CHAPTER 9: "THE CENTRAL PLANK CRACKS"

CHAPTER 10: "WHAT’S ALL THIS ‘JESUS STUFF’?"

CHAPTER 11: "HOW COULD WE HAVE BELIEVED THESE THINGS?"

CHAPTER 12: "THE ENIGMA OF HERBERT W.  ARMSTRONG" 

"EPILOGUE: FROM ETERNITY TO HERE"

COMMENTS ON TIME LINES AT END OF BOOK (by ESN)

Part 1 and table of contents

CHAPTER 9: "THE CENTRAL PLANK CRACKS’

p. 119-120. "In 1989 and 1990 we took a survey of all our North American pastors, asking them what they thought of British-Israelism....Only a small percentage responded."

Whenever WCG headquarters wants to have a way to justify doctrinal changes to the members, all they would have to do is say that they received a "lot of questions" from members, and/or they "took a survey." Then the results could be whatever they want them to be.

p. 121. "Our whole commission was to tell people to start keeping the Sabbath, then they would recover their identity…be ready for the Lord’s imminent Second Coming." 

Distortion. HWA made it clear that the commission of the WCG was to preach (through radio, TV and the Plain Truth) the "good news of the soon-coming Kingdom of God (i. e., "Government of God") and to warn the English speaking nations of the Great Tribulation." The seven annual Sabbaths (O.T. holy days) were taught as necessary for salvation (Leviticus 23), not just the 7th day Sabbath. 

p.122. "…most of us did not realize…how central Anglo-Israelism was to our entire system." 

HWA was the largest proponent of British-Israelism in this country, but the Sabbath was emphasized as most important because it was taught to be the "sign" between God and his "true" people (i. e., members in WCG). 

p.124-125. "It was prophecy that led to his (HWA’s) conversion."

Untruth. HWA said in his autobiography that his conversion came about as a result of his trying to prove evolution and the Sabbath wrong. (Autobiography of Herbert W. Armstrong, Volume 1, 1957, chapters 16 and 17).

p.124-125. "HWA started keeping the Sabbath 'just in case' it was what God wanted.

Twisting of facts. HWA taught that he had proved the 7th day was the Sabbath. He said, "I studied carefully everything I could obtain which attempted to refute the Sabbath. ... I know now she [my wife] could not have been deceived. Finally, after six months, the TRUTH had become crystal clear." (Ibid, p. 304, 306)

p. 126. "Occasionally in his later ministry he [HWA] would downplay the Anglo-Israelite message, but it continued to pop up all through the years…"

Members were never told they should downplay this doctrine. HWA considered it to be one of the 18 essential truths that was restored to the "true church." (Mystery of the Ages, 1985, p. 251; Sermon given by HWA, December 17, 1983, "Mission of the Philadelphia Church Era.") After HWA's death in 1986, Joseph W. Tkach wrote an article in the WN and included BI as one of the 18 restored truths. ("God Restored These 18 Truths: How Thankful Are You For Them?" August 25, 1986 WN)

p. 127. "He [HWA] insisted on an Anglo-Israelite interpretation. From this faulty premise he reasoned that God intended Ezekiel’s book to be a warning to end-time Israel." 

Twisted. HWA always taught that prophecy was dual and that certain prophecies in the O.T. would have a second fulfillment for the U. S. and Britain. 

p. 127. "Herbert Armstrong…noticed what he thought were the reasons for the curses. Listed prominently among those reasons was Sabbath-breaking." 

HWA preached members should keep all 7 of the "annual Sabbaths" (mentioned in Leviticus 23) not just the 7th day Sabbath.

p. 128. "[HWA said] "...great men of God as Luther, Calvin Wesley, Moody, Finny, Cartwright, etc. ...they unquestionably were men filled with the Holy Spirit..." 

