It is fascinating to see how the Church of God movement has totally lost control of its narrative and its members. Once able to keep its inner workings fairly secret from the world, it is now out in the open for all to see. These podcasts, blogs, books, videos, and movies about Armstrongism bring to light the darkness of the soul of the church.
The church did serious damage to tens of thousands of people over the decades and so many today want to sweep that under the rug, but are no longer can. Even slapping the label as dissent, apostate, deceived, never converted, Laodicean, or being under the bonds of Satan, no longer has any power.
Even more appalling to many diehard church members is when women speak up about abuse. How dare they!
Enjoy!!!!!
I love it when women speak up about being abused in the church. It really pisses off the misogynists that they cannot keep women under control.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to hear these clips. I believe my take would be softer than those calling themselves "apostate sisters", particularly regarding Christianity. I am thankful that I did not embrace armstrongism until my teen years as I recognized and experienced the good of the Faith we have in Jesus before the COG's false teaching. I loved the Lord years before Armstrongism and continue to love the Lord after passing through the dark forest of Armstrongism.
ReplyDeleteMike
Hey at least the women weren't told to wear a burkah
ReplyDeleteStepford wives mentality is a invisible burka for the ministry first ladies.
Delete2.42, But the women had to wear an ideological burka. To many outsiders, the church looked great. Some old timers who listened to HWA on the radio, still sing praise to the man. But they are ignorant of the galley slaves in his nice looking galley. They were constantly abused and verbally whipped by "gawds ministers."
ReplyDeleteOrganized religion (including Armstrongism) has created far more atheists than science ever did.
ReplyDeleteIf true then God's people are outnumbered in such arena's and God would adjust situations accordingly.
DeleteBeware the ministry and fellow members they could be afflicted with the disease of atheism.
Another issue is the generational one... as parents pass their religion onto their children, the astute among them start recognizing what does and doesn't work about what theyve inherited. With a pervasive system like Armstrongism that tries to get its claws into so much of your life, the likelihood of rejection gets very high.
DeleteWhat I've seen over the years, RSK, is that some or many of the original parents either experienced or thought they experienced some sort of vision which led them into the old WCG (Can't speak for the splinters because I was gone for 20 years before the splinter rebellion.)
DeleteThe kids had no such "vision". Speaking only for myself, i was wondering how this could be possible in the case of my Mom, as I compared her before and after behavior. I experienced her turning from a fairly good parent prior to WCG, into a monster, and wondered how God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit could have been responible for that. For years I tried to lay the blame on the parents and kept the church somewhat pure in my mind, but at best they were not a very discerning group, because they ordained my Dad as a deacon and then as a Local Elder, and he was still doing things like throwing my younger brother through a plate glass window. But, they were all smiles and sweetness and light at church services.
Supposedly, we children were going to have a special part in the end time events. My mom always stressed this, but some times she would become discouraged and would tell us she wouldn't be surpised if our role ended up being on the side of the Beast. When God failed to validate HWA in 1972-75, i realized that my suspicions about visions, behavior, and the Church were totally valid and true. I suspect others who were second generation realized the same.
I thought the APOSTATE SISTERS were a girl group with Motown back in the 60s!
ReplyDeleteMaybe they sang with Prophetess Sister Mary Oliphant & Sister Rosetta Stone of the Apostolate Apostate with Tony Orlando & Dawn
DeleteLove Rosetta Stone's music!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteDon't you mean Sister Rosetta Tharpe? She's actually in the R&R Hall of Fame. Google her. Pretty Cool!
ReplyDelete