Fifty years ago, (Hoooly Long Haired Lions!), when I was 18, Garner Ted Armstrong went Bat Sh%# Crazy in the middle of a sermon in the AC Gym and screamed, "If you don't like it here, get out!" It was a real quiet moment in the gym and a what's buggin' him moment. He went back to the sermon.

The following Monday, Richard Plache came and got me out of Freshman Bible class and said, "Mr. Ted Armstrong wants to see you." It was a quiet elevator ride up to the 4th heaven in the Hall of Administration....  

Speaking of Hair...

2 Peter 3:16 "He (Paul) writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction." While not actually written by Peter, but rather a later Church father type addressing issues far beyond Paul's actual lifetime, even they found Paul hard to understand at times.

The Pressing Problem of Long Haired Men and Bald Women/Or The Pressing Problem of Women Uncovered Heads

1Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

    Meaning:  Now  do what I tell you because I hallucinated this from Christ since I never met any real earthly Jesus who offered an opinion on this vital matter. 

2Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.  

Meaning:  Thank you for being some of the few people who like me or how I think. Do what I told you, as I told you  and how I told you to do it

3But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

Meaning:  This is what I believe and the reason I place women in the que where I do.  

4Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.

Meaning:  Unsure yet.  Maybe men aren't to cover heads with a hat , some Middle Eastern traditional garb when praying, or have long hair. It may even mean the man dishonors God, his "head"

5But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.

Meaning:  Unsure yet. Maybe not wearing a scarf or traditional Middle Eastern garb over the head or have short hair. It may also mean she dishonors her husband or men, who are her "head".

6For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.

Meaning:  Because if she is uncovered somehow in a way not yet sure of his meaning, she may as well be shaved bald,  so cover up. Paul was an "all or nothing" type of guy evidently with little room in the middle for compromise. 

7For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.

Meaning:  Indeed, men should have their heads visible and not covered either with some kind of traditional Middle Eastern garb or with long hair

8For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.

Meaning:  Paul reflects the ignorance of his times.  Men do come from women both in birth and genetically as a female template prior to birth which is why men have nipples.  But let's skip a longer explanation here.

9Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

Meaning:  Paul read this in the Genesis story and again with no knowledge of the reality of where human beings actually come from and how modern humans evolved

10For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

Meaning:  This is a bit tougher to discern what Paul meant but I'd say it means "Look...Angels look up to God and since women are a bit lower than men and angels, they should look up to their men as Lord, as long as they do well.  Make sense?

11Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.

Meaning: But there is some equality between the two if both are in the church.  

12For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.

Meaning:  Yeah, that's it. I know I said women came from me and not men from women a bit earlier, in the big picture and especially in the church, God made us all somewhat equal

13Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?

Meaning:  Ok, don't let me confuse you even though I just did.  You decide if it is appropriate for a woman to pray unto God without a cover on her head or with short hair since my meaning is not yet clear.

14Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?

Meaning:  Um..actually no.  What are you talking about?

Nature tells me what?

Nature tells me what"

Nature tells me what?

Um...sure. Real shamer 

15But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

Meaning:  Men like long haired women and nature makes that clear.

Female Lioness with long hair as we learn from nature.

16But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.

Meaning:  But if you want to argue about it or don't see my point, then that's just the way it is in the Church and according to my commands.  So , (and this is my opinion on whether it is covering or hair), no long haired men and we better see no bald or pixie cut women in the Church.

While I do not intend to respond to most of the falsehoods and accusations he continues to post about me, I thought it could be helpful to some for me to show what he falsely asserted about me today, to help demonstrate that he and others like him need to repent and should not be trusted until they do so.

Matthew 6:9-13The Message (MSG)

7-13 “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
    as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
    Yes. Yes. Yes.

People like Gary Leonard say all kinds of evil against me falsely–this is one way they persecute. 

Sadly, Gary Leonard and many other opponents do not care about the truth and think that they are getting away with their lies and falsehoods.

Because of Proverbs 26:4, I do not respond to most of the lies and false accusations at the Banned By HWA site, but because of Proverbs 26:5, I sometimes will.

