The Painful Truth-Herbert W. Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God
Understanding the psychology of religious seduction and spiritual abuse.
Broadway to Armageddon
All churches will eventually die. That’s a given. Most think they must and will survive. A church might be hanging on physically, but is dead spiritually. The following questions give a good indication of your church’s health, if it is growing or dying out.
Why do the churches of Armstrongism heavily stress the importance of tithing? It is a matter of self interest. The Armstrongist groups are not able to attract followers in large numbers, but they require large sums of money to operate. In order for their ministers to live without soiling their fingers with menial work, the churches of God must maintain large payrolls. For a minister to work with his hands is a fate worse than the lake of fire. In 1978, “Mister” Armstrong painted this grim picture of the fate of renegade ministers….
I’d like to make a few comments in response those who would mock former members of the Worldwide Church of God. Get over it, they say. “Nobody held a gun to your head.”