The Truth Shall Make You Free: Chapter 8 Beginnings of Lawsuit

Chapter 8  Basis For Action

(pg 97)  A couple of weeks prior to Garner Ted’s permanent removal by his father, Mark Armstrong traveled to New York to visit with some friends.  As he said, “I have to get out of Pasadena for awhile and get away from all of this.  Maybe by the time I get back in a week or so things will have settled down.  I just can’t take it out here right now.”  Prior to his leaving the New York area, Mark came to our home one Sunday evening and visited with Paula and me for a couple of hours.  He told us an incredible story.  He said that Stanley Rader was taking control of the Church and, n order to do so, Garner Ted Armstrong had to be out of the way.  He said that some of the top ministers at headquarters were either involved with Rader or, if not involved, were standing by watching things happen, hoping they could move into the vacuum that would be left after Garner Ted’s removal.  Mark said that Rader and his grandfather were spending millions of dollars just to entertain the world leaders.  Osamu Gotoh, according to Mark, had spent several hundred thousand dollars in one year in a questionable manner.  He said that the Church had paid all of Rader’s mortgage and tax payments on his home and also picked up all of his personal household expenses.  Mark said, “It was bad enough before, but now that Grandpa is married to that fat Ramona, things are really crazy.  Not too long ago he spent $200,000 of his own money to buy jewelry and furs for her and then reimbursed himself from the first (pg 98) tithe fund.  My dad knows all about that. It really happened. That’s the kind of thing going on.

We then discussed the path that the Church may take with Herbert Armstrong again having such dominance over the organization.  Mark said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if pretty soon Grandpa’s got the Church back into the Dark Ages on the healing doctrine.  Of course, he won’t teach against divorce any longer, now that he’s married to Ramona, who was divorced.  But pretty soon he will be declaring it a sin to go to doctors. He doesn’t want the people in the Church to go to doctors or take medicine, but if it weren’t for all the pills and medicine and drugs that he’s been taking since the heart attack, he wouldn’t even be alive now.  He tells the Church one thing, and does something different himself.”

Paula then said, “It’s amazing that he’s alive at all, let alone in such a good state of recovery at this time.  We always thought that God had worked a miracle to allow him to live longer, but now I really wonder.  What do you really think of his condition at this time?” Mark then said, “Well, he’s really coming along quite well, considering what he’s been through.  His liver is pretty bad, you know.  He’s got whatever it is you get from drinking too much wine and cognac.  Boy, that’s a real problem with him.  He tells the Church people to drink in moderation, and for years he’s been getting himself smashed just about every night.”

Again, Paula and I were both shocked to hear such things about the man who represented himself as God’s apostle, our religious leader, the man who has brought us much truth.  Yet the degree of hypocrisy here was almost more than one could handle.  I said, “Do you really mean to say that your grandfather actually gets (pg 99) drunk?”  To which Mark replied, “Oh yeah, I’ve even helped carry him to his bed when he was plain wiped out from too much booze.”

This was quit a bit to handle for Paula and I, and while Mark was telling us all of this, I was wondering, “How much can I believe? After all, he is Garner Ted Armstrong’s son and is bound to be somewhat biased in his thinking on this entire situation.”  I had to realize, however, that allowing for the close personal interest on Mark’s part, that a great degree of what he said must still be true.  If that were the case, I just had to know more, and although I didn’t know what I would do about it, I told Mark that I wanted to have any documentation of the claim that he had been making regarding the financial abuses on the part of Rader and Herbert Armstrong.

On the Sabbath of the fast, just prior to Garner Ted’s final removal, Paula and I decided not to fast.  We felt that to do so would place us in an attitude of being in concert with Herbert Armstrong, which we knew, was a totally wrong attitude.  At Church services I began discussing the situation with Ron Quinlan, who I had known since coming into the Church.  Ron is a young man in his twenties and is associated with his father in a heating/oil distribution business in Staten Island, New York.  He had taken the past several months off from work in order to attend a year at Ambassador College to take special courses in theology. Having just completed a semester, he had now returned back East.  Ron told me that this latest crisis was of course a major one and that only Church members in the Pasadena area and students who are attending Ambassador College are aware of the fact that the Church seems to be in a constant state of turmoil and crisis.  He said there always seemed to be a great deal of in-fighting and political intrigue going on within the organization.  He said, “If I weren’t so sure that the doctrines of the Church were true because I’ve proven them, I would wonder if this was God’s Church.  You certainly could never prove it by the conduct of the people out at headquarters.”

(pg 100)The following week I received a phone call from the minister Richard Frankel.  By this time, through a phone call from Mark Armstrong, I was aware that Garner Ted had been permanently removed and disfellowshipped by Herbert Armstrong.  Frankel told me that I was speaking to people at Church in a manner to cause division among the brethren. He said that he received several reports from people that I was causing trouble.  I thought to myself, “Is this the Church of God, or is this some Communist country where every time you voice your opinion, someone runs to the local leader with a complete report on what is being said?” Mindless blind loyalty, hardly the spirit of Jesus Christ.

I told Frankel exactly what I had said to the people.  I told him “It looks to me as though Rader is taking control of the Church.  He now has Garner Ted out of the way and controls Herbert Armstrong.  Everything that I said to the people last Sabbath is factual.  I have the information straight from Mark Armstrong and he said that there is proof.”  He responded, “Are you going to believe everything you were told by that young twit, Mark.  He’s Ted’s son. He’s going to spread what ever lies he has to, to gain support for his father.”  I again reminded Frankel that the basic facts were true even allowing for the fact Mark may be somewhat prejudiced by his family involvement.  Frankel’s response was incredible, he said, “Even if everything you say is one hundred percent true, the fact still remains that you said things that caused people to get upset, and anyone who says anything to cause people  to get upset is guilty of causing division among the brethren. If you do any more of this, I will have no choice but to remove you from the Body of Christ and mark and disfellowshipped you.”

Could I believe my ears?  A man who’s supposedly a minister of (pg 101) Jesus Christ talking to me in this way?  I told him, “You could throw me out of the Church if you want but you cannot remove me from the Body of Christ. Only Christ can do that.”  I did promise to say no more at that time, however, I wanted to stay around a while to see what would develop.  During this period of time, Paula absolutely refused to attend Church any longer.  She said that she would feel like a hypocrite by doing so and that she wanted no further part of the Church.  I decided, however, to continue attending to see what might develop.

The Sabbath following the fast promised to be interesting, as I was anticipating the announcement of Garner Ted’s final removal.  I decided to attend and keep my mouth shut. A brief announcement was read very matter-of-factly and the letter from Herbert Armstrong sent his son was read to the congregation.  There was no further comment.  After services I found that I could hardly believe the general conduct of the members.  They were discussing everything but Garner Ted Armstrong.  It was as though they did not even hear the announcement. No one wanted to discuss the subject, for to do so would lead to the possibility of voicing an opinion on the situation.  To voice an opinion would be dangerous because one would not know whether anyone listening would be of like opinion. This, of course, could lead to a threat of being reported to the minister.  After all, no one wanted to be thrown out of the Church.

