A great story is on the Exit and Support web site for survivors of Armstrongism. It is from the son of a former member who defied his minister and loved his family more! It exposes yet again the blatant hypocrisy of the ministry of the Church of God.
Love of Sports and How My Dad Stood For What Was Right
My junior year was the beginning of the end for the WWCG and my family. The new minister was exactly like the old one, lock and step with the "church." His kids were arrogant and his wife was snobby. My parents didn't think much of them. My parents went to every one of my games since they felt if the ministers kid can play, it must be all right. I continued to get even better and was again excused from the Feast. Our second to the last game that year was against the minister's son's school. We destroyed them in a route. I had my best game ever! I had 4 sacks and 17 tackles, eight of them being for a loss! My dad was so happy and could not stop talking about it. Well, the minister's local paper told the story and come the following Saturday, unknown to me, my father was confronted by the minister about me playing on the Sabbath. I could see he was upset on the drive home and not much was said. I remember like it was yesterday when I walked by my dad's office Sunday morning and he was very upset with someone; my mom was sitting across from him. I was shooed away and the office door was closed. My parent's were in there for a long time, like hours!
It was two days later that my dad called all of us in the family room. He told us exactly what had happened as I did not know. The minister said it was wrong for my dad to allow a child to break the Sabbath and when my dad confronted him on his son, he said it was because his son had potential to play at the college level. Of course, my dad brought up the inquiries that I was having from colleges and that was quickly dismissed by the minister. He gave my dad an ultimatum (my dad was never a fan of ultimatums) and Dad did what had been brewing in his and Mom's heart for a while. They quit in 1986 and we were disfellowshipped or marked, whatever you want to call it. I know it hurt them to lose the friends they had and, as far as I know, no one from the "church" ever contacted them again.
That's the day I knew who my hero was. Not because of some game, but because he stood for what was right and protected his family and his integrity, both to which he held to deeply. We were not in the WWCG very long (big blessing!) and we don't have horror stories like others but I have to say it made our family realize what men can do with a Bible and their interpretations of the words within.
10 comments:
One of the biggest problems I have with Armstrongism is the false loyalties upon which they insisted. To those who allowed it, the church did indeed subvert and ruin the entire concept of family by making everything, and I mean everything, secondary not to God or Jesus, but to the church, and the ministers. This was not an enhancement to Christian life and family, but a subverter of family, the practice of which made members co-dependent.
I cannot for the life of me imagine an old-school WCG minister setting an example of allowing his son to play football (which the church taught against) on their sabbath (willful sin, a lake of fire offense) and then hypocritically reprimanding and threatening one of his congregants for allowing his son to do the same thing. Seems like even stranger practices came into play after 1975!
BB
Better the pettiness be brought out on something fairly insignificant versus waiting for something potentially slightly less insignificant later. And everyone knows the chances are good that it would have happened.
That is truly a loving father! Too bad many other fathers in the historic WCG did not follow this man's example!
Hooray for that father. A real man to stand up for his family. WWJD?
I wish the minister in these types of articles was named. If would perhaps help many who were , or currently are dealing with such a person to know the true score.
Andrew Hessong a regional director in the PCg told the congregation to basically be a "yes person"...agree with everything Gerald Flurry says. Of course this McFlurry Clan Law also applies to agreeing with Flurry's ministers also.
Yea uncle Andy, agree with everything just to keep your job and membership (and family). They're practically all in the PCg. Uncle Andy wouldn't want to think on his own and BE A MAN... too immature and brainwashed.
Throw another rag on the camera!
I agree with Connie!
Name names! Can the author expose the WCG hypocrite please? Others might come forward and we may all learn much more about this WCG hypocrite.
Heck, if he allowed his own son to play football on the Sabbath while chastising the author's father for doping the same, who knows what other transgressions this future HWA wannabe might have committed - sexual sins,theft, fraud, etc. Who knows? This minister might have even ate a meal on the Day of Atonement while all the dumb sheep tithe slaves in his congregation fasted.
Yes, name names!
Richard
To whoever wrote the story,
Thanks for sharing that. I like to think my father would have reacted likewise and chosen family over a minister's crap.
It's now the 3rd or 4th quarter of the "Herb and Friends" vs. "The World" football game.
Now, many different kickers are running onto the field and tackling one another, each claiming HE is the appointed ball kicker.
Funny thing is, "The World" is ahead by about a thousand points, yet those COG-kickers each seem to think that THEIR field goal will win the game.
It all makes for great spectacle, though, as they all run onto the field and fight each other, knock a ref or two down, and claim that the ball is theirs alone to kick.
Post a Comment