Dave Pack Says: "...that he is not held to The Law (biblical) as members are"

November 22, 1999
 
 
Dear Brethren:
From time to time, Christians must do what is commanded by God concerning those whose behavior shows them to be an enemy of God.  While this duty and responsibility is quite unpleasant we are required to do it.  This letter concerns a problem with a minister who is sowing discord among the brethren.  So let us first look at what Jesus Christ told us concerning such a matter.  He said in Mat 18:

     vv. 15-17 (NKJV)  "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. {16} "But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' {17} "And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”

Notice that there are no exceptions here as to who your brother is.  Nor is there an exception where we are told how to deal with an errant elder or minister.  Notice what is said in 1 Tim 5:

     vv. 19-21 (NKJV)  “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. {20} Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear. {21} I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without
     prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.”  [emphasis ours]

We see where Paul had to deal with a similar problem in 2 Cor. 11:

     vv. 14-15 (NKJV)  “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. {15}
     Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose nd will be according to their works.”

Because God’s commands (Mat 18:15-17 & 1 Tim 5:19-21) were not always followed in the recent past, we have wolves among the flock.  In light of the prophecy in Dan 12:7, which talks about the power of the holy people being shattered, we see that we (ministers and members alike) are partly responsible for this shattering in that God’s instructions were not followed correctly, if at all.  This is in spite of what Jesus Christ told us in Mat 10:28 (NKJV)  "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”  The ministry, within the various corporations, has been afraid of lawsuits and therefore did not do as we were commanded.  This problem apparently started with the mishandling of a situation in the sixties, which resulted in a lawsuit for slander, libel, and defamation of character.  The end result is we now have problems with wolves that can and do attack the flock with impunity.

Because we are determined to do what God says, regardless of the physical  consequences, we must warn you about a wolf that has entered into our midst.  We tell you this because this “minister” has been sowing discord among the brethren.  And by his own admission, before several witnesses, is not a minister of Jesus Christ, nor meets the qualifications given in 1 Tim 3 or Titus 1.

This letter concerns Mr. David C. Pack and has not been done lightly.  While we are not ordained, we understand the implications of James 4:17.  Therefore, we have proceeded slowly and cautiously, obtaining counsel because we did not wish to act precipitously, and because we did not want to do as Korah did.  It is because of his [Mr. Pack] conduct and behaviors, that an investigation was done, and it was found that on May 3rd 1999, Mr. Pack had been terminated for cause from Global, disfellowshipped and removed from the ministry (“defrocked”)!  Mr. Pack did not disclose this to his congregation (Akron OH), but instead covered the truth.  Global had taken their actions because he [Mr. Pack] was found to be sowing discord among the brethren.  Unfortunately, Global did NOT make this public.

[Subsequent to the writing of this letter it was discovered that Global HAD made this public, although no one in this area has seen a copy of the letters of termination/disfellowshipment written to the brethren. If we obtain copies of these letters, we will post them for confirmation.]

On October 11, 1999, Mr. Pack was approached, at his insistence, by those people who had been employees, volunteers, and/or, contractors of the Restored Church of God, and was confronted with further explicit evidence of his sowing discord.  He told us that he was sorry and would repent.  We withdrew from him to give him time to show fruits of repentance.  The result was, rather than admitting before the church that he had been the one causing all the problems presented to him, he has decided to attack those who have confronted him over his conduct.

Per the admonitions within The Bible, as stated above, we must tell you and explain what we showed him to be doing (conduct) and the results.  Note that these problems are ones of conduct and some of the applicable verses are listed with each item:
 

• Mr. Pack has stated that he is not held to The Law (biblical) as members are – not that he is held to a higher standard, but that these things don’t apply to him (1 Tim 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-15, John 14:15, 1 Tim 5:19-21)
• Mr. Pack stated in the first office staff meeting, as Restored was being formed, that he would not look at tithe/contribution records.  He decided he could not be held to that promise and began looking at these records immediately prior to the Feast of Trumpets 1999 (Ex 20:16, Mat 5:37)
• Mr. Pack divulged, among the office staff, those who were the largest contributors, and those who tithed once a year and/or quarterly (Lev 19:16)
• Mr. Pack showed favoritism in duty assignments based on contributions (Lev 19:15, Jam 2:1-9)
• Mr. Pack was divulging confidential information given him in counseling sessions and used the information in an attempt to divide family members or as a reason to sever people from their position(s) at RCG (employee, contractor, or, volunteer) (Lev 19:11, 13, 16)
• Mr. Pack was found to be a talebearer in that he was repeating stories rather than putting a stop to them (Lev 19:16)
• Mr. Pack “terminated for cause” one of the staff members of RCG because he had not paid tithes, even though he was self-employed and all during the time he worked for RCG had incurred losses – therefore had no increase to tithe on (Lev 19:11, 13, 15)
• Mr. Pack claimed that certain people embezzled funds after his having approved of  the expenditure and or reimbursement (Lev 19:11)
• Mr. Pack demanded people work for the church for free, while being paid their severance from their prior employer (e.g., if a person was being paid for two weeks of accrued vacation after resigning, Mr. Pack required them to work for RCG for two weeks without accruing pay) (Lev 19:13)
• Mr. Pack was sowing discord within families and between husband and wife (Lev 19:16)
• Mr. Pack was sowing discord between the various groups he was trying to get to join RCG (Lev 19:16)
• Mr. Pack on a regular basis exaggerated figures as to income and/or attendance (Lev 19:11, Ex 20:16, Col 3:9)
• Mr. Pack quickly and easily trampled on brethren who even slightly opposed or held a different viewpoint or opinion.  Many times this precipitated inconceivable schemes by him.  This was found to be a pattern throughout much of his ministry.  (2 Cor 1:24 John 7:24)
• Mr. Pack stated that one of the persons bringing the problems to him had gone public with that information.  He [Mr. Pack] was challenged on this, and could provide no proof, yet continued to make similar statements.  (Ex 20:16, 23:1-2, Lev 19:11, 16, Deu 16:19-20)

(This is a short list, because to go over any more, or give specific details would be to invade the privacy of other individuals.)

