How equipped are you to deal with psychopaths in the church and in society around you? The answer is that most of us were not able to see the psychopaths in our midst. Most people blissfully go through the day ignoring the psychopaths that are around us. They can be neighbors, bosses, politicians and religious leaders. Many of these people are prominent in society and lead by all visible appearances, normal productive purpose driven lives.
So just what is a psychopath? Wikipedia has this to say about psychopaths:
Psychopathy (/saɪˈkɒpəθi/[1][2]) is a mental disorder characterized primarily by a lack of empathy and remorse, egocentricity, and deceptiveness. Psychopaths are highly prone to antisocial behavior and abusive treatment of others, but often manage to pass themselves off as normal people.
How many ministers in Armstrongism do you know that were empathetic? We have seen a few examples in the last day were COG ministers were NOT empathetic. How many COG ministers, evangelists and Apostles do you know that were abusive to others? How many ministers, evangelists, prophets and Apostles do you know that said one thing in public and did the exact opposite in their private lives? How many were deceptive? Look at the stalkers, the rapists, the child abusers that have been part of the COG through the decades. The list could go on and on!
Wikipedia also has this to say:
According to Hare, the consensus among researchers in this area is that psychopathy stems from a specific neurological disorder which is present from birth,
Look at the life of Herbert Armstrong and the stories he told in his autobiography. There was something not quit right about the guy and we were too blind to see it.
Look at Spanky and his sick obsession with sex, his extreme vengeance that he used to destroy ministers and members lives during the time he was over Church Administration. Look at the LCG members that were murdered in Spanky's church and his complete lack of remorse for what he said and how it contributed to the mental break down of one of his members.
Look at Six Pack building his "mini-me" college and Auditorium in the middle of Oklahoma. Look at the lives he has destroyed in his cult. His extreme form of being non-empathetic has lead to his extreme decree on making members reject family members. He does not care if grandmothers are forbidden to see grandchildren, or if parents reject their children.
Look at the leadership of UCG and COGWA and the men who constantly battle each other in their power trips. Look at the egos of these men. Look at the total lack of empathy they have towards the brethren. Their concern was first and foremost maintaining a power structure where they all have their jobs, cars, and the prestige of their ministerial positions.
I would now like to direct you to our own Douglas Becker and information he has about these people in our midst. Douglas has done some great work on this topic. This is not something new to him that he has been spurred to do in the last month or so. This has been something he has been working on and studying for many years now. Check out his link here on
Depraved Indifference.
Douglas has tied together an extreme belief/doctrine in the Churches of God and how it creates despotic behavior in its leaders.
British Israelism confers upon the leadership of a cult group a pattern of governance which limits culpability for abuse.
Leaders of British Israelism are usually despots who have no accountability for their actions: While they rule as if they were absolute monarchs of the past glory of the British Empire with no regard for the rights of others, cult leaders of British Israelism establish laws and rules which are imposed on those below them in an hierarchical structure -- laws and rules which do not necessarily apply to the leader themselves. For example, some forms of British Israelism organizations have strict Sabbath keeping as a tenet of their cult culture, but the leader may find it convenient to go out dancing and other pleasures on the Sabbath because they are special in their own minds. The same could be said where the British Israelism has taken faith healing as an absolute unassailable tenet of doctrine and prohibit members using medical doctors for treatment of life threatening diseases, while the "Apostle" or other designation of the leader makes him immune to following his own doctrines based on his opinions because he is the absolute monarch of his British Israelism Empire. He will then go and get the best medical treatment for his own diseases and debilities because he deserves the best and it is God's Will for him to do so, to preserve the Empire at all costs.
As a result, members of British Israelism may die or live terrible lives, while the leaders live a posh existence of luxury.
Watch this great video and see how many characteristics you can pick out in the Churches of God. You will be shocked at what you see. The video is about 38 minutes long and is well worth viewing.
Hat's off to Douglas! Keep up the good work!
