Philadelphia Church of God

1,490 Views | 7 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by JJMt
Stumpknocker
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The latest iteration of the World Wide Church of God founded by Herbert W Armstrong. I have been familiar with this outfit all my life due to my grandmother watching Garner Ted Armstrong on TV when I was young.

Turns out my wife's parents and one of her sisters have secretly been involved in the PCG for many years. It is now tearing the rest of their large family apart due to their rules against going to doctors. My father in law is gravely ill. This church has cult written all over it and is known to prey on the poor and uneducated.

Wondering if any others on this site have been exposed to it?
94chem
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They are very controlling and try to isolate converts from their friends and families. Sometimes loved ones can be rescued with by an intervention that points out the counterfeit aspects. In this case, I will offer a few points:

1. Your FIL's decision to go to a doctor is ultimately his and his alone.
2. If the church has discouraged him from doing so or has in any way attempted to restrict his freedom to do so, they are practicing medicine without a license and are legally liable.
3. The Book of Acts was written by a doctor. That is to say, the most comprehensive record of the work of the Holy Spirit in all of human history was written by a doctor who had not one negative thing to say about the medical profession. A simpleton could understand this if not for the mind-control aspects of the cult.
4. Pray that your FIL and family will return to their right minds and the scales will be lifted from their eyes.
swimmerbabe11
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I have not seen this. I don't know if there is anything to add to 94's post except that we will be praying for your father in law. Insidious stuff there.
Win At Life
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AG
I haven't met any PCG member specifically, but I've come into contact with a few from one of the dozens of splinter groups from WWCOG and they have all been conceited, judgmental hypocrites. Just my $0.02 observation.
Stumpknocker
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FIL passed a week ago. Turns out he had prostate cancer, bleeding colon and congestive heart failure, all undiagnosed cause he was not taken to hospital until the very end.

Funeral service will be Sunday lead by the leader of the regional coven of the PCOG. From what I understand the funerals are pretty bizarre. Luckily only the widow and one daughter and SIL are members but others will be there. The rest of the rather large family are Baptist, Pentecostal and Catholics.

It will be interesting to finally look into the eyes of one of these frauds. As the elder of the 5 SIL's it will be my job to keep the younger fellas from speaking their mind about this bunch of loons.

One last thing, my wife's youngest sister who is in the cult, is very jaundiced and experiencing stomach pain, will not step into a doctors office. So, we may be attending another funeral soon.

SMH!
Beer Baron
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AG
Can I ask why you will keep the others from speaking their minds? It sounds like someone should.
ramblin_ag02
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AG
As a doctor and a Christian I want to say a lot of really harsh things about this sort of attitude, but that's not going to do anyone any good.

To give some perspective, plenty of people refuse medical care for all kinds of reasons, religious and non-religious. With the exception of public health concerns (like vaccines or TB) or sick children, that's okay. People get sick and people die. Some people we can help, some people we can't, and some people that we could help don't want our help. Sickness is unpleasant but universal. Death is just universal. It's going to happen sooner or later to everyone, and many people want as much control over that as possible. For some that means aggressive treatment, for others it means refusing care. There's no right answer as long as that person is at peach with their choices.

When it comes to cults, I don't think it does any good to be confrontational. They expect that and thrive off of it. That hostility helps keep them isolated from people outside the cult. IMHO, the best thing you can do is just let those people know that you care about them no matter what, and let them you that you're there if they need anything. Having a lifeline of support from someone outside the cult might be the thing that lets them get out.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
dermdoc
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AG
Good post. Cults like this make me angry as both a Christian and a doctor also.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
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