This podcast episode examines the troubling racial teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of Armstrongism, using a 1963 Plain Truth magazine article as its primary source. Armstrong's writings, while acknowledging racial discrimination, present God as the alleged author of racial segregation, justifying it through distorted interpretations of biblical passages like Genesis 6 and Acts 17:26. He enforced segregation within his own church, discouraging interracial dating and marriage. The episode critiques Armstrong's use of fear-mongering and confirmation bias to support his prejudiced views and discusses the lasting impact of his teachings. The hosts emphasize critical thinking when evaluating religious teachings and the importance of aligning faith with justice and compassion.
12 comments:
Taking it all in context, the USA at the time of the 50s+60s was divided by race, especially the south. That was the foundation the society in which wwcog operated in. They gave credence to these policies via their ‘gospel’. Society still suffers from that period of time to this day. There’s no doubt that racist sediment and segregation mind sets are still alive within the remaining holdouts of the dying Armstrong movement. I also believe that a quiet anti semitism is also hiding under the veneer of BI/Armstrongism. The Jews are problematic for them, at least the ones in the western world are white, so they were tolerated, if from a distance. Apart from a few individuals I found in my own experience, as one of the ‘tribe’, that Jewish folk were well tolerated and welcomed as fellow believers in Christ, as they should be. As people of all colour and ethnic backgrounds should be. Racism has no place within the body of Jesus Christ.
Most of the COGs still practice organizational racism via British Israelism. None of the bigger groups (UCG, LCG, COGWA) have disowned it. Each of those 3 groups has to varying degrees buried BI but they all still quietly teach it as an important doctrine. BI is not described anywhere prominently on their websites, but tell a member in UCG, LCG, or COGWA that British Israelism is nonsense and you will be cast out. BI as HWA taught it is still very much believed by anyone who was part of the COG before the mid-1990's.
UCG at least acknowledges that "some proponents incorporated racism into their beliefs. Prejudicial racist views have tarnished their reasoning, thus discrediting the historical aspects of their teachings. This is both regrettable and biblically unacceptable. Racial bigotry is most definitely not what the Bible teaches. God is not the author of such a point of view." The source for this is https://www.ucg.org/learn/bible-study-aids/united-states-and-britain-bible-prophecy/united-states-and-britain-bible-14
I would argue however that racial bigotry IS most definitely what the Bible teaches. The Old Testament -- which purports to speak for the same God as the New Testament -- very clearly espouses racist sentiments. It's not like God suddenly had a change of heart between the end of the OT and the beginning of the NT.
The thing that has always struck me is that HWA could have been on the side that was pushing for what was right. He could have been right there, marching with Dr. King, as were many well known rabbis, ministers, and priests, but instead he established himself as a continuing part of the problem. Based on gospel accounts of Jesus' interactions with various people of different backgrounds, It seems obvious that He loved all of His humans.
Oddly enough, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, HWA had no issues with traveling around the globe to meet with "important" people of many diverse ethnicities. This leads me to believe that his racism was selective, and it seems to have been based on the intensity of skin pigmentation, and socioeconomic class of the individuals involved. It has been very enlightening and educational for some racist individuals if a close female relative happened to be a bit adventuresome in her dating activities, but with HWA's hard mindset he most likely would have disowned any such relative.
Racism is a horrible, abhorrent thing, but there are numerous far more serious reasons for canceling HWA. Compared to the incest, it's a relatively minor peccadillo.
BB
Well regarding 5:52. The way the British Scientists coined "Races" in the 19th Century was what we now would call "Peoples" or "Tribes." In WCG top leaders were Jews and the entire HWA BI premiss was a promotion of Jews as contrasted to the incredible antisemitism in the USA at the time. And I am referencing Henry Ford here and his 1 million newspaper distributed from all Ford agents for years. Oh yes another anti semitic American Hero....this fellow that flew over the Ocean.
Anyway. The Armstrongist BI in extremely Revolutionary manner claimed that both jews and Americans were Israel and therefore brothers or cousins. This was at a time when WASPS were losing control because of the huge emigration from Catholic Countries and Jews from Eastern Europe.
So in a way Armstrongism was very Inclusive, Modern an promoted integration that later jews perfected by producing the entire American Songbook like White Christmas with songs that did not mention Jesus but did promote "Winter Festivals."
Spanish people and Mexicans were far more looked at with suspicion than Jews in the Church. Because Latins were BOTH gentiles and by the 19th century standards of Armstrongism "of another race." It was not until GTA liked that pastors wife from Mexico very much that Latins were seen as fully converted.
Did I mention the American immigration laws from the 1890's until the 1950's and the races and quota.
I find it interesting that HWA as a Chicago fact finder for business journals did not fall for his contemporaries ideas of Henry Ford.....but rather made a business fear mongering about Germans and industrialists. Being of Scottish Quaker stock gave him this firm foundation in simple pastoral inclusiveness.
