Herbert W. Armstrong.
Was he a delusional man or a fraud?
HWA tried to convince his sheeple that he was spreading the word of God when in reality he was fulfilling his personal psychological need to be recognized by those who retained real power within the worlds power structure. If he could arrange a meeting with the Queen, Margaret Thatcher or even Charles, who he used to call the wicked Prince who will become the principal cause of the destruction of Britain, he could claim legitimacy in the eyes of his followers. Or so he thought.
This is the true story of Herbert W. Armstrong’s quest to weasel his way into the power structure of Britain.
HWA felt the need to meet Margaret Thatcher. What was needed was something that would open a door into the world of the rich and powerful. That something was money. Money that was donated from mostly poor indigent people that made up his religious cult. However, Herbert Armstrong has needs that must be fulfilled and that is what really counts. In Herbert’s fertile imagination, if he could pull this off he would be confirming his claims of influence, not only within the Royal family, but the U.K. government.
In the 1980’s the London opera house was in desperate need of repair and sought out financing to achieve its goal of modernization. It was not to see extensive reconstruction until the 1990s but there was a desperate need and the Brits sought out any way possible to achieve their goal of renovating the old building. Hence, in walks Herbert Armstrong with his checkbook. Mind you that this was not Herbert’s personal checkbook, this was the churches. The church, which was made up of mostly poor indigent people from all over the United States and England.
This was not to go unnoticed.
A letter by Margaret Ray Robinson, dated July 7, 1982 warned as to what Armstrong really was, and why he wanted an audience with Thatcher.
Another person by the name John Tuit, author of the book “The Truth Shall Make You Free” also expressed his concerns to the British government. If you are not familiar with Tuit, he was the man who initiated the lawsuit brought by the Attorney General of California against Herbert W Armstrong, Stanley Rader, and other leaders of the Worldwide Church of God.
A letter of caution was sent expressing a concern
The concern was that Herbert Armstrong was trying to weasel his way into the inner working’s of the Royal Family, and the Prime Minister.
This is where HWA writes in his co-worker letters that he has meet with Charles, Thatcher and of course the Queen. Herbert Armstrong lied! (1)
WHEN THE QUEEN SAID HE LIED
Tulsa World Friday, May 11th, 1984
THE QUEEN was far from amused when Herbert Armstrong tried to drag her name into his religious Circus. He hoaxed his followers by claiming that she had agreed to help him host a London film premiere.
But Buckingham Palace had never heard of the Worldwide Church of God and was quick to deny any link Armstrong boasted that he had arranged the first showing of the war drama The Wild Geese in aid of handicapped youngsters. And in a newsletter to 65,000 church members, he said, “Queen Elizabeth II has promised to co-host.”
But the Queen wasn’t at the event – and Armstrong, far from being the organizer, was only a guest – along with 1,000 others.
After the hoax, in 1978, bewildered church members turned to the Palace for an explanation. Her Majesty’s Private Secretary, Robert Fellowes, told them: “There is no truth whatsoever in Mr. Armstrong’s claim to be associated with the Queen, Prince Philip or any member of the Royal Family.”
Royal Opera House seeks out a sucker and finds it in Herbert Armstrong
The following letter from the Royal Opera House describes a earlier donation that attempted to gain access to the inner workings of the government.
Well, dear reader, all of the foregoing information has been served up, raising the curtain in order to understand the motive and force behind Herbert Armstrong’s rush to fame and fortune. Thoughtful people are being forced to admit, after years of evading the truth, that I and others have been right all along. Herbert Armstrong was a caustic buffoon, a liar, and a fraud.
I was right when I said that Herbert’s teaching’s represent an inseparable mixture of twisted reasoning, and human madness, but always in such a way that only the madness could become reality and never the reasoning.
I was right when I said that one need not look any further than Herbert’s miserable sermons to see that the mess that Herbert has left behind is, and will continue to be impossible to ignore.
