Dave Hunt Dies (April 5)

Just heard that evangelist Dave Hunt has died on April 5. Hat tip to the Christian Post. He leaves behind his wife, Ruth (nee Klassen) and four children.

My condolences to those who are affected by his passing away.

I mention him because Roderick Meredith cited Dave Hunt's book, A Woman Rides the Beast, in his article, Who is the Harlot of Revelation 17? (Both Meredith and Hunt teach that it is the Roman Catholic Church.)

It was when reading that article that LCG first told me about their 'prophetic' view of the Roman Catholic Church, that it is the Harlot of Revelation 17. This idea has been quite common within Protestantism and other related sects, born out of the intense persecution early Protestants endured at the hands of the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation.

I give Hunt's book credit for exposing the sexual abuse of Catholic priests and the fact that pedophile priests were being protected by those higher up within the institution. This information was only beginning to enter mainstream consciousness when this book was made.

It is amazing for me to think of this, but because Meredith mentioned this book I went and got this book. I read it most eagerly to see what this man cited by Meredith had to say about the history of the Roman Catholic Church.

Alas, by this time I had been so utterly indoctrinated by LCG and I was so utterly persuaded that LCG truly was the one place where God was working on Earth today that whenever I saw Dave Hunt say something that contradicted LCG's Armstrongist teachings I just simply ignored it and assumed Meredith, Ames, Ogwyn and Co. at LCG were right. Oh what a strong delusion!

Much later I also read another book of his, Judgement Day! Islam, Israel and the Nations. It interprets the Arab-Israeli conflict through the viewpoint of dispensationalist prophetic viewpoint. Personally I think assuming you will know what will happen in a certain part of the world not much help in trying to solve the problems of that conflict. Contrary to what many dispensationalists today seem to believe I believe that peace between the Jews and Palestinian Arabs is possible. We do not need to wait for Christ's return for peace to be made in the Holy Land.

There is one other thing I will say about his book, A Woman Rides the Beast. In one chapter he discusses the Arab-Israeli conflict and criticizes Pope John Paul II for his relations with Yasser Arafat and the Palestine Liberation Organization saying those relations are antagonistic towards Israel. And while discussing this I can recall that he claimed that the legend of Muhammad ascending to Heaven upon the site of Solomon's temple is a myth recently created by Arabs to claim the Holy Land for themselves instead of the Jews. I do not know why he said such an obviously untrue statement. (Maybe something went unintentionally wrong. I am not suggesting any malicious motive for this.) Whatever one may think about the story it was certainly not created to combat Jewish nationalistic claims to the Holy Land. I read Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and he mentions that story. It is an old story and it certainly was not created as part of the present day conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs.

But having said all that I am sad that he has passed on and hope that his wife, family and loved ones are comforted during this sad time.

No Link Between Autism and Violence

CNN has published this op-ed by John Elder Robinson noting that "There is no connection between any autism spectrum disorder and violent aggression."

Prejudice affects us in many ways, most all of which are bad. My son found that out four years ago, when a state prosecutor decided that his scientific fascination with explosives was a terrorist threat and only she could "save" our community. She charged him with four felonies, carrying a maximum sentence of more than 60 years in prison.

Cubby was 17 years old when he was indicted. He'd never been in trouble with either the law or in school, and was on track to make Eagle Scout, where he taught the chemistry merit badge course.

His only "crime" was turning household chemicals into experimental explosives, which he set off and filmed in the woods behind our house. Even the ATF agents who first investigated were impressed by Cubby's scientific acumen and curiosity and certain that he intended no harm.

It took a year of our lives, $100,000 and a weeklong jury trial to set the record straight. At the end the prosecutor just walked away, as do most bullies and predators. Our society can be awful long on prejudgment and woefully short on consequences.

David Renz Charged with Alledged Murder and Child Rape

Just heard the terrible news from Banned by HWA about David Ranz.

 Syracuse.com's archive of articles about David Ranz's attack.

The life of David Ranz leading up to this horrific attack. Includes details of is life as a child member of WCG in his young life.

He might have abused a nine year old girl when he was fifteen.

A childhood friend recalls what she knew of David Ranz.

