Glynn Washington is a highly successful podcaster, hosting shows such as Snap Judgment, Spooked and Heaven’s Gate. But I bet you didn’t know that his storytelling style is highly influenced by cult leader, Herbert W. Armstrong of the Worldwide Church of God. How did Glynn end up in this cult? What did he take from Armstrong? And what was it like to be in a black family that joined a “white supremacist Jesus cult?” Glynn Washington takes us through the answers to these questions on episode three of Worldwide: The Unchosen Church.
Hosted, written and produced by Dr. Tricia Jenkins. Sound design and editing by Thirteen Media.
Special thanks to Glynn Washington for his participation in this episode. Glynn is the host of his own podcast Snap Judgment, which can be found on Apple podcasts, or wherever podcasts are hosted.
14 comments:
If the cult was "white supremacist" that's because "the chosen people" (Jews) were supremacists (and still are). The church just got it from the Jews. But since Christians have a different theology, "neither Jew nor Greek" the whole "white supremacist" card has been played and played and is getting worn-out and discredits the site. Blacks were generally treated very well in the cult.
Anon 1:21 no they weren't because HWA he did a lot of racism in the church.
I've read WWCOG literature for decades and attended services for a decade. White supremacy was never explicitly or implicitly taught. If church members had these attitudes, it had nothing to do with church teachings. Over and over God in the OT called Israel His chosen people. He gave them special blessings, but demanded a higher moral standard, together with a stricter judgement. Calling this arrangement white supremacy is egalitarianism run amuck.
It was one of the very few churches in America where blacks and whites attended together and sat together every week. Even with its many and awful flaws, including its doctrines on Israelites and Canaanites, even in the Deep South congregations were integrated.
Anon 1:21:00 PM PDT
‘because the “chosen people” (Jews) were supremacists (and still are),
needs addressing.
Certainly the Jewish Talmud makes claims about Israel being ‘chosen’ and therefore superior from those non Jews around her.
And the Talmud is quite vocal in its claims, appallingly so.
And this in opposition to the clear directives of the Tanach.
While many Orthodox Jews hold to this, the majority of Jews would agree they are ‘chosen’ but in no way superior to others.
Indeed they look at the Davidic royal line and acknowledge the many intermarriages with gentiles.
They were given the oracles of God and most would say they have failed quite spectacularly over the centuries to keep it as required.
Their history is a reflection of the failings of humanity as a whole in spite of their calling. They have suffered deeply because of it as have we all.
I have to agree with the dissenting comments that, in my 31 very-well traveled years in ACOGs white supremacy isn't one of their faults. For the giant and often known rackets, misteachings, lies, power grabs, etc, racism has only rarely ever been one of them.
This is one of the myths that the church loved to broadcast out as truth, just like they did, "There are no divorces in the church" Both were lies.
A broad swath of the country's non-COG churches were integrated decades before WCG did in some areas. But I also remember eas the fact that African American members in the early days of the church were only permitted to go to Big Sandy for the Feast, this was under the pretext that some Feast sites would face problems if they let the Black folk attend there, yet they kept picking those sites for the Feast.
Far too COG members seem to love to invalidate the experiences of Black members of the church.
Forget about the PR explanations, what about the optics?
Explain L.A. #2, a segregated headquarters church for Black and Chicano brethren and employees of the church and college during the 1970s in a non-racist, non-Jim Crow area of the country, California.
Explain the many years in which children of Black and Chicano emplyees were not allowed to send their children to Imperial Schools, not only in the South (Texas), but also Pasadena, CA.
Explain why Armstrongite literature on B.I. has always been very popular amongst white separatist groups such as militias.
To my knowledge, the church never encouraged mistreatment of minority members, nor hatred. But, clearly the church was behind the national curve and did not do as much as they could have done to acknowledge minorities as full and equal human beings. I mean, they should have led the way in this as God's True Church, right? HWA was writing articles thundering that "God's way is the way of segregation!"
It seems the doctrine was more racist than the members. The members, black and white, seemed to largely accept the racist doctrines, but from my experience still viewed one another as brothers and firstfruits.
The wcg was wrong in so many areas, but racism among the membership outside of pasadena did not seem to be a thing generally.
Agree.
Every time I watch Glynn I see the same thing, a blatant attempt to paint the 60-70's with 2022 woke. It makes me question his entire experience and whether in fact he's legitimate or not!
I don't understand the sudden emergence of the word "woke" as a pejorative. Back in those same '60s-70s, I worked as an insurance agent in a primarily black territory. I was blessed with an exposure to a massive number of people whom I probably would not have even met, otherwise. In fact, all day, every day, except when I came home at night, or was in the office, everyone with whom I interacted was black. To better understand, I subscribed to Ebony Magazine, and sometimes read Jet. I wanted to do the best job I possibly could.
There are a number of very complex issues of which I became conscious, things that I myself never had to deal with, and I did my best not to perpetuate the badness or ignorance that was causing people pain. It boggles my mind that willfully ignorant people who are hell bent on perpetuating a racist status quo are now making sport of those of us who have made an effort to understand, and who are trying to participate in the solution, and they call us "woke" as if that is bad or undesirable. I see this as the continuing legacy of a white nationalist president, who gave people like himself permission and cover to come out of their ratholes and reverse all of the progress that we as a society have made over recent decades.
It is not wrong-headed thinking to take the truths of our more enlightened times today, and to use them as standards with which to reprocess the evils and cruelties of the past, so that we don't make the same mistakes as were made in the past. That is our only protection against the ignoramusses who would like to take control, reverse all the progress, and if we let them run away with it, institute an ethnic cleansing program right here on our own shores. That's not my America!
Anon,
I was with your line of thinking for a bit. I believe “woke” can be applied to my recognizing the falseness of Armstrongism. I’m glad you thought it important to better understand African Americans.
When woke requires support of CRT, of sexual deviancy, children exposed to drag queens and such, it becomes pejorative.
When woke leads you to believe supporters of the more conservative party are supporters of ethnic cleansing that is drinking the koolaid.
Anon 1024
. . ."progress that we as a society have made"?
. . "truth of our more enlightened times"?
You place a lot of FAITH in THIS WORLD'S solutions and narrative don't you? That's ok, that is your prerogative. The real truth is, we are all racist by nature and the only solution is the gospel of Jesus Christ, not the opinions of MAN!
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