Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Mark Armstrong Speaks About His Mother's Last Days



To all concerned,
I am sorry to report that my sweet Mother, Shirley Ann Armstrong died peacefully at 3:17 am this morning. The news apparently flew throughout the internet almost immediately, but I wanted to add some context to this terribly sad event.

Most of Mom’s immediate family was able to be at her side before the end came, and for that we are all very thankful.
The days leading up to October 16th were some of the best she’d had in months. I was able to talk to her at least three times by phone while traveling, passing along the great news that Michael and Melody are expecting. She said, “Tell them congratulations for me.” She also spoke lucidly with them and with Sonja by phone, exchanging information about each other’s circumstances as you’d expect.. Wednesday the 15th was a particularly good day for Mom. She was up for breakfast, lunch and dinner, feeding herself and expressing her gratitude to my brother David who was staying with her.
Mom never used a wheelchair or was confined to her bed. She got where she was going, on one of our arms, on her own two feet right up to the last day. Though she really never felt good or energetic for at least the last two years, she was never in any agonizing pain, and for that we are eternally grateful.
When I got word, pre-dawn in Lake Tahoe that Mom was in the midst of a life-ending emergency, I was able to secure an early morning flight and arrive at her side by about 8:30 pm last night. Matthew and his sons Andrew and Hunter had arrived and visited with her earlier. She was only in a semi-conscious state, but I’m sure she was aware of my presence and hope that was a comfort. She held on until my Son, Michael and his wife, Melody along with her only granddaughter, Sonja and her husband, Matt arrived shortly after 1:00 am. We all had the opportunity to speak and be close with her until her breathing became labored.
I was able to reach beneath the covers, take her hand in mine and say a prayer thanking God for her, for all she’s done for all of us and all she’s meant to so many; for the fine example of sterling character that defined her whole life; for being the rock and the glue that has held the Hammer and the Armstrong families together; and asked God to take good care of her. After saying “Amen” she yawned once or twice, and breathed no more.
She’s safe in God’s Hands, she didn’t suffer terribly as many do. Her time had come, as it must have been God’s will. Surely it is a time of great sadness and we’re all missing her already. But we also have a tremendous amount for which to be thankful and can rejoice in the life we were blessed to share with her. We loved her dearly, as did everyone who crossed her path. She took care of us, kept us all in line, and we’re going to try to stay that way. She was a wonderful wife and an inspiration to my Dad, Garner Ted Armstrong, and crucial to the Evangelistic Association and the ICG.
Heartfelt thanks to everyone for the prayers and well-wishes. We believe they were answered, according to His will. The funeral will be held at Croley Funeral Home at 401 N. Center, Gladewater, TX on Wednesday, October 21 with the time yet to be established.
Mark Armstrong

Friday, October 17, 2014

Shirley Hammer Armstrong Dies

Shirley is standing next to GTA in second brow on the left.

According to two sources, Shirley Hammer Armstrong has died.  Wife of Garner Ted Armstrong, the disgraced splinter cult leader of the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association, Intercontinental Church of God and Church of God International.  Shirley was of the Hammer dynasty they provided much of the property and money for Big Sandy to be developed.

Giant Asteroid Will Cause Obama and Hillary To Take Over United States!



Bob Thiel sunk even further down the rabbit hole with a post he had up the other day.  He claims he received this information from a reader and that he does not agree with it.....YET.... he has to post it. Its stupid as hell to read and YET he posted it.  If he disagreed with it so much then why post it?  Its not like anyone in a COG would believe this kind of stuff!  Oh......wait................they do, so lets add more fuel to the fire!

The "news" Thiel was eager to post is that a giant asteroid was going to hit the earth causing a giant tsunami.  The force will be so strong that the United States will be literally split in half.  President Obama will then take over and run one of the half's while Hillary Clinton will take over and run the other half.

WTF??????????????????

DEAR SIR ,
SIGNS & EVIDENCE OF JESUS COMING. THIS PROVES JESUS IS REAL GOD GREAT ASTEROID GOING TO HIT AMERICA IN 2014 MANY MILLIONS WILL DIE.12 POINT EARTHQUAKE AND 1000 FT TSUNAMI. AMERICA WILL BE DIVIDED IN TWO PARTS IN THIS EVENT.MUSLIM TEMPLE DOME OF THE ROCK IN ISRAEL WILL BE DESTROYED IN 12 POINT EARTH QUAKE. THREE DAYS DARKNESS COVERING WHOLE WORLD.EVERY ONE REPENT FROM SINS COME TO JESUS. (REVIVAL AND TRIBULATION STARTS AFTER THIS EVENT)

PROTECTION OF THE EARTH IS REMOVED BY JESUS THE LAST DAYS OF THE EARTH STARTING. MANY MIRACLES AND MANY WILL COME TO JESUS AND MANY WILL ACCEPTS JESUS AS GOD.

