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
Most important line... Cults use formal and informal methods of control , to discourage external scrutiny, and internal disagreement through the use of inner circles and hierarchy.
The video does list some reasons why people join extreme, high-demand cults, but since all the reasons they list are also reasons why people join mainstream christian churches also, they aren't the reasons why people are attracted to cults in particular.
While my grandfather only ever had a passing relationship with WCG, he successfully "recruited" my mom, who is still captive to cult thinking to this day. But my dad was recruited directly over the radio. He has only himself to blame for wanting to sign up for a cult and spend his life trapped and encapsulated in a cult. He is a guy who found the thought of joining an extreme, high-demand cult attractive without any external coercion.
Frankly, I think people join cults like this because they are primarily motivated by fear, coupled with poorer than average critical thinking skills. It is the same reason why people believe conspiracy theories, especially health-related conspiracy theories. The underlying mental current is one of fear, combined with an inability to tell the difference between credible claims backed up by evidence from a cockamamie idea just pulled from an ass.
Bottom line: my parents are fearful idiots. Hate to say it, but it's true, and it's the reason why they've given their lives and a fortune to a high-demand cult, rather than a less extreme version of the same fraud.
The early church could have easily been considered a dangerous cult. Oh wait - THEY WERE!
Most gave their personal property to the church. They pledged their lives in baptism and a few ended up giving their lives - and quite a few spent time in prison.
Are you suggesting that modern orthodox "Christianity" doesn't require the same commitment? Easier to join and participate in? Perhaps its not the same faith?
I think you are attempting to conflate the New Testament Church with the suffering in the CoGs. Please don't. They are NOT the same. At all. In fact, Christians in the Middle East who are being persecuted and martyred because they won't deny Christ have way more in common with the NT Apostles than anyone in the CoGs. The suffering experienced by people in the CoGs comes from WITHIN the CoG, they are not (regardless of their fearmongering rhetoric) persecuted by the world. In fact, they are more likely to treat a worldly person with disdain than vice-versa. And before you write me off as some God-hating heathen, I still believe in and observe the Sabbath, Holy days, Clean and unclean meat laws, etc. I even attend a CoG from time to time. But it is toxic and people there are brainwashed.
Paul inflicted plenty of in house pain on the unmarried who wanted to marry but he thought it unwise and told them it would be better if they were as himself, single, and all that went with that nonsense. Having all things common for a time didn't help the in house crowd either. Nor did living on the edge of time is short and soon which was not true either.
If the Apostles weren't who they said they were it would make them a cult. The CoGs claims to be Gods true church and even the continuation of THE Apostolic church...I think they are claiming to be something they aren't. The Apostles and early Christians weren't paranoid about persecution their lives were in actual mortal danger. When the early believers sold their possessions and give the earnings to the Apostles to distribute, it resulted in the eliviation of poverty among members at that time..Does giving tithes and offering have the same result in the CoGs?
People join abberant philosophical systems for lack of trust in existing systems.
We see this late sixties with the counter culture/youth moment or today with the alt right. They rise in times of trouble and uncertainty (crises, war vietnam) and provide clear answers
People most susceptible are those from broken or defunct families, especially when the father is not functioning as a loving person.
Easy and abberant solutions and a new family is what they offer. So all can fall prey within the right circumstance.
After that it either confirmation biaa, loss aversion, brainwash (sometimes including drugs), rule of reciprocity, group think and pressure etc etc that keeps people in.
The question that remains is "What is a cult?" As a kid reading all those books mentioning wcg as a cult I knew that wcg had traits of a cult, but I figured at the time that it was a good cult. As a teen learning about government by man I knew the governance system in wcg was wrong. I believed that a corporate system would rise and fall with its leaders and regarded hwa as some type of religious steve jobs. I would not tolerate a figure like steve jobs anywhere near my presence, but I am using his products to satisfaction. Go figure.
As an adult I turned out an independent thinker seeing through the flaws of those that rose above us and compassion for those that have dependency of mind for whatever reason.
9 comments:
Most important line... Cults use formal and informal methods of control , to discourage external scrutiny, and internal disagreement through the use of inner circles and hierarchy.
