Ron Fraser: Ignoring Church Abuses Since 1968

PCG author Ron Fraser has written this article, Marriage—Soon Obsolete?

Here he reveals some details of how he joined WCG.

Well, I’m thankful that amid the search for the absolutes as a young seeker after truth crossing the threshold from teens into young adulthood, I came across one who preached the truth, no holds barred, and who challenged his listeners to prove he was right!

I took the challenge and proved it!

As a young married parent of two at the time, I read Herbert Armstrong’s booklet prophesying of a coming generation which would see marriage as largely obsolete. That was 42 years ago. [c. 1968.] Yesterday I read the headline that spoke of the fulfillment of that prophecy.

Now this article makes no mention of when he joined WCG. All it reveals is he was reading their writings around 1968. So it is impossible to know when he joined and became a participating member of WCG from this article.

It must be noted that Ron Fraser wrote this:

I know the negative statistics surrounding the families that are not embedded in the tradition of monogamous marriage. And I have, over the years, worked with people who have shattered their lives as a result.

Did Ron Fraser encounter the effects of HWA's abominable Divorce and Remarriage doctrine? Until 1974 HWA enforced a shocking policy that those who have remarried are living in adultery and must separate themselves. Only Heaven knows how many families were destroyed by this most monstrous policy. Did Mr. Fraser personally observe this happening?

In 1974 he changed this doctrine after others pointed out to him that his doctrine rested on a misunderstood word.

He was with PCG when Gerald Flurry changed the government in PCG letting a Prophet, which he claims to be, have administrative rule over the church, contrary to HWA's teaching on this matter.

But since Gerald Flurry pays him, of course, he does as he is told.

He was with PCG when they implemented the No Contact policy forbidding PCG members from having any contact with "Laodiceans" members of other COGs. As far as I am aware he implements this draconian policy.

But since Gerald Flurry pays him, of course, he does as he is told.

Gerald Flurry Changed the Government in PCG

Stephen Flurry has used the controversy in UCG as an opportunity to bad mouth LCG, as may be seen in his most recent column, Rod Meredith and Church Branches.

In these recent columns Stephen Flurry has focused his polemical retorts upon the two largest COG sects, UCG and LCG. He accuse UCG of changing the style of government. As for LCG he focuses on Meredith's attempts to implement collegial leadership during Global (1993-8).

Flurry's polemic ignores the fact that many COGs in fact practice one man leadership as practiced by old WCG.

In Meredith's case he focus on Meredith's attempt while in Global (1993-8) to have collegial government. He knows that after LCG was created Meredith reverted to one man rule but for the purposes of his argument this is de-emphasized and Flurry questions why this man chose to change things during that time to delegitimize him.

Let's see what he has to say:

When Rod Meredith left the Worldwide Church of God to start a new church in 1993, he clearly called into question the way Herbert W. Armstrong had governed the Worldwide Church of God.

Just like Gerald Flurry!

• 1) HWA taught from 1953 onwards until the day he died that Prophets cannot hold administrative power over church members.

PCG changed that and allowed a Prophet to rule over them.

This clearly contradicts HWA's teaching on this matter.

PCG has deceptively deleted these words which HWA wrote in Mystery of the Ages (Chapter 6):

No prophets are mentioned as having either administrative, executive or preaching functions in the New Testament Church.

If you view MOA from a non-PCG source you will find this statement. You will not find this statement in PCG's copies of Mystery of the Ages because they deleted it.

Therefore PCG has changed the form of government under HWA.

(I am aware that recently Gerald Flurry has declared himself an Apostle. This does not change the fact that until then PCG was ruled by a Prophet in clear contradiction to HWA's teaching.)

• 2: Gerald Flurry has called for "abnormal government" to be implemented within PCG in 2003.

On November 1, 2003 Gerald Flurry made a sermon in which he commented that PCG was entering a time of crisis because Satan is now on the earth. (PCG teaches that Satan was cast down to the Earth upon HWA's death in 1986.) He speculated that because of this time of crisis before the Great Tribulation it will be necessary to change create an "abnormal government" within PCG.

