1/15/2011

Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong Died Quarter-Century Ago Today

Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong died on the morning of January 16th, 1986 in Pasadena, California, on the campus of the College the high school dropout founded.

Born in the nineteenth century, on July 31, 1892,  he was in his 94th year. Mr. Armstrong would be 118 years old if alive today.

Just now, a Billy Joel song is playing on the radio, "Only The Good Die Young".

On this 25th anniversary of his passing, can Mr. Armstrong's gifts and positive contributions to humankind ever be forgotten?


Update: Redfox at Living delivers a very insightful piece on the religious significance of January 16th to the Church of God.  J at Shadows also has written a not to miss entry, "Would Anyone Have Believed It?" Thiel at Cogwriter is inexplicably ignoring the most momentous 25th anniversary  in world history. He usually has the posed picture of HWA smiling gleefully with his Second Class medal, an honor obtained in a quid pro quo deal with Japanese politicians, with thousands of dollars of your grocery money.  

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
"Positive" contributions?

Armstrong was so full of it.
If he had an enema before he died, they could have buried him in a small matchbox.

Anonymous said...

The positive contributions Herbert Armstrong gave to mankind may never be forgotten. They include the sociological phenomenon of creating a cult based on weird disprovable heresy with vociferous loyal apologists defending an insane dysfunctional oppressive religion with no redeeming values. This contribution will make it possible for studies for decades or even centuries to come to determine how to create such a successful venue of distorted perception.

Of course, as the Internet continues to make it near impossible to hide any sort of deception, it may be completely out the of question to restore or create a popular weirdness of insanity ever again, although a lot of Armstrongist Churches of Gone keep trying with absolutely no long term success.

Stan said...

as the Internet continues to make it near impossible to hide any sort of deception...

Doug,

The Chinese currently appear to be performing a near impossible miracle, by making their Internet a "successful venue of distorted perception".

On the other hand, thinking positively outside the box, there may be possibility remaining for optimistic future science fiction scenarios to take place for humankind, outside of the distortion created from the mirrors found inside HWA's House of Horrors.

Stan

Anonymous said...

Stan, you are nothing short of being absolutely remarkable.

the distortion created from the mirrors found inside HWA's House of Horrors: How colorful -- and accurate.

Stan said...

Groucho Marx said, "I resemble that remark."

Anonymous said...

I get such a sick, nauseating feeling inside when I see pictures of Armstrong. Probably not a whole lot different than a rape victim seeing a picture of her rapist many years later.

Had we understood mental illness, we never would have fallen victim to his scam.

Anonymous said...

If we had understood how sociopaths and psychopaths worked, we would have never fallen for his scams.

Herbert Armstrong was little different from L. Ron Hubbard, and, in fact, they died in the same week in 1986, just a score of miles away from each other. L. Rod Hubbard created Scientology with its Dianetics out of the whole cloth of Science Fiction, with Lord Xenu and all those supervolcanoes and thetan victims and such.

British Israelism is what Herbert Armstrong used. It is the Science Fiction version of alternative history and not too far from what L. Ron Hubbard created.

Only thing, what L. Ron Hubbard did was smart and original. What Herbert Armstrong did was stupid and plagiarized.

We can view Armstrongism as little more than Sabbath keeping Scientology.

Steve "scotju" Dalton said...

Stan, I have a box of books about HWA and the WCG I'd like to get rid of. One of the books is Tangled Web. If anyone wants them they can have everything for $50.00. To contact me, just click on my name. It will take you to my e-mail.