| HERESY | GARNER TED ARMSTRONG |
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| HERESY | GARNER TED ARMSTRONG |
| American Minister and Television Evangelist |
| World Wide Church of God - Church of God International - Intercontinental Church of God |
| BIRTH - DEATH |
b. February 9, 1930, Portland, Oregon - d. September 15, 2003, Tyler, Texas Mark Armstrong, son of Garner Ted Armstrong, continues the ministry with the same doctrines as his father and grandfather. The more things change, the more they stay the same. |
| EDUCATION | Ambassador College, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. |
| MINISTRIES |
Worldwide Church Of God - formerly associated with his father, Herbert W.
Armstrong. Church Of God International, Tyler, Texas. - no longer associated with this organization that he founded. Intercontinental Church Of God, Tyler, Texas. - newly formed organization that he founded. Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association, Flint, Texas. |
| MAJOR WORKS | N/A |
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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Garner Ted Armstrong originally began his ministry by serving with his father, Herbert W. Armstrong, at his church, the Worldwide Church Of God, Pasadena, California. In 1978, Garner Ted Armstrong was removed from the church and disenfranchised by his father over control issues and charges of sexual impropriety against Garner Ted Armstrong. Herbert W. Armstrong did not publicly state the charges, but it was stated by others that Garner Ted Armstrong was involved with many of the co-eds at the Ambassador College and had been involved with numerous other women in the previous twenty years. His former sexual escapades, in 1972 and 1974, had been covered by Time magazine. After the 1978 separation from the World Wide Church Of God, Garner Ted Armstrong went to Tyler, Texas and organized the Church Of God International, along with other ministers who went with him. In 1995 his sexual activities were once again exposed and the scandals returned, The leadership of his Church Of God International removed him after his actions received national attention through a videotape on the Geraldo Rivera Show in 1997. Garner Ted Armstrong then created a new organization, The Intercontinental Church Of God, which comes under the umbrella of his Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association. After The death of Garner Ted Armstrong, his son Mark Armstrong, affirmed his claim that the second organization formed by Garner Ted Armstrong, The Intercontinental Church Of God, is the "true" religion, claiming that the beliefs expressed through that organization have their roots only in the Bible. Apparently Garner Ted Armstrong did not establish a "true" religion when he created his original International Church Of God, but the reality is that since the leadership actually took a stand against Garner Ted Armstrong's immoral lifestyle and removed him from leadership, it appears that what is "true" is only the Intercontinental Church Of God, which Garner Ted Armstrong created in support of his depravity. It is unfortunate that the International Church Of God leadership were not as discerning in relation to the heretical doctrines taught by Garner Ted Armstrong as they were in regards to his immorality. On the other hand, they knew about his previous peccadillos, but allowed him to continue in leadership until new revelations forced them to act. BELIEFS THE TRINITY There is no Trinity in Garner Ted Armstrong's belief system. GOD "God is the supreme creator and sustainer of the entire universe who is eternal, all present, and all powerful. God is a single spirit family presently consisting of God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son. God is a loving, kind, and merciful being who is sharing His magnificent and eternal existence by reproducing Himself through mankind." Copyright © Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association JESUS CHRIST "Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of God and the Son of man. He is the Messiah who was prophesied in the Old Testament and described in the New Testament as being fully human and fully divine. He has existed throughout eternity as the "Word" and is the second member of the God family. He divested Himself of His power and His majesty, to become a human being in order to live a perfect life, thereby re-qualifying for eternal life. He then died for the sins of all mankind as our loving and merciful Savior. He was then resurrected and ascended to heaven to become our Lord and High Priest. Jesus Christ will return to earth to establish the Kingdom of God where He will rule as King of kings with His saints as co-rulers forever." Copyright © Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association THE HOLY SPIRIT The Holy Spirit is the spiritual extension of God, containing the essence, power and mind of God. God uses His Holy Spirit to beget Christians as His sons and daughters. The Holy Spirit spiritually strengthens Christians, converting their minds to be more like God s mind. The Holy Spirit also serves as an earnest or guarantee of future eternal life Copyright © Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association MAN "Humans have no inherent immortality as flesh and blood physical beings; however, they can receive eternal life as a free gift from our loving and merciful creator God. Although mankind was created by God as flesh and blood, He did so in His own image. He added a spiritual component to mankind's brain to create the human mind." Copyright © Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association SALVATION "The penalty for sin is death, but salvation is the means by which God saves mankind from the penalty of sin so that he may be given eternal life. Working through His Son, Jesus Christ, the salvation process includes one's calling, repentance, baptism, justification, receiving of the Holy Spirit, then living a life of faith and obedience, and finally, birth into God's Kingdom as a spirit being. Salvation is a gift freely given through grace by God, with our ultimate reward given according to our works." Copyright © Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association JUDGMENT & HELL "The time of a person's judgment is the time of his opportunity for salvation. That begins from when a person is called by God until his death changed into spirits upon Jesus Christ's return. The overwhelming majority shall qualify for God's Kingdom