Wednesday, April 15, 2009

More PCG Hyperbole and Curious Testimonies

This is from the article 'Continuing the Fight' by Dennis Leap in the February 2002 Philadelphia Trumpet, under the heading 'Largest Audience Possible'. Here PCG is trying to justify why they should be allowed to publish Mystery of the Ages:
[Gerald Flurry] considered [Mystery of the Ages] a vital part of doing the work. Mr. Flurry called it “the magnificent summary of all Mr. Armstrong’s work—THE ACCUMULATED KNOWLEDGE OF HIS ENTIRE MINISTRY.”
His entire ministry?

What about the time when HWA prophesied Christ's return for 1936? His identification of Mussolini (and then Hitler) as the prophesied 'World Dictator' during WWII? Or the next date setting with Christ set to return in 1975? None of those are discussed in Mystery of the Ages so how can it be called 'the accumulated knowledge of his entire ministry'?

Again this is just more misleading hyperbole.

The issue also contains Stephen Flurry's article 'The Legacy of Herbert Armstrong', which is a brief sketch of WCG history, much of which would later be used in Chapter 2 of Raising the Ruins.

It gives a brief history of HWA's religious career. Cunningly no mention is made of 1936, Mussolini and then Hitler being identified as the 'World Dictator', his many predictions that the USA would fall to Hitler's Nazi hordes and only the Second Coming will stop him. There is also no mention of the 1972/1975 prophecy of the Great Tribulation and the Second Coming occurring in that time.

One amusing thing about this article is that under the heading 'Those Close to Mr. Armstrong' this article cites the testimonies of Larry Omasta, Norman Smith, Dexter Faulkner, Ellis La Ravia, Roderick Meredith, Leroy Neff and Frank Brown to show what a great man HWA was. If these men's testimonies are good enough to prove that HWA was a great man, why is it that no mention is made of the fact that NONE of these men have judged PCG worthy of the honour of their prescence?

Norman Smith, Dexter Faulkner and Larry Omasta accepted the Tkach Changes and stayed with WCG. Ellis La Ravia and Leroy Neff are now with UCG. Roderick Meredith now leads LCG. And Frank Brown is now a part of the Sacred Names Movement.

None of them joined PCG.

If these men's testimonies are reliable enough to prove that HWA was a great man what are we to make of the fact that none of them chose to follow PCG?

If this is the PCG, praising Mystery of the Ages as 'the accumulated knowledge of his entire ministry' and then evade HWA's false prophecies (and then change the book), then this is not good enough at all.

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