Herbert W Armstrong

The United Church of God, headquartered in the USA, teaches that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force rather than a divine Person - a belief inherited from the Armstrong parent church. Their website lists several reasons for this claim. The question is whether any of these reasons make biblical sense. In the document linked below, I examine each of their arguments to determine whether they have any scriptural warrant. In reading their material, one is struck by the insistence that the Holy Spirit must be an “it”- a non‑person, an impersonal force rather than a divine agent. The claim is repeated with such confidence that one might initially assume it rests on solid biblical foundations. In reality, closer inspection shows that it rests on selective readings and misunderstandings of Paul’s literary conventions, particularly his greeting formula, along with other arguments discussed below. Readers may consider the evidence and decide for themselves whether UCG claims have any merit. A ...

There are some - including Armstrong’s Worldwide Church of God and its many offshoots - that make the claim their observation of such days, and of the ten commandments including sabbath, are important identifiers of their system being special. So special one also reads claims it is the one true church. There are booklets where they link themselves all the way back to the first century wherein the observation of such days be an important part of the aforementioned claim. There are others such as groups in the Jewish Messianic movements and various other who also argue festivals be required. In t his link to a Post in Quora I examine whether Armstrong's claims are supported in scriptures.   To be clear, people are of course free to observe any days they choose, and that choice deserves respect. The problem arises when the claim is made that such observance marks their system as the one true church. Many of the offshoots still publish booklets tracing their lineage back to the f...

 Zechariah chapter 14 is seen by certain groups as evidence that feast days are to be observed in the Millennium.  Indeed, I once thought so myself : 16  Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. This Post in Quor a examines the issue - seeking to decide whether such idea has any biblical merit. The link takes you to a re-direct page, being the Quora post i r...

The United Church of God is one of the branches of the Worldwide Church of God, founded by a Herbert W Armstrong in the 1930’s, in the USA.  UCG is the biggest offshoot.   Their full name is  "The United Church of God,  an International Association ". It was established in 1995 when certain Ministers of the Worldwide Church of God didn't like changes to the doctrines of Herbert Armstrong.  Each of the offshoots essentially follow the Armstrong doctrines, and like Armstrong also claim to be the one true church - meaning of course there is now a big number of one true churches.  They have been described by another responder as:  '' 7th Day Sabbatarians, reject Christian holidays in favor of the seven Levitical Feasts and require legalistic observance of the Law of Moses as they interpret it ’.   I generally concur with that description.  They teach British Israelism, being a belief USA and UK are two of the ten tribes of ancient Israel....