HWA’s Letter to Meredith (1980)

Apr 182012

Banned by HWA! shared Herbert W. Armstrong’s letter of banishment to Roderick C. Meredith in 1980. The irony of many of HWA’s accusations against Spanky is oftentimes suffocating, but it makes for some entertaining reading. Interactions between COG leaders haven’t really changed much over the years. Just head over to Abigail Cartwright to see that.

These are two power hungry men with delusions of grandeur simultaneously existing on a planet not large enough for their egos. These kinds of family spats continue today, but more often lead to splits as ministers take all of their marbles and run home. HWA … More

Cultspotting #9: You are the 99%

Apr 052012

Welcome to Cultspotting, an ongoing guide to determining if you, in fact, could be cult member. Each installment will touch on a different feature of a COG cult, and all cults in general, to better prepare people for the likelihood that they may, in fact, be members of a psychotic doomsday sect.

Just because you pass or fail one the following tests does not necessarily indicate whether you’re in a cult. At the end of the series, we’ll add up your score and display your place on the Cult-o-Meter, after which, you will be prescribed the proper treatments and … More

LCG Kicked Off GodTV

Mar 282012

GodTV has been a constant target for internet pranksters. But in addition to being one of the most trolled stations in existence, it’s also featured a handful of COG organizations and preachers in the past. In fact, LCG was airing Tomorrow’s World on GodTV until very recently when a single Christian got the cult’s propaganda removed from the network.

It’s puzzling how LCG and other COG groups have managed to worm their way onto mainstream Christian stations espousing Armstrongism, which has been extremely hostile to Protestants and Catholics alike for the entirety of its history. It was shortly after the … More

LCG and Social Media

Mar 232012

The COG, especially UCG, has been trying to make forays into social media as of late. Combating and countering that expansion is part of why this site was initially forged. While we work on the beginnings of our own social media campaign, LCG’s Wyatt Ciesielka waxes eloquent on whether Armstrongites should engage in social media use.

@lcginfo tries to update LCG’s web presence with video contests promising its youth “free camps” (shouldn’t Bible camp already be free?), scaremongering news items and streaming sermons. It’s not a bad strategy and the feed is fairly well-maintained.

Ciesielka tries to explain social media … More

Of Messages and Money

Mar 042012

Inside United shares the recent Chairman’s Letter from Melvin Rhodes, detailing how awesome it is to be in UCG now that all of that dissenting thought has been thrown out.

But things are not all rosy for the cult, as the COGWA schism cost UCG 18 percent of its income. It’s harmed UCG’s efforts pretty badly, even when factoring in all of the senior ministers they lost in the split and no longer have to pay.

Rhodes’ letter, in UCG’s time of fiscal need, clearly lays out the COG business model forged by Herbert W. Armstrong decades ago. In … More

COG Member Child Abuse Case

Feb 262012

Sometimes, the COG fringe washes up on the shores of public scrutiny and the cults cringe at having to deal with their crazies. Four years ago, a COG couple who abused their children entered the media spotlight, and the cults instantly played defense to cover it up, Banned by HWA! reported.

Robyn and Graydon Drown have since been indicted on 11 felony accounts of first-degree assault and 14 counts of second-degree assault against nine of their youngest children. They took Herbert W. Armstrong, Garner Ted Armstrong and Roderick C. Meredith’s child rearing tactics to to the very extreme.

They justified beating their children using … More

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