To further illustrate the mentality of some of these poor people who have given their minds over to a man, I recall an incident just a few weeks later.  I was speaking in the parking lot with Bob Sorge, a man who shared my opinions.  He too felt that we were witnessing a total capitulation on the part of the people to a man.  While they thought they were being loyal to Christ, they in truth ere rejecting Him by being blindly loyal to a man who was now actually teaching contrary to Scripture and doing so in the name of Christ.  This had been my first opportunity to talk to Bob Sorge since I had spoken with Mark Armstrong, and I was bringing him up to date. Standing some distance away, but straining to listen was a young member, Roy Koons.  We were trying to speak privately but Koons was doing a good job at eavesdropping.  He then walked over and blurted out, “You’re speaking against God’s apostle.  You’re speaking to cause division among the brethren. I heard what you said.  You can’t talk about Mr. Armstrong that way.”  I responded, “We’re having a (102) private conversation and what we are speaking about is none of your business.  I’m not trying to change anyone’s opinions and I’m not speaking to cause division. Bob and I happened to be in full agreement on this particular matter.”  Sorge then indicated his agreement with what I had just said.  Koons then said, “That’s not the point, you’re still speaking against Mr. Armstrong and he’s God’s apostle. That’s causing division.  Someone could over hear you as I did.  I have no choice but to report you to Mr. Frankel” I said to him, “Fine, go and tell him, but if I see him first, I’ll tell him before you do.  What kind of childish mid do you have anyway?”

On July 25, 1978, Garner Ted sent a letter to the Worldwide Church ministers. In it he reviewed the entire circumstances surrounding his removal and then announced that he had formed the Church of God International, headquartered in Tyler, Texas.  He said in the letter that he had taken his savings of $20,000 and began purchasing radio time.  A few days later a similar letter was mailed to many members of the Worldwide Church of God.  Garner Ted had then totally severed himself from the Worldwide Church and his action would appear to preclude his ever coming back in some sort of reconciliation.  In making the decision to form a new church, Garner Ted totally rejected the terms of a letter which Stanley Rader sent him on July 24^th.

Rader advised him that he has been discharged “for cause” and as a result was no legally entitled to any severance, termination or retirement payments.  The letter went on to say, “However, as a matter of Christian courtesy, and not by virtue of any legal obligation, (pg 103) Mr. Herbert Armstrong, with the counsel and consent of his advisors, ahs agreed that the church pay you the sum of %50,000 per year in bi-monthly installments less Federal and State withholding.

“The payment of such sum is subject, however, to the unconditional right of the Church to terminate said payments at any time, with or without cause, within the Church’s sole and objective discretion.  Without limitation upon generality of the foregoing, one of the conditions that would result in the termination of said payments would be breach of the following confidentiality provisions.”

Then regarding that confidential information that Garner Ted may have knowledge of, Rader continued, “By accepting either of the benefits provided herein, or any portion thereof, you agree to maintain the confidentiality and privacy of such information and documentation regarding such corporations and persons which you have within your knowledge, possession, custody or control.  Further, you agree never to release, divulge, disclose, make available, or in any manner make known any such information or knowledge, possession, custody or control.  You further agree to take reasonable precaution to safeguard all such information and documentation.

“”Whether any information or documentation is private or confidential shall be decided by the Church.  Such decisions shall be within its sole and subjective discretion and shall be deemed conclusive and determinative to the question.”

In accordance with the same general terms, Rader also offered Garner Ted the use of a cabin at Lake Tahoe as his place of residence.  Had Garner Ted signed this document, Rader would have been, in effect, judge, jury and executioner.  For, he continued, “It should be noted that the use of the Tahoe cabin, and the financial arrangements, are without legal obligation but are based solely upon the certain subjective, discretionary spiritual determination based upon the Bible.” Rader ended the letter, “It is our sincere hope that you will see fit to accept the following under the terms and conditions provided and in the attitude of love and concern in which they are offered. In Jesus’ name, (Signed) Stanley R. Rader.”

To write such a letter to anyone is itself a gross insult.  To do so in Jesus’ name is the height of blasphemy.  Such a letter could only (104) make one wonder what it was that Garner Ted knew that so concerned Stanley Rader.  After all, how many secrets could there be in a church organization that is established as a non-profit, tax exempt charitable organization.  This is not a business where one must be concerned about trade secrets, and there should certainly be no concern about financial matters, as they should all be a matter of public information anyway.

Around this same time – I believe it was also in July – I received a set of documents in the mail from an anonymous source.  These documents served to confirm some of he financial information that Mark Armstrong had given me verbally and in fact went far beyond that.  They were entitles “Executive Expense Analysis” and dated March 3, 1978.  One sheet showed that Henry Cornwall managed to spend $51,094.13 in Japan.  Most of this money went to two receipts - $22,925.56 going to the Imperial Hotel and $24,881.28 to Japan Airlines.  The purpose of these expenditures was not noted so it would be difficult to determine from this the legitimacy of the expenditures. Documents covering Rader’s expenses were much more detailed, however. He managed to spend a little more than Cornwall, a total of $51,432.14.  $22,571.19 went to the Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris and $1,536 to Wilshire Travel.  The balance appeared to be mostly for his own utilities - $287.26; property tax - $7,284.47; landscaping - $413.17; mortgage payment - $2,400; expenses allocated to his (pg 105) Tucson home were: furnishings - $7,508.65; mortgage payment - $999.30; telephone - $944.88; housekeeping service - $580; utilities - $237.91.  There are also other smaller amounts, including a pest control service bill of $11.03. It appears from this document that every expense in both homes was paid by the Church.  Even a minor bill such as that for the pest control service was not paid by Rader.

From this and the following one would wonder if he even needed a salary at all. Other expense items continued:  expense allowance (unitemized) - $2,782; La Scala’s - $694.78; White Tie Limousine Service - $376.55; and on it went, even to a miscellaneous subscription for $19.36.  From this it would appear that Rader was able to spend more at La Scala‘s Restaurant in one month than many families spend feeding an entire for twice that amount of time.

I just couldn’t quite understand it.  Church members would sacrifice to contribute to the Church.  Many of them postponed the purchase of necessities, including even clothing for their young children in order to tithe to the Church. This appeared to be just a tip of the iceberg.  How much money, I wondered, was actually going to the true purposes of the Church and how much was going to maintain a regal lifestyle for the top officials?  I decided that something had to be done about this.

