Bill Watson of the CGI,
Keeping the Flame of Armstrongism Alive
By
Lonnie C. Hendrix/Miller Jones
Although the
Church of God International has enjoyed a reputation among the splinter groups
descended from Herbert Armstrong’s Worldwide Church of God as a relatively
moderate and enlightened group, a closer look at the teachings of Pastor Bill
Watson and those who support him suggest that such a reputation is unwarranted.
The fact is that Mr. Watson is a vocal and enthusiastic proponent of some of
the doctrines which are now considered by many former members of the WCOG to be
among the most obnoxious legacies of that church. While the Church of God
International can technically claim that it has not endorsed many of these
teachings (they are not a part of their official statement of beliefs), they
nevertheless continue to feature Mr. Watson’s sermons and writings prominently
on their website.
In July of
2014, Mr. Watson produced an eight-part Bible study series entitled “Biblical
Origins of the United States and British Commonwealth.” In the series, Mr.
Watson discusses a number of themes that will be familiar to most of the folks
from the former culture. He talks at some length about the European Union and
the potential impact of the Euro on the world and the United States in
particular. He also suggests that things like the legalization of abortions and
same-sex marriage are responsible for many of the problems that the United
States has experienced over the last few decades.
Likewise,
although he vociferously denies that his teaching is based on race, Mr. Watson
underscores elements of the doctrine of British Israelism that could easily be
followed in Mr. Armstrong’s writings on the subject. Things like: God’s promises to Abraham, the separation of
the scepter and birthright promises, the division of the Israelites into two
distinct kingdoms, the Assyrian conquest and removal of the Kingdom of Israel.
Finally, he leads his students to the inescapable conclusion that the peoples
of Britain and the United States must be the physical descendants of Ephraim
and Manasseh based on the many blessings which they have received from God.
In that same
series, Mr. Watson goes on to identify those who are really walking with Christ
as having a right understanding of sexual preference, marriage, the proper day
for worship and the observance of the correct holidays/holy days. In other
words, Mr. Watson is a proponent of a very narrow and doctrinally based
definition of what it means to be a Christian.
Much has
been made about Presiding Evangelist Roderick Meredith’s (Living Church of God)
obsession with the subject of homosexuality, but he has noting on Bill Watson! He
states very emphatically that “Sodomites will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
In his three-part Armor of God Web
Chat series “Politics and the Bible,” Mr. Watson decries “the silence coming
from the podium” about issues like same-sex marriage. He says repeatedly that
“all it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to sit down and do nothing.”
Hence, Mr. Watson sees it as his personal mission to condemn homosexuals.
In the same
series, he tells us that the concept of the separation of church and state is a
fallacy that has been foisted on American society by atheists and secular
humanists. Mr. Watson clearly delineates his belief that the Church should play
the role of the guardian of our culture’s morality. He (along with my father,
Pastor Wayne Hendrix) underscored the situation whereby the Mayor of Houston
attempted to regulate what her city’s pastors preached on the subject of
homosexuality (which this writer does not endorse or condone). It was stated in
Part One of the series that it was obvious that she had an agenda “by virtue of
the fact that she is a lesbian.” In other words, sexual orientation equals political
agenda.
More
recently, Mr. Watson has commented on the Presbyterian Church’s decision to
begin performing same-sex marriages (featured on the CGI’s homepage). He sees this as a “major event” in the
history of corporate Christianity’s stance on the issue. For Mr. Watson, the
genie has left the bottle! He decries the Presbyterian Church’s decision to
base their ministerial qualifications on faith and character instead of sexual
orientation. “When has homosexual behavior ever been a sign of character?” he
asks. Mr. Watson longs for the good old days when homosexual behavior was
considered abnormal and unacceptable. He informs us that the term “gay” used to
indicate that one was happy. Mr. Watson concludes that homosexual behavior “is
not the kind of behavior you want to have if you want to please God.”
It is ironic
to me that the principal scripture which Mr. Watson has used for justifying his
disdain for homosexuals and their behavior is Luke 6:22. For those of us on
the other side of this issue, this scripture provides comfort and hope: “What blessings await you when people hate
you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the
Son of Man.” NLT On the other hand,
if there are any Armstrongites out there who are still hankering for that old
time religion, you may want to give Mr. Watson and the CGI a try!
Personally,
I know that Mr. Watson has been a good friend to my father (Pastor Wayne
Hendrix), and a devoted servant of the Church of God International. In offering
this piece, it is not my intention to attack or disparage his character.
Rather, my intention was to clearly delineate what he is teaching and
underscore his agenda to such a degree that the CGI’s continued support for his
preaching and writings will clearly demonstrate their endorsement of those
ideas. In other words, those of you who are considering the CGI as a possible
religious home should be aware that their actions have incorporated things into
their statement of beliefs that do not appear in the pdf which they offer to
the public.
