRIFICE!"

Stephen Flurry, ever so struggling to be important in Daddy's shadow, is back with a pre-feast message to the gullible followers.

He starts his article off about how important co-workers and volunteers are to the PCG.  Apparently the regular PCGers are such bumbling idiots that if they were not policed by "loyal" volunteers then the PCG feast sites would be total "disasters."

In fact, the Feast undoubtedly would be a disaster were it not for the innumerable men and women in God’s Church who voluntarily serve to make God’s Feast of Tabernacles the best possible every year.

Then Flurry makes an admission about how they u
sed the mailing addresses from WCG when Big Daddy apostatized.  It is well known that Furry and some others stole these addresses.

In the PCG’s early days, we were only able to reach a select few—mostly those in the wcg for whom we had addresses. But look at the power and scope of the PCG’s work today! This Work needs co-workers! On a worldwide scale and at the local level. Each local congregation and each Feast site needs co-workers, or volunteers, as well.

Then Flurry makes this announcement that the PCG wants members to send in all the money they can regardless of whether they need it for other important things. Members are not supposed to live beyond their means, but certainly are encourage to GIVE beyond their means!

“We want you to know brethren, about the grace of God which has been shown in the churches of Macedonia, for in severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of liberality on their part” (2 Corinthians 8:1-2; Revised Standard Version).

Why such an abundance of joy while yet under “severe test of affliction”? Verses 3-4: “For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints” (rsv).

These brethren in Macedonia really wanted to help. They were giving to the brethren at Jerusalem who were suffering through a drought.

Notice, the Macedonians gave according to their means, and, when the urgent need arose, many gave beyond their means.

Apparently the PCG members have a rich tradition of saying they will do something and then not following through. Stevie does not like that.

Have you ever done that? Volunteered for something and then, as that day grew closer, hoped people would forget about it? “And this, not as we expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God” (verse 5; rsv). Paul was concerned about more than just the material offerings he thought the Corinthians would give. He was concerned that they hadn’t fully given themselves to God!

Stevie then goes on to tell his dwindling members that they will once more be sorely tested to see if they are sincere.  For some reason the god of Armstrongism is constantly pissed at the members and has to continually "test" them to see who has been qualifying.

In the coming months and years, perhaps even at this year’s Feast of Tabernacles, you can be sure that God will test us to see whether our love is genuine—whether our heart is really into serving.

Of course it also matters how you serve:

Ask yourself, does the performance of your service match your desire to serve? Do you give with the attitude of the Macedonians or the attitude of the Corinthians?

“For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not” (verse 12). If your heart is in it, then the service will be acceptable to God, no matter how small. But no service is acceptable if you do not follow through with what you have committed to. 

Its no wonder COG members are burned out.  The main tactic of cults is to keep members soooooooooo busy they they have no time to question or research into the darker side of the group.

Then to further lay a guilt trip on his acolytes he has time to invoke Ananias and Sapphira.

An example in Acts illustrates this principle of godly service. “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet” (Acts 5:1-2).

Here is a case where Ananias and Sapphira were giving a lot to the apostles. But they kept back part of what they made while professing that they brought the whole amount.

“But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to [margin: to deceive] the Holy [Spirit], and to keep back part of the price of the land?” (verse 3). Sometimes we can deceive ourselves into thinking we are really giving all we have.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). What is our reasonable service? To sacrifice!

To sacrifice means the “surrender of something for the sake of something else.” In this case, surrendering yourself to better help someone else.

God is training us for leadership positions, and this is how we train!

Real love for the brethren requires sacrifice:

“Let your love be a real thing” (Romans 12:9; Moffatt). What can we give most of all to this year’s Feast of Tabernacles? How can we best serve? By giving love and compassion.

And what was the greatest example of "outgoing love and concern for others?"  HWA's book on sex!
Like any good Armstrongite, sex has to be brought into the equation.  The only problem with his quote below is that HWA did not write that book out of "love" for the brethren.,  It was written because it was a rebuke to Loma because he considered her frigid.  He even told this to AC seniors who attended Senior Diners at his house.

Mr. Armstrong wrote in The Missing Dimension in Sex, “Love is an unselfish outgoing concern for the good and welfare of the one loved. Love is primarily on the giving, serving, sharing side of the fence—not on the getting, taking, factional, striving side. It is not selfish …. Love is unselfish. It is not an emotion, though it may be expressed with an emotional content. True love combines the rational aspect of outgoing concern—desire to help, serve, give or share—along with sincere concerned affectionate feeling” (emphasis added).

That kind of love is a sacrifice. Ask yourself, How much have I really served other people in my Church area and at the feasts? Not just served in a project, but actually served other people.

 In Armstrongism, as with other legalistic groups, the amount of God's blessings are proportional to your giving.  The more you give, the more you will be blessed.

Would You Send In A Tithe Check To A Guy That Wants The "Pay To" Area Left Blank?

The Journal has an ad up for a Church of God splinter cult that has the following information.  Would you send a check to this guy with the "Pay To" area blank? Are people this stupid?

