-
-
-
- In an email from Rushtyping@aol.com - April 3, 2006 - The
following SPLINTER GROUPS ARE ON Christian TV and radio. (Taken
from a few Christian stations.) If you want to know if someone
is a splinter group of Armstrong see the following website. www.thejournal.org/articles/issue30/coglist.html
list 237 groups that trace their origins to the Worldwide Church
of God, i.e., HWA. The following groups are on that list.
- 1. The Inspiration Network is now airing another Armstrong
splinter group. They took the Church of God
International's program Armor of God off, now they have the Living Church of God's program Tomorrow's
World. This program airs on Saturday.
- They teach Armstrong doctrine as indicated on page 1 of their
official statement of fundamental beliefs. I have again informed
Inspiration Network.
- 2. The United Church of God AIA's program Beyond Today airs
on KGMS 940 AM, Tucson, Arizona. What do they teach? Just read
from one of their readers concerning their Good News magazine.
- "I have received and read the last two issues of the
"Good News." It is very encouraging to see the same
teachings that Christ restored to His church through Herbert
W. Armstrong in your publications" (United News, Vol. 4,
No. 7, September 14, 1998).
- The program airs on Saturday at 10:30 a.m., right after
Dave Hunt's program "According to God's Word."
As you can see the UCGAIA still teach Armstrong doctrine, no
Trinity, the Holy Spirit is not the Third Person in the Triune
Godhead, Jesus is not the Eternal Son, but because the Son, Jesus
rose in a spirit-body, not physical read this on the web "Who
is God" www.ucg.org/booklets/wg/christsrecurrection.htm.
- No heaven, hell, teach annihilationism, soul-sleep, Jesus
bled to death on the cross, Sabbath, law on and on. They have
changed a little on the born again issue. But they still agree
with HWA that Jesus is John 3:1-8 is teaching spirit resurrection,
"born of the Spirit." See their study paper on Born
Again on their website. They also deny the believers' physical
fleshy resurrection. (First Resurrection) They teach three resurrections.
They still teach Anglo-Israelism. I sent an email to the GM at
KGMS, Doug Martin, as well as one of the Program Director, Matt
Mains on December 28, 2005, and a seven page follow-up letter
documenting many of the UCG unorthodox teachings, on February
27, 2006. Still no response.
- 4. The Church of God International air their program Armor
of God on The Word Network located in Southfield, Michigan. I
left messages with the program director and VP. No return calls.
- 5. Ronald L. Dart's program Born to Win airs on many, many
Christian stations. Dart is on many stations owned by The Crawford
Broadcasting Company. One of the most popular stations that air
Dart is KBRT 740 in Costa Mesa, California. KBRT has well known
evangelical teachers on such as Drs. J. Vernon McGee, David Jeremiah,
James Dodson, Woodrow Kroll, D. James Kennedy, and the late beloved
Adrian Rogers programs, June Hunt, Greg Koukl, among others.
On right before Calvary Chapel La Mirada, is Ronald L. Dart's
program Born to Win. Again I ask WHERE'S THE DISCERNMENT! Born
to Win airs at 9:30 a.m. Sundays. Other Crawford stations airing
Dart are KLTT-AM 670, Denver, CO; KKPZ-AM 1330, Portland, OR;
WDCX-FM 99.5, Buffalo, NY; WXJC-AM 850, Birmingham, AL; KCBC-AM
770, San Francisco, CA; KAAM-AM 770, Irving, TX.
- Ronald L. Dart's program also airs on the following Salem
Communications stations: WYLL-AM 1160, Chicago, IL; WGKA-AM 920,
Atlanta, GA; KPXQ-AM 1360, Phoenix, AZ; and WBTK-AM 1380, Richmond,
VA.
- Other Christian stations that air Born to Win are KNOF-FM
95.3, St. Paul, MN; WJYI-AM 1340, Milwaukee, WI; KLGO-FM 99.3,
Taylor, TX; KARI-AM 550, Blaine, WA, and many other stations
in Washington and throughout the U.S.
- Many of Dart's doctrinal beliefs/teachings are not within
Christian orthodoxy. Dart denies the blessed Trinity. He states,
"As for the Trinity, the doctrine cannot be found in the
Bible. Man reasoned his way to the Trinity, and I find myself
unable to embrace that on the basis of what I understand in the
Scriptures" (Letter to me, November 18, 1998, p. 1). In
this letter and another dated December 9, 1998, Dart denies many
Cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith. Mr. Dart states, "The
word 'Trinity' is not in the pages of your Bible, so what lies
behind the widely held belief of a mysterious, incomprehensible,
Triune God?" (Ron Dart, Bible Correspondence Course, Lesson
Four www.abcog.org/lesson4.htm, this website is also another
Armstrong splinter group.) From lesson four Dart denies that
the Holy Spirit is a person in the Godhead.