And I was right when I said that I could see into Herbert Armstrong’s black soul, and see its darkness and metagrobolism that resided within. If I could have looked even deeper, might I have found that he was encouraging every sort of indiscipline and degeneracy all in the name of God? Consider this: This man, who by his doctrines, destroyed the pillar of any nations strength, the family.
This man made a huge withdrawal from the First National Bank of Lies. I wonder if he has paid the price yet?
How about those who continue to go whoring after a man as if he is their lover? What is their fate?
(1) The painful truth about HWA’s deception is revealed in other incidents. One was in 1974 and is revealed in correspondence from the then Regional Director of the WCG in the Philippines, Colin Adair, to Leslie McCullough in Pasadena. McCullough was Adair’s superior at that time.
Colin Adair wrote McCullough on June 13, 1974:
Dear Mr. McCullough,
Margaret and I have been feeling depressed since we received Mr. Herbert Armstrong’s co-worker letter of May 21. What we feared has happened. I just felt I had to “talk” to you about it because it has been in my prayers for days and going round and round in my mind. I would like this “talk” to be as minister to minister, brother to brother, rather than subordinate to superior, if you will allow me.
The exaggeration of parts of the letter really hurts. Gotoh and/or Rader [high-ranking WCG official representatives at the time] have misrepresented the facts about the campaign [in Manila, Philippines]…. If Mr. Armstrong didn’t feel we had that many there (as you said when we spoke on the phone) I feel he should not have said what he did, knowing it was not true.
Let me point out the serious errors in the letter. On page 1, he (Mr. Armstrong) says, “…audience packed the huge 24,000 seat coliseum with only some of the peripheral outer rafter seats unfilled.” First of all the capacity of the coliseum is only 10,800. I have enclosed a Xerox copy of the floor plan given us by the coliseum authorities themselves. This is less than half of what Mr. Armstrong says. Many of the peripheral seats were unoccupied – I would say about 5,000 because this section holds 7,000 people altogether. At the most we had 5,600 that last night. The letter implies about 23,000 – “….audience packed…”
On page 5 near the top, the letter says, “The coliseum seemed well filled – a few empty seats here and there…” The general admission area was totally empty that first night – 7,000 vacant seats. We had, at the very most, 4,000 that first night.
On page 6… it says, “Not a soul was seen leaving until the end.” Each night there was a continuous flow of people leaving…
I feel the readers of the letter (brethren and co-workers) are being misled. I can’t agree with the “salesman” idea. We are not a worldly corporation. We should speak the truth at all times… I feel (this) breaks God’s ninth commandment.
…The brethren in the Philippines know the true figures. I can’t send that co-worker letter out…
I have spoken my mind, but just had to. I hope you won’t get angry and feel I am in a bad attitude [which is what most dissenters were falsely accused of]. Not a bad attitude, just a sad attitude…. Please let me know what you feel, or correct me if you feel I am looking at it wrongly…
Your brother in Christ,
-Colin Adair
Tony Badillo, formerly in the WCG, but ministering separately from 1980, first reported these above anomalies to the Rising Star, 3122 Jerome, Dallas, Texas 75223, USA, where they were published openly.
He concluded, “….let’s ask: Why would any church exaggerate its progress and success in its reports to co-workers and members? Actually we need not guess because Mr. Herbert W Armstrong already answered this question in 1939 when he launched a savage attack on the Church of God 7th Day with these words:
“We ought to be ashamed of the pitiful… work that has split up and divided brethren… [what he did when he broke away from the COG]. All this while leaders desiring power to RULE send out misleading, exaggerated, deceiving statements designed to convince tithe-payers that ‘the work is progressing’. What mockery! What tragedy! What pity! We praise God that many of the more spiritual HAVE COME OUT! Let us obey God!” (HWA in Good News, Feb 1939.)
What a hypocrite! HWA was the one seeking power to rule all along! He got it when he established the WCG! He learned how to mislead, exaggerate, and deceive! He was deceived and deceiver!
Quotes sourced from Midnight Ministries and the Painful Truth.
