Argument XXII

Caught in a Lie

In an attempt to buttress their case in favor of dining out on the Sabbath, the RCG argued that the authors of A Sabbath Test are dishonest and can't be trusted. To prove their point Mr. George Rogers, an RCG employee, claimed that Dave Pack never wrote the RCG essay on Sabbath dining and that Messrs. Fischer and Braidic knew this all along, informing him of this fact in a private Email. He then claimed that despite knowing this, the authors continued to use Mr. Pack's name in order to wage a personal attack against him. Here is how Mr. Rogers expressed this in a disclaimer that appeared at the bottom of the first revision of their essay.

"THE WRITERS OF OUR PUBLICATIONS"

By George Rogers

The Restored Church of God

A final point of clarification must be brought to this matter.

Articles produced by The Restored Church of God that do not indicate an author—do not carry a byline—are usually written by several staff writers, with one primary author. Such is the case with this article.

Books, booklets and articles written by Mr. David C. Pack always bear his name. This alone declares that he did not author this article. The authors of A Sabbath Test already knew by other means that Mr. Pack did not write this article, and privately admitted this to us in an e-mail sent to point out their rebuttal, lampooning and ridiculing Mr. Pack. Yet, in the fury of having been exposed by a staff of writers in The Restored Church of God, they deceitfully attributed the article to Mr. Pack and chose to assassinate his character—even though they knew he did not write it. They recognized that most people could never learn what they knew!

Recall that Christ said, “You shall know them by their fruits.” Apart from the error of their doctrine, in the above way, these men have also told you other of their “fruits.” They have supplied you with additional crucial information about how you can “know” their character. Hebrews 5:14 explains that you are supposed “to discern both good and evil.” This means that you are accountable for recognizing when evil men and seducers are in your presence (II Tim. 3:13).

Because of the controversial nature of this article, addressing such a volatile, divisive issue within the splinters, we feel that an exception needs to be made to our “byline” policy. The names of the authors are: George C. Rogers (primary author, now listed at the beginning), with Bruce A. Ritter and James F. Turck, contributing writers, all of whom contribute to The REAL TRUTH and other RCG publications.

Mr. Pack’s only involvement was the final editing phase—a small percentage of the total man-hours involved. We mention this because many erroneously assume he writes everything listed on our websites.

This question arises: Why did Mr. Pack not write the article?

First, he knew this false teaching would not be taken seriously by serious people. Any who are familiar with our websites understand that he has much “bigger fish to fry”—that he has been called to “shoot elephants,” not “swat gnats” and shoo “ankle biters.” While Mr. Pack has written 65 books and booklets, containing over 4,000 pages (plus countless articles), a sizeable and growing number of skilled writers exist in this powerful, worldwide Work. This article did not require the authorship of the leader of the Church. Mr. Pack could not invest his limited time. Mr. Armstrong knew when to delegate to others what he did not need to do.

Perhaps it is helpful to note that Mr. Pack’s time is primarily invested in directing the overall Work, recording broadcasts, and researching and writing publications, which address the big picture of the real tests that face God’s people today, as opposed to investigating the latest creative new ideas being conceived on the Church of God landscape.

As we continue to identify and counter false teachings, deviating from the restored truths delivered to the Church of God when it was on track under Mr. Armstrong, we expect continued negative repercussions from their promoters and sponsors, and we expect further attacks on us because of what has been explained in this expanded article and in this inset. Nonetheless, the truth will be defended, and this is why we addressed the counterfeit “Sabbath test.” We have done what God requires.

For those who desire to know what the REAL end-time test is, read Mr. Pack’s book “ANOINT YOUR EYES” – Christ’s Warning to His People.

– George C. Rogers

Our Response:

This is the first time in the history of this debate that our antagonists have provided a better rebuttal to their accusation than we ever could. Here it is.

After reviewing the RCG essay in the spring of 2009, we at Blow the Trumpet discovered that the disclaimer cited above has been removed. Additionally, Mr. Pack's name now appears as the author of the RCG essay.

By the way, the Email referenced in the RCG disclaimer doesn't exist.