Not only that, but he refers to Illinois as Illinois Republic and refuses to use a Zip Code.

Church of God,

The MOST HIGH GOD

Declaring the Everlasting Gospel of the Kingdom of God

(According to the Holy Scriptures, Genesis, Chapter 14, Verses 18-22;  Founded Monday, June 18, 31 AD; Book of Acts Chapter 2. Book of Revelation Chapter 11 and 14.) Entire Contents Copyrighted at Common Law by, Vince(nt) Michael Ogorek, Sui Juris-Sovereign Capacity. Common Law Venue and Jurisdiction, 7th Amendment, Constitution for the United  States of America, Without Prejudice to Rights, For Any and All Unforeseen Reasons, all countries. All transactions and communications will be conducted strictly At Arm’s Length. Write in to request: Sermon Tapes, Monthly Newsletter Publication, Anointed Cloths, Counseling, and Prayer Requests. Voluntary donations will be accepted without prejudice, exclusively in the following forms: Cash, United States Postal Money Orders (with the “Pay to” section left blank) and are not refundable or  transferable, and are not deductible as charitable contributions for Federal Income Tax Purposes.

Mail your requests to:

Church of God, The MOST HIGH GOD©, c/o

Ogorek Publishing, P.O. Box 91794, Elk Grove, Illinois Republic, Zip Code

Exempt, Domestic Mail Service Reg. sec. 122.32; Public Law 91-375, Sec. 403.

(Mark all correspondence personal and confidential.)

After reading the above, does it really make any sense?  He sounds like another conspiracy nut.

Then I thought I would look him up.  I had never heard of this splinter group.  Of course there is no web site.  Just a PO Box to take in free money from gullible people.   But there was this:

Publication Northwest Herald
Date November 16, 2005
Section(s) Local News
Page



By HYACYNTH FILIPPI-WORTH

hfilippi_worth@nwherald.com

LAKE IN THE HILLS - A Lake in the Hills man was charged with four counts of unlawful possession of a firearm after police responded to a 911 call at the man's house, police said Tuesday.

Vincent M. Ogorek, 38, of 5513 Chantilly Circle, fell from a second-story bedroom window Saturday night while police talked with his wife, said Al Bokowski, Lake in the Hills chief of patrol services.

Police went to the house because someone from the residence called about a suspicious incident at a neighbor's house, Bokowski said.

As police stood at the front door, Ogorek was on the second floor, holding a gun, he said. Ogorek was ordered to put down the weapon, but he went into the bedroom and fell to the driveway, Bokowski said.

Ogorek's wife and another person were questioned at the police department about the incident, Bokowski said. In a statement to police, Ogorek said he lost his balance and fell from the window while "relaxing," he said.

Ogorek was taken to Memorial Medical Center in Woodstock, where he was treated and released. Bokowski said police waited to charge Ogorek until he left the hospital.

He was released from custody on $100 bail.

Officers removed four firearms and ammunition from the house. Ogorek was charged because his firearm owner's ID card had expired, Bokowski said.

He also was charged with possession of ammunition without having a firearm owner's identification card.

His court date is pending.

Bob Thiel: COG Members May Have To Wander To Different Countries Before Being Allowed Into Petra

Petra

I had to laugh tonight when I checked Bob Theil's blog.  The non-ordained self-appointed leader of the Continuing ED Church of God has an entry up tonight about how COG members might have to wander from country to country before Jordan feels sorry for them and allows them into Petra.

Dennis and I were laughing about this last Sunday in a phone conversation.  I told him how we had been told over and over that when everyone is supposed to be safely in Petra that God was going to place a cloud cover over it so that the enemy bombers could not find the location and bomb the COG members.  Given the modern technology that can see through cloud cover,  this is an absurd belief.  Plus, can you imagine an Arab nation allow a bunch of crazy "Christian's into their midst for protection? Of course, Armstrongism has swallowed a lot of completely stupid teachings about Petra and the Place of Safety.

Gerald Waterhouse, Rod Meredith, Dean Blackwell, and others were some of those who came up with some of these incredibly stupid ideas.

Thiel writes:

Jesus taught, “And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath” (Matthew 24:20) which is consistent with Revelation 12:14 which clearly states that it is a place to go to, it is in the wilderness, and it is away from the presence of the serpent. The word translated as wilderness, is translated as desert in the NIV. This word is eremos, which Strong’s defines as lonesome, waste, desert, desolate, solitary, wilderness. Thus, it is not protection in our own houses (as some have erroneously suggested), nor is it protection in a large city. It is somewhere in the wilderness.
Let’s fully quote Isaiah 16:1-4,

1 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,
From Sela to the wilderness,
To the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 For it shall be as a wandering bird thrown out of the nest;
So shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.
3 “Take counsel, execute judgment;
Make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day;
Hide the outcasts,
Do not betray him who escapes.
4 Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab;
Be a shelter to them from the face of the spoiler.
For the extortioner is at an end,
Devastation ceases,
The oppressors are consumed out of the land..

