Lil'Stevie Now the Public Face of Philadelphia Church of God

For the couple years or so, Gerald Flurry has been having serious health issues.  From heart problems to pain so intense in his legs that it prevents him from traveling on his luxury family jet. Due to his recent issues with his leg, Lil Stevie has been brought back from Edstone, England to be the public face of the Philadelphia Church of God and to stand in for Gerald at the personal appearance campaigns that Flurry had foolishly booked far in advance. Campaigns that have produced no new money streams for the church.

Now that Lil Stevie is back in Edmond, some speculate that he will start receiving more and more power, till eventually Gerald appoints him as his successor.  For some time now, people have claimed that Lil Stevie, the Turgeon clan and several other top "leaders" of PCG are only there for the money and prestige it brings them.  They do not necessarily believe some of the crap Gerald Flurry preaches.  While Gerald may truly believe he is right, many of his lower minions do not. But, like the United Church of God, many are only in it for the money.

Then, to make matters worse for the folk in England, abusive Wayne Turgeon has been sent there to replace Lil Stevie.  He has a horrendous track record of spiritual abuse of PCG members.

The day Gerald Flurry dies and these little guys take over will be the death knell of the Philadelphia Church of God.   May God quickly speed that day!

Wayne Turgeon: "...a man of low character..."

PCG: God Inspired Wayne Turgeon Into Forcing PCG Students To Work On Sunday

Philadelphia Church of God Summer Camp Horrors

Letters of those impacted by the Philadelphia Church of God

A Conversation about Positivity

It can be very easy to think back to the way times were and think very negatively about the situation we all were in. This is now my 5th year in deprogramming therapy - and have learned mountains and mountains of information - not only about cults, how they work, and how they try to program you and take over your life - but life in general - and loads, and loads of information that are more valuable than anything - and I do mean ANYTHING the Church ever lied to me about - and that was a lot. But the biggest things I have learned in regards to my experiences in a fundamentalist conservative family in the Worldwide Church of God in relation to my childhood is that first off, it was not my fault. second off, change is a part of life. And thirdly, I must find the positive because there is - and sorry if this is cliche - power in positive thinking. Even when we remember. And tonight, I remember the Feast of Tabernacles - in my early childhood.

YES - It's been a long, long time since I was among 14,000 people in a metal warehouse wearing a suit and tie, anticipating the Wonderful World Tomorrow among the only people in that area that God had called on the face of the Earth, or in a sports Arena, with slightly less people yet the same goals. I can still hear the “Why are We Here” booming out of the PA System, the echoing choir practicing, the hum-drum of thousands of people ready to hear the morning sermon, and the feedback of a poorly trained sound technician. I can still feel deep within the anticipation of the food to come and the places we'd visit once the 2-hour service was over.

I can still remember sitting in the back seat of my parents' vehicle, driving to a Family Day Horseback Riding Event – hearing “Unless the Lord Shall Build the House” in my head. I can still remember sitting up in the top left seats of the Arena, giddily excited the service was ending, watching Al Dennis, the song leader, lead “O God, Forsake Me Not”. I remember these events as if they were yesterday.

I can remember the smells of the motels – the clean smell of disinfectant. I can hear the ice machine unloading its newest ice cubes into the dispenser trays at 3 AM. And I can still remember the treats we'd only eat at the Feast – trail mix, health bars (I think they were Heath bars, actually), and the cool plastic cups wrapped in plastic next to the little bitty soaps we'd collect from the hotel. These memories are ingrained in my head deeper than the Grand Canyon, so it seems.

I remember sitting there, watching the minister speaking, absorbed in every detail of my surroundings. The lights – the ceiling fans whirling about. I would sometimes look down when they quoted scripture at all the heads dropping to take note of the exact chapter and verse. I would watch the Ushers ushering, or just standing around like they always seemed to do by every entryway.

