12. Were We Really In a Cult?

12.1 Is the Worldwide Church of God Still a Cult?

12.1.1 Stabbed in the Heart

I THOUGHT I WAS THROUGH WITH THE WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD. It had been twelve years, after all. But when I walked into a neighborhood church, it was the first thing I heard about. After asking what church I had attended, the minister said, "Oh, but the Worldwide Church of God is okay now; I remember reading about it in Christianity Today. They've really changed." I knew the doctrines had undergone some sort of upheaval: some old acquaintances had hinted at it, without elaborating, and I had read about some of the controversy on the Internet. Still, I had no evidence that people were treated with any more respect, or given any more religious freedom.

      Hearing this pronouncement felt like such a betrayal, like being told your rapist is really a nice guy, and hangs out with all the other guys now, so since they think he's okay, he must be. I told the minister that I highly doubted they had really changed essentially, whatever surface changes had occurred; in this case, doctrinal changes, however drastic, would be only incidental to their operations.

      Later, when I went to the Church of God (Seventh Day), I was asked again about my origins, then told again, "Oh, the Worldwide Church of God is much better now, I hear."

      I was afraid that if I didn't address this perception, this article would simply be written off as of minor historical interest. That would be fine if it were true, but I knew in my bones it couldn't be. Corrupt governments don't just become sweet and pure without effort; in fact, all the effort would be to avoid giving up the excessive power they had gone to such trouble to attain.

12.1.2 Looking at the Evidence

      I began to do something I thought I'd never do: I researched the Worldwide Church of God. I thought, I've been there, done that, and I didn't care about the politics when I was in it, and didn't believe things just because of someone's say-so-why should I start now? But there seemed no other way.

      After running into those two old friends from Worldwide, both disaffected, one staying essentially on the sidelines and barely attending, the other having left, and another community, I was able to get more answers. What I did not get from them, I got from the Internet. This summary is bound to be a bit sketchy, and open to correction, but I'll give you the gist. Summarizing the actions of Herbert W. Armstrong's handpicked successor, Joseph W. Tkach, Samuele Bacchiocchi, in Worldwide Church of God: Crisis and Lessons, says this:

     

For four or five years after his accession in 1986 the senior Mr. Tkach enjoyed overwhelming support from the leaders and members. Gradually Mr. Armstrong's publications, especially his magnum opus, Mystery of the Ages, were withdrawn from circulation. The new leadership modified the church's prophetic emphasis and adopted a more mainstream Protestant approach. Similarly, the emphasis on obedience to God's commandments shifted to the acceptance of salvation by grace, irrespective of works of obedience. In late 1994 began the assault on the Sabbath, holy days, distinction between clean and unclean meats, and tithing.

Bacchiocchi continues:

At first, church loyalists preferred to think that their Pastor General, Joseph W. Tkach, was unaware of the "New Theology" promoted by his administrative cabinet. [My note: this cabinet was headed by his son, Joe Tkach, Jr.] …All doubts were finally resolved in December, 1994, when Joseph W. Tkach videotaped a sermon which was played in virtually all WCG congregations in early January, 1995. In that sermon, Tkach made it clear that he had embraced the new theology and was now prepared to enforce it by firing and/or disfellowshipping recalcitrant pastors and church members.

      The changes Joseph Tkach, Sr. began to make to the core doctrines somewhere around 1992 were in a predictable direction: towards mainstream denominationalism. In one way, it was similar to what Garner Ted Armstrong had done in the early 70's; beliefs were watered down, observances became optional, commands became suggestions. However, when Garner Ted was at the helm, free choice was the driving force, so people who believed in strict observance continued to do what they thought best, and, while Ted monkeyed with some of the British-Israelite ideas and other prophetic beliefs, he did not actually change any core doctrines (though perhaps his ill-fated Systematic Theology Project was designed towards that end). Church government under Ted became less intrusive, more tolerant of individual choice. Joe Tkatch, on the other hand, made his changes absolute: his directives were to be followed, period. People were forced into apostasy. This created enormous emotional stress.

12.1.3 The Historical Outrageousness of the Changes

      While obviously these changes were welcomed and seemed normal to mainstream Protestants, a moment's reflection, putting oneself in the shoes of a WCG member will show how bizarre these changes really are. It would be as if the members of any mainstream Christian church were commanded to renounce belief in the Trinity, begin to assemble on the Sabbath, reject Easter for Passover, keep Pentecost on the same day as the Jews, and then instead of Thanksgiving, observe the fall holy days like the Feast of Trumpets, ten days later, going without food and water on Atonement, and five days later, pack up for holiday for eight days in the fall for the Feast of Tabernacles. Of course, they would be forbidden to send Valentines, wear green on St. Patrick's day, buy Easter eggs, dress up at Halloween, or celebrate Christmas, and would have to give up eating pork and shellfish.

