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Mr.
Attorney General
of California:
Justwhat do you mean
a "Cult"?
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A
RE YOl'
implying the
Worldwide Church of
God is a "cult"
?
Have you heard American
Greeks insulted by calling them
"wops"-ltalian Americans in
sulted by the epithet "da
gos
9?
-,Jews belittled by the
terms "kikes" or "sheenies"-
wouldyou insult blackswith the
epithet "niggers" 9
For a generation ortwo after the
Civil War some Southerners
hurled the insult "Yankees" at
northerners-vet todav a verv
respectable N-ew York- baseball
club proudly bears the name
"Yankees_"
When your office launched its
surprise massive armed attack on
the Worldwide Church of God,
screaming banner headlines used
the epithet "cult_" Was this in
tended to belittle the LIVING Goo
AND
Hts
CHt:RcH
9
Juot What lo a "Cult"?
[t's time we learn the meaning of
words' It' s time for those living in glas�
houses to quit throwing stones'
After the unfortunate . Jonestown
mass suicide the word cult was used to
discredit.
It
was indiscriminately used
to hesmear smaller though fifth-decade
established respectable churches_ Was it
not used to Justify the unconstitutional
assault to · ·take over," control and
own-or else destroy-the churches of
California')
Our good name-and that of the great
GOD whose name we hear-was irrepar-
ahlv damaged
by
this politicallv moti
vated assault of ,Jan.
: 3. 19'79.
True, you.
\-fr. Attorney Ceneral, inherited this
case_
You
came
into
office a few days
after the assault
by
your otfin. But you
have fully accepted it
a.-,
your battle
81:!ainst the churches of California.
The unfortunate Jonestown disaster
was u�d to jm,lify the pohllca\ scheme to
take over. own. control and operate it.LL
CHL .RCHES
in California_
The Worldwide
Church of (Jod was selected as the target
tpst case-one expected to "cave in"�
If we fall before this massive uncon
stitutional assault all churches in Cali
fornia -Catholic. Prote-stant and . Jew
ish-would topple like dominos . We
defend the,m as wel1 as ourselves! That's
why they -representing 84 million
Americans --are joining forces in our
legal defense'
True, your office picked on a church
supposedly sma!l in membership. You
see, we count as members onlv adult
baptized members in regular�weekly
attendance at :a;ervices_ !98•, to lCNY, in
local churche!', attend e\·ery weekly
ser,:lce-a re<:nrd unmatched'. H we
counted. as commonly done, occasional
attendances. children and reRular finan
cial :;upporters. our membership is
closer to a half million.
\\'e are considerably larger than the
0riRinal Church of God founded A.D. :JI
hy ,!e�m. Chr\st. lt started. that day of
Pentecost. with 120 members (Acts
l:lSl_ And did you know that they were
considered, while young, as a new "cult'·
or "sect
')
'·
A
prominent Baptist minister said
recently. ··If the Worldwide Church of
(;od is a cult then we Baptists were a
C'ult during the early years of our
growth."
AC ' tualty the word
rult
is NOT primari·
ly an insufling epithet. The word comes
from the Latin and Frenrh through a
word meaning ·Tl'LTl;RE." Webster
defines "'cult" as: "1) formal religious
veneration, worship; 21 a s:,.·stem of reli
gi0us helief and ritual, also adherents to:
and:�) a religion rejected
as
unorthodox
or spurious.·· It was this third usage in
modern par\anct that was sensait\ona�
ized after the ,Jonestown tragedy. But
that does not condemn the Worldwide
Church of God, :s!OR the Catholic. Prot
estant or ,Jewish bodies-all of whom
started SMALL IN Nl'MB[RS�
The
true
Church of
God started
S�1ALL
in number of members. Jesus
Christ compared His Church, and the
corning KINGDOM OP Goo into
which
it
s.hall grow, to a grsin of mustard seed
the smallest of all herbs. but to grow
ultimately to FrLL TH[ WHOLE [ARTH
1
, Jesus called His Church "the Little
Flock."
That -·Little Flock" then wa• perse
cuted , even as it still is TODAY
1
Jesus �aid
if they had persecuted even HIM, they
would al�o persecute His Church!
��i
HERB[RT
'W. ARMSTRONG
Pastor General
Worldwide Church of God
lfthl' rl'adf'r would Ii Ke to '>tt ,;,.11me of the oit!Gl!'<U TRVTH. dPl1verl"d bv ,Jesus
\hrn;t Him!',e\f. rNUf'!'-l the- ,Ru 00"1\!.\pt J1..Bt What Do You Mean-ROR!'l/
A.(;Af.\" It will open vour f'\'es-a!'.tound you
1
Also wewill !lend you a copi,· of
Tht' Plairi Truth-a full-c-olor mass-circulation malit"azine of t:NDER�T�:ND
!Nr.-c1rrulation worldwide- in five languaies, ovf't twomillion.
Jt
will surprise
and df'li1:tht �-ou
1
There is NO POLLOW-1:P- we do not solicit the public for
c<1ntr1hut1ons. Wf' are nonpr�elytin r('
Write the Wnrldwide Church of God. Pas11df"na, Calif., 91123, or call
tull-frH'. 1R(l()1 42:l- -HH. In California call collf'rt l2\:l} .57/-5225
If you have some- que,;t11,ns for the attorney lit"enpral of the state of
California. writf" to him, 1ht Hon. GNJrgf' Dtulimejian. California Attorney
Gt'nf"fal. .1.",S \11pitol Mall, Sacramento, Calif., 9!'iRl4
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