Did Mr. Armstrong Preach the Gospel to World Leaders?
As it became clear that the end-time events would
not begin during (or before) 1972, Mr. Armstrong then went on to claim that his
new commission was to bring the gospel to world leaders. Many believed that he had both been given and
fulfilled this commission. Others have
stated that HWA merely used this claim as justification to spend lavishly on
housing, furnishings, artwork, clothing, cars, airplanes, travel and
entertaining and that his visits with dignitaries served no purpose in
proclaiming the gospel to the world.
Can we determine from HWA’s own descriptions of
these events (and from documented history) which claim is correct?
From Mr. Armstrong's perspective
Member Letter 7/30/73: "God has shown me HOW to
present it [his gospel]... as a sensational
NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT that affects their country... in such a way that their
newspapers will PUBLISH THE NEWS—PRINT WHAT I SAY… I believe I can proclaim this true Gospel as something SO NEW—so STARTLING—so
SENSATIONAL—that it will get big headlines in newspapers…"
"It’s NOTHING LIKE what missionaries have taught in those
countries! They will not recognize any connection WHATEVER. It will not appear as anything competitive to THEIR religions.
In Japan it will be thundered to them as direct from the CREATOR
OF THE JAPANESE PEOPLE. I will not say anything against their religions...
THAT’S OUR COMMISSION! Just the ANNOUNCEMENT of the soon coming
KINGDOM OF GOD.. of course I must reveal this great announcement to these heads
of state first…"
Ministerial bulletin 6/3/79: "Some weeks ago I
authorized the formation of a new FOUNDATION—named the Ambassador International
Cultural Foundation. It has become a necessary adjunct to this worldwide
dimension of getting Christ's TRUE Gospel to the nations through heads of
government…[a] whole new phase of the Work.
...
One thing has been a serious handicap
and caused me and my touring team no little embarrassment. We have had to say
that we represent either Ambassador College, or Worldwide Church of God.
... This new Foundation is giving us great added prestige,
credibility, and favor. It is something NO ONE CAN CRITICIZE. It doesn't sound
'religious'!"
From an opposing perspective
The following are some comments by
Marion McNair, one of the first men to be ordained as an evangelist in HWA's
Radio Church of God. He left the organization and wrote “Armstrongism--
Religion or Rip-0ff? ” after becoming disillusioned about
Mr. Armstrong. From pages 60-62 of that
book:
“Did the TWELVE APOSTLES, when they came
to the attention of rulers, hide the fact they represented Jesus Christ? Did
they not say, when confronted, "… we cannot but speak the things which we
have seen and heard… and they spake the word with boldness…" (Acts
4:19-20). Verse 2 of this chapter shows exactly what they
preached—"The resurrection of the dead through Christ Jesus."
But Armstrong does not represent Christ to the Japanese. He
thunders to them as direct from the CREATOR of the Japanese people. Whatever
false god they have in their minds is the one they will "believe" is
sponsoring Armstrong. It could be Buddha, Confucius or the Imperial god
(Shinto) but not Jesus Christ.
Is
that what our Lord instructed? Did He say to go to a nation "in the name
of its god"? But rather through Paul, "… whatsoever ye do in
word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus…" (Col 3:17)
… Jesus said, "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and
of my words… of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he
cometh…" Christ wants His
ministers to speak boldly in His name. He did not say, "Go ye therefore unto all the world
and SNEAK the Gospel into every nation."
Was
Mr. Armstrong's approach effective?
Did Mr. Armstrong actually have an impact on world
leaders (and the world overall) through this with his “sensational” approach? Did he make headlines and get newspapers to
print "the gospel message" that he had delivered?
From Mr. Armstrong's perspective
Member Letter 2/22/74: “And
now, PUBLIC APPEARANCE CAMPAIGNS are planned
already in THREE nations, sponsored by officials high in the governments of these nations. Already I have gotten the MESSAGE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD to audiences of 55 to 100 of each nation's
LEADERS in banquets or dinners
in India, Japan,
Thailand, South Vietnam, Ethiopia, and the Philippines.
This is positively miraculous! It is GOD'S DOING!
