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COGwriter<\/a><\/p>\n Hebert W. Armstrong died on January 16, 1986, at age 93 1\/2. Many never heard of him, but millions did.<\/p>\n To learn a little about how he approached religion as a young man, here are some excerpts from his Autobiography<\/em>:<\/p>\n Before our marriage my wife had been quite interested in Bible study. She had been for years an active Methodist.<\/p>\n After marriage, although she had not lost her interest in the Christian life and the Bible, she had not had the same opportunity to express it, or participate in religious fellowship with others. While we lived in Maywood, suburb of Chicago, we had joined the River Forest Methodist Church. The fellowship there had been more social than spiritual or Biblical.<\/p>\n But all Mrs. Armstrong\u2019s active interest in things Biblical was reawakened when she became acquainted with Mrs. Runcorn. One day Mrs. Runcorn gave her a Bible study. She asked my wife to turn to a certain passage and read it. Then a second, then a third, and so on for about an hour. Mrs. Runcorn made no comment \u2014 gave no explanation or argument \u2014 just asked my wife to read aloud a series of Biblical passages.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy!\u201d exclaimed Mrs. Armstrong in amazement, \u201cdo all these Scriptures say that I\u2019ve been keeping the wrong day as the Sabbath all my life?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, do they<\/em>?\u201d asked Mrs. Runcorn. \u201cDon\u2019t ask me whether you have been wrong \u2014 you shouldn\u2019t believe what any person <\/em>tells you, but only what GOD tells you through the Bible. What does He tell you, there<\/em>? What do you see there<\/em> with your own eyes?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy, it\u2019s as plain as anything could be!\u201d exclaimed Mrs. Armstrong. \u201cWhy, this is a wonderful<\/em> discovery. I must rush back to tell my husband the good news. I know he\u2019ll be overjoyed!\u201d<\/p>\n A minute or so later, Mrs. Armstrong came running into my parents\u2019 home, with the \u201cgood news.\u201d<\/p>\n My jaw dropped! This was the worst<\/em> news I had ever heard! My wife gone into religious fanaticism!<\/p>\n \u201cHave you gone CRAZY?\u201d I asked, incredulously. \u201cOf course not! I was never more sure of anything in my life,\u201d responded my wife with enthusiasm.<\/p>\n Indeed, I wondered if she really had<\/em> lost her mind! Deciding to \u201ckeep Saturday for Sunday!\u201d Why, that seemed like rank FANATICISM! And my wife had always had such a sound mind! There was nothing shallow about her. She had always had a well-balanced mind, with depth.<\/p>\n But now, suddenly \u2014 THIS! It seemed incredible \u2014 preposterous! \u201cLoma,\u201d I said sternly, \u201cthis is simply too ridiculous to believe! I am certainly not going to tolerate any such religious fanaticism in our family! You\u2019ll have to give that up right here and now!\u201d<\/p>\n But she wouldn\u2019t! \u201cDoesn\u2019t the Bible say that wives must be obedient to their husbands?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, in the Lord, but not contrary to the Lord,\u201d she came back.<\/p>\n It was amazing how many logical arguments came to my mind. But always she had the answer.<\/p>\n I felt I could not tolerate such humiliation. What would my friends say?<\/em> What would former business acquaintances think? Nothing had ever hit me where it hurt so much \u2014 right smack in the heart of all my pride and vanity and conceit! And this<\/em> mortifying blow had to fall immediately on top of confidence-crushing financial reverses!<\/p>\n In desperation, I said: \u201cLoma, you can\u2019t tell me that all these churches have been wrong all these hundreds of years! Why, aren\u2019t these all CHRIST\u2019S churches?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen,\u201d came back Mrs. Armstrong, \u201cwhy<\/em> do they all disagree on so many doctrines? Why does each one teach differently than the others?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut,\u201d I still contended, \u201cIsn\u2019t the Bible the very source of the teaching of all these Christian churches? And they do all agree on observing Sunday! I\u2019m sure the Bible says, \u2018Thou shalt keep SUNDAY!\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n \u201cWell, does it?\u201d smiled my wife, handing me a Bible. \u201cShow it to me, if it does \u2014 and I\u2019ll do what it says.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know where to find it. You know I\u2019m no Bible student, I could never understand the Bible. But I know the Bible must command the observance of Sunday, because all the churches observe Sunday, except the Seventh-Day Adventists, and they\u2019re regarded as fanatics. The Sabbath was the day for the Jews.\u201d<\/p>\n I even threatened divorce, if my wife refused to give up this fanaticism, though in my heart I didn\u2019t really mean it. In our family divorce was a thing unheard of \u2014 and beside, I was very much in love with my wife \u2014 though at the moment I was boiling over with anger.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you can prove by the Bible that Christians are commanded to observe Sunday, then of course I\u2019ll do what I see in the Bible!\u201d<\/p>\n This was her challenge. \u201cO.K.,\u201d I answered, \u201cI\u2019ll make you this proposition: I don\u2019t know much about the Bible \u2014 I just never could seem to understand it. But I do have an analytical mind. I\u2019ve become experienced in research into business problems, getting the facts and analyzing them. Now I\u2019ll make a complete and thorough study of this question in the Bible. All these churches can\u2019t be wrong. I\u2019ll prove to you in the Bible that you are mistaken!