ONE PART OF AMERICA WILL BE LEAD BY OBAMA AND OTHER PART WILL BE LEAD BY HILLARY CLINTON AFTER THIS EVENT OF ASTEROID HITTING….
AND OBAMA WILL BE SOON SHOT DEAD…………..THESE ALL ARE PROPHECY WHICH I HEARD IT FROM GODS PEOPLE…………

So whats Thiel's excuse in posting this?

So why bother to post about it?

Because there are many false and heretical leaders that lead people astray on biblical prophecy. And it is not just Protestant-type rapturists.
Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat????????????????  What the hell is Bob Thiel?  He's a false heretical leader leading people astray!  Then to slap all other COG's across the face, Thiel points out that they are all IGNORANT morons that have no clue whatsoever about prophecy.
The Sardis and Laodicean Church of God groups do not understand prophecy, the work, enough of the truth, etc., and that is part of why they will have to go through the Great Tribulation. CG7, a group believed to represent Sardis, takes a preterist view that basically most end time prophecies were fulfilled long ago and are for the past. The Laodiceans have so many prophetic misunderstandings, that unless they repent and change (Revelation 3), they will not possibly know when the Great Tribulation will start until it is too late.

Of course Thiel and his little cult have all the answers to this dilemma.  He even points them towards an article on Petra.......which is about as stupid as the meteor splitting the coutnry in two and Obama and Hillary taking over.

Armstrongism..............never dull...........and completely daft!





Thursday, October 16, 2014

The Raw and Edgy Truth: Perpetrating Cult Mentality





Perpetrating Cult Mentality

I was born and raised in WWCG. Everything that has ever been associated with WWCG has been nothing but pain and horrific emotional stress. I have lost family, friends and loved ones because of the cluster of a fuck that is WWCG and more specifically CULT MENTALITY.

*Disclaimer: I will be USING CAPS and other writing styles to give a TONE to how I grew up and the PSYCHOLOGICAL mind FUCK that this type of SHIT induces.

When you are born and raised into WWCG, a CULT, you take on cult mentality. Period. And you don’t even know you HAVE it. It takes YEARS and YEARS to overcome the mind fuck that is WWCG and HWA.

My personal experience is filled with rage and ANGER. Yes... go ahead and cast judgment on my ANGER. I’ve had people tell me to “get over it” or “move on, it wasn’t that bad.” Well, FUCK OFF. Those people are either in denial or have never experienced a childhood of mind games. It is EXTREMELY difficult to let it go. I spent 38 years of my life not realizing that I hadn’t let it go.

Just last week, I realized that I’m still around people with cult mentality. That is when I decided to “let it go” and with LOVE. When I thought some people were my friends have cut me off AGAIN and have made ultimatums such as “it’s us or them”... that’s when I realize that something needs to change.

At the same time, it tells me that CULT MENTALITY is ALIVE and well. There are a lot of people and groups that profess to help those escaping cults. While some are filled with people speaking from the heart, there are some that perpetuate the cult mentality and don’t mean to. Honestly, they don’t even realize they are speaking CULT LANGUAGE.

As someone who was looking for a safe place to share DEEP secrets, I found a world that I thought I could trust but ultimately was wrong. But even more IMPORTANT, is that I finally understood the importance of SPEAKING TRUTH and being UNAFRAID who would see the truth. THAT is the biggest challenge. To get those us of hurt and wounded to confront our SELF ESTEEM and STAND UP for ourselves ONCE AND FOR ALL. It’s about being HONEST, brutally honest. Why? BECAUSE WE WERE TOLD WE WEREN’T IMPORTANT - WE WERE TOLD TO KEEP QUIET. How much has not been told because it “doesn’t matter”?

WWCG and HWA hated those with authentic voices who QUESTIONED them.

QUESTION EVERYTHING.

Be careful out there in the world of the inter-web. Or rather, YELL to the internet TRUTH and OPINION. Free fucking speech. Never forget. And don’t let anyone else hold you the fuck back.

Me? I was born and raised in a cult. I grew up believing I was worthless. I was kept from anything I loved. I learned how to lie at the age of 5. And at the age of 18, I got the fuck out. My childhood was stolen. I was told NO everyday of my fucking life. Today - I say YES, I will share the truth. The PLAIN TRUTH. WWCG WAS A FUCKING CULT that still infects previous and current members. 
 "Anne"

Involuntarily Institutionalized Because of Armstrongism



 (Permission has been granted to post this story)

I have a story I'd like to get out there.