How David Ranz evaded his GPS tracker the night he attacked.

Dave Ranz was facing child pornography charges, hence why he had to wear a GPS ankle bracelet.

False Prophet Meredith Begs for Money

It seems Meredith still has not gotten himself out of the post-holiday financial crisis he has led LCG into. Banned by HWA has revealed that Meredith has recently released a co-worker letter where he desperately tries to make LCG members feel guilty in order to get even more money from them beyond the numerous tithes and offerings LCG members are required to pay.

I remember when I was deceptively recruited into Armstrongism after a few years (around 2004-5) it began to seem slightly stale to me. I was tiring of it. But I had been so totally persuaded that HWA and LCG taught the 'truth' I felt that I had to follow the ideals of Armstrongism as best I could. I continued to be a loyal follower of HWA and LCG until late 2008. I cannot help but think a lot of LCG members are simply getting tired of the same dreary message Meredith has been bombarding them with for sixty years in WCG, GCG and LCG in the same way I felt in the latter years of my Armstrongite time. I hope they chose to continue to act upon this. Meredith is not worth their time and money.

William Koeneke Convicted of Child Molestation

Banned by HWA has a post up noting that William Koeneke, a minister of the Church of the Eternal God, has been convicted "of four counts of indecent assault on boys under the age of 16" while he worked with WCG in 1985-9. Silenced also comments about it.

It always amazes me how it seems so many people in authority commit such heinous and abominable acts. It is good that this wicked man was forced to face the consequences for his terrible actions.

How Bush and Co. Led the US into War in Iraq

As it is the anniversary of the US led invasion of Iraq in 2003 here is a timeline that describes in harrowing and shocking detail how the Bush Administration led the US into war in Iraq. To put it very, very mildly they were less than honest about what they knew. It is clear they were under the influence of groupthink at the very least.

I was aware before that clearly someone had messed up the intelligence badly, to put too politely, but reading this a few days ago was the first time I read how so many stories and developments joined together. For instance I did not know about Curveball very well. I heard about him vaguely but did not know his story well. Also I was only vaguely aware of other threads of information described here. It was hard to read this and see how callously the Bush Administration played on the American people's fears to do what they wanted. I was not fully aware of a lot of the information presented here, therefore I have linked to it here. Mother Jones has done a great service in holding those who made this most serious decision accountable.

Bush, Cheney and Co. never should have lead the US and her allies to wage war in Iraq. They judged that waging war would end well. Alas, to everyone's sorrow, it did not. The time to overthrow Saddam Hussein was 1991, not 2003.

Armstrongites' Malachy Madness

The ascension of Pope Francis has predictably sparked a wave of vain and useless and wrong speculation that Francis is the final Pope. That miserable unordained false prophet Bob Thiel has even written a book to mark the occasion in a desperate attempt to gain converts.

PCG's account of Francis' ascension (brillianty exposed at Banned by HWA) appears to have adopted stupid anti-Jesuit conspiracy theories, or at least sound like one.

"The new pope is a member of the Jesuit order. So are Eurocrats like Mario Draghi and Von Rompuy. This order is colloquially known as GOD’S MARINES! They are a militant and dedicated lot to the church."

"“His shy demeanor and humble personality, however, indicate that he may likely remain a puppet of the Pope Emeritus instead of becoming the final Vatican strongman himself”.

That, or Pope Emeritus, just may come out of “retirement” and once again take over the reins of the Vatican."

"We have another Warlord in place, this time in the Vatican!

So far we have at least the following Warlords in place:

1) Jesuit Warlord of the Catholic Church, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now hiding as Pope Francis.
2) Jesuit Warlord of Europe, Herman Achille Van Rompuy, President of the European Council.
3) Jesuit Warlord of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi.
4) Jesuit Warlord of Italy, Mario Monti.
5) Jesuit Warlord of Spain, Mariano Rajoy.

Do you see a pattern evolving here? My questions are, “Where will the NEXT Warlord surface? ” and “How long before they combine forces and plunge the world into another World War? “ "

Honestly, this kind of talk is utterly disgusting. Horrific. It sounds like something a conspiracy theory lunatic would say.