Proverbs 25:6-7The Message (MSG)

    than face humiliation by being demoted. 

As regular readers at the COGwriter.com website are aware, I provide scriptures and many facts and reasons to back up my writings. Gary Leonard and others should ask themselves if they can accept the truth or if they prefer dismissive conceit.

Gary Leonard is an accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10), and often a bearer of false witness (Exodus 20:16).

Although he tries to disguise it, much of his hate is without cause. Gary Leonard hates those who pretend to be in the COG as well as those that truly are in the Church of God. Jesus taught:

Christian women should not have short masculine hair styles and Christian men should not have long feminine hairstyles. Since pagan priests tended to totally shave their heads, this does not seem to be a proper regular practice for Christian men (Leviticus 19:27; 21:5).

Begin with Job 40:15: “Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee: he eateth grass like an ox.” What does this tell us?

First, as recent articles in “The Plain Truth” have graphically shown, God made a distinct creation of plants, including grass, and animals for the benefit and pleasure of man. The warm-blooded animals and the grasses and herbs were FIRST made when man was made — about 6000 years ago (Gen. 1:24-25). Evolutionists have always been puzzled at the fact that this kind of vegetation appeared so late in geological history.

Now notice again Job 40:15: “Behold now behemoth, WHICH I MADE WITH THEE ….” Here is an animal God made when man was made. Behemoth did not exist in the pre-Adamic world which was filled with giant dinosaurs and other types of strange creatures. Behemoth was an UNIQUE animal created WITH MAN — and for a purpose, as we shall see later!  Plain Truth, March 1964

Notice the amazing confirmation that the giant rhinoceros “Baluchitherium” was “the chief of the ways of God.” It’s described in a modern book on fossil animals: “In an age when a hippopotamus is big and the elephant a giant, “Baluchitherium” seems ALMOST UNREAL. His head was about 5 FEET LONG, yet it was absurdly small upon his gigantic body, which stood 18 FEET HIGH at the shoulder and was very deep” (“The Fossil Book”, Fenton, page 406).

Another author reveals the fact that “Baluchitherium” was “at least 25 FEET LONG” (“Historical Geology”, Dunbar page 413).

“It was the LARGEST OF ALL LAND MAMMALS” (“Time, Life, and Man”, Stirton, page 325). 

Not only was it the largest of all known land mammals, but “very probably, like the huge sauropod dinosaurs among the reptiles, IT REPRESENTS ABOUT THE MAXIMUM SIZE TO WHICH A LAND-LIVING MAMMAL CAN DEVELOP” (“The Illustrated Library of the Natural Sciences”, article “Giants of the Past,” by Colbert, Vol. II, page 1192). 

His great legs, longer than those of elephants and living rhinoceroses, also gave him the RECORD FOR SPEED among both of these groups, living or extinct” (“The Wonder Books”, Janssen & Cole, page 324). 

But, there is yet more proof! 

Notice again the inspired Biblical account of “behemoth.” Job 40:18 informs us: “His bones are as strong pieces of BRASS; his bones are like BARS OF IRON.” These facts are upheld by the findings of “Baluchitherium”: “‘Baluchitherium’, as it was called, had HUGE POSTLIKE LIMBS …” (“Time, Life, and Man”, Stirton, page 325).

There's nothing inherently wrong with meeting human needs. However, in practice these needs are exaggerated and used to frighten potential converts into joining and to preserve existing membership. In fundamentalism, the dangers of life -- both now and in the here after -- are emphasised. Incredible threats and promises are made for heaven, hell and miracles here on Earth. The result is that people are disempowered by this approach to having their needs met. Since the source of all the benefits offered is external, requiring dependence on God and the church, internal resources atrophy. This process degrades the self and becomes a serious threat to human well-being. 

Just heard that Fred Dattalo from Canada made the announcement Sabbath that the No Contact ruling now extends to mates/spouses that have stopped attending. What happened to "if they're pleased to dwell with you?". One member got up and left during services! Why aren't more leaving? Maybe because people want to walk away from their families and they use Flurry as their reason! Sickening! Their love has Waxed cold and they are without natural affection! 

"Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing. I have only begun to learn content and peace of mind since I have resolved at all risks to do this.”

Some of my old friends in what was the Radio Church of God, which was later renamed the Worldwide Church of God, will remember well enough Denis Michael Rohan who in 1969 brought their cult religion (and Australia) into international notoriety when he started a fire in the Al Aqsa mosque in order to hurry up apocalyptic end-time events.

Australian Radio National has what looks like a fairly comprehensive archive of interviews, videos, images, literature, court proceedings about Denis Rohan and what can lead a person to do such a thing. See their Background Briefing archive Rohan and the Road to the Apocalypse.

I suspect members of the Herbert Armstrong cult (Radio Church of God) at the time were more focussed on what the publicity meant for them - cultic fear of persecution and all that - to have noticed that this one time one person crazy event had a profound significance on Arab politics vis a vis the State of Israel. This is discussed in the Background Briefing archive. It appears that the threat of the destruction of this mosque actually catalyzed a united front on the part of the Arab states that not even the 1967 war only two years earlier had failed to accomplish.

One interesting point that emerged (new to me at any rate) was the notion of the Jerusalem Syndrome. Apparently (unsurprisingly) there is something about just being in the vicinity of Jerusalem that can activate unstable mental tendencies in some.

There's an interesting comment by Tel Aviv Professor of Religion and expert on the Jerusalem Syndrome, Alexander Van Der Haven, at the end of a program interview:

You can either use religious language to make people more extreme, make people jihadists, or you can try to in the case of Islam, you can try to emphasise more moderate beliefs in the Qu'ran, more moderate traditions. So this is the very interesting thing of religion, that people tend to regard religious beliefs as very absolute, they mean one specific thing. But in reality you can do many different things with it. Somebody might have been able to convince Denis Rohan that that you shouldn't act upon your beliefs, this is something allegorical, instead you should pick flowers in this and this garden , and one might have been able to convince him. I think what you can learn from these cases, religion is very flexible, it can lead to the most aggressive destructive behaviour and it can also lead to more quietistic behaviour. The Jerusalem Syndrome is an instance of people who act in a very strange way on certain religious discourses and stories, which of course religion has, especially in Christianity, you have the Book of Revelation, in Judaism you have this emphasis on the Temple and the hope for the restoration of the Temple. So our religious scriptures offer these extreme possibilities. I think basically you can manipulate these for the good and for the worst.

It appears Rohan was converted to the beliefs of the Radio Church of God by well-meaning members while he was in a mental institution. Rohan came to see himself as The Branch prophesied to become king over Jerusalem - partly as a result of a message given from the "Rowan tree" outside the window of his mental institution room.

I seem to recall a rumour that he also found his name in the Bible as Nahor, which of course was the Hebrew right to left reading of Rohan. 

The interesting potentials that can arise from our propensity to look for and find patterns around us! 

Background Briefing also includes an interesting article by Scott Lupo, University of Nevada, describing one of the processes by which Armstrong persuaded many to join his church. 

No doubt Rohan found religion helped him become an outwardly healthy person in many ways, giving him a sense of purpose in life. But like so many things dear to humans, it is also a two-edged sword.

40 years ago: Denis Rohan and the road to apocalypse 

disgusted says:

March 22, 2017 at 14:14

First of all Ron is such a LIAR. He said:

How many are going to be there at the return of Jesus Christ regardless of when it is, which I still believe is 2019? With all of my being, I do. But I believed the same about 2012.

HE NEVER BELIEVED CHRIST WAS RETURNING IN 2012. If that was the case why did he spend 100’s of thousands of dollars of the church’s money to have lawyers defend him on a trial that would have started AFTER May of 2012. Where was his faith. He shouldn’t have needed lawyers or the need to defend himself if Christ was to return before his trial. explain that one ron

Secondly:

(Anyway, the most staggering fact in the midst of the ordinations that have been in the Church of God—PKG—37 have been disfellowshipped. 37 ministers in the Church of God—PKG are no longer in God’s Church. That’s incredible! That’s mind boggling. There are 37 who did not remain faithful to God and Jesus Christ, to God’s government, and to me as God’s apostle, but that’s minor compared to what they actually did, not being faithful to God Almighty and Jesus Christ. There are 37 who turned against God’s Church and against God’s people. Awesome! Incredible, such numbers. Blows the mind. All the way from associate elder to evangelist. All the way through.)