The above quote is supposed to be what HWA said. (Study Paper: How Anglo-Israelism Entered the Church of God, The Worldwide Church of God, November 1995) Those that knew HWA, and what he taught, would state unequivocally that he never would have made such a statement. (See chap. 12, p. 170 for another preposterous statement.) (Note: Also read Charles Finney's Influence on American Evangelism which shows how Finney "had a series of beliefs that are akin to the Pelagian heresy of the 5th century" and "felt free to depart from Biblical orthodoxy in order to promote his ideals.")

p. 130. "..our acceptance of Anglo-Israelism affected practically everything we did."

Fear was behind holding to BI (along with all other beliefs in the WCG). If members did not accept what they were taught they feared being cast out of the "one and only true church" and being cut off from God.

p. 130. [The author says he agrees wholeheartedly with the conclusion reached  by Ralph Orr, two years before Transformed by Truth was published in 1997, which was]: "In the Church, non-Anglo-Saxons sometimes found fellow Christians looking down on them simply because they were not 'Israelites.' .. was to be inferior."

Members were taught that they were all "spiritual children of Abraham." For more on the deceptive explanation Orr gave for how BI got into the WCG, read the lengthy letter to ESN: "Ralph's Orr and His Polished Article."

p. 131. "Within two years of Mr. Armstrong’s death, several church leaders began discussing Anglo-Israelism with my dad [Tkach Sr.]. The more we studied, the more its 'biblical' and 'historical' foundations began to crumble." 

If this was true, then why weren’t the members brought in on it at this time?

p. 131. "In June 1988 my father [Tkach Sr.] withdrew The United States and Britain in Prophecy from circulation. Soon thereafter all mention of Anglo-Israelism disappeared from the church's publication." 

p. 132. "Some have erroneously thought that The United States and Britain Prophecy was the primary message God wanted us to preach to the world." 

Why did the author just state on p. 122 that Anglo-Israelism was "central to our entire system"? This booklet was what members were told was utmost in importance. Is this not blaming the members for what HWA taught them?

p. 135-136. "But a significant number of disgruntled listeners said, ‘Wait a minute! What’s all this Protestant doctrine you’re teaching? What’s all this love-love fluff? What’s all this Jesus stuff? …The church I went to for fifteen years, before I came here, that’s what it preached every week. It was always Jesus this, love that. You never learned anything else. It was boring!" 

"Disgruntled" is a derogatory name placed on members who had questions. 

p. 136. "Unquestionably, there was an element of the church that opposed hearing regularly about Jesus." 

Myth. It was HWA who taught members that the message Jesus preached (said to be about the coming Kingdom of God; i. e., "Government of God") was what was to be focused on, not the message about Jesus. This is placing blame on the members.

p. 137. "We focused on the Old Testament God..."

p. 137. "The fact is, our people had been programmed not to talk much about Jesus."

He tells the truth that members had been "programmed," but doesn't bring out that it was intentionally done. (Read: WCG Took Jesus Away From Members)

p. 137. "Jesus? We didn’t spend too much time on Him. ... To use the name 'Jesus' by itself was to speak of the weak Jesus…the effeminate Jesus, the syrupy, sloppy, pathetic Jesus. And we wanted none of that."  

p. 137. "We had an almost negative predisposition toward Jesus."

Contradiction. See pages 141, 142 and 143.

p. 137. "And of course, since we didn’t believe in the Trinity, we were never really quite sure what to do with Jesus."  

Untruth. HWA taught that Jesus was the "Messenger" (and coming King to "set up His government on earth") who came preaching the good news about the Kingdom of God. The words of Jesus were quoted (and twisted) many times, especially from the book of Matthew.

p. 137. "We believed Christ had come to tell us to obey the law and to prepare for the coming kingdom, which only law keepers would inherit."

p. 141. "At Passover time... every year, our congregations worldwide recited the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ."

