What goes on in the mind of a Church of God member?

Watching the mental melt down of David C Pack, Rod Meredith, Bob Thiel, James Malm, Eric King, Ron Weinland and Gerald Flurry these past few several years has been a fascinating AND frightening experience.  The Church of God has produced an endless supply of absolute idiots over the decades who have self-appointed themselves as prophets and apostles. Every single one of them have been abject failures.  Why then do Church of God members continue to following these men giving them blinding loyalty?  What kind of mind is the typical Church of God member like?

Psychology Today has some interesting information on these types of men and the people who join up with them:

Having studied at length the life, teachings, and behaviors of Jim Jones (Jonestown Guyana), David Koresh (Branch Davidians), Stewart Traill (The Church of Bible Understanding), Charles Manson, Shoko Asahara (Aum Shinrikyo), Joseph Di Mambro (The Order of the Solar Temple aka Ordre du Temple Solaire), Marshall Heff Applewhit (Heaven’s Gate), Bhagwan Rajneesh (Rajneesh Movement), and Warren Jeffs (polygamist leader), what stands out about these individuals is that they were or are all pathologically narcissistic. They all have or had an over-abundant belief that they were special, that they and they alone had the answers to problems, and that they had to be revered. They demanded perfect loyalty from followers, they overvalued themselves and devalued those around them, they were intolerant of criticism, and above all they did not like being questioned or challenged. And yet, in spite of these less than charming traits, they had no trouble attracting those who were willing to overlook these features. Dangerous Cult Leaders

One of the biggest tools in Armstrongism that has been used by single splinter group leader since Herbert Armstrong came on the scene is the practice discrediting individualism and critical thinking.

When a person is individualistic that person is independent and self-reliant.  Independent and self-reliant people are usually critical thinkers.  With Armstrongism's endless debasement of higher education in "worldly" universities it tried to force members into looking down on critical thinking. Armstrongism successfully stopped all critical thinking by producing thousands of booklets, articles, magazines, correspondence courses and films that did all the thinking that a person felt they needed to do.  The answers were spelled out in black and white using step-by-step "proofs" cherry picked out of the bible by church leaders.  They defended that one-way reasoning by using this single quote, "Don't believe me, believe your Bible!"  With these men all claiming superior understanding and direct revelation from their individual god's, how would any person ever dare to question them?

Fear is the other tool that Armstrongite leaders love to use against members.  When a person uses critical thinking they are going against the chosen apostle/prophet of God.  When you do that you are in danger of losing your salvation.  Losing ones salvation was and always has been a serious threat used against members.  To think critically, criticize, and question a leader or his words was anathema and equal to questioning God.

By having the answer to everything in regards to every aspect of a members life, Church of God members have stopped thinking.  It was much easier to have answers spelled out for them in booklets, to have ministers tell them what color car to buy and what kind of job to have.  Its very comforting being surrounded by like minded people.  It is safe.

What do all groups (cult and non-cult) offer a potential recruit? Answer: friendship, identity, respect and security. They also offer a world-view: a way of discerning right from wrong; good from bad.  These are powerful incentives for all people whatever their background. We are social animals. But they offer more: a structured life-style and the ability to acquire new skills. Through their (very different) ideologies they also offer moral explanations into how the world works. They provide clear answers to difficult and big questions: what it all means; the secret of happiness; life after death; the difference between right and wrong, who is with us and who against us; the saved and the damned.  Why Do People Join Cults?

Some of the tactics used by leaders in the Church of God  are:

• First, they demand that they sever all ties with people (family, friends) and organisations (schools, churches). This naturally makes them more dependent on the cult itself and helps create the person's new identity. They start again, wipe the slate clean. This rule is also found in extreme in Christian Monastic orders. 

• Second, the members are required to show immediate and unquestioning obedience to rules and regulations which maybe arbitrary, petty or pointless. The idea is to ensure allegiance and obedience. This strategy is used to "break-in" all army recruits. It is the very staff of boot camps.

• Third, group members often have to do long hours of tedious work. It maybe drilling, begging for money, cooking, followed by compulsory reading, chanting or mediating. Recruits usually become physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted. Sleep deprivation is a good start. It's all part of the induction process.

• Fourth, all groups need money to exist. Some are very much into money both as an end and as a means. This may, therefore, quickly involve recruits getting involved in illegal, or semi-legal activities. Groups that are state supported or those with a long history of operation may, however, be different. Members need to understand how, when and why money is required and to set about getting it quickly.