AGAIN HALF TRUTHS. Most of those ordained left that organization only to be disfellowhipped because the left. They were not PUT OUT THEY WALKED OUT. THEY DID NOT LEAVE GOD’S CHURCH BUT RON AND LAURA’S CULT OF SATAN.

thirdly:

So we have to be careful how we speak and how we talk about one another, but I’ll tell you what, if it’s one of God’s ministers you’d better be extra careful and on guard because if you’re loose there you’re going to be far looser in how you talk about one another in the Body of Christ. That’s the point. If we can’t be stirred, moved, and motivated, and more on guard when it’s God’s apostle, or when it’s one of God’s prophets, or if it’s one of God’s evangelists, or one of God’s senior pastors, then I can guarantee you, you can take that to the bank, you can know that it’s far freer when it’s about one another in the Body of Christ. That’s a great tell tale sign right there. So I hear individuals that I know are not on guard against speaking out about something in a negative way. It doesn’t even have to be a matter of accusation. It can be just in a bad way or not a decent or respectful way because of the office or because of the person. It is a fearful thing because the person is in the Body of Christ and is not afraid to talk about somebody else. I fear that kind of thing, brethren. I always have, and to do otherwise is a giant mistake. I hope and pray you understand what I’m saying. Because, see, these things still go on to this day. 

What a joke. It is Laura who is the biggest gossiper in the cult. Why doesn’t he address her mouth as an example of what not to say. And the reason tongue’s are wagging is that people see what is going on in the lives of those ordained and the sins going on in the cult that are not being addressed. But if you are liked by the cult leaders you can’t do any wrong and Ron help you if you try to speak up.

They are just pissed off that they couldn’t control the situation so they lashed out to make it look bad for those that saw the truth and had to guts to leave. they disafellowhipment was put in place to keep members from reaching out and possible finding out the truth. That is why they are keep off facebook and this site. Ron is afraid of the truth. That is why not one member was allowed to attend the trial. Because the truth did come out and it did not set him free.

IN ALL REALITY THOSE THAT GET DISFELLOWHIPPED ARE TRULY THE ONES THAT ARE BLESSED.

Don’t look for one minister in any of your congregations to be aware of the first 90 points. However sincere, because they were not in the only place where they were revealed, they are incapable of critiquing them with even remotely helpful comments. This is not to speak ill of them, but rather to describe the gap between those who have heard 140 hours of careful, detailed explanation and those who have not!

1. The first is Persian Imperial authorization, the idea that the post-exilic community needed a legal basis on which to function within the Persian Imperial system
2. The second relates to the community of citizens organized around the Temple, with the Pentateuch providing the criteria for who would belong to it (the narratives and genealogies in Genesis) and establishing the power structures and relative positions of its various groups.[9]

• The tradition from Israel, which involves a journey from Egypt to the region of Bethel, he suggests is a memory of herders who could move to and from Egypt in times of crisis
• For the Transjordanian tradition, which focuses on deliverance from Egypt without a journey, he suggests a memory of the withdrawal of Egyptian control at the end of the Late Bronze Age
• For Judah, whose tradition is preserved in the Song of the Sea, Russell suggests the celebration of a military victory over Egypt, although it is impossible to suggest what this victory may have been.

