From the late Gavin Rumney's Ambassador Files
The WCG Talmud
The following list was compiled by Robert Gerringer, and first published by Ambassador Report in the 70's. It represents some of the customs and traditions of the Worldwide Church of God up until about 1973. How times change!
Do not use medicines or drugs.
Never wear sideburns below the middle of the ear, or comb your hair over the forehead.
Never dance without holding your partner and don't wiggle your hips.
Never listen to hard rock music.
Do not contribute to charities (Easter Seals, March of Dimes, etc.).
Women should wear skirts long enough to at least touch the top of the knee.
Women must wear their hair long enough to cover the nape of the neck.
Never vote in any elections. Never join a political party.
Avoid doctors and hospitals. Never receive a blood transfusion. Do not donate blood.
Never serve in the military in any capacity.
Never celebrate Christmas, Easter, New Year's, Halloween, Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day, or April Fool's. Celebrate Thanksgiving.
Do not have more than two drinks a night. Don't be a teetotaler.
Never wear make-up.
Men should never wear a toupee or wig. Women can only wear wigs if they are bald. Never color your hair.
Women should not wear pants (except for sports activities).
Never ever smoke anything.
Pray at least 30 minutes a day. Study your Bible at least thirty minutes a day. Fast and meditate regularly.
Never join or remain a member of a "worldly" club (Elks, Lions, Kiwanis, etc.).
Watch only movies rated G and occasionally PG. Do not observe Mother's Day in England (Mother's Day is OK in America).
Do not earn a living as a policeman, judge, fireman, physician, elected official (except Mayor of Big Sandy), astronaut, gambler, concert musician, actor or ballet dancer.
Never have a picture of "Christ", "God", "angels" or "saints."
Women should not go braless. Women should not take "the Pill" or have an abortion.
Do not allow your children to join the boy scouts or girl scouts. Children should not play "pretend" games.
Women should not wear Tampons.
Always take notes during church services.
Never call a minister "Reverend."
Never bring the "unconverted" to services without the minister's permission, this includes close relatives such as an unconverted mate and children over 16.
Never co-sign for a loan.
Do not wear heart shaped lockets.
Beware of classical music written by demon inspired composers.
Never serve on a jury.
Never sign over your body for scientific study.
Do not read the writings of philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle.
Do not vote for or initiate a labor strike.
Going to night clubs is allowed, in moderation.
Do not have organ music in church.
Men should not wear pink or flowery shirts.
Children should not be allowed to read fairy tales or nursery rhymes.
Single people should date widely. Never date a non-Worldwide Church of God member. Never neck on a date. If engaged, a good-night kiss is permissible, if not prolonged. Never hold hands unless married or engaged. When married, have sex only in the two approved positions; never kiss below the neck (pre-1960's), never kiss below the waist (pre-1975).
Dentists are OK. Novocaine is OK. Antibiotics are not OK. Immunizations are not OK.
Only unmarried women should be employed.
Never date or marry outside your race. The races should be segregated whenever possible.
Men should not wear beards.
Do not eat maraschino cherries.
Never get a tatoo.
Avoid "Protestant type" hymns.
Minimize contact with non-believers.
Use olive oil and wine on sores.
For weddings, use only the Herbert Armstrong approved ceremony.
Card playing is OK. Never listen to "soul music".
Have only a graveside service at funerals.
Never wear or own a crucifix. Never sign a letter "in Jesus' Name" unless you are a minister.
Church buildings should not have steeples or stained glass windows. Never build or own an obelisk.
Never celebrate birthdays.
Don't go into partnerships in business.
Never say "God bless you" when someone sneezes (in fact, never say "God bless you").
Always buy "quality". Strive to become "cultured".
Do not break an engagement to be married.
Always get a minister's advice before making any important decisions (changing a job, marrying, selling your home, etc.).
Never go along with new styles or trends until at least 50% of the public has adopted them. Never be a leader in setting styles or trends.
Never support or attend the services of any Catholic or Protestant church. (The Catholic Church is the "great whore" of Revelation. It is Satan's church and Protestant churches are its children.)
Do not listen to preachers who teach contrary to the WCG doctrines.
Do not practice vegetarianism.
Do not have your body cremated.
Women should not wear two-piece bathing suits and especially not bikinis. Men should not wear tight bathing suits (in England only).
Do not engage in sky diving (before David Armstrong's interest in same).
Never chew tobacco.
Do not speculate in stocks or bonds.
Never ever use "unnatural" farming methods (chemical fertilizers. pesticides, etc.).
Never act in, direct, produce or write a drama.
Never hypnotize anyone or be hypnotized. Do not celebrate the 4th of July (pre-1965).
Do not adopt children.
Do not have your ears pierced.
Make ample use of corporal punishment in rearing children.
Do not use euphemisms such as gosh, darn or gee.
Do not create or own "modern" art.