These things were brought to his attention in explicit detail, with and before witnesses, and taken to the ministry (in explicit detail with witnesses) within Restored Church of God.  Those documents presented to the ministry of RCG have not been publicly or privately circulated due to the nature of those documents [see the last bullet above].

Meanwhile, Mr. Pack ultimately refused to accept his responsibility in these matters and then began attacking those bringing the problems to his attention.  Part of that attack was to attempt to discredit the persons bringing the Mat 18 situation, and the witnesses, with the ministers within RCG.  In doing this, he was telling those ministers to ignore what was brought before them, whereby he interfered with judgment – a violation of those principles found in Ex. 23 and Deut. 16 concerning interfering with the giving of judgment:

     Ex 23:1-2, 7 (NKJV)  "You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. {2} "You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so  as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. {7} "Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked.” [emphasis ours]
     Deu 16:19-20 (NKJV)  "You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. {20} "You shall follow what is  altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the LORD your God is giving you.”
     [emphasis ours]

He even went so far as to “disfellowship” and “mark” one of the ministers who questioned him [Mr. Pack] on his conduct and his [Mr. Pack] sowing of discord.

These things show that Mr. David C. Pack has not only been guilty of sowing discord among the brethren but continues to do so with impunity.  Again, we let God speak via The Bible from Titus 3:

     vv. 10-11 (NKJV)  “Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, {11} knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.”

As a result, we unfortunately have had to write this letter to finish what was commanded in Mat 18:17, of announcing it before the church and I Tim 5:20, to publicly rebuke those elders that sin.  Therefore, we humbly submit to you all (regardless of corporate affiliation) that David C. Pack has disqualified himself by his actions and behavior as a minister and should be considered the same as “a heathen man and a publican” (Mat 18:17 KJV).
 
Your humble servants in Christ,
/s/ William Ambrose                                                  /s/ Leah Sheppard
/s/ Daryl Ambrose                                                     /s/ William Sheppard Jr.
/s/ Darrell Gaug                                                         /s/ Nancy Sheppard
/s/ Brenda Gaug                                                        /s/ Joan Thompson
/s/ Tim Mobley                                                         /s/ Steve Thompson
 

Dave Pack: Former Employees "...affirm that he has a lack of self-control in the temper department."

Dear Brethren of The Restored Church of God,

Mr. Pack has often stated in the past that he wants us to be the most informed Church among all the splinter groups. I know you haven’t been hearing that lately, so here is some information that is vital for you to know, about which Mr. Pack has somehow failed to inform you.

It is with great sadness and heaviness of heart that I, Thomas L. Munson must write this to you. It is my duty as a Trustee of The Restored Church of God, Ministerial assistant and Ministerial trainee of Mr. Pack, Treasurer for the Church and a converted Christian who is committed to the entirety of the truth of God as taught to us by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, to inform you of particular events that have occurred over a period of time. These events happened in my presence while I was employed at RCG. If you are as committed to the truth of God as I am, then you will want to know. If you are not, then you will not care to know what this letter contains. I now have the distinction of being the longest lived employee of Restored, although I was the newest employee as recently as mid-January of this year.

Mr. Pack has repeatedly stated in the past that he wanted to run the Church in a squeaky clean manner. As the Treasurer of the Church for the past three months now, I can see a clear and consistent pattern of overspending, wastefulness and worst of all, a misuse of all three categories of directed tithe funds. Anybody who is a contributor to the Restored Church of God should be concerned with that statement. What do I mean? Let me explain. Directed funds are funds where you, the contributor, specify exactly how they should be spent as a condition of RCG accepting the funds. Example: Third tithe. Everyone in the Church knows it is to go to the widows and the orphans and other needy people as their legitimate needs arise. This is a long standing doctrine of the Church. However, very little third tithe contributed to RCG is actually spent in the manner which God says it should be. Mr. Pack has even instructed me to deny people who need third tithe, and instead use the third tithe to help meet payroll, rent, attorney salary, and other expenses unrelated to third tithe. I cannot in good conscience comply with his demands any longer.

Mr. Pack has repeatedly instructed me to turn down those requesting second tithe assistance while also repeatedly instructing me to deposit all excess second tithe, and tithe of second tithe into our main checking account, (which is the first tithe account) to cover our shortfalls due to overspending. I have refused to do as he demands, explaining to him that my conscience tells me not to do as he demands. Of course his demands are verbal and not in writing. When I told him of my crisis of conscience, he became extremely angry and verbally abusive of me. He even made many untrue and unkind remarks to me about my wife, and even attacked Mr. Armstrong’s integrity. He claimed Mr. Armstrong misused third tithe and festival tithes in such a way that I “wouldn’t even believe it.” That saddened me. I had hoped he would have said: “Tom, you passed the test, I really didn’t expect you to do what I was telling you to do, I was just testing you.” But he didn’t. He told me a condition of my continued employment was to pay the bills with excess second tithe, and tithe of a tithe and third tithe. I won’t steal God’s tithe in my personal life and I won’t steal God’s tithes from the needy. Mr. Pack should have known I was honest when he hired me.