- Dart recently published a book The Lonely God. In it he denies
the Trinity. Hopefully, Christians will not order this book through
their Christian bookstore.
- 6. The resurrected body of Jesus. What Dart means by body
is not what orthodox Christianity means by body. I personally
wrote and asked Dart some questions concerning Jesus' Resurrection.
His answers were very equivocal concerning the physical, fleshy,
bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus.
- Mr. Dart wrote me December 9, 1998 the following. "It
is obviously very important to evangelical Christianity. Perhaps
you can explain to me the significance of whether Jesus was raised
in spirit form or raised bodily." Dart's asking for an "explanation
of the significance of whether Jesus was raised in spirit form
or raised bodily" seems to show his ignorance of the Bible
and Christian theology. Dart believes Jesus was raised as a spirit
being. "Jesus is the first to have the 'new life form,'
to be a spirit-being and to enter into God's kingdom from the
dead" (tape Rev 1-2). You can see the Armstrong teaching
here, and Dart's teaching on born again. Another tape from Dart's
ministry says "Jesus Return to his Pre-human form"
(Tape 99LTS, I Love to Tell the Story).
- It should also be noted that Dart denies the physical, fleshly
bodily resurrection of Christians.
- His teaching is in reference to being born again. He, like
Armstrong, doesn't believe you can be born again in this life.
"But the moment when we are born again is the moment of
the resurrection of the dead, when you are changed from flesh
to spirit" (letter December 9, 1998). It is said that when
John Wesley was asked why he preached so often on the subject
"Ye must be born again" that he answered, "Because
you must be born again." Wesley's definition of the new
birth, however, would never satisfy Dart, or any of the many
Armstrong splinter groups, because their teachings are that you
cannot be "born again."
- Dart's teaching concerning John 3:1-8, he states, "Here
Jesus is talking about the resurrection when you are changed
from flesh to spirit ... at the resurrection people who are born
of the spirit are like ghosts." ... "A resurrection
you and I hope for is not sinews, and bones and flesh, it is
spirit." ... "We're put in the grave a human being,
we're raised a god." ... "We all will become spirit
beings." (Tapes 8109, 9121, 79F8, Immortality of the Soul,
Can Man Become God? Shadows and the Great Last Day.)
- Dart's tape Can Man Become God? and his October 1, 1999 newsletter,
shows that he continues to be an admirer of Herbert W. Armstrong.
In this tape he favorably quotes Armstrong five times, makes
a clear connection between his theology and that of Herbert W.
Armstrong. Dart even credits him as the source of the teaching
man can become God. Hell is made a joke in this tape, as well
as Mr. Dart characterizing the orthodox view of the believer's
position as being a "spiritual lapdog" more observations
could be made concerning this topic.
- 7. Dart denies the biblical doctrine of hell. He teaches
annihilationism. He also denies the immortality of the soul,
teaches the doctrine of soul-sleep, the believer does not go
to be with Christ at death, denies Jesus died on the cross, he
like the Jehovah Witnesses believe the stake doctrine.
- Dart still thinks that Garner Ted Armstrong "knew the
Bible as well as any man I have ever known ... and he was gifted
of God." (Tape 0338, September 20, 2003, "The Indispensable
Man"). I ask how could Ronald L. Dart make such a statement
when Garner Ted Armstrong (besides his person life), denied and
attacked many of the orthodox doctrines of the Christian faith,
calling them pagan, false, and Satan's greatest deception.
- Dart is a former Baptist who attended Hardin Simmons University,
a Baptist affiliated college to prepare for the ministry as a
pastor, even preaching in some of the local Baptist churches.