Twisted. The ministers read passages of the Bible concerning Christ's death at Passover services (and one or two Sabbaths prior to that they went into graphic details about the crucifixion), but not His resurrection.

p. 141, 142, 143. "And at other times, our church and its leaders held up Jesus in many ways. Mr. Armstrong took the lead here. ... Some people are surprised to learn that Jesus was central to our faith, but He was. ...Jesus…that was the focus of many of our members. ...many of our members focused on their relationship to Christ and were growing in Him long before the past few years when the official doctrinal changes began…Our mailbox provides me with evidence to support this belief."

Contradiction to what the author previously said. See p. 137.

p. 142. "…I’ve met others who said that formerly they were atheists, agnostics, etc.—who came to a living faith in Christ when they heard what the church was teaching…became convinced…that the Bible was his Word, and that Jesus was their Savior…" 

p. 143. "A large percentage of our ministers said they didn’t bother with Anglo-Israelism…what did they bother with? I think some of them bothered with Jesus. That was the focus of many of our members."

p. 143b. "A large number of the letters we have received over the past few years can be characterized as angry and hostile…" 

p. 143c. "It’s been years since I believed that keeping God’s law would gain me any spiritual advantage—I never believed it would gain me salvation. I firmly believed that only Christ’s shed blood is what God sees when he looks at me…Many of us in the church have been living the law of love and sharing and caring for years."

p. 144. "All we have done is to take seriously Mr. Armstrong’s instruction to find out what the Bible teaches and then go and follow it."

p. 144. "In 1991… We came to this conclusion [that our destiny as humans is not to become divine] through a collection of misunderstood biblical words and misinterpreted verses of Scriptures." 

p. 145. "We took great pride in the fact that we were the only church to understand and preach these phrases as God intended them."  

p. 145. "a number of members [were] very troubled when they heard the church was no longer teaching they would become Gods in the God family. ... It just didn’t seem good enough." 

Last part is the exact words of Janis Hutchinson in her book, Out of the Cult, Into the Churches. Saying, "it just didn't seem good enough" is putting the blame back on the members again for believing what WCG taught.

p. 145. "As we dug deeper into Scripture, we continued to make changes and corrections." 

p. 146. "..when we started announcing these changes, people kept coming to us and saying, 'Well, Mr. Armstrong was an apostle. ... equivalent to the twelve and these things were revealed to him. The things he taught are equivalent to canon in Scripture…" 

p. 146. "Don’t believe me, believe the Bible. That’s exactly what we were committed to doing." 

p. 146. "In 1993…we started to teach the Trinity. Of course, that change was not met enthusiastically." 

p. 147. "As we studied the Bible and honestly tried to come to grips with its teaching, we saw this was wrong [our former understanding of the Holy Spirit]…that means the Trinity must be true." 

p.147. "We officially admitted we were Trinitarians by 1993. This proclamation was the last straw for some people. They started to leave our church in greater number." 

p. 149. "Hank thought the idea of cognitive dissonance could provide the foundation for a great book"

The author repeatedly uses the word "cognitive dissonance" in this chapter, leaving out any discussion about mind control (a.k.a. thought reform). Read how cognitive dissonance was used on the members, esp. during the changes.

p. 150. "Before anybody starts shaking his head too much at our checkered history, let me hasten to say that everyone suffers from some measure of cognitive dissonance. ... The degree of cognitive dissonance in a religious sect or cult is staggering."

This is completely avoiding the subject of how WCG was known for decades as a destructive apocalyptic Bible-based cult. There is no explanation of the manipulation used and the damaging affects of thought reform.

p. 151. "To us, Christ was virtually a dead Savior."

p. 151. "We insisted we were to worship God, not Christ, we also taught that if we followed Christ’s example—that is, if we did the same things He did during His ministry—then one day we would ourselves by worshiped! …if we emulated His example and thereby achieved sufficient success, then in the future, when Christ returned…we would be worshipped… 

p. 152. "How is it possible that we did not see the contradiction? I marvel at how long I failed to see the lack of logic behind accepting both the teachings. ...escaped our notice." 

p. 154. "…number one problem in our church, year after year, was our marriages."  

p. 155. "We never had the extraordinary level of commitment from members that we see today in the missionary programs of other denominations. ... More missionaries are being killed today than at any time in history. Yet that never happened with us."

