First Open Letter to Herbert W. Armstrong

"A Suit for Slander?"

MR. ARMSTRONG: After I began announcing this "Open Letter," is it true that you began making recordings of some of my radio messages in the hope that you could get material for a "slander" suit against me?

YOU accuse me of slander? You who have slandered every Christian preacher and Bible teacher who ever lived; you, who slanders the Lord from heaven; you, who slanders the gospel of the grace of God; you, who slanders the holy 10 commandment law of God by your miserable pretense of keeping it; you, who slanders the TEMPLE OF GOD yet to be restored in Jerusalem by having your silly little "Feast of Tabernacles" and "Feast of Passover" over in Gladewater, Texas, in that puny little shed [unfinished tabernacle]; YOU are hoping to sue me at Ceaser's court for slander? Maybe the report is ill-founded!

God willing, before I shall have completed these "Open Letters" to you I will have given clear, unforced proof of my accusations concerning your slandering the Christ of the Bible and your blasphemous caricature of "the church of God," called by you "The Radio Church of God."

"True Church" Exists With No Gospel!

Just here, I should like to ask you about the "TRUE CHURCH" which you say has "always existed." [See your Revelation booklet, p.9.] Exactly what had become of it when you and your wife took over the "true" work of God only 24 or ? years ago? Did that already existing "true church" suddenly drop out of existence so you two could "start from nothing" in 1931-4 as you claim? And yet another point is very "smoggy" in your claim that "the true church has always existed." How could it possibly come into existence at any time during the 1800 years preceding spontaneous arrival on the scene, since you repeatedly claim that you are preaching the "true gospel that Jesus preached for the first time in 1800 years?" Since there was no true gospel by which sinners might become members of "the true church," and there was no "true gospel" by which such church members could cultivate their "begotten lives," please, oh please, tell us where that "true church" had been when you and your wife had that dream and saw the angel who informed her that you and she were to "begin" the real TRUE work. Now please, Honest Herb, don't tell me that I cannot understand because I am not one of those favored few that God has "elected" to hear, understand and know "the truth about the good news of the WORLD TOMORROW" — that is, "understand it all" well enough to become convinced that the only way to avoid the lake of fire is to send "the tithes" to Box 111, Pasadena, California.

Christ Blinds and Then Rebukes the Blinded?

And that reminds me about another thing. Just exactly why should you rebuke, criticize, and, fuss at and make fun of all of us who, according to you, cannot possibly understand and believe your preaching any way, since we are not in that select, "elect," predestined company of "begotten children?" Since your "god" has deliberately blinded us, I don't think it is fair at all for you to bark out so impatiently and "holler" at us about not having blown "the dust off" our Bibles.

[In a later letter I hope to deal with your utter failure to note the time element connected with Christ's use of parables. Your assertions that Christ NEVER spoke to the multitudes except in parable is devilishly false. Also, your wicked failure to honesty go from John 6:44 to 12:32 WITH John 1:9.]

"Pastor" Russell's Echo

Since we are told that there is no "new thing under the sun" [Eccl. 1:9]; and, since all that are "spiritual" judge "righteous judgment," we know that you and your sect are "under the sun" and not in the SON. Therefore we are confident that all of your doctrinal lies have already been taught by wolves in sheeps' clothing. — Matt. 7:{15} Acts 20:29. Having read a great deal of the so-called Jehovah's Witnesses', the Seventh day Adventists', Universalists', "Destructionalists" ' and the Anglo-Israelites' writings [and the 7th Day "Church of God," too] I know that you are merely a small parrot, if not a clever plagiarist. For instance on p. 20 of your "1975 in Prophecy" you make the "modest" claim that you are the one prophesied in Ezek. 33. But that is a tardy echo of claims made many times before. Your doctrinal kin, your [religious] Uncle, "Pastor" Charles T. Russell, had hundreds of thousands believing that about him. See pp. 367 and 519, "The Finished Mystery," 1917 copyright.

Herb did you copy that, substituting your own name for Russell's? Your "Uncle" Charlie, in his Millennial Dawnist book , p. 519, said:

"This chapter [Ezek. 33] repeats the statements … regarding the watchman set to warn the people of Christendom, his message and responsibility, and the responsibility of the Christian people toward the watchman — Pastor Russell, and his message and warning from God … Who of the clergy class have blown the trumpet of truth and warned 'their' people of the impending doom of Christendom?"

