The architect of ACOG theology (and we're being VERY charitable in characterizing that mixed bag of doctrines as theology), Herbert Armstrong, used headline theology as a tool to spark interest in his teachings. It was his principal "hook." In his Plain Truth magazine, Herbert and his associates "analyzed" current events/world news in the light of biblical prophecy. Hence, it is easy to understand the continuing obsession of that culture with this phenomenon.
For Armstrong and his followers, the Judeo-Christian Scriptures were a collection of headlines written many years before they were supposed to actually happen, and most of those headlines were supposed to happen in our time! Additionally, Herbert adopted a version of Anglo-Israelism that arose in the 19th Century and purported to conclusively demonstrate that the English-speaking nations of the world were the modern representation of God's people, Israel! This, of course, upended the Great Commission which Christ gave to his disciples and replaced it with a message of warning for the peoples of the United States and British Commonwealth of Nations. For them, all of the change and upheaval (which was such a prevalent part of the news of the last half of the Twentieth Century) pointed to God's judgement of sinful Israel and the inauguration of the "Great Tribulation" and the "End Times."
Unfortunately, after Herbert Armstrong's death (and the death of his son, Garner Ted), this interest in current events morphed into an obsession with extreme right-wing politics. For many of these folks, the narrative about the dangers posed to traditional American culture by changing demographics and an increasingly secular society meshed well with their own tradition of headline theology interpreted through the lens of Anglo-Israelism. Indeed, the populist, patriotic, nationalistic, and authoritarian tendencies of Twenty-First Century conservatives seemed to many of them a natural extension/continuation of what they had always believed about themselves and the mission of their church.
Think that this is an unfair characterization of the Armstrong Churches of God? Let's take a look at what those groups are currently presenting to the peoples of the world for their consumption. After Armstrong's death and the collapse of his Worldwide Church of God, Armstrong's followers organized themselves into a number of different organizations which all claimed to carry on the "truths" that he had revealed. To demonstrate the pervasiveness of this phenomenon, we need only to look at the current offerings of a number of these organizations.
In the most recent issue of Gerald Flurry's The Trumpet (a magazine produced by his "Philadelphia Church of God"), the following articles are featured: "Obama Unmasked", "What Happened to British Leadership?", "Is Prime Minister Sunak a Mistake for Britain?", "Pound Crisis: The End of Free Money?", and "A 21st-Century Emperor" (an article about China's Xi Jinping). The cover of the magazine and lead article is even better. There is a picture of Donald Trump on a red background, and the article is entitled "Ready for War." The article opens with: "The battle lines are drawn. The stage is set for one of the most dramatic fulfillments of biblical prophecy we have yet seen in our lifetimes. On one side of this political battle in America is the Democratic Party and the radical left. There is also, we now know, establishment Republicans. They are joined by the media—both leftist and “conservative”—and Big Tech, with the single exception now of Twitter. All are arrayed together. On the other side is Donald Trump. Virtually alone."
On The Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association webpage, the following articles are currently featured: "House passes defense bill that rescinds military Covid vaccine mandate", "Xi Jinping meets Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman as US fumes", "Griner release is cause for relief but Viktor Bout transfer tough to stomach", and "Bill protecting same-sex, interracial unions clears Congress." In the "Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong," we read the following about climate change: "Do we not have enough actual problems here on earth? We have to invent something to panic about? It turns out children are being frightened and their sleep disturbed with nightmares over the effects of global warming. Show them an aerial shot of Obama’s waterfront mansion. Makes you wonder if the people inside are having nightmares."
On Dr. Bob Thiel's COGwriter for his "Continuing Church of God," we find the following articles featured: "AP: Russia grinds on in eastern Ukraine; Bakhmut ‘destroyed’; WND’s Farah turns against Zelensky", "Wave of Volcanoes around the world: Pre-Messiah Shake-and-bake?’", "‘Twitter Files’ claims shadow banning; Are we in a post-truth society?", "105th anniversary of Turkey surrendering Jerusalem to the British", and "NYT: Could Biden’s Climate Agenda Trigger a New Trade War?" In yet another article on French civil unrest, Dr. Bob notes that "the Bible shows that terrorism is prophesied." He also goes on to mention an article he had previously written on "The ‘Lost Tribe’ of Reuben: France in Prophecy?"
In the latest edition of David Pack's The Real Truth magazine, "Restored Church of God," the same headline theology is evident. We find there the following articles featured: "Britain's Last Monarch", "Mankind's Success Paradox: What We Must Learn from Earth's Population Passing 8 Billion", "Study: U.S. Gun Death Rates Hit Highest Levels in Decades", and "U.S. Children Suffer Historic Learning Setbacks." Not as much right-wing politics here, but it is still there!
What about the more "progressive" or "moderate" ACOGs? The answer: About the same! In the latest edition of United Church of God's Beyond Today magazine, the following articles are featured: "The Divided States of America: A Dangerous Crossroads", "Two Nations Under One Flag", "A World in Chaos as America Fractures", "America’s Forgotten Christian Heritage", and "'A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand.'" In his article, Darris McNeely observed: "Abortion and same-sex marriage, and now the growing influence of the LGBTQ+ movement, have hollowed out the moral center of the United States and other Western nations. Political polarization has deepened in recent decades. Government overspending has worsened the economy, bringing back rates of inflation unseen for 40 years. Confidence in the federal government is at historic lows." He went on to observe that "Bible prophecy reveals that the United States will fall, a victim of its own sins, rebellion and divisions. This will be an early stage in the time of unparalleled turmoil that will envelop the world in the years leading up to the return of Jesus Christ. He described this time as one of 'great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be' (Matthew 24:21)."