God had a SPECIAL
MISSION for His first-century apostles
-- giving personal
eyewitness proof of the RESURRECTION of Christ, as well as proclaiming the Good News of the KINGDOM OF GOD. From then until 1934, the Church existed,
comparatively small in number, persecuted, unable to proclaim
the KINGDOM OF GOD to the world.
When I go before kings, presidents, emperors, prime ministers, and the LEADERS
of many nations, I go and am received as AN AMBASSADOR
FOR WORLD PEACE...
I go in Satan's
great disfavor -- in Satan's
eyes and those he has deceived into being used AGAINST the Work of the living God, with no credibility. But in GOD'S EYES, and in the eyes of the nations'
leaders, I go with great FAVOR, THE HIGHEST CREDIBILITY, and in high HONOR!”
Member
Letter 12/18/79 : "We
arrived [in Red China] on Sunday evening, December 2nd. On Monday evening I
spoke for about a half hour at a banquet in my honor, attended by prominent
members of the government and their wives. Tuesday evening I spoke again before
the Diplomatic Corps, including ambassadors—many with wives—representing 76
(SEVENTY-SIX) other nations from all parts of the world, beside a number of
high-ranking Chinese...
[HWA, quoting a memo by Stan Rader about the meetings] ... "The Vice-Chairman undoubtedly had
been advised of your strong comments Monday night and again on Tuesday night. I
believe that he knew full well that the United Europe and the cataclysm that
would follow were directly connected with your comments about the 'Strong Hand from somewhere' that would save mankind from complete
destruction and would be man's salvation and only HOPE."
From the perspective of the news media
THE
JERUSALEM POST, 8/24/76 , page 5: “Herbert Armstrong has shuttled in and out of Israel and the Arab
world in the last few years at a rate that would leave Henry Kissinger
breathless.
Flying in his own executive jet, the 84-year-old
fundamentalist church leader and philanthropist has visited Israel alone 50-60
times since 1965. He has visited almost as extensively in Arab countries. Unlike Kissinger, he has
offered his Israeli hosts neither bitter truths nor hard alternatives—only
goodwill and money. It is an offer neither side
has been able to refuse.
Mr. Armstrong’s current visit is in connection with a $250,000
contribution for a playground in Jerusalem’s Liberty Bell Garden… “
Although Mr. Armstrong did make headlines, the subject of
the articles was not the gospel of Jesus Christ and the facts regarding his
travels led many to question whether he was qualified to be a representative of
God.
This brings us back to the question raised in the beginning:
Did Mr. Armstrong actually preach
the Gospel to world leaders?
First, even by Mr. Armstrong's own statements, it
is clear that he did not preach the true gospel of Christ. His vague message about the “give” and “get”
ways of life (and “a strong hand from someplace” intervening in world affairs) to
diplomats and other government officials did not equate to delivering the
Gospel of Christ, or even an announcement about the coming kingdom of God.
Second, HWA’s statement about being embarrassed to
go before others while representing a church is an extremely troubling
admission for one claiming to be Christ's only Apostle of the “one true church”.
Third, his well-documented life of luxury with his
mansions, Rolls Royce’s, art work, and Gulfstream Jets - all financed on the
backs of struggling church members - unlikely demonstrated any connection
whatsoever to Christ (and his example of service to others) to those
dignitaries he interacted with.
30 years later
For those ministers continuing to believe and/or
promote the idea that HWA’s travels were both justified and effective… what
proof is there in 2016? Of all the world leaders that HWA had visited between 1974-1986, how
many are still alive or in power at this time?
How many of them actually passed on a single bit of HWA’s message to
their own citizens? How many newspaper
headlines carried Mr. Armstrong’s message to the public? Can we truly say that any of the nations that
he had visited were warned… or even informed?
Of the roughly 7 billion inhabitants of
the earth at this time, how many of them have even heard of Mr. Armstrong? Being very generous, let’s assume that the
answer is somewhere between 10-50 million people. That would just represent 0.5% of the world’s
total population. And of that tiny
fraction of individuals that do remember Mr. Armstrong, would the majority
remember him for the message that he proclaimed or for the manner in which he
lived?
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