Our First Love Should be God --- by Tawanda Ray

Our First Love Should be God (2001)

by Tawanda Ray (Hamilton, Alabama)

Dear Darwin & Laura,

Hi--me again. I recently wrote to you concerning your last newsletter. In it were two articles on which I commented. I especially enjoyed the one about women and I hope you will carry more of those in the future.

Now, I’d like to put my two cents in concerning another article entitled “First Love” (Issue No. 5) by Arlan Weight. Arlan has written several great articles that I have enjoyed in past issues of your newsletter.

However, the feel I get from some of the points Arlan brought out is that HWA is getting a lot more credit and honors than he should concerning the true Body of Christ.

First of all, to believe “the church” (modern era) began with HWA is to negate any and all people as the Body of Christ who did not come under the jurisdiction of this one man. How in this world can we make that judgment?

And what of all those people who saw the hypocrisy and lies of HWA’s regime and his lavish and luxurious living made possible by “widows mites” and who left “the church” because of it. Were they leaving their first love or were they leaving a hypocritical organization?

All anyone has to do is to review HWA’s membership letters (available by request from Servants’ News) to see him as he really was. Not only that, his own literature indicts him as anyone can see by perusing the old P.T.’s (Plain Truth Magazine), G.N.’s (Good News Magazine) and W.N.’s (Worldwide News).

There is a saying I really appreciate. “A doctor buries his mistakes, a lawyer jails his but a journalist prints his for all the world to see”.

So it is with HWA and his hierarchy! We don’t need any of his enemies to bad-mouth him in order for us to see what his “administration” was all about.

Arlan asks, “Why all the Armstrong bashing? Was HWA a false prophet?

So, let’s take the first question. Exposing someone for the wrongs they’ve done to a large group of people over a long period of time is not “bashing”. Exposing a con man is not bashing!

Was HWA a false prophet? HWA had some truth--but none that he came up with all on his own. He “barrowed” from other teachers/writers but somehow forgot to let people in on that. To those who weren’t aware of these other writers, it seemed like HWA indeed was bringing these wonderful truths to the world for the first time in 1900 years!

So--was the organization HWA built THE true church (with no exception)? Was HWA a true prophet as opposed to a false prophet?

A true prophet of God will bring true prophecies from God. How many times was HWA “off” in his prophecies? Did he set dates? Did they fail?

How many times did he change back and forth ON doctrine? Which one was of God?

The point was made that Christians in the early era left their first love and the comparison was made in that today people have also left their first love. He (Arlan) compares his coming into HWA’s organization and its work as “first love”, due to the teachings of a coming utopian world.

Yes, HWA had knowledge of this coming utopia and it was wonderful to hear. But, this was not new knowledge. Others also had it and anyone who picked up a bible and actually read it could have it. No, this message had not been hidden for 1900 years! If the church has existed from its conception till modern ages, why would God withhold this information from every generation of it until HWA came on the scene?

Most likely, as it is in most churches today, people don’t bother reading the bible themselves. It’s easier to pick out a suitable church and attend every little while to let the preacher preach to them.

HWA used to say, “Don’t believe me, believe your bible”. And yes he was right on some things--but so were others. And… he was very wrong on many things!

Examples:

He lived an expensive lifestyle all the while demanding the membership to sacrifice and send more money. (Don’t believe me? Check the membership letters.) How many of us sported a fraction of his $200,000.00 income? And he emphasized the widow’s mites were “mites” not “mite”.

He put himself squarely between us and God! After all--”God always works through one man”. That’s what a hierarchy is all about! In HWA’s regime, we had many men between us and God. And if we ever saw scripture different than they did, we kept it to ourselves. HWA wanted us to read the bible and prove what he said was true. To speak out otherwise would result in a disfellowshipment. It happened over and over.----In fact, some of the membership spoke out about doctrines of HWA which weren’t right and were quickly dealt with only to see HWA later embrace the same mindset. Did he apologize to those he kicked out?
Many of his predictions fell flat. At times he blamed the church’s unreadiness for Jesus’ not returning when he (HWA) predicted.
His hobnobbing with the “great and near great” and comparing that with preaching the Gospel was laughable and pitiful! He was praised and honored by heads of state--those whose affections he bought with so many widow’s mites! The apostles were persecuted, beaten, dishonored and finally killed for their efforts. See any difference?
Comparing himself to the pope, he ruled as one who had to answer to no one.----If we could look at his words concerning the Kingdom of God as a utopian world and none of his other myriad deeds, we could perhaps honor the man somewhat as a teacher. Unfortunately this cannot be.----It is one thing, falling in love with messages of hope from the scriptures, it is entirely another thing, attributing this message to a man, saying for 1900 years no one knew about the Kingdom of God nor had the gospel Jesus taught.----That concept is false and it was used to promote the one man and the one organization.
HWA also made dire predictions concerning the Tribulation at the end which are false. Remember the detailed accounts of Gerald Waterhouse? If HWA did not promote these details, why did he allow and pay G. Waterhouse to roam the globe and preach it as FACT! More false prophecies!!! Tremendous time and money was spent in promoting false prophecies.
Remember D&R? He split up whole families due to his own personal understanding of this subject. Later, he changed it in order to marry a divorced woman!!
Many members fore went medical attention--some died--due to his personal understanding on this issue--only later to have to watch as some of the “ministers” (using the medical people), explained why it was ok for them to use the doctors. Also did we not wonder about the medical staff being with HWA himself in his home?

