We have reported many stories here over the years from people who have been abused by Dave Pack and his cult. In spite of literally THOUSANDS of documented lies, Dave, in the eyes of his followers has the "sure word of prophecy" and as a result, they fall for his endless lies as if they were true. Whatever he says is directly inspired by the creature god he follows. Members have been bankrupted, marriages broken and families ripped apart all due to Dave's lies.
Exit & Support Network has a letter up today from a former child survivor of the Restored Church of God cult. Another life has been appallingly ripped apart and family relationships destroyed because of Dave Pack.
On several Facebook pages, there have been hundreds of stories from people who have shared how their lives had been ripped apart by Armstrongism over the decades, with many lamenting childhoods lost. From sexual abuse by pedophiles in the church, physical abuse from daily beatings and spankings, to spiritual abuse, the stories are deep and painful. Exit & Support Network, The Painful Truth, this blog, and hundreds of personal blogs have documented these horror stories over the years and yet people still sit there week after week letting this megalomaniac control their lives.
Life Has Been Full of Turmoil After Being a Child Survivor of RCG:
August 3, 2021
I only found this site Friday evening. I left RCG at 16 and since then life has been full of turmoil, counselling at 18, sleeping issues, moments of deep self condemnation and so on. And now I’m 20 and still have moments where I feel overwhelmed with thoughts of what I witnessed and went through along with my younger sibling. Even to this day I find it almost a mental tug of war to accept a shift on a Saturday (even when funds are running low). Not to mention the flashbacks of abuse and domestic violence that I experienced and witnessed first hand. I really wish to find others who left RCG (or other splinters) because funnily enough I still consider so many as extended family. It saddens me when I think about all those who “died in faith”; all those who turned their back on their blood family for the “spiritual family.”
I remember my [parent’s] word “If you leave this, I want nothing to do with you, you are excommunicated from Christ and His government,” etc., etc (bear in mind this all began when I was approximately 7-9 years old when I was just starting out as a child in RCG). I completed all the children’s Bible studies, fasted from my first Day of Atonement (as other children and some adults ate), gave up all my worldly dreams all for the sake of acceptance by my [parent]. How is that in anyway shape or form the love of Christ or God?
As well as the multiple years of being told to “abase and humble yourself,” “we are dust, nothing,” “we must be spiritually de-leavened,” and then in the next breath be told we are “God’s chosen” and “true spiritual Israel”; “God is a family and He will make us gods too.”
I feel I’ve jumped around from topic to topic quite frantically, but the more poems, child survivor testimonies and even seeing some ex-ministers for example speak out about things over 8 years ago, it’s just back to back making me feel stupid for the childhood lost and desperate for my [parent] to finally see sense.
I just wish I could rekindle some type of faith again in something because in all honesty RCG not only destroyed my idea of religion but God himself. I’m no atheist but the thought of the Christian God or the Islamic God (any form of so called Abrahamic faith) just makes me lose hope.
I managed to have good dialogue with [a relative] and they explained that they came across this site but didn’t tell me because they felt I would react negatively. But, in fact, it’s just made me feel better, that I’m not the only one, and just from the poems I read in the evening have eased my mind and heart.
Thank you ESN for making this site.Thank you very, very much. I feel that finally I have answers that make sense and I accept my role as a child who was in a cult. –Child survivor of RCG in UK [name withheld]
23 comments:
The "you're the only one with a problem" is an abusive cult ploy. The ministers hide from their congregation that they attack all their members with this accusation. It's used to beat down the members for the sake of control.
It's plain murder.
Wow, I held back tears reading this. Knowing that i could have come across this person at AYC and not knowing that they felt this way. A little person battling a battle far bigger than they are suppose to.
I'm so sorry this has happened to you. Terribly and truly sorry.
You did your part and you gave what you were suppose to give. Now it's time for you to seek your own identity. Whatever you want it to be. Do it fearlessly!
You can live a life outside of RCG and religion and do it well. You can still manage to give back. Just not in RCG's definition of "Give", which quite frankly is abuse.
Since I left back in 2015 I have not returned to any COG, other faith, or religion. But i do still carry with me some of the basic principles that i've learned, i try my hardest to bear the fruits of the spirit, and to follow that moral compass that kept me out of trouble and doing well all the years when i was myself a young teenager in RCG.