By the way, Armstrong, what do you think of your religious Siamese twin, Blessing of Denver? He is claiming [at least SEVERAL ladies have been "MIRACULOUSLY" told so] that he is "the Apostle Paul." His Anglo-Israel "IT" is growing in leaps and bounds, too, I understand.

In your 11/28/56 letter to "Fellow Workers" you reveal one of your fundamental and characteristic blunders, You seemed to think your "bankruptcy" during the early days of the depression meant that the "church of God" on earth had likewise crashed and that the Almighty was feverishly looking for a "receiver" — for someone whom He could trust to really meet the terrible emergency and bring His dilapidated church "out of the red" as it were. Let me assure you, Humble Herb, that neither "the gates of Hell" nor the depression had actually prevailed against the church "which He purchased with His blood," Evidently it was your own flop, both as a young "John D. Rockefeller" and as a student of the Word of God that caused you to confuse Herbert W. Armstrong's defunct PERSONAL kingdom with God's magnificent CHURCH, "the BODY OF CHRIST."

Depression and Wife's dream Launch Sect

The crash of ca$h in Wall Street, my frustrated friend, did not even touch the institution whose death-conquering Head is "Head over all things," even the "money changers" of Wall Street and every other street in this conquered world. See Eph. 1:19-23; Col. 2:8-17; Heb. 2:5-14; 1 Peter 3:22. [In a later letter I expect to take up your antichrist teaching about Jesus Christ's having been only a fleshling — a "MORTAL" fleshling, at that. A "mortal EMMANUEL?" Only a little less shockingly FALSE is your sophistry about "the church which is Christ's Body" being only mortal — "composed of flesh and blood,"]

Going back to that letter to your "Fellow Workers," I would like to note more specifically your "unique" revelation concerning the origin of your Eugene, Oregon, "VATICAN" [so soon to be supernaturally moved to the "fantastic" second-hand millionaire's residence in Pasadena]. I now quote from that letter:

"Within 30 or 60 days after our marriage, God spoke to my wife in what might have been an intense, unusual dream, or a vision — but it was years later before we came to realize that 'this really was a message from God.' I'm pretty skeptical about God speaking to anyone today by vision or dream." [That is, of course, unless he speaks to Mrs. Armstrong. — M.J.] "God speaks to us today through His written Word — the Bible. My wife saw an angel" [Mrs. Ellen G. White started her Seventh Day Adventist cult the same way, didn't she, husband — Herbert? — M.J.] "revealing that God was calling me and her to the mission of WARNING this world of the fast approaching END OF THE AGE, and the Second Coming of Christ." [I, M. J., italicized the "and her." I was thinking of how Grandma Eve started the program that would make the mere CREATURE very GOD, "as Gods." Indeed, "There is no new thing under the sun." — M.J.] "When she told me" [Armstrong is again spea king ] "of this impressive dream, I was embarrassed" [My imagination is not elastic enough to visualize that, Mr. Armstrong. — M.J.] "and somewhat awed … But at the age of 30 God took away my business." [Several million lost theirs, too, during that severe depression, as you well know, Herbert. — M.J.]"three times during the next seven years I started another business promising national development" [??? — M.J.] " … and each time, forces entirely out of my control intervened to destroy the business and all possibility of its future … Everything I touched turned to nothing. I learned what it is to go hungry." [Thank God, there were not many wives during that long period of hunger and "bread lines" who had timely dreams enabling them and their husbands to "get out of the red" via the religiou$ route. — M.J.]

Later I shall quote from several of your "charming" travelogues — for instance, a few self-effacing reports BY YOURSELF of the "specially engraved invitation" sent "by private messenger" to you and your wife to attend "the most colorful social event" [just like Elijah and John the Baptist enjoyed?? — M.J.] "held in London since the war. It's a Royal affair, you know … The reception is in the ball room of our hotel — which is one of the two best in London, and every day some important diplomatic affair of world importance is held here … " — Page 10 from your "PRIVATE LETTERS."

Humble Herbert Amid Royalty

Comparing your "incidental" references to your hobnobbing with ROYALTY and succeeding in slipping in the background of a picture taken of the antichrist Moslem Sheik [which picture you managed to have taken so that you and Mrs. Armstrong could be seen], I say, comparing all this reeking pride, egotism and extravagance with assertions that those depression-reverses had "burned out all your "former egotism," some of us easily recall the seven "other demons" that came to possess an empty house.