Courting, Marriage and the Lack Thereof at GDT

In this article, we explore the topic of courtship and marriage at Golden Dawn Tabernacle and how it significantly differs from conventional church or traditional practices. This subject often evokes painful memories for numerous former and current members, as it has given rise to heartbreak, distressing experiences, loveless unions, and alienation. The Golden Dawn Tabernacle Ministry has instituted regulations that prohibit dating and, in effect, led to the point where it seems arranged marriages are occurring. Pastor Isaac Noriega has gradually added more rules and principles for courting, effectively eroding it to the point of nonexistence, utilizing the draconian doctrines and rules we have previously discussed. The consequences of this approach have been deeply disheartening and have played a major role in the departure of young people in recent years.

Summary

• In the early days, dating was allowed with chaperones, but over time, more restrictions were imposed.
• Congregants can no longer marry or date anyone outside the church.
• Limited contact between genders and reliance on Isaac’s decisions make finding a suitable partner challenging.
• Integration of Sierra Vista Church provided some relief by introducing unrelated young members.
• Obstacles include Isaac’s influence and attempts to sabotage relationships, making marriages essentially arranged.
• Lack of a traditional courtship system and limited genetic pool raises concerns about the church’s future.

Courting and Marriage Rules History

The current state of courtship at Golden Dawn Tabernacle has not always been as it is now. In the early days of the church, it was customary for courting or dating to take place, often with chaperones present during dates. However, over time, more and more restrictions were imposed, eventually leading to the elimination of dating within the Golden Dawn congregation. As discussed in previous articles, Golden Dawn started to distance itself from other churches, even local ones that followed the same message beliefs. This change resulted in the rule that congregants could no longer marry or date anyone outside of the church, and all relationships had to be with fellow GDT members. In rare instances, the only permissible circumstance is if an individual were to become a member of the church; however, it is never acceptable if they choose to depart. One particular case involved a woman from the congregation marrying a young man from a nearby message church without Isaac’s approval. Following this event, the family was promptly excommunicated during the subsequent service, and they were accused of blasphemy and crossing the line.

As the church’s rules became stricter, the number of new members or converts dwindled and eventually ceased altogether. This situation led to the unfortunate reality that a significant portion of the church’s members were related. Consequently, finding a suitable partner became challenging, as most potential partners were cousins or distant relatives. Another issue was the significant imbalance in gender, with girls greatly outnumbering boys, which created a skewed dynamic where many women would remain unmarried.

A recent development that provided some relief to this issue was the integration of the Sierra Vista Church into GDT. This merger introduced a few unrelated young members, providing more options for romantic pursuits.

Note: reading the table of contents in the above church handbook images provides great insight into the GDT ministry’s beliefs on marriage

Current State – “Courting the Right Way”

It may be difficult to fathom that no courtship occurs at Golden Dawn, but this statement is indeed accurate.

Over time, the process of getting married at Golden Dawn has evolved significantly from what previous generations experienced. Explaining this change is not easy, so we’ll present a few points to illustrate the differences. First, let’s establish some key facts. Instead of simply getting to know your love interest like people used to do, it is now necessary for the male suitor to first approach Isaac Noriega for permission and guidance. Isaac will then contact the girl and her father to inquire if she is willing to marry – not to court or get to know her – but asking on behalf of the young man seeking her hand. There is no actual courting that takes place, it is now a process of Isaac interjecting himself as crucial intermediary between the suitor, the father and the daughter.

Isaac’s influence plays a crucial role in determining the outcome of these situations. The way he perceives an individual or their family can significantly impact the decision. As a result, people often present a well-behaved, rule-abiding persona to Isaac, even if it’s not entirely genuine. However, if Isaac possesses any incriminating information or negative feelings about someone, he can use this to influence the outcome (although he will deny it if confronted). As a result, it can be concluded that parents have little to no influence over their children’s choice of spouse, as they must conform to Isaac making the decision on their behalf or at the very least strongly influencing it or manipulating it to his satisfaction.

There have been cases where Isaac has been opposed to certain couples getting married, even when neither individual had any incriminating history for him to exploit. As the intermediary, he has been known to sabotage their prospects by sowing seeds of doubt during separate meetings with each person, or by posing impossible questions that put the woman in a no-win situation.