PCG claim to have 'come out of the world' yet they use a theory (anti-Jesuit conspiracy theory specifically) used for hundreds of years by 'the world' in order to scare PCG's followers into conformity and gain tithes and offerings from them.

The Robidoux Family Cult: A Deadly WCG Splinter Group

Be warned: this post will cover a disturbing topic. You have been warned.

As mentioned before when I first got involved in Armstrongism (specifically LCG) in early 2000 at first I only read what was on their own website (which because of the Meredith's power struggle with the Global Church of God in 1998 was relatively new at the time) or in their own writings. It was not until around September/October 2000 I began to read elsewhere on the Internet about the COGs after I saw a disturbing NBC Dateline report about a family cult in Attleboro, Massachutts, which, in 1999, murdered one of their children. The family cult happened to have founded by an ex-WCG member, Roland Robidoux, who left WCG in 1978. The Robidoux cult's ties with WCG was mentioned in the TV report.

On April 26, 1999, Mr. Samuel Robidoux, aged 11 months, was murdered, by being starved to death, by order of the leadership of the cult his family belonged to. At least some measure of justice was meted out for this crime. The man who was supposed to be his father, Jacques Robidoux, who along with his father, Roland, was one of the leaders of this cult, was convicted of first degree murder and is currently serving a life sentence without possibility of parole. The mother, Karen Robidoux, was convicted of assault and battery and sentenced to 2 and a half years in jail and served that time in jail. The aunt, Michelle Mingo, whose alleged "leading" from God sparked the events leading to this murder, pleaded guilty for being "an accessory before the fact to an assault and battery on a child" and served time in jail equivalent to what she would have served if she was convicted.

No one else was charged because, as far as I could tell from what I read, Massachusetts law regards only the parents as being responsible for a child's welfare, so the founder of the cult, the man who was supposed to be a grandfather, Roland Robidoux, was not charged. I feel that it is very unfortunate that Roland Robidoux was not charged over the murder. Roland Robidoux died May 16, 2006.

Shortly after this case came to light the 13 (later 14) children within the cult were taken by the State of Massachusetts and relocated to non-cult family members or adopted.

The Rick A. Ross Institute has compiled 157 articles and news reports, composed of about 89,000 words, about this cult and the legal cases its murder and other mistreatment of children caused. After cutting and pasting all these articles on a single word document I have been reading this chronicle of a cult pushing itself over the edge. I wished to share details of the cult that demonstrates its descent from WCG. The Robidoux cult developed into a religious cult that, in many ways, was quite different from the Armstrongism most of us know, but nevertheless certain similarities continued to be preserved and can still be seen in their Sabbatarianism, observance of the Feast of Tabernacles, hostility towards doctors and medicine, refusal to swear in court, ban on birthday celebrations, etc.

(It should be noted that the Roland Robidoux cult appeared to have acquired its dangerous hostility towards the use of professional health care from a non-Armstrongite source in the mid-to-late 1990s so any link between old WCG's anti-medicine superstition and the anti-health care superstition of the Ribodoux cult appears to be mainly indirect, surprisingly enough.)

The following are quotes from articles as preserved by the Rick A. Ross Institute:

Weeks [a former associate of Roland Robidoux] said he and Robidoux broke from a California branch of the fundamentalist group, Worldwide Church of God, and established their own small churches in Mansfield and Mendon, R.I. Back then, Weeks said, Roland Robidoux and his wife, Georgette, were community-oriented and ''great role models'' and parents to Jacques and their other children.
A few years later, Weeks left the group over philosophical differences and joined another congregation.
It was in the decades following, Weeks said, that the Robidouxes joined with a few other families and cut themselves off from society, living frugally off money earned through masonry work, carpentry and a chimney sweep business.
The church cut themselves off entirely from outside society, he said. Some sect members intermarried, including Jacques, who wed Karen, the daughter of another group member.

(Missing children reveals insular sect in Attleboro
Boston Globe, February 7, 2000
By Erica Noonan)

Visitors to the park with video recorders captured 23 group members on tape, hands clasped, celebrating something they called the "Feast of the Tabernacles," the men wearing long beards and tall hats and the children learning to follow the dance their parents practiced, authorities said. The women wore long-sleeved cotton dresses that covered them from neck to ankle, and avoided the eyes of strangers and ignored greetings from neighbors and strangers alike.