From these verses, we learn that Moab hides the outcasts, those who escape and then wander–this could be God’s people as Jesus told them “pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape” (Luke 21:36). The fact that they are called wanderers suggests that perhaps they do not start in Petra. It could refer to the fact that they are from many lands and/or that they have wandered to different places before coming to ‘Moab.’

We have seen that this place has something to do with Moab, Sela, and the wilderness. We know that some of the area that once was Moab is modern Jordan (while there also used to be Edomites there, we in the COGs tend to feel they moved much further north). We also know that Sela means rock. It is called Petra in Greek, which also means rock. There is a deserted town in Jordan named Petra, which is the place called Sela in Isaiah. Petra is not a city itself, and is in a lonesome, rocky, desert wilderness that contains caves. It is possible that some other place on Earth also meets these criteria, but thus far Petra appears to be the leading candidate.

Is Your COG Singing From An Unclean and Impure "Bible Hymnal?"

Did you know that there is a pure, unadulterated version of the WCG's Bible Hymnal that existed before disgusting unbelievers started changing words and adding Protestant hymns to it?

Apparently the hymns that Dwight Armstrong wrote are the pure version and available in the COG hymnal prior to 1974.  Hymnal's after that are filled with disgusting pagan hymns that glorify Jesus Christ.  We all know we cant have any of that!

Our dear friend Velvet, who was the authority on everything here, has been working hard to make sure a new hymnal is available that is "pure" in content.

The Journal article says:

For those who prefer to sing only scripturally accurate hymns, this article includes a list of the only hymns that were transferred from the Worldwide Church of God’s 1974 purple hymnal to the 1993 hymnal.

The WCG was renamed Grace Communion International in 2009. 

 

A future article may include all the changes made that rendered Dwight Armstrong’s original hymn  undoctrinal or both. It would also note which hymns were edited and which worldly denominations GCI’s denominational leadership cherry-picked from for the rest of the hymns in the new hymnal.

 How dare anyone sing about Jesus Christ or sing a impure hymn.

Eric King: We Are All Called To Be Josiah's Who Follow The Law

Click to enlarge

Above is a screen capture of Eric King's blog.  Notice how Eric now sports a fashionable prayer shawl for the new COG legalistic Jewish wanna-be's.  Eric's has some green in it instead of the traditional Jewish blue.  Notice also that Prophet, apostle, and revelator of the New and Improved WCG is also unrolling a scroll.  He recently had new knowledge" revealed to him  week or so ago.  Is he trying to set himself up as the COG's latest prophet?  What's Dave Pack going to say about that?

As usual, King is like most other COG's - Jesus Christ is an embarrassment and not worthy of being followed.  It is much more important to be a pretend Jew pretending to be a follower of the law.  The law trumps in Armstrongism.  Jesus Christ gets relegated to one day out of the year when they crucify the dude on Passover night.

Art Makarow on God the Father's Wife

Art Makarow has a great reputation of opening his mouth and say some really weird stuff.  The tradition carries on today in The Journal.  In the August issue Makarow talks about the wife of God.

Both Adam and Eve were made in The Image of God, the power from within God alone. They were both within God and His "DNA.” It is a matter of “kind after kind.”

Adam and Eve were equals, just like God but in the flesh like Jesus. You still need a Mother just like God. Both are equals coming from God since they are “kind after kind” (DNA) (Genesis 1:27). Adam was a physical figure, a theophany of Christ (Romans 5:14).

 God’s Holy Name

Jesus teaches you how to pray to God—“Our Father, which are in heaven, Hallowed be thy name” (Matthew 6:9). In Greek the word “hallowed” has two significant parts. “Hallo” represents a royal crown that is “Holy” and  “wed,” which “is joined together as a marriage.” Both become one.

God’s Wife

The Holy One of God is to declare The Name of God. Every individual who has that name must be “Holy,” completely without a blemish or the smallest flaw. The Name of God is beyond “perfect”; it is complete, fulfilled without measure. God is, therefore, Eternal.

The Family of God, His “wife and children” represent only goodness (like God). But there is much more. Jesus, speaking to The Samaritan Woman, told her how to worship God, “God is a Spirit and they that worship  [adore-love] him must worship him in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).

Who is The Wife of God? You must have the complete  biblical truth from The Bible.  The Wife  of God is a  “Spirit”  like Him, “kind after kind,”  and must be “Holy” like The Father.

God provides everything His “family” needs and eternal safety. But His “wife,” The  Holy Spirit of God, does all the work to keep the family estate as The Father wants it to be.

As The Wife of God manages the entire House of God with her hired   servants (the angels), they all need to do the job perfectly without the tiniest flaw, and she is honored as The Mistress of The House of God.

The Father provides an estate with many mansions for the whole family forever. The wife manages the entire household and is very virtuous in  being a helpmate to God, her husband.

She, alone, does all the work in managing everything God, The Father, provides. The wife came out of God and is equal and she is a beautiful, perfect, flawless, virtuous woman (Proverbs 31).