First of all, members were taught that they weren't supposed to become missionaries (God was only calling a few now; the rest would be called in the "2nd resurrection" where all would have a chance for salvation someday), but the majority of members were highly committed to HWA's teachings. This fails to mention how many WCG members died because of the healing doctrine and those who sacrificed and suffered tremendous abuses and losses. 

p. 156. "As these predictions of impending doom indicate, we were convinced the world was about to end and that God was poised to set up His Kingdom at any moment. " 

Members believed the Great Tribulation was coming and after that the Kingdom.

p. 157: "We firmly believed this and boldly proclaimed our beliefs for everyone to hear."

Who is the "we" referring to? It certainly wasn't the members, because they didn't proclaim any of this to people on the outside. It was those in the leadership who preached and proclaimed these (over 200) false prophecies.

p. 157. "I think our experience has much in common with that of a group led by a certain Mrs. Keech, a woman mentioned in Coon’s psychology textbook as a notable example of cognitive dissonance."

p. 157: "While we did manage a few correct calls, we also made more than one hundred prophetic predictions that failed."

The author does not say what these "few correct calls" were. The truth is that HWA had over 200 false prophecies. Between early 1938 and mid 1945 there were 21 major prophetic failures alone. Marion McNair in his book, Armstrongism: Religion or Rip-Off? An Exposé of the Armstrong Modus Operandi gives examples showing that HWA's prophecies usually happened the opposite of what he predicted was to happen.

p. 158. "So the question keeps rising to the surface of my mind: How is it that for more than fifty years we couldn’t see what should have been so plain? It was right in front of our eyes." 

p. 159. "One or two failed prophecies might well be ignored—but more than a hundred of them?" 

p. 165. (ADVISORY) "I believe that God loved him, that he loved God, and that his security rests in Christ alone."

p. 167. "Mr. Armstrong...could be both loving and harsh, gracious and antagonistic, humble and proud." 

p. 168. (The author says one group) "greatly admires" HWA and the other group wants the author to "denounce" HWA and call him a "false prophet." He says he won’t take either side, and he says he won’t condemn HWA as a "hateful heretic." 

A lack of convictions are shown here by riding the fence and wanting to please both sides. What needs to be brought out, though, is that those who called HWA a "false prophet" were most likely the ones who exited. Those who stayed had HWA put in a good light (i.e., he only "made some mistakes," "was misguided," etc.). The ones who left for offshoots/splinter groups continued to see HWA as "used by God" or the one who "restored the true gospel."

p. 168. "The overriding reason our reforms have developed and taken root is that Mr. Armstrong himself always insisted that those who want to follow God must find out what God’s Word really says, then go and do it. As we have followed his instruction in the past few years…"

This is untrue. HWA repeatedly taught the members that God had revealed His truth to him, and those who didn't listen to HWA found themselves on the outside of the organization.

p. 169. "...he was strongly influenced by evangelical Christianity. ...Most of our members have long thought they were not Protestant... On the other side, many books critical of Mr. Armstrong talk only about the cultish sources which allegedly influenced him. Some cultish and aberrant groups did influence him--the Jehovah's Witnesses, or Adventism for example--but these books ignore the significant influence of the evangelical community." 