I no longer drive myself sick condemning myself for every little thing i do. Your challenge now will be to unlearn that critical mind set that RCG indoctrinated us with. Self-criticism and criticism of others who dont see "as we see".
Do not hold yourself back any longer. You can make up for lost time now! You can craft your own life. And no matter how hard it will be to deal with your family, be patient and never ever ever ever cut them off or turn away from them.
I saw no way for me to move forward, my mind would burden me with doubts and with dreams of me having made the wrong decision, or in the tribulation or being judged. There will come a point where all that will fade away and as you choose to do good and live peacefully but knowing yourself and nurturing yourself scriptures will take on a different meaning. They won't be so "dark", they won't be so "exclusive", and they won't feel "fearful".
It's a peculiar thing that now you will be on the outside shining as a light for your parents to come from out of the darkness that is RCG. Let your light shine!
A word of sympathy for the first century Circumcison Party. First, you never really leave a cult. The indoctrinaton is always with you. At most, you become a recovering cult member. Over the years you come to recognize cult thinking. At first, after leaving a cult, cult-think is like a corrosive intrusion on your reasonable thought processes. But after some time, cult-think can mitigate as you work through the issues and it can become mostly a nuisance. So life can improve for ex-culties but it will never be 100 percent in this lifetime. I base this on my personal experience.
The Jews of the Circumcison Party are the villainous heavies of Pauline theology. But consider that they were well indoctrinated in Judaism. Some were described as Pharisees who believed. They made a huge step in the right direction - they believed in Jesus as the Christ. But the force of their indoctrination was so strong that they could not carry through all the way. While it is easy to see the us-them division between Christians and the Circumcision Party, it is not easy to acknowledge that the Circumcision Party consisted of people who were somehow damaged, lame and halt. I am not suggesting that Judaism was a cult. I am suggesting that some followers received it in that way and sought to sustain it in that way.
I can't even say that life always improves when you leave a cult. Some people make a lateral move and become atheists or join other cults or never think about the spiritual part of life again. Paul never cut the Circumcison Party any slack. And he was there so knows better than I do what the situation was. But I do experience a note of melancholy, almost two millenia later, when I think of the Circumcision Party and those like them. Siempre en la lucha.
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THE FALSE PROPHETS AND OTHER WRONG GUESSERS
(The Evil, the Bad, and Others)
THE EVIL
The wickedest people on the so-called COG scene today.
Gerald R. Flurry: “Little Book” plagiarist, true gospel of the kingdom of God suppressor, “new commission” gospel perverter, “much new revelation” inventor, Deuteronomy 18:18-19 identity thief and That (False) Prophet, editor and changer of HWA's writings, “No Contact Policy” family wrecker, new pet rock doctrinal switcharooer, and promoter of Irish dancing to waste everyone's time.
David C. Pack: A lying, thieving, thieving, thieving liar. Dave self-promoted himself to apostle, Joshua, Elijah, That Prophet, and is currently working on becoming Messiah. Dave the “common” thief strings people along with endless new prophetic date guesses that always fail in spite of his many reasons and so-called “proofs” for why they are true and cannot possibly be wrong this time.
THE BAD
Not as evil as Flurry or Pack but still much too bad to tolerate.
Ronald E. Weinland: Ron wrote prophetic fantasy fiction nonsense books to support his family's travelling, shopping, and dining out. Ron claimed to be one of the Two Witnesses in Revelation and said that his wife was the second witness who would witness (that is, watch) him witnessing. His prophetic date guesses all failed and he has not yet received any of the power that the real Two Witnesses will have.
Robert J. Thiel: A mentally and spiritually challenged guy who mistakenly thought that demons and pagans would help him to guess future trivia correctly so he could pretend to be a real prophet. Bob claimed that his requested anointing for a health problem actually anointed him to the office of a prophet.
OTHER WRONG GUESSERS
These guys do not claim to be prophets, but still like to guess wrong.
Alton B. “Don” Billingsley: Don is an “old fool” who suffers from Prediction Addiction. He said in a sermon that God had revealed to him that Hillary Clinton was going to win the 2016 presidential election. He continues to make up more prophetic nonsense because he cannot simply admit that he was wrong.
Norbert Link: Can any good ever come from “the lawyer”? He ignored all cautions, said that Donald Trump was going to win the 2020 presidential election, and “got egg on his face.” Maybe a lawyer could argue that Donald Trump did technically win the election with the most legitimate votes but that “election irregularities” stole it from him.
