What goes on in the mind of a Church of God member?

Watching the mental melt down of David C Pack, Rod Meredith, Bob Thiel, James Malm, Eric King, Ron Weinland and Gerald Flurry these past few several years has been a fascinating AND frightening experience.  The Church of God has produced an endless supply of absolute idiots over the decades who have self-appointed themselves as prophets and apostles. Every single one of them have been abject failures.  Why then do Church of God members continue to following these men giving them blinding loyalty?  What kind of mind is the typical Church of God member like?

Psychology Today has some interesting information on these types of men and the people who join up with them:

Having studied at length the life, teachings, and behaviors of Jim Jones (Jonestown Guyana), David Koresh (Branch Davidians), Stewart Traill (The Church of Bible Understanding), Charles Manson, Shoko Asahara (Aum Shinrikyo), Joseph Di Mambro (The Order of the Solar Temple aka Ordre du Temple Solaire), Marshall Heff Applewhit (Heaven’s Gate), Bhagwan Rajneesh (Rajneesh Movement), and Warren Jeffs (polygamist leader), what stands out about these individuals is that they were or are all pathologically narcissistic. They all have or had an over-abundant belief that they were special, that they and they alone had the answers to problems, and that they had to be revered. They demanded perfect loyalty from followers, they overvalued themselves and devalued those around them, they were intolerant of criticism, and above all they did not like being questioned or challenged. And yet, in spite of these less than charming traits, they had no trouble attracting those who were willing to overlook these features. Dangerous Cult Leaders

One of the biggest tools in Armstrongism that has been used by single splinter group leader since Herbert Armstrong came on the scene is the practice discrediting individualism and critical thinking.

When a person is individualistic that person is independent and self-reliant.  Independent and self-reliant people are usually critical thinkers.  With Armstrongism's endless debasement of higher education in "worldly" universities it tried to force members into looking down on critical thinking. Armstrongism successfully stopped all critical thinking by producing thousands of booklets, articles, magazines, correspondence courses and films that did all the thinking that a person felt they needed to do.  The answers were spelled out in black and white using step-by-step "proofs" cherry picked out of the bible by church leaders.  They defended that one-way reasoning by using this single quote, "Don't believe me, believe your Bible!"  With these men all claiming superior understanding and direct revelation from their individual god's, how would any person ever dare to question them?

Fear is the other tool that Armstrongite leaders love to use against members.  When a person uses critical thinking they are going against the chosen apostle/prophet of God.  When you do that you are in danger of losing your salvation.  Losing ones salvation was and always has been a serious threat used against members.  To think critically, criticize, and question a leader or his words was anathema and equal to questioning God.

By having the answer to everything in regards to every aspect of a members life, Church of God members have stopped thinking.  It was much easier to have answers spelled out for them in booklets, to have ministers tell them what color car to buy and what kind of job to have.  Its very comforting being surrounded by like minded people.  It is safe.

What do all groups (cult and non-cult) offer a potential recruit? Answer: friendship, identity, respect and security. They also offer a world-view: a way of discerning right from wrong; good from bad.  These are powerful incentives for all people whatever their background. We are social animals. But they offer more: a structured life-style and the ability to acquire new skills. Through their (very different) ideologies they also offer moral explanations into how the world works. They provide clear answers to difficult and big questions: what it all means; the secret of happiness; life after death; the difference between right and wrong, who is with us and who against us; the saved and the damned.  Why Do People Join Cults?

Some of the tactics used by leaders in the Church of God  are:

• First, they demand that they sever all ties with people (family, friends) and organisations (schools, churches). This naturally makes them more dependent on the cult itself and helps create the person's new identity. They start again, wipe the slate clean. This rule is also found in extreme in Christian Monastic orders. 

• Second, the members are required to show immediate and unquestioning obedience to rules and regulations which maybe arbitrary, petty or pointless. The idea is to ensure allegiance and obedience. This strategy is used to "break-in" all army recruits. It is the very staff of boot camps.

• Third, group members often have to do long hours of tedious work. It maybe drilling, begging for money, cooking, followed by compulsory reading, chanting or mediating. Recruits usually become physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted. Sleep deprivation is a good start. It's all part of the induction process.

• Fourth, all groups need money to exist. Some are very much into money both as an end and as a means. This may, therefore, quickly involve recruits getting involved in illegal, or semi-legal activities. Groups that are state supported or those with a long history of operation may, however, be different. Members need to understand how, when and why money is required and to set about getting it quickly.

