Did you know that Herman Hoeh was a supposed "successor" to Herbert Armstrong? There is an email making the rounds right now trumpeting a
web site that is dedicated to Herman Hoeh which makes that claim. It has been up for several years now so I am surprised they are just now finding out about it. There were many that had hoped Hoeh's name was in the running to be HWA's successor. Just like Ellis LaRavia's name, Hoeh's name was no where to be seen.
Hoeh has been loved and ridiculed over the decades. Ridiculed for some of his flawed "history" and beloved as a supposed stalwart in the faith.
He caused a lot of angst in the WCG when he went along with the doctrinal changes the church was setting down in the 1990's. He never spoke out against them and many report that he thought they were sorely needed.
Many think by that point that Hoeh's own theology had advanced far beyond the COG mindset. He took absolutely no interest in any of the hundreds of splinter groups nor their leaders. Many of those groups were lead by men he had went all through college with and served with in the church for decades. He knew their dark side and had no interest in following them.
The Los Angeles Thai Temple where Hoeh spent untold hours
with his Buddhist friends
and learned about their spirituality.
He easily embraced the Buddhist community and they looked with favor upon him as an enlightened man. One thing about Hoeh, he was always at peace with his understanding of spirituality and how others found peace. He was at peace with breaking bread with his Buddhist friends. There is even a
library in Thailand named after him.
The site is sponsored by Christian Commandment Keepers that is run by Mark Kaplan. Kaplan was instrumental in trying to keep the law in force in the church during the doctrinal changes.
Their doctrinal statement is quit telling. The law is spoken of but nothing about being a follower of Jesus.
Statement of Beliefs
- Recognize the Bible as the source of doctrine.
- Accept the authority of the Hebrew-speaking community to preserve
the Old Testament, including the Sacred Calendar, and the Greek-speaking
community to preserve the New Testament.
- Celebrate God’s plan for humanity as emphasized by observance of the seventh day Sabbath and the annual Holy Days of the Bible.
Gavin Rumney has this up on his blog about them:
Journal charts UCG split
One other item I can't help but mention. A group that calls itself the Church of Christian Commandment Keepers has created a website called - wait for it - hermanhoeh.info.
Herman is described there as "a spiritual successor to Herbert W.
Armstrong," and I guess we're expected to believe that this little band
are now Herman's spiritual successors. Sadly there are no downloads of the famous Compendium of World History, just a collection of Her-manic sermons.
Just think, if Hoeh had been the successor to HWA we might all be Buddhists by now.....certainly a more peaceful thought than the 700 some bickering and splinter COG's out there today.
Other articles about Herman Hoeh:
The Enigma of Herman Hoeh
The Closet Buddhist
Herman Hoeh Memorial Announcement