Tkach is grasping at straws to try and connect HWA's unorthodox doctrines with some type of "significant influence" from evangelicals. The examples he uses are: (1) HWA was baptized by the pastor of Hinson Memorial Baptist Church in Portland (with Tkach "supposing" that HWA attending the Bible school associated with Hinson since it "met at the Portland library at the time Mr. Armstrong was beginning his studies") (2) HWA used a Scofield Reference Bible; (3) HWA's first wife was a Methodist (and the perfectionism Methodists have was incorporated into his teachings); (4) HWA said he read and admired the works of Charles Finney and (5) he learned his stance on healing from the Pentecostals. (Note: Read Charles Finney's Influence on American Evangelism which shows that he "had a series of beliefs that are akin to the Pelagian heresy of the 5th century" and "felt free to depart from Biblical orthodoxy in order to promote his ideals.")

p. 169. "This evangelical influence is one of the strongest reasons Mr. Armstrong consistently pointed to the Bible as his final authority for faith and practice, as opposed to church tradition or an outside source." 

p. 169. "Believe it or not, our 'culture' in the church always has been closest to evangelical Protestantism." 

p. 169. "In the midtwenties Mr. Armstrong frequently consulted with an evangelical minister and was baptized by the pastor of the Hinson Memorial Baptist Church... Mr. Armstrong once said of this pastor, 'The man is the most godly man in all of Portland.'" 

p. 169. "We also know Mr. Armstrong used the Scofield Reference Bible, the favorite Bible of dispensational evangelicals during that period. He said the Scofield Bible helped him understand some important doctrines, especially the dispensationalist view of prophecy.

One must ask why didn't the Scofield Bible help HWA to understand the dispensational view which separates Israel from the church?

p. 170. "Mr. Armstrong said he had read and admired the works of Charles Finney, the great nineteenth-century American evangelist. ... evidence indicates that Mr. Armstrong learned his stance on healing from Pentecostal sources." 

When did HWA say he admired the works of Finney? Before he started to preach his "restored" doctrines? HWA spoke against those preachers outside WCG as "influenced by Satan" and "Satan's ministers." His "stance on healing" was for one not to go to doctors. (An interesting offsite article is: Roots of the Pentecostal Movement, which reveals how it traces its roots back through the Roman Catholic mystics of the Dark Ages.)

p. 170b. "Our archives show that when some people in Los Angeles wanted prayer for healing, he pointed them to the Pentecostal mission downtown."

Contradiction. See p. 186 where he says they "lack the resources to verify or dismiss" certain things. Also see previous answer regarding doctors.

p. 170. "Several extant documents dispute [HWA] saying he was never a member of the Church Of God (7^th Day)] 

p. 172. "It was at Detroit, Michigan, that Mr. Armstrong's material on the Hebrew festivals was presented. ... But Mr. Armstrong was most insistent and continued to present his viewpoints in an antagonistic manner." 

p. 173. "From that year [1933] until 1968, the church enjoyed growth of about 30 percent each year." 

p. 173. "Rapid growth continued until the 1970’s when it slowed substantially."  

The reason it slowed was because the media exposed it in 1979 for financial and sexual corruption. This was even aired on the TV program, 60 Minutes.

p. 173. "He [HWA] had erroneously predicted that the Great Tribulation would begin [in 1972]." 

p. 175. [The STP in the mid-70's was when] "we began to liberalize a number of prohibitions regarding dress, use of cosmetics, and several other minor issues ...some ministers claiming that the Systematic Theology Project in fact more accurately stood for Slowly Turning Protestant." 

p. 175. [In] "1979, while Armstrong was living in Tucson, Arizona, the attorney general of the state of California tried to take control of the church…" 

p. 175. "Yet by the time he died in 1986…Mr. Armstrong left behind a church that attracted 120,000 people to services each week…" 

p. 176. [HWA] "was passionate about discovering biblical truth and was deeply committed to living by it; on the other hand, many of the doctrines he championed were flawed and unscriptural." 

HWA was passionate about teaching his truth, which was never Biblical truth. His lack of concern for the members and his opulent lifestyle testifies to his lack of commitment to the true God. The author uses the words "flawed and unscriptural" and refrains from saying "heresies."

p. 176. [Tkach says,] "it was through his [HWA’s] ministry that I came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ."

