50 Truths - Part 2

In the previous post in this series, 50 Truths - Part 1, I went through Herbert Armstrong's first three "truths", as listed by Ronald Weinland in his own version entitled "50 Truths of God". This time, I would like to go through more of Ron Weinland's list. Let's see how they hold up, shall we?

Here are 21 beliefs of the "Sardis Era" church (not quite as short a list as the Weinlands would have us believe):

1. The Bible was held to be the only inspired writing.

2. The Holy Spirit is that which abides in the believer and not a third person.

3. Christ was in the tomb exactly three days and three nights, rising at the end of the Sabbath.

4. The apostolic organization and government must be followed today.

5. The "Church of God" is the inspired Bible name for God's people.

6. Prayer and anointing will save the sick.

7. Laying on of hands (at baptism) is to be practiced.

8. Lord's Supper is to be observed annually at the beginning of the 14th of Nisan.

9. The Sabbath is to be observed from even to even.

10. Payment of tithes on increase is obligatory.

11. Participation in carnal warfare is condemned.

12. The Law of clean and unclean meats is to be observed in this age.

13. Habitual use of narcotics and habit-forming drugs, alcohol and tobacco is condemned.

14. Under this gospel age the judgment is upon the house of God.

15. The return of Christ will be literal, personal and visible, is imminent, and He will sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem, ruling the world with the righteous saints on the earth.

16. Righteous saints will be resurrected at His second coming.

17. There will be a final regathering of the dispersed nation of fleshly Israel.

18. The dead are unconscious.

19. The wicked dead are resurrected to final judgment, with no probation but will be eternally destroyed.

20. The Third Angel's Message is a present day message.

21. The seven last plagues are literal and fall at the end of the gospel age.

This list was compiled by A. N. Dugger in Dugger's report in the 1936 Census on the Salem group's doctrinal beliefs, which I got from chapter 11 of a history on the Seventh Day Church of God on giveshare.org. 

Now, Ron Weinland lists only 3 "truths" revealed during the previous "church era" to HWA. This is now shown as being patently false. Mr. Weinland also attributes the next 18 truths in his list to HWA. This is also now shown as being patently false.

Let me summarize those 18 "truths" RW says are granted to HWA: X the government of God is top-down, gospel of the Kingdom of God, God is reproducing Himself,  X God is a family not a trinity, X man does not have an immortal soul, X the church is the "firstfruits" of the first resurrection, X Kingdom of God yet to come, God personally chooses the firstfruits, X 2nd resurrection to judgment, X literal Millennium, [these next 2 seem kinda duplicate to me] Holy Spirit only begets us, begotten not born again, [these next 2 again seem like duplicates] Brittish-Israelism, Brittish-Israelism necessary to understand prophecy, Old Covenant holy days mandatory, Jewish authority of the Hebrew calendar, second and third tithes.

I have placed a large red X in front of the "truth" that RW attributes to HWA, but is in fact one of the things believed by the so-called "Sardis era" before the time the so-called "Philadelphia era" had begun. I count 7 things. That's 7 out of 18 things, greater than one third, that Ron Weinland doesn't know about his own history! What I haven't mentioned is that A. N. Dugger's list also overlaps a few of RW's next 21 points which he claims were revealed after HWA's demise. Nor have I mentioned that the Old Covenant holy days were debated since the 1800's, and were being kept by some long before Herbert Armstrong came on the scene (I leave it unchecked since it wasn't the official position of the COG7). Also, I'm going easy here. RW has enough people working to show him a false prophet; they don't need my help. When you, if you have anything at all to do with Armstrongism, read that first list, I know that you recognize much more than 7 things which you believed. It's like I said, Armstrong was not the first in 1,800 years to teach anything.

If Ron Weinland doesn't know these things, then in what way is such a list presumed valid?

In my next post [which you can find here] I would like to go into much more detail about a few of the "truths" in Ron Weinland's list.