William Hinson
Garner Ted Armstrong’s recent television performance on “Hee Haw” prompted one entertainment critic to remark, “Now I know how bleak the future of the unskilled really must be.” The performance inspired one former fan to design a bumper sticker which reads “Garner Ted Armstrong: Hee Haw, Hee Haw, Hee Haw.” Mr. Armstrong’s crooning debut was probably not helped by the fact that while taping the show a marshall served him with the papers for a $5 million lawsuit, being brought against him by William Hinson.
The $5 million Hinson lawsuit was filed in Tennessee against Garner Ted Armstrong and Tony Hammer. It will not be the last lawsuit against the Armstrong organization. There are at least three others in preparation-one, a $50 million class action suit, will soon be filed against the entire organization. –AMBASSADOR WHISPERS
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You can read the book HERE.
I have read that book myself. It is a real heart breaker. The author’s son died because of HWA’s anti-medicine superstition. And it dwells on that particular topic at great length. Everyone who wants to know what HWA’s WCG was really like needs to read this book.
Also worth reading is Roderick C. Meredith’s letter on pages 150-6 (pages 76-80 on the website), dated July 18, 1969. This detailed letter discusses how Meredith instructed WCG ministers how to judge if a marriage is to be allowed by WCG and how to destroy the marriage should the cult decide it needed to end. This was part of WCG’s divorce and remarriage policy. It was later abolished in 1974 but had already destroyed many peoples’ lives.
And to think that so many in the COGs continue to say all was fine and well while HWA was in charge. What a lie. What deception such a view is. Hinson shows us what the fruits of HWA’s WCG really was.
This is one of the most important books ever written about Armstrongism.
Perhaps if you replace “William B. Hinson” with “Winston Smith” and “Worldwide Church of God” with “INGSOC” you would have a better feel for “The Broadway to Armageddon”.
Personally, I found “Armstrongism, religion or rip-off?: An expose of the Armstrong modus operandi” by the very first Armstrongist Evangelist, Marion J. McNair, much more objective and illuminating, particularly about the motivations of Herbert Armstrong and the center of his psyche. I think it does much more damage to Armstrong than “Broadway”.
Nevertheless, Hinson makes cogent points as to the soulless church corporate cash machine, heartless, unempathetic and totally demanding of time, money and loyalty. It’s reminiscent of “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” by Harlan Ellison. “The master computer harbors an immeasurable hatred for the group and spends every available moment torturing them.” This pretty much describes the Cult of Herbert Armstrong Mafia. Fortunately, it has not taken over the world, but still… the dysfunction of the CoHAM, particularly in the 1970s was spectacular to behold — a totally out of control insane group attempting to make sense out of the insane.
It’s astonishing but, Herbert Armstrong is dead. And yet his ghost still controls the thoughts and minds of those he afflicted decades back. He spawned evil. The House of Yahweh is probably the worst, but RCG, PCG and LCG are right up there.
Now that Herbert Armstrong is dead, it is time for the rest of Armstrongism (and GCI) to die as well. It serves no good purpose to continue.