(Religious Group Probed in Child's Disappearance
Grand Jury Probes Possible Starvation of Mass. Boy
APB News, April 25, 2000
By Ellen O'Brien )

Completely withdrawn from society, they don't watch TV or movies, celebrate holidays or birthdays, or wear wedding bands. …

The family-oriented sect was formed by Jacques Robidoux' father, Roland, several years ago when he split from [HWA’s Worldwide Church of God] and started his own Bible study group.

(Cultists convinced only God will provide
Boston Herald / September 3, 2000
By Dave Wedge)

According to Walsh, doctors will allow Corneau to have a natural child birth - as she wishes - and will only intervene in an emergency. Corneau has repeatedly refused medical exams, citing her religious belief that seeing a doctor would be like "bowing to a false God."

(SJC to rule on cult mother case
Pregnant pause may bring prison birth
Boston Herald, September 8, 2000
By Dave Wedge)

Angry and frustrated, Bristol County's chief prosecutor planned to return to court today after a pregnant cult member suspected of covering up the death of her last baby refused to talk about her medical condition with a court-appointed nurse, calling medicine a false god.

(Court action planned against cult member
Boston Globe / August 31, 2000
By Jacob H. Fries)

"In no way at all will I accept any kind of medical assistance. It is against God," Mrs. Corneau told the judge in the closed-door hearing, according to Gerald Fitzgerald, an assistant district attorney.
Fitzgerald said Mrs. Corneau's husband, David, who was led into the courtroom in handcuffs and leg irons, told the court: "You cannot force the medical system on myself and my wife. Only one holds the key to life and death, and that's God Almighty himself, not the medical system."

(Judge turns down move to lock up pregnant sect member
Associated Press / August 29, 2000
By Chris Lehourites)

But George said he has a signed agreement and is confident Corneau will continue to cooperate.
"He intends to testify truthfully before the grand jury," said George. "He'll take an affirmation (of truth) but not a religious oath. He won't swear on the Bible."…

Despite the progress in the case, Walsh said he remains troubled about the cult.
"This is a bizarre cult, there's no operating principles," he said. "They make stuff up as they go along. Some of their beliefs are downright dangerous, as evidenced by the two dead children. There's not a religion in the world that lets you kill your kids."

(Grim discovery: Cops find cult kids' burial site
Boston Herald/October 25, 2000
By Tom Farmer and Dave Wedge)

The circumstances that led to the deaths of the two babies can be traced back to 1976 when Roland and Georgette Robidoux left the Worldwide Church of God in Mendon, R.I., because the "WCG in those days was an extremely repressive, religious fringe group," according to the report.

Founded by Herbert W. Armstrong in 1935 [sic] and headquartered in Pasadena, Calif., it was considered "a full-blown cult" and was never accepted by the World or National Council of Churches.

The Robidouxs got together with other WCG defectors and began holding weekly Bible studies at their home. In 1977, the report says, the group had grown to about 75 and they rented the Grange Hall in Mansfield, forming the "Church of God of Mansfield."

The first hint of trouble came when one of the church leaders, Brian Weeks, parted ways with Robidoux. "I went to Roland and told him that I didn't think we knew what we're doing," Weeks told Pardon.

In the early 1980s, Robidoux ran into high school classmate Roger Daneau, whom he had not seen for years.
The Daneaus, who had been part of the Catholic Charismatic Revival movement in the 1970s that included communal living and sharing possessions, began attending Bible studies with the Robidouxs and embraced some of the repressive practices of the WCG that the Robidouxs still espoused, the report states.

(Report: Group with `benign origin' got dangerous
Boston Herald/October 26, 2000
By Tom Farmer )

 Joseph Roland Robidoux, a door-to-door salesman, left the Catholic Church after listening to Herbert W. Armstrong founder of the Worldwide Church of God (WWCOG) on his car radio. And thus began one fanatical Massachusetts man's religious odyssey....