(107) After laying out the entire background story on the Church and showing Herrmann and Pearlman the Executive Expense Analysis, Peter said, “Well, John, how does it feel to know that you have been paying for Stanley Rader’s house?”  He was never one to miss an opportunity to needle me.  He then said, “Well, Jeff, if we don’t make it in law, we can always start a church.  It looks like a good business.”

Getting more serious, then they said that they felt that the matter warranted further investigation and that it certainly looked as though there may be cause for further action. Peter then explained to me that they had been recently involved in a class action stockholder suit in California and were dealing with an (108) attorney named Hillel Chodos.  He said Chodos was a top trial attorney in Beverly Hills and liked to go after cases.  I felt very encouraged that perhaps finally there would be a way to get the Church straightened out freeing it from the grasp of those who appeared to have motives which were not in accord with the teaching of the Bible.  Paula and I certainly didn’t want to do anything that would be contrary to God’s way.  We prayed about it constantly, asking God to guide and direct us and to show us if he wanted us to proceed in this direction.

 The previous Sabbath, Richard Frankel had announced to the congregation that I was no longer in the Church, having succumbed to the dissident material.  Then this Sabbath, realizing the threat that our meeting presented, he announced that I was being marked and disfellowshipped, which meant that no member was to have any contact or conversation with me.  He also announced that Paula was being marked and disfellowshipped because she was my wife and evidently in accord with what I was doing.

Our own experience after leaving the Church was something difficult (110) to believe.  Members who we considered our friends would have nothing to do with us.  Only a couple of people maintained any contact with us at all and it was a most uneasy type of relationship.  Even those contacts finally dwindled to nothing

(111)  …we received encouragement from Peter Pearlman.  He informed us that Hillel Chodos was interested in pursuing a legal action, and it we could get him additional information to go on he would consider doing something on a contingent fee basis.  The concept was to sue for removal of Herbert Armstrong and Stanley Rader from their official Church corporate positions and seek restitution of all monies wrongfully taken from the Church.  The attorneys were to receive a portion of this as compensation for their efforts.  Chodos had initiated meetings with the California Attorney General’s Office and had discussed the matter with Lawrence R. Tapper, Deputy Attorney General.

Then, a short time after Chodos’s original contacts with Tapper, I was able to obtain a copy of a lengthy financial document called “The Pastor General Report.”  This document, containing twenty-seven legal-sized pages, detailed millions of dollars in expenditures, most of it of a very questionable nature.  This seemed to be the extra piece of ammunition needed to convince Tapper that the situation warranted further investigation. Again, this too was only the tip of the iceberg.  But as the Ambassador Report was a wedge into the crack in the façade of the Worldwide Church of God, this certainly was the next major wedge to be driven into that ever-widening crack.

The Attorney General’s office agreed to conduct an investigation to determine whether any action could be taken.  Our approach had to be a little different than suing officers of a commercial enterprise.  As we were dealing with a charitable organization, any suit to (112) be brought against the officers would have to be brought by the Attorney General’s Office.  Any individuals such as ourselves would be named as relators, rather than plaintiffs.

The Truth Shall Make You Free: Chapter 7 Excerpts

Chapter 7    Renewed Enthusiasm and a New Crisis

(pg 81)  Jack Martin, circulation manager of The Plain Truth, had been appointed publishing director of Quest and had moved into the Quest offices in New York City.  He was a minister in the Church, and the members were told that he would actually oversee the affairs of Quest to make sure that the magazine content would not conflict with Church teachings.  Jack Marin is an Englishman who had a background in business, having been at one time president of a company which manufactured eyeglass frames in England.  Soon after his baptism, he left his job and attended Ambassador College in Britain.  His business talents were soon recognized, and it wasn’t long after graduation that he began to rise into higher levels of responsibility in the Church.

As 1977 was drawing to a close, the Ambassador Report faded further into a distant memory, and I became more enthused about getting further involved in Church activities.  Gordon Muir, who was still in Pasadena, called and asked me to help with a new program on distribution of returns of Quest magazine.  His plan was to have me obtain all of the newsstand returns of back issues from the local distributor. Normally these returns would have their covers removed by the distributor.  Then he would send them to the publisher for credit.  The actual magazines would be shredded in a huge machine for sale as scrap.  Gordon’s plan was to have me and other Plain Truth representatives around the country (pg 82) take these returns and stamp them with a rubber stamp indicating that they were free copies.  They were then to be placed in stores, doctor’s offices, and other public places, in the hope that people would pick them up and perhaps subscribe, using one of the subscription cards that had been inserted in the magazines.

Only a few months earlier I had gone into a rage over the contents of Quest, and now I had become convinced that it was going to be a magazine acceptable to Church members that I was willing to actively engage in the promotion of the magazine.

Gordon Muir suggest that I introduce myself to Jack Martin on one of  my trips to New York City, as he felt that it would be good for Jack to be acquainted with those who were volunteering their efforts for the Church.  Near the end of the year I met with Jack in his office.  A short man of about forty years of age, he had red hair which seemed to fit perfectly with his dynamic enthusiasm to make Quest into a magazine that could be helpful to the Church.  He said, “We have talented people here at Quest. Some of the best in the business.  All we have to do is give theme some direction and be in accordance with Church teaching.  We have several ideas for other magazines, plus a book publishing division what we hope to start up soon. If done properly, this whole publishing operation will gain the Church a recognition that it has never had before.  The people will be much more receptive to our main message as we try to bring the Gospel to the world.”

He went on further to say regarding the Church and its worldwide impact, “Right now the name of the Worldwide Church of God is almost a joke.  Sure we have scattered Churches here and there around the world, but we’re almost unknown outside the United States. We’re not really worldwide yet, but we could be.”  As we talked further we found we shared a mutual frustration because of the constant setbacks the Church was experiencing.  We felt that with the world events moving as fast as they were that the world would find itself facing a total disaster within the next twenty years.

I said, “Jack we’re supposed to be God’s Church, and we have this job to do. We’re supposed to call the nations to repentance.  We’re supposed to sound the warning of the great troubles that lie ahead.  We’re supposed to tell the world the truth about Christ, that He is our Savior and that He will soon return to earth, save the whole world at the last moment and establish the Kingdom of God.  Yet, we don’t seem to me making much impact, what’s wrong?”  I just couldn’t understand how with approximately 65 million dollar annual income, the Church could not make a greater impact with its message.

Jack agreed that there were a lot of problems to overcome.  He said there was a lot of turmoil and power plays were constantly going on at headquarters, and this certainly had to have a negative influence on the work of the Church.  He said that he felt encouraged however, and tried to encourage me, as he felt that the coming minister’s conference in January 1978 would set a new forceful direction for the Church.  He said that the Church had many good people with good ideas, but that the initiative tended to be stifled due to the hierarchical structure of the Church. He said further that this was one of the points of constant dissension between Herbert Armstrong and Garner Ted, with the father wanting to retain a tight iron-fisted control of the Church and Garner Ted wanting to have a less rigidly controlled organization.

(pg 84)  After the ministerial conference in early January 1978 there was a renewed enthusiasm among the members.  Announcements came through the local ministers and by way of Church publications that the Church was going to get into fighting trim and get the message out to the world as never before.  Garner Ted Armstrong was to begin doing live radio broadcasts on the West Coast, with tapes of those broadcasts being played in other stations around the country only a few days later. In this way, it was explained, the prophetic message could be tied into current news events n order to heighten their topical interest.

(pg 85)  As part of this new program Garner Ted Armstrong had made arrangements with Ed Libov Associates, Inc. of Los Angeles to become the new advertising agency buying all of the radio and TV time for the Church.  We were told that this was one of the largest time-buying agencies in the country and that as a result they would be able to get us the best time slots at the most attractive rates.  This meant, of course, that Worldwide Advertising would no longer be the time-buying agency of the Church.  What few people had realized at this time was the fact that Garner Ted had been successful in his first step to dismantle Stanley Rader’s financial empire. Worldwide Adverting was a corporation controlled by Stanley Rader and his accounting associate Henry Cornwall. Cornwall was not a member of the Church, but wielded considerable influence.

It is a fact, however, that at the time Worldwide Adverting was established in partnership with Cornwall, Rader was an active partner officially in the accounting firm of Cornwall.  Rader had found too many years ago where all the ripe plums were, and finally it appeared that Garner Ted’s was going to stop him from picking them.

(pg 86) Ministers were finally going to have their phone numbers listed in the phone book.  Finally it appeared as though the Church was coming out into the open as it should have been all along. There was even talk of local evangelistic campaigns where the local minister would do the speaking and the lay members of the Church would have an opportunity to assist counseling with and talking to those who attended the meetings.

All this sounded very encouraging and the Church membership seemed to have a renewed zeal and enthusiasm.  However, behind the scenes, Rader was not about to have his heavy influence over Herbert Armstrong undermined by Garner Ted. It wasn’t long before confusion was to reign supreme over the entire organization.  After years of attempting to obtain accreditation for Ambassador College, the entire matter dropped. Herbert Armstrong, in letters to members, attacked the entire accreditation program as Garner Ted’s attempt to secularize the college.  Even though he originally himself desired accreditation and authorized the accreditation program, he was now saying that such mixing with the world was satanic and referred to it as “the leavening of intellectualism.”

Herbert Armstrong said that the use of non-member instructors at the college was resulting in students being taught to lean to the own understanding, which was Satan’s way.  According to Armstrong the only instructors qualified to teach at the college were those who had been personally trained by him or by those who had received their instruction from him.  According him, only through this continuous chain could God’s revealed knowledge be passed down to the students.

Armstrong’s idea of a college was not one where students are taught to reason and sue their minds and to think, but rather a scheme of institutionalized programming.

On the coming weeks no one knew from one week to the next which campus of Ambassador College, it any, was to remain in operation.  First it was announced that the campus at Pasadena was to be closed and the entire college operation being moved to Big Sandy, Texas.  No longer were there to be two separate campuses.  The (pg 87) Pasadena location was then to be used as just a Church headquarters operation.

Shortly after that announcement, Stanley Rader announced that the Big Sandy campus was to be closed and all Ambassador College operations would be conducted at the Pasadena campus. Then after another short period of time, Herbert Armstrong instructed Garner Ted by letter to reopen Big Sandy. Now there were again to be two campuses.  A battle was in full swing.  Garner Ted had begun to chip away at Rader’s influence and control, and Rader was retaliating.  There was no way after twenty years that Rader was going to let go of the Worldwide Church of God.

Milton Scott, owner of Milton Scott Associates, an advertising agency in Los Angeles, remembers Rader’s beginnings very well.  Over twenty years ago, Scott was handling the time-buying for the Church’s radio programs. Rader at that time was a junior accountant with the firm retained by Scott.  It was actually Scott who introduced Rader to Herbert Armstrong.  It didn’t take Rader long to recognize an opportunity and Scott recalls Rader saying to him, “There’s a gold mine out there. If you want to get rich, go into religion.”

In rapid order Rader managed to favorably impress Herbert Armstrong with his capabilities and came under retainer to the Church.  Scott recalls with anger how quickly Rader moved in.  Said Scott, “I trusted Rader to handle my books and prepare all my tax returns.  Soon after eh began working for the Church I found myself involved in a heavy tax audit, which resulted in my having to pay several hundred thousand dollars in back taxes and penalties.  Rader called this to Armstrong’s attention and told him that anyone who is in trouble the the IRS cannot be trusted in any way to represent the Church in time-buying.  Actually, the tax problems were not my fault as I trusted Rader to handle those things for me.  I believe that he set me up.  Well, it wasn’t long after that and I found myself out and Rader and Cornwall had organized Worldwide Advertising to handle all of the Church’s time-buying.”

Rader had handled Milton Scott in the past and now he was going to take care of Garner Ted.  The fact that he had supported Garner Ted on his return from exile in 1972 meant nothing.  His (pg 88) support of Garner Ted at that time was only a practical consideration, since he realized that someone would have to be the front man for the organization and it may not be Herbert Armstrong for much longer.  It was easy for him to support Garner Ted’s return at that time knowing of his weakness for women, as this would be a tool that he could use to manipulate and control Garner Ted.  But, now things were different. Rader and Garner Ted had locked horns, and Rader was determined that this would be the last time.

On a Thursday, early in May 1978, Rader instructed Dr. Germano, the dean of Ambassador College, to call an emergency faculty and student meeting, complete with newspaper coverage. Garner Ted was never informed of this meeting. Germano then announced that the entire Ambassador College operations at both campuses would be closed. This was the final blockbuster.  No board meeting had been called, no vote taken on this move. Yet Ambassador College, a separately incorporated non-profit organization, was being capriciously closed at the whim of one man.  Student acceptances were canceled and faculty members were to be terminated.

The following day, unaware of all that was taking place, I called Mark Armstrong to discuss a new idea that I had to improve the Plain Truth newsstand program.  He said, “John, I can’t even discuss that, I don’t know if we are going to be in business tomorrow.  Everything is going crazy out here.  Stan announced that the college is to be closed and my dad doesn’t know anything about it.  There are rumors flying all over the place.  The press seems to know more than we do.”  Mark was nearly crying and was so upset he could hardly talk.  I was shocked. Here we had been lifted to the height of enthusiasm only a few months earlier, only to descend into the despair of confusion with the on again, off again college announcements.  And now this blockbuster.