For instance, there was a time when Isaac contacted a young woman on behalf of a suitor but refused to reveal his identity. Instead, he asked the woman whom she held in her heart. If she mentioned someone else, Isaac would inform the suitor of her rejection. If she was uncertain or requested the suitor’s identity, this could jeopardize her future marriage prospects.

In some cases, Isaac has employed these tactics to prevent potential marriages because he had specific plans for certain young people to marry within his family. This effectively hindered their chances of finding a partner with anyone else. Considering the significant power wielded by Isaac and his history of using it to control couples, it can be inferred that marriages in GDT are essentially arranged. This convoluted and manipulative process can lead to heartache, unintended consequences, and risk the well-being of the young people involved.

Obstacles to Courting and Marriage

Isaac Noriega’s Ministry is Not to Marry People

Isaac Noriega claims that his main ministry and calling is to not marry people but he will do it for those who fall in line with his beliefs as shown in the audio recording below. Isaac will use this as an excuse to refuse, limit or manipulate marriages for those who do not align with what he wants them to believe, or are not who he wants to match up as a couple.

Extreme Rules Regarding Contact & Interactions

It is essential to note that contact between boys and girls and men and women is strictly limited at the church. Isaac’s doctrine regarding women, as well as his tendency to suggest sexual connotations in everyday activities, enables him to effectively segregate the genders within the church. Communication between congregates is not allowed during a church service, and once the service ends, congregants are instructed to go directly to their vehicles without socializing.

At receptions (such as weddings or special services), interaction between opposite genders is also restricted, with the sole exception being for relatives. This constraint makes getting to know someone extremely challenging since church-goers can only see each other during services but are not permitted to engage in conversation. The deacons are recognized for their vigilance in preventing any interaction between the opposite sexes. They also depend on fellow congregants reporting such encounters to maintain this rule. In recent years, some young people have become acquainted through school or growing up together, but as they transition into their teenage years, even the school starts to limit their interactions.

The contact and interaction restrictions imposed between opposite sex youth force them to either discreetly bypass the ministry’s restrictions to get to know their crush or adhere to the “proper GDT way.” By discreetly bypassing, we do not mean engaging in secret meetings, but rather finding opportunities to talk, smile, and learn about each other. Instances have occurred where notes were exchanged or young people shared smiles, only to be noticed by a deacon or ministry informant. Such occurrences are promptly followed by a phone call from Isaac to the respective fathers, and in some cases, meetings with Issac are arranged.

Questioning Spirituality and Revelation

Isaac has been known to make remarks about the couple’s perceived lack of spirituality and apparent worldliness, expressing his alleged deep concern and essentially undermining the potential relationship. He also speaks to the parents of the young individuals, pitting them against one another. This well-known tactic has caused significant division within the church and has jeopardized the prospects of marriage for the youth involved. If Isaac’s strategy of pitting people against each other fails to dissuade a couple, he resorts to another tactic: threatening to withhold his approval for their marriage. He leverages his influence as their pastor to suppress any possibility of marriage for the couples he does not approve of. In the event that he detects the couple’s persistent desire to stay together despite his efforts to keep them apart, he might carry out a “private wedding” ceremony that is not open to the church. This type of ceremony is often accompanied by insinuations that the couple lacks purity and is therefore not entitled to a public church wedding. Note: a “public wedding” is a church wedding that the entire church is allowed to attend, and only those who have been deemed pure enough by Isaac Noriega are allowed to have these weddings. We will spend more time on GDT weddings in an upcoming article.

As an example, below is a recorded conversation of Isaac Noriega with a single female congregant who had a male suitor that was interested in her. Isaac did not approve of this match so he proceeded to attack his and her spirituality with baseless claims and threaten that if they decided to move forward with this marriage, that it would have to be a private wedding, even though both of these individuals had met the “purity” standards (no fornication, etc.) required by the church. This is also another instance where Isaac uses “Revelation” as a control tactic to accuse the individual of not being spiritual enough to make the right decision. Note that this discussion was in Spanish.

Isaac Noriega Transcript:

“Okay, Okay, it’s strange how many years you’ve been here and you can’t see the revelation of the hour. It’s okay, if you want to marry him, if you think that God gave you this. But I told you that I don’t look at him leading you closer to the Lord. There’s no way that’s not — it’s not the main thing for you, I think, but it’s okay, it’s your decision.”

