Living Church of God: "He called me “Satan,” told me to stay away from him and even threatened to divorce me."

 

We have all heard horror stories over the years of marriages being ruined or broken up by the church. Whether it be in Dave Pack's cult or in Gerald Flurry's the abuse has been horrific. They are not the only destroyers of marriages and relationships, as the Worldwide Church of God reigned supreme in that department, particularly when heavy-handed Rod Meredith was over Church Administration. 

One would think that when all of the current splinter groups split off to preserve the "one truth" that they would have reinvented themselves and stopped the many cases of abuse they saw prevailing in the WCG. Instead, all any of them did was carry on exactly like they did in the WCG. They were so used to the power they had that they felt unstoppable and in no need to change anything. Living Church of God, despite being part of two different splinter groups, never has cleaned up their act and still is an abusive church.

Check out the latest post on Exit and Support Network from a woman in LCG:

Why I’m Leaving Living Church of God:
July 10, 2021 

 

I’ve been a member of LCG from 2012 but I always had doubts and tried to convince myself that it was the “true church.” Many things preached by LCG never added up. For example, the promise that Jesus would return within the next 5 years. 

 

LCG is a dangerous cult leading to many divorces for members who did marital counseling with the ministers. I ended up with serious anxiety issues and suffered financially when my husband forced me to pay the third tithe. I have never seen a verse in the Bible that says the Levites should be in charge of the third tithe and that the excess 2nd tithe should be given to the church on the Last Great Day. My question was always around why LCG never does any charitable deeds like helping the poor? 

 

I discovered the incest allegations about HWA and I found that very disturbing that someone who was supposed to be a servant of God could even be accused of such a thing. 

 

LCG preaches closet racism about interracial marriages in youth camps as being unequally yoked. I realised they were preaching nonsense and are not Christians who read the Bible. 

 

My husband is still part of the cult even after I showed him allegations about HWA and racist articles written in the Plain Truth. He called me “Satan,” told me to stay away from him and even threatened to divorce me. We were constantly fighting and my husband was trying to force me to remain with LCG which became emotionally abusive. He is determined to teach our kids about the nonsense of LCG child members being princesses when Christ returns. 

 

So many wrong things about LCG are so blatant but my husband refuses to see reason. How do I live in peace with someone like that and I’m worried about the influence on my children. Not sure what to do. I only pray that one day he sees the real truth not LCG fables. I just want to say thank you for your website as it helped me to see the true state of affairs at LCG. –[name withheld]

The Failure Of The Church of God To Turn Hearts In The Right Direction

Back in March of this year, Banned by HWA posted a piece by me entitled Why must your son be so disrespectful of you and your religion? In the post, I took my father's CGI "friends" to task for bringing to his attention everything I write about Armstrongism, CGI, or Pastor Bill Watson. I thought that it would shame those individuals into refraining from causing him distress, but apparently a few of those fine folks continue to delight in stirring the commode!

A few days ago, I received a notification that my brother had left a nasty comment about something that was posted on Banned on May 26th of this year: Church of God International's Civil War Over Covid-19. When my brother informed me about it, I asked him why he was commenting on something which had been posted over a month ago. He informed me that some of my father's church "friends" had brought it to my dad's attention, and that it had upset him so severely that he couldn't catch his breath (my father is chronically ill). Moreover, my brother went on to inform me that my father would not be attending his wedding reception because I was planning to attend!

After hanging up the phone with my brother, I couldn't help but think about two verses at the end of the Old Testament which Herbert Armstrong and the old Worldwide Church loved to quote. You probably already know the ones I'm referring to: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (Malachi 4:5-6) More proof that that verse had/has absolutely NOTHING to do with Armstrongism! Yeah, their turning hearts, but they obviously aren't turning them in the right direction!

Unfortunately, my family's rupture over Armstrongism is NOT unique in this regard. Even a cursory review of the comments and posts of those who have left Armstrongism over the years will demonstrate this sad reality. Indeed, when we survey the broken marriages and families directly attributable to Armstrongism, it is hard to imagine a more disastrous record with regard to interpersonal relationships, families, Christian love, and fellowship - the very things which they are supposed to represent and protect! Moreover, many of these folks have the audacity to turn on their critics and accuse them of causing dissension and disunity (talk about the pot calling the kettle black)!