Former WWCOG member Brian Weeks described Robidoux as a "loyalist" who swallowed Armstrong's teachings "'hook, line and sinker...''
Robidoux and his wife, Georgette had five children.
The Robidoux kids camped out with their parents for weeks during what WWCOG calls the "Feast of the Tabernacles." Robidoux tithed to the organization and kept its strict diet. ...


Robidoux left WWCOG in 1978, claiming that God had called him to start his own church.
The church that Roland Robidoux founded was first named "Church of God of Mansfield" and later "Church of God of Norton." Robidoux attracted other disgruntled WWCOG members, but never had more than 70 followers.
''We would sit around the table trying to interpret the Bible, with all the dictionaries in Hebrew and Greek,'' recalled Weeks, a former member of the group. ''We didn't know what we were doing. To have the responsibility of leading people you need training, and we didn't have any.''...


Weeks went back to visit Robidoux during the 1980s. Roland Robidoux lectured him about how all churches are hypocritical and authoritative. ''But he failed to see that he was the authority of his group,'' Weeks said. ''He became the thing he hated. All the things that he was originally disgruntled with, he became. The sole authority, not being questioned. He believed that he had the truth.'' ...


Roland Robidoux had ''absolute power over his family,'' said Michelle's husband, Dennis Mingo, who later left the group. For example, one year he decided the family should eat only meat. The next year, he ordered everyone to become vegetarians and later to eat only organic food. The family always obeyed his edicts.
''There was one year that Roland said, `Why are we singing the same songs that these false churches sing?''' All the songs previously sung by the family were subsequently banned.
Robidoux's daughter Michelle composed a new song. ''We'd just sing that song over and over again,'' Mingo said.

(The history of the Roland Robidoux’s religious fanaticism and the strange group known as "the body"
A News Summary: "The Sect: Led by a father’s religious zeal, family spurned society’s rules by Globe staff, published by the Boston Globe
November 26, 2000)

She said sect members thought of themselves as "God's chosen people,'' and were not allowed televisions, checkbooks, jewelry or eyeglasses. They discarded all books except the Bible and didn't celebrate birthdays, believing the candles on the cake had pagan origins.

(Prosecutor Details Infant's Demise
The Associated Press/June 6, 2002
By Denise Lavoie)

Prosecutors say that in October [1999] the cult took a trip to Baxter State Park in Maine for a religious celebration called the Feast of Tabernacles - and that the tiny bodies of Samuel Robidoux and Jeremiah Corneau were buried there. …

The sect members lived in several homes in communal arrangements. They meet every Saturday, on the Sabbath, for Bible study and "sharing," where members discuss their lives among themselves.

(Mass. v. Robidoux: Cult dad starves baby
Court TV/July 17, 2002)

[The Feast of Tabernacles in 1999 was on September 25-October 3. (Source.) But it is at present impossible for me to confirm the Ribodoux cult held their Feast on those dates in 1999.]

Known as The Body, the sect was formed by Jacques Robidoux' father, Roland, who ex-members say ruled the group with an iron fist. Members live communally and flatly reject mainstream society, including conventional medicine, banking and education.

(Defense expert: Cult mom sees she was manipulated
Boston Herald/December 25, 2002
By Dave Wedge)

According to Pardon, the sect's leader feels no guilt over the death of Samuel Robidoux.
"Roland Robidoux believes this trial will completely vindicate him and the sect and that he acted appropriately," Pardon said. "He feels a lack of faith on Karen's part led to Samuel's death.
"I believe when the evidence comes out, it will be obvious Karen's mind was controlled and manipulated. We hope Karen will be vindicated when this trial concludes."

(Religious sect trial begins today
The Taunton Gazette/January 22, 2004
By Jeff Sullivan)

Attleboro cult leader Roland Robidoux taught his brainwashed minions to beat their children with paddles to "break their spirit" and encouraged spanking babies who were just a few months old as "training," an ex-member testified yesterday.

(Strict discipline: Ex-member testifies cult beat children
Boston Herald/January 23, 2004
By Dave Wedge)

Under cross-examination by Krowski, Mingo testified that he had first turned his back on his mother, because Jacques and Roland told him she was acting on behalf of Satan.
Mingo said that even though about five years have passed since he was an active member of the group, he still sometimes fears that in leaving the sect, "I have turned my back on God."