Dear Child Survivor,
You have my deepest sympathy for what you have suffered, and continue to suffer. I urge you to care for yourself, nourish yourself, and find help from others who are experienced and knowledgeable about cults.
But carefully consider who you seek help from, because sadly, there are people out there waiting to take advantage of you in your fragile condition.
I suggest that you just rest and heal. And when the time is right, try talking to God in all honesty... He can bear your burdens even if you don't understand why He let things happen
as they did. He can be a compassionate and loving Father to you. You have probably never heard of Him as He actually is.
Sometime, when you feel the time is right, you might also want to read the New Testament in the privacy of your own home, asking God to reveal truth to you.
There are preachers of truth out there, like David Jeremiah.
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you.
By the authority and power vested in me as the High Pontiff , Grand Earl, Chief Apostle and Regulatory Prophet Deluxe of the "Land of Nod, East of Eden" I hereby pronounce DAVE PACK as "disfellowshipped and marked".
Anyone who has half a brain will now avoid and distance themselves in order to preserve sanity, finances and family.
As someone whose relationships with my family and friends have suffered tremendously since leaving an ACOG splinter, I can empathize, sympathize and offer a few observations that may be of use to this person and others. I don't want to give you a false sense of hope, but I do want to share with you the peace that we can have in Christ. Unfortunately, your parents and former friends may never leave RCG, and they may never again accept you or embrace you as one of their own. This is an extremely hard notion to come to terms with, but it is one that you will have to accept if you are to have any chance of moving forward.
It may seem counterintuitive to you now - it depends on where you're at on the grief/anger/acceptance continuum. Even so, I have found the Serenity Prayer which has been used by alcoholics and addicts for many years to be very helpful in coming to terms with what we've experienced. You know - the one that goes like this: "God grant me the serenity To accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference." Read more at: https://www.lords-prayer-words.com/famous_prayers/god_grant_me_the_serenity.html
The ACOGs so twist/pervert the concepts of God, love, compassion, kindness, mercy and forgiveness that your former associates may never seek to mend their ties with you. In fact, they may never come to see/understand that they have wronged/hurt you! In their twisted perspective, they are showing you love/compassion by shunning you! This is where the old truism "forgiveness is for the forgiver" comes in handy. Since you have no control over what they do and feel (a thing you cannot change), you must deal with that which you do have some measure of control over - yourself.
Moreover, having been down this road myself, I have to tell you that this will NOT be easy! Unfortunately, it is not something that you will be able to snap your fingers or twitch your nose and achieve. It will require lots of self-reflection, intense research (you're free to once again exercise your intellectual curiosity) and you will probably have to reach out to others for help and assistance (you're going to have to build a new support network for yourself). However, while it will not be easy (and will probably be a lifelong process), it is probably going to be the only way for you to move forward and have a meaningful and rewarding life of your own. It would be wonderful for your former family and friends to repent, but you cannot count on that happening.
I hope that you see the hope and potential for peace in what I've written - that's what I want for you and myself (and all of the others who have been hurt in this way). Hope and peace are possible, but we have to be realistic/down to earth. I could paint a picture of sunshine and rainbows, but those things are only possible with hard work and determination. The good news is that it depends much more on you than it does on them! Anyway, I hope this helps, and may God bless you on your journey!
Dear Banned by hwa, so you want us to believe that members went bankrupt , marriages smashed and broken in bits and families made waste of all because of relation to Mr Pack's "lies" ?
Do you have any actual objective evidence of this besides just empty claims?
It is possible that some of the claims on exist support happened but I want proof.
True [Baloney] at 10:23 AM said... “Dear Banned by hwa, so you want us to believe that members went bankrupt , marriages smashed and broken in bits and families made waste of all because of relation to Mr Pack's 'lies' ? Do you have any actual objective evidence of this besides just empty claims? It is possible that some of the claims on exist support happened but I want proof."
Good for you for demanding “proof” that there is something wrong with David Pack and his RCG cult. But what is “proof”? Dave Pack routinely makes up dozens and dozens of so-called “proofs” that do not really prove what he claims to be proving.