• Fifth, groups make exit costs very high. Leaving is associated with failure, persecution and isolation. It is more than just a waste of time and effort. They make you feel as if nothing will ever be the same as you will be an outcast. It is made to sound a very unattractive, indeed impossible, option. Why Do People Join Cults

Every reader here that uses critical thinking can tell all kinds of stories about how every single one of these traits have been used against them by the church.

Extreme groups offer simple, clear messages in an increasingly complex world. Old certainties are crumbling; ethics even science is portrayed as having only relative truths. The world is corrupt, evil, unfair and very complex. So a group or leader who offers a "sensible, sane" explanation for the complex world, a secure group and personal salvation is very attractive. They come in many forms: politicians of the extreme left or right; religious leaders; romantic revolutionaries; persuasive writers; power-hungry individuals, brilliant orators; movie-star saviours. Why Do People Join Cults

In another article on bad religion, the following  is said:

...early warning signs of 'bad religion'" are:

1. The organization is willing to place itself above the law. With the exceptions noted earlier, this is probably the most important characteristic.
2. The leadership dictates (rather than suggests) important personal (as opposed to spiritual) details of followers' lives, such as whom to marry, what to study in college, etc.
3. The leader sets forth ethical guidelines members must follow but from which the leader is exempt.
4. The group is preparing to fight a literal, physical Armageddon against other human beings.
5. The leader regularly makes public assertions that he or she knows is false and/or the group has a policy of routinely deceiving outsiders. Safe Sects?  Early Warning Signs of Dangerous Faith Groups

The people that sit in these Church of God's  watch all of this going down day in and day out.  They have become numb to it all,  Its safer to be numb, blind and deaf than to jump off the cliff and let ones wings soar to freedom.  Its safer to be slave than free.  The leeks and onions still have their appeal.

Armstrong Family Members Share Life Under Herbert Armstrong's Reign

By Larry Gott

In 1967 my grandmother Loma D. Armstrong died from  simple intestinal blockage from taking Saritan laxative without enough water. She could have been made well the very next day by the simplest of medical procedures.  My grandfather refused medical help and simply anointed her with oil and prayed over her (probably to die), but would let no doctor near her. Finally the last time I saw her, laying in her death bed to say goodbye with my Mom the day before she died. Her belly so swollen she looked as if she were nine months pregnant. The next day her internal organs ruptured spreading peritonitis through her system and she of course died~~~  However,  when my uncle Dick (Richard Armstrong) was in a car crash, my grandfather told the hospital to fly in the best doctors in the country and to please do all they could to keep his son alive!!! He also almost killed my eldest brother Larry when he was only three. Larry came down with Rheumatic fever. Again my grandfather simply anointed him with oil and said a lame prayer and put him a fast for three weeks which damn near killed him, and did permanently stunt his growth .. Finally my Mother had the good sense to disobey her fathers orders and fed him saving his life... So many of these stories I remember as a kid.

When my Mother had the strength to tell him she would not pull all of us kids out of public school when he started Imperial to be indoctrinated by him and his ideas, he disfellowshiped her (You all know what that means) and told her that "He and God would take one of her children away from her in death"... You can imagine what effect that had on her. Still believing he had the power he professed, it nearly drove her mad. Every time we got sick she would be terror stricken. Or  if she heard a siren in town and one of us was not home, she would get in the car and go find us thinking it had to be an ambulance taking one of us to the hospital or morgue. HWA was an evil megalomaniac plain and simple!!!  I feel sorry for anyone who still believes his bullshit that he was "The Prophet" he proclaimed to be!!!!                                           
P.S. The story about him raping my aunt Dottie (Dorothy Mattson) for years is absolutely true!!!! The only part of that article that was wrong was that it was the mid 1960's not 50's when Vern found out and quit his job as business manager, and only after my aunt convinced him not to kill the s.o.b.!!!

By Tedd Armstrong

I will second that!! I'm the youngest brother of Larry Gott, (I use my Mom's maiden name professionally) and I have had so many requests to come here and set the record straight that I'm finally here to do so.  I was about twelve years old, and It was in our dinning room in the home where I grew up in Pasadena where my aunt Dottie (Dorothy Mattson) told my uncle Vern about her being molested and raped by her father. It was all she could do to stop Vern from rushing over to my grandfathers house and killing him! Instead he quit his job  the next day as business manager for the church. It was mid 60's not 50's when he quit, as was reported... But it did happen! My grandfather was a sick SOB megalomaniac and was a cruel and vicious excuse for a human being!  Trust me, if there is a Heaven and Hell, he is not in Heaven!!!! I should write a book~~~

My Mother started to write her biography in the 1980's, but bringing back all the painful memories of her childhood all the way up to her being thrown out of the church was too painful and she never finished it. If you know half of the twisted things about my grandfather you would all shit yourselves! I just wish you could all find some kind of closure and move on and forget he ruined so many lives! His DNA does NOT rear it's ugly head in any of us!