(2 views of mother on trial in death
Cast as heartless and as helpless
Boston Globe/January 23, 2004
By John Element)

Over the years, Mingo was in and out as a sect member, he said. He knew that to disagree with a sect vision meant answering to its rigid founder, Roland Robidoux, or his son. He said to disagree was to go against his wife at the time, G. Michelle Mingo, a daughter of Roland Robidoux who sometimes wore a spanking paddle in a rope necklace. To disagree was to be shunned by the sect, to be kept away from his wife and children, he said.
Some people had tried to disagree with Roland Robidoux.
"Eventually, they would give in. He was the leader," Mingo testified during Krowski's cross examination yesterday.

(Former member details oppressive life within sect
In the first day of the Karen Robidoux murder trial, a former Attleboro sect member testifies that members did what leaders willed, or else.
Providence Journal/January 23, 2004
By Michael P. McKinney)

The videotape played by the prosecutor yesterday showed an Attleboro religious sect's festive "Tabernacle." Women joined in a circle to dance outside. Tents were pitched for families. Children's voices chirped faintly. Then the tape showed Robidoux's husband, Jacques Robidoux. In the baby carrier on his back was Samuel Robidoux.

(Witness recalls 'visions' guiding sect members
The second day of Karen E. Robidoux's trial explores a central question: whether members could leave the religious group that persuaded her to deprive her infant son of solid food.
Providence Journal/January 24, 2004
By Michael P. McKinney)

Earlier in Kidson's almost three hours of testimony, she told Shea that her father, the leader of the sect, Roland Robidoux, thought Samuel's death "was to teach Karen Robidoux humility."

(Robidoux breaks down on third day
Taunton Gazette/January 24, 2004
By Jeff Sullivan)

[Joseph Krowski, defense attorney for Karen Robidoux,] argued that the responsibility for Samuel's death rests with sect leaders, including the "vile, deranged, evil" Roland Robidoux.

(Lawyer says mother controlled by 'evil'
Blames her sect for starving baby
Boston Globe/February 3, 2004
By John Ellement)

 "I think he has left a sad legacy. It's a sad ending to a sad, sad group,'' said the Rev. Robert Pardon, a cult expert who studied the Robidoux group.
Pardon, who conducted "exit counseling'' for Karen Robidoux and other cult members, holds Roland Robidoux responsible for Samuel's death and ruining the lives of Jacques and Karen Robidoux.
"It's unfortunate that he was not held accountable at the end of his life or to bear in public responsibility for what, I think, is total responsibility for what occurred to them,'' said Pardon, executive director of the New England Institute of Religious Research.
"His son should not be in jail for the rest of his life. Roland was really responsible. He should have come forward during the trial or soon afterwards to take responsibility. But it's too late now,'' Pardon said.
Bristol County District Attorney Paul Walsh Jr. did not charge Roland Robidoux with any crimes, citing state law which limits responsibility of care of a child to the parents.

(Sect founder Robidoux dies
Attleboro Sun Chronicle/May 18, 2006
By David Linton)

Oh! How foul the fruits of Armstrongism are.

Reading Malachi's Message (1990 Edition) Part 2: PCG Tyranny in Embryo

Recently I went and read the 1990 edition of Malachi's Message, thus seeing what was originally written by him, shortly after he was expelled from WCG in December 1989.

It is well known that Gerald Flurry's ideas were taken from Jules Dervaes' Letter to Laodicea, which were written before Malachi's Message.

But here I read through this book to see what would stand out and comment on it.

We now continue from Part 1.

***

"Persecution of the Philadelphians by the Laodiceans is also discussed in II Thessalonians 2 and Zachariah 3 and 4 - by strong implication. Some of that persecution comes in the form of casting people out of the Laodicean church. [Flurry means WCG.]" (p. 79.)

Being kicked out of church for not doing as its leadership expects is exactly what PCG does all the time. If you look at the February 5 letter in the link you will find an account of a 13 year old boy being disfellowshipped from PCG.