I could go on but I think I’ve made my point.

The “first love” should be toward God alone--not HWA and/or his organization.

It is interesting to note that the good news Jesus sent out by his apostles did entail their eyewitness account of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection as well as the words Jesus gave them to speak. The good news did concern the fact that Israel’s Messiah had come and given His life for their redemption.

Yes, it also entailed the future Kingdom for Israel.

HWA spoke nothing of Jesus Christ to the heads of state! He spoke of how bad things were and alluded to a “strong hand from someplace”. Compare that to the power of the message Jesus gave through His apostles.

The whole world would hate, persecute and kill them. Certainly, they would not be honored and praised like HWA was.

No, HWA was not as truthful as we thought. And he, at our expense, did build up his own empire! What does Corporate Sole mean anyway? He owned it! He had no checks and balances! His own literature compared him to the Pope! He had all authority and answered to no one.

Speak of believing perverse things! To believe him in many of his teachings was to believe perverse things!

He taught sternly three tithes of money was to be separated from our incomes. Not only that, he insisted on generous offerings being given to the point of the sacrifice of necessities. And this, while the membership met in beer halls or where ever they could. The elaborate structures of A. C. (Ambassador College) stood as a prime example of the excellence of God while the majority of the membership struggled at times simply to find accommodations in order to meet together.----I challenge anyone to prove by scriptures that Jesus or any of His apostles/disciples ever collected tithes of money from people. The only scriptures that concern tithes are very clear as to what those tithes were and to whom they went.----HWA threatened people with the Tribulation or even the lake of fire if they did not tithe money to him.----Concerning the festivals, where in all the bible does God command the festivals to be kept in anyway but the way He commanded Israel to keep them? Their going up to the place God chose to place His name was to the site where His Temple stood. It was not going up to any place any person chose. It also revolved around offering sacrifices upon the altar and feasting on the cooked food.--Today, what we’ve known the festivals to be resembles nothing to the way God set them. HWA claimed the right to place God’s name in cities all over the globe. Talk about taking God’s name…!
Concerning the fall festival--Tabernacles--prove by plain scripture that this entails the picture of lavish living in the Kingdom of God. How does living in temporary dwellings picture lavish living?
Concerning the eighth day festival--by using plain scripture, explain that one.----Most of us did what we did with a heart that yearned toward God and it is good that God looks at our hearts.----Thy fault with HWA is not with his heart but with his deeds. We are cautioned to judge deeds. “By their fruits, you shall know them.”

HWA spoke some truth, but he also spoke untruth as well. To attribute things to HWA that he does not deserve is unwise. To honor him as a great man of God who has delivered the true gospel to people for the first time in 19 centuries is unwise.

Our actions in following HWA if done with a pure heart is not at fault. Obedience to our understanding of what scripture obligates us to do is never done in vain. But sometimes, the results are!

Consider the whole empire of HWA. Where is it now? All the money that we struggled to send in. What did it accomplish? Where are all the greats and near greats that he hobnobbed with? His Japanese sons? His work of giving money right and left to every cause, his heads of state friends, wanted for their countries?

Some today (groups and their leaders) still insist on doing this the way HWA did. They can’t, however, they don’t have the money.

It is good to look at our first love unless it is tainted with connecting that with a man and his organization. That first love has been available to God’s people in all eras of time since the beginning. It certainly did not begin with Herbert Armstrong.

Since leaving his organization, I have learned many things as I grow in biblical understanding. Many of HWA’s doctrines and teachings have fallen in the dust. Yet, God is still here.

These are just my perceptions on points made in this article. I don’t mean to bash the article as he also made some good points.

I give permission to print this at your own discretion. I realize some will construe this letter as being negative.

In Friendship,

Tawanda Ray