Member Stories
One of our missions is to provide a voice for those who have been members of Church of God groups, or are currently attending a COG
congregation. If you have a story to tell or a perspective to share, feel free to write us an open letter and we will post it without hesitation, regardless of whether we agree or disagree with what it says, or simply post it directly yourself.
All of our letters are anonymously posted unless the author specifies to include their name. Nobody should have to fear repercussions for speaking out. So if you have an experience you would like to share, or just want to tell your life’s story from the perspective of a church member, please do so.
Another great resource for stories and accounts from ex-members is Robert McNally’s site, which has a focus on ex-COG who have since become atheists or freethinkers. We here at Silenced have no preference as to whom we receive our letters from, so long as they are relevant to the discussion, but Robert’s site is an excellent source for some heartrending tales from former WCG members. The Exit and Support Network also has a sizable listing of accounts.
- April 21, 2012: The Ex-COG Library
- April 19, 2012: Letter: Why Not Talk to COG Leaders?
- April 12, 2012: "I Was Born and Raised in a Doomsday Cult"
- April 10, 2012: Silly COG Doctrine #1: Save a Stray Soul, Earn Bonus Points!
- March 27, 2012: Get "The Last Great Day" For Free
- March 10, 2012: Will Anyone Ever Take REAL Responsibility for the UCG-COGWA Split?
- March 3, 2012: Matches in the Gas Tank
- March 2, 2012: Farewell to Escaping Eden
- February 27, 2012: More sexual shenanigans recently in the COG
- February 26, 2012: COG Member Child Abuse Case
- February 25, 2012: My Theological House
- February 19, 2012: Dennis Luker: Unfit to Lead
- February 9, 2012: The Van Robinson Letters
- January 30, 2012: Letter from a former PCG member
- January 29, 2012: "Faith" by Mary Ellen Humphrey
- January 28, 2012: The COG's Toxic Culture
- January 16, 2012: Letter from a former WCG member
- December 31, 2011: Happy New Year!
- December 21, 2011: critical thinking (noun)
- December 17, 2011: I wept for my sisters
- December 13, 2011: A Leap of Faith
- December 1, 2011: An Ambassador Horror Story
- November 23, 2011: Good Without God
- November 15, 2011: Growing Up in a Faith-Healing Cult
- November 9, 2011: Sighting: COG Street Missionaries?
- September 11, 2011: We're Still Here
- August 26, 2011: Reddit AMA with COG survivor "girlpriest"
- August 20, 2011: "PCG Summer Camp Horror Stories"
- August 18, 2011: "Duped! – Chronicling My Experience with Religion"
- August 17, 2011: "Personal UCG Crisis"
- August 15, 2011: No Longer Quivering
- August 15, 2011: As Bereans Did Archive
- August 12, 2011: "A Funny Little Story"
- August 12, 2011: "An Open Letter to the Teens of RCG"
- August 11, 2011: "Rationalizing Armstrongism"
- August 7, 2011: "PCG Summer Camp Horrors"
- August 6, 2011: Out of Armstrongism: Bill's Testimony
- August 4, 2011: Armstrong and the COG Cult
- August 3, 2011: ESN: The Member Letters
- August 3, 2011: Mutual Ministerial Snitching in the COG
- August 2, 2011: "The Boy in the Box"
- August 2, 2011: "God is Love"
- August 2, 2011: "PCG Family Horror Story"
- August 2, 2011: Ex-COG member slits throat to avoid "Tribulation"
- August 1, 2011: The Member Letter Archive
- August 1, 2011: "An Encounter with a Legalist"
- August 1, 2011: "Death by God"
- July 30, 2011: Al Portune's Story
- July 29, 2011: ESN: Letters to Janis Hutchinson
- July 28, 2011: Armstrongism Hates Non-Submission
- July 27, 2011: Aaron Dean on the Armstrongs
- July 20, 2011: ESN: Stories of COG Trauma
- July 19, 2011: Operation: We Want the Member Dossiers
- July 17, 2011: The COG and Interracial Marriage
- July 10, 2011: Breaking the Silence
- June 19, 2011: Born a Slave to Religion
- June 18, 2011: "It angers me that I tithed until I was blue in the face"
- June 18, 2011: Once in cult, student now sees importance of knowing theology
- June 18, 2011: Doctrine of Death
- June 11, 2011: "When Depression Leads Pastors to Suicide"
- May 31, 2011: Member suspended for pressing "like" on a FB post
- May 20, 2011: ABCs