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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, June 27, 1980
Page 17
The interview was a very animated two and a quarter hours which very
effectively crystalized the real issues. Mr. Rader and Dr. Scott named
names and spoke out forcefully and fearlessly about the abuses of state
power with regard to both churches and others. Mr. Rader elaborated on
two major aspects of the state's action against God's Church:
1) the
corruption in government and, 2) the violation of constitutional rights
as regards to religious freedom.
Prior to his invasion of our church, the Attorney General had tried to
move against Faith Center (Dr. Scott's Church). But Dr. Scott courageous
ly stood up for his church's rights, as God's Church has been doing. He
has kept himself well informed about the legal issues of our case and the
implications this lawsuit has for all churches in the state. Of course,
Mr. Rader and Dr. Scott readily acknowledge that their religious beliefs
differ and there is no implied endorsement of each other's church. Never
theless, they understand that churches must unite their energies to resist
state encroachment of religious liberty guaranteed by the U.S. Constitu
tion.
Mr. Rader admitted that in January of 1979 he thought that the Attorney
General and his agents were "misinformed." Then, as t.he lawsuit pro
gressed, it seemed they were just plain "stupid." Now, he said, it is
patently clear we are confronted with "evil men" grasping for power. As
Mr. Rader has said many times, "They will lie and invent whenever
necessary, and they will malign and slander even when it is not necessary.'
It was revealed that even now as the Petris bill (SB 1493) is on its way
to the Assembly's Ways and Means Committee and then the Assembly itself
for a vote, the Attorney General is wo�king vigorously behind the scenes
to have the bill killed, or at least amended to allow him to continue
with pending cases--including the one concerning the Worldwide Church of
God!
Mr. Rader told Dr. Scott we were having a problem airing our State vs
Church documentary in California since the Channel 13 showing last Feb
ruary. (You'll recall that the station's management was intimidated by
the opposition into running a pitifully inaccurate retraction.) Dr. Scott
reminded Mr. Rader that his station had shown it too. He then offered
to air it again one day a month, three times during the same day! Mr.
Rader, immediately recognizing the potential in this offer (to further
educate the Los Angeles area public, as well as citizens in San Francisco
and Hartford, Connecticut where Dr. Scott has two other stations carrying
his programing), said that we could publish a full-page ad each month point
ing potential viewers to that station for the documentary. It is obvious
to all that Dr. Scott will not allow the state to intimidate him into
cowering passively in a corner when the life of his church and that of
other churches is at stake.
Mr. Rader expressed gratitude and admiration for Dr. Scott for his strong
stand and presented him with an autographed copy of his new book Against
the Gates of Hell. Dr. Scott said "I'll probably not get much sleep to
night as I read it." Even while the program was still in progress,
viewers were calling in asking how they could obtain a copy of the book.