I can remember the crying of scared babies when Herbert Armstrong went on a sudden crescendo about the Kingdom, or about how badly we need to wake up, or the “TRUTH”. I remember how his voice would echo around the hall on such a high note. And how quiet the audience was, so deathly quiet. I remember the voice of Art Gilmore with those films – the ones with the giant Statue, the beasts, or the Young Ambassadors. I distinctly remember Herbert Armstrong talking about Roast Porcupine in a very expensive silver serving tray.

I remember wearing that name badge – so proud of wearing an actual Festival badge. I can remember those proud moments of placing a Green Sticker on the car – verifying we were the True Church going to the True Feast. And I can remember when I would get those special Feast Edition magazines – yes, it's that time of year again – Feast Fever, the chill in the air, you can see your breath – and that special moon the night before we took off. These are things you can't forget.

Are these things me? No, they are not me. These are not my worst memories. These aren't my horror stories - But they are a part of my vivid childhood experiences, and they always will be. Pretending they didn't happen doesn't help anything, or change anything. The truth is, I thoroughly enjoyed some of these experiences. Was it - the whole thing - wrong? Absolutely, a lot of it was. Was it incorrect? Certainly. Was this version of the Feast of Tabernacles even done “right”, or “biblically”, if we even could? No, not at all. Yet, this was my experience. This was my life. And I have learned that while everything in life changes, and those days and times and seasons – and the very church itself – is gone, I have learned to take the good out of it and reflect on what was positive, what was decent, and good – because in everything you will find goodness if you look for it and focus on the positive.

Yes, it was a vacation. We were away from home for eight days. We ate good – real good. The hotel was far better than the house we lived in at the time. The people were friendly and like-minded, the enthusiasm and energy was palpable. The choir music was sometimes quite beautiful. We were all dressed beautifully and smelled... as best as we could smell! We went to museums, riverboat cruises, amusement parks, met great people, and made friendships that lasted decades. Even though in retrospect I am fully aware now that the entire thing was a fraudulent, lie-filled, financial convention that benefited the top, I also am fully aware that I was a kid – a child – and despite how much I believed the lies and went all in with it, I could be a kid, and there were moments – like ski-ball, roller-skating, and mall-walks that were a whole lot better than the day to day drab life at home.

What's the point of all of this? The best thing we can do is find the positive out of our experiences. The past is gone. The future will always be the future – but now – NOW is our present. Now is the only time we have. When we reminisce – either in nostalgia or in horror about our past – and though we all have been hurt and pained in life, and many of us by the WCG experience – thinking positively will be as an ointment soothing on the skin and calming to the nerves. Taking just a half an hour to write down the positive things – the positive aspects of our collective experience – might be far more beneficial than you might possibly imagine – and might even bring a smile and a laugh or two. Let's be thankful for those moments in time that brought smiles in unfortunate situations, because to everything there is a season, and to every season of sorrow there's laughter in the rain. We just sometimes have to go deep to find it.

submitted by SHT

HWA: "it's not disobedience to not keep the Sabbath."

In August 1928 he writes his grandparents, 

“...it's not disobedience to not keep the Sabbath. The Sabbath is not necessary for salvation.”

In September 1928, Herbert Armstrong's article "The Sabbath, a Perpetual Covenant, was published in "The Bible Advocate".

submitted by SHT

The Two Sides of HWA "...it appears the Sabbath was abolished in the NT and was replaced by nothing. Some day should be kept but the day is unimportant."

The Two Sides of HWA

In 1926, HWA does his famous 6-month intense study at a library. His study is about the Sabbath as we well remember.

In 1927, he writes an article; "The Foundation for Sunday Sacredness Crumbles". He teaches that worship on Sunday is pagan and it is an invention of the Catholic church. True Christians must keep the Sabbath, it's a sin if they don't.

But wait!!! There's more to the story!!

On February 23, 1928, he writes a letter to Duggar COG7D. HWA writes, 

"...it appears the Sabbath was abolished in the NT and was replaced by nothing. Some day should be kept but the day is unimportant. The bible doesn't command us to keep the Sabbath and there's no punishment for those who don't keep it."

In August 1928 he writes his grandparents, 

"...it's not disobedience to not keep the Sabbath. The Sabbath is not necessary for salvation."