Pretty much defines HWA/WCG/AC, in spite of the false label they claim (God’s True Church).
And they all said “Oh, but that’s different!”
BB
The video does list some reasons why people join extreme, high-demand cults, but since all the reasons they list are also reasons why people join mainstream christian churches also, they aren't the reasons why people are attracted to cults in particular.
While my grandfather only ever had a passing relationship with WCG, he successfully "recruited" my mom, who is still captive to cult thinking to this day. But my dad was recruited directly over the radio. He has only himself to blame for wanting to sign up for a cult and spend his life trapped and encapsulated in a cult. He is a guy who found the thought of joining an extreme, high-demand cult attractive without any external coercion.
Frankly, I think people join cults like this because they are primarily motivated by fear, coupled with poorer than average critical thinking skills. It is the same reason why people believe conspiracy theories, especially health-related conspiracy theories. The underlying mental current is one of fear, combined with an inability to tell the difference between credible claims backed up by evidence from a cockamamie idea just pulled from an ass.
Bottom line: my parents are fearful idiots. Hate to say it, but it's true, and it's the reason why they've given their lives and a fortune to a high-demand cult, rather than a less extreme version of the same fraud.
Maybe we should ask the First Century apostles.
The early church could have easily been considered a dangerous cult. Oh wait - THEY WERE!
Most gave their personal property to the church. They pledged their lives in baptism and a few ended up giving their lives - and quite a few spent time in prison.
Are you suggesting that modern orthodox "Christianity" doesn't require the same commitment? Easier to join and participate in? Perhaps its not the same faith?
I think you are attempting to conflate the New Testament Church with the suffering in the CoGs. Please don't. They are NOT the same. At all. In fact, Christians in the Middle East who are being persecuted and martyred because they won't deny Christ have way more in common with the NT Apostles than anyone in the CoGs. The suffering experienced by people in the CoGs comes from WITHIN the CoG, they are not (regardless of their fearmongering rhetoric) persecuted by the world. In fact, they are more likely to treat a worldly person with disdain than vice-versa. And before you write me off as some God-hating heathen, I still believe in and observe the Sabbath, Holy days, Clean and unclean meat laws, etc. I even attend a CoG from time to time. But it is toxic and people there are brainwashed.
Paul inflicted plenty of in house pain on the unmarried who wanted to marry but he thought it unwise and told them it would be better if they were as himself, single, and all that went with that nonsense. Having all things common for a time didn't help the in house crowd either. Nor did living on the edge of time is short and soon which was not true either.
If the Apostles weren't who they said they were it would make them a cult. The CoGs claims to be Gods true church and even the continuation of THE Apostolic church...I think they are claiming to be something they aren't. The Apostles and early Christians weren't paranoid about persecution their lives were in actual mortal danger. When the early believers sold their possessions and give the earnings to the Apostles to distribute, it resulted in the eliviation of poverty among members at that time..Does giving tithes and offering have the same result in the CoGs?
I didn't see the video.
In my observation.
People join abberant philosophical systems for lack of trust in existing systems.
We see this late sixties with the counter culture/youth moment or today with the alt right. They rise in times of trouble and uncertainty (crises, war vietnam) and provide clear answers
People most susceptible are those from broken or defunct families, especially when the father is not functioning as a loving person.
Easy and abberant solutions and a new family is what they offer. So all can fall prey within the right circumstance.
After that it either confirmation biaa, loss aversion, brainwash (sometimes including drugs), rule of reciprocity, group think and pressure etc etc that keeps people in.
The question that remains is "What is a cult?" As a kid reading all those books mentioning wcg as a cult I knew that wcg had traits of a cult, but I figured at the time that it was a good cult. As a teen learning about government by man I knew the governance system in wcg was wrong. I believed that a corporate system would rise and fall with its leaders and regarded hwa as some type of religious steve jobs. I would not tolerate a figure like steve jobs anywhere near my presence, but I am using his products to satisfaction. Go figure.
As an adult I turned out an independent thinker seeing through the flaws of those that rose above us and compassion for those that have dependency of mind for whatever reason.
Nck
Well said SL!
Kevin McMillen
Kevinmcmill64@gmail.com
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