Basic HTML Version
PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, July 11, 1980
It is more than coincidental that the present assault upon the
Worldwide Church of God occurred soon after the tragedy at the
People's Temple in Jonestown. "Cult" has become a buzz word
connoting unspecified horrors and a potential need for public
inquiry.
Page 18
In this regard
it
should be clearly understood that the World
wide Church of God and its membership bear no resemblance whatso
ever to what we have come to know as cults. The Church represents
a conservative branch of Christianity. Its adult members live in
approximately 100 nations around the world and typically are well
educated. Church members do not live communally or under the
surveillance or supervision of Church leaders. Apart from the few
needy members, they do not depend for livelihood or shelter upon
one another or upon the Church. They are for the most part gain
fully employed, live with their own families and lead purposeful
and independent lives.
�And that's a very fine statement by a very highly educated constitutional
lawyer," Mr. Rader reminded the audience.
$100,000 Reward Brings Nibble
Our ad offering a reward for information about the assault on God's
Church has borne some fruit already. "We got our first legitimate nibble
for it," said Mr. Rader. "The person involved was smart enough to go to
a lawyer. The lawyer's firm has contacted us and has said they have
(someone] who gave information to the attorney general and to Mike
Wallace, and so I'm going to go up to San Francisco to see that attorney
next week. So we may be closer to finding out a little bit more about
false witnesses and those who probably suborned the false witness. By
that [I mean] helped the people to lie."
Now, in addition to the newspaper ads, Mr. Rader said we are also making
arrangements to use billboards here in the Southland to get our message
across. Gradually the public will know more and more about what has been
happening to God's Church and about the message it is proclaiming.
"So we're not worried about the future," Mr. Rader reassured his audience.
"We have a commission to fulfill and as long as we do God's Work and
remain loyal to His laws and His ways, we don't have any problem winning
that battle. But we will continue to fight the other battle because we
are right and we have constitutional rights to protect and we have a duty
to other people now. We will continue to wage that battle, and we will
fight for this property. This property was paid for by the brethren of
the Worldwide Church of God all over the world!"
Counting the Cost: The Positive Side of Persecution
Mr. Rader recalled that false accusers were brought against Christ. Paul
suffered the same troubles. And God's people are told that they, too,
will suffer persecution. Then Mr. Rader referred to words Mr. Armstrong
spoke recently about when he was coming into the ministry. Mr. Armstrong
said: "I counted the cost before I let myself get into the ministry, and
I knew it [persecution] would come. And now it has come, from the biggest
state in the Union. But God had moved me over here to Tucson [becausel