• Fifth, groups make exit costs very high. Leaving is associated with failure, persecution and isolation. It is more than just a waste of time and effort. They make you feel as if nothing will ever be the same as you will be an outcast. It is made to sound a very unattractive, indeed impossible, option. Why Do People Join Cults

Every reader here that uses critical thinking can tell all kinds of stories about how every single one of these traits have been used against them by the church.

Extreme groups offer simple, clear messages in an increasingly complex world. Old certainties are crumbling; ethics even science is portrayed as having only relative truths. The world is corrupt, evil, unfair and very complex. So a group or leader who offers a "sensible, sane" explanation for the complex world, a secure group and personal salvation is very attractive. They come in many forms: politicians of the extreme left or right; religious leaders; romantic revolutionaries; persuasive writers; power-hungry individuals, brilliant orators; movie-star saviours. Why Do People Join Cults

In another article on bad religion, the following  is said:

...early warning signs of 'bad religion'" are:

1. The organization is willing to place itself above the law. With the exceptions noted earlier, this is probably the most important characteristic.
2. The leadership dictates (rather than suggests) important personal (as opposed to spiritual) details of followers' lives, such as whom to marry, what to study in college, etc.
3. The leader sets forth ethical guidelines members must follow but from which the leader is exempt.
4. The group is preparing to fight a literal, physical Armageddon against other human beings.
5. The leader regularly makes public assertions that he or she knows is false and/or the group has a policy of routinely deceiving outsiders. Safe Sects?  Early Warning Signs of Dangerous Faith Groups

The people that sit in these Church of God's  watch all of this going down day in and day out.  They have become numb to it all,  Its safer to be numb, blind and deaf than to jump off the cliff and let ones wings soar to freedom.  Its safer to be slave than free.  The leeks and onions still have their appeal.

Armstrong Family Members Share Life Under Herbert Armstrong's Reign

By Larry Gott

In 1967 my grandmother Loma D. Armstrong died from  simple intestinal blockage from taking Saritan laxative without enough water. She could have been made well the very next day by the simplest of medical procedures.  My grandfather refused medical help and simply anointed her with oil and prayed over her (probably to die), but would let no doctor near her. Finally the last time I saw her, laying in her death bed to say goodbye with my Mom the day before she died. Her belly so swollen she looked as if she were nine months pregnant. The next day her internal organs ruptured spreading peritonitis through her system and she of course died~~~  However,  when my uncle Dick (Richard Armstrong) was in a car crash, my grandfather told the hospital to fly in the best doctors in the country and to please do all they could to keep his son alive!!! He also almost killed my eldest brother Larry when he was only three. Larry came down with Rheumatic fever. Again my grandfather simply anointed him with oil and said a lame prayer and put him a fast for three weeks which damn near killed him, and did permanently stunt his growth .. Finally my Mother had the good sense to disobey her fathers orders and fed him saving his life... So many of these stories I remember as a kid.

When my Mother had the strength to tell him she would not pull all of us kids out of public school when he started Imperial to be indoctrinated by him and his ideas, he disfellowshiped her (You all know what that means) and told her that "He and God would take one of her children away from her in death"... You can imagine what effect that had on her. Still believing he had the power he professed, it nearly drove her mad. Every time we got sick she would be terror stricken. Or  if she heard a siren in town and one of us was not home, she would get in the car and go find us thinking it had to be an ambulance taking one of us to the hospital or morgue. HWA was an evil megalomaniac plain and simple!!!  I feel sorry for anyone who still believes his bullshit that he was "The Prophet" he proclaimed to be!!!!                                           
P.S. The story about him raping my aunt Dottie (Dorothy Mattson) for years is absolutely true!!!! The only part of that article that was wrong was that it was the mid 1960's not 50's when Vern found out and quit his job as business manager, and only after my aunt convinced him not to kill the s.o.b.!!!

By Tedd Armstrong

I will second that!! I'm the youngest brother of Larry Gott, (I use my Mom's maiden name professionally) and I have had so many requests to come here and set the record straight that I'm finally here to do so.  I was about twelve years old, and It was in our dinning room in the home where I grew up in Pasadena where my aunt Dottie (Dorothy Mattson) told my uncle Vern about her being molested and raped by her father. It was all she could do to stop Vern from rushing over to my grandfathers house and killing him! Instead he quit his job  the next day as business manager for the church. It was mid 60's not 50's when he quit, as was reported... But it did happen! My grandfather was a sick SOB megalomaniac and was a cruel and vicious excuse for a human being!  Trust me, if there is a Heaven and Hell, he is not in Heaven!!!! I should write a book~~~

My Mother started to write her biography in the 1980's, but bringing back all the painful memories of her childhood all the way up to her being thrown out of the church was too painful and she never finished it. If you know half of the twisted things about my grandfather you would all shit yourselves! I just wish you could all find some kind of closure and move on and forget he ruined so many lives! His DNA does NOT rear it's ugly head in any of us!