Even though the Church pays me $54,000.00 per year as a salary, and I am by no means the highest paid employee of the Church, I am no pauper either. After speaking to Mr. Pack about my crisis of conscience, he privately offered to give me money from the third tithe fund “to keep me happy and to help me out.” I declined his offer, assuring him that I did not need to be “helped out.” I could come to no other conclusion except that he was offering me a bribe. And, had I accepted the money, I felt I would be just as guilty as he.
Brethren, this is a new twist of a doctrinal change. He teaches excess second tithe, tithe of a tithe, and third tithe, but he seldom uses it for the purpose which God intends. And when he does, only a small portion is spent as it is intended. The rest goes to pay Mr. Pack’s salary, and the salary of his attorney and the excessive rent payment for our office complex. We only use about half of the space for which we are paying. Mr. Pack is only too willing to use these directed tithe funds as a part of the normal operating budget. Meanwhile the needy do without. God will not bless a Church or its leader who blatantly rob him. This is immoral and illegal. I cannot ignore the seriousness of what I have witnessed. As a trustee of the Church, I have an obligation to the members of the Church and to God that supercedes any obligation to Mr. Pack as my employer. I also have to consider the fact that my attorney has advised me that I may be exposed to prison time if I comply with Mr. Pack’s directions.

Reread Mr. Pack’s own book “There Came a Falling Away” on page 403, change 257. This outlines exactly how all the different tithes are to be used. On the bottom of page 25 of the revised “Why The Restored Church of God?” booklet , Mr. Pack states: “I have gone on record for so long, and in writing, through these books and tapes about exactly where I stand on doctrine and the pursuit of holding fast to all of it, no matter the cost, that I could never get away with making changes now. God’s people (and my detractors) would be quick to “call me on it.”” I “called him on it.” He treated me harshly when I brought up to him how I believed he was compromising God’s doctrines, teachings and law in a clear way. He compounded his wrong practices with unChrist-like behavior. His unChrist-like behavior has been witnessed by me since the day I began working at RCG headquarters. I can excuse this behavior no longer in my mind.

As Treasurer, I can attest to the fact that God has been removing his blessings from Restored. Mr. Armstrong often said “If our ways please God, he will bless the work.” Mr. Pack used to say that frequently, the last few months he has forgotten this. He even scoffed at me when I suggested that God is not pleased with some aspect of Restored a month ago. Income is dropping steadily, and so is membership in RCG. I believe it is in part due to Mr. Pack misusing God’s tithes. Membership in RCG is dropping faster than new members can replace the ones who are leaving, despite what Mr. Pack so often says or would have you believe. Over 100 of the less than 200 members at the feast last year have dropped out. Mr. Pack did the math himself. Most who left are not from the local congregation at headquarters, although some are. At least half of the new members gained after the feast have also dropped out. Some people beg for counseling and are ignored, others are dealt with so harshly only a masochist would take the abuse. I am not exaggerating, brethren. I could go on and on. I have worked side by side with Mr. Pack for the past eight months, I have witnessed too much. I refuse to be a witness to any further abuse or neglect of God’s sheep. Currently membership in RCG is less than 200 in total around the world and dropping, not rising as Mr. Pack claims.

The bylaws of The Restored Church of God seem not to be worth even the paper upon which they are written. I have ample supporting evidence to back this up. This legal document defining who and what RCG is and what it must do “By Law” has not been adhered to ever since the day Mr. Pack and his full time attorney wrote them. When I bring these matters to the attention of Mr. Pack, his solution is not to abide by them, but to rewrite them. There is so much more I could say about the matter of the bylaws of the Church, but space prevents me.

Mr. Pack changes his mind more than any person I have ever met in my entire life. This is very damaging to the morale of the office staff, both past and present. Now I can clearly see why so many have walked away from working with Mr. Pack. This instability doesn’t come out in sermon tapes but it sure does at the headquarters office. I have taken more than any reasonable person can withstand and I can excuse his behavior no longer. With my departure, his longest lived employee is employed 6 months. Is it a coincidence that ALL his employees but the two most recent have left him? After they leave he pronounces that they were unconverted. What are the odds that all his former employees were unconverted? What a very poor judge of character he must be after twenty some years in the ministry if all his employees whom he hand picks personally are unconverted.

Mr. Pack and his attorney have repeatedly, in the presence of the office staff of RCG, commented how thankful they are that Mr. Pack can fire any employee at anytime, for any reason, and the Restored Church of God will not have to pay out one cent in unemployment compensation benefits. Churches in Ohio can only rarely obtain unemployment benefits for its staff. Hearing this bantered about demoralizes the employees, especially those who quit more secure jobs, and had no knowledge of this prior to coming to work for Mr. Pack. The work environment at RCG headquarters, which Mr. Pack has created, is best described as dysfunctional. I have personally witnessed Mr. Pack lose his temper so many times I have lost count. Previous employees of RCG can affirm that he has a lack of self-control in the temper department. Many are the victims of his wrath. I believe the only reason Mr. Pack has not been sued is because of the unwavering Christian values of his former victims.