Myth. HWA did not even teach a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, which is by faith--not works--so how could those that were unconverted come to a saving knowledge of Christ? See my comments on chap. 3, p. 36

p. 176. "Mr. Armstrong maintained a reverential respect for Scripture. ... He would often say that if it could be shown that something he was teaching was unbiblical, he would change his teaching, since the Bible can make no error." 

p. 177. "Without the deep commitment to the Scriptures, which God instilled in us through Mr. Armstrong, we would never have embarked on the journey we have taken. It was this passionate dedication to the truth of the Bible that has emboldened us to make the corrections that Scripture demands." 

p. 177. "…our former doctrinal aberrance." 

The author continues calling WCG's belief system anything but heresies.

p. 177. [Tells how when several WCG leaders visited Hanegraaff, Hank earnestly asked them not to let the World Tomorrow TV program die, but to "clean up the doctrine," and "you guys are one of the best programs on the air, getting to unchurched people a right idea of what Christianity is about." 

p. 179. [Says that HWA founded Ambassador College because it] "was his desire to provide young people with a resource to combat harmful secular influences." 

The reality is that AC was set up to train those who were to become a part of the WCG ministry.

p. 180. [HWA] "created the Ambassador Foundation...that he used to express his concern for impoverished and disadvantaged people around the world." 

Talks about HWA’s trips to Thailand and the award he received, etc. No mention of what HWA was really doing on those "trips" to world leaders (many of those world leaders were Freemasons) and also how he would never mention the name of Christ to them. See chap. 6, p. 82.

p. 182. "At the beginning, people convinced Mr. Armstrong that we were doing an Elijah-like work... certain people began to play on his ego...."

The author spends time talking about how it was "others" that influenced HWA. No accountability is demanded for HWA's own actions.

p. 183. [Ron Kelley said] "I am alarmed when I heard him say, 'I am Elijah.'"

All top evangelists knew what HWA was all about. They taught he was the "Apostle." Some may have been "brainwashed" by the system, but they were still a part of the exploitation and deceit.

p. 183. [HWA] "didn’t like the idea that he should be called an apostle. He wanted to be called superintendent or pastor or some other descriptive title." 

HWA liked being called an Apostle. He loved his authority and he loved having power over the members. The title was used to gain more subservience from the members.

p. 184. "Mr. Armstrong may have never wielded absolute power in our church…" 

"May have never"? This is an untruth. HWA controlled members by fear, guilt, shame and other mind-control tactics. (Read: Identifying Marks of an Exploitive, Abusive Group)

p. 185. [Says HWA stated about Mystery of the Ages] "This book is the greatest book since the Bible, and it was inspired just like the Bible." [Then] "he [HWA] suddenly realized what he was saying, and…he caught himself and started backpedaling and said, "I don’t mean that this book is like the canon of Scripture, I don’t mean that…" 

There is no proof that Herbert Armstrong ever said MOA was "inspired" and then "caught himself." Until the end of his life he maintained Mystery of the Ages was the greatest book since the Bible. Read Deception Surrounding Worldwide Church of God Changes. (covers twisted Mystery of the Ages story and also how Tkach Sr. said the source of the changes in WCG were HWA).Also see our critical reviews of Mystery of the Ages.

p. 185. [HWA] "reflected the leadership style of the captains of industry. ... He ended up becoming a captain of religion." 

p. 185. [author says he] "will always be deeply grateful to him [HWA] for instilling in me a profound respect for Scripture and a vital love of the Savior." Mentions our "oftentimes aberrant issues." 

p. 185. "I have never felt that those years were wasted…" 

p. 186. "allegations about Herbert Armstrong or Garner Ted Armstrong. ... We not only lack the resources to verify or dismiss all such reports, we do not feel that God wants us to focus our energies on such things." 