Fortunately for me and my siblings, my Mother had the good sense to NOT pull us out of public school and put us into Imperial when my grandfather first stated  grades 1 through 12 and "Demanded" she put us into Imperial... She told him flat out that she would NOT let him indoctrinate her kids and that IF we wanted to join the church as adults, that was up to us. Of course none of us ever did!!! And that was the second and final time he "Disfellowshipped her. The first time was when she refused to obey the no makeup rule. He got up in front of the entire church and called my Mother a "Harlot" for refusing to obey his new order not to wear makeup. That "Doctrine" btw, was my grandmothers idea. She didn't like my grandfather being around young coeds, so she was determined to make them as plain and dowdy as possible!

My grandfather only believed in money and power and did not care who he destroyed getting it! At least my uncle Ted (G.T.A.) believed what he preached, although did not always practice it, unfortunately for my sweet aunt Shirley RIP, who just recently passed away. Anyway, I wish you all peace and sincerely hope you all can find some closure and put the "Teachings" of H.W.A. behind you! You will all be better off!!!

Larry Gott's story is here:  Larry - Worldwide Church of God

Larry shares what it was like growing up as the grandson of the cult founder, including what his grandfather compelled his parents to do when he became ill at the age of 3 — force him to go without food for 12 days.

He discusses what lead to his parents being disfellowshipped from the church by his grandfather and how that impacted his family. He shares about his mom’s return to the employ of the church as Herbert’s social secretary though she did not return to the church or attend services; Larry’s enrollment in the church’s college, Ambassador, when he was 29 even though not a member of the church (something that was almost unheard of in the church); his world travels with his grandfather on the church’s private jet; and the evolution of his views about religion.

Finally, Larry discusses his view and the family’s views about the allegations that his grandfather, Herbert, committed incest with his youngest daughter, Dorothy (Larry’s aunt) and his general views about the personality and character of his grandfather and whether he was qualified — according to his own Biblical teachings — to be considered “God’s apostle on earth” or even a minister of Jesus Christ.

Larry has had his own YouTube channel for a number of years where he discusses his views on religion and other topics. Deborah Armstrong, Herbert’s niece and the daughter of Dwight Armstrong, who was also raised in the church, is interviewed on Podcast 5.

Living Church of God Favoritism

Another issue that the Living Church of God is having is a hard time dealing with is "favoritism."  The LCG HQ is filled with nepotism, backbiting and backstabbing in order for people to move up and/or be seen as important.

1. Hospitality.  Hospitality is not just a suggestion—it is one of the attributes that qualifies one to be in the ministry (Titus 1:8).  Pastors do not have to have a palace to be hospitable.  There is a unifying effect in breaking bread with one another, no matter how humble the circumstances.  This had a powerful effect on the brethren in the early days of the apostolic Church.  Acts 2:46-47 says, “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart… And the Lord added to the Church daily those who were being saved.”  Be sure to be sensitive to your wife’s input and desires in making plans to host brethren at your house—since she will be doing much of the work of the hosting!   

Caution: Showing special hospitality only to those you are close to tears down morale, unity, and erodes the overall health of a congregation.  Favoritism will erode love and warmth in a family (Genesis 37:4) and it can destroy your effectiveness in a congregation.  Especially as a Pastor, it’s important to show equal interest and attention to all the brethren you serve (Luke 14:13).  It is a way of showing interest in the lives of all of your brethren and coming to know even those considered the “least important” (Matthew 25:40).  LCG Pastoral Manual pg. 2-6 

LCG members are waiting for the church to erupt when Meredith dies.  The various camps are already forming.  If Lil'Jimmy is anointed by Ames to lead the LCG there will be a major split.  People will split even if Ames maintains control for a while.  Others see upcoming doctrinal changes and are ready to head off to other groups. Its only a matter of time till LCG is as impotent as the United Church of God, Restored Church of God and the Philadelphia Church of God.