In '97, I had an epiphany...it hit me like a ton of bricks that I grew up in a cult, I was abused in the name of god, I didn't have nice things when I was a kid because of tithes.

Basically, I realized my whole life had been a lie. I grew bitter and angry. I stopped talking to my parents, and when I did talk, it was angry talk. Not violent...just very angry.

Behind my back, my mom went and got a petition to involuntarily institutionalize me, on the basis that I was a danger to myself (another lie). So, one morning, a white van showed up and two guys got out to take me. I was scared. But one of the guys was none other than Mark Johnson, who grew up in WWCG. He was very comforting and let me smoke a cigarette before we went in the building. He also happens to be black. He asked me what was going on in my life. I explained to him that I was not suicidal, just bitter about my whole upbringing.

I found out that day what damage that "church" did to him as well. At church dances, when he'd dance with a white girl, he was made to stop. I've heard many of these stories in the groups. He also blamed that "church" for the overdose death of another friend. Mark told me I shouldn't be there, but my parents should. That seemed to be the consensus. While I was there in the psych ward for 3 days, the doctor and nurses told me there was nothing wrong with me and I had every right to be angry. Of course, when this was relayed to my parents, my mom decided "the doctor didn't know what he was talking about." So, what it all boiled down to, my mom was punishing me for being angry with her, realizing they couldn't control me anymore.

My parents have apologized for a lot of the abuse, but they still revere "Mr. Armstrong." So, it's kind of hard to forgive them. But I do love them and I am trying to forgive. It's just easier said than done.

Michelle

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Which Church of God Will Soon Be Shut Down by the U.S. Government?



I will give you one guess.....it's god's most doubly blessed prophet to ever exist in 1,900 years of TRUE Christianity!

Prophet/ Chief Overseer, authority on Catholicism, and worlds foremost authority on the Mayan's is warning his little itty-bitty flock of deceived followers that the United States government will soon be shutting down his YouTube account and stopping the broadcasting/publishing of his message.

Thiel is reacting to news out of Houston, Texas today about the Mayor who has subpoenaed the sermons and notes of several preachers.

Thiel writes:

Was sent the link to the following today related to some Houston pastors’ sermon notes on homosexuality being subpoenaed by the government there:

The city of Houston has issued subpoenas demanding a group of pastors turn over any sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor. And those ministers who fail to comply could be held in contempt of court.
This is another example of how far the USA is moving away from its founding documents as well as the Bible. During the Feast of Tabernacles this year, before I heard of the above, I mentioned that the position of the Continuing Church of God related to subjects like abortion and homosexuality could be used by one or more governments as an excuse to pull us off the internet.

In the past I have also warned:
Various governments (like that of the USA and those in Europe) may secretly work to come up with reasons to pull us off the internet.

The work (in the Amos 8:11-12 sense), as I indicted, is likely to be stopped by government officials (like on the internet, radio, etc.) and persecutions began because people of the holy covenant are warning the world of the results of their sins (which they will not want pointed out) and teaching that the King of the North is fulfilling these prophecies in Daniel 11. The faithful will likely be saying things that are not “politically correct” to the point that one or more governments will take action (especially if we are saying, and I expect to help do this, that a certain individual is the King of the North and that he will invade and destroy the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, etc.). Yet, God’s work still will be accomplished and the final phase of the work completed.. The Bible tells of a time, which to a degree we are now in, when a certain amount of self-censorship will be needed:
2 For I know your manifold transgressions And your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and taking bribes; Diverting the poor from justice at the gate. 13 Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, For it is an evil time. (Amos 5:12-13)
And while some COG groups overly “keep silent,” hence pull too many punches in proclamation, the reality is that there is not truly full freedom of truthful speech in countries like the USA without consequences. However, the work will be done and it will trigger persecution. Until the work is done the most faithful will:
1 Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins. (Isaiah 58:1) .
The actual and intended monitoring by government entities on religious topics does not bode well for the world.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Feast 2014 Behind the Work Video: Go Therefore and Make Dumb Videos






If you have time to waste on another Bob Thiel video then check this one out.   Fast forward through it to see the clips he films at different exotic locations around the world.

This has to be one of the most pathetic and sad Behind the Work videos ever produced by a Church of God in it's seventy some years of existence.

It appears to be filmed with his camera phone and a hand held video recorder.


