Exposing the underbelly of Armstrongism in all of its wacky glory! Nothing you read here is made up. What you read here is the up to date face of Herbert W Armstrong's legacy. It's the gritty and dirty behind the scenes look at Armstrongism as you have never seen it before!
With all the new crazy self-appointed Chief Overseers, Apostles, Prophets, Pharisees, legalists, and outright liars leading various Churches of God today, it is important to hold these agents of deception accountable.
Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders
This is just a snapshot in time in the life of a young teenager who was drinking the Kool Aid. Ironically, she couldn't have known that GTA's personal behavior was so similar to that of the friends about whom she complained! In fact, it's probably a good thing that she did not apply to AC, especially if she happened to be GTA's "type".
It would be interesting to learn whether she continued to believe and spout the same church cliches as she later observed the various systemic failures. I suspect that at some point she may have awoken, but we'll probably never know, unless nck recognizes the letter as having been written by his wife, and provides an update.
The update is that this is quite the apt description of both SHT's and my experience by observing our peers.
I doubt the both of us would have corresponded with HQ. Speaking for myself I would never rat like this but did seriously doubt my peers when attending a certain Feast site and see the attendance numbers fluctuate per day by 3000 persons, see alcohol related traffic accidents by low life youth's and "secret partying going on." I was already in law school at the time and knew by extrapolation that the future of the church had zero chance.
As for my wife of 25 years. She is yet to see the recorded Bobby Fisher documentary with me as I need to break news one day over how I was raised.
Letter said ... "If we would get an Imperial School".
Sorry, but Imperial Schools and even Ambassador College were not much different than your "worldly school" and had 98% of those going there leaving the faith as well.
This cited letter is a one-off. It is an atypical appeal for a local, church operated Imperial School. I do not remember that idea ever being expressed among young people in the WCG. GTA presents the letter as an accurate reflection of how young people in WCG felt but it is not. It was selected by GTA to beat the drum for WCG operated and controlled institutions and how desperately people want to get into these schools. It is a kind of "pat on the back" for the WCG administration and ministry at the expense of a stressed young person. A "feel good" anecdote.
There was a strict sorting of young people in the WCG back then. There were those who were AC-bound and those who were not. Those who were AC-bound were the children of ministers and prominent church families or were simply physically attractive. They were important. The rest were not.
I noticed many times from context that when ministers referred from the pulpit to the "youth of the church"or "church young people", they were actually referring to AC students and the AC-bound clique exclusively. Other young people were of no human worth and were simply expected to get a job and support the lifestyle of the rich and famous through tithes and offerings and adulation. These valueless kids understood this implicit view. (That is to say, they were not the stooges that the administration and ministry strategically desired them to be.) And they did not long hang around the WCG - if they were not wholly crippled by brain-washing.
I was not aware of the other youth in the church when I was a youth in the chuch because I was isolated in my home at the time. I was the only one in my high school attending the cult and I was not allowed to participate in any high school activities. Instead I was my father's slave.
I was not so much AC focussed perhaps for the reasons neo cited.
Personally I liked to read the bi weekly worldwide news and its predecessors (as most here have gathered I have an extreme memory) where in each and every section high achievers and special youth were featured who achieved well in high school.
To this day, whenever I hear a placename my brain fills in the state abreviation. This much I liked to know about my peers in Ark, Sask, Ont, OH, NSWales, Canb, Pretoria, Lake Geneva.
I don't ever remember any clamor for local Imperial Schools among my teenage peers in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland WCG congregations. With the combined church circuit weekly attendance of 1,200 people, we were one of the larger church areas where it could have been tried. Of course, the logistics of getting school students scattered all over the region to school daily make it impractical. It makes me wonder what the true motivation was of publishing this letter in the Bulletin.
Those of us who attended SEP were considered to be provisional students of Imperial. If I recall correctly, the Imperial yearbook was called the "Diplomat". SEP students were in group pictures, and we received our own copies. I had many friends, and enjoyed being able to remember them through the yearbooks. We'd take our Diplomats to the Feast and have our friends sign them! We got the most autographs when the Feast was centralized in Big Sandy. At that time, I could have gone to any local congregation in the USA, and would have known several people from SEP. I'm talking about Washington state, New Orleans, California, Chicago, St. Louis MO, New York City, or as Richard pointed out, Baltimore in the pre-"Wire" days. Little did we know that we were HWA's version of Hitler Youth, and were being programmed, observed, and tested to determine how we could be exploited.
St Louis MO. Hahahah. I told you I get a kick out of that through my wiring.
Nck
(you are right about sep being mini ac)
Quite the shocker for those able to attend international sep sites, where boys and girls would freely mingle, have unmonitored conversations after activities, experience harmonious race relations as far as teenagers go (except for the south african one for legal purpose and sa ac students would receive harsh treatment at british customs) and have a sip of cider at 16 or 18. Being admonished to stop having your mom make your bed once you got back at home.
On top of that have a philipine ex marine assemble the obstacle course, to toughen one up for life, prepared with extra care for those he knew would decide not to remain with the church.
Yes, I heard something about a paddle. As I remember reserved for 16 year olds sticking a foot in the juice, steal a can of beer or hit a counsellor in the face for being a spoiled brat.
