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ANGLO-ISRAELISM
THE WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD
Sponsored link.
History:
Inspired by the teachings of "The Church of God, 7th day," Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986) started the Radio Church of God in Eugene OR in 1933 -- one of many churches which contained the phrase "Church of God." He changed the prefix "Worldwide" in 1947. 11 He is often said to have been directly associated with the Seventh Day Adventist church, but this appears to be groundless. However, the belief system of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) is largely based on the Sabbatarian Adventist tradition, that:
 | Saturday is to be recognized as the Lord's day, and |
| The second coming of Jesus will happen in the immediate future. |
Another foundational belief of the WCG is Anglo/British Israelism: that the British (and by extension Americans, Canadians, Australians, and others) are the spiritual and literal descendants of the ancient Israelites.
Armstrong promoted his beliefs in the Sabbatarian Adventist tradition and British-Israelism through:
| his writings |
| Ambassador College, launched in 1947-OCT. 12 |
| His organization, which was originally called the "Radio Church of God" which started in Eugene Oregon in 1933 (renamed the The Worldwide Church of God in 1968) |
| the television program, also called The World Tomorrow |
| the magazines Plain Truth and The World Tomorrow |
The founder's son, Garner Ted Armstrong (1930-2003) took over the TV programming in 1957, and the radio programs in the late 1960's. "During the 1960s and 1970s, he was seen by an estimated 20 million Americans on television every week, and his radio show was transmitted to every continent on about 300 radio stations." 11 With the strengthening of the counter-cult movement in the early 1970's, the WCG came under attack as a "cult". Many books and booklets condemned the Church for its many departures from historical Christian beliefs. In 1972, Garner was accused of sexual impropriety. There were rumors that he was planning to leave his wife for an air stewardess. His father, Herbert, disfellowshipped (excommunicated) Garner for a brief interval, stating that he was "in the bonds of Satan." Six months later, he was allowed to resume full duties. In 1978, Garner was disfellowshipped by his father for the final time, apparently because of his excessively liberal beliefs.
During the last decade of Herbert Armstrong's life, the church experienced a number of financial problems and theological changes. "In 1978, several ex-members successfully brought a lawsuit to have the church placed in receivership pending a trial on charges of misuse of funds. The trial never occurred because the California legislature, lobbied by a variety of other churches, intervened to prohibit such actions against churches on the grounds of separation of church and state." 2 In 1979, the church went into receivership. Herbert Armstrong died in 1986, "amid allegations that he had siphoned off more than $70 million in church funds for his personal use." 11 He had selected Joseph W. Tkach to succeed him as Pastor General. Tkach made major changes to WCG teachings, and brought them into much closer alignment with traditional Evangelical beliefs. After his death in 1995-SEP, his son Joseph W. Tkach Jr. assumed control and continued the changes.
Their membership peaked in 1986 at the death of Herbert Armstrong with about 150,000 members worldwide. By 1996, attendance dropped to approximately half that. U.S. membership slid from 89,000 to 49,000. By the end of 1999, they claimed a total membership of 70,000 in more than 100 nations; about half live in the U.S.
Splinter groups:
After Herbert Armstrong's death, about 30,000 members of the Worldwide Church of God left to join splinter groups: Church of God International, Global Church of God, Living Church of God, Philadelphia Church of God, and United Church of God.
In 1978, when Garner Ted Armstrong was permanently disfellowshipped from the WCG, he founded the Church of God International of Tyler TX. He also started a magazine "Twentieth Century Watch." Telegraph.co.uk called him "one of the most successful, but also the most controversial, of American television evangelists." They reported that:
"The sanctity of the family was, naturally, a staple theme; and [Ted] Armstrong specialised in highly charged sermons against our 'decadent society', lambasting wife-swapping and adultery (including 'spiritual adultery'), and demanding the enforcement of God's laws regarding sex. But his own sexual peccadilloes caused him to be suspended from the various churches he represented on three occasions, and led to a series of damaging scandals which undermined his ministry."
The peak membership of the Church of God International never exceeded about 5,000 members. In 1995, Garner Ted was removed from ministerial responsibilities following allegations of an incident involving massage therapy in which some believe he sexually harassed a female nurse. He then organized the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelical Association. In 1998, he founded yet another new church, the Intercontinental Church of God. A new headquarters complex for the Association and the Church was dedicated on 2003-JUN-29 in Tyler, TX. He remained president of both groups at the time of his death on 2003-SEP-15 at the age of 73.
The most successful of the splinter groups appears to be the Philadelphia Church of God. Founded by Gerald Flurry, its theology differs little from the original beliefs of the WCG. Armstrong's writings are considered inspired, close to the Bible in importance and accuracy. They broadcast a television program, The Key of David and publish The Philadelphia Trumpet newsletter.
Original WCG Beliefs:
Church beliefs during the period when Armstrong was in control include:
| Identification of the British and American people as descendants of two sons of Jacob: Ephraim and Manasseh. |
| Belief that the term "British" is derived from the ancient Hebrew word "beriyth" (covenant). |
| Belief that the term "Saxon" originated as "Isaac's Sons" |
| As the "lost" ancient Israelite tribe of Dan spread across Europe, they named many rivers, towns etc. after themselves (e.g. Danube River, Denmark, Donegal). |
| Rejection of the traditional Christian concept of the Trinity as being of pagan origin. Armstrong accepted a modified Arian view of the nature of God -- the teaching by Arius in the late third century CE. They believed that deity consisted of a dual divinity: The Eternal (their translation of the Hebrew name of God: Yahweh) and Jesus. He taught that that the Holy Spirit is a power, not a person. He promoted the concept of the "Family of God", which consisted of Jehovah, Jesus, and human believers in the WCG who became Gods. |
| At the crucifixion, Jesus' body and spirit died for three days and three nights. He was later raised by the Father and his human body was transformed into a spirit body. |
| Belief in Jesus is a necessary and sufficient requirement for salvation and the attainment of Heaven. |
| Members will be rewarded in heaven according to their works, including how closely they followed the commandments of God (the 10 Commandments, dietary laws, holy days etc.). |
| Identification of the WCG with the "Philadelphia church" in Revelation 3:7. |
| Rejection of the concept of Hell as being pagan in origin. People who die without meeting the dual requirements (faith and works) for salvation will be resurrected, and taught Biblical truths. If they still do not accept the teachings, they will be cast into a lake of fire and cease to exist. |
Original WCG Practices:
| Observing the Jewish festivals of Passover, Days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, the Great Last Day and the First Day of the Sacred Year. |
| Worshiping on Saturday; the Sabbath was believed to start at sundown on Friday night |
| They observed three ordinances: baptism by immersion, Lord's supper, foot washing. |
| The church opposed divorce and remarriage. |
| The church discouraged medical treatment because only God was seen to cure illness. |
| The WCG was organized on authoritarian grounds. Armstrong appointed and ordained all ministers. |
Revised WCG Beliefs and Practices:
Under the current Pastor General, Joseph W. Tkach Jr., a major alteration was made to almost all beliefs and practices of the WCG. From their Statement of Beliefs (copyright © 1995) they now accept:
| the traditional Christian belief in the Trinity |
| the virgin birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ |
| the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Trinity |
| Satan as a fallen angel and ruler of this world |
"Also abandoned was Saturday worship, the celebration of traditional Jewish holidays such as the Feast of Tabernacles and the Day of Atonement, and even the British-Israelite belief." 2
Over a period of less than a decade, the Church had eliminated its unorthodox beliefs, had converted itself into a conventional Evangelical denomination, and had joined the National Association of Evangelicals. Completion of this transition was recognized in a most unusual interview by Hank Hanegraaff of Joseph Tkach Jr and Greg Albrecht (editor-in-chief of the Plain Truth). The interview spanned three episodes of the radio program Bible Answer Man, on 1996-JAN-4, 5 and 12. This was particularly significant because that program is sponsored by the Christian Research Institute whose founder (Walter Martin) wrote a very popular book The Kingdom of the Cults in 1965 which branded the WCG as a cult. Mr. Hanegraaff quoted from an article by Mr. Tkach in the Christian Research Journal that the WCG has abandoned:
| An "obsession...with the legalistic interpretation of the Old Testament" |
| Belief in "British Israelism |
| An "insistence on the fellowship's exclusive relationship with God" |
| Criticisms of medical practices, the use of cosmetics, and the eating of certain foods |
| Paying of the triple tithe, which totals about 13% of ones income. |
| The view that God is a family of many spirit beings into which humans can be born |
Mr. Hanegraaff said that there is no precedent within Christianity "of the magnitude of what is happening within the Worldwide Church of God". He defined the WCG had changing from being a "major cult: into now "embracing [the traditional Evangelical Christian interpretation of] Scripture.....submitting themselves completely to the Word of God." Mr. Tkach said "I have no reservations in saying that some of the things that Mr. Armstrong taught were in major error"
This major reversal in WCG teaching took an emotional toll on the membership. One believer who stayed loyal to the church, Camilla F. Kleindienst, wrote:
"Virtually every decision I have ever made had its roots in my fundamental religious convictions, from the friends I made, the clothes I wore, the classes I took in school, and the employment I applied for. The upheaval led to a re-evaluation of my beliefs, my motivations, my relationship with my husband, family members, and friends. It was hard to accept that my beliefs were being challenged by the same church that instilled them in the first place, which I'd attended for over 25 years. This was by far the greatest spiritual and emotional crisis of my life."
The WCG has evolved into a conservative Evangelical denomination:
| it accepts traditional Christian beliefs, including the second coming of Jesus, the trinity, the virgin birth, etc. 3 |
| Christmas celebration had been an "absolute no-no...perhaps the worse thing anyone could do"; it is now considered optional. Most congregations now observe both Christmas and Easter. |
| it discriminates against women in positions of power; none can serve as pastor, local elder or preaching elder). |
| it opposes access to abortion, except to save the life of the woman. It would not disfellowship a member who chose to terminate a pregnancy caused by rape or incest. |
| it supports the proper implementation of capital punishment. |
| it is dedicated to the elimination of racism. They conduct racial reconciliation workshops. |
The WCG teaches that members are not required to maintain Saturday as their main day to meet and worship. About 10 to 15% of their 400 congregations worship on Sunday.
They deviate from most Evangelical denominations in the teaching of:
| Evolution: They neither "...believe or reject the conclusions of scientists that the earth is billions of years old and that life has been on earth for billions of years. Similarly, the church sees no biblical reason to reject evidence that the diversity of life forms has been changing." 4 |
| Homosexuality: They recognize that homosexual orientation exists, and is not sinful. Like almost all conservative Christian denominations, they condemn homosexual behavior as sinful in all cases, irrespective of the nature of the realtionship. |
References:
- The Worldwide Church of God maintains a WWW site at: http://www.wcg.org/
- Vern Bullough, "The Will to Believe Keeps the Worldwide Church of God Afloat," http://www.secularhumanism.org/
- "Alphabetical List of Worldwide Church of God Publications," WCG, at: http://www.wcg.org/lit/alpha.htm
- "A Brief List of Doctrines of the Worldwide Church of God," WCG, at: http://www.wcg.org/lit/AboutUs/
- In Transition: News of the Churches of God is an independent publication which describes activities in "the Worldwide Church of God and its offshoots". It is published by Clearinghouse Press at P.O. Box 450 Monroe, IN 46772 USA
- "The Painful Truth" is a counter-cult group which targets the Worldwide Church of God and its splinter groups. See: http://www.herbertwarmstrong.com
- H.W. Armstrong, "The United States and Britain in Prophecy", The Worldwide Church of God, Pasedena CA (1980)
- Mather & Nichols, Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions and the Occult", Zondervan, Grand Rapids MI, (1993), P. 320-325
- W.L. Ingram, "God and Race: British-Israelism and Christian Identity" , P. 119 - 126 of T. Miller, Ed., "America's Alternative Religions" , SUNY Press, Albany NY, 1995
- Camilla F. Kleindienst, "When your church says it's wrong," The Worldwide News, 1996-AUG-27.
- "Garner Ted Armstrong," Telegraph.co.uk, 2003-SEP-17, at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
- Ivor Fletcher, "The incredible history of God's true church; Chapter 14," at: http://www.giveshare.org/
Groups which split off from the WCG:
| Church of God, a Christian Fellowship at: http://www.cgcf.org/ |
| Church of God International at http://www.cgi.org |
| Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelical Association |
| Global Church of God, http://www.gcg.org/ |
| Intercontinental Church of God, http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/ |
| Living Church of God at: http://www.livingcog.org/ |
| Philadelphia Church of God at: http://www.pcog.org/ |
| The Church of God at: http://www.tcog.org/ |
| The Restored Church of God at: http://www.restoredcog.org/ |
| United Church of God at: http://www.ucg.org |
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Home > Christianity > Groups > Theological belief systems > Anglo-Israelism > here |
Copyright © 1996 to 2007 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2007-JAN-01
Author: B.A. Robinson
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