Satan Hates the Living Church of God

Here is a quote from the LCG Pastoral Manual:

4. Are we suspicious of government—or do we see Christ in charge?  Some brethren can get discouraged because they hear about problems in the Church or problems at Headquarters.  It’s important to encourage them to see that Jesus Christ really is the literal Head of the Church (Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18).  There will always be problems when humans are attempting to work with other humans.  But we all need to keep Christ’s leadership clearly in focus.  Satan hates Church government, and will do everything he can to destroy its right and proper use. LCG Pastoral Manual pg. 2-5

The question needs to be asked of LCG ministers.  How can you focus your members upon the person you call Jesus Christ when you never talk about him in your sermons, booklets and video productions?   Every single sermon/booklet is about someone or something from the Old Testament. How can they be at peace when they know nothing about the person that is supposed to be carrying their "yoke?"
 
Satan is a busy guy with all of these COG's that he has to work on ruining day in and day out.

How Many COG Members Actually Understand This?

Woman Who Fed Brother of COG Minister Don Haney To Her Pigs Found Guilty of Murder

Robert Haney

Daily News:  
'You value pigs more than you value people': Life in prison for farmer convicted of killing two handymen and feeding them to her swine

The brother of Church of God minister Don Haney was killed in 2012 by a woman he was a handyman for.  She was found guilty of shooting Robert Haney in the head, chopped off his legs and feed him to her pigs.  According to one of her stories when she found him the pigs had disemboweled him and were eating him, so she shot him in the head.

She also was found guilty of killing another man that she also fed to her pigs.

Prosecutors said 59-year-old Stephen Delicino was killed in 2012 and 56-year-old Robert Haney died in 2013.

In testimony Monday, Jordan "Janae" Farris said that Susan Monica confided that she shot one of the victims, 56-year-old Robert Haney, with a shotgun and fed him to her pigs.

In other testimony, a state police forensic anthropologist, Veronica Vance, testified that Haney's legs had been chopped off with an ax, and the thigh bones showed signs of being gnawed by an animal...

Monica told investigators she shot Delicino in self-defense and said he was eaten by her pigs before she buried his remains on her 20-acre farm.

She told investigators Haney disappeared in the summer of 2013. She said she came on him a month later as pigs were disemboweling him, and she shot him to ease his suffering. She later questioned whether he was alive when she shot him.

Defense attorney Garren Pedemonte has argued there's no concrete evidence to rebut Monica's claims that she shot Delicino in self-defense or to show that Haney was actually alive when Monica shot him. His remains were found in plastic bags in her barn. Oregon Woman Convicted of Double Homicide on Pig Farm

Serial Killer Susan Monica Found Guilty On All Charges, Gets 50 Years

Q13 Fox: Oregon woman convicted of killing 2 handymen, feeding bodies to her pigs

Woman Jailed For Killing Two Men The Feeding Them To Pigs

Church of God Pastor/Coordinator "GENERALS" and "ADMIRALS" vs The Good Shepherd

Ever wonder why the Church of God had to have a Pastor GENERAL?  That name has always grated on the minds of many COG members.  That title has also set up abusive men who treat their members like chattel.  Just look at Gerald Flurry, Rod Meredith, Wade Cox and Dave Pack.  Facebook pages are filed with hundreds of people telling their stories about these men and how they have ruined families, marriages and lives by being GENERALS. Its everything from Coordinator GENERAL, Pastor GENERAL, to ADMIRAL.

The Living Church of God calls the leaders of their churches "ADMIRALS" of their own "SHIPS":

As a Pastor, you are in a sense the “captain” of your “ship”, or your congregation.  Christ is the Admiral, following the analogy, directing the overall fleet of congregations through His flagship, Headquarters.  He sets the pace and shows how a Pastor should lead his flock with servant leadership.  What direction is your ship going?  Is it heading in the right direction?  Is it following the direction of the flagship?  Or is it veering off in the opposite direction?  Is it going in circles, or even backwards?   

Are the passengers on your ship generally happy?  Are they growing?  Is there a positive, friendly, and peaceful atmosphere?  What kind of atmosphere do you want to facilitate in your congregation?  LCG Pastoral Manual pg. 2-4

Contrast that to the Good Shepherd from John:

John 10:1-18 The Message (MSG)

He Calls His Sheep by Name

10 ^1-5 “Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it.”

^6-10 Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

^11-13 “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him.

^14-18 “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They’ll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd.

