Garner Ted Armstrong’s
Finest Hour – Cut Short!
By Whistler
Garner Ted Armstrong, as most of us
are only too aware of, was founder of the Intercontinental Church of God
and Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association, and son of Worldwide Church of
God founder Herbert W. Armstrong. These
churches which Garner Ted built were but a tiresome rehash of the toxic
spiritual mixture which his father gave birth to back in the early 1930s in the
form of The Worldwide Church of God.
Garner Ted was thrown out of the Worldwide
Church of God by his father in 1978 for immorality, and later from the
Intercontinental Church of God which he founded, for the same reason. He didn’t let this dampen his enthusiasm for
preaching his brand of the gospel, cultic as it was, as he felt somehow that
God didn’t mind that he wasn’t able to walk the talk. As the years passed, his frustration grew,
for he just didn’t seem to be going anywhere.
For some reason that he just couldn’t quite put his thumb on, he just
wasn’t getting much of the recognition or respect that he felt he so richly
deserved.
But the events of January 14, 2003
changed all that. He was finally getting
some of the national attention that he just knew was his due. WorldNetDaily, a
conservative news/gossip reporting service, published an article Garner Ted put
together for them, entitled “United States of
This sudden rise to relative fame
by GTA did not go unnoticed by the cult watchers, however. WorldNetDaily was
besieged by e-mails from those who knew GTA’s immoral
background and deceptive cultic message, but to none avail. WorldNetDaily was
apparently pitching all e-mails giving GTA the thumbs-down. No wonder, as nearly all the e-mails they
received were either very heated and accusatory,
poorly written, or just not built on facts.
The anti GTA bloggers were starting to pull
their hair out as it started to look like GTA was going to get a free pass, and
get a sizable boost to his organization via the WorldNetDaily
article (with maybe even more commentary articles by GTA to come, heaven
forbid).
But two upcoming events would serve
to take the joy out of what GTA probably was considering his finest hour – a
letter to the WorldNetDaily editor that finally made
it through to publication, and GTA contracting pneumonia.
Below I have posted Garner Ted’s
original article, followed by the e-mail that made it through to the WorldNetDaily “letters to the editor” column.
Posted:
January 14, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Garner Ted Armstrong
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
At the end of World War II, the
We alone possessed the most
fearsome weapon humans had ever devised: the atom bomb.
We had demonstrated its awesome
hideousness by obliterating two large Japanese cities,
World War II saw the indiscriminate
bombing of civilian targets – total war against total populations for total
stakes.
However, scarcely two years after
the Germans and Japanese surrendered, the
The
Many of those same soldiers would
never understand, either in
As Josef Stalin amply demonstrated,
where Soviet arms went, Soviet dominance remained. The Soviet Union had gobbled
up all of eastern Europe, had forged alliances with
Sir Winston Churchill said it was
as if "an iron curtain" had descended over
For decades, the world nervously
walked the tightrope between the war which must never be fought and the peace
which could not be achieved. Countless billions were spent by both superpowers
to achieve what was called "MAD," or "Mutually Assured
Destruction." Each power sought to achieve survivability, should the other
launch a first strike, and ensure that the retaliatory blow would be so
devastating that an attacker could not survive. Thus, the policy of massive
strength confronting massive strength seemed the only possible recourse in
order to avoid a nuclear World War III, which could mean the end of
civilization as we know it.
From the time the
The late President Harry Truman,
who had authorized the Air Force to drop atomic bombs on
In June of that year,
Like
The White House saw the North
Korean attack as an attempt by global communism to swallow up a helpless
neighbor, thus threatening
"Communism was acting in Korea
just as Hitler, Mussolini, and the Japanese had acted 10, 15, and 20 years
earlier ... If this was allowed to go unchallenged it would mean a third world
war ... It was also clear to me that the foundations and the principles of the
United Nations were at stake unless this unprovoked attack on Korea could be
stopped."
Nevertheless, when Truman told
Secretary of Defense Johnson to relate to MacArthur
personally that he was to support the South Koreans with elements of air and
naval elements under his command, he added, "But only south of the 38th
parallel."