Cultural significance

Summary

Numbers and logistics

Archaeology

Anachronisms

Chronology

The chronology of the Exodus story likewise underlines its essentially religious rather than historical nature. The number seven was sacred to Yahweh in Judaism, and so the Israelites arrive at the Sinai Peninsula, where they will meet Yahweh, at the beginning of the seventh week after their departure from Egypt,[33] while the erection of the Tabernacle, Yahweh's dwelling-place among his people, occurs in the year 2666 after Yahweh creates the world, two-thirds of the way through a four thousand year era which culminates in or around the re-dedication of the Second Temple in 164 BCE.[34][35][Notes 3]

Route

Dating the Exodus

We, as teens in God’s Church, have in our possession a vast amount of spiritual wealth, just like Atahualpa and Zedekiah had physical wealth. Our adversary is much more dangerous than theirs were, however. Our adversary is Satan, and he is constantly looking for every opportunity to take our spiritual wealth away from us. 1 Peter 5:8 says “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Satan hates the fact that our future is to be a part of God’s Family. He threw his glorious future away, and he does not want us to inherit ours.  

It’s easy for us to think we are smarter than the devil, or that we know the kinds of things he does to tempt us. But we have to know that we can’t play his game! He will always win. We can’t think that if we “bargain” with him, he will keep his promises. If we do something wrong even once, he can use that to weaken our character and get us to make the same mistake again. He will never let us go once he has us in his clutches.

On our own, we stand no chance of defeating this roaring lion. Thankfully, we have God on our side! We must do our part by obeying Him and putting Him first in our lives. We must do our part to resist Satan’s temptations. We must do our part to submit to God. And if we do, then God gives us a great promise: The devil will flee from us (James 4:7)! 

We have a source of protection that is much more powerful than mere the promise of gold or silver. We have the great God. Make sure you tap into His power. 

You know what God says? I’m going to have those Gentiles, come up with you in judgment. Now that’s interesting, because we thought the wicked were coming up 100 years later. You’re going to find out, they don’t. Keep listening. They’re going to come up, and I’m going to have the Gentiles tell you, you’re out. Think about it. The Germans, the Assyrians, were the dreaded enemies of Israel. God used them over and over to punish Israel. We’ve been to war with them twice in the last century, and it started thousands of years ago. I’m going to take your worst enemies, because they listened to Me and I’m going to use them.

They’re not the God family. They didn’t come up in the resurrection to eternal life. If they had, they’d have been up 1,000 years earlier. Proof that they’re not in the God family, and God is using them as members of His family to condemn them, is they come up together, after the Millennium. So He’s going to use those physical human beings, who had good attitudes…We’re about to read another one…who had good attitudes to tell them, “You’re thrust out.” Ooh, that will be hard to hear. Talk about weeping and gnashing of teeth…But, brethren, we’re understanding judgment. Let’s read one more, then let’s talk.

“The queen of the south [a black, African Gentile] shall rise up in the judgment with this generation…[Here’s what God thinks of black people, by the way; a little insight here.]…and shall condemn it…[Whoa…Can you imagine?]…for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon [God] is here” (Matt. 12:42).

So God takes people, who are so unlikely for us to believe…these Germans, ferocious warriors, the toughest the world’s ever seen…God is going to use them one more time to punish His people. We’ll be hearing that in the month of November. We’ll talk more about that. And this African Queen…coming up together. Obviously, they didn’t go on to eternal life. They didn’t. But they were good people. They listened—and they were Gentiles. How bitter will that be? Now, look if God tells you, you’re out, or if the prophets, or the apostles, or any member of the God family tells you you’re out, that would be bitter enough…but to hear it from your worst enemies? That’s God’s plan. You need to baptize your mind into that thinking.

But I will never throw a stone at anyone, because I had it wrong, and I surely studied prophecy more than anyone. I’m telling you…I tell you, before God…And I hope Mr. Armstrong can come up and tell you about our discussions of prophecy. I studied it more than anybody. If I’m going to start with an indictment, I’d have to indict myself. It was not God’s time to see it. It was just not God’s time to see it. Now, there are other men who studied prophecy. Nobody studied it like I did. And you could probably understand, God put a passion in me when I was 19 years old—the beginning of my sophomore year. I could pull out papers I did in the fall of 1968, digging, and trying to understand. I’ve talked about that. And I didn’t see it. If you’re programmed a certain way, you’ll see it a certain way.