Phoon Hencman wrote:
On 2006-12-06 10:22:44 -0500, said:
Very,Very Unethical of some things profit stair does.Same with abortion
clinics.A Babys life is Precious and should NOT be killed.
cuhulin
Holy ****, I agree with you for once!
R. G. "Brother" Stair
Overcomer Ministry
Profile
R.G. (Ralph) Stair, who styles himself "Brother Stair," is a radio
evangelist who has declared for many years that he is "The Last Day
Prophet of God to America."
The Claims
The 1989 book Soothsayers of the Second Advent by William Alnor
included a section describing Stair's activities at that time:
South Carolina radio preacher Brother R. G. Stair was whipped into
apocalyptic fever in early 1988. In his "Overcomer" radio broadcast,
heard over fifty stations nation-wide, he thundered that God has
appointed him "God's end-time prophet to America," and that he had
anointed the end-time "Elijah" - a young Russian man - several years
earlier.
Furthermore, God had spoken directly to him, and the jig was up for
America. Before "April" was over, the United States would face an
economic collapse, followed by the forcible removal of President Ronald
Reagan from office. Then a limited nuclear war would strike the United
States before the end of the year, wiping out every major city.
A way to escape the horrors to come was to get out of the cities
and flee to the countryside, Stair roared, sometimes altering his voice
to sound as if God were speaking through him. Stair then announced that
he was building "cities of refuge" (farms) throughout the rural south,
from which the "remnant" could weather the great tribulation.
His radical claims struck a chord. People from all over the United
States began selling their homes and started sending money to Stair's
Faith Cathedral Fellowship, located near Walterboro, South Carolina. As
contributions came in Stair was able to extend his daily message of
fear to almost 100 radio stations nationwide.
In Philadelphia three local churches eagerly tuned in to the
message, and members started selling their possessions. Before May was
out, about ten church members joined Stair at his commune, turning all
their money over to him in exchange for living quarters in his commune.
Obviously the economy didn't collapse, Reagan finished his term, and
doomsday never came. Despite the failures, many of Stair's new converts
stayed with him, accepting his explanation that God had changed His
mind.
But one couple that exited, months after joining, left deeply
wounded. The wife had joined Stair's commune while she was well along
in her pregnancy, and Stair had discouraged the use of medicine and
modern doctors. As a result the couple's ten-pound, twelve-ounce baby
boy was born dead in Stair's commune on July 6 at the hands of
unlicensed midwives - sect members. The next day Colleton County
Coroner Bob Bryan investigated the death and ruled the baby dies of
"anoxia," or an absence of oxygen caused by a prolonged delivery.
Though no criminal charges were filed, he ruled the death could have
been prevented.
My wife and I covered the unfolding story of this cult for the
Delaware County Daily Times, in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania; we wrote
more than thirty stories on Stair and the local doomsday cults seeking
to join him. Two things became very clear as we researched the stories:
It was Stair's message of fear that seemed to draw his followers, and
he reinforced that fear through his monthly newsletters. Among the
fantastic stories it contained we
Descriptions of the "New Age conspiracy."
Accounts of the coming Antichrist.
Tales of the "Beast computer" in Brussels.
References to fiber-optic wires, connected to your television set,
that could allow the Antichrist to control your life, watch you
twenty-four hours a day, and kill you in your own home.
A lot of that may sound familiar - much of Stair's material came
from prophecy teachers we've talked about. In the March, 1988, issue,
Stair even used one of Southwest Radio Church's photographs and
reprinted part of their article to scare people into believing the
three-story "Beast computer" is already here.
The Allure
Even as far back as the 1980s, Stair's radio programs were appealing to
current and former members of the Worldwide Church of God, particularly
because, like Herbert W. and Garner Ted Armstrong, he condemned the
pagan origins of traditional holidays such as Christmas and Easter.
In recent years, Stair's appeal for some exWCG members has increased
because Stair has embraced observance of the Sabbath and the annual
Biblical Holy Days, and seems to accept some sort of version of the
doctrine of British Israelism.
In addition, some exWCG members have been uncomfortable without a
"prophetic" leader to follow since the death of Herbert Armstrong and
the scandals surrounding Garner Ted Armstrong. Stair's radio
personality is similar to Herbert Armstrong in his heyday-bombastic,
dogmatic, self-assured, self-aggrandizing. Stair leaves no question
that he considers himself to be God's Spokesman for the End
Times-just as the Armstrongs had declared themselves.
http://www.isitso.org/guide/stair.html