Monday 4 March 2013

Fragments in Focus - 4

In chapter three David Barrett introduces Herbert W. Armstrong and provides some essential background to his early years.  His role in advertising is mentioned, and Barrett goes as far as to say (and I thoroughly agree) that "The success of the Worldwide Church of God came from its professional marketing..."  Whether in magazine publishing, television or radio, WCG's PR was a class act.

Armstrong's predilection to play fast and loose with the facts, however, is demonstrated in his claims to have separated from the parent body, the Church of God (Seventh Day), in 1933, foregoing any further salary from that organization.  The impression is also given that Armstrong took a principled decision to leave his former affiliation.  In fact Richard Nickel's research turned up evidence to the contrary: "A ledger book from the Church of God Publishing House in Salem, West Virginia, in 1937, also shows that Armstrong received pay at this time."  In reality his ministerial credentials were revoked in late 1937 for "continuing to preach contrary to Church doctrine."

Barrett also relates the embarrassing incident over the Has Time Been Lost? booklet with the Church of God (Seventh Day).  In 1965 the legal beagles at Ambassador College discovered that the mother church was also publishing a booklet with the identical title and very similar content.  They then dashed off a letter requiring them to cease and desist. It probably seemed a reasonable case of righteous outrage, as Armstrong had copyrighted the content back in 1952.  COG7 however kept excellent records, pulling a copy of their own title out of the files from the 1930s, and finding that it appeared on their literature list as early as 1925!  Apparently they were more generous than Armstrong's lawyers, not pressing WCG to withdraw the plagiarized publication.

John Halford, current editor of Christian Odyssey, published by Grace Communion International (the name WCG now operates under), explained to Barrett that yes, there were problems with Armstrong's writings that justified their withdrawl from circulation.  One of the issues was, he stated, that Armstrong "never went back and rewrote and updated."  This is a kind way of letting the apostle off the hook somewhat.  But Barrett doesn't have to look far to find examples to the contrary; for example the 1986 edition of the Autobiography in which most references to his son Garner Ted are carefully excised.  Another example would be the 1960s booklet The Wonderful World Tomorrow: What It Will Be Like, co-authored by Garner Ted but republished with minor changes some twenty years later soley under Herbert Armstrong's name.  Contra Halford, WCG publications underwent regular revisions, but usually to paper over the many cracks in fact and failed prophetic chronology.


To continue

7 comments:

  1. Wow, that's an interesting anecdote about the deeply flawed booklet 'Has Time Been Lost'.

    That HWA would plagiarize such junk exposes him as a crude ignorant charlatan.

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  2. Gavin, you're zipping through a chapter a day - it must be enjoyable reading. We appreciate the summaries - keep 'em coming!

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  3. Know why the CoG prophecies always fail? Because, plagiarized or not, they are based on the major failed prophecy of the New Testament - that of Jesus' "soon" return with his "at hand" kingdom.

    "Has time been lost"? You bet it has - by thousands of Armstrong followers. And, not just Armstrong followers, but by all of Christendom. Of course, I know that's not what the booklet was about but maybe it should have been.

    The fact that HWA plagiarized a bunch of weird and ridiculous things like British-Israelism from other whacked out people reveals that HWA was easily fooled by weird fringe doctrines and conspiracy theories. But, that also says a lot about us ex-followers who believed that stuff too. Hopefully, we aren't so easily fooled by charlatans anymore, so something good may have come out of the experience.

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    1. It's all a function of magical thinking, Corky. If you believe in angels and devils and gods and demons, you're liable to believe just about anything. And we did and they do. HWA probably felt like he had found some really amazing stuff. And we felt the same way.

      Thankfully, on worldwide basis, religion is on a long-term decline. Oh, it'll have its ups and downs. And the U.S. will cling to it longer than most. But it's a clear long-term trend: as humankind matures, it increasingly embraces reality and stops needing make-believe.

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    2. Yeah, we grew up with magical thinking...Santa Claus, the tooth fairy and making a wish before blowing out the candles on the birthday cake. Of course, if one was born into Armstrongism, they missed all that and went straight into the magical thinking of adult members of the wcg.

      I remember people being a lot more religious in my childhood days than they are now. That is, except for the fanatics and weirdos that seem to hang around forever. So, even in the US, people are not as religious as it sometimes appears. Most of the "Christians" in the US are just Christian in name only and pretending to be just as religious as the fundies when they're really not. I don't know why they do that but I have an idea that they are just afraid of what other people might think of them if they weren't religious.

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  4. Yes, at least in the USA, magical thinking is epidemic right now. That is why Barack Obama was elected...

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    1. You would prefer the guy with the magic underwear who was sure he was gonna win because they said so on Fox "news"?

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