Gone are the days of extravagant Feast videos being produced by money rich Church of God's!  This homemade version starts in Doubly Blessed Prophet and world renown Mayan Authority Bob Thiel's garage studio which features his crooked bookcases and bathroom door as the backdrop.

No expense has been spared!

Beverly Lucille Armstrong Gott Requiem





Tedd Armstrong wrote this for his mother soon after she died.
Soundcloud: Tedd Armstrong Music


He also did one on Herbert Armstrong that I posted some time back:



Monday, October 13, 2014

Did Church of God Canadians Just Pay Homage To Sacrificing Young Virgins By Celebrating Thanksgiving?



Did you know that when Canadians and Americans celebrate Thanksgiving in their respective countries that they are paying homage to the sacrifice of young virgins?

The Church of God's greatest Pharisee has this to say:

Actually the harvest feast was well known by these Indians and was a tradition practiced throughout the new world, as well as the old by the pagans. Thanksgiving is a universal pagan tradition descended and spread from Babel worldwide. Some of whom paid homage for the harvest by sacrificing young virgins.

Is it wrong to be thankful? NO, Definitely NOT!

It IS wrong to cloak pagan traditions in the guise of being thankful to the true God. That is what Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving are all about; cloaking rank paganism in an appearance of something good; of making evil seem desirable, godly and good: Of deceiving people into sinning by exalting the pagan pantheon under the illusion and false cloak of pleasing the true God! 

The big question is: To whom are you being thankful? To some pagan god and traditions; or to the Eternal Creator who has given us his own Holy Days to rejoice and be thankful on?

According to the COG Pharisee, Thanksgiving predates the Canadian/American versions by centuries.  Its all the fault of those damn Catholics, pagan Chaldean's, Greeks and Romans.  Its amazing how the bloodsuckers in Armstrongism do all thy can to strip any enjoyment out of life.  Just because they are miserable little men who have failed marriages, major health issues and shitty lives, they feel the rest of humanity needs to suffer like they are.  That's why they love to quote that the Christian life is one of suffering.  Their life is miserable and yours should be too!

You can read James Malm's tirade here, IF you have time to waste on more idiotic nonsense: All About Thanksgiving

Dingy Gerald Flurry Says Only 10,000 Philadelphia Church of God Members WIll Be In Petra



Redfox has an article up today on his Living Armstrongism blog concerning the latest Gerald Flurry nonsense that is in print by the Philadelphia Church of God.  I have to had it to Red.  I don't know how he has the patience to read through all the blatant bullshit these guys write.  It gets tiresome to me to read the pseudo-intellectual bullshit these uneducated men try pass off as "sound wisdom."  None of these men have a real education but brag about being 'trained at the feet of Herbert Armstrong."  What kind of an education can you get from a man who mocked higher education and of which there is no evidence he even graduated from high school!

Neil Earle writes about the anti-intellectualism of HWA and those who went through his system:
In Stage Four, “life must first be school life,” writes Erikson, “whether school is field or jungle or classroom.” 17 One cannot, of course, censure Herbert Armstrong for not choosing a college education in 1910. That career choice is an understandable pattern given the times, as was Frank Armstrong’s admiration of corporate leaders. This was the Production Era of America’s economic advance, a time when Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller were in their heyday. 18 The lasting significance is this: All his life, Herbert Armstrong would be quick study. As a young man he claimed to study incessantly on his own outside the classroom. Tellingly, the evidence is unclear from his writings as to whether he graduated from high school. This is important, for, as Joseph Hopkins notes, Armstrong’s studies did have consequences for his later mass audiences. This anti-intellectual reaction formation is a major thrust in his development process. It is important to remember Erikson’s insistence that Stage Four is when the child’s exuberant imagination is “tamed and harnessed.” As Erikson says: “Many a child’s development is disrupted when family life has failed to prepare him for school life, or when school life fails to sustain the promises of earlier stages.” 19 Freud labeled this the latency stage, the lull before puberty. By his own accounts, Herbert Armstrong loafed and lounged in school. The botany teacher called him a sponge: “Herbert Armstrong, you are just like a sponge. You never study your lesson, you never contribute or give out anything in class. You just sit there and soak up what the other pupils recite, and then, when final exams come along, you always get close to 100%.” 20

Back to Gerald Flurry's uneducated nonsense:

In Chapter 10 of his book, The Former Prophets: How to Become a King, Gerald Flurry speculates that about 10,000 PCG members will get to flee to the Place of Safety, which is often said to be Petra, Jordan. Here is what he says.