The author merely excuses away the sins of HWA and Garner Ted and says "God doesn't want us to focus on it." (See chap. 12, p. 170 where he talks about "our archives.") The Scriptures say that a steward must be accountable. If lies or cover-up are suspected, or proven, that man has not shown proper stewardship.  There is a massive amount of evidence regarding these "reports." (See: WCG Expose` articles, articles on Garner Ted Armstrong and books on Worldwide Church of God & Herbert W. Armstrong, which have substantiated these things.) Cover-up and confusing the issues is frequently used by those in cults.

p. 187-188. "allegations about past leaders of the church, ... We have attempted to avoid 'bashing Mr. Armstrong,' his son or other past leaders for either real or alleged misconduct and behavior. ... [when they did try to present facts it resulted in] "angry and bitter accusations of 'Armstrong bashing. Virtually all of the individuals who were primarily responsible for authoritarian approaches and extravagant lifestyles are either deceased or have long since left our fellowship to join splinter groups..."

"Angry" and "bitter accusations" are words that cults have always used to silence their critics. It is convenient to use the word "bashing" on those who have been angry at being lied to and would like validation. The author says it is not possible to find out the truth anyway (which is not true as there have been many reliable eye witnesses who have spoken up about these things, whether in books, letters to HQ, taped interviews, etc., and they remain a testimony of what really happened. Also, if there are no longer "extravagant lifestyles" in WCG why hasn't the author published his salary? Why did WCG sell the copyrights to HWA's literature to Philadelphia Church of God for $3 million dollars? Why have we received letters saying the top 7 men at headquarters are set for life with probably $7 million apiece?

p. 187-188. "God has not asked us to be the judge of Mr. Armstrong, his son or others who held high administrative positions in the historic Worldwide Church of God." 

The Scriptures say otherwise. See Lev.19:15, John 7:24, Isaiah 61:8, Proverbs 21:15. Also read: Is it Right: To Judge, To Expose Error & to Call Names?

p. 189. "It was Mr. Armstrong who put the system in place that eventually got us where we are today. While much of what [HWA] taught was in serious error, he also gave us some things—a profound respect for the Bible, for example—that helped to pave the way to our current biblical understandings."

It is more accurate to say that HWA used the Bible (religion) in order to exploit others, instead of stating that he had a "profound respect" for it. There is not only a continued failure to mention "heresies," but the attempt is made to credit HWA for WCG arriving at "correct doctrines." 

p. 189. "Second, I could point out that many men God has used did a lot of foolish things or made many inaccurate or even harmful statements. All of us show our brokenness in one way or another." 

The author then goes on to quote John Wesley, Martin Luther and John Calvin and their sins. "Foolish things" is quite different than deceiving and exploiting innocent people and using fear to control them. True ministers of Jesus Christ, never twisted the gospel of salvation, nor called outside churches and ministries "Satan's churches preaching a counterfeit gospel," such as HWA regularly did.

p. 189. [Tkach says a] "well-known evangelical leader and author" said "God was tapping Herbert Armstrong on the shoulder and saying, ‘Take a look at this--I want to show you something.’ And I think Herbert Armstrong was leading the cheers when your dad introduced the new covenant to the Worldwide Church of God." 

p. 191. "our ignorance…our lack of scholarship…our mistakes in interpreting Scripture. All those things were our own doing. We fell into falsehood because of our brokenness, because we are people born in sin, and because we tried to manage things on our own."

p. 191. [God] "has chosen to slowly move us from error…into truth." 

p. 193. "Our changes have come at great cost. Church leadership continues to receive angry and threatening letters."

See comments on chap. 10, p. 143b. Read: Loving What's Right Means Hating What's Wrong.

p. 194. "It is sad that there are believers unwilling to forgive the practical implications of our past teaching." 

p. 194. "The apostle Paul, after his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus....Yet it took some time for him to be accepted into Christian fellowship."

WCG has been using this story about Paul for years to try somehow to relate it to their own changes. This was answered by ESN here when another WCG pastor brought it up.

p. 195. "We have no delusions of grandeur…we do not entertain the notion that we will turn the world upside down."  

Contradiction. See chap. 1, p. 16 where he says, "no unorthodox Christian sect in history [until now] has ever turned from its erring path to seek the way, the truth, and the life."

p. 196. "...some people [members] suggested the Worldwide Church of God should just close its door and tell its members to start attending healthy authentic Christian church." 

