Remember Herbert W. or Garner Ted Armstrong?

by wednesday 17 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  wednesday

  Recently i have remembered a man named Armstrong and a mag. he used to publish "The plain Truth". . I remember in the 60-70 many people used to get him mixed up with JWS. i actually have read a few of his mags, and they sound very much like jws. a lot of jws thought he was an apostate, but he was not. He had a son , Garner Ted Armstrong, who died this year. I did some research, and seems Herbert Armstrong was head of the Worldwide Church of God and later his son formed a Church of God here in Tyler texas. I did some research on these guys and it seems the church of God practiced many things that JWS did, including DFing. here is a link to a page that talks about him

  http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~gavinru/herb1.htm

  they have people just like us who are x-armstrong people are are very unhappy. It is scary how close this man came to jws doctrine.Herbert did in 86 . His son, Garner, has been DF 2x. he died this year.

  If anyone else knws anything else about this religion he started, or is now amember of the churchof God, pl feel free to fill in.

  why do all the nutcases come to texas?
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  Euphemism

  Yeah, WCG (Worldwide Church of God) was very much like the Witnesses... but if anything, more legalistic. They believed that the Mosaic Law had not been abolished. Tithing was mandatory, and so was Sabbath observance.

  A few years after Armstrong's death, the church went through a major turnaround. It essentially became a mainstream evangelical church. A lot of members left, however; and several new churches were formed, most of them loyal to Armstrong's old beliefs.
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  Mulan

  We have an ex JW friend who married a man who had been df'd by them. We had dinner with them one night and it was freaky how similar they are to JW's.

  The marriage didn't last. They both had too much "former religion" baggage.
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  wednesday

  I am curently reading"The Battle for God" by Karen Armstrong, and now wondering if she is related to these nutcases. Her writing seems very good, but so did the mag"the plain truth" when i read it. I don't see her listed as a child, but she may be a relative.

  The church of God have always been big here in Texas. I bet now, if i went to Tyler texas, they have a big stronghold there.

  Are there former members trying to sue the church of God for DFing them?Do they have DB like this? I found at least one webpage of one former member who sounded so much like us.
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  Joyzabel

  Wednesday,

  Karen is English. She has a biography out and it is interesting to read her history of being a nun and leaving that religion.

  Her books are well researched, hope you enjoy them.

  j2bf
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  Phantom Stranger

  From what I have heard from ex-WCG friends, it was possibly worse than the WTS.
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  Hapgood

  My hubby and I used to watch his TV show and get the "Plain Truth" magazines in the early 70's before we became JW's. Now that I look back, we were prime pickings for a cult, I consider myself lucky that I didn't join a cult worse then the JW's (yes, I consider the JW's a cult).

  Hapgood
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  elamona

  I read somewhere(don't remember exactly where) that Herbert W. and C.T. Russell were bible study students together and parted ways after a few yrs over doctrinal issues. That's why they sounded so much alike- birds of a feather. Also there was something about the SDA's being involved with them in the early yrs.
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  RunningMan

  Herbert would have been only 13 years old when CT Russell died, so I doubt if they could ever have been associates. Besides, most modern JW doctrine originated with Rutherford.

  Herbert always vehemently denied ever being a JW or being influenced by them. In all likelihood, both Russell/Rutherford and Armstrong were influenced by common sources. Both religions originated in Adventism. Neither religion is as unique as they like to think.

  As I understand it, the WorldWide Church of God went through a major restructuring a few years ago. They lost a lot of members, but are now much more mainstream.
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  mizpah

  I remember my mother getting "The Plain Truth" magazine through the mail. Unlike the Watchtower Society, WW Church of God never charged for the literature and never had anyone call at the house. When father and son (Hebert & Ted) had a falling out, we heard that Ted started his own church. He evidently had a following within the movement. Occasionally, we would meet members of the WWCG in service. There was no "give or take"on either side even though there were similarities in doctrine.

  The most surprising of all was when the WWCG's new leadership dropped all the doctrine's of Armstrong and went over to the fundamentalist Protestant teachings. It would be like the Watchtower Society announcing that it was becoming part of Billy Graham's crusade!