Mark went on to say, “There are even rumors that Grandpa is going to take Dad off the air.  Now that he’s recovered from his heart attack, he seems to think he can do a better job than my Dad.  Mom and Dad are trying to figure out what’s going on and they just can’t get through to Grandpa.  I think Stan is blocking off all contact.  I just don’t know what’s going on.  Oh, what’s going to happen, what’s going to happen? I just don’t know, I just don’t know.”

That evening Herbert Armstrong arrived in Pasadena.  A large (pg 89) crowd gathered in the Auditorium to hear him speak at what was to be a Bible Study.  Strangely, Armstrong did not even mention the closing of the college, nor did he mention anything about Garner Ted being taken off of radio and TV.  He just went on and on incessantly about his world travels, his visits to world leaders, is planned trip to dedicate a children’s park in Jerusalem, but no mention of the college or his son.

Amidst all of this confusion an announcement was made that Garner Ted was being placed on a leave of absence.  No reason was given and none could only speculate what was behind it all.

In a letter dated May 21, 1978, Herbert Armstrong wrote tot eh members, “God’s great Work to the whole world – is truly going ahead now as never before, with A NEW START!” He then went on reminding us of his greatness: “Soon you will hear NEW PROGRAMS from me, on both radio and television.  Just as Moses, the man of God, had not abated in his strength of mind and spirit, in leading the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage into the Promised Land, after 80 years of age, so the SAME GOD has sustained my mind, energy and power for the completion of His work in this world.”

Herbert Armstrong always likes to compare himself to Moses.  Of course, he tends to forget that while Moses did lead the Israelites to the Promised Land, God did not allow Moses to cross over, and he died in the wilderness.  If a righteous man such as Moses was not permitted over into the Promised Land, one must wonder how a man like Armstrong could even begin to compare himself to him.

Finally, on he second page of the letter, Armstrong addressed (pg 90) himself to the matter regarding his son, Garner Ted.  He said “There was not, and is not, any “power struggle” for control of God’s Church and His Work.  JESUS CHRIST IS IN CHARGE!”

It was becoming more and more obvious that Herbert Armstrong’s ego problem did not allow for the sharing of the limelight with a son who had an ego just as large as his.  Herbert Armstrong wanted his son to be a carbon copy of himself in all areas – except ego. 

(pg 91) On the ecclesiastical side , there was the ridiculous picture of a father and son vying for position and authority, an on the administrative side, an even more ridiculous picture of the son vying for authority with the father’s chief aide, who in reality was the boss over the entire organization.

All this was taking place at a time when the movie Star Wars was tremendously popular. Perhaps in referring jokingly to Stanley Rader as Darth, as many had begun to do, after the evil character Darth Vader, they were speaking more truth than they realized.

In the same letter of May 21^st, Armstrong did his best to impress everyone with his own greatness. He said, “July 8^th, I am scheduled to co-host an important premier of a charity motion picture to raise funds for the handicapped children of Britain.  Queen Elizabeth II has promised to co-host this premier and banquet – and in the event she is unable to be present, either Prince Charles (the next King) or Prince Philip will be there.”  Such a statement served to impress the membership with the fact that God was opening many more doors before Herbert Armstrong so that he could take the message of Jesus Christ to world leaders.  This announcement did not make many points with Queen Elizabeth II.

In an article in the London Sunday Times of July 2, 1978, reporter John Clare wrote, “Buckingham Palace has never heard of the man, 86-year-old Herbert Armstrong, head of the California based Worldwide Church of God.  And the Queen will not even be at Thursday’s premier in London of the adventure film, The Wild Geese, Starring Roger Moore and Richard Harris.”  The article went on to quote Evan Lloyd, producer of the film, who said, “Mr. (pg 92) Armstrong and Mr. Rader had been invited to attend the premier as representatives of the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation, a charity of which Mr. Armstrong, he’s chairman of. It was originally hoped that the Queen or Prince Philip would attend the premier.  But there was never any question of either Mr. Armstrong or Mr. Rader co-hosting the event.  They are just ordinary quests and will be treated in a normal way.

Millions of dollars of Church money are being spent to fly Armstrong and Rader around the world, allegedly to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to other nations. Yet the people conducting the events which he is attending have never heard of the Worldwide Church of God and only know of the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation, into which money from the Church has been funneled for what appears to be purposes quite contrary to that for which the Church was established.

With Herbert Armstrong spending millions of dollars to bring embarrassment upon the Church in this was, the problems were much more serious than just the power struggle taking place in Pasadena.

During his leave of absence, Garner Ted and his wife Shirley went into seclusion at the summer camp maintained for the youth of the Church at Orr, Minnesota. The situation continued to deteriorate as the behind-the-scenes battle for control of the Church continued.

Herbert Armstrong, in a classic attempt to rally support, wrote a letter on June 13, 1978 to the membership.  In it he stated, “Stan has been doing his utmost to deceive and mislead God’s Church into (pg 93) SECULARISM – into material and worldly interest – into going as far as possible into THE EVIL WORLD’S WAYS, while we may still try to keep one foot in God’s Church so that we may make it into THE KINGDOM OF GOD.  This Church has been IN MORTAL DANGER!”  The same man who was writing this was the one responsible for the incredible lie about his pending meeting with Queen Elizabeth II.  The same man who was criticizing Satan’s deception and misleading t=of the Church into secularism, was the one responsible for going around the world hiding behind the shield of a secular organization, the AICF. This very same man who had said he was embarrassed to present himself as a minister to the world leaders.  Now all the troubles that he has brought upon the Church are being blamed on someone else.  Herbert Armstrong, the apostle, would remain solidly before the people as their idol as he continued to manipulate their minds.

Then, further on in the letter, still claiming to be a special representative of Jesus Christ, Armstrong said, “Therefore in HIS NAME, as His apostle, I am calling for a day of FASTING AND PRAYER throughout the entire Worldwide Church of God on Sabbath, June 24^th.”  The calling of a fast by Herbert Armstrong was always an effective way to cause the Church membership to feel as though they were responsible for the problems in the Church.  Armstrong, of course, never did anything wrong.  The reasons for the problems were always, according to him, a result of God withdrawing his blessing from the Church due to their spiritual laxity on the part of the Church membership. Translated, spiritual laxity means inadequate financial support.  Actually this entire matter of a fast was part of a conditioning process to prepare the membership for the next event soon to take place; it was all to set the stage for an announcement that would be made to the membership the following Sabbath which would cover the events of the intervening week.

On June 26^th, Herbert Armstrong wrote to his son, “Need I say it is with a heavy heart and in deepest regret that you have forced me to send you this letter.

“In spite of your continual disagreements with the way the Living Christ has been building and conducting God’s Work through his chosen apostle, I have at all times done my best to hold up an protect your name.

