"What does the constant reinforcement of the idea that Satan is about to take over the entire world...do to your mental health?"

Ever since the Internet emerged with accessibility for the general public, the downfall of the Church of God movement was set into motion.  What took decades to build up through radio, television and print, has been decimated by the instant accessibility of news and articles about Armstrongism.  More and more people are stepping up to the plate to tell their stories of growing up in the movement. Every time this happens, the diehard loyalists dig in their heels and come out spitting and snarling in anger labeling such people as "you were never converted" or that they have "turned their back on the truth restored through Herbert Armstrong", or that they have a reprobate mind that is indicative of the Laodiceans. Or, worse yet, label such people as committing the unpardonable sin.

There is a new blog up that is filled with wonderful insights of a woman who grew up in the church.

From the time that I have been able to talk, I have had to explain about the doctrine and beliefs that Herbert Armstrong both concocted and plagiarized to create The Worldwide Church of God and the effect that it has had on millions of people all over the world.

Honestly, I'm sick to death of it. 

But in the same way that someone with a very noticeable scar or missing limb must continue tell the story of their ordeal when they meet someone new who can't help but ask, so I am still explaining the false doctrines and sharing stories of rampant abuse, fraud, and neglect with people who are curious about the cult.

As much as I hate it and wish I could just "get past it somehow," I can't.

This is my baseline.

Coming to accept that truth was a difficult road to travel because I kept telling myself that there was some way I could "normalize" myself.

I so desperately wanted that to be possible, but you can't change the way that you were raised. The best you can hope for is to adapt and overcome. Our experiences make up our foundations and it's up to us to reinforce them with better building materials as we go along. But the original elements of the foundation will always be there, because you can't unbuild the house while you're living in it.

I was born into a cult and raised by a devotee of Herbert W Armstrong. Consequently, their teachings and beliefs are my default settings even if I no longer believe in, nor even approve of them in any way. Much like the Outlook Mail or Groove Music Player that you can't delete from Windows 10, so are the idiosyncrasies of the people who observe The Days Of Unleavened Bread, and know the the hymn"Blessed and Happy Is the Man" better than they know they know the song "Jingle Bells".

When Herbert Armstrong started his "Radio Church of God" back in 1933 he was a frustrated 41 year old "Ad Man" who couldn't stand the fact that his job consisted entirely of upselling the value of something he couldn't afford or someone in a better position than himself.

I think that is one of the main reasons he failed to make a profitable go of the advertising business and thus was forced to turn to the life of a con man trapped in his own con for the rest of his days. He could never conjure anything more important in his mind than his own ego and insatiable lust for "the finer things in life."

Herbert may not have had a brilliant intellect, but he did learn what the internet would come to call the, "one weird trick" of being successful.

Even if you aren't great yourself, you can still rise above your peers as long as you can hide, or even destroy their potential.

So, how did he manage to do that?

The first step was to take away the idea of hope for the future of society. Because without a future, what use is potential?

In the late 1920s, while studying for his Nonexistent Pretend Theology degree at the Not Even A Recognized School of Any Kind, Portland Public library, Herbert Armstrong discovered a profound power that resides in the biblical narrative.

SOMETHING VERY BAD IS GOING TO HAPPEN AND PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SUFFER LIKE THEY NEVER HAVE BEFORE OR EVER WILL AGAIN. 

We don't know when it will happen, but probably sometime sooner rather than later, so y'all best get your shoes on and be ready to flee whenever you hear the trumpets.

Further down her posting is this gem of truth:

Herbert probably realized that the more strongly someone believed that The End Times were close at hand, the less they would care about preparing for their future financial security or reputation in the community.

A man who believes that Christ will return to Earth within the next 3 years has no motivation to spend 8 years getting a PhD. A family who thinks they will be going to a "place of safety" before the end of the decade, has no motivation to pay off a mortgage or save for a new car.

And why should someone not give most of their money to help "God's Apostle" spread the true gospel today? After all, in a few years all material possessions will all be worthless anyway, right?

I'm pretty sure that the ramifications of promoting this line of thinking never really crossed his mind.

But let me ask you this...

What does the constant reinforcement of the idea that Satan is about to take over the entire world and we are already surrounded by demons who are trying to separate us from our salvation do to your mental health?

Ripley invites your thoughts on what he has written.  See his blog here that also has other entries mentioning Armstrongism:   "What Did He Do That Was So Wrong?" (Part One)

The Roderick C Meredith Memorial Library Is Now Open! Woo Hoo!

Americans have been privileged to have access to numerous Presidential Libraries of past Presidents and now there is an even more spectacular library available to the world!

Welcome to the world's greatest library ever to be offered to the world and especially to the Church of God. Religious scholars will be flocked to examine this astounding library of the most sacred writings ever written!  You too can learn about gay sex, hetero sex, transvestites, boxing, Leona McNair, banishment to Hawaii, how to die in an LCG church service, how to remain sinless after baptism, and many more fun topics.

Roderick C Meredith Memorial Library
The mission of the University Library is to provide professional library and information sciences services to help meet the information needs of Living University students, faculty and staff and the Living Church of God international headquarters workforce by acquiring and providing access to materials in appropriate formats and in sufficient quantity, depth and diversity to support teaching, learning and basic research, and by preserving the textual tradition of the Living Church of God and its antecedent fellowships both in print and in electronic forms in an Archive and Special Collections Repository. 