A couple of biblical prophecies refer to 10,000 saints being in a place of safety in the end time. (You can read about this in Chapter Five of my free booklet No Freedom Without Law.) Deuteronomy 33:1-2 speak of “ten thousands of saints” coming with Christ from mount Paran, which is located in Petra, Jordan. The Apostle Jude referred to this in an end-time context as well (Jude 14).
God clearly says there will be 10,000 members in a place of safety. It has to mean that. He is going to come back with those 10,000. So maybe we’ll convert, say, 500 of our teenagers in the place of safety, and between now and then. And maybe we will pick up between 2,000 and 2,500 from the world and from the Laodicean churches.
Reaching that number might take a little more time than what we have thought, but I would hasten to add that so much is happening in this world, and it is disintegrating so fast, there is no guarantee it will take long at all. (Gerald Flurry, The Former Prophets: How to Become a King, 2014, Chapter 10, p. 226.)
Actually PCG members have already been waiting about thirteen years already to get 10,000 members.

Gerald Flurry's personality cult has been losing numbers for many years now.  He is not even close to 10,000 persons being with him in Petra.   Even if every single youth in his personalty cult converted over night he still could not reach his goal of 10,000 members.  How does he think he will accomplish this when God's greatest COG evvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvver, David C Pack, has been unable to do the same thing for the last three years.  No one is flocking to Dave Pack just as no one is flocking to Gerald Flurry.

People in the various Church of God's are starting to wake up to the abuse they have been subjected to over the decades.  Every group is losing members now.  No new members are coming from the public to these groups.  Even United Church of God couldn't draw in members after a $70,000+ recent media debacle in the Cincinnati area.

Anti-intellectualism is a hold over from the formation of fundamentalism from 1900-1930's here in the United States.  That is right around the time Herbert Armstrong was gaining his foothold in ripping apart the Church of God 7th day when he separated to start his own personalty cult.

Read Redfox's take on Flurry's silliness:  Gerald Flurry Repeats 13 Year Old Bizarre Prophecy of 10,000 PCG Members Going to Place of Safety

Aura of Authority: Cult Preachers and Churches






Detecting cult religion is really quite simple.  The characteristics of a cult religion revolves around fear-mongering.  The naive and fearful who are seduced into cult religions, are  uninformed church goers.  Anytime a church goer  thinks that some character standing in a pulpit speaks for God/Jesus Christ, they have been seduced.

No preacher or pastor speaks for God.  God speaks for Himself and you have yet to see God or hear His voice. After all don't you speak for yourself?  Should someone pretend to be you and speak for you, would that not be preposterous?  The same is true for God.

When those who penned ink on paper and called it "the Bible", they had no real authority from God to do so, but they made the claim that "all scripture is given by inspiration of God"  and that "God commanded"  and so forth.  What overwhelming vanity and ego for those who made such fraudulent claims.

The greatest deception on planet earth is that "God said" something, or "God commanded" something or that "the Bible is the word of God", as if humans had a right to put words in the mouth of God.    It is as easy as falling off a log to accept that because someone long ago said something, it is
true, but is it?

You read that God supposedly spoke with some character named Moses out of a burning bush, and yet all that is, is ink on paper and there is no proof that such a thing ever happened.  Do we assume "truth" just because we read a myth, a legend, a fiction or a human fabrication?    Should you
or I today make the claim that God spoke to us out of a burning bush, would anyone believe it?  Not likely. So why  believe ancient myths as valid?

Cult preachers are great pretenders.  They have an aura of "authority", when in reality they have none.  You can be positive if free $money, were not involved, these preacher pretenders would be reduced to common and normal human beings, who have no desire to rule over or control others.

The real motive for churches, preachers and all religions, is free $cash and the love of power and control, which equates to super vanity and ego of the overlords.

In reality the self-appointed "lords" in the pulpits are driven by  extreme self-importance, all the while the simple minded in the pews tremble in false fear of these religious clowns.  Jesus came to set the captives free, and if you are captive to a church lord, the only way you will ever be free, is to exit and exit now and forever from the cult, because it is a cult.

All religious cults thrive on FEAR, but God is LOVE and He does not exist by compelling fear.  Tithing, Sabbath keeping, Feast days and such are all man-made concepts, which give religious overlords false power over the gullible.

Why quote "the Bible" as if God is the author?  Men penned the so called bible and it is the greatest source of fear-mongering on planet earth.    There is NO FEAR in love and if God is love then God does not compel humans   on the basis of fear.    God compels humans on the basis of LOVE, COMPASSION MERCY, EMPATHY and HUMILITY.

Proof that your preacher is a fraud, is that he compels you to comply to the false doctrine of tithing and other legalistic nonsense.

Van Robison