Monday, January 25, 2016

I too am a child survivor of Herbert W. Armstrong's church from 1960 on...




A reader here shares his/her story:

I believe my mother was drawn to the Radio Church of God broadcast because she was so emotionally unstable and unhappy. I think like all cults, it drew folk with deep emotional/spiritual voids. And folk with mental health issues. I remember being abused physically by my mother in the guise of "discipline" as taught by the church when it actually became a physical church that she could attend - the World Wide Church of God. The "discipline" progressed to a 2 by 4 board. I can't blame the church on all the abuse suffered at the hands of my mother, given she had begun the abuse years prior to her discovering the Radio Church of God. Both my parents came to the marriage with lots of unresolved baggage. Within three years, my mother had three children and a husband who worked late most nights. And she was Jewish, he Methodist. She raised in a pampered creative, city family life. He from a sheltered, poor farm upbringing.

I know I was damaged even before my mother started going to Armstrong's church. But her becoming part of it all, was devastating to us kids and my father. Before she joined the church, we had Chanukah and Christmas and of course all the other holidays and festivities that are considered traditional. I remember the day the men in dark suits came to our house. My Dad was at work. From that day forward, she stopped smoking, never wore makeup again and life was never the same in our house. No more birthdays, nothing. I was about 9, my younger brother 7 and my older brother 10. No explanation, nothing, Just all of a sudden everything changed. It further put a wedge between my parents and he recognized quickly that her church was "nuts". His response was to delve deeper into his job. To be abused at home and have such a volatile mother and then have to attend long church services with her and sermons about 'the Lake of Fire" and kids are sinful and need to receive the rod and the never ending sermons on the Book of Revelation and the tribulation and the end of the world - it was frightening to me. I had nightmares throughout my childhood. Even after her church became more mainstream and "normalized", she still hung on to some of the old teachings esp. regarding the world coming to an end. The last words I ever heard from her, at my last visit a few months before her death she said" It's only going to get worse". and I knew she was referencing the end times. For supposedly loving the Lord and being born again, she was miserable. And her minister never wanted to address the issues in our house and help with it. 

Anyway, I joined the army just to get out of the house, after I graduated high school. It took me years to be comfortable celebrating birthdays and holidays. Now, I love to celebrate those. I do believe her religion greatly affected my spiritual path which has led me to atheism. It has been an agonizing path. Living a human life without religion and all the camaraderie a church can provide, has been lonely indeed. My trust in people has been damaged. I do feel I am the victim of religious abuse. even hearing the word God triggers my PTSD. I have had to pay quite a bit of money over the years for psychotherapy. I'd have loved to have sent that bill to H. Armstrong.

You have my permission to print this 

COG Members Sick of the divisive church divisions

double click to enlarge


These are photographs are of an ICOG Feast of Tabernacles sign from this past year.  This same location also had UCG, COGWA and LCG groups meeting in the same building and close by in the same city. 

 COG members are getting sick of the divisions that abusive leaders continue to use as control measures.  There were at least three groups meeting in the same town and none of them officially acknowledged the other, with some even discouraging members to stay away from the other groups.


Sunday, January 24, 2016

COG False Prophet Says: Snowmageddon Was Punishment From God For Joe Biden's Comments



Only in Armstrongism (and World Net Daily) can such stupidity abound:

Bob Thiel writes;

I would suggest that if this particular storm “Jonas” was a punishment for a recent action, it was more likely a punishment for US Vice President Biden’s promotion of the LGBT agenda at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday ss opposed to the lifting of sanctions related to the Iranian deal. 
Why? 
Because the Bible does ties aspects of the LGBT agenda in with weather punishments (cf. Amos 4:7-12).  Plus the Bible teaches that God will remove “the protection from Judah” (the nation currently called Israel) and perhaps allow the Iranians to damage it (cf. Isaiah 22:6-8).

Bitter Bob's bumbling proof?

Scripture is clear that God controls the weather and sometimes provides extreme weather for correction. And that includes snowy weather. Notice the following: 
5 God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend. 6 For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’;… 9 From the chamber of the south comes the whirlwind, And cold from the scattering winds of the north. 10 By the breath of God ice is given, And the broad waters are frozen. 11 Also with moisture He saturates the thick clouds; He scatters His bright clouds. 12 And they swirl about, being turned by His guidance, That they may do whatever He commands them On the face of the whole earth. 13 He causes it to come, Whether for correction, Or for His land, Or for mercy. (Job 37:5-6, 9-13)
22 “Have you entered the treasury of snow, Or have you seen the treasury of hail, 23 Which I have reserved for the time of trouble, For the day of battle and war? (Job 38:22-23)

COGWA Members Say If A Merger Happens With LCG They Will Return To United



If Rod Meredith is truly considering merging with the Church of God a Worldwide Association  (COGWA) he is going to be in for a big shock.  While some in the leadership may want to do this, the members do NOT!  Many are saying they will return to United Church of God before their feet ever grace the door of an LCG church. What a stinging indictment that is!

Also  it is interesting to note is that COGWA ministers are preaching about Rod Meredith's "issues" (his preoccupation with homosexuality) and that he has become "unhinged." Its a sad indicator to LCG members if COGWA ministers are publicly bad mouthing Rod Meredith. This is starting to look like the epic failure of Dave Pack where he thinks tens of thousands of COG members will soon be joining his church.

Really AWKWARD!! How do we in COGWA, who have listened for a while now to insinuations about Rod Meredith’s “issues” given his pre-occupation with rants against homosexuals, and suggestions that he has “come unhinged” with his new teachings of a rapture (something to do with the timeline of the wedding supper) all coming from our own ministers (and I hear also from friends in the UK that these thoughts are also disseminated by the COGWA leadership there)—- how are we expected to happily ‘merge’ with a group that we are told is so way off-base?! In our immediate circles at services today we all pretty much agreed that if this merger happened, most of COGWA would flee back to UCG — a windfall for them. LCG would inherit a hefty payroll with insufficient tithe-payers to support it. For my husband and I it would confirm our worst fears since the beginning that Franks & Co. were perhaps just financial opportunists in the first split, and are doing the same again with no principles — and we would certainly be back in UCG. Certainly we never understood making merchandise of the brethren as well as we do now.  Shining Light comments

Also to note, is the distaste that COGWA members seem to have for Jim Franks and crew.  They are referred to as "financial opportunists."

LCG COGWA can not join because it is unequally yoked, Jim Franks represents a corrupt leader, full of ambition, Walker, Langarica sacked the United Church of God in South America and Franks knows, out corrupt leaders, hopefully this is just rumor, LCG should not thieves at his side. Ali Franks and the 40 Thieves.


It should be quite obvious that not only is Living Church of God having member issues, but COGWA, UCG, PCG and RCG are too.   Members are starting to rebel again at the appalling things they are being going on in their churches.  Yet, the ministers and hierarchy continue to turn a blind eye and pretend that things have never been better in the church. As I have said before, the church is eating itself alive.  Persecution is not coming from the outside, but from within.