Fortunately for me and my siblings, my Mother had the good sense to NOT pull us out of public school and put us into Imperial when my grandfather first stated  grades 1 through 12 and "Demanded" she put us into Imperial... She told him flat out that she would NOT let him indoctrinate her kids and that IF we wanted to join the church as adults, that was up to us. Of course none of us ever did!!! And that was the second and final time he "Disfellowshipped her. The first time was when she refused to obey the no makeup rule. He got up in front of the entire church and called my Mother a "Harlot" for refusing to obey his new order not to wear makeup. That "Doctrine" btw, was my grandmothers idea. She didn't like my grandfather being around young coeds, so she was determined to make them as plain and dowdy as possible!

My grandfather only believed in money and power and did not care who he destroyed getting it! At least my uncle Ted (G.T.A.) believed what he preached, although did not always practice it, unfortunately for my sweet aunt Shirley RIP, who just recently passed away. Anyway, I wish you all peace and sincerely hope you all can find some closure and put the "Teachings" of H.W.A. behind you! You will all be better off!!!

Larry Gott's story is here:  Larry - Worldwide Church of God

Larry shares what it was like growing up as the grandson of the cult founder, including what his grandfather compelled his parents to do when he became ill at the age of 3 — force him to go without food for 12 days.

He discusses what lead to his parents being disfellowshipped from the church by his grandfather and how that impacted his family. He shares about his mom’s return to the employ of the church as Herbert’s social secretary though she did not return to the church or attend services; Larry’s enrollment in the church’s college, Ambassador, when he was 29 even though not a member of the church (something that was almost unheard of in the church); his world travels with his grandfather on the church’s private jet; and the evolution of his views about religion.

Finally, Larry discusses his view and the family’s views about the allegations that his grandfather, Herbert, committed incest with his youngest daughter, Dorothy (Larry’s aunt) and his general views about the personality and character of his grandfather and whether he was qualified — according to his own Biblical teachings — to be considered “God’s apostle on earth” or even a minister of Jesus Christ.

Larry has had his own YouTube channel for a number of years where he discusses his views on religion and other topics. Deborah Armstrong, Herbert’s niece and the daughter of Dwight Armstrong, who was also raised in the church, is interviewed on Podcast 5.

Living Church of God Favoritism

Another issue that the Living Church of God is having is a hard time dealing with is "favoritism."  The LCG HQ is filled with nepotism, backbiting and backstabbing in order for people to move up and/or be seen as important.

1. Hospitality.  Hospitality is not just a suggestion—it is one of the attributes that qualifies one to be in the ministry (Titus 1:8).  Pastors do not have to have a palace to be hospitable.  There is a unifying effect in breaking bread with one another, no matter how humble the circumstances.  This had a powerful effect on the brethren in the early days of the apostolic Church.  Acts 2:46-47 says, “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart… And the Lord added to the Church daily those who were being saved.”  Be sure to be sensitive to your wife’s input and desires in making plans to host brethren at your house—since she will be doing much of the work of the hosting!   

Caution: Showing special hospitality only to those you are close to tears down morale, unity, and erodes the overall health of a congregation.  Favoritism will erode love and warmth in a family (Genesis 37:4) and it can destroy your effectiveness in a congregation.  Especially as a Pastor, it’s important to show equal interest and attention to all the brethren you serve (Luke 14:13).  It is a way of showing interest in the lives of all of your brethren and coming to know even those considered the “least important” (Matthew 25:40).  LCG Pastoral Manual pg. 2-6 

LCG members are waiting for the church to erupt when Meredith dies.  The various camps are already forming.  If Lil'Jimmy is anointed by Ames to lead the LCG there will be a major split.  People will split even if Ames maintains control for a while.  Others see upcoming doctrinal changes and are ready to head off to other groups. Its only a matter of time till LCG is as impotent as the United Church of God, Restored Church of God and the Philadelphia Church of God.