“But you no longer permit me to shield you. You have: (pg 94)

                Disobeyed my directive by going to Orr, Minnesota

                Contacted members you were forbidden to contact

               Contacted United States Postal authorities in the unethical  and unscrupulous effort to                      intercept corporate mail and thus divert corporate funds illegally into your private, personal hands, and

               Finally, giving the Los Angeles Times (and perhaps other media) distorted and false                  accusations against your father, God’s apostle.

What must a man think of himself when he feels that he can forbid his forty-eight year old son to be in contact with certain individuals, and then to accuse his son of attempting to intercept corporate mail, when in fact Garner Ted had merely written the Post Office asking that mail addressed to his personal attention be held for pick-up by someone on his behalf.

Then on June 28^th, a letter from Herbert Armstrong was sent to the membership.  He went onto say that he was setting the Work back on the right track and restoring harmony and peace in the Church, but that the members should be alert, as Satan was going to try and deceive the people of God.  The letter continued to for several legal sized pages, where he wallowed in self –aggrandizement, reminding everyone as to how he built the church over the past many years. He then dragged his son through the recapitulation of the events covering 1972 through the 1974 Rebellion.  Regarding the (pg 95) rumors that Stanley Rader was actually in charge of the Church, Armstrong said, “Brethren, I brand that as a Satan LIE!” And then referring to Quest magazine, he apparently had forgotten his statements of only a couple of years earlier where he had said that he needed such a magazine to represent the Church in a non-religious way. Now, Armstrong was saying, “I was never enthusiastic about the magazine, but I went along with it under the understanding that I was to write the LEADING ARTICLES in every issue.  I said emphatically at the beginning that t magazine could not succeed otherwise.  But men of SECULAR EXPERTISE hired to run it deceived Mr. Rader.  This magazine now is showing a slight profit through advertising sales and subscription price, but I have given a firm order which Mr. Rader will at once follow: “SELL IT OR GET RID OF it.”

Finally after nearly seven legal-sized pages of mind conditioning, Herbert Armstrong came to the main point of the letter”  “Yesterday, I sent to him the official letter, heartbreaking as it was to me, disfellowshipping him from the WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD.

“That means, brethren, that on pain of being themselves disfellowshipped and PUT OUT of God’s Church, you are all, according to CHRIST’S COMMAND, restrained from contact with, or conversation with, Garner Ted Armstrong – no longer a member of this Church!”

"Why do you bother with the past? Forget about it."

"Why Do You Bother?  Forget About It!

It is not uncommon for someone to tell me "Why do you bother with the past?  Forget about it."  I'd sometimes wonder that myself and know many who seem to be long gone from the WCG experience and yet still stuck or spinning within it.  

We keep up with the splinters and the antics of their ministers.  We, or at least I, listen to their sermons, not for edification, but to confirm that I am happy not to be a part of such foolishness.  I shake my head and chuckle when one such as David Pack, Apostle of the Restored Church of God, uses so many personal pronouns in sermons and begins many with "I don't think I ever given a sermon quit like the one you are going to hear today."  That would be a major hint to me it is all being made up as we go. 

Nothing is more humorous than listening to one of the very two true witnesses of Revelation get angry over people who throw paper on the floor or say the word "amazing" about a zillion times in every sermon usually in wonder at how stupid everyone else besides he and the 12 people in the room are. 

From "That Prophet" to "And yes brethren, I am an Apostle," I find it all rather fascinating now that I don't have soak in it or lay awake at night wondering what else is going to happen to shatter my idealistic belief that it once was to me the True Church of God and I had been called by the Deity to be both member and minister.  I really believed that and I think there in lies the key to the ongoing fascination.

Those who are the most sincere, in my experience, suffer the most when they learn their sincere seeking was misplaced. It accounts for our anger, sarcasm, keeping up and ongoing interest in that which proved to be less than encouraging. I think we subconsciously or very consciously wish to be some kind of vehicle for helping others through the process and coming out better and not worse for the whole experience.

Sadly, some literally ended their lives due to the instability all the upheaval produced in the place they sought solace and safety for their own mind and spirit. I know several ministers who died either deliberately or through the abuse of alcohol so often used to mask the pain, perhaps not realizing just how much it would actually magnify it.  I started down that path for a time out of the pain of separation from that which I loved and at times to mask the pain over the loss of those I love, but got off that train.  For every moment of "forgetting" there were a thousand of depressing recall that just made matters worse.  It is a treadmill one needs to pay very close attention to and just say no to.

There is more truth than the truth we know.  The God many think they know is not all the God there is.  It is the glory of a King to search out a matter, not just accept the ideas of others.  All these things are true.  And while it is incomprehensible for most Bible readers to grasp, there is more truth in life to explore than whatever truth is perceived to be contained in the pages of the Bible.  The Bible is not inerrant, was not written literally by any literal Deity, is not the "best book ever written," and does not tell us where we either really came from nor why exclusively.  

In the Churches of God, neither splinter nor sliver, their pious conviction coupled with their marginal information, training and education is not enough to qualify to tell everyone else what the Deity wants, demands, requires or thinks about us all. 

A few things I have come to know now that I wish someone had taught me back then when thinking I was "called" to be a minister.

Genesis 1-11 are purely mythological stories, mostly borrowed from Sumerian myths and given a Hebrew spin.

"Moses" did not write the Pentateuch but rather is a compilation of different authors mostly Priests during the Captivity of the 5th century BC.

There is no evidence that the dramatic events of the Exodus ever literally happened in history and that most of the OT is designed to give an insignificant cultic people an amazing pedigree.

Characters such as Abraham, Moses, David and Solomon may or may not have literally existed in history. 

Clearly, God "evolves" from a polytheistic Deity to a monotheistic one over a very long time and the people of Israel held on to many gods throughout history.  The Canaanite God "EL" of Genesis was talking to his Council of the gods, when he is quoted as saying "Let US make man in OUR image..."  He was not talking to a future incarnation of himself called Jesus.  When God said, "you shall not bring any other gods into my presence (what the words in Exodus really say,) He wasn't saying there were no other gods. He was saying don't bring them around me as I am a jealous God.  I don't like their competition.  Clearly, polytheisim was the norm. 

Concerning the NT, I wish I had understood that Paul's writings preceded the Gospels which is why he never quotes an earthly Jesus, tells of his life, healings, teachings, miracles or birth circumstances. Those tales had not yet been written in his lifetime.  Paul's Jesus was cosmic and hallucinatory and not any real Jesus he ever knew or met.  I also have doubts about just how much the Jewish Church under James felt Paul was anything but a charlatan.  Luke's rendition of Paul's life and calling is not the one Paul himself speaks of in his real writings.  Not all the books attributed to Paul were actually written by Paul.

The Gospel accounts are not coherent or harmonious. 

Jesus birth narratives in Matthew and Luke are two different stories

Mark never heard the birth stories of Jesus nor did John and Paul said he was merely born of a woman. 