During this time Dart would have discussions about the teachings
of Herbert W. Armstrong with his wife's brother who himself was
a former Baptist, but then a member of the Radio Church of God
(the original name of the Worldwide Church of God). While reading
material and listening to both Herbert W. and Garner Ted Armstrong's
The World Tomorrow radio program, Dart became convinced that,
"Things we were being told by Herbert W. Armstrong had the
ring of truth, and God was working through Mr. Armstrong, and
our heart followed." Dart states, "We've [he and his
wife] finally came to the place where we had had it with the
Baptist church, we knew it was not right. I wanted to be in God's
college." In 1958, Mr. Dart left Hardin Simmons to attend
Ambassador College in Pasadena, California, and joined Herbert
W. Armstrong's Church (tapes 7804, 7800, 00 APT, "Faith
Without Compromise," "Called of God," And A Personal
Testimony). Dart became very influential in the Worldwide Church
of God, and reported directly to Mr. Armstrong. Dart left the
church with Garner Ted Armstrong in 1978 and became Vice President
of the Church of God International with Garner Ted Armstrong
as President. Dart left CGI in 1995 to form CEM.
- Many groups have splintered from the Worldwide Church of
God. Dart's niche in this Armstrongite scene is one of "tolerance."
That is, he differs from Herbert W. Armstrong in this way: Armstrong
used a very strong, adversarial approach to pry people away from
the Christian churches (for example, by calling the Protestant
churches the daughters of the Great Whore and the churches of
Satan). Armstrong also claimed that his church was the only true
church and the only place where salvation could be found. Dart,
on the other hand, says he is tolerant of others' beliefs. But
he reveals his hand when he says that he is willing to let others
make their own mistakes. He does not consider that others might
be right. He simply takes a smoother approach. It is difficult
to know when listening to Dart's Born to Win radio program that
his beliefs are very different from orthodox Christianity. He
woos his listeners rather than beats them over the head. A publicity
statement for Dart that is intended to be positive (but to me
sounds scary), says, "People around the world have become
addicted to Ron's intimate Bible studies."
- Although there are some details in Ron Dart's teachings that
differ from the old Herbert Armstrong teachings of the Worldwide
Church of God, just as there are differences between all of the
Armstrongite groups. Dart is still without question an Armstrongite.
- Regarding Ron Dart being on Christian radio, I believe in
free speech and freedom of the press. Ron Dart has a right to
be on the air&emdash;on secular radio stations, just as was
Herbert Armstrong. We would then have to counter his teachings
with the truth. But I believe that there is a relationship of
trust between a Christian radio station and its listeners. Listeners
expect Christian radio to be Christian. Christian stations should
hold those who broadcast on them to a standard of the basic tenets
of Christianity. I believe we would agree that a station that
called itself Christian, but was broadcasting programs that espoused
the tenets of Hinduism was violating the trust its listeners
place in it. The same would be true of a Christian station airing
Jehovah's Witnesses programs. I think we would agree that a line
must be drawn somewhere. But where? Certainly, it must at least
be drawn at the basic tenets of Christianity. The problem is
that Ron Dart is not on our side of that line, yet he is airing
his program, Born to Win on a great many Christian stations.
In order to get onto Christian radio stations, Ron Dart has learned
to be less sensational and more subdued than Herbert W. Armstrong.
He also chooses to discuss less theologically controversial subjects
on the air. These he only introduces later in his literature
and tapes. Therefore, when the listening audience hears a program
such as Born to Win on KBRT and other Christian stations, they
are even more vulnerable to being hooked into the organization
behind it because they have their guard down.
- Is there something you can do? Yes, you can contact Christian
TV such as Inspiration Network (airing the Living Church of God),
and radio stations that air Born to Win, and other Armstrong
splinter groups, and tell them you are aware of the program's
connection to Armstrongism, that you are offended they would
air such a program, and that you will stop listening to their
station if they do not cancel the program.
- Freedom of speech protects pseudo-Christian groups' rights
to buy airtime on secular radio and television. But the FCC agrees
that Christian stations can legitimately establish criteria based
on their religious beliefs that program producers must meet.
There is a relationship of trust between Christians and Christian
radio and television stations that the programs they air are
produced by groups that a least meet the basic criteria of orthodoxy.
Otherwise, we will soon have more Armstrong groups, Jehovah's
Witnesses, Mormons, and other counterfeit Christian organizations
using Christian stations to draw unsuspecting listeners into
their folds.
- UPDATE: Many Christian stations are realizing Ronald L. Dart
is not orthodox. His program Born to Win has been cancelled from
many stations. Also the Church of God Modesto's program The Wonderful
World Tomorrow has been cancelled from many Christian stations.
God bless these Brothers and Sisters who take a stand for orthodoxy.
- Until He Comes,
- James Kieferdorf
Dallas, TX
- Rushtyping@aol.com
- http://www.macgregorministries.org/cult_groups/kieferdorf.html
|