Mr. Pack has repeatedly told outright lies in my presence in order to manipulate people and obtain whatever results he desires as a result of those lies. He does not seem to care about the consequences those lies may bring to his victims. The scripture he has quoted most in my presence is 2 Cor. 12:16. He constantly goes around proudly saying “I caught you/him/her/them with guile.” Any study of the word guile in a concordance will show you if God approves of his private interpretation of this scripture. Rev. 14:4-5 is what Mr. Pack should try to attain and teach. As a ministerial trainee, I need to report that he has tried to teach me that catching people with guile (deceit) is a Godly attribute worthy of apostles. He knows that I cannot and will not agree with him on this matter.

RCG’s policy: If you don’t tithe you’re out. Over half of the mailing list was removed for one reason and one reason only, they didn’t give as much as Mr. Pack wanted them to. Forget about “freely you received, freely give.” One of the biggest events of the day for Mr. Pack is when the mail comes in. He opens the mail personally in order to count every last cent that comes in, and to see who has suddenly stopped tithing. If someone hasn’t given money in a while, he usually won’t counsel with them. What he does is to remove them from the mailing list. This is true of prospective members, too. Everything seems to revolve around money for Mr. Pack. If you knew how much he spent per month on rent and for his personal attorney, or how huge his salary is, then you would know why he is so concerned with the tithes, and why he is so willing to misuse the other tithes as well as first tithe.

He stereotypes people based on what group they came out of. Mr. Pack acts one way to people to their faces or over the phone but behind their backs he acts entirely different. Here is what Mr. Pack has told me he feels about those who are in Restored: If an RCG member came with us from PCG, they are as spiritually insane as Gerald Flurry and are likely to detonate. He says he shudders every time someone new comes with us from PCG. If you came from Living then you are lukewarm and compromised like Rod Meredith. If you came from Global straight to Restored, then you are balanced. (That’s the route Mr. Pack took!) All others don’t even register. How insulting of his membership. At best, this leaves no room for change or growth, assuming his stereotypes are correct. I do not believe his stereotypes are Godly or correct.

Mr. Pack gossips constantly. When you counsel with Mr. Pack it is not confidential. If you counsel with him about someone else and ask for confidentiality, sooner or later he betrays that trust and tells the other person what was said, and oftentimes he puts a spin on what was said. I have witnessed this repeatedly, and previous employees have witnessed this, too.

Make-up: Despite Mr. Pack’s claims to the contrary, RCG does permit the use of cosmetics when it is convenient to do so. I am personally aware of people who have left RCG because Mr. Pack refused to enforce his ruling on make-up. Many people he allows to come to services with make-up on as long as they, guess what, TITHE. Those who want to wear make-up and don’t tithe are put out.

Open door policy: RCG does indeed practice an open door policy. Perhaps the worst violator of the open door policy is Mr. Pack himself. He has invited his own relatives who have no intention of joining Restored to services and allowed the women to wear make-up. Protestants, other COG, ex WCG now unbelieving, etc., etc. Even a woman who works downstairs in another office but has no clue about God’s truth asked to come and the Packs invited her. The reason she wanted to come to Church was because she could hear the song service and liked the music and singing. Also in violation of his stated policies, Mr. Pack sent out Feast registration forms to dozens of people who are not members of RCG. He is flinging the doors of our Feast wide open.

Mr. Pack spends an inordinate amount of time trying to pin something, anything, on previous employees. It was Mr. Pack and his attorney who called the police on Don Tiger after Don refused to sign over the rights to his CD’s to RCG. Mr. Pack knew there was an outstanding federal warrant for Don Tiger when he hired him. Mr. Pack wanted the CD project so badly that he was willing to overlook the warrant. Don’s mistake was to counsel with Mr. Pack. Sadly, Mr. Pack used that information against Don later, violating yet another confidence. Mr. Pack turned Don Tiger over to the police. Read the following quote from Mr. Pack’s persecution statement: “The history of the True Church is replete with a basic replicating pattern of persecution that comes, almost entirely, from two basic sources. First, those who hold fast to the full Truth of God are eventually expelled, attacked and accused because they will not go along with either the wholesale, or even PARTIAL, sell-out of God’s Truth! Second, is that the civil governments of this world become involved in directly persecuting the people of God, as well. As true and painful as this is, in itself, this often happens (perhaps even most often happens) because the persecuting Church “members” are the ones who actually betray the true brethren to the authorities who, it is hoped, will seek to bring or precipitate greater persecution upon those same true brethren.” What a sickening policy for Restored to have!! Mr. Pack falsely accuses this man. Here’s an example of many: “In this light, it is interesting to note that the old Trust Fund was overdrawn by approximately $3,500, an amount that might now be difficult to recoup.” False! Untrue! Any investigation of the account can clearly show that Mr. Tiger never overdrew the funds by one cent! There was a balance of over $270.00 on the very day when Mr. Pack gave in to Worldwide attorney Ralph Helge and closed it down. I could literally cite dozens of outright defamatory lies Mr. Pack has made while attacking Don Tiger. I believe the Tigers have acted in an honorable fashion by not suing Mr. Pack for slander and libel. My hope is that Mr. Pack will repent of telling lies and will bring forth fruits of repentance by admitting the lies and setting the record straight with the truth.

Mr. Pack also knew about an outstanding traffic ticket Don received because the most recently hired employee told Mr. Pack about it. Mr. Pack wanted Don Tiger’s email list too. Don didn’t feel comfortable with giving it up so he declined to give it away. This angered Mr. Pack. Mr. Pack used confidential knowledge to turn Don in. I was there when it happened.

