“I want to make a statement about…me…now, if I became deceived, I will never tell you what I’m going to tell you now…I am telling you if I go off into strange ideas, misconduct, rebellion, you name it, don’t follow me. I want to tell you that now, because if I start doing that I’m gonna try to get you to follow me! I’m gonna come to you and tell you it doesn’t apply, it doesn’t mean me, no, no, no, no, no, no, it’s OK to follow me because ABCD and XY and Z. Do you understand what I’m saying? Listen to me now, when I tell you don’t follow me if I go off into weird ideas, or if I get off into other things that are total absolutely unscriptural conduct, because if I do I’m gonna paint it with a different face and try to get you to follow me. Do you understand what I’m saying brethren? Please remember that, because I promise you that if I become deceived, I’ll forget it, and I’ll want you to forget it…And I hope you’ll remember it well enough to quote it right back to me…But I’ll tell you what, I’m not going anywhere.”
-David C Pack
December 12, 1998
The Clarion Call of Apostle David C. Pack
Video and audio files can be found here and on Rumble
Attention getting shock value to lead you to their usual spiel.
Here in the LCG, we don’t have to worry about this since we’ll have the Place of Safety. No, wait, back in 2005, didn’t…?
It appears that the Living Church of God and Roderick Meredith do not begin to understand what is appropriate. This is so out of bounds that it is beyond comprehension.
Yet in Armstrongism, this is just another of this sort of presentation. By this time, there is no propriety and they’ve completely lost any sort of humanity. They are so devoid of it that they don’t even begin to understand what is wrong with creating this sort of violent pornography.
The question should be asked, what sort of god are they representing?
And to whom would this appeal? Do members really want to contemplate what sort of low lifes this would attract?
I wish to say that I was highly disgusted by the cover used on that issue. Very likely the children within LCG will see that cover. Did the editors think of that?
Also I remember how so often Meredith would condemn the violence shown in movies and on television. But that is largely make believe violence. Those persons are paid to perform in a fictional performance and after the day’s work they go home and get their paycheck.
That photo shows real violence. Those innocent victims are not coming home.
It is my understanding that the photo comes from a mass execution made by an ISIL-affiliated group in Libya and the victims are Egyptian Coptic Christians who were working in Libya. I think there were about twenty innocent victims. I do not know what the terrorists were thinking they were doing with this mass execution. From what I recall Egypt proceeded to bombard that ISIL-affiliated group soon afterwards in retaliation.
It is also worth mentioning that LCG would regard Coptics as fake Christians since they do not observe the dogmas of Armstrongism.
The editors of that magazine issue are Roderick Meredith, Richard Ames, William Bowmer and John Robinson. Why didn’t any of them object to using this photo?
‘The editors of that magazine issue are Roderick Meredith, Richard Ames, William Bowmer and John Robinson. Why didn’t any of them object to using this photo?’
Because not one of them have a moral compass.
Consider the irony.
You’re the average guy encountering this cover which says “The Power of Religion”. And what power is that?
It’s the power to kill.
So now you have the subconscious idea planted that religion has the power to kill. Then you realize that this magazine is from a religion.
Connect the two.
Add to this the fact of the Terry Ratzman incident a decade ago. Then find out that people died because they didn’t get medical treatment under Herbert Armstrong.
Where does that leave us?
Armstrongism has the power to kill.
On second thought, the cover is exactly appropriate.
‘Armstrongism has the power to kill.’
Yes, and those who boast of their courage by placing their names onto a dissenting website do so at their own peril. When the armstrongist realize that they are going to lose everything, they will lose it.
This is not hyperbole but a fact of human psychology. As one author put it ‘When people lose everything, they lose it’. Its a shit hits the fan moment.
The days were money could be made from the selling of the armstrong theology are closing fast. In fact all of Christianity is under attack. What will replace it is even scarier.
When you trash what was once (a century ago) a local and noble gathering of community and replace it with a corporate entity what do you expect to happen? American churches added something to community at one time. With the replacement of the churches by corporate entities you get what you pay for. A fucking McDonald’s for religious life within the community.
“This just in: Religious group denounces religion!”
I too thought this was a deeply ironic headline coming from a religious group. I didn’t think it’s necessarily offensive, although I can see why it would draw complaints from some quarters.
But why on earth would a religious group publish an article suggesting that the power of religion, just religion in general, so presumably also the power of their own brand of offbeat christianity, is such an incredibly negative and malevolent power? For once I agree, however, this is the kind of article you might expect to headline an atheist or anti-theist magazine cover!
Obviously the irony went right over the heads of the LCG editorial staff. Question is, how come? I think it’s because they don’t think of Armstrongism as being a religion. They’re so used to making a special exemption ONLY for THEIR privileged, special religion, they obviously couldn’t get outside their own echo chamber to realize that not everyone automatically makes that same special exemption for Armstrongism. Why, Armstrongist religion is sooooo different from all those other “religions” they’re writing about in the article, that LCG’s religion ought not be mentioned in the same breath with all those OTHER, non-special religions, right? Reminds me of one of the old WCG mantras: “It’s not a religion, it’s a way of life!” That must be it. Why, Armstrongism isn’t a religion at all! No sir! It’s a “way of life.” I don’t know about you, but I tire of the semantic games. Call it what you will, but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it’s a duck.
Ask any of these guys what makes Armstrongism “special” and every other religion “non-special” and I guarantee you, you will not get a straight answer. No straight answer exists. If you don’t get the whitewashing of a child molester, you’ll get insults and emotional badgering. Perhaps even, dare I say it, violence?
And that reminds me of a discussion of a Spokesman’s Club speech that critiqued the Beatles’ song, Imagine. Looking at the verse “imagine no religion”, one suggestion was that it could be “imagine ONE religion” – WCG of course. My 2 cents worth defined “religion” to be a man-made substitute for “the Truth”, so “no religion” was fine.
Another point about the cover page: The Power of Religion – what words could have been used in place of Religion? How about, Terror, Fear, Hatred? I think any number of words could have worked as well or better than “Religion”.
Perhaps if we had the same title ‘The Power of Religion’ with a picture of Terry Ratzmann standing over the bodies of dead LCG members would we make the connection and fully understand that power they are talking about.
Or perhaps Rod Meredith looking upon sick (through lack of medical care) and impoverished LCG members…
You might find this youtube video Highly entertaining. It is about the COG’s BadNews Magazine covers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VuIVqHlHOg