Dave Pack: His "god" Is Sending Angels Incognito In Order To Test His Followers

Can you imagine how difficult it is for Restored Church of God members to ever truly measure up to Dave's high standards?  Even though these standards are not God's standards, Dave feels that his members need to be ready to be "proved."  In order for this to happen Dave's god is going to send angels incognito to see if the RCG members will take them in.  It is highly likely that they won't since they will not even help the homeless and hungry people begging at the Giant Eagle several hundred yards across the street.

One thing GTA had going for him in the late 70's was that he saw a need to care for the homeless and hungry in Pasadena.  When Herb had his melt down and closed Pasadena, Ted thought that the Student Center should be used to feed the homeless.  The proverbial Armstrongite caca hit the fan.  Ted soon found himself homeless and on his way to Texas.

This is what Dave says to his followers:

People would be horrified to think they turned an angel away. Even though the angel didn’t need any of the things that it might appear to when it came as a human being. You see. You’d be horrified to think “Ohh, I turned an angel away? Well, then how much worse would it be to turn a son of God away? Nobody would turn an angel away. No one would turn Christ away—Lord, when saw we Younaked, or hungry, or a stranger? And He said, Inasmuch as you did it to one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it unto Me. [Paraphrase, Matthew 25].

Do you realize God could test you? And He says so right here. If there are no strangers near you that you would need to take in, He might actually send an angel to test you. There can be no other reason. Angels don’t need beds. They don’t need food, or water, or clothes, and if you said no to them, they would just fly away. So that would be a problem—but if you say no to a little one, or “the least of these, My brethren”—Christ said, “You did it to Me.” Nobody would ever say no to an angel, and that’s better than saying no to one who Christ said was the equivalent of saying no to Him.

What????

So, you may have never thought about that verse, but that’s the context, and it’s the chapter, that it follows, quoting Haggai. And now that we understand the resurrection of the dead, a lot of people I was talking to after services were just floored. They had never thought about thousands of people with enormous needs.

God will test you, even if there isn’t somebody with a need. If you live in outer Slobovia, He might send an angel. I don’t think there is such a place. Wherever it is, it’s outer…[laughter] I think maybe more of you are familiar with inner Slobovia…but I was referring to the outer one.

Just How Real Are Church of God Friendships?

For decades we have heard the stories of thousands who have left Armstrongism and how that action impacted their lives.  One of the most shocking things many experienced was how fraudulent the friendships that they had with fellow church members actually were.  The minute any one starts questioning the church, beliefs, the minister, or its doctrines those once "loyal" friends would instantly turn their backs on you.

Armstrongism has always been belief system that was based upon superficial appearances.  It was vitally important to the church to be seen as special.  Beautiful campuses, exquisite homes for leaders filled with gold, silver and the finest art.  Impeccably dressed leaders pounding lecterns while living repugnant lifestyles.  Beautiful videos, visually striking booklets and magazines, produced by some of the most morally and spiritually bankrupt men/churches imaginable. All utterly fake and insincere.  Just like relationships.

Real friends stick by one another, regardless of the situation.  Real friends would refuse to follow the admonition of lying fools who tell them to turn their backs on spouses, family and friends.  Friendships in the Church of God have always been superficial.  They never have been truly sincere and usually never deep.  Deep abiding love is hard to find in the Church of God.

The following letter was posted on the following thread:

Rod Meredith's Super Special Not So Special Christmas Sermon

My family left LCG about two years ago.

The first three months or so were somewhat lonely, but we looked around for community organizations we could join to meet people with shared interests.

By six months out, we had a social routine that was as busy as our old LCG routine, except that we never had to drive more than a half-hour to go to a meeting with any of our new friends.

After about a year, we had started to develop some close friendships with our new friends.

Around that time, my wife became seriously ill. We let our old LCG acquaintances know about her illness, and one of our children who still has some close LCG ties even got his mother's name on a prayer list.

So, who was it who came to visit my wife in the hospital? Was it the LCG friends she had known for nearly 20 years? NOT ONE of the LCG friends visited or even phoned to express their concern or support. It was our new friends, people we had known for no more than a year, who rallied to my wife's side and gave her the encouragement that she so needed.

When she was discharged from the hospital, my wife reminded me of my own time in the hospital about a decade ago. Even while we were LCG members in good standing, nobody from LCG had bothered to visit me in the hospital. At the time I didn't think anything of it, as I just assumed everyone was busy with their work and with their many church activities. But seeing how non-LCG-members rallied for my wife, the contrast was too great to ignore.

If you are still in LCG, do not fear. Life is much better on the outside. You will have friends. Real friends. Better friends than you ever had in LCG.

Where In The World Is My True Church?