The Worldwide Church of GodOriginal and revised beliefs & practices
Sponsored link.
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.
| |
Repentance and faith in Jesus are necessary, but not sufficient requirements, for
salvation. Many actions are required to
obtain and maintain personal salvation, including:
 |
A water baptism |
|
Continuing obedience to God's commands "through his chosen Apostle," Armstrong. |
|
Observe the Jewish Sabbath |
|
Observe the feasts as specified in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament.) |
Thus, a person had no absolute assurance that they would remain saved later in life.
| |
Rejection of the conventional Christian belief in heaven
and hell. The WCG taught that believers will spend eternity with Christ
on earth. Hell exists, but is reserved for Satan and his demons. The wicked
will be annihilated, and will not exist in any form.
| |
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 be annihilated, 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 [exclusively] 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-04, 05 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; and |
|
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." 10
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 are permitted to serve as pastor, local elder
or preaching elder).
|
|
It opposes access to abortion, except to save the life of the woman.
However, 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 has abandoned the belief that churches are required to maintain Saturday as
their main day to meet and worship. They said:
"We allow congregations to change meeting times, locations and days
according to local needs. We encourage each congregation to meet on the day
that serves its needs and purpose best. It is our intent to provide, as much
as is reasonably possible, for the worship needs of our people ? whether
that be congregations who want to meet on Saturday, Sunday or, in certain
unusual situations, another day or evening of the week. 13
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
in itself not sinful. Like almost all conservative Christian denominations, they condemn
homosexual behavior, without exception, as sinful, irrespective of the nature of the relationship.
More details. |
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/
-
"A Brief List of Doctrines of the Worldwide Church of God,"
WCG, at:
http://www.wcg.org/lit/
-
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. Online at:
http://www.wcg.org/
-
"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/
-
"Should we hold our worship meetings on Sundays instead of
Saturdays?" WCG, at:
http://www.wcg.org/
- "Information About Grace Communion International,"
at: http://www.wcg.org/
- Obituary: Garner Ted Armstrong," ReligionNewsBlog,
2003-SEP-17, at:
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/
-
"Gerald Flurry," S9 biographical dictionary, at:
http://www.s9.com/
-
Rick Miesel, "Worldwide Church of God: Christian or Cult?" Bible
Discernment Ministries, at:
http://www.rapidnet.com/
Site navigation:
Copyright © 1996 to 2010 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2010-JAN-10
Author: B.A. Robinson
Sponsored link
|
Page Translator:
