Armstrongism

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Armstrongism refers to the doctrines of Herbert W. Armstrong, thought by him and his followers to be the true doctrines, teachings and Gospel of the Bible. These doctrines are expressed and explained in greatest detail in his Bible study course--the Ambassador College Correspondence Course and his book Mystery of the Ages. Armstrong was founder of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG).

Throughout his public life, he taught that the doctrines of traditional Christianity are based largely on tradition and not on the Bible. He often expressed that traditional Christianity was the opposite of the what the Bible teaches. He expounded upon these discrepancies in detail in his writings, piecing together multiple scriptures for each doctrine, then would repudiate counter-arguments he had been presented with over the years. He frequently declared that he had come to his understanding outside of traditional seminary training, and had therefore been free to objectively study scripture and have his mind opened to the true doctrines of the Bible.

The leadership that gained control of the church he founded quickly began to remove their support for most of the doctrines in question--amidst great controversy and, according to many, dubious motives. The Worldwide Church of God is now thoroughly mainstream in every appearance.

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[edit] Use of Name

Armstrong's followers refer to themselves as members of the Church of God, while the label Armstrongite is generally considered as an inaccurate and insulting way to describe them, feeling that the name will give the impression that they follow Herbert Armstrong when they feel that the focus of their beliefs must focus on God, and not on any mortal man.

[edit] Doctrinal differences

The following are some of Armstrong’s identifiable doctrines that are in addition to or are different from traditional mainstream Christian doctrines. Some or all of these are followed by the Armstrongist churches.

[edit] God Family

A doctrine taught by Herbert. W. Armstrong, and asserted to be the core of the "true gospel" not preached since the first century. The teaching is that the Bible abundantly shows that the "Gospel of the Kingdom of God" was the advance "good news" of the coming kingdom of God, which is the ruling "Family of God."

The doctrine holds that the Godhead is not limited to one God or a trinity, but is a family into which every human who ever lived may be born, through a master plan to be enacted in stages. Those called now have the chance to rule immediately upon Christ's return as the "firstborn" into the Kingdom of God, and will help convert the rest of humanity. In other words, God is reproducing after His own kind, after His own image--literal offspring who will be God as God is God. Armstrong drew parallels between every stage of human reproduction and this spiritual reproduction.

The Godhead now temporarily consists of two individuals--Christ who was the "God" of the Old Testament--a spokesman (The Word or Logos), and the Father who Jesus Christ introduced in the New Testament and is superior.

[edit] Church authority

Armstrong taught the Bible is the authoritative Word of God. He taught that the Bible had been confused through many conflicting interpretations and it was not until the 20th Century that God had opened his mind and restored the full Gospel of the Kingdom of God to the Church through him. Meanwhile, he used several Bible scriptures to teach that all other churches calling themselves "Christian" were not merely apostate but actually counterfeits whose history could be traced back to the first century, as described in the epistles (which refer to a "false gospel" and false ministers and apostles), the eighth chapter of the book of Acts (the appropriation of "Christian" trappings by influential and ambitious pagan religious figures [including a man known to secular history, Simon Magus, mentioned in Acts]), and first century historians like Eusebius; he also asserted, as proof of this, that the Church of God (Seventh Day) had always taught more Bible truth than any other group calling itself "Christian".

[edit] Sabbatarianism and Old Testament beliefs

The keeping of the Sabbath from dusk on Friday to dusk on Saturday was the first practice that Armstrong adopted. His wife, as talked about in his book "Mystery of the Ages", challenged him to prove to her that Sunday was the proper day of worship, since she had proven it to herself. After days of bible study, the book goes on to say that he became convicted that the Sabbath was to be kept. Eventually he accepted and observed many principals and laws found in the Old Testament scriptures and taught converts to do the same. These included dietary laws, tithing, and celebration of high Sabbaths, or annual feast days such as Passover, Pentacost and the Feast of Tabernacles. He considered the celebrations of Christmas and Easter inappropriate, considering them not of biblical origin, but a later addition to "Christianity."

[edit] Lost Sheep of Israel

Through his studies of the Bible and other sources, he came to the conclusion that the British and American peoples were Ephraim and Manasseh, birthright tribes of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. This is often referred to as Anglo-Israelism, and two key points should be noted regarding Anglo-Israelism and Armstrong’s church: 1) Some white supremacist groups for their own reasons embrace aspects of Anglo-Israelism and, 2) Armstrong’s teachings inherently opposed racist ideologies and racial strife, but rather focused on the entire world being offered and eventually receiving the blessings of the gospel. Armstrong insisted when discussing the identity of America and the British Commonwealth as the “Birthright Lost Sheep of Israel” that God did not "play favorites" with nations. The reason for these nations special birthright blessings was stated to be Abraham’s obedience, and secondly as a lesson to mankind—so that God could show for all time that a nation possessing all the advantages of wealth and security will still not obtain happiness apart from God’s Kingdom.

[edit] Other non-mainstream teachings

  • God will soon set up His government on earth, mankind will voluntarily turn from breaking God's law and going its own way, then 1000 years of peace, prosperity, justice, and utopia will follow
  • Non-believers, though responsible for their sins and must reap what they sow in terms of "cause and effect", are not eternally condemned, they are simply not yet saved
  • The vast majority of all those who ever lived will be saved, thus the relatively small number of true Christians of this age are predestined to be merely the early "firstfruits" of God's harvest to help teach the others after the second resurrection (see below)
  • The Ten Commandments are a prerequisite for receiving the unearned gift of salvation, and are an invisible, yet inexorable law set in motion that brings about every good effect when obeyed
  • The so-called Old Testament Holy Days are actually binding on Christians, and picture the seven steps in a master plan mapped out by God
  • Triple tithe – in addition to the Old Testament 10% tithe given to the church ("first tithe"), a second 10% was to be reserved for one's own use during festival days ("second tithe"), and on the third and sixth year of each seven-year cycle, a third 10% was to be used for those in need within their family or sent to the church for distribution to widows and orphans ("third tithe")
  • One is not born again until the return of Christ
  • Heaven is not the reward of the saved
  • Punishment of the unsaved is not an ever-burning hell
  • Humans are mortal - and the salvation is the free, unearned gift of eternal life in God's Family as literal God beings, given conditionally upon the prerequisite of repentance and the overcoming sin.
  • Three resurrections of the dead — (1) the first fruit believers, (2) non-believers raised to mortality and an opportunity to accept God's way, (3) resurrection to final judgment of the incorrigibly wicked--those whose minds had been fully opened to God's truth in this age and rejected it--mainly those truly called but who fell away, and those who incorrigibly rebel in the "Wonderful World Tomorrow"
  • Forbidden to eat "unclean meats" such as pork, shellfish, etc. He argued this was liberation from the penalties of breaking laws of health (disease, infirmity, degenerative conditions etc), of which this is but one law.

[edit] Armstrongist churches

There are many splinter churches, possibly more than 300, as well as second generation splinters. Some of these are listed below.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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This article or section contains insufficiently sourced phrases. Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. You may improve the article or discuss this issue on the talk page. Help on using footnotes is available. This article has been tagged since December 2006.

Worldwide Church of God, "A Brief History of the Worldwide Church of God", [1]

[edit] External links

  • What is Armstrongism? Perhaps the most clear and straight-forward description of the tenets of Armstrongism but very pejorative in tone.
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