As I commented in one post regarding Stephen Flurry's book, Raising the Ruins, PCG complains that the one man rule was used to impose non-Armstrongite views upon WCG, but PCG takes upon itself the right to cast out dissenters from the group wherever it wants. They just wished ultimate power was in their hands, not Tkach's.

***

"If the work to the world is basically finished - most of what remains to be done is separating the Laodiceans and the Philadelphians.... That should not taken very long - but it will be painful! Very painful - in some cases it will break up families." (p. 78.)

My word! This has to be one of the most disgusting, horrid and shocking statements Flurry ever says in this book. Here is the terrible no contact policy in embryo. Although (as far as I know) the no contact policy was not yet in force then, it seems clear that the seeds of self-righteous hatred against so-called Laodiceans (WCG members and members of other COGs) is already there in Flurry's heart.

He knows the hatred he is teaching towards those he defines as Laodiceans will tear up families. But it seems clear from these words he is determined to do it regardless, as early as February 1990.

It is a terrible tragedy that Flurry found himself in just the right time to gain enough converts from WCG to became one of the major Armstrongite COGs.

***

"Fellow ministers of Jesus Christ, God's people desperately needs an example to follow. God has helped me with many miracles since I was disfellowshipped. He shall do the same for you." p. 79.

"Prophets have not played a major role from Christ's First Coming until now. That could change very soon unless leaders in Pasadena repent. Malachi's message is going to be delivered." p. 80.

This comment is quite intriguing in light of how he later proclaimed himself to be That Prophet in 1999, which is in contradiction to HWA's explicit teaching, which he taught from 1952 until his death, that New Testament Prophets had no administrative role in the church, and that with the Bible their role is now unnecessary.

One cannot help but wonder if he already was thinking that he was a prophet. His insistence just a few years later that his book, Malachi's Message, is the Little Book of Revelation 10 would already seem to strongly indicate that he had a very high and pompous opinion of himself.

***

"If you look at the circumstances, you couldn't say that Mr. Amos and I are in this for the money....Of course, the Philadelphia Church will be accused of greedily desiring money. " (p. 83.)

I find it odd that Flurry felt he had to insist he was not after peoples' money.

To paraphrase Shakespeare, methinks you protest too much.

Considering that Gerald Flurry would later squander about $25 million building the white elephant called Armstrong Auditorium (see December 26 letter) I would have to say those people who said Flurry and Co. were "greedily desiring money" were far more prophetic and prescient than Gerald Flurry could ever hope to be.  

Why would Flurry imagine that him expecting PCG members to pay three tithes, and in addition offerings, would be viewed by some as him "greedily desiring money"? (I am being sarcastic here.)

Here's a PCG propaganda video that shows the building of Armstrong Auditorium. Here one may see clearly the obsession the PCG leadership have with having respectability and boasting of their power and wealth which they deceptively gained by tricking members into paying tithes and offerings to PCG. No one on earth could possibly know how many tears and how much pain went into sending the money to build this idolatrous white elephant of an auditorium.

Gerald Flurry thinks Armstrong Auditorium proves his (and PCG's) greatness. It actually reveals the terrible exploitation of PCG members for which Gerald Flurry and his clique must bear responsibility for. To paraphrase Jesus, outwardly it looks magnificent and splendid, but inside it is all rotten, it is built with stolen money gained under false pretenses, money which PCG members often could not afford.

Armstrong Auditorium is an abomination.

***

So after reading this book that, sad to say, have changed a lot of peoples' lives in very profound (and usually negative) ways I have to say that this book reveals a lot of the cruel authoritarianism which Flurry would lead PCG into. Sometimes his statements in this book, in light of later events, reveal how PCG deteriorated into the dark pit of authoritarianism and tyranny and ruthless exploitation of PCG members with tithes and offerings, and the terrible control PCG leaders inflict on members regarding who they may or may not contact.

PCG is an abomination and will surely fall.

13 Year Old Boy Disfollowshipped by PCG

Was catching up on what Exit and Support Network's letters about PCG were saying and found this account of a 13 year old boy being disfellowshipped by PCG. (See February 5 letter.) The rampant abuses of power that occur in PCG and other authoritarian religious cults are truly astounding and horrendous. Also ESN has also been reporting on the situation among PCG members in Trinidad and Tobago.