Thus began a new kind of war – a
war neither the military nor the civilian population would ever understand – a
war based upon limited objectives, with limited forces committed to battle
piecemeal, in order to lean on an enemy and bring him to the conference table.
Never was it to be a war against
total populations for total stakes. Never did the
MacArthur knew that about 85 percent of the Chinese
industrial capacity was located in
The Korean War was never truly won.
Had it been, the
General Douglas MacArthur
was known for saying, "In war, there is no substitute for victory."
Instead of victory, the
Clearly, the North Koreans and
Communist Chinese were bent on using the conflict to their own benefit. They
prevaricated, exaggerated, lied, fenced, delayed and
sometimes walked out, using every psychological tool available to gain
advantage. Utterly frustrated by their conduct, Adm. C. Turner Joy, leading the
U.N. delegation, came to believe negotiating with the communists was totally
hopeless. So far as he was concerned, the "peace talks" merely
provided a sounding board for communist propaganda, and the manipulation of
world public opinion.
In a strong, harshly clear
indictment, he told the communist negotiators:
... any
hope that your side would bring good faith to these meetings was forlorn
indeed. From the very start, you have cavilled [sic]
over procedural details; you have manufactured spurious issues and placed them
in controversy for bargaining purposes; you have denied the existence of
agreements made between us when you found the fulfillment thereof not to your
liking; you have made false charges based on crimes invented for your purposes;
and you indulged in abuse and invective when all other tactics proved
ineffective.
Through a constant succession of
delays, fraudulent arguments and artificial attitudes you have obstructed the
attainment of an armistice which easily lay within our grasp had there been
equal honesty on both sides of this conference table ... It is an enormous
misfortune that you are constitutionally incapable of understanding the fair
and dignified attitude of the United Nations Command.
Apparently, you cannot comprehend
that strong and proud and free nations can make costly sacrifices for
principles because they are strong, can be dignified in the face of abuse and
deceit because they are proud, and can speak honestly because they are free and
do not fear the truth. Instead, you impute to the United Nations Command the
same suspicion, greed and deviousness which are your stock in trade. You search
every word for a hidden meaning and every agreement for a hidden trap.
Powerful words. Blunt, unequivocal
indictments of a sly, deceitful, prevaricating enemy.
Those sentiments still apply today,
as
Twice, the
We did not win in
Now, it appears we may have to pay
the price for the egregious error of finding a substitute for victory. The same
price may have to be paid in
Few realize how deeply the
ignominious withdrawal from
Today, we face the imminent
possibility of war with
Some officials now advocate
reinstating the draft in the hopes it will cause a backlash of mounting
anti-war sentiment just as it did during the war in
And now, at precisely the best
geopolitical time for them to do so, the Communist North Koreans threaten the
The rogue nation challenges the
Bush administration, warning them not to impose sanctions, or they will
"go to war."
While the
We appear deeply concerned –
perhaps even fearful – that the North Koreans might make a "dirty
bomb." Since we know they are heavily engaged in exporting missiles and
missile technology to Middle Eastern and sub-continent countries like
The
We know you intend to build a nuclear
bomb. We began building them in the 1940s. Since that time, we have built tens
of thousands of them – big ones, medium sized ones, small ones. We have placed
nuclear weapons in artillery shells, on the nose cones of thousands of missiles
aboard nuclear submarines; on the nose cones of ICBMs and IRBMs,
in the bombs carried by our stealth bombers – nuclear weapons with a thousand
times the power of the little bomb you are now trying to produce.
If we decide to do so, we could
utterly destroy your entire country within only minutes. Therefore, you will
now halt production of any nuclear weapons – and completely dismantle your
nuclear program – or we will turn
But the
We have no legions. We cannot send
illiterate Carthaginians to subdue enemies afar off. Instead, we must send
young men and women from
Because we are fundamentally a
"Christian" nation (recent polls indicate up to 85 percent of us
believe in God), and because we value human life, we cannot imagine using our
military power against total populations for total stakes.