I guess this explains why Herb treated the Sabbath like any other day of the week. He would watch movies, Lakers basketball and Westerns, played cards and would wine and dine himself on that day too. While he enforced it on us as a matter of salvation. He really didn't believe it was. Thanks, Herb.

Herb's comments start at the 1:03 mark

published with permission, Facebook, MB

Has Church of God International Answered Bible Critics?

Has CGI Answered Bible Critics?

In the current issue of The International News(Vol. 40, No. 2), the Church of God International has presented an article that purports to answer Bible critics -- Answering Bible Critics   Lloyd Cary opens the article by expressing his hope that none of his readers believes that the Bible is full of contradictions (and most of them probably don’t). He then proceeds to acknowledge that some “uninformed Christians and sincere doubters question the authority of the Bible.”

According to Cary, there are a few characteristics that apply to most of these questioners: 1) They don’t actually read the Bible, 2) They’re prejudiced against the Bible and predisposed to find error within it, 3) They are inclined to dismiss the Bible when it conflicts with their views/opinions/lifestyle and 4) They don’t know God (if they did, they’d love HIS book).

Based on my own personal experiences within the Worldwide Church of God and then the Church of God International, I would have to say that Mr. Cary is wrong on all four counts! I have questioned some of the material in the Scriptures for many years now (going all the way back to my time in CGI); and I have also read, studied and continued to read and study the Bible extensively (and I know of many other questioners who have done likewise). And, neither I nor most of the rest of my fellow questioners began our journey with any prejudices against Scripture or predispositions to find error within it. Indeed, most of us were the same degree of Fundamentalist/Literalist that Mr. Cary appears to be at present!

Now, it is true that I began to question Scripture when I realized that some of the passages therein contradicted my own life experiences and training. Even so, my initial inclination was to dismiss my own experiences and training and attempt to prove that the Bible was correct. Moreover, even after I concluded that the Bible does contain errors and contradictions, I DID NOT (AND HAVE NOT) dismissed the Bible as irrelevant. Indeed, I continue to hold that book in high regard and still believe that it has the breath of Divine inspiration and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and instructing us in the ways of righteousness (and, once again, I am not alone in this conclusion).

Finally, as for the question of knowing God, if we are appealing to what is revealed in Scripture, I am very familiar with the same information that Mr. Cary has in his possession. As I think that it would be arrogant and unsupported by Scripture to do so, I will not say that I “know” God. If the Bible is to be believed, then we must admit that it is beyond the ability of our human minds to fully comprehend the extent of God’s greatness, personality and love – even with the addition of the Holy Spirit. And, just for the record, I do love the Bible.

Some of us, however, are willing to acknowledge that the Bible is the product of a joint venture between human and Divine, and that the human portion of that equation is quite capable of prejudice, error and contradiction – even with God’s help and direction! Many of us understand that the Bible was never intended by God to be a history or science textbook, and that God never intended for mankind to be forever trapped within the limitations of a Bronze Age understanding of themselves, the world they inhabit or the God they worship! For many of us, the Bible is a SPIRITUAL guide that serves to enrich and strengthen our faith and lead us toward salvation through Jesus Christ.

Mr. Cary, however, remains clearly in the inerrancy camp, and he leaves his readers with a number of suggestions for handling someone who confronts them with Bible errors and/or contradictions. Unfortunately, most of these suggestions are an exercise in circular reasoning. If you have decided beforehand that the Bible does not contain contradictions or errors, it is highly unlikely that you will find any of them in the book you are studying! And, if you ask your CGI minister for assistance with an apparent contradiction/error, it is highly unlikely that he will be inclined to confirm your suspicion that something is not quite right! And, if you’ve followed all of his suggestions and still have questions about an apparent contradiction/error, Cary asks his readers to trust that “God’s” Word is correct (even if you cannot figure it out).

Nice failsafe – the circular reasoning gets you right back to where you started: There is no contradiction/error, because it is impossible for one to exist! By the way, did I mention that I own a bridge in Brooklyn that I’d very much like to sell you?

submitted by Lonnie Hendricks