and will inherit eternal life, but those who deliberately reject God's way shall suffer the second death and be consumed in the lake of fire." Copyright © Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association THE BIBLE "The entire Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God which contains His plan of salvation, and the record of His participation in history. The Bible is God's method of revealing knowledge that man cannot discover for himself; the foundation of knowledge and the guidebook of life. God's written Word, is revealed in two parts, the Old and New Testaments. Together, they form the basis of Christianity as taught by the church and as practiced by the true Christian." Copyright © Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association SABBATH One must observe the Sabbath (Saturday) instead of Sunday. "The seventh-day Sabbath was instituted at creation. It is to be taught and kept holy in accordance with the biblical instruction. The Sabbath was reaffirmed to Israel as a part of the covenant at Sinai, and taught by Jesus Christ, who is the Messenger of the New Covenant. The keeping of the Sabbath is fundamental to a Christian's relationship with God." Copyright © Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association JEWISH HOLY DAYS One must observe the Jewish special Holy Days: "The seven annual holy days or 'appointed feasts' depict God's plan of salvation for mankind. They are ordained by God and were kept by the ancient Israelites. Keeping the holy days have been continued by the early New Testament Christians and are still kept today by modern day Christians." Copyright © Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association MAJOR DOCTRINAL ISSUES All of the above beliefs are virtually identical to those that were held by Garner Ted Armstrong's father, Herbert W. Armstrong, during his tenure at the Worldwide Church of God, Pasadena, California. Almost all of the stated beliefs are heretical in relation to the Biblical teaching and traditional Christian belief. Changing virtually every major Biblical doctrine from traditional orthodox belief, Garner Ted Armstrong perpetuates the approach used by his father, indicating that he alone has the correct "interpretation" of Scripture and is the authority who determines correct doctrine. The red flag is raised when an individual presents themselves as the authority, but adherents to the teachings of both Herbert W. Armstrong and Garner Ted Armstrong ignore the warnings, and by doing so, deceive themselves. THE GODHEAD Garner Ted Armstrong continues his father's teaching regarding the Godhead, redefining it in his own image as a "family" rather than a Trinity as is taught in the Bible. He continues the process of subverting the Godhead in order to promote his own agenda. This agenda is to change the Biblical teaching, regarding the nature of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, in order that substitute doctrines of a different nature may be taught. There is nothing new in Garner Ted Armstrong's approach. It is the same approach used by his father and all other heretical teachers and false prophets. They all start with an altered and false belief and teaching in regards to Jesus Christ, God and the Holy Spirit. It is necessary for them to be able to mold God into their own image, so that they might believe they can escape the judgment of the real God of the universe in relation to their own lives. Garner Ted Armstrong rejects the Biblical teaching regarding God, because he did not wish to admit to the reality of the authority that God held over his life. He rejects the Biblical teaching regarding Jesus Christ because he does not wish to admit to his inability to be like Jesus Christ. His claim that Jesus Christ had to requalify in order to obtain eternal life is blasphemy. Jesus Christ was worthy because of his place as God the Creator. Jesus Christ needed no other credentials and He had no need to qualify for anything since He created the standard of perfection and was the standard of perfection. Garner Ted Armstrong rejects the Biblical teaching regarding the perfection of Jesus Christ because he does not wish to deal with the imperfections in his own life. MAN According to Garner Ted Armstrong, man does not have an immortal soul, but dies like the animals. If that is the case, then what is the point of the teaching of Garner Ted Armstrong regarding judgment? If man dies, only to be annihilated, then why does God resurrect man to a judgment only to cast him into the lake of fire where he will only be annihilated once again? "The English word 'soul' in the Old Testament is always taken from the Hebrew nephesh and does NOT mean anything immortal; just as the English word 'soul' in the New Testament is taken from the Greek word psuche, and only means mortal, temporal, human physical MAN, who is subject to death." Copyright © Garner Ted Armstrong It is obvious that the body of man, in its present state, has no ability to attain to immortality. But, in spite of Garner Ted Armstrong's own words, the real man, the soul, does have immortality and attains that state at conception. As such, man is an immortal being whether he chooses to be or not. At his creation, God created Adam with his lifeless body, but then breathed into him the Life of God with is inherent attribute of immortality. Because man's spiritual immortality is an attribute of the God who created him, man will never, and can never, be sent into oblivion or annihilated. The person who places the destination of their soul, in relation to God, in the hands of Garner Ted Armstrong makes a foolish error that they will regret for eternity. ...and the dust returns to the ground it came form, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."SALVATION Salvation is not a process, it is a state of being. Salvation is accomplished by an act of faith in the work, person and Lordship of Jesus Christ and accompanying repentance. It is instantaneous and complete in nature. Salvation is not dependant on, and is granted sovereignly by God prior to baptism, justification, or attainment to levels of spiritual maturity. Then He said to her, "Your sins have been forgiven." Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this man who even forgives sins?" And He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, "Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!" But the other answered, and rebuking him said, "Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!" And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise." JUDGMENT & HELL Garner Ted Armstrong teaches that after the tribulation there will be a resurrection in which all men will live for 100 years. During this period of time, they will hear the gospel and most will believe and be saved. These people are mainly the ones who never heard the gospel in their previous life on earth. "The second resurrection is the greatest of all. It occurs after the one thousand years are finished, and is the resurrection to judgment (Revelation 20:5), when God will allow each individual to live for one hundred years (Isaiah 65:20). Since God does not change, the millions who come up in this great resurrection will be judged 'out of the Biblios,' meaning the Word of God, in the same way God is judging you and me today! God says He 'changes not.' Therefore, they will be judged out of the revealed Word of God, the Bible, exactly as you and I are being judged. It is very likely that the vast majority of all these teeming millions will accept God's rulership, believe the truth they will be taught, repent of their sins, and receive salvation! Does this constitute a 'second chance'? Absolutely not! These teeming millions never heard a single word of the gospel; they never heard the name of Jesus Christ. Or, at least, they never heard the true gospel; never truly had a full chance to understand the truth of God and respond to that truth in repentance. This will be their first chance!A 'chance' for salvation is to hear the gospel preached. Being born in a pagan land, then dying in a few days of cholera, when your entire society has never heard the name of Jesus Christ, is not a chance for salvation! Do you have loved ones who died, not being converted? They are dead now completely oblivious to the passing of time. The Bible speaks of them as being in the very deepest sleep completely unconscious. They are NOT LOST! They are merely dead!" Copyright © Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association It spite of what he is claiming, the 100 year period is a second chance to accept the Gospel. Since Garner Ted Armstrong is teaching that there is a second chance, especially for those who never heard the gospel, then why is there such an effort to spread the gospel now. If the majority of people who hear the gospel during that 100 years accept the message and become Christians, then the preaching of the gospel today is not very productive, because only a few respond. This is classic Mormon doctrine, which teaches that after death, there is a 1000 year period in which all but the most reprobate of people will accept the "gospel" of Mormonism. Garner Ted Armstrong also teaches "soul sleep" and uses Hebrew 9:27 as the "proof" text. Presumably his argument is that since there is a space of time between death and judgment, then people must not be aware of that time. However, that is not the purpose for which the verse was used by the writer. Both of these concepts are non-Biblical teachings that are presented as truth, and the individual who accepts them as they are taught places themselves at great risk. This is especially true for the person who would believe that they will be given a "second chance" in the next life. THE BIBLE Garner Ted Armstrong claims that the Bible does not teach that Christians go to heaven or that the unsaved god to hell. So what is the purpose of the Bible? THE SABBATH Like many groups, including the Seventh-day Adventists, Seventh-day Baptists and other Sabbatarians, Garner Ted Armstrong teaches that it is necessary to keep the Sabbath (Saturday) as the day of worship. He makes it a specific requirement, even to obtain salvation: "Keeping the Sabbath day will not "earn" anyone justification from past sins, or "earn" anyone an entrance into the Kingdom of God! But Sabbath-breaking is a sin, just like stealing or murder is a sin." Copyright © Garner Ted Armstrong So, if an individual does not keep the Sabbath, it is a sin and must be repented in order to obtain salvation. "The keeping of the Sabbath is fundamental to a Christian's relationship with God." Copyright © Garner Ted Armstrong MAJOR DISCLOSURES Garner Ted Armstrong: Son Of The Legend, by Margaret D. Zola Perhaps in different circumstances these arguments might be valid, but because Garner Ted Armstrong has presented himself as a shining light, a messenger of truth, and a preacher of purity, it is important to know if he is truly what he says or merely a Master showman. Does he practice what he preaches? Does he apply the same standards in his own life that he (as a self-styled representative of God) requires from others? Garner Ted Armstrong: The Profligate Son, by Al Carrozzo "Al, let's get one thing straight! I'm a no good, fornicating, adulterating son of a bitch!" These highly emotional words initiated a private conversation between Garner Ted Armstrong and me at 10:05 a.m. on Wednesday, May 16, 1973, in the seclusion of his television studio office. This was not the first or the only time Ted ever admitted that he was an adulterer. In spite of repeated public denials, Ted has privately admitted that he has been guilty of flagrant, continuous adultery and fornication for almost a quarter of a century-as a church member, an executive, and an evangelist! Garner Ted Armstrong, from The Missing Dimension [website no longer on-line] Ted's radio and television persona broke the stereotype for American evangelists. His off the cuff manner, easy charm and wry humor, combined with a huge investment in buying airtime, made him a household name. Unfortunately for him, controversy dogged his personal life. Ted was accused of "philandering", and suspended from the ministry twice. TIME magazine covered his falls from grace in 1972 and again in 1974. Garner Ted Armstrong and the Masseuse, from Exit Support Network, L.A. Stuhlman [Off-site article] A research report on the circumstances surrounding video tape of Garner Ted Armstrong's sexual encounter at a massage parlor. Garner Ted Armstrong: Getting Rubbed The Wrong Way, from The Missing Dimension, The Ambassador Files [website no longer on-line] An interview with SueRae Robertson by Geraldo Rivera, program: Sex, Crimes and Videotape, July 11, 1997. No false prophet can be successful unless he has a following, and followers are culpable when they make no attempt to verify the truthfulness of their leader against the truth of the Scripture and, as a consequence, they deceive themselves. by Gary A. Hand On Doctrine |
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