My humble suggestion to you is to remain in Dave Pack's RCG cult and keep looking until you find enough “proof” that something is wrong there to personally satisfy your own self. I truly believe that you will find enough proof sooner or later. In fact, I believe that virtually everyone who goes with Dave Pack eventually gets all the proof they need, and more, that something is seriously wrong with Dave Pack and his RCG cult.
So, continue to go to the RCG cult and keep looking for the proof. You might just be a “slow learner.”
True Christian 10:23
You’re an idiot. Either you are Dave Pack or a suck up to him. Who needs to give you proof. Who cares if you don’t believe what people say about being a member in RCG. Dave’s members have been robbed of their savings and retirement. Marriages have been wrecked. You are the type member that helped me make up my mind to never attend a splinter group again. Pompous self-righteous jack asses like you make me want to puke.
To the young person who wrote the letter to exit and support site. Glad you left RCG. Take your time, there is a beautiful world out there. I am not talking about the violence and natural disasters. Mentally ill people will always cause others to suffer. There will be and always have been natural disasters. I am talking about do unto others as you would have them do unto. There are good people in this world. Surround yourself with those people. There is life outside of a COG group. Wake up and smell the roses.
JimAZ
You don't need to be a minister to mark people. The bible says mark and avoid those who cause division in the church. That instruction applies to everyone. So mark your minister and avoid him.
True Baloney wrote:
"Dear Banned by hwa, so you want us to believe that members went bankrupt , marriages smashed and broken in bits and families made waste of all because of relation to Mr Pack's "lies" ?
Do you have any actual objective evidence of this besides just empty claims?
It is possible that some of the claims on exist support happened but I want proof."
This is proof you are nothing but a troll and not a member of Pack's cult. Are you too daft to look at the other articles on this blog that goes into great detail on how Pack has broken up marriages and families? Are you too daft to read the stories from people who have lost everything because spouses and family members gave Pack all of their money? Those stories are here and are also all over other XCOG blogs.
True fraud is too independent minded to be a member of Dave's group. Any member that "wanted proof" and "actual objective evidence" would have abandoned the RCG long ago.
True Fraud is Troll Guy.
12.59 PM
Excellent point. And not forgetting deacons as well.
To true christian, Do you want proof? Should I send you my divorce decree? Should I send you the transcripts of the conversation in my lawyers office when my husband, a member of RCG, told me that he wanted his half out of our 24 yr marriage? The only way to split assets in a community property state is either by legal separation or divorce, do you want the RCW that defines that? I have the papers where Pack has written that a spouse is to take their half of the assets and send it in and not tell the other spouse. Just what in the hell do you call that? I have the papers written by Pack where he told members if they didn't send common then they didn't have salvation, he is not Jesus Christ, he does not have the authority to tell another person that. I also have the papers that tell members to take out loans and not to worry about paying it back because they wouldn't have to repay the bank. Is that not fraud? We got calls and emails from church administrators wanting to know when they were going to get my kids inheritance money, if you want a name, I can give it to you. I'm the one that answered the phone when he called and yes, it was more than once. As far as I'm concerned, Pack can drop dead and it will not be soon enough.
I really wish I could talk to this person! It seems like I’m the same age of them and might have even gone to AYC at the same time. I left a year ago and also feel really lost and hurt. Anyone know how to get in touch? It says they’d like to but looks like there’s no way to reply on exit support network.
I really wish I could talk to this person! It seems like I’m the same age of them and might have even gone to AYC at the same time. I left a year ago and also feel really lost and hurt. Anyone know how to get in touch? It says they’d like to but looks like there’s no way to reply on exit support network.
Attn: "True Christian" (LOL) August 4, 2021 at 10:23 AM:
Want proof?
How about this family?
http://ififorgettotellyou.com/storm-the-beach/
true c,
You tell me why his own children will have nothing to do with him. They all needed time to process their lives and often went through a difficult season or two after seeing just what a liar and manipulator their father was. But, it seems their lives are now going better. I pray that they are.
The thing called “true Christian” is an obvious troll ....don’t feed it or fall for it
I 💕LOVE💕 Tonto’s comment!! AWESOME!! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 i SECOND the Motion!! 😂👍
I would STRONGLY suggest reading the “Ambassador Report” for FULL DISCLOSURE!! Dave Pack is NOT the first CULT and nor will he be the last!!
Dear “True C........,
You obviously need a NAME CHANGE!! How about TRUE MORON????
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