My name is John McGuire. I was a 10 year member of Worldwide Church of God until 3 weeks ago. I attended services in Nassau and Suffolk counties, Long Island, New York.

Thank you for this forum you have provided!

I have been reading your messages for several weeks and can empathize with many of your comments. I have recently communicated with David Hunsberger at Worldwide Church of God. The "David defense", which was alluded to here, was one of several defenses made for Herbert W. Armstrong.

Did [King]David have all of Jesus Christ's words, as did Mr. Armstrong? He also stated the majority of Worldwide Church of God approved of Mr. Armstrong's extravagant spending.

I told him although I wasn't around when Herbert W. Armstrong was in charge. I don't remember ever voting or being polled concerning any spending of money.

I came to realize its tough to communicate with any political party. The answer is always the party line or recited script.

Thanks again!

John McGuire 9/24/97

When I came upon all this information that eventually changed my life (again) I kept it to myself for weeks. I gathered material and sent e-mail to the [UCG] Council of Elders. I'd get home and ask my wife if David Hulme had called (I just left the United Church of God) and she thought I was kidding.

Anyway, after I'd accumulated sooooooo much evidence I called my daughter and had her come home from college for the weekend and had some friends over for Sabbath evening dinner. After dinner I broke the news that "we" were leaving the church. Fortunately my family trusted me enough to stay with me and I"ve been guiding them along on what is "reality" verses deception.

Name available on request 9/9/97

Love you, keep up the good work....

I think of what you are doing as having created a powerful "Herbie-cide"........

Tundra Man 9/12/97

I want to thank you for your spiritual support (and your enlistment of help from Ekklesia ) while I try to sort out how literal the Old Testament is and what the involvement of God really is. Please pass this on to Bill Ferguson and those others who have commented on my quandary -- thank you all for your interest and insight!

Over four years ago I was confronted with evidence that the world around me (and particularly the spiritual world) was not as I had been led to believe while growing up in Worldwide Church of God. Evidence that organized society has been around much longer than 6,000 years was a blow (and I found, [6,000 year history of man] totally unsupportable even in scripture). Likewise, as time passed we (in Worldwide Church of God) were all forced to consider new paradigms -- in essence these new ideas were largely in challenge to relevance of some Old Testament Sinai covenant requirements like physical Sabbath observance and tithing in the lives of modern day Christians.

For me, a close examination of New Testament writings in Galatians, Hebrews, and other epistles completely debunked what I had been taught. I was amazed at the pure simplicity of New Testament scriptures that emphasized that Christian living and what God is after in us is a matter of heart and inward motivation (i.e. that the entire law is summed up by the command to love God and fellowman). As I had given my life to God some years before, this new perception of God transformed my life and I embraced this new simplicity and began to live more fully in God's grace. I went forward much more cognizant of my duty and willingness to sacrifice my life for the service of others. It has been a liberating, over-the-top experience to begin just stepping out and DOING the WAY. I am more committed than ever to following Christ's example.

Levi Mason 1/27/97

OLD ME

....10 years ago (in the years where the 1st covenant hasn't quite worn off yet....

MOM:  I told Jeff after school to empty the dishwasher and clean the front entrance, but he didn't.

DAD to son: WHY DIDN'T YOU DO IT!

SON: I don't know

DAD: are you looking for a SPANKING!

SON: No dad (very sober)

DAD: well your sure acting like you need a good one!!!!!!

......present day with youngest 12 year old.....

MOM:  I told Justin after school to empty the dishwasher and clean the front entrance, but he didn't

DAD:  What the hell is this, you mean I have to pretend to be a parent again. Shesh, I thought I was finished with parenting stuff when you turned 7 or something... 

SON: Oh dad, your doing OK..

DAD: well your mom doesn't think so, and I have to try and sleep in the same room with her, you know.  Besides if I don't pretend to be a parent once in a while I might end up looking like a lazy retard. 

DAD:  I'm gonna make a major parental disciplinary decision here,......  hum,..   no electronic games till the end of this week.

Our eyes lock.  He's heard me,  total quiet obedience, but I''ve faced this before (at least once last year). He's hoping that if he says nothing I'll forget the whole thing, but I've caught on to this.

He asks tonight if I was serious, I say yes, he doesn't argue.

On the way to drum practice he tells me I'm a good dad, and then asks me if it's hard to be a parent.  I say it can be, and I know one thing for sure, it's very very easy to be a bad parent. We talk about it for the rest of the drive.

I think I've grown as much as my kids have.

Gary 6/3/08