“REVELATION, 11, VERSE ONE IS ABNORMAL”

(Sniffs, voice changes) “Not that you’re abnormal! but this is abnormal administration of God’s Government.”

“Instead of setting up abnormal machinery to meet the highly abnormal need, the normal standards were not good enough at such a critical time. So they had to change the way they administered the Government. And so we enter into this time, brethren, and let me tell you, it’s getting to be pretty, pretty, fiercely bad. We enter into this time and Jesus Christ is showing me that there really is a change in the administration of our Government. There really is a change in that.

Satan has been cast down. Now that’s a different situation. I mean that’s like Hitler attacking, only it’s worse.And so we have that to contend with. And it’s, as I said, in the last hour, and no more delay, so Mr Armstrong’s structure of Government really will not work ... to get this job done.

Gerald Flurry knows how dangerous this rhetoric can be among people who has been (falsely) taught that PCG is the true church because they (alledgedly) have the same form of government as old WCG. So he tries to deceptively hide the fact that he is changing the government by pretending he isn't.

“It’s different brethren, but again, you see, it’s the same government, the same law that Mr Armstrong had!” And so I submit to it, you submit to it, but we do have to administer it in a different way.

This is merely deceptive doublespeak. Wikipedia offers these helpful words in discussing this concept.

Doublespeak (sometimes called doubletalk) is language that deliberately disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words. ... It may also be deployed as...reversal of meaning (for example, naming a state of war "peace"). In such cases, doublespeak disguises the nature of the truth, producing a communication bypass.

That is what Gerald Flurry is doing.

All of this, (having a Prophet wield administrative power over the church contrary to HWA's teaching, Gerald Flurry's call for "abnormal government" in 2003,) is deliberately ignored by Stephen Flurry to pretend that PCG preserves the same form of government, when they do not.

Let us continue with Stephen Flurry's column.

[Meredith] wrote in Church Government and Church Unity that the subject of church government had been seriously misunderstood during the days of Mr. Armstrong’s leadership.

How is this any different from your father, and employer, saying in the sermon cited above that

we’re in a fierce, fierce battle, just before the Great Tribulation and we’re going to have to do things differently; we already are doing them differently ... you are, I am, we ALL are and WE LIKE IT THAT WAY ...

I know Gerald Flurry claimed that this different way is "the way Christ leads us.” but that's just deceptive doubletalk.

Most of Stephen Flurry's column is devoted to discussing Meredith's booklet, Church Government and Church Unity, and Flurry insists that HWA always believed that there was one man in charge in the church.

Alas that booklet is, as far as I know, not available on the Internet, so it is hard for me to talk about what Meredith said.

This must be said: HWA was a false prophet so, as far as I am concerned, there is no need to wonder what his views on government were, because God was not with him.

A Brief History Of Pakistan's Blasphemy Law

Just read this article, A, B and C of the Pakistan blasphemy law, from ASSIST News, detailing some of the historical reasons why this infamous law was adopted in Pakistan.

Alas, this law tends to be used to intimidate religious minorities within Pakistan.

Pack Also Goes Poaching For UCG Members

Stephen Flurry has recently been boasting how great PCG is.

Dave Pack has been doing exactly the same thing as may be seen in his article, RCG Fruits—Phenomenal Growth Continues!

Imitating HWA's twisting the Scriptures that "Fruits" means "Membership/Material growth" of the organization Pack asserts that his sect has grown more then any other COG. Like HWA before him and Stephen Flurry as seen earlier "Apostle" Pack assures us that this growth is a sign of divine favor.

None of that changes the fact that HWA was a false prophet who spread countless fear inducing prophecies which simply did not happen.

Let the reader remember these words of Scripture.

When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath NOT SPOKEN, but the prophet hath spoken it PRESUMPTUOUSLY: thou shalt not be afraid of him.' (Deuteronomy 18:22, emphasis mine).

What is HWA's track record?

• He predicted Christ to return in 1936 (p. 3).

• He predicted that Mussolini then Hitler was the Beast.

• He preached for years, from 1953 onwards, that Jesus Christ would return in 1975. Nothing happened.