12 comments:
This is just a snapshot in time in the life of a young teenager who was drinking the Kool Aid. Ironically, she couldn't have known that GTA's personal behavior was so similar to that of the friends about whom she complained! In fact, it's probably a good thing that she did not apply to AC, especially if she happened to be GTA's "type".
It would be interesting to learn whether she continued to believe and spout the same church cliches as she later observed the various systemic failures. I suspect that at some point she may have awoken, but we'll probably never know, unless nck recognizes the letter as having been written by his wife, and provides an update.
The update is that this is quite the apt description of both SHT's and my experience by observing our peers.
I doubt the both of us would have corresponded with HQ. Speaking for myself I would never rat like this but did seriously doubt my peers when attending a certain Feast site and see the attendance numbers fluctuate per day by 3000 persons, see alcohol related traffic accidents by low life youth's and "secret partying going on." I was already in law school at the time and knew by extrapolation that the future of the church had zero chance.
As for my wife of 25 years. She is yet to see the recorded Bobby Fisher documentary with me as I need to break news one day over how I was raised.
Nck
1973 was a good time to extricate oneself from the Armstrong Doomsday Cult - just before T.S.H.T.F.
He says he's NOT publishing the letter - yet it was put in a "bulletin" sent to all ministers?!
OK, it's not the Plain Truth. But if that's not a "publication", what is?
Sad.....
Letter said ... "If we would get an Imperial School".
Sorry, but Imperial Schools and even Ambassador College were not much different than your "worldly school" and had 98% of those going there leaving the faith as well.
This cited letter is a one-off. It is an atypical appeal for a local, church operated Imperial School. I do not remember that idea ever being expressed among young people in the WCG. GTA presents the letter as an accurate reflection of how young people in WCG felt but it is not. It was selected by GTA to beat the drum for WCG operated and controlled institutions and how desperately people want to get into these schools. It is a kind of "pat on the back" for the WCG administration and ministry at the expense of a stressed young person. A "feel good" anecdote.
There was a strict sorting of young people in the WCG back then. There were those who were AC-bound and those who were not. Those who were AC-bound were the children of ministers and prominent church families or were simply physically attractive. They were important. The rest were not.
I noticed many times from context that when ministers referred from the pulpit to the "youth of the church"or "church young people", they were actually referring to AC students and the AC-bound clique exclusively. Other young people were of no human worth and were simply expected to get a job and support the lifestyle of the rich and famous through tithes and offerings and adulation. These valueless kids understood this implicit view. (That is to say, they were not the stooges that the administration and ministry strategically desired them to be.) And they did not long hang around the WCG - if they were not wholly crippled by brain-washing.
I was not aware of the other youth in the church when I was a youth in the chuch because I was isolated in my home at the time. I was the only one in my high school attending the cult and I was not allowed to participate in any high school activities. Instead I was my father's slave.
I do understand NEOs perspective.
I was not so much AC focussed perhaps for the reasons neo cited.
Personally I liked to read the bi weekly worldwide news and its predecessors (as most here have gathered I have an extreme memory) where in each and every section high achievers and special youth were featured who achieved well in high school.
To this day, whenever I hear a placename my brain fills in the state abreviation. This much I liked to know about my peers in Ark, Sask, Ont, OH, NSWales, Canb, Pretoria, Lake Geneva.
Nck
I don't ever remember any clamor for local Imperial Schools among my teenage peers in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland WCG congregations. With the combined church circuit weekly attendance of 1,200 people, we were one of the larger church areas where it could have been tried. Of course, the logistics of getting school students scattered all over the region to school daily make it impractical. It makes me wonder what the true motivation was of publishing this letter in the Bulletin.
Richard
Those of us who attended SEP were considered to be provisional students of Imperial. If I recall correctly, the Imperial yearbook was called the "Diplomat". SEP students were in group pictures, and we received our own copies. I had many friends, and enjoyed being able to remember them through the yearbooks. We'd take our Diplomats to the Feast and have our friends sign them! We got the most autographs when the Feast was centralized in Big Sandy. At that time, I could have gone to any local congregation in the USA, and would have known several people from SEP. I'm talking about Washington state, New Orleans, California, Chicago, St. Louis MO, New York City, or as Richard pointed out, Baltimore in the pre-"Wire" days. Little did we know that we were HWA's version of Hitler Youth, and were being programmed, observed, and tested to determine how we could be exploited.
SHT must be Hebrew. The vowel is missing.
St Louis MO. Hahahah. I told you I get a kick out of that through my wiring.
Nck
(you are right about sep being mini ac)
Quite the shocker for those able to attend international sep sites, where boys and girls would freely mingle, have unmonitored conversations after activities, experience harmonious race relations as far as teenagers go (except for the south african one for legal purpose and sa ac students would receive harsh treatment at british customs) and have a sip of cider at 16 or 18. Being admonished to stop having your mom make your bed once you got back at home.
On top of that have a philipine ex marine assemble the obstacle course, to toughen one up for life, prepared with extra care for those he knew would decide not to remain with the church.
Yes, I heard something about a paddle. As I remember reserved for 16 year olds sticking a foot in the juice, steal a can of beer or hit a counsellor in the face for being a spoiled brat.
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