This three-part volume is a thoroughly documented expose of the modus operandi of the Armstrong religion. The author, Marion J. McNair, is eminently qualified for the task of analyzing this sect as he has been associated with the Armstrong organization for over thirty years. Mr. McNair first attended Ambassador College as one of its pioneer students in 1948 and was eventually ordained to the rank of Evangelist. During the last seventeen years he has been a part of the administrative ranks of the organization at its headquarters in Pasadena.
In Part I, Mr. McNair analyzes the subtle psychological approach used to entice unsuspecting individuals into "the Work." He discusses the "Armstrong commission" and how exorbitant expenditures are rationalized and justified with minimal accountability to contributors. Complete profiles are given of Garner Ted and Herbert Armstrong along with all the top men who helped build the Armstrong empire. For this and other parts of the volume, the author collaborated with a professional psychologist who provides considerable insight into the soul of the Armstrong philosophy and approach.
Part II analyzes the early beginnings of the organization showing the real conflict in Herbert Armstrong's relationship with the Oregon Church of God. You will find that they pleaded with him to study in open discussions his "heresies" in the areas of British-Israelism, prophecy, and holy days, but that he continually refused such overtures. You will be astounded to discover that Armstrong was finally fired from the ministry because of his mishandling of finances and his total disregard for church authority. His move to California was forced upon him by his continual prophesy failures and the desertion of most of his church. He thus achieved a new base of operations, one unfamiliar with his massive prophecy debacles. It was this new base which became Ambassador College and the Worldwide Church of God.
Part III reveals the details of the 1973-74 organizational split, a split which is still continuing. You will see the entire episode from behind the scenes, showing the true concerns of the Armstrongs during the crisis.
This important book succeeds in exposing the totalitarianism of the Armstrong regime. It reaches beyond the facade and reveals what the Armstrong "Rip-off" is and how it works. Painful Truth
Read the entire book online here.
From the start of Chapter 6 of the book: "Shiek, suave, dapper, debonaire, Ted Armstrong is, for all practical purposes, the operational manager of the Armstrong empire..."
ReplyDelete"Sheik"???....hahahahahahahahahahahah...
And this is what you're holding out as a serious expose of the WCG?
Who is Marion McNair and how is she related to Rod!
ReplyDeleteRegarding Part II:
ReplyDeleteIt occurred to me that business men like Donald Trump, and Rush Limbaugh, on their paths to success, experienced failures which they erased through bankruptcy, and subsequent reinvention of themselves. That resilient spirit is usually acknowledged as being commendable amongst business leaders, in spite of the fact that the failures and bankruptcy have often financially damaged those who depended on them.
However, amongst spiritual guides, is this same cycle of failure and restart commendable as well? I think not! For one thing, if God really were behind these fresh starters, then there must either have been an awful communication problem, or the leader is simply inept in his own listening or following skills. This would seem to render the spiritual guide as unreliable, not to be followed. Common sense tells us that being a real spiritual leader is not a skill set which is to be developed through trial and error. A physician may lose a few patients learning to cap or stent an aneurism, but an "apostle" who walks away from his earlier failed prophecies, or loses his former church, most assuredly was never inspired or guided in the first place, and should have been honest to the point of choosing a different vocation.
Any way you stack it up, whether you ponder the incest, the bogus genetic theories, or the illicit attempts to date the apocalypse, if everything in our universe were fair, Herbert W. Armstrong would simply not have existed in the form that was able to influence ourselves and/or our parents. As a spiritual guide, he was the moral equivalent of the backwards ejaculator!
BB
11:08, you are forgetting a very important fact! Marion McNair obtained his education from Ambassador College.
ReplyDelete~Miguel de la Rodente
It is MR Marion McNair. (Like John Wayne's real name was Marion Robert Morrison).
ReplyDeleteI, when part of WCG, got to the stage when a letter from HWA would arrive, would think, "Oh great, another demand for money ..."
The first two comments don't bode well for this posting. Lol
ReplyDeleteBB. Forgetteth thou not that "all those in Asia (and Ephesus) have forsaken me", said Paul which also makes him never inspired or guided in the first place as well...
ReplyDeleteThis is a book that I found to be well worth reading for its information on the early days of HWA's Pasadena efforts and for insight into the personalities of some key people. Marion McNair was once an evangelist, a brother of Raymond, an in-law of Rod Meredith. After getting crossways with key players in Big Sandy, he fell from grace with the Armstrongs and by the early 1970s he had been reduced to running a big copy machine with no ministerial responsibilities that I know of. He was certainly bitter and humiliated about what had happened to him but that does not negate the true information that is in the book.
ReplyDeleteTerrible graphic design, wording, color n layout. Just saying.
ReplyDeleteIt was a self-published effort from about 40 years ago, created mostly with a typewriter - so yes, there is a lack of professionalism about its looks.
ReplyDeleteAnon. 6:03, I perceive that thou art a disciple of Mr. Diehl! That's one of Dennis's classics from his favorite book on Paul.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, check out what a consortium of commentaries have to say on the topic. biblehub.com/commentaries/2_timothy/1-15.htm
The Cliff's Notes are that Paul wasn't talking about all of his churches apostasizing. The setting was that he had been imprisoned once again during the great persecution under Nero. This time, rather than being under house arrest, he was in a physical dungeon. He was very lonely, and was bemoaning the fact that the people who had come there from the churches in Asia to support him at his trial had realized that his situation was basically hopeless, so had gone back home. They probably also feared for their own lives! Without a doubt, he was very concerned for his churches because of the devastating effects of Nero's actions. These were very perilous times for Christians, Paul "knew" his life and ministry were probably over, and was desperate for news and companionship.
BB
Zeroing in on such things as a misspelling, or shoddy graphics, is endemic to the COG world: Focus on the form, not the substance.
ReplyDeleteRead the damn thing, children. It's apparent you could stand to learn a thing or two from it.
People also need to remember that this book was published in the early/mid 70's. It's 339 pages of information were highly subversive at the time.
ReplyDeleteScores of books came out in the late 1960-1980's detailing corrupt leadership, false doctrines, sexual escapades of ministers and evangelists and much much more. Almost all of these were from insiders who saw this stuff go down.
The WCG boldly proclaimed that all who read such materials were broaching heretical lies and that members would be kicked out for reading the stuff.
With the publishing of the Ambassador Report and the rise of the internet, these kinds of books slowly faded away. Now we see scores of books by people who have left the Armstrongism and wrote about how it damaged parts of their lives or influenced them in ways that was anything but godly.
The earlier books were never widely known in the church because of limited advertising. Now the internet has changed all of that. The various COG groups now are constantly in the hot-seat by present members and exmembers. They are being held accountable in ways they never dreamed of. The books form the past were never much of a concern. The mere fact that Rod Meredith had to lambast this blog publicly from his bully pulpit shows how much influence the internet has upon them.
I can't wait for the sexual escapade book to come out as a movie.
ReplyDeleteWho do you think will have the starring roles?
What is interesting to me is the great difference between the two brothers: Marion whose book shows reflection and analysis of the real issues, an inquiry concerned with truth, and Raymond, who throughout his life never showed signs of reflectiveness over the package of beliefs or following HWA. As one of the original students of AC, Marion could have been like the others, kept his head down, said nothing, and continued to receive a paycheck for life. But he wrote the truth, no doubt at cost of family and friendships. Where others remained silent, he spoke. How could the brothers have turned out so differently? Marion is the more noble, honorable one.
ReplyDelete