It is hard to believe it has been 20 some years since Ed Mentell, Sr. started The Painful Truth website to document the abuses in the Church of God. The PT is the "granddaddy" of all of the sites critical of Armstrongism and the Church of God. From the days of the WCG upheavals in 1996 to the present day upheavals that STILL occupy the church, the PT has been there holding leaders accountable.
You can still read Herbert Armstrong's letter to Rod Meredith here.
HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG
Tucson, March 14, 1980
President and Pastor
Dear Rod:
Your letters of February 1 and March 7 show, I am sorry to say, that either you still cannot understand WHY the living Head of God's Church, Jesus Christ, had you sent to Hawaii, or you are unwilling to see or admit--and I prefer to believe the former. There is no point in telling you this letter is written in LOVE for YOU -- for you ought to know that without my saying it. But out of love for you, and DESIRE to see you back as PART OF GOD'S TEAM, working in full co-operation and right attitude with the rest of us; I shall take time and space to make it clear once for all this time. I have tried to hold the mirror up for you to see yourself as others see you. But still you don't see in that mirror the same YOU that others see--or are unwilling--I hope not the latter. But now I must be SURE!
I shall speak plainly, candidly. If this letter hurts, I quote from a letter the Apostle Paul sent to brethren at Corinth: ''For though I made you angry with a letter, I do not repent ... for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance, for ye were made sorry after a godly, manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorry worketh repentance to salvation ... but the sorrow of the world worketh death.'' (11 Cor. 7:8-10)....
The Painful Truth also has kept the HWA incest story at the forefront of the Church of God movement. Various COG cult leaders, like Bob Thiel, have tried to disprove the story and have always failed.
There is also The Painful Truth Blog which carries more up to date events and allows readers to comment.
Stop by and check out the checkered history of the Church of God movement. It is not a pretty story which is at times disturbing, appalling and unbelievable, yet it is a story we have all experienced and of which much more are still trapped in.
Long may it continue to disturb the sensibilities of the Church of God!
7 comments:
I will always be grateful for the Painful Truth site, which helped me break out of and recover from my wcg-induced depression many years ago. It provided and continues to provide valuable information and support for xcg survivors.
Thank God For Websites Such As This That Expose The Lies & Hypocrisy Of WCG/GCI And Her Spin-off Cults.
There is a word called R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Or does that no longer exist?
The Painful Truth gave me the answers I was seeking 22 years ago. Little did I know about the corruption and the sordid stories about Armstrong. Some of the members read it secretly and talked among themselves. One thing I noticed was they would never tell you what they were reading or how to see it. I had to use those primitive search engines back in those days to find it on Tripod.
Thank you Painful Truth.
That same letter would be applicable to Dave Pack, Flurry, and most others out there that put themselves out as being the chosen ones.
When I left the COGs that site seemed too radical so at first I never read it much. Eventually I came around. In the mean time it was good to have other sites that I found more believable at the time.
The Painful Truth is radical. The idea is to tell the truth and not sugar coating it with Christianity.
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