June 7 Update: “Do not be afraid to believe that God may dramatically intervene to protect His Church from enemies who threaten to attack it!” June 10 Update: “Just hours before Donald Tiger was arrested the second time on Wednesday night, Mr. Pack announced on this web site (please see June 7th Update) that “do not be afraid to believe that God will dramatically intervene to protect His church from His enemies.” We believe that God has dramatically intervened in a way we could have never imagined.” Mr. Pack sicced the police on Don Tiger days before and was told in advance that he would be picked up for the traffic ticket and warrant. There was no surprise involved. Both updates were written by Mr. Pack. Need I say more. The following is a quote from Mr. Pack’s persecution statement, I think it applies to what Mr. Pack did to Mr. Tiger: “Certainly, if I wanted to accuse somebody, and also make them look as bad as I possibly could in the process (probably because I wanted to also divert attention away from the real doctrinal issues), one of the most brilliant “strokes” that I could contrive would be to say that the person I am seeking to attack and accuse is really attacking and accusing me. What more effective and clever strategy to deflect attention from the real issues could you think of while you, at the same time, portray yourself as a victim?” Think about this and try to recall even one single incident where Mr. Tiger “attacked” or “accused” Mr. Pack. Mr. Pack has certainly made multiple attacks and accusations against Mr. Tiger, and even went so far as to send the police after Mr. Tiger. The reason Mr. Pack refuses to answer his accusers is that he would be faced with three clear and distinct choices. 1) Deny the statements and be called a liar. 2) Repent and confess his sins and change his ways and be forgiven. 3) Say nothing at all and hope it will all go away. Mr. Pack chooses to slyly deny anything brought against him by refusing to comment. Or he says something to this effect: “I refuse to answer those who accuse me falsely.” That is of course an answer to the accusation and a counteraccusation. He tries to hide behind his book “Should Accusers Be Answered” saying he will not answer his accusers and all the while answering and counter-accusing. The following is a quote from Mr. Pack’s persecution statement: “As I mentioned above, most people understand that I will never answer my accusers – no matter what those accusations may be. This particular accusation would never require an answer anyway because everything I do (books, booklets, tapes, and letters to members, Newsletters and Updates) is public and open for all to review themselves.” The question many people have for Mr. Pack is: How do you explain this in light of your removing updates from the website? How do you explain this in light of your open door policy? How do you explain this in light of the fact that many write in with requests, and you refuse to honor those requests? Where are all the things which you mentioned above public and open for all to review themselves? Mr. Pack, again you are not being honest with your audience. Why?

I fully expect that I too will be accused of the most heinous of crimes when I am gone. My real crime was selling my successful business and making the largest contribution to Restored in its history. The majority of the directed funds I contributed were not spent as directed, by the way. Now I will face certain economic hardship in order to stand on principle. I put my family in harms way by coming to work for him, but I do not fear. God is my rock. He has always been there for me.

As my final act as Trustee I send you this letter. For the above stated reasons and many, many more I hereby tender my resignation as a Trustee of The Restored Church of God, as its treasurer, my position as Ministerial trainee and assistant, and my membership in Restored Church of God. I join an ever growing list of former employees who wished Restored would have lived up to its promises but now believe that the man in charge is incapable of keeping his promises. You may contact me at 1-330-xxx-xxxx or email me at tmunson@xxxx if you so desire. You may write to me at P.O. Box xxxx, Wadsworth, Ohio 44282. It has been a pleasure to be of service to you for the last eight months. I wish you well.

Your servant,
 
Thomas Munson

Van Robison on "It is Humanly Impossible to Have all the Answers"

It is Humanly Impossible to Have all the Answers

Herbert W. Armstrong seemed to think that he had all the answers about life on earth.  He had "the mind of God", understood the "future" and generally considered himself far and above all other human beings on planet earth.

Of course Herbert W. was not alone because the world has always had such personalities who saw themselves as "God" in the flesh.  They may never have stated that they were "God" on earth, but they implied that they were at the "right hand" of God and represented Him.  The Mormon Church, the Jehovah Witnesses, the Roman Catholic Church and many others have had the same human idea.  It is not really any different than all the human governments of men who also think that they have a "right" to totally control your life from the cradle to the grave, because "its the law."  Without force, governments of men would not exist.  Without persuasion and deception the religions of men would not exist.

In the long run does anything among human beings really matter?  One hundred percent of all human beings will exit life on earth.  Will the belief that "the Bible is infallible and inerrant" really make a difference when human beings have returned to dirt in the grave yards?  Will being a republican, democrat, communist or any other political concept make a difference when all such people are in their graves?  Ultimately it seems that the things that humans place such great emphasis upon are really nothing more than dust in the wind.  Who has a voice in the grave?

We argue, we antagonize one another, we differ and we all have strong opinions.  In the end we all perish and most of us will never make a dent in human life on earth.  We criticize one another and we are sure that what we think is what "truth" is.  I suspect that God Himself is far more intelligent than we know or can comprehend.  Anyone who has lived FOREVER (God)  has to be exponentially more knowledgeable and wise than mere humans, whose short life span is ridiculous in terms of eternity.  The age of the Internet has changed the playing field of human life.  At least until the human governments of men, who always live in fear of losing their power, censor the Internet, the world currently has the most advanced means of human communication the world has ever known.  Knowledge is more readily available than ever in the history of human life on earth.  Unfortunately there are still millions of human beings who never take advantage of the vast amount of information that is available through the Internet.    Of course as with all human media, the Internet is both a source of truth and also propaganda.

There is no religious group or organization on earth, anymore than there is any human government on earth, who has all the answers to humans issues or human problems.  The "law courts" of human governments are no more the source of right and truth than any other human system of men on earth.  Placing faith in men is in fact a misplaced faith and it matters not whether that faith is in "pastors", churches, politicians or human governments.  All men are human and that includes those who penned the so called "Bible" and those who form human governments.

