What are the core doctrines of the Worldwide Church of God?
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Executive summary
The Worldwide Church of God (WCG), founded by Herbert W. Armstrong in the 1930s, promoted a distinct blend of teachings—commonly called Armstrongism—that emphasized observance of the seventh‑day Sabbath, Old Testament holy days, British Israelism, and a non‑Trinitarian theology; by the 1990s the organization formally abandoned many of those distinctive doctrines and moved toward mainstream evangelical Christianity [1] [2]. Competing accounts show the church once required strict observance of Jewish feast days and strict behavioural rules under Armstrong, while later leaders (the Tkachs) reduced or eliminated Sabbath and British Israelism emphases, prompting splinters that kept the older teachings [3] [2] [4].
1. Founder’s platform: Armstrongism as a coherent alternative
Herbert W. Armstrong taught a package of doctrines—now called Armstrongism—that fused conservative Christian ideas with Old Testament practice: seventh‑day Sabbath observance, keeping Jewish annual feasts, strict moral standards on marriage and divorce, and a rejection of mainstream Christian creeds such as the Trinity; Armstrong presented these as a “restored” biblical Christianity revealed through his study of Scripture [1] [4] [3].
2. British Israelism: a distinctive historical claim
A central and controversial plank of Armstrong’s teaching was British Israelism—the claim that peoples such as Britain and the United States are descended from the “lost tribes” of Israel. That ethnic‑historical interpretation undergirded much of the church’s prophetic framing and separated WCG from other Christian groups [5] [1].
3. Sabbath and holy days: ritual practice over Sunday norms
WCG under Armstrong observed the seventh‑day Sabbath (Saturday) and required observance of various biblical feast days rather than the Sunday‑based calendar typical of most Christian denominations; these practices reinforced a covenantal, law‑observant identity for members [6] [3].
4. Theology and authority: non‑Trinitarian Christology and leadership
For decades the WCG taught a non‑Trinitarian view of God and claimed a model of church authority centered on Armstrong’s teaching and publishing (The Plain Truth, radio broadcasts); critics and later historians often described the movement as tightly controlled around a charismatic founder who presented his interpretations as uniquely authoritative [1] [7].
5. Social and behavioral teachings: strict moral expectations
Armstrong’s WCG enforced strict positions on divorce and remarriage and encouraged reconciliation even when that meant pressure on members to avoid remarriage; such behavioral rules were part of a broader discipline that governed members’ personal lives and attendance [1] [3].
6. Institutional change: the Tkachs and doctrinal reversal
After Herbert Armstrong’s death, Joseph Tkach (and later his son, Joseph Tkach Jr.) systematically moved the WCG toward mainstream Protestant doctrine, dