Armstrongism VS Traditional Christianity

In past posts on this blog, I have discussed the disdain/contempt of Herbert Armstrong and his followers for the values and teachings of mainstream Christianity and left-leaning political ideologies. We have discussed Mr. Armstrong's often stated belief that Traditional Christianity represents the "diametric opposite" of Christ's teachings or "TRUE" Christianity. Likewise, we have pointed out the aversion that many Armstrongites have for all things left of the political center. And, in both realms (religious and political), one can detect a blatant scornfulness for anyone who might lay claim to a scholarly or intellectually based expertise.

Why? What's behind this phenomenon? Is their thinking merely a clear-eyed reflection of the "truth" which has been revealed to them by Almighty God? OR Is something more sinister and human behind such reasoning?

I believe this phenomenon can best be explained by two types of HUMAN THINKING: two-dimensional thinking and oppositional thinking. Folks who engage in two-dimensional thinking see a world of only two polarities. They think in terms of black and white - good and evil. Moreover, this dualistic thinking gives rise to oppositional thinking. Different views must be adversarial in nature - one must be right and true and the other must be false!

Hence, if traditional Christianity believes such and such, the opposite must be true. If they celebrate "pagan" holidays, we must celebrate God's Holy Days. If they believe in the immortality of the soul, the soul must be mortal. They may say that they baptize, but they're not doing it the right way. They may say that they partake of the bread and the wine, but they're doing it too often (and some of them are using grape juice)! They say that they believe and follow the Scriptures, but they really don't.

Now, to be fair, Armstrongites do generally make an exception when it comes to questions of personal morality. For instance, like their evangelical counterparts, they tend to oppose abortion and homosexual marriage. Even so, for most Armstrongites, even in areas where they find themselves in some agreement with the traditionalists, they tend to view their counterparts on the other side as hypocritical, insincere or too tolerant and "worldly."

In similar fashion, Armstrongites display these same kinds of thinking when they elucidate their political views. The left is seen as godless and bad, and Democrats are the party of the left. Hence, anything that Democrat politicians say MUST be wrong. Indeed, if Nancy Pelosi or Barack Obama say something, it has to be a lie. In fact, the correct posture/view/policy MUST be the exact opposite of whatever the left has proposed!

Unfortunately, two-dimensional and oppositional thinkers tend to twist facts/truths to make them fit their worldview. In short, they have a hard time arriving at the truth, and their thinking tends to engender feelings of indifference, hatred or rage against folks outside of their circle. And, as I've also suggested in past posts, this type of thinking tends to lead to a posture of willful ignorance - a refusal to entertain or accept any view which contradicts their own (irrespective of whatever evidence is presented). In other words, we have the TRUTH - you are deceived and in error!