Tenacious "faith" in the Bible is not based upon reason or human intelligence, but is based upon indoctrination and human emotion.  Bible apologists don't really have all the answers about "the Bible", they just deceive themselves that they do.  Is there any human being on earth that is worthy of placing total faith in?    Many church goers seem to place undying faith in their local "pastors" as if these individuals know and understand what "truth" is, but it is a juvenile deception.  Faith in God is one thing, but faith in any human leader is another matter altogether, for the simple reason that the leader also is a human being with bias and human nature.  It is simply outrageous that so many sit in church pews and think that what someone standing in a pulpit says is the unvarnished truth.    This is in fact why so many fall into a bottomless pit of darkness by believing that Herbert W. Armstrong was "the" representative of God on earth in our day and age.  A TOTAL DECEPTION!!!

None of us have absolute truth, even though we all think that what we believe is what "truth" is.  We all convince ourselves that what we think is what "truth" is.  It applies to all humans, including Bible apologists, atheists, Deists, agnostics or whatever we have been indoctrinated to believe, or whatever has shaped our thinking.  We are all unique and so we believe based upon our own personal human experiences and the total input into our minds and thinking.  Without doubt we are all one-hundred percent influenced by other human beings.  Do they really know what they are talking about and what influence shaped their thinking?

It is humanly impossible to have all the answers.


Van Robison

Dave Pack: "I am not qualified to be a minister"

The gift of the internet that  just keeps on giving:

SUBJECT:  Mat 18:15-17, I Tim 5:19-21 vs. Mr. David C. Pack
 
Dear Gentlemen:

We are bringing a matter to you that is quite serious.  As “peers” [you gentlemen] to Mr. Pack, and as ministers, we are presenting a situation to you in light of Mat 18 and I Tim 5 as we have already gone before Mr. Pack with witnesses.

The gravity of the situation is such that the following two things have occurred in the Akron Ohio area as a result of Mr. Pack’s behavior:

· Of all the people hired to work for Restored Church of God (USA), prior to the FOT ’99, only one is left
· Of all the leading men in the Akron OH congregation (those who were in the Deacons & Elders meetings), only one is left 

Again, both of the above situations are the direct result of Mr. Pack’s behavior.  Since the letters of resignation and/or termination (attached) by Darrell Gaug, Joan Thompson and Steve Thompson are quite explicit covering Mr. Pack’s problems, we will only summarize them here – Mr. David C. Pack is causing division within the Body of Christ.

The letters that we wrote were presented to Mr. David C. Pack on Monday, October 11, 1999 as the first step of a Matt. 18:15 process.

Immediately upon receiving those letters, Mr. Pack went to the Gaug’s home.  He [Mr. Pack] effectively escalated this to a review before witnesses (making this the second step in Matthew 18:15-17), by allowing Mr./Mrs. Bill Sheppard Jr., Mrs. Nancy Sheppard, and Mr. Tim Mobley to come over to the Gaug’s home to discuss various problems.  Mr./Mrs. Thompson arrived later that evening.

The end result of the meetings that day was that several of us heard Mr. Pack say the following:

“I am guilty of all points in all three letters.”
 
It needs to be noted that while talking with Mr. Pack during discussions on October 11 about the letters and other allegations, he lied.  Specific examples are: he said he had nothing to do with the selection of who was on the opening and closing prayer lists, song leaders, and speakers at the Feast sites (Mr. Pack is the one that specifically approved the lists prior to sending them to the co-ordinators).  He also denied calling Steve an “unbalanced fool” (note that he started with being guilty of the contents of the letters) to Darrell Gaug and then justified such a thing if he had done it by telling us that Mr. Armstrong had done similarly to Mr. Raymond McNair.  Notice this last thing carefully – every time something was pointed out to him, he pointed to Mr. Armstrong and says he did no more than did Mr. Armstrong in a similar situation.

Mr. Pack asserted over and over in these meetings that we had to forgive him (70 times 7) while continuing to lie about things!

Most of the witnesses (all the leaders of the local congregation) had decided to leave RCG permanently prior to this point.  However, after Mr. Pack had left, it was discussed that we should give him one to two weeks to show fruits of repentance.  The result was his spin doctoring in the updates of October 15 & 22, 1999 placed on the RCG website http://www.restoredcog.org -- copies attached (October 15 Update - October 22 Update).  He then started rumors about different persons.  He claimed that Steve Thompson emailed the world about the problems, but when challenged by Steve, immediately backed down.  He has claimed that Darrell and Joan embezzled funds on the day they left.

Due to the number of lies that Mr. Pack has been caught in, we have begun reviewing several things Mr. Pack has told us over the past several months.  One such topic concerned the events surrounding his departure from Global in early May of this year.  Please find enclosed a letter from what was the Global Church of God, dated May 3, 1999, wherein Mr. Pack was not only disfellowshipped and his employment was terminated, but he was also removed from the ministry for causing division.

He now claims to be the author of the two books, “Except the Lord Build the House” and “Except There Come a Falling Away”.  At one time he said he did not author these.  So Steve Thompson contacted Karen Ray.  What she says is what he use to tell people in Akron -- he had not written those books, but at best was a “co-author.”

We continue to discover things are not the way he “remembers” them.

In addition, we have uncovered a lengthy string of current and former members of RCG and GCG who have been treated in a similar manner by Mr. Pack as we are being.

Meanwhile, during the two weeks that we have sat out of RCG’s services (giving Mr. Pack an opportunity to show fruits of repentance), Mr. Pack’s actions need to be reviewed.  On Monday morning October 11, Mr. Pack said he was responsible for everything in the letters.  By Monday evening, he was only 90% responsible.  By late Thursday evening of that week, he was “maybe responsible” for a small amount.  While doing this, he showed partiality working to get Darrell Gaug and family to come back, while slandering everyone else.

Let us be perfectly clear.  Mr. Pack has been trying to get Darrell Gaug and family to return to RCG, while ignoring ALL the others he has offended this year.

We are now into week three and there have been some pretty wild rumors that have been going around.  Mr. Pack was found to be the source of several of them, such as “Steve Thompson wanted the church to pay him $125/hr,” “Bill Ambrose was writing checks to himself and embezzling funds,” and, “Steve Thompson said that Mr. Pack would file a suit against us in three weeks.”  We (collectively) have been accused of calling and writing members of RCG to get them to leave.

It has occurred to us that Mr. Pack may be spreading these rumors [lies] to give him an opportunity for a preemptive strike so that he may disfellowship and mark all of us “for cause” wherein none of the Akron congregation would ask questions.  This would then discredit us in this Mat. 18 and I Tim 5 situation as far as the Akron congregation is concerned.

Darrell, Joan, and I, therefore, with regret, have no other option other than to bring this to you as the next step in the process of “rebuking an elder” (I Tim. 5:19-21).   Considering Mr. Pack:

· said before witnesses that he does not qualify to be a minister as stated in I Tim. 3:2-7 and Titus 1:6-16, and

· admits he is guilty of all points in the attached resignation/termination letters, and

· considering that he has already been removed from the ministry by Global for cause, we must regrettably request that you take the same action against him as did Global.

 
We understand the gravity of what we are asking, but we believe that this request is necessary to protect the flock from further damage.  Therefore, we must ask that you reply with your decisions and/or actions to be taken no later than November 30, 1999.
 
________________________________     _________________________________
Brenda Gaug                                                 Darrell Gaug
 
_______________________________       _________________________________
Joan Thompson                                             Steve Thompson

List From The Early 1800's On Questioning The Bible

Questioning events and stories in the Bible are not new things from the last 40 or 50 years. These same questions were being asked well over 200 years ago. Is it to be taken literal, metaphorically, or what?  Just going through the list shows how much Armstrongism has taken as literal and by doing so how silly some of it makes them look.

The full list of 61 comments  can be found here:
  Robert Ingersoll: A Few Reasons for Doubting the Inspiration Of Bible




THE Old Testament must have been written nearly two thousand years before the invention of Printing. There were but few copies, and these were in the keeping of those whose interest might have prompted interpolations, and whose ignorance might have led to mistakes.


Second. The written Hebrew was composed entirely of consonants, without any points or marks standing for vowels, so that anything like accuracy was impossible, Anyone can test this for himself by writing an English sentence, leaving out the vowels. It will take far more inspiration to read than to write a book with consonants alone.


Third. The books composing the Old Testament were not divided into chapters or verses, and no system of punctuation was known. Think of this a moment and you will see how difficult it must be to read such a book.


Fourth. There was not among the Jews any dictionary of their language, and for this reason the accurate meaning of words could not be preserved. Now the different meanings of words are preserved so that by knowing the age in which a writer lived we can ascertain with reasonable certainty his meaning.


Fifth. The Old Testament was printed for the first time in 1488. Until this date it existed only in manuscript, and was constantly exposed to erasures and additions.


Sixth. It is now admitted by the most learned in the Hebrew language that in our present English version of the Old Testament there are at least one hundred thousand errors. Of course the believers in inspiration assert that these errors are not sufficient in number to cast the least suspicious upon any passages upholding what are called the fundamentals."


Seventh. It is not certainly known who in fact wrote any of the books of the Old Testament. For instance, it is now generally conceded that Moses was not the author of the Pentateuch.

----------------


Twentieth. If a revelation from God was actually necessary to the happiness of man here and to his salvation hereafter, it is not easy to see why such revelation was not given to all the nations of the earth. Why were the millions of Asia, Egypt, and America left to the insufficient light of nature. Why was not a written, or what is still better, printed revelation given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden? And why were the Jews themselves without a Bible until the days of Ezra the scribe? Why was nature not so made that it would give light enough? Why did God make men and leave them in darkness -- a darkness that he knew would fill the world with want and crime, and crowd with damned souls the dungeons of hell? Were the Jews the only people who needed a revelation? It may be said that God had no time to waste with other nations, and gave the Bible to the Jews that other nations through them might learn of his existence and his will. If he wished other nations to be informed, and revealed himself to but one, why did he not choose a people that mingled with others? Why did he give the message to those who had no commerce, who were obscure and unknown, and who regarded other nations with the hatred born of bigotry and weakness? What would we now think of a God who made his will known to the South Sea Islanders for the benefit of the civilized world? If it was of such vast importance for man to know that there is a God, why did not God make himself known? This fact could have been revealed by an infinite being instantly to all, and there certainly was no necessity of telling it alone to the Jews, and allowing millions for thousands of years to die in utter ignorance.

Twenty-first The Chinese, Japanese, Hindus, Tartars, Africans, Eskimo, Persians, Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Polynesians, and many other peoples, are substantially ignorant of the Bible. All the Bible societies of the world have produced only about one hundred and twenty millions of Bibles, and there are about fourteen hundred million people. There are hundreds of languages and tongues in which no Bible has yet been printed. Why did God allow, and why does he still allow, a vast majority of his children to remain in ignorance of his will?