• In Mystery of the Ages he claimed Christ would return by 2005. (PCG altered that book after the court case so if you look up their version you won't see that prediction.)

It does not matter how much growth RCG or PCG or any of the other COG sects have when it can be shown by his false prophecies that Herbert W. Armstrong was a false prophet. From at least 1936 HWA spoke presumptuously on his own authority, not that of God, in regards to prophecy.

Claims of growth are meaningless.

PCG Members Are About 5500

LCG apologist Bob Theil has an intriguing article, PCG Statistics commenting on Stephen Flurry's column, which among other things confirms what PCG observers have long suspected since at least 2003: that PCG's membership stands at around 5000 and is thus the smaller than LCG and UCG.

Stephen Flurry's Deceptive Polemic Against UCG and LCG

Stephen Flurry has unleashed another column discussing the UCG split, Making Sense of the Church Split: Judge By the Fruits. (He means you are to choose his own: PCG.)

He takes this opportunity to spread cheap and deceptive propaganda to insist that PCG is the only true church.

He weaves mundane circumstances and insists that they reveal the hidden workings of the universe.

First he uses the old if-they-didn't-mention-us-it's-because-they-wish-we-didn't-exist rhetorical trick. Observe how he uses it.

After joining the United Church of God in 1995, one former minister of the Worldwide Church of God outlined four choices for disgruntled members of the wcg: 1) Stay with the Worldwide Church of God; 2) join the United Church; 3) go with Rod Meredith’s Global Church of God; or 4) wait on God to clearly reveal where to go. In his mind, the Philadelphia Church of God wasn’t even worthy of consideration!

Never mind all the other choices that were around at the time, such as joining Dankenbring, who was actually kicked out of WCG by Tkach even earlier than Flurry, the pre-1986 splits such as Garner Ted Armstrong's sect, or the pre-1974 splinter groups which retained the Monday Pentecost and that abominable Divorce and Remarriage doctrine.

There were in fact many other choices available to WCG members in 1995. Or even simply abandoning the heretical Armstrongite tradition altogether.

Suephen Flurry however focus his attention on Meredith in the Global era and UCG to deceptively insinuate that every other COG does not have the correct government when most COGs, as far as I can tell, still practice one man government as old WCG.

Stephen Flurry then complains that other COG ministers complained that PCG retained the same form of government as WCG. He brings that point out to make it appear as though only PCG had the courage to retain government precisely, when actually PCG have made changes, such as allowing a Prophet (Gerald Flurry) to hold administrative power over the church. This is contrary to what HWA always taught, that Prophets can have no administrative power over the church.

Stephen Flurry omits the many other legitimate complains made against PCG: that Malachi's Message is plagiarized from Jules Dervaes' Letter to Laodicea, PCG's idolatrous reverence for Malachi's Message, the fact that prospective members were required to believe that HWA is the end time Elijah before being allowed to attend, a completely new requirement.

In reality many COGs continue to embrace the one man rule as practiced by old WCG, but PCG continues to lie and confuse their members on this subject.

Back then [circa 1995], it wasn’t so much where you went, you just needed to get out of the Worldwide Church of God. There were plenty of “branches” you could join. Any of them would work—as long as it wasn’t the Philadelphia Church of God. [This is simply a straw man Stephen Flurry made to make PCG look special.] We, after all, had that old authoritative government. It was much too harsh and austere, Laodicean ministers would tell prospective members if they inquired about the PCG.

Publicly, however—because we were never considered a viable option [by whom? Straw man again.]—these ministers simply ignored the work of the Philadelphia Church of God—even as it became more and more difficult to overlook.

Stephen Flurry then complains that the other COGs remained neutral during their "war" with WCG over HWA's copyrights.

He completely neglects to mention that

• HWA's writings were freely available for viewing on the Internet during the entire time of the court case. I can personally testify that I found and read Mystery of the Ages on the Internet about 2000-1 and it has remained online to this very day.

• Omits to mention that PCG has since made alterations to HWA's writings, including removing HWA's teaching that Prophets cannot hold administrative office over the church from Mystery of the Ages.