In Dave Havir's ("Church of God Big Sandy") latest edition of Eye on the World, we find a forty-page document listing the articles which he feels his flock should be following. Among them, the following topics are addressed: "Prisoner swap—good news for Griner, bad news for America", "Covid protests in China", "International climate change", "China, climate change and coal", "Russia-Ukraine war", various comments about individual nations and groups, and comments on a host of topics (environment, digital global currency, distribution hubs, power grid, government and corporate censorship, free speech, Twitter, sexualization of children, transgender issues, abortion, fossil fuels, electric vehicles, inflation, illegal immigration, voting, defunding the police, soaring crime, gun control, reparations, Fauci, vaccine mandates, Democrats). In fact, Havir is probably following the headlines more closely than ANY other group.
However, that's not to say that Pastor Bill Watson of the "Church of God International" isn't trying his best to outshine the other ACOGs in his support of right-wing news. Undeterred by the attempts of the folks in Tyler to curb his political messaging, Bill has launched a "Missing in Action News" segment which he presents after the regular church service to his Church of God International Medina, Ohio. This last Sabbath, Watson focused on Twitter, the Respect for Marriage Act, a non-binary Biden Administration official named Samuel Brinton, Elon Musk's Neuralink, contrasting Xi Jinping's visit to Saudi Arabia with that of Joe Biden, and an extended unofficial discussion about the "serious" health risks associated with receiving an mRNA vaccine. His sources for all of this material? Breitbart and The Blaze (both EXTREME right-wing platforms). The Sabbath before this one the subject was Musk's Twitter stuff, the Federal Reserve and a new digital currency, and another discussion about the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) Virus. His sources once again: Breitbart and The Blaze (at least he's consistent). And Bill is not at all shy about making his partisan views known: Trump and Republicans = GOOD, Biden and Demoncrats = BAD!
"The Church of God, a worldwide association" (GOGWA) may not be as overtly political as some of the other groups, but they're selling the same stuff! On their Life, Hope and Truth website, in an article by Dave Treybig entitled "Prophecy: What Lies Ahead for You and Your World?" we read about their notions about the United States in prophecy. Treybig wrote: "Biblical prophecy does address the U.S., but students of the Bible have to know how this nation is identified. In the section on the “12 Tribes of Israel,” evidence is presented that links this nation to the descendants of Joseph and specifically to the tribe of Manasseh, whose people were part of the ancient nation of Israel." Not as in your face, but it's still there!
So, if you're interested in Jesus Christ and his teachings, the ACOGs are clearly NOT for you! If you're interested in salvation through Jesus Christ or the Kingdom of God, the ACOGs are NOT for you! On the other hand, if you're a White/Christian Nationalist or Trumpist, you'll probably be very comfortable in any of these ACOGs!
One of the private reactions that this post received noted that this is not exclusively an ACOG phenomenon - that a lot of Fundamentalist/Evangelical Christians have gone down the same path. And, although these folks do not have Anglo-Israelism as a background, I would say that they do have a background of American exceptionalism and belief that America is a "Christian" nation which meshes very well with the Anglo-Israelism of their ACOG brethren.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Plain Truth Magazine (July-August, 1985, read and approved by HWA):
ReplyDelete“Jesus did not enter into this world's politics, nor did his disciples. He did not try to reform or overthrow Caesar's government. He did not try to make this a better world. Rather, he preached about a radically different world to come and called his followers out of participation in this world's imperfect, humanly devised politics! He said, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36).”
Note that the statement above is a blanket condemnation of politics. There is no attempt to be partisan or to endorse the right-wing and condemn the left. I am wondering how HWA would react to all of this dalliance in politics found in the contemporary Armstrongist denominations. Let me propose what he might say: He would say that pre-occupation with and endorsement of political viewpoint is Laodiceanism. The Laodiceans intermixed themselves with secular society. And they became so contaminated that Holy Spirit said that he would vomit them out of his mouth. (“Hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.”) Whereas, the Philadelphians remained patiently focused on the word of God. They did not diminish Jesus, using his name as a “rubber stamp,” and exalt worldly politics and other pursuits.
Let me say that I believe that the messages to the angels of the assemblies in Revelation 2-3 constitute a broad case analysis of different kinds of congregations in different contexts. I do not think that these messages track the history of modern day, tiny Millerite denominations. But certainly as case analysis these chapters may be applied to any congregations that claim to worship Jesus.
I see what is happening in the Armstrongist denominations as an upsurge, almost across the board, in classical Laodiceanism. HWA would be appalled. In tension with my view on this is another view I hold that at some point Christians must take a stand against the evils of government. The paradigm is the case of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I do not believe that the mundane political polemics and the partisan advocacy published in the Armstrongist press rise to the level of the Bonhoeffer paradigm.