Path: christian
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
From: rpitts@darth.gatech.edu (Richard Pitts)
Subject: Re: ARMSTRONGISM
Organization: Georgia Tech CERL/EE, Atlanta, Ga
Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu

Following is an article from the Christian Research Journal.
---------

Copyright 1991 - Permission granted.  Direct questions to
Christian Research Institute (CRI)
P.O. Box 500
San Juan Capistrano, California 92693 USA

    Unprecedented Changes Affect Worldwide Church of God
                    by William M. Alnor
             (CRI Journal, Spring, 1991, p.5-6)

    Dramatic changes have turned the Worldwide Church of God 
(WCG) upside-down since the January 1986 death of founder 
Herbert W. Armstrong.  The changes are so great and 
extraordinary that some long-time cult watchers believe the 
WCG may be moving toward Christian orthodoxy.

    Others, however, are warning that the sweeping doctrinal 
changes - involving the nature of God (and the doctrine of 
the Trinity), the nature of salvation, and an apparent shift 
away from the sect's controversial belief in Anglo-Israelism 
- may be cosmetic changes only, designed to make the 57-
year-old sect appear more Christian.

    Leading the change to reform the WCG is Herbert W. 
Armstrong's hand-picked successor, Joseph W. Tkach 
(pronounced Ti-Kotch).  Although Tkach has been under fire 
from some conservative elements in the 140,000 member 
church, which is based in Pasadena, California, the 
criticism seems to have made him more determined to 
institute reforms.

    In recent WCG publications, Tkach has criticized 
Armstrong's theology in certain areas, and he has lashed out 
at some of his critics.  For example, in an editorial he 
wrote in the May 21, 1990 Worldwide News (a WCG news 
publication), Tkach was emphatic about moving quickly with 
his agenda for changing the WCG.  He then denounced the 
"predatory prophets" who criticized his departures from 
Armstrong's teachings, adding that Armstrong was wrong about 
many things, "especially having to do with prophecy."

    (Since Tkach has taken over, criticism has come from WCG 
splinter groups, which have formed in an effort to uphold 
Armstrong's teachings.  The Pasadena headquarters has also 
become the target of regular picketing campaigns by 
disgruntled former members.)

    One reason for the strong reaction against Tkach's 
innovations is that church members believed Herbert W. 
Armstrong was "God's Holy Apostle" and they looked at his 
revelations as infallible.  Although Armstrong at first 
distanced himself from the designation of an apostle, he 
clearly taught that the Christian churches had been 
doctrinally astray since the first century and that God had 
decided to restore the truth to the world through him in the 
same way God raised up Noah, Moses, Christ, and the twelve 
disciples.*  He taught that he had unlocked a hidden code to 
understanding the Bible. [*Joseph Hopkins, The Armstrong 
Empire (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), p 181.]

    According to WCG spokesman Michael Snyder, the church 
began a "complete doctrinal review" in 1986, which is 
continuing.  Snyder added that more recently the WCG began a 
two-year project that is looking at some f the main WCG 
doctrines, such as their distinctive view of the Trinity and 
Anglo-Israelism.  "We're trying to be honest with the 
biblical record," Snyder said in an interview.

    The review so far has resulted in the church no longer 
printing or offering copies of Armstrong's book, _Mystery of 
the Ages_, which had been an important doctrinal book.  
Also, Armstrong's book, _The United States and British 
Commonwealth in Prophecy, has been extensively revised and 
shortened.  (The book delves into Anglo-Israelism - the 
theory that the so-called Lost Ten Tribes of Israel migrated 
to Northern Europe, the British Isles, and later to the 
U.S.)  Snyder added that the church now allows its members 
to celebrate birthdays ad receive medical care - practices 
once forbidden by Armstrong.

    Snyder said the church could have also opted to revise 
_Mystery of the Ages_.  But "we fell it doesn't represent 
what the church believes, and that it would be dishonest to 
change it" while leaving Armstrong's name on it.

    WCG Scholars are working on a new statement on doctrine 
of the Trinity and the nature of God, Snyder said, and added 
that he can't say in which direction the church will go.  
But during an October 22, 1990 "Truths that Transform" radio 
program (produced by D. James Kennedy's Coral Ridge 
Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida), portions 
of a private WCG working paper on the Trinity were 
discussed, along with speculation that the long-standing WCG 
view of the Godhead might be revised.

    Historically the WCG has affirmed a belief in only one 
God.  But Armstrong defined "God" not as a Trinity, but as a 
collective term like "church" or "family."  He said the Holy 
Spirit is an impersonal force and is therefore not a member 
of the God "family" as God the Father and Jesus Christ are.  
He also added that God the Father and Christ plan to 
reproduce themselves in humans so they can add many members 
to the God family.  Therefore, humans will also someday 
become God, the WCG has taught.

    Even after Armstrong's passing, the WCG steadfastly held 
to that doctrine.  An article in the church's November-
December 1988 Good News magazine affirmed: "You are destined 
to become God! Shocking? Unbelievable?  If you understand 
the purpose of God's government. you will not be 
surprised...God is in the process of reproducing Himself in 
you!  You look like Him, and ultimately He wants you to be 
like Him in every way" body, mind and spirit...You will be 
what He is - God!"

    Now, however, the ideas in that article have been 
declared "officially obsolete," said Snyder, adding that the 
church also now affirms salvation by faith in Christ alone, 
instead of what (critics maintain) has historically been a 
works-based salvation.

    James Walker, the Watchman Fellowship's Texas director, 
has been closely following the activities of the church.  He 
said evangelical should be aware of the possibility that the 
doctrinal changes may be similar to the Temple Endowment 
ceremony changes in the Mormon church last year.  These did 
not represent any real move toward orthodoxy, but they made 
the Mormons less offensive to some Christians.  (See p. 6 in 
the Summer 11990 Christian Research Journal.)

    Walker points out that salvation by works was clearly 
taught in the January-February 1990 issue of Good News.  He 
adds that although the church claims that the previously 
mentioned article is "obsolete," no notice of that fact (or 
of other changes) was ever given to the church at large.

    In other news affecting the WCG, although membership is 
at an all-time high, there are indications that the church 
is not doing well financially.  Good News magazine was 
dropped from publication as of January 1991.  And 
circulation of the church's Plain Truth magazine has dipped 
from over 7 million at its height to 2.3 million by the end 
of last summer, according to the January 1991 issue of the 
Ambassador Report.  Recently the magazine was phased out in 
areas of the Middle East, West Africa, and other regions, 
the Report continued.  (The Ambassador Report [P.O. Box 
60068, Pasadena, CA 91106] is a critical periodical 
published by former members of the WCG. [ zip code maybe 
91116.])

    The church's 70-acre unaccredited Ambassador College in 
Pasadena held its fortieth and final commencement ceremony 
in May 1990.  Although Snyder denied that the campus - which 
also houses the church's headquarters - was officially "for 
sale," he said that the church would consider any offers 
that came its way.

    Construction at the church's remaining Ambassador 
College campus in Big Sandy, Texas has been lagging behind.  
The church hoped to make the Texas school an accredited 
four-year college, but due to state law, accreditation 
cannot come before June 1992, according to the Ambassador 
Report.  Many are speculating that the church's headquarters 
will also be moved to Texas in the near future.

    The WCG's media empire is also crumbling.  The church's 
glitzy television program, "The World Tomorrow," has shrunk 
from 350 stations in 1988 to only 113 this past year, 
according to the January 1991 Ambassador Report.  And, 
according to the June 18, 1990 Worldwide News, the church 
discontinued its "World Tomorrow" radio broadcasts and 
eliminated the toll-free telephone number on its telecasts.

----------end

For Christ and His Kingdom,
Richard Pitts

-- 
rpitts@cerl.gatech.edu  |    Love and Worship God the Father and His Son, 
                      --|--            the Creator of the Earth. 
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