Mr. Pack does not handle disagreements fairly. He debates, scoffs, and refuses to listen to the other side.
Herbert W. Armstrong, "The 'Strange Gospel' We Preach — and Why," Plain Truth, August 1961:
"In a debate the general idea is to REFUTE everything the 'worthy opponents' say. Scarcely ever does a debater or a debating team honestly consider and weigh whether his 'honorable opponent' is right. The opponent must be proved WRONG, by hook or crook, no matter whether he is right! The idea is to defeat him and win the debate! It is not a search for TRUTH. I have, in past years, been challenged to debate Bible truths — but I have refused, first, because the Bible itself forbids debate and commands me not to get into such disputes that engender strife; and second, because the challenger, I know, would never have an open mind but would be bent only on resisting, denying, disproving every truth I might advance, and discrediting me as a person, imputing evil motives, in addition."
Herbert W. Armstrong, "Proving the Truth," World Tomorrow radio broadcast #9879:
"And remember, my friends, that your salvation doesn't depend on some group or organization of men that may scoff. Your salvation is a private, personal thing between you and your God. And you're going to be held accountable."
"Do you know how to get around an argument that you can't by logic or by reason or by factual evidence get around? Just laugh at it and sneer at it, and a lot of people, if you can sneer at it, a lot of people think, 'Well, it's been so belittled I guess it can't be true.' And you can influence a lot of people that way when you don't have the mind power or the truth or the logic to do it honestly. Well, I think just trying to sneer a thing down is quite a dishonest method. I don't want to reject anything because I heard someone sneer at it. But if I find it's not true then I'm going to turn it down because I find it's not true.
"And don't believe [something] because I say so, and don't disbelieve it because you've heard it scoffed at or sneered at, because most people for political reasons cannot accept new light or something that they have not already had. Now, just think that over."
"Listen, you know I get literature every day. Literature comes to me from people all over the world. Not just all over the United States, I get lots of it from England, and I get it from other continents even and other parts of the world. People send literature in here to try to open my eyes to something that they think is just true and they really believe it. Now what do you think I do? Just sneer at it and contemptuously say, 'Sock that in the waste basket! I know it all already! I don't want to look at it.' Why no! I don't want to do that at all."
Herbert W. Armstrong, "The Autobiography of Herbert W. Armstrong," Plain Truth, June 1960:
"I then asked to be allowed to defend myself, and present the Scriptural reasons why I baptized as I did, FOLLOWING SCRIPTURAL TEACHING. Immediately Messrs Oberg and Ray were on their feet in protest.
"'If Brother Armstrong is allowed to speak, he will take up too much time,' they argued.
"'I anticipated that,' I replied. 'I have my reply to these long speeches by Brother Ray and Brother Oberg type-written. I have timed it. It takes exactly 15 minutes to read it. Are you going to allow these men hours — all morning and afternoon — to accuse me, and then refuse me even 15 minutes to answer their accusations, and show BY THE SCRIPTURES, who is right?'
"On promise I would not take up more than 15 minutes' time, I was allowed to read my defense."
It is impossible to feel that one has had a fair hearing when a minister resorts to such tactics. We are not afraid of facts and we are not afraid to admit when we're wrong. But any further attempts to rectify the situation with Mr. Pack will have to be in print. It's the only fair way we can defend ourselves against his stonewalling.
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