He then writes crowing over how COG members are requesting their HWA writings:

Now that the lawsuit is over and we own the literature, many brethren from other churches have contacted us for copies, since we offer it freely to anyone who makes a request. In private, some ministers from other groups have even encouraged their members to come to us for personal copies of Mr. Armstrong’s books.

Of course these books have been sanitized to fit PCG innovations in doctrine.

He then spends a lot of time bragging about how great and wonderful PCG is. Never mentions how he requires PCG members to have "no contact" with former members and "Laodiceans".

He makes this statement which I found quite disgusting:

Our total worldwide income in 2010 amounted to $20.6 million—a solid 5 percent increase over 2009....[Please note, as I understand it UCG had abolished third tithe.] The UCG had about 20,000 people attend its fall festival in September—roughly four times the amount we had at our sites. Yet its overall income for 2010 was only 16 percent more than the PCG’s—$23.9 million.

Our members are so much more profitable than yours! Stephen Flurry seems to be saying.

He thinks this is a good thing.

To me this demonstrates how viciously exploitative PCG has been towards their eternally suffering flock.

Stephen Flurry then turns his barbs on Meredith and accuse him of showing poor judgment in adopting a collegial form of government under Global, insinuating that he has lost divine favor. Flurry also manages to throw in a They-called-me-a-Nazi accusation at Meredith.

He then ends with this:

How, then, can you know if that man is humbly submitted to the government of God and is faithfully following Jesus Christ as the Head of the Church? You shall know, Jesus said, by their fruits.

The unsuspecting reader will not know that PCG's fruit include shattered families torn apart by the No Contact rule, and exploited members being used to empower the oppressive leadership in Edmond, while laboring under a web of deceptions all perfectly calculated to say, PCG is the one true church so give your three tithes.

The Original Bible Story

Most of us are familiar with Basil Wolverton's The Bible Story, a retelling of the events of the Old Testament, covered with a heavy dose of HWA's heretical teachings.

It debuted in the November 1958 Plain Truth and was serialized in the Plain Truth and later Tomorrow's World until April 1972. (Which happened to be the last issue of Tomorrow's World. If wonder if those events were connected?) Eventually it was compiled into six volumes.

I have just learned that from 1952-7, ending one year before Wolverton began his work, one Arthur Maxwell, a Seventh Day Adventist, wrote and published a series of 411 tales, compiled into ten volumes, entitled The Bible Story. Here is its official website advertising it. The title is exactly the same as Wolverton's work.

Also it should be remembered that Wolverton's work was also referred to as The Story of Man. Still I find this similarity remarkable.

PCG Discussing The UCG Split

PCG's Stephen Flurry has written a column discussing the UCG split, entitled The United Church of God and the Evils of 300-Man Rule.

In this column Stephen Flurry insists that David Hulme and Roderick Meredith disregarded how HWA governed WCG thus disqualifying them as true Christians. Stephen Flurry completely ignores these comments which were made by his father in a sermon he made on November 1, 2003 in which Gerald Flurry implies that the immanent end of this world will necessitate a change in government:

I think God is saying alright, NOW LET’S CHANGE THE GOVERNMENT TO FIT THE TIMES!” Here we are in a time of no more delay. We’re in the last hour, and I think Christ is saying ‘NOW I WANT YOU TO RISE UP AND I WANT YOU TO RUN THIS THING DIFFERENT THAN THE WAY IT WAS DONE IN THE PAST.”

Furthermore Stephen Flurry speaks of Hulme and Meredith as deviating from HWA's teachings. It must be remembered here that PCG has altered HWA's writings, including Mystery of the Ages, a book which PCG's lawyer in the court case with WCG said HWA was inspired by God and which cannot be rewritten.

PCG has rewritten Mystery of the Ages. Here it is.

If one bears these facts in mind one is struck by how utterly hypocritical Stephen Flurry's assumed righteous stance is.

Let us see what he has to say.

Today, both Meredith and Hulme head up two spin-offs of WCG offshoots. All totaled, there must be at least 100 offshoots of what once was the Worldwide Church of God. [There's actually far more.-Redfox.]