Sex on Friday night is OK for married people.
Never go to a psychiatrist.
33 comments:
Many of those are long obsolete in most of the WCG splinters.
Plenty of married ladies in the splinters, after a hard day at work, will wear above-the-knee skirts to the movie theater to watch R-rated films, while carrying a purse containing antibiotics prescribed by a doctor. and carrying a shade of lipstick in a color not known to any living creature, along with a tasteful makeup kit and (for a week each month) a tampon or two.
By the time I was around, many of these had been rescinded or modified - yet I remember finding references to them in some of the older literature.
A great blast from the past, and it is just as true today as it was back then!
Not one is bible specified except maybe tattoo - Lev 19:28.
I recall their 1960s bible correspondence course where from memory, it wrote "do you have a pen? Then go and get one." Their culture is that of "honey, I've mentally shrunk the kids." Members are robbed of their adulthood. Power over the members is put before members growth. And when the church collapsed as a result, they scapegoated Joe Tkach.
Not going to psychiatrists or psychologists is to be expected since they might be informed they they have joined a high control cult.
A PCG booklet I read long ago stated "Mr. Armstrong taught us to avoid educational areas such as sociology, psychology, the world's theology and much of man's law".
I found that very telling.
A lot of that stuff is good advice.
This was the WCGTalmud, alright! And of course there was an equally long list of special insider knowledge, WCG Gnosticism!
In Pasadena, anyone who was a WCG member or AC student was instantly identifiable to the citizens or business community of the surrounding area, even if in violation of some of the points on the list. I used to hitch hike a lot as an AC student, and even though I didn't wear 1940s style clothing, somehow the drivers always knew where to drop me off before I told them. Unlike most of the students of that era, I could also carry on a pretty good discussion about Jimi Hendrix, and I knew who all the DJ's on the local rock stations were. I also got to know some of the young people our age who worked at El Rancho.
It all just seems so narrow minded and provincial in retrospect. There was nothing really wrong with so many of the things prohibited by that list. I used to joke about the UAP (Universal Ambassador Personality) which most of the very serious students began actively cultivating from their first day on campus. You had to have the UAP in order to be upwardly mobile in the church and college power structure. Basically, the UAP consisted mostly of just living this list. If you wanted to get to know any one of the people with the UAP, all you had to do was read the Plain Truth or Good News, and get a sense of all the prefab "correct" opinions. Nauseatingly, that's what they always expressed in all their conversations. They always seemed to resonate with one another, to the point that it made AC a closed shop.
It's no fun being forced to be some weird cultie when you know deep down that you have the potential to be something so much better, and enjoy life more. The really funny thing is, Bob Gerringer, who compiled this list, wasn't some kind of wild child. Neither were the original people who put together Ambassador Reports. They were people who had actually put quite a bit of effort into conforming to the list. And, then somewhere along the line they began to realize certain things, and they made some appropriate changes, and turned towards helping others to do the same. 1975 was a very exciting time for a renaissance, as so many of us were emerging from the dark ages.
The hair-over-forehead one was always funny. I mean, for us black men that wasnt so much of a concern, but...
Would someone please explain why these simple little things are so wrong and out of place. And, why someone suggested there was no scriptural basis.for them.
Why should something like that be such a big deal when there are many societies and groups that have many suggestions or requirements if someone wants to participate, but no one here makes a big deal about them.
Just asking.
Just listing them doesn’t make them bad. Is this just grasping at straws?
Also:
Don’t wear a cap backwards, because it comes from gang culture.
Do not take college courses on Saturday because that’s considered work and breaking…..
6.48, I remember HWA criticizing then president Jimmy Carter for having his hair over his forehead. He claimed that it was the hair style of eunuchs. I thought that was hitting below the belt. At least Jimmy didn't bang his daughter Amy.
Anonymous Wednesday, January 10, 2024 at 8:13:00 PM PST,
You asked: "Would someone please explain why these simple little things are so wrong and out of place."
Because Armstrongites are so fond of quoting Deuteronomy 4:2 - YOU SHALL NOT ADD UNTO THE WORD WHICH I COMMAND YOU.
Apparently, the over 600 commandments found in Torah aren't comprehensive enough or explicit enough to suit Armstrongites. Talk about being Pharisaical relative to the Law!
Yet the mafia took great pride in dressing in handmade tailored suits.
Majoring in the minors again!
Fifty year plus rules for a bygone era when in modern times many articles, repirts and surveys warn of rampant athiesim runing amok amongst fundamental christianity ministry.
8:13, you dig 'em??? You can't understand why obsessive-compulsive microsupervision kills your very soul, then have a nice life. I mean, I feel profound sorrow for your children, but have a nice life! The doctrines alone are enough to cause marginalization, but doing all the things on that list makes you a pariah, which acts as a repellant to those who might otherwise be attracted to spiritual concepts like keeping the sabbath. Where is it written that you have to make yourself into a total weirdo in order to be a Christian?
