The ACOGs and FEAR

As longtime readers of this blog know, I have written a number of posts over the years that were very critical of the “headline theology” and “warning messages” of the Armstrong Churches of God. Indeed, since the founding of the movement by Herbert Armstrong, the preaching has focused on relating current events and trends to biblical prophecy. To be more precise, Armstrong and his followers have focused on the most troublesome headlines reported by the various news media and portrayed them as manifestations of God’s wrath - predicted long ago in the pages of the Bible. In other words, they have always trafficked in FEAR! It has been (and is) the principal hook and calling card of their outreach to the public.

Of course, I am certainly not the first person who has noticed this fearmongering as being such a prominent feature of the Armstrong Churches of God. The Painful Truth blog recently reran an article originally published in Penthouse magazine back in 1977! The article, GTA - Prophet of Doom by Roger N. Williams, presented a well-balanced and well-written portrayal of Garner Ted Armstrong’s preaching style and content (At the time, he was still the face of the radio and television programs of the now defunct Worldwide Church of God). In the opening paragraph, Williams described GTA as a “media superstar” who “has discovered the profit of fear.”

He went on to say: “He’s the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse, Fear, spreading his warning of the Coming End across the airwaves to 50 million people every week and telling of The Wonderful World Tomorrow that will follow the nuclear obliteration mankind is about to bring upon itself.” Later in the article, he quoted one of Garner Ted’s aides as characterizing the Church’s message as: “The good news is that Christ is coming back. The bad news is that he’s pissed off.” In reading through the article, I found myself repeatedly thinking about the oft repeated truism that “some things never change.”

For me, Williams’ evaluation of GTA and his messaging was fair and evenhanded. He did, for example, compliment GTA’s “booming golden voice.” He also described the Ambassador College campus in Pasadena as beautiful, handsomely appointed, and a “small Eden.” Williams even credited GTA and the Church for their early and thoughtful warnings about environmental damage. However, he also pointed out that this coverage wasn’t offered in the hope of correcting bad behaviors (like polluting), “but only to show that until Jesus gets here, we’re going to continue to make a mess out of things.” In other words, even the good stuff was meant to contrast with just how bad things actually were in the larger world!

Williams also pointed out that the Worldwide Church’s commentary was NOT always unbiased and objective. He observed that “The Plain Truth is largely a right-wing propaganda outlet. Articles rail against ‘the twisted ideology’ of the women’s movement, stating that the letters Ms. should stand for ‘Marxist sisters’. It denounces pornography as ‘an ideal weapon employed by our enemies to weaken Western civilization’. Garner Ted has looked like a liberal when he’s taken stands against ‘the death of the oceans’ or ‘aerosol Armageddon’ or the American SST. But in his column and occasional articles that appear in each issue, he is happier campaigning against European unity, which he believes threatens United States interests and is the fulfillment of the prophesied resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire. He bewails America’s ‘isolationist attitudes’ and fears that the CIA exposés will weaken our country and the CIA. He vehemently and consistently supported the Vietnam War, right up to the fall of Saigon, fearing at the end that his big ‘World Tomorrow Campaign’ planned for Bangkok would be eclipsed by invading North Vietnamese troops. And despite his strong, if abstract, denunciations of world militarism, he whole heartedly supports a strong American military machine…” Hmmmm, that sounds an awful lot like some of the current messaging from the Armstrong Churches of God!

Yes, some things never change! The ACOG’s continued attachment to the discredited teaching that the English-speaking peoples of the Earth are the descendants of the ancient Israelites continues to pervert their understanding of biblical prophecy, and the “warning” message which flows from it. Unfortunately, the right-wing commentary of the current ACOGs is just as biased and irrelevant as the commentary offered in times past by Herbert and Garner Ted Armstrong. The fact is that this messaging is inconsistent with the commission Christ gave to his disciples (Matthew 28:19-20), and it doesn’t provide any reliable insights about what is going to happen next (other than Jesus will return someday, and God’s Kingdom will eventually envelope the entire Earth).

No, the New Testament canon makes very clear that Christians should NOT allow themselves to be motivated by fear. Paul told the Romans that God hadn’t given them a Spirit of slavery to fear, but one that instills confidence in their new role as God’s children because of what Christ had done for them (Romans 8). Likewise, in his first epistle, John wrote that “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” (I John 4:18) Christ and his apostles brought the “Good News” about what Christ was doing/had done for humankind – a message of hope and love for a weary world. In other words, it did not resemble the gloom and doom of the messaging of the Armstrong Churches of God!