It makes you wonder: How many failed experiments with collaborative government will it take for former members of the Worldwide Church of God to wake up and figure out where God is working today?

Did you see that? He's deceptively implied that each and every one of the other COGs tried to use a different manner of Government ("collaborative government") contrary to HWA's example. That is absurd. Many COGs practice one man rule just as HWA did.

But PCG members won't know that. Because the other COGs are constantly denounced by PCG ministers as "Laodiceans" who will be doomed to suffer in the Great Tribulation many PCG members will not see that this accusation of Flurry's (that every other COG practices a deviant form of Government) is completely wrong and even deceptive.

Meanwhile, the one organization that actually started the right way—as a tiny mustard seed planted in 1989, without any of the best-known former ministers of the WCG or their many thousands of supporters, but with God’s government

How is PCG's any different from that of any other COGs which have one dominant leader? This accurately describes just about all of them, aside from UCG.

The method of rule employed by HWA within WCG from about 1953 onwards was one man rule. Many other COGs also employ this method of organization. Stephen Flurry highlights these two instances (Hulme 1995-8 and Meredith 1993-8) in order to deceptively insinuate that every other COG somehow employ a different method of government.

This is a bold lie.

Insinuating that every other COG has a different form of government is a lie carefully crafted to subtly persuade unsuspecting readers to believe that only PCG is a legitimate continuation of HWA's work.

But he can get away with such bold lies. Stephen Flurry knows that if any PCG member complains that he is not speaking the truth about this matter, then that person can simply be disfellowshiped from PCG and forbidden to contact PCG members.

PCG uses "God's government" as a euphemism for PCG rule. PCG wishes to be the only true church and so every other COG is denounced as corruptions of WCG. PCG members are actually forbidden from having any contact with any member of WCG or its offshoots, even if they are close family members. Unsuspecting readers would have no idea that this is demanded of those who wish to submit themselves to what PCG deceptively calls "God's government" (which is actually PCG rule).

As far as I can see many COGs employ one man rule just as HWA's WCG did. UCG is very much the exception.

To insinuate, to state, that every other COG employs a different form of government from that of HWA's WCG is simply a lie to deceive people.

Let Us Remember Salmaan Taseer

Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Punjab, Pakistan, was assassinated by one of his bodyguards, it is widely reported that this murder was committed for Taseer's opposition to Pakistan's notorious blasphemy laws.

These laws forbid "defaming" Islam and are notorious for being used to intimidate the religious minorities within Pakistan.

It is a terrible shame that a man who speaks out against this law, because he knows that it is being used to intimidate religious minorities, he knows it is being ruthlessly used by some scheming opportunists to settle personal grudges, he knows that those even accused of blaspheming Islam can face severe discrimination by those who judge the accused guilty, even murder, and so he speaks out, he wants to change things to make them better. And for standing up for religious minorities so that they may live peaceful and productive lives in Pakistan, he pays with his life.

It is a terrible injustice that such a thing should happen.

Christmas Topics As Discussed By "Professing Christians"

The Creationist Answers in Genesis has published some articles discussing some topics concerning Christmas that will be familiar to those of us familiar with Armstrongite teaching on this matter. I bring to attention in order to show that "professing Christians" are aware of what the various details mentioned by Armstrongites.

Miscellaneous Misconceptions About Christmas mentions the assertion that Jeremiah 10 is discussing Christmas trees, discusses how it is unlikely that Jesus was born on December 25, and discussing how some people (who are left unnamed) who teach that Christmas is not to be celebrated.

Regardless of what your opinion is of how the writer deals with these issues I bring

Footnote 3 of this article also discusses the argument that Zachariah, father of John the Baptist, was of the course of Abijah.

A Matter of Time discusses the timeline of the events concerning in Jesus' birth. It mentions that the Magi visited Jesus long after Jesus was born. I recall Meredith mentioned this point in his online study of Matthew. This detail about Jesus' early days is also mentioned in The Picture Bible, in which the Magi reach Jesus well after his birth.

I mention all this here to show that those the COGs teach us to look down on as "professing Christians" are actually aware of these details. The COGs are merely reciting information that was available from other sources.