The resurrection accounts are muddled and contradictory in major ways. They can't all be right and are not four different ways of describing a car wreck.

The Book of Revelation is a failed prophecy written just prior to the fall of Jerusalem under the Romans.  It is not a book for today and its expectations of the Kingdom of God to route the Romans failed.  

The story of Jesus is the same story as Mithras and Osiris and is astrotheological in nature.  All Sun Gods are born on the Winter Solstice and all take away the sins and darkness of the world which they overcome at Easter in the Spring. 

Christian apologetics get down right silly at times

Life is short....and lots more stuff like that.

So why bother keeping up?  Because it's fascinating and I have always loved the study of origins.  From where humans really come from (common hominid ancestors) to the origins of mythologies and ideas that spring from them, its all amazing.  I want to know what may be worth believing and what may be just plain silly or even harmful.  Much of what religion, not true spirituality, teaches or demands sucks the soul out people and is harmful in the long run.  Religion keeps you the same yesterday, today and forever.  There can be no progress when you know it all.  It is no coincidence the Dark Ages arose when the Church did.  

I may regret my WCG experience but I can't undo it.  Next time around...if, I want to be a Paleontologist.   You can't unring a bell.  So I may as well use it to learn from.  And perhaps if I can help just one person step out of the box and take a bigger look around, it will be worth it.  It is for me a challenge and fascination though the price of this education has been and will continue to be high.

To not accept what is, is insane.  To not use the experience to help others  grow through is a wasted experience. 

Namaste....

DenniscDiehl@aol.com 

Losing Faith In Faith

I remember well when Joseph Tkach Jr, Eternal Head of the present, almost non-existant, Worldwide Church of God, said that from what they could tell, almost 40,000 former members were staying home from any church. Others have written well about this total mismanagement of the spirituality and sincere hopes that tens of thousands had invested in over the years in that particular church, so I spare you.


I would like to talk a bit about how one, such as myself, can go from being a minister in WCG, or any church for that matter, to an informed skeptic, with the hope that human beings, somehow, are spirits trapped in a limited five sensed carbon based wet suit of sorts, for now. No, I'm really not kidding! Very metaphysical I know, but then again, you never heard of a bunch of metaphysicists declaring war, Jihad and utter annihilation upon each other unless they repent or convert to each others "faith." Most of the real history of Christianity, Islam and Judaism as practiced by those who rule over the believer is pure bullshit. Is it any wonder that people of faith, inquiry and hope simply want to be left alone?


Years ago I took a personality profile test found it so accurate, down to the kinds of gestures I use and why, that I suggest to Joe Tkach that all ministers and leader types take one. This, from my naive perspective, might just prevent sending the same, ill placed and probably not really called to serve anyone but themselves type ministers from going on and on and hurting one congregation after another. WCG had this very bad habit of transferring it's problem ministers rather than confronting them. They said no to testing. Now I know why. People hate the insecurity that comes from knowing they aren't as special as they think they are.


Being out of the loop, it took me years to figure this out. It took me years to admit that what I was seeing in WCG was happening as my ENFP personality, which is Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling and Perceptive, also is founded upon the idea that people like me are negotiators, ministers, counselors and even massage therapists, but simply hate conflict. Or as my son said so aptly said once, "dad, you'd take a stabbing lying down." That hurt, not the stabbing, but the fact he was right. It's my loathing of conflict I have found that some, like Dave Pack, leader of the Restored Church of God, and others, who are what I would consider abusive, personality driven and more narcissist than shepherds, actually thrive on. Or as Stanley Rader, personal counsel to Herbert Armstrong once said, "I don't care what you say about me, just spell my name right." True narcissism. And so I dismissed in my mind what my heart was telling me was so and went about the business of pastoring people in concepts I still had faith in, even if I could see that the higher up one went in the business of religion, the more your brains turned to shit and you forgot where you put your spirit.


But even more than that, even more than losing faith in a particular church, I knew I was losing faith in faith. I had seen too much that was real and did not match the great promises of the Bible. For all the conflict over healing and doctor care, make-up, and all that I generally labeled as "majoring in the minors," I never asked anyone to do or not do what I would or would not do myself. My conscience is clean when it comes to being an enforcer of stupid things in years gone by. I found that "ask and you shall not have, do not ask and all things are possible", worked just fine in most cases and the years have proven my gut feelings correct in thinking that "someday, none of these things will be issues."


Back to the original thought. I have always been a seeker and open to new things even as a minister. Actually my internal definition of a minister seemed to contain the "keep looking" clause, but that was rare among my peers who felt they had found once and for all, as I did too, but now don't. I think my working mostly alone, apart from the big cities and multiple ministers in one place, probably saved me from scrutiny. The few times I did work with other ministers it was ongoing drama and egomania. I found it entertaining but stupid as well and it took me years to see it was more widespread than I imagined. So even as a minister in a "One True Church," I could see the Bible itself had problems that my Church and all Churches simply do not want to address. I think I ended my own ministry in the midst of WCG's "miracle from Christ" (was Jesus drunk when he did this miracle?), when I asked in a Festival Sermon at Myrtle Beach before one of last large gatherings of WCG members for such things, "Just where do babies come from," when showing how Matthew only over reached in trying to show how Jesus was born of a Virgin etc. I know most of you believe he was, but I will still ask you where do babies come from? Mark, Luke, John and Paul (not a band) knew nothing of what Matthew "knew."


Even as a kid in Sunday School, the stories in the Bible generated many questions about how such things could be in reality. Did Joshua really stop the earth from rotating so the Israelites could kill more Amelakites? Answer: NO. Not only is it bad science, but it's a just plain stupid reason to stop the rotation of the earth! Also, no one else on the planet noticed, which made me suspect.


Did 600,000 men, plus women, children and hangers on really trek around the Sinai in a group for 40 years leaving no signs of it? NO, they did not, at least not that many or for that long. I once read a study on how long it would take those in the back of a group that large to get moving once the front of the group started to move. It was weeks! It's mythology adopted to give a small insignificant people, who now get way too much attention, a history. How many times have we almost found Noah's Ark? Always a great story in the news that just goes away. It never happened, at least not in anyway the Bible describes.


Over time, I came to see that evolution of all life, including man, is generally true, details to unfold as time goes on. The defensive arguments of the Creationists are lame. Not to them, because they need to believe it, but to me, because I don't. I'm not afraid not to believe the unbelievable. I'd rather be ahead of my times than behind. I have flint hand tools in my collection that are 1.8 and 1.4 million years old, from Oldavai Gorge in Kenya made by "men" who became us over time. I can sit and hold them, and somehow it comforts and enlightens me. I have 12,000 year old Ice Age American spear points that do the same. I have a coin given to me as a tip, minted by Caligula to remind the population of Jerusalem just who really was in charge. It doesn't encourage me, but it does inform.


