My "friend," Monty Lahr, wrote to Mark Tabladillo's Opinion Page with his positive spin on the Worldwide Church of God. In his post, he took many shots at me and this web site. This is my public response to his public criticisms. "Click here to see his comments." 8/17/97
Monty,
Saw your letters posted on Mark Tabladillo's web page. Now you can understand a little of the frustration that a person can feel when they have something negative to say and try to get it printed in the Good News Grapevine. Definitely a filter there. But, we see that eventually, Mark got around to posting your letter right in a very obvious spot so don't feel too bad. Mark is very balanced in his postings. I think he actually puts too much pro wcg crap on, but as you said: it is his page.
Just so people will know, Monty is a very nice man with a wife that is just as nice and they have a lovely family. They only live about 1/2 mile away from me. We've known each other for years. I've been to his house, he has been to mine. We've gone out together. Monty was one of the two people that contacted us after we left the church. He wrote a letter to me and thanked me for my years of service and wished me well. Never asked me why I left.
I was wondering what people would call me if we took away the word "bitter". Christians do love that word don't they? Anyhow, he does pretty good with: Negative, Vitriol and Critical.
Monty, I know how happy and warm you are feeling in God's Church while there are so many awful, bitter, negative, vitriolic, critical people out there in that nasty ol' world.
I remember when Lempke's left the church years ago. You probably never knew him and his family. Oh, we felt sorry for them and to see them turn back to the vomit of Christmas so quickly! We watched so many others leave through the years but, like you and everyone else, we never asked them why.
We know your smug self-assurance and your inability to see any further than what your "leaders" tell you. We've been there.
Now you probably shake your head at how far such a one as I could fall from the wonderful Truth that you still have.
My hope is that you will, some day, find out the painful truth about your wonderful church just as the Lempke's and others did many years ago and how we did more recently.
I would hope that it would be sooner rather than later so you can have some of your "tithe" money for yourself, your kids, your retirement, or to give it to people who are truly in need.
If you would like to prove that anything on the Painful Truth web pages is untrue, I will be happy to take it off the site. I think that you will have a hard time doing that though because even your church has not gone after the publishers of the "Ambassador Report" or the many other authors who report virtually the same material.
The one time I see they tried to take someone to court, it was David Robinson and his book "HWA's Tangled Web." Even then they did not say that anything in the book was untrue. Their whole point was that it violated the privacy between minister and member, and between minister and minister. They couldn't even win on that basis. This would have been a good opportunity to prove that HWA hadn't committed incest with his daughter for ten years wouldn't it? I have posted the newspaper articles referring to HWA's incest. The church has never denied it happened. Never.
They have never sued Ambassador Report, that I have read. This is virtually a one man show. He has cost the church millions of dollars. Don't you think if they could find just one untruth in what has been written, that they would jump all over him? It wasn't for lack of lawyers at headquarters. It sure wouldn't have taken much to put him out of business. And, if I would only believe half of what is printed in the AR or all the books, this was one rotten organization.
You find out the painful truth and you will see how people may need David Covington's site
I can't believe that you have really read the information on my web page. Read it and ask your new minister if it is true. Ask our former minister if it is true. Ask someone who will give you a straight answer, yes or no, if you can find one.
Yeah, there is some really negative stuff on the web page. That is the history of the organization. I didn't make the history up. This church was founded by a child molester/charlatan that raped his daughter for ten years while he pretended to be God's representative.
His successor, J.W. Tkach Sr. was at the very least, a liar. Probably worse than that if you can believe only some of what the AR prints about him and what I covered in my taped phone call with Carroll Miller.
Joe Jr. will not expose these men for what they really were because they are his foundation. He is in his position because they were in their positions. He lives in a house of cards, if they fall, he falls too.
You say that people are happy in the church. I have no problem with that. I just want them to have all the facts, then see how happy they are. What did you think you would be left with when our former minister told us in one of his memorable sermons: "If you don't like it here, just leave"? At least he later had the guts to leave the ministry himself at the age of 54. If it was because he finally realized what a hoax and scam this whole religion was, then I can forgive him for never calling me.
Sorry, your apology on the church's behalf is inappropriate and out of place. You don't even know what you are apologizing for. You don't even want to know. If you will study to find out the truth about the whole sordid past leadership of the Worldwide Church of God, then I will accept your apology. Stop over some time, (you could walk here in five minutes) and I will show you all my evidence on these crooks. Or is it that you think that God will not like you if you read anything negative? Joe Jr. knows about all this stuff. Joe Jr. told me that he was known as the "Bearded Armstrong Basher". God helps the devoted ministry to withstand this terrible evil knowledge, or is it the money that helps them? Do you think God can help them to withstand all this negative stuff and He can't help you? Must be a very weak God.
Some day you will see it all, and you won't have me to blame. We've wanted to share all the information with anyone who wants it but haven't pushed it at anyone. And you have to admit that I never called you or sent you anything. I haven't tried to disturb your simplicity.
You wouldn't listen anyhow. If I sent you something, you would just throw it away or give it to your minister, just like I did years ago. I can't do any more than I am right now. I make it available for those that want it.
So if everyone is so happy in your church, why are you so insistent on getting your point of view on Mark's page? Why bother? Go put your stuff on the GNG where everything is sanitized and you won't find any disagreement with "headquarters". Are you afraid to read the truth too? How can you blindly attack what I put on my page when you obviously haven't even read it?
I have only had one negative response to the Painful Truth since it has been up in February of this year. That guy is trying to get his God to kill me. I get a lot of posts from grateful people, and from shocked people who are going to find out if these things are so. I would advise you to do the same.
You are happy with the leadership of HWA, SR and JR. You say that you trust your human leaders. Read all the crap about these guys and you will never trust another human again. Even your Bible says that all men are liars. Why would you trust them? Trust God not men. Men will fail you every time. Read the true history of the Worldwide Church of God and you will see that men do not deserve trust.
I wouldn't want to be in the shoes of those who have known the truth all along and have continually covered it up. They are doing it so they can continue to have power and money. God will judge them.
So, I will challenge you Monty, get Joe Tkach Jr. or GTA to state in writing (certified) that HWA did NOT commit incest with his daughter and I will take those pages relating to that subject off my site.
Give me a call or come to my house. Your Bible says that you should prove all things. Read some of the material I can give you. Then tell me that you still trust men.
Warm (non-bitter) Regards,
Ed
"My second response to Monty."
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