\u201d<\/p>\n This was in the autumn of 1926\u2026<\/p>\n W<\/span>E HAD MOVED TO the Pacific Northwest in the summer of 1924. My wife\u2019s brother, Walter Dillon, and her sister Bertha, had driven Walter\u2019s Model T Ford back to Iowa in August\u2026In June, 1925, Walter and his young wife, together with Bertha and my wife\u2019s father, had returned to Oregon\u2026<\/p>\n Walter\u2019s wife had been indoctrinated with the theory of evolution in college. One day she and I became engaged in a discussion. The evolutionary doctrine came into the conversation. I mentioned that I was not convinced of its validity.<\/p>\n \u201cHerbert Armstrong, you are simply IGNORANT!\u201d accused Hertha. Her words stabbed deeply into what was left of my ego. \u201cOne is uneducated, and ignorant, unless he believes in evolution. All educated people now believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n That accusation came hot on the heels of this Sabbath challenge from my wife. Of course, Bertha was only about 19, and had had but her freshman year in college. She was yet immature enough to be a bit oversold on what had been presented to her as a mark of intellectual distinction. Nevertheless, her manner was cutting, and a bit sarcastic, and I accepted it as a challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cHertha,\u201d I responded, \u201cI am just starting a study of the Bible. I intend to include in this research a thorough study of the Biblical account of creation. Since it is admittedly one of the two \u2014 evolution or special creation \u2014 I will include an in-depth study of evolution. I feel sure that a thorough study into both sides will show that it is you who are ignorant, and that you merely studied one side of a two-sided question in freshman biology, and accepted what was funneled into your mind without question. And if and when I do, I\u2019m going to make you EAT those words!<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n And so it developed that I now had a double<\/em> challenge to go to work on \u2014 a dual<\/em> subject involving both the Biblical claims for special creation, and also a more in-depth study than before into texts on biology, geology, paleontology, and the various works on the theory of evolution.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As one exposed to a fair amount of the worlds\u2019 education, I would simply state here that most who claim evolution as truth simply have not studied into it enough. Two articles of related interest may include Is God\u2019s Existence Logical?<\/a> and Is Evolution Probable or Impossible or Is God\u2019s Existence Logical? Part II<\/a>.<\/p>\n Part of Herbert W. Armstrong\u2019s legacy is that he took the Bible to be the word of God and taught:<\/p>\n \u2026the Bible tells us to PROVE all things (Armstrong HW. The RESURRECTION was NOT on Sunday. 1952).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Which of course, it does as the Apostle Paul wrote:<\/p>\n Prove all things; hold fast that which is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21, KJV).<\/p>\n Sadly many have falsely maligned Herbert W. Armstrong (please see the article 15 Accusations and Truthful Responses About Herbert W. Armstrong<\/a>), while others have exalted him beyond appropriateness (please see the article The Elijah Heresies<\/a> ). Since his death, only relatively few seemed to really understand his work and what he felt Christ expected of the church.<\/p>\n Those truly interested in learning more about Herbert W. Armstrong, should read the article Who Was Herbert W. Armstrong? How is He Viewed Today?<\/a>.<\/p>\n And everyone should try to live by the following teaching of Herbert W. Armstrong:<\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>Don\u2019t<\/em> believe me<\/em> <\/strong>\u2013<\/span> BELIEVE YOUR <\/span>B<\/span>IBLE<\/span> <\/strong>\u2013<\/span> BELIEVE<\/span> GOD<\/em>! <\/strong>I always say\u2026check up! Listen without prejudice, with open mind, then check up<\/em>\u2013go to your BIBLE, and BELIEVE what you read there<\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n (Herbert W. Armstrong, Plain Truth magazine, Sept. 1963, Personal pg.1)<\/span><\/p>\n Several articles of possibly related interest include:<\/em><\/p>\n Who Was Herbert W. Armstrong? How is He Viewed Today?<\/a> Includes quotes from the 1973 edition of The Autobiography of Herbert W. Armstrong<\/em> and explains how he is and should be viewed today. COGwriter Hebert W. Armstrong died on January 16, 1986, at age 93 1\/2. Many never heard of him, but millions did. To learn a little about how he approached religion as a young man, here are some excerpts from his Autobiography: Before our marriage my wife had been quite interested in Bible study. She had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-history"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\nShould the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert W. Armstrong Change that Priority for the Work?<\/a> Some say the Church should mainly feed the flock now as that is what Herbert W. Armstrong reportedly said. Is that what he said? Is that what the Bible says? What did Paul and Herbert W. Armstrong expect from evangelists?
\nHere are Some Quotes from Herbert W. Armstrong on Laodicea and Holding to Doctrine<\/a>.
\nThere are Many COGs: Why Support the Living Church of God?<\/a> This is an article for those who wish to easily sort out the different COGs. It really should be a MUST READ for current and former WCG members or any interested in supporting the faithful church. It also explains a lot of what the COGs are all about.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"