“I’m just telling you because I believe that marriage — for so many years that I have preached to you — that marriage when a person is going to choose something, you don’t choose because they want to get married. They are going to choose what is essential in that person, if that person can take me closer to the Lord, closer to the things of God. But now I see that you left that a long time ago. That God is no longer your primordial anymore, he is no longer number one.
But it’s okay, I’m going to talk to him and I’m going to tell him how it’s going, how it’s going to be like, the wedding will be private, if he wants that. And if he doesn’t want that, then I’ll let you know.”

“Yes, because how strange that a person is willing to get married when the pastor that God vindicated here for years and gives you advice and tells you that he is not going to be able to bring you closer to the Lord with the revelation that God is revealing right now, what God is revealing.”

“He won’t be able to take you. No more than what might lead you to what you are doing right now as a member of the church.
But but I already know — look at your condition, for example, how he rejected what he was told. His heart hardened and from there he did not care, no matter how much they told him, and what he heard, he had a hard heart and and he was ready for whatever came. Too bad your heart has already hardened. But it seems that, because I looked when you told me “I am going to pray,” I knew what was going on, I knew that it was not going to be a prayer that you are in contact with the Lord, it was going to be a prayer that we were going this or the other, you were going to think if I do that, well then the other and and maybe that, that I’m going to get this benefit, in other words, your thought in your prayer was something intellectual.
And he he has his own he has another other thought that has another revelation than what God gives us, they have a completely intellectual thought.”

“You know that book that we put out that is called marriage, so look, everything that is there in –in the book of the message— it is contrary to your decision. What do you think about that? It means that you are voluntarily going against the word and against the advice of the Lord. That is a sad thing. Too bad, I’m going to have to talk to your dad and I’m going to tell your dad about this because he also has to say if he’s going to give you away or not, right? I’m going to have to talk to him and tell him.”

Limited Gene Pool – Potential Church Population Decline

Because Isaac Noriega greatly limits fellowship with other churches, and forbids courting and marriage with congregants of other churches, the majority of the Golden Dawn Tabernacle population has become related to each other in one way or another over time due to all of the in church marriages that have occurred (there are lot of cousins and distant relatives). This has greatly limited future marriage opportunities for the church youth, greatly frustrating them in their attempts to find a partner. There are several possible outcomes: population decline within the church over time or expanding the gene pool by opening up church rules to allow dating at other churches.

Consequences

In the restrictive environment of Golden Dawn Tabernacle, where normal and healthy courtship or even the previous chaperoned dates is disallowed, young people often resort to extreme measures to interact with their love interests. This can lead to secret romantic encounters, escalating to physical intimacy, fornication and adultery, not as a reflection of their moral character but as an unintended consequence of an oppressive system denying them the opportunity to form genuine connections.

Isaac’s intrusive system of managing relationships has eliminated the opportunity for healthy, normal relationships to develop within the Golden Dawn Tabernacle community. In some cases, it has led to arranged, unhappy, loveless or toxic marriages with domestic violence and abuse in the home.

Conclusion

The issue of dating/courting within Golden Dawn Tabernacle is a sensitive and painful subject, particularly for the youth and those who have experienced unhealthy relationships. In the upcoming articles, we plan to delve deeper into the next phases for couples who have navigated the unconventional “courting/arranged relationship” process and explore what is next.

It is important to note that the Bible does not teach that a Pastor’s approval is required for marriage, to make a union holy and blessed in the eyes of God. In fact, in 1 Timothy 3, Paul warns us against false teachers who would forbid marriages. Note: Isaac Noriega would say that this scripture applies to the Catholic Church priests and nuns, but ironically, it also applies to him as well given how he controls and restricts marriages.

1 Timothy 3:1-5
1 Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. 
2 These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.
3 They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth. 
4 Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. 
5 For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer.

In a healthy church, the pastor’s approval or blessing would be a recommendation after the parents of both parties gave their blessing first. This would also be after both parties had dated, courted and got to know each other for some length of time to see if they were a good match.

The lack of a traditional courtship process at GDT, combined with a limited genetic pool within the church, raises concerns about the future. Unless Isaac Noriega is open to modifying his extreme rules, a population and marriage crisis could be on the horizon. It is regrettable that one individual holds such power over others, leading to the emergence of this troubling situation.

The GDT ministry leadership should recognize the consequences of their strict courtship policies and implement changes that would allow for healthier relationships to develop. By fostering an environment that supports open communication, appropriate guidance, and a more conventional approach to courtship, the church can help prevent instances of fornication and other negative outcomes.

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