The story continues with the following that aptly describes ever single Church of God to this day.  They have been ripped asunder and split into over 700 different groups all because "GENERALS" are lording themselves over the members instead of following the Good Shepherd.  You can't run a COG army with a bunch of compliant sheep.  Though it appears these "GENERALS" cannot run their armies as they thought.  Every COG out there is in decline.

^19-21 This kind of talk caused another split in the Jewish ranks. A lot of them were saying, “He’s crazy, a maniac—out of his head completely. Why bother listening to him?” But others weren’t so sure: “These aren’t the words of a crazy man. Can a ‘maniac’ open blind eyes?”

Will the Church of God "maniac's" ever open their eyes?

The Good Shepherd waits patiently at the late for the weary sheep.

Does Servant Leadership Exist in the Living Church of God?

Naked Pastor

Here is a quote from Rod McNair's Pastors Manual where he is talking about "servant leadership."

Since when has "servant leadership" been the "hallmark" of the Living Church of God?  When has it ever been the "hallmark" of ANY of the 700 some Church of God splinter groups over the last 80 some years?

When has Rod Meredith ever got down on his hands and knees and cleaned up a mess in church, helped sit out chairs and hymnals, or cooked for a social or potluck meal on a Holy Day?  When has he ever used his own money to take care of the homeless and childless?  When has he ever cared for his neighbors that are nonCOG members?

When has he ever not been sitting in the chair of "worshipfulness" status?

When has any of the LCG elite ever done this?  When has the ministry ever got down on their knees and washed the feet of the lowly members?

Servant leadership should be the hallmark of our ministry.  If we are not servants, we are not fulfilling our calling.  If we are not leaders, we are not fulfilling our duty.  We are preparing to become kings and/or priests in the Kingdom of God (Revelation 1:6; 5:10).  We should be teaching and leading the members of the body of Christ to become rulers and teachers of God’s way.  Servant leadership has been emphasized by the Presiding Evangelist, Dr. Roderick C. Meredith, since the beginning of the Global Church of God in 1993, and remains the operational keyword of the ministry today.  

Epic Failure: Living Church of God Claims That Its Leaders "...Must Be Self-Controlled—Not Quick To Get Angry "

We have all witnessed over the last few years the deep seated anger that Rod Meredith has towards certain members of his church.  This anger is so deep that entire families have been disfellowshipped and publicly marked from the pulpit.  In his decades in the Worldwide Church of God that anger was manifested over and over in his actions towards ministers he was over and to the membership.

We saw that anger again as he bad mouthed the WCG as he was starting up his own church, the Global Church of God.  We then witnesses his anger towards Raymond McNair and others in Global as he rebelled against them and apostatizing to form yet another group.  That anger also led to him taking all of Global's money with him an essentially bankrupting Global.  That in turn sent Raymond and Eve McNair to get on their knees in front of Meredith begging his forgiveness "with trembling lips."

That anger was also manifested a couple of weeks ago when Meredith stood up and kicked out the remaining Scarborough's from LCG - and - warned his members to NOT read this blog.

An LCG member sent me this today from the Pastor's Manual for LCG.

Apparently Meredith and Rod McNair have not paid too much attention to this section of the manual as they continue to lash out at members and employees seeking to find out who is leaking information.

Pastoral Manual         
Chapter 1: Pastoral Ethics  Being Qualified pg 1-5                                                                                                                                                   
A Pastor Must Be Self-Controlled—Not Quick To Get Angry 

“…A bishop then must be… not violent…but gentle, not quarrelsome…” (1 Timothy 3:2-3) 

Pastors sometimes have to deal with frustrating and exasperating situations.  A Pastor must have the character—and LOVE for others—to control his own spirit, even in the midst of difficult situations, and even with people who are irrational or belligerent.  In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he said: 

2 Timothy 2:24-26 “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”  

When a problem arises, imagine that you are arriving at the scene of a fire.  The fire is the problem you are facing.  Imagine that you have two buckets in your hands—one is filled with water, and the other is filled with gasoline.  Which one you use upon arriving at the scene has a lot to do with the outcome of the situation.  Can you defuse the situation by using a calm but firm hand?  Or do you react with anger in kind, further exacerbating an already bad situation? 

A Pastor must exhibit emotional control to successfully function in his capacity.  He must be able to bear insult without retaliation.  Jesus set that example.  He did not lash out or take revenge on those who ridiculed Him.  As Peter wrote: 

1 Peter 2:21-25  “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: ‘Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth’;  who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed.  For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” 

This does not mean that a Pastor must not defend the members or the office of the ministry or must not occasionally act with decisive action.  But he must keep his own personal feelings out of it, as much as possible, with God’s help.  He must not fall into a “siege mentality” where he begins to see everyone as either for him or against him.  He must strive to minimize controversy and polarization wherever possible.  He must deal squarely and decisively on the facts, based on sound biblical principles, with all due patience and long-suffering and without personal antagonism or anger. 

This takes careful self-examination of motives and intentions.  It takes deep reflection to examine one’s own personal motives—and the humility to admit to oneself when one is acting on pride Proverbs 16:32 “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” 

Proverbs 14:29 “He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly.”  

Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

God's Government or Man-Made Church Government?

God's Government or Man-Made Church Government?

Has God Himself spoken to you in person and told you to "obey" men or women who stand in pulpits and make the claim that they speak for God?   If so, have you documented that encounter with God and do you have witnesses that indeed God did appear to you and speak to you? Better yet, do you have a video of that encounter?

Of course God has never appeared to you or so much as spoken one word to you as an individual.  Why then should you believe that God has spoken to Rod Meredith, Moses, the "apostle" Paul or any other self-appointed head of any WCG splinter group?

The audacity of WCG splinter group heads, who act and pretend to be appointed by God, is beyond words.   In fact no intelligent human being who can think, reason or discern would ever submit their lives to these wolves in sheep's clothing.

Vain and egotistical humans have always pretended that God is on their side.  They foment FEAR in the minds of the weak-minded, to gain followers.   They threaten eternal damnation, hell-fire, loss of salvation and a life-time of being cursed for non-compliance to rigid rules.

It is not God's government they espouse, it is their own regimentation designed to keep their followers in check, so that their $cash rewards keep coming.   It is like government taxation that states "pay or go to jail."

Religion and those who head various church groups are among the most corrupt of human being on planet earth.   If you don't think this is true, then read what Jesus Christ stated to the pharisees in Matthew 23.   WCG splinter group heads are notorious pharisees, whose only real motive is their own $bank account.


Van Robison

Are You Captive to a Religious Cult?

Are You Captive to a Religious Cult?

All captives to religious cults never believe that they are in a cult.   They always see themselves as being the "true" church of God on earth and that they are being "persecuted" when others try to see them set free from their religious captivity.

Amazingly, we read that Jesus came to set the captives free and yet no one in a religious cult sees themselves as captives, or religious prisoners to those who control their minds and their thinking, their time and their lives, and what they believe.

Religious overlords indeed rule over their church slaves.   They cause their church slaves to live in lifelong fear of losing their salvation for non-compliance to specific rules and regulations, obedience to legalistic doctrines, and the keeping of days and times.

Never mind that Jesus Christ fulfills all the law or laws of the past, because legalistic minded religious overlords insist that God requires compliance and obedience to a set standard of rules, which determine whether an individual will have eternal life or not.

Well folks, God cares nothing about your own self-righteousness, because all that matters to Him, is "do unto others as you would have them do unto you", "love your neighbor as you love yourself", "blessed are the peacemakers", "blessed are the merciful",  "blessed are the meek" and so forth, which is proof that going to church, tithing, observance of days and religious rules of legalism, mean nothing to God.

The claim that the teachings of the "apostle" Paul supersede the teachings of Jesus Christ, is one of the major problems with the church world, because Paul was NOT God in the flesh, never replaced Jesus and his teachings are no more important to God or humans, than that of Shakespeare. Paul was not Jesus Christ, and he never knew Jesus Christ, was never taught by Jesus Christ and he never saw Jesus in the flesh.   Therefore Paul was no different than Herbert W. Armstrong, who appointed himself as God's representative on earth.

All religious cults on earth are ruled over by self-appointed "gods", who present themselves to the naive, the gullible and the simple minded as representatives for God, because by doing so, the naive give them free $money, which the overlords use primarily for their own benefit.

How do you know if you have been seduced by a cult church group? The answer is simple and you know because the preacher pretends to have "authority" from God, which is a false authority, because there is no mediator between God and humans, aside from Jesus Christ.   Therefore 100% of all "pastors" of churches on earth are fake, fraudulent, false, heretical, self-appointed and preach for no other reason than personal vanity, ego, pride, the love of power and control and above all---free $money.   And they all proclaim they preach because they are "called" and "ordained" by God to be preachers.   Supposedly they "watch" for your soul and your salvation, while in reality they watch for your $cash.


Van Robison