Back in March of this year, Banned by HWA posted a piece by me entitled Why must your son be so disrespectful of you and your religion? In the post, I took my father's CGI "friends" to task for bringing to his attention everything I write about Armstrongism, CGI or Pastor Bill Watson. I thought that it would shame those individuals into refraining from causing him distress, but apparently a few of those fine folks continue to delight in stirring the commode!
A few days ago, I received a notification that my brother had left a nasty comment about something that was posted on Banned on May 26th of this year: Church of God International's Civil War Over Covid-19. When my brother informed me about it, I asked him why he was commenting on something which had been posted over a month ago. He informed that some of my father's church "friends" had brought it to my dad's attention, and that it had upset him so severely that he couldn't catch his breath (my father is chronically ill). Moreover, my brother went on to inform me that my father would not be attending his wedding reception because I was planning to attend!
After hanging up the phone with my brother, I couldn't help but think about two verses at the end of the Old Testament which Herbert Armstrong and the old Worldwide Church loved to quote. You probably already know the ones I'm referring to: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (Malachi 4:5-6) More proof that that verse had/has absolutely NOTHING to do with Armstrongism! Yeah, they're turning hearts, but they obviously aren't turning them in the right direction!
Unfortunately, my family's rupture over Armstrongism is NOT unique in this regard. Even a cursory review of the comments and posts of those who have left Armstrongism over the years will demonstrate this sad reality. Indeed, when we survey the broken marriages and families directly attributable to Armstrongism, it is hard to imagine a more disastrous record with regard to interpersonal relationships, families, Christian love and fellowship - the very things which they are supposed to represent and protect! Moreover, many of these folks have the audacity to turn on their critics and accuse them of causing dissension and disunity (talk about the pot calling the kettle black)!
And let's not forget that this particular splinter (CGI) claims to be very different from the Worldwide Church of God and to have moved beyond the teachings of Herbert Armstrong. If that is truly the case, then why do they keep repeating so many of his mistakes? Why do families like mine continue to suffer the recriminations and heartaches that were so much a part of Worldwide's legacy?
Now, while those "friends" probably (hopefully) didn't intend to inflict this kind of damage on my family, we (me and my loved ones) must all live with the fallout of their pathetic attempt to exert pressure on me through my dad to silence my criticism of their church. And, just for the record, on the other side of that wreckage, it didn't work! In fact, I am more motivated than ever to point out just how destructive and harmful Armstrongism has been to so many people.
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