Twenty-second. If the Bible is the foundation of all civilization, of all just ideas of right and wrong, of our duties to God and each other, why did God not give to each nation at least one copy to start with? He must have known that no nation could get along successfully without a Bible, and he also knew that man could not make one for himself. Why, then, were not the books furnished? He must have known that the light of nature was not sufficient to reveal the scheme of the atonement, the necessity of baptism, the immaculate conception, transubstantiation, the arithmetic of the Trinity, or the resurrection of the dead.


Twenty-third. It is probably safe to say that not one-third of the inhabitants of this world ever heard of the Bible, and not one- tenth ever read it. It is also safe to say that no two persons who ever read it agreed as to its meaning, and it is not likely that even one person has ever understood it. Nothing is more needed at the present time than an inspired translator. Then we shall need an inspired commentator, and the translation and the commentary should be written in an inspired universal language, incapable of change, and then the whole world should be inspired to understand this language precisely the same. Until these things are accomplished, all written revelations from God will fill the world with contending sects, contradictory creeds and opinions.

----------------------


Fifty-first. Can we blame the Hebrews for getting tired of their God? Never was a people so murdered, starved, stoned, burned, deceived, humiliated, robbed, and outraged. Never was there so little liberty among men. Never did the meanest king so meddle, eavesdrop, spy out, harass, torment, and persecute his people. Never was ruler so jealous, unreasonable, contemptible, exacting, and ignorant as this God of the Jews. Never was such ceremony, such mummery, such staff about bullocks, goats, doves, red heifers, lambs, and unleavened dough -- never was such directions about kidneys and blood, ashes and fat, about curtains, tongs, fringes, ribands, and, brass pins -- never such details for killing of animals and men and the sprinkling of blood and the cutting of clothes. Never were such unjust laws, such punishments, such damned ignorance and infamy!


Fifty-second. Is it not wonderful that the creator of all worlds, infinite in power and wisdom, could not hold his own against the gods of wood and stone? Is it not strange that after he had appeared to his chosen people, delivered them from slavery, fed them by miracles, opened the sea for a path, led them by cloud and fire, and overthrown their pursuers, they still preferred a calf of their own making? Is it not beyond belief that this God, by statutes and commandments, by punishments and penalties, by rewards and promises, by wonders and plagues, by earthquakes and pestilence, could not in the least civilize the Jews -- could not get them beyond a point where they deserved killing? What shall we think of a God who gave his entire time for forty years to the work of converting three millions of people, and succeeded in getting only two men, and not a single woman, decent enough to enter the promised land? Was there ever in the history of man so detestable an administration of public affairs? Is it possible that God sold his children to the king of Mesopotamia; that he sold them to Jabin, king of Canaan, to the Philistines, and to the children of Ammon? Is it possible that an angel of the Lord devoured unleavened cakes and broth with fire that came out of the end of a stick as he sat under an oak-tree? Judges vi, 21.] Can it be true that God made known his will by making dew fall on wool without wetting the ground around it? [Judges vi, 37.] Do you really believe that men who lap water like a dog make the best soldiers? [Judges vii, 5.] Do you think that a man could hold a lamp in his left hand, a trumpet in his right hand, blow his trumpet, shout "the sword of the Lord and of Gideon," and break pitchers at the same time? [Judges vii, 5.]


Fifty-third. Read the story of Jephthah and his daughter, and then tell me what you think of a father who would sacrifice his daughter to God, and what you think of a God who would receive such a sacrifice. This one story should be enough to make every tender and loving father hold this book in utter abhorrence. Is it necessary, in order to be saved, that one must believe that an angel of God appeared unto Manoah in the absence of her husband; that this angel afterward went up in a flame of fire; that as a result of this visit a child was born whose strength was in his hair? a child that made beehives of lions, incendiaries of foxes, and had a wife that wept seven days to get the answer to his riddle? Will the wrath of God abide forever upon a man for doubting the story that Samson killed a thousand men with a new jawbone? Is there enough in the Bible to save a soul with this story left out? Is hell hungry for those who deny that water gashed from a "hollow place" in a dry bone? Is it evidence of a new heart to believe that one man turned over a house so large that over three thousand people were on the roof? For my part, I cannot believe these things, and if my salvation depends upon my credulity I am as good as damned already. I cannot believe that the Philistines took back the ark with a present of five gold mice, and that thereupon God relented. [1 Sam. vi, 4.] I cannot believe that God killed fifty thousand men for looking into a box. [1 Sam. vi, 19.] It seems incredible, after all the Jews had done, after all their wars and victories, even when Saul was king, that there was not among them one smith who could make a sword or spear, and that they were compelled to go to the Philistines to sharpen every plowshare, coulter, and mattock. [1 Sam.xiii, 19, 20.] Can you believe that God said to Saul, "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling"? Can you believe that because Saul took the king alive after killing every other man, woman, and child, the ogre called Jehovah was displeased and made up his mind to hurl Saul from the throne and give his place to another? [1 Sam. xv.] I cannot believe that the Philistines all ran away because one of their number was killed with a stone. I cannot justify the conduct of Abigail, the wife of Nabal, who took presents to David. David hardly did right when he said to this woman, "I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person." It could hardly have been chance that made Nabal so deathly sick next morning and killed him in ten days. All this looks wrong, especially as David married his widow before poor Nabal was fairly cold."