      The Catholic Church is the only church I can think of whose head has this kind of power, yet what Pope has ever dared to go so far? Look at the upheavals over Vatican II, and what was that about, really, but people preferring Latin to their normal languages? Look at the split when it was declared that Mary had ascended to heaven, a long-held but unofficial belief: this gave rise to dissention, and the formation of the Old Catholics. Even when you have a rigid hierarchy, the leaders cannot force people to change without wreaking havoc. Essentially, the change in the WCG has been towards a totally different religion. There are many church denominations spanning the gap between its former self and its current self-this is how far it has moved. The only thing that seems unchanged is the core belief, that the church hierarchy is to be obeyed without question. This is the "real" religion, and the rest seems to have been expendable. I've never heard of such an extreme change in such a short time, though it is somewhat reminiscent of some of the major changes that took place from the days of the International Bible Students' Association to their current incarnation as the Jehovah's Witnesses, but this occurred more gradually, and over a longer period.

      This complete about-face caused very great suffering in the Worldwide Church of God. It caused over 50,000 people to leave, and as many as another 25,000 to quietly boycott the church by staying away from services most of the time. Of course, the financial toll was devastating, and decimated the church's evangelical work. The literature and telecasts took a severe beating.

      Ministers who left created their own groups: the Philadelphia and the United Church of God were among the larger ones. Eventually, members were told from the pulpit, "if you don't like it, leave," and they eventually did; if they were suspected of "disloyalty" to the New Order, they were questioned, then kicked out. Many of these people became the Global Church of God. Other splinter groups came out of this time, and offshoots themselves continued to disintegrate into smaller and smaller groups. Based on the WCG's chart, there have been at least 107 documented offshoots of the WCG and its offshoots since 1970, more than 20 of them after 1992.

12.1.4 Now Joe Has His Reward! The Approval of the Mainstream

      One Christian site on the Internet, listing Cults, chose to remove the Worldwide Church of God from the list once they proclaimed the Trinity, an idea anathema to hard-core believers. I could barely contain my anger. What on earth did they understand about cults? A cult is not a cult because its beliefs are different, it is a cult because it manipulates and brainwashes its members, and reduces or removes their freedom of choice.

      Let's call a spade a spade. "Cult" can be used to mean "Heretical Group," and in Christian circles, this appears to be the understanding. Heresy and Orthodoxy are another matter altogether. Yes, the Worldwide Church of God's old beliefs would have to be seen as heretical by any mainstream Christian standards. "Heresy," of course, reminds us too much of bloody persecutions, executions, and the Inquisition. It is not a very politically-correct thing to say. Far easier to raise the "cult" banner. Of course, the Worldwide Church of God used to be both: Unorthodox (heretical) and Destructive (a cult). Now it is simply Destructive (a cult). But hey, its proclamations of belief are much more normal, now. That should comfort the families of the suicides, the children of the broken families. At least they're "mainstream," now. That's all right, then.

      Joe Tkach, Sr., and his son and successor, Joe Jr., knew how to appeal to mainstream Christian churches. Talk the talk, and they won't care if you walk the walk. Sadly, the reportage I have been able to get my hands on seems to bear this out.

12.1.5 What You Don't Know Can Hurt You -- and Others

      I wish they would wake up! Until the Worldwide Church of God allows its members freedom of dissent without excommunication, until their meetings are open to the community, publicly advertised, and listed in the phone book [unfortunately, now they are so listed, but that is the most minor cosmetic change], until they no longer set up Church Government as an idol to be appeased and worshipped before God Himself, they are a cult. And until then, their members and ex-members are going to get the slap in the face I got, when everyone tells them nothing is wrong with that church any more. I took it hard, after a dozen years away from it. What would it do to someone just freshly out? Mainstream Christianity should be trying to help the ex-captives, and give them aid and comfort, not deny them and their need, or even suggest it would be okay to return to bondage!

      Is the Worldwide Church of God still a cult? Yes, and even more so, I fear. Those remaining in the church have "passed the test," and shown they are willing to go along with the church no matter what it teaches, or what it changes. Without the salt of those whose beliefs are based on their own faith in God and their own understanding of the Scriptures, I fear those remaining will be ever more vulnerable to corruption and exploitation.

      I think now is the time when the real brainwashing can begin, after all the "troublemakers" and "freethinkers" have been purged. "Dissidents," a term we used only to hear about totalitarian countries, is now only too commonly used to refer to those of a minority belief, either politically or religiously. Ask yourself this: would you go to a church obsessed with "purging dissidents"? Would you want your children to? Your neighbour? Would you ask first what their Statement of Faith was, before deciding, or would you just look at how they treated people?

      Individual compassion and common sense becomes lost in the corporate response. It is awkward to condemn those who profess your same beliefs, but didn't Paul say to do just that? Not to have anything to do with those practicing fornication or witchcraft, and so on, clarifying that he did not mean people in the world, otherwise we'd have to come out of the world, but people in the church. Not even to eat with them. Brainwashing is like witchcraft-it seeks to obtain an evil power over other people's minds. If you shouldn't even eat with them, is it okay to advertise their virtues in magazines? Endorse their internal workings? Encourage them to push their people farther?

      Yes, the Worldwide Church of God has seen some drastic changes. It is a shadow of its former self. The only good thing about it is that it is unlikely to attract new members-though it is attempting to swallow up many smaller churches through its flexible beliefs, and it seems to have turned more to "personal evangelism," or "recruiting," depending on your point of view.

      A cult? You bet. Harder now to leave, since everyone thinks there is no reason to anymore. That's not good enough, and I'm not willing to be silent when I hear such outrageous trash about Worldwide's "reformation."