In reading the book The Last Great Day, I must say it is a very dramatic book. Much of the information has previously been available in the Ambassador Report edited by John Trechak, but reading it in a more personal setting has been very unsettling. It clearly illustrates the type of mind control involved in cults such as that of Armstrongism.
It does annoy me a bit that names were changed, i.e. The Plain Truth was called The Pure Truth (since it was in no way pure, yet with a clarity that to the untrained eye could appear as 'truth'), Ambassador College was called Apostle College, Garner Ted identified as Gideon etc.
I have reached just over the middle of the book, and in the timeline that is around the 1979 era of that cult. A time with great turmoil in the group, and certainly one where there is much confusion among some.
The most thought-provoking thought that comes out of reading this was the recent purchase by chief-imitator Gerald 'Six-Pack' Flurry (leader of Philadelphia Church of God) who boasted of owning copyrights to all materials. Oddly enough, 1975 in Prophecy is not mentioned anymore by the idolators of Armstrongism. Herbie long ago proved he was a false prophet by setting dates (both 1972 and 1975), yet none of the people who idolize this person who in no way could live up to the ministerial requirements set forth in Scripture have given it any thought that Herbie and his minions DESTROYED the beliefs of many by their unscupulous acts of blasphemy in taking God's name in vain by their actions.
Mind control has been rampant in splinter groups, and there is no doubt that Ben's book is excellent reading for those who want a good impression of what took place during the founder's reign of terror. Even though the book does have a few inaccuracies it is still very nice to get the whole history served in about 400 pages - and should be read by anyone interested in the cult of Armstrongism
You have to remember that the book is a fictionalized account of things that happened in his family's life. When I read it I thought there was no way some of those things could have happened, and then realized that they certainly could have considered the other kinds of abuses that went on elsewhere. The farther chruches were away from Pasadena the abuse seems to be worse.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I know it is fictional in the sense of being an interpretation. Many details DO fit what I have also read in Ambassador Report, Armstrong's Tangled Web etc.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. So true indeed that the abuse was global - though, of course, some should be praised for staying away from fulfilling the Herbie standard for discipline...