As a West Coaster he did buy into the prevalent Yellow Scare so prevalent after US interventions in Hong Kong and Japan.
Am I in favor of Race Mixing. Not really since I like and enjoy diversity. If the mixing and loosing of complete diversity is wrong in any way than I believe that Climate Change and Darwinism will sort it out.
nck
Look.
One day in 1892 a man was born.
He was raised in a Christian household.
He was appalled by the changes and destruction Industrialisation had brought to the pristine countryside, but mostly the kind of humans being the pinnacle of God's creation, not reaching their awesome potential.
Furthermore he was especially shocked by the experiences of WW1 and man's capability for evil after the fall where a mistake had been made regarding 2 trees.
He stumbled upon ancient European tales about peoples before time. Most were written down by monks in the 15th 13th and 10th centuries. Some containing truth others distortions others concoctions. He mixed them with Christian tales and themes in order that man could redeem themselves and with the help of God, through their message.
In the end that message was broadcast to millions.
Of course y'all know who I am talking about....
His name is.......
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
When the USA got humiliated by the most Godless of people
the entire industrial and political establishment of the Free and Christian world looked at 1 man in Pasadena. This man worked tirelessly to bring man into the realm that until then had been the sole dominion of God.
This man working from Pasadena you of course all know.....
His name is Werner von Braun.
Nck
With all the growth COGs are having in Africa, why do we see no African natives on COG councils and boards?
It should be logical. But some U.S. ministers will tell you - it's because they're not trustworthy. Ask Dr, Thiel about that.
Love the AI video on this topic. One of the things they bring up is how Armstrong brings up the Acts 17:26 “boundaries and dwellings” as a means of segregation. What is even sadder, is that pretty much all the splinter groups use this scripture for the same reason, which is for segregation in regards to relationships. And this is even crazier now since the cog populations have declined and there are splinter groups with no two or three campuses after the split for young adults. Like let’s keep making it harder for young people. They refuse to get the context of what Paul was talking about in that passage, or even read a few verses later that mentions we are all God’s offspring (27-28).
You know one of the things that Armstrong continually said was, “go get your bible, dust off your bible, don’t believe me , but believe your own bible!” And they love the Old Testament so much, and put themselves back there in that covenant, BUT they refuse to cover all those Old Testament examples of interracial unions even within God’s leaders in the old covenant. It’s hypocritical, and he never cared if a German American married an Irish American. Or an Italian American married a "British descended" American. He was influenced by living in Oregon so much. I know he somewhat changed his views on segregation, but he really didn’t want to. It’s really about loving your neighbor as yourself.
Tank You Very Much
Removing the racial elements of BI, or even the now obvious lack of DNA evidence, linguistic or historical holes in the classic HWA USBC theory, is there any legitimacy for the concept that the United States is a nation of "Manifest Destiny". In other words, the USA (as a mixed race, mixed nationality multitude) is a typology of a modern day "Israel" ??
What you guys should understand us that Liberia was an American project years before HWA came on the scene.....
Nck
That's a great point BB,
HWA didn't have to travel that far to inquire some leadership who were of the darker pigmentation that were of the nominal christian variety (ie black baptist civil rights leader). Probably could have gotten more insight, and not have to integrate after the civil rights act was passed.He could have been ahead of the ballgame in that area. And the problem with Armstrongism, is that some of his erroneous viewpoints are still held by the older members of some of the splinter groups. And correct God and Christ both loved everyone, and Christ made sure to send that angel to communicate to Phillip to travel for the baptism of the ethiopian man. For with God there is no respect of persons. But with Armstrongism...
Anonymous 8:04 wrote, “I would argue however that racial bigotry IS most definitely what the Bible teaches. The Old Testament -- which purports to speak for the same God as the New Testament -- very clearly espouses racist sentiments.”
I disagree wholeheartedly. It is always possible that the OT contains material edited in over its long period of curation. But, in general, I do not think the OT is racist. Or that God is racist. God was against foreign religions having an influence on Israel. At that time, foreign religions were mapped pretty strictly to races. God wanted the Canaanites destroyed not because they were a different race from Israel but because they carried a pagan religion. The Canaanites were, in fact, the same race as Israel. Genetics demonstrates that they are the modern Lebanese. Armstrongists introduced the idea that Canaanites were West African Blacks (the lineage of most American Blacks who descended from slaves), hence, focusing the wrath of God described in the Bible on American Blacks. Essentially, this was a political weaponization and racialization of the Bible. And it informed the views of the average lay member sitting in Armstrongist congregations.
God says his Temple will be a House of Prayer for all nations in Isaiah 56:7. Minorities in Israel were not to be discriminated against it says in Leviticus 19:34. Egyptians were to be permitted into the congregation after the third generation and Egyptians were of a different race from Israel. Israelites were to love aliens as if they were Israelites the Bible does not teach racial bigotry if you understand the connections between the tribes of the Middle East. Racism was more of an manipulation done by Armstrongists through Hoeh’s politicized Legendarium of History.
Scout
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