8.13, how would you feel if someone could dictate the quantity of seasoning you sprinkle on your food. It's an attack on people's individuality. This reminds me of Amish women who get married in their everyday blue dress-uniform, are expected to wear the same dress shortly afterwards, and are buried in the same dress.
In Acts 5:29, Christians are commanded to obey God rather than man, yet religious groups weaken their members for the sake of group control.
"When married, have sex only in the two approved positions; never kiss below the neck (pre-1960's), never kiss below the waist (pre-1975)."
I confess that I have something in common with the COGs - sex is my favorite subject.
However, I cannot figure out what the two approved positions could be.
Surely Herbie didn't condone his people doing it like those Christian falsely so-called Missionaries spreading a false gospel, right?
I'm glad people had more freedom after 1975; perhaps Herbie began to allow kissing below the waist, at that time, to take their minds off his prophetic failures?
Now granted, even then I never understood those members who ran to the ministurds to ask advice on just about anything and everything (much less the ministurds who felt entitled to offer it unsolicited). Mind your own business!
While Armstrongist micromanagement is a little more idiosyncratic than most, it certainly is not a one-off. This talmud is the product, not of the Body of Christ, but of denominationalism. Denominations are social groupings. They function just like other social groupings, in principle. People collect together to get up an infrastructure. They also begin to meddle with behavioral norms. This is what people do. What did you think would happen?
Some denominational micromanagement is more egregious than others but it all rests on the same sociology. Some denominations will try to turn you into a chattel. There are pros and cons to denominationalism but I generally avoid the engagement. My denominational involvement is small and contained.
On the other hand, it is to be expected that the Body of Christ will give rise to praxis. Customs and manners are inevitable and desirable in the right context. The field of praxis is the proving ground for the love of various denominations. Some can do loving praxis and some fail miserably. The Pharisees are the worst.
Ranger
Eh, that list is mostly things people new to the faith struggle with. As they learn and grow they overcome those "worries".
Correct doctrines were new to HWA and everyone else so naturally they over reacted to life in general. As they matured they moved on and were not bothered by such small things that were actually irrelevant.
Of course, a number of things on that list are major, and we should be careful of them even now.
A couple others you can add to the list that I've heard. Not sure if these were common across the whole church:
> Do not say, "Good luck," or "Fortunately," as luck and fortune are pagan concepts, but you can have a pot luck.
> Do not wear clothes that have paisley patterns as that is pagan.
> No need to express emotions as those is protestant.
> Men may wear any color of shirt to church services as long as it is white, especially if you are speaking from the lectern.
> If a man commits adultery one time it's probably OK since it's not a pattern. A woman is not permitted to commit adultery even once.
> Sigh and cry for the sins of the world but only because they are sins against God, not because of the human suffering.
> You are not permitted to refer to non-COG Christians or any other Christian movement or church as "Christian" without any qualifier.
> The important gifts of the Spirit go only to the ordained, and the lesser gifts go to the unordained.
> You are not permitted to raise holy hands at church services as that is Protestant.
> Questions at Bible Studies are to be submitted only in advance
> "The Church" means the ministry and corporate organization, whereas "The Church Members" means the laity.
> Consult The Church before giving any charitable contributions outside The Church
> Men are to carry briefcases
At least they didn't require a sheet with a hole in it.
Those are not answers to my question. They are just human excuses from a woke era, and to have something to grump about. Where are the real thinkers here?
And, who said they were added to Scripture? They were just codes of conduct that were thought to help one be a better example.
Another’s point is many members went overboard in applying them to their family. That was their fault. But, here, only the ministry can be at fault.
I guess if all those suggestions pushed the ways of the hippies in those days, it would be ok with the critics here.
It is very important to note that Herbert Armstrong, never and not once, forbade the reading and participation on BANNED!
Here’s a Bible verse for you since you think these types of rules are great. Codes of conduct aren’t inherently bad. However, when issued by an organization that makes the claim to speak for God, they absolutely are harmful. These rules become “tests of faithfulness to God” when in reality they are designed to exert control over members.
“These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.”
Colossians 2:22-23 NIV
This blog only began in 2011. Coincidentally around the time of the UCG/COGWA split.
A ministry list.
It's okay for you to marry a woman within your race who is outside the church, but you are not allowed to marry a woman outside your race within the church. But you must not be unequally yoked.
The criteria for this concept of "unequally yoked" has always been based upon their carefully-crafted straw men. It's an example of simplistic, manipulative thinking at its worst!
As an example, as a former Armstrongite, although I am a WASPish type, I would most likely have more in common with Jewish ladies than those raised as Catholic or Protestsnt.
Me too, I have more in common with Jewish women too. They are good mothers.
What makes these thing good and a moral obligation for all to follow and enforce? Just asking.
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