I have had my DNA taken back 70,000 years to Africa (I'm Dutch) and tracing the personal journey my cells, blood and spit have taken to get "me" to America. Fascinating how my saliva proves that in the distant past, "I" traveled through Yemen, Iran, Iraq, the Russian Steppes and left into Europe as Cro-Magnon, routing the Neanderthal who were already there, but lacked the imagination I had to rid the place of them in 18,000 years or so. I love that explanation and journey far more than I do those of the Bible, because it is true.


When I was a pastor and WCG was changing over from Holydays to Holidays, every doubt about the Biblical story of Jesus birth circumstances and the actual narratives came out. I felt that if they could flip over to something so theologically lame as Christmas, I could finally examine my doubts about the whole story. Needless to say, the birth narratives, over which the Church said I studied too much, are not coherent, do not agree, are two different stories, are not known by Mark, John or Paul and find their origins in pagan mythology. All Paul knew of the physical Jesus, who he never met or quoted, was that he was "born of a woman of the tribe of Judah." Nothing special there. Long story.


From there, I discovered that the story of the dying Sons of God in history, such as Osiris, Mithras and Jesus, were retelling of the larger story of the journey the real SUN of God takes around the 12 constellations of the Zodiac every year. It is no coincidence that the SON of God and the SUN are crucified in the Spring on and around the Spring Equinox or that Jesus was the Lamb of God as was the SUN in Aries, the Lamb when it was "crucified". For Jesus to be "with you until the end of the age," means more the age of Aries which ended 2000 years ago with Jesus death and not the end of the world as fundamentalist Christians insist. It explained all those 12 tribes, 12 sons, 12 disciples, 12 Apostles etc, that surrounded the "SON" on his one year ministry, according to Matthew, Mark and Luke, but three years according to John. It's no coincidence that in Revelation, God is surrounded by 24 elders, which are the hours in the day. To me this makes perfect sense and the fact that Matthew's Gospel accounts of Jesus ministry through the twelve months of his short ministry, exactly match the story of the SUN through the twelve signs of the Zodiac. Stories in the Bible that make no sense literally on earth, (like the Magi seeing Jesus star in the East and following it West to his house) often make perfect sense when you understand them as astro-theology. The story of the dying Son/Sun of God takes place every year over our heads. Light is the great revealer, but light also hides. You won't hear that story in church! Nuther long story. I suppose years ago I did wonder why in Malachi, the "Messiah" or Jesus as Christians said it pointed to, was said to be "the Sun that arose with healing in his wings." If you know of the Egyptian sun symbol with wings, you'll see how old a concept that was.


So while I find the story of the Bible in the heavens, as below...so above etc, I don't fear the literalism of the Bible anymore, nor would I teach it. This is, in part, why I feel strongly about those that are manipulated by ignorant and pushy pastor types, into supporting something literally that is not literally to be supported. Ideas have consequences and we see that every day with religion gone amuck. Spirituality, as I have always noted, comes from within and doesn't need your money nor for you to show up Wednesday evenings, Saturday or Sunday.
Now to some, the reason I can go on this journey of discovery and enlightenment, while painful at times, is because I was never converted to the truth of past affiliations. I think I was. I was a true believer for a long time. But when I saw how quickly those in "high" places could change and demand change, everything I ever doubted bubbled up and here I am. I have both a deep resentment for those that have hurt so many and a gratefulness that I was able to get out and not have the drama of all that followed. The local church I last pastored was already using me as a punching bag in place of those they really resented enough. Remember, I don't like conflict, much less being the imagined target and cause of their anger. I learned to tell people I was never one of them, but one of "you" working for "them." I grew up Presbyterian and well outside a lifelong WCG mentality. I did manage to remind Joe Tkach that he was reinventing the wheel and that what he found so so new in Jesus, was so so old a story to the vast majority of those who came to WCG in the first place. For that I was told later that "HQ thinks you know a lot about Jesus, Dennis...but they don't think you KNOW Jesus." Uh oh.... :) Actually I think I know about Jesus more than they can possibly imagine... at least the Jesus of the Bible. It seems real contemporaries of Jesus know little or nothing of a Jesus who was known everywhere according to the Bible.


And so I have lost faith in just having faith. I like the facts more than I like faith. I understand faith and I agree that sometimes there is nothing to have but faith until facts come forward. But I do not substitute faith for facts. Even a good Buddhist will say that sometimes there is nothing left in life to do but have a good laugh. A good laugh and "faith" sometimes are the same thing. When I had my kids immunized in 1974 when it was not fashionable theologically in WCG, I did so because facts over rode my faith factors. When Herbert Armstrong said in a Bible study that dinosaurs probably couldn't reproduce because they were created by Satan who couldn't either, I went with the cover of National Geographic that displayed dino eggs. That happened a lot over the years when I listened to one minister or another on various topics they really knew little about. Mixing religion with science is lame.
So now I kid about "rubbing people the right way." It still fits my personality profile. I"m still an extrovert, intuitive, feeling and perceptive. I still do "counseling" and I still hate conflict and confrontation. I don't, however, believer I will take a stabbing lying down again. I suggest you find out what you are and you'll understand your life in much more detail. Humans are hardwired the moment the sperm hits the egg...the rest is conditioning, programming, tribal expectations, fear, guilt and shame that keeps one in line with the group, religion or organization.


Sometimes we have to loose our minds to come to our senses. You can loose a lot of other things along the way when you do that, but being more authentic is well worth it. It's what ENFP's treasure almost above all other things.

DenniscDiehl@aol.com

GTA Vidicated! It Was NOT His Fault!

Beddy Teddy has been vindicated! All that romping around with 200 coed's, the stewardesses on the three WCG Corporate jets and that hot masseuse,  was NOT his fault!  Hallelujah and pass the collection plate!  COG leaders take note!  You now have an excuse!

Thrill-Seeking Gene Can Lead to More Sex Partners

SUNY Scientists Find Longer DRD4 Gene Can Lead to Double Risk for Promiscuity, Infidelity

By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES

Dec. 6, 2010

John Coleman, a 22-year-old from Syracuse, N.Y., has been engaged for the last two years and cannot fathom having sex with anyone other than his girlfriend.
"I find cheating appalling," said Coleman. "There's got to be something going on in your head to cheat."

It turns out Coleman is right.

In what is being called a first of its kind study, researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York (SUNY) have discovered that about half of all people have a gene that makes them more vulnerable to promiscuity and cheating.

Those with a certain variant of the dopamine receptor D4 polymorphism -- or DRD4 gene -- "were more likely to have a history of uncommitted sex, including one-night stands and acts of infidelity," according to lead investigator Justin Garcia.


Read the article here: Thrill -Seeking Gene