We did so in World War II, but that
was because of
Today, the battered face of even
one captured pilot, shown on enemy television, so aggrieves the hearts and
minds of millions of Americans that we are willing to go to virtually any
limits to appease, placate and act the pusillanimous and "reasonable"
negotiator in order to avoid armed conflict. Americans hate war, as well they
should. That is why the mantle of global superpower sits heavily upon our
shoulders.
Once the peace talks started in
Wars simply do not work out that
way.
Perhaps one of the great enigmas of
a free, democratic society based upon Judeo-Christian ethics placing great
value on each human life is that we are rarely willing to use the tactics of
dictators against dictators.
Are we truly the world's great
superpower? Or are we Gulliver in Lilliputia?
Garner Ted
Armstrong is an evangelist and
political commentator based in
Not a bad article by Garner
Ted, if one is not aware of what they are mentally being set up for. The following
appeared (finally!) in the “Letters to the Editor” section of WorldNetDaily a few weeks later, giving the reading public
just a glimpse of where GTA might be trying to lead them:
Garner Ted 'cultic'
I usually
enjoy the commentary pieces by the various personalities that you post on WND.
But I have to take strong exception to your choice of giving space to Garner
Ted Armstrong's piece called "United States
of America – a timid giant?" I can understand how you were impressed
by his writing skills. I, too, was very impressed by him starting about 40
years ago.
Garner Ted
is a fluent and convincing speaker and writer. I should know, as I listened to
his radio broadcast and church sermons from 1961 to 1978 or so. … He did indeed
exude charisma and could wield a convincing tongue. …
The only
problem with posting his writings, as you may someday find out, is that the
theme that underlies all that emanates from his vocal chords and pen is the
theme of British Israelism (the U.S. and Britain,
etc., are actually the Israel of the Bible) and old-covenant legalism. Give
Garner Ted enough column inches and he will eventually get around to revealing
his real cultic underpinnings.
The real
danger of giving Garner Ted further nationwide free exposure in WND is that he
will gain undeserved credibility and possibly will also gain followers from
your readership. I can speak from experience that he has no real insights to
offer the reader, only false prophesies and the chains of legalism (mandatory
observance of Sabbaths, tithes, unclean meats, etc.).
He and
before him his deceased father, Herbert W., have been teaching the same old
gospel of the U.S. coming under captivity to the Germans since 1934; the only
escape being to turn to his cultic teachings.
The
article of his that you had on WND recently was just his first step in showing
the audience how God will no longer bless the U.S. because of their sins, which
include Saturday Sabbath breaking and not keeping the Jewish holy days, etc.
Hopefully, this is not something you want to expose the reader to on an ongoing
basis. Give GTA enough rope and he will eventually reveal his real motives, or
else just use WND to try to garner (no pun intended) more interest in his
church and errant teachings.
The word
is (from some of the various Church of God websites) that Garner Ted and his
church are rejoicing in increased hits on their website and inquiries into how
more of what GTA writes can be obtained as a result of his article on WND. Whoa
Nellie, but I feel sorry for those people! It took me 30 years to extricate
myself from his teachings!
Please
consider giving your readership a bit of a warning about where becoming enthused
about GTA just might lead them.
(Written/submitted
by Whistler)
Yes, it’s true. My e-mail to the editor was the only one to get published by the WorldNetDaily. [Hey,
if I don’t toot my own horn, who will ;o) ?]
The important thing is, a letter to the editor did get through, and the public was duly warned! As they say, “buyer beware” . . . an
especially apt warning when dealing with the Armstrongs
and their ilk.
The last we heard about GTA
in the WorldNetDaily was in Sept 2003:
Evangelist Garner Ted Armstrong dies
'World Tomorrow'
host succumbs to pneumonia at age 73
Posted:
September 16, 2003
1:45 a.m. Eastern
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
Evangelist Garner Ted Armstrong, best known
for his "World Tomorrow" program, died yesterday from complications
from pneumonia at a hospital near his home in
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