It is not known if the author is referring to Earl Williams (who understood about grace and was teaching it to his members before Tkach Sr. announced the changes), or if this is another myth. Members were never helped to understand thought reform and went along with the changes (although confused); however, those that strongly disagreed went to splinter groups, or just exited. 

p. 196: "They were angry and bitter... [said] the WCG had been built on false pretenses and therefore had no right to exist. ...[WCG] belongs to Him [Jesus]" 

The WCG was not just built on "false pretences," it was a Bible-based religious cult that exploited thousands of innocent people. It never "belonged to Jesus" because HWA taught a false Jesus from the beginning. 

p. 196. "Our primary mission field right now is our own members…This must be our primary focus for the immediate future."  

Members are now being used to recruit others, especially the youth. They are likewise being admonished to get with the "new programs." Heavy discipleship methods are being used. ("Discipleship 101 - A beginner's guide to Christianity," Worldwide Church of God, 2002 edition.) 

p. 197. "Some members, upon learning that the New Covenant does not command the 7^th day Sabbath, concluded that it was a sin for us to continue meeting on Saturdays. .... [we] "will serve our members best by continuing to meet on Saturdays."

The author contradicts himself with these two statements.

p. 197. "Many of our members have arranged to have time off on Saturdays…"

No mention of how many members in the past suffered when they tried to take Saturdays off. It resulting in financial/work related problems, loss of jobs, and relational difficulties with "unconverted" mates.

p. 197. "Some members who do not yet understand the doctrinal change would simply refuse to meet on any other day…we must meet on the day they will listen." 

This is the author's excuse for why they will continue to meet on Saturday. This, however, was not the way it was brought out on the Bible Answer Man [BAM] radio shows on 11-18-97 and 11-19-97. (WCG congregations later began meeting on Saturday and Sunday while others have already switched to Sundays, saying they have just "combined services.")

p. 198. "Most of our members still wish to observe them." [the Feast days]

If WCG was truly changing over to a grace oriented church, they would have been able to explain to members why they no longer needed to keep the feast days. Did they not say that Christ changed them? (Read Let Go of Days, Take Hold of Christ to see how Earl Williams explained these days to his congregation, which was composed of former WCG members.) The truth that is not brought out here is that headquarters collected huge "holy day offerings" on each of these seven feast days (Leviticus 23), so they benefited by hanging on to them, even while calling them "fest days," "celebrations," etc. Some WCG congregations overseas (i.e., Philippine congregations) still observe a "festival" or "grand celebration" either immediately before or after the Feast of Tabernacles. (WCG Philippine Update, October 6, 2007)

p. 198. "For decades we prejudiced our members against Christmas and Easter…"  

HWA made members fear they would lose their salvation if they observed these days, which he said were "pagan." Also, see chap. 7, p. 96.

p. 199. "Many members are still confused by the doctrinal changes and are understandably reluctant to support reforms they don’t understand."

Tkach contradicts himself again. See p. 143c where a WCG present member writes, "Many of us in the church have been living the law of love and sharing and caring for years."

p. 199. "Our financial limitations have caused us…to cancel our mass-media evangelism...to reduce other expenses." 

What about Plain Truth Ministries, expos, selling of books and tapes, etc. that the WCG has been engaging in since their changes?

p. 200. "We can take no credit…He [Christ] is still shaping us for His purpose." 

Why would Christ shape members one way for decades and then suddenly start shaping them another way? The answer is that Worldwide Church of God was never God's church to begin with. (Read: Background historical info on WCG)

Comments on Time Lines at end of the book (by ESN):

By D. Williams (former WCG member)
Exit & Support Network™

NOTICE: Worldwide Church of God is now considering a name change. Read: Worldwide Church of God is Changing Their Name. 

Research Articles on Worldwide Church of God (Are there reasons to remain skeptical of their new changes?)

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