And let's not forget that this particular splinter (CGI) claims to be very different from the Worldwide Church of God and to have moved beyond the teachings of Herbert Armstrong. If that is truly the case, then why do they keep repeating so many of his mistakes? Why do families like mine continue to suffer the recriminations and heartaches that were so much a part of Worldwide's legacy?

Now, while those "friends" probably (hopefully) didn't intend to inflict this kind of damage on my family, we (me and my loved ones) must all live with the fallout of their pathetic attempt to exert pressure on me through my dad to silence my criticism of their church. And, just for the record, on the other side of that wreckage, it didn't work! In fact, I am more motivated than ever to point out just how destructive and harmful Armstrongism has been to so many people.

Lonnie Hendriks

Thus Sayeth The Lord??????? Crackpot Prophet Still Incapable Of Making An Accurate Prediction

 

Never in the history of the Church of God have we had such wishy-washy prophets in our midst. In between all the hand flouncing, pulpit pounding, and jig dancing, not a single one of them has the testicular fortitude to actually make a definitive prophetic statement while resting assured that their god would do what they say it will. Instead, we get a lot of "could it be", "might be's", and a lot of "what if's". When one looks at prophets of old in scriptures, when they made a propehcy you had better be damned sure you listened or your could kiss your ass good-bye. Not so with today's self-appointed pretenders. Not a single one of them, from Bob Thiel to Ron Weinland has ever made a prophecy that actually passed, or will ever pass at some point in the future. 

That doesn't stop them though. 

We now have Dave Pack predicting his creature he calls "christ" will be here right after the Feast of Tabernacles this year. The eminent return of his creature always keeps getting bumped up to some future date.

Gerald Flurry says his creature called "christ" is returning within a matter of months. In the meantime, he sends his grandkids off to dance the dance of David while spending hundreds of thousands of dollars promoting his Jesus-stone. Flurry's creature still cannot figure out when it is supposed to return.

Ron Weinland's creature has been delayed since 2008 and is still waiting for Ron to tell him when to return.

And then there is the Great Bwana to Africa and 299 Caucasians. Being self-appointed apparently does not bring any wisdom along with it. The Bwana has to be one of the most wishy-washy namby-pamby prophets we have ever had. All we get out of him is a lot of "could be's", "maybe's" and "what if's." Even his creature he calls "christ" is so confused that even it doesn't know when to return.

In COGland the return of Jesus is almost like he is waiting by the Power Ball machine for his number to pop up.

The Bwana is back with his own predictions after first mocking those that have failed. For some reason, he never lists his epic failures. Instead, he covers his lily-white butt by making broad statements hoping that somehow his dart will hit the board, which it never does.

Great Tribulation: 2026 or 2027?
Many have falsely claimed that the Great Tribulation either was in the first century A.D. or would come in many different years prior to now. Could the Great Tribulation occur next year or not? What is the earliest year that the Great Tribulation could come? Why is 2022-2024 impossible? Why does 2025 seem unlikely? What are the possible reasons for 2026 or 2027? What about confirmation of the peace deal by a prince in Daniel 9:27? What about the emergence of European King of the North and a Middle Eastern/North African King of the South? What about animal sacrifices, the red heifer, and the Temple Institute? How might the date of Jesus’ execution and resurrection be involved? Might there be a six/seven thousand year plan? How could that tie to the words of Peter and those in the Book of Hebrews regarding the last days? Who is the Beast of the sea, the King of the North? Could the final Antichrist be a type of antipope who falsely claims Roman Catholicism? What about pestilences, the ride of the fourth horseman of Apocalypse, and the opening of the fifth seal of the Book of Revelation. Dr. Thiel covers these and other matters and gives rationale, why, if the signs that Jesus referred to are seen before then, that 2026 or 2027 could be the start of the devastating Great Tribulation. He also quotes the late Herbert W. Armstrong about it starting with a nuclear attack against the UK, USA, and/or Canada. Dr. Thiel quotes Jesus’ promise of protection for Philadelphian Christians. He also summarizes several important signs to watch for, consistent with Jesus’ words in Mark 13.