To fulfill this mission the University Library endeavors:

• To provide the facilities, services, and support in an aesthetically pleasing learning environment enabling students, faculty and staff access to adequate library collections as well as to other learning/information resources consistent with its educational, research and public service endeavors;

• To serve the Living Church of God by preserving its textual tradition both in print and in electronic forms, for the current educational needs of faculty and students and for the future;

• To address the library support needs of the Living Church of God international headquarters workforce;

• To maintain a professional and/or paraprofessional staff sufficient to render point-of-use assistance, bibliographic instruction and personal reference services; and

• To provide its patrons with a contemporary theology reference collection and services.

The foregoing requires the University Library:

• To acquire and maintain adequate and appropriate print, non-print and electronic resources that support the University’s general education and specialized content courses leading to its certificate, diploma and degree programs;

• To provide a comprehensive system of services designed to facilitate effective student study, research, and scholastic achievement;

• To support teaching and instruction, strengthen faculty access to relevant materials in their fields of specialization and meet the information needs of the Living Church of God headquarters workforce;

• To serve as an international depository, through its Archive and Special Collections Repository, for historical documents pertaining to the nearly 2,000-year history of the Churches of God;

• To develop a special collection of the literature of the Living Church of God and its antecedent fellowships; and

• To provide professional library and information sciences services in an aesthetically pleasing learning environment conducive to study and research, and which enables the University to fulfill its obligations to students, faculty, and staff relative to the overall institutional mission and purpose.

Elijah says it is IMPOSSIBLE to NOT believe him

We have seen Elijahs come and go in Armstrongism, with several small sad little men in the Church of God who proclaim they are such a person to this very day. But there is one Elijah who stands above the rest.  One man whom God has chosen to be the final witness to the world. Lest you think I am talking about the three latest self-appointed upstarts, Bob Thiel, James Malm, and Ron Weinland, you are sadly mistaken.  There is a greater man than all of these combined!

Behold the TRUE Elijah!  

Michael Noordhoek, aka. Zerubbabel

Get on your knees and beg him forgiveness for not believing in him!

DescriptionREALITY; REALITY is our Maker has continued to shorten the days of Him pouring out His hot indignation upon the scattered descendants of Israel by afflicting His 2nd Son of His Holy Anointing Oil in your stead. REALITY is the Elohiym of Abraham, Isaac and Israel has sent His end time Elijah to you in a manner that it is IMPOSSIBLE to NOT BELIEVE that He has sent me UNLESS; 1) You do not really “BELIEVE” His word and/or 2) you have failed to fear Him enough to look at all of the evidence that He has given to us in the testimony of His word in order to testify to “THE REALITY” that He has sent me to set you free from the captivity of mystery babylon. REALITY is that which you have deemed to be failed prophecy has merely been YEHWEH my Elohiym “SHORTENING THE DAYS.” REALITY is the Almighty, the Self-Existing ONE that inhabits eternity is NOT going to “SHORTEN THE DAYS” forever. The choice is yours to make, CHOOSE LIFE so that you and your seed can live unto eternity!!!

REALITY;

REALITY is our Maker has continued to shorten the days of Him pouring out His hot indignation upon the scattered descendants of Israel by afflicting His 2nd Son of His Holy Anointing Oil in your stead.

REALITY is the Elohiym of Abraham, Isaac and Israel has sent His end time Elijah to you in a manner that it is IMPOSSIBLE to NOT BELIEVE that He has sent me UNLESS; 1) You do not really “BELIEVE” His word and/or 2) you have failed to fear Him enough to look at all of the evidence that He has given to us in the testimony of His word in order to testify to “THE REALITY” that He has sent me to set you free from the captivity of mystery babylon.

REALITY is that which you have deemed to be failed prophecy has merely been YEHWEH my Elohiym “SHORTENING THE DAYS.”

REALITY is the Almighty, the Self-Existing ONE that inhabits eternity is NOT going to “SHORTEN THE DAYS” forever.

REALITY is “ONE THAT BELIEVES” His word “BELIEVES” that 3 ½ days from tonight (6/26) at 7:34 p.m. (Arizona time) will bring forth “THE END OF THE MOST HIGH SHORTENING THE DAYS.”

3 ½ days from tonight at 7:34 p.m. will be 7:34 a.m. on 6/30 on His servant satan’s calendar.

 

REALITY is this warning is YET AGAIN fall upon “UTTERLY DEAF” ears.

You are SOON going to “WAKE UP TO REALITY!!!”

YOUR PARTY IS OVER!!!

SOBER UP or else die in your bitterly obstinate drunken stupor!!!

You have rejected our Maker’s warnings and we have now come to the time that He is going to cease from shortening the days.

You have two choices that you can choose from when He causes you to drink from this cup that you have brought upon yourselves;

1)  You can be humble before His faces and acknowledge your rebellion to Him and turn back to Him through that which He has restored and come and drink of His living waters.

2) You can choose to die in your rebellion to Him.

The choice is yours to make, CHOOSE LIFE so that you and your seed can live unto eternity!!!

Or else drink up and die in your bitterly obstinate drunken stupor!!!

This disgusting piece of human garbage is Michael Noordhoek, aka. Zerubbabel. A former Church of God member who has degenerated into a worthless mess of lies and deception just like Bob Thiel and James Malm are currently sinking into. 

 A self-serving man who stopped working and expects his few followers to fund him.  His wife and daughter live in an abject state of poverty in a one-room shack.  He also claimed he was going to father a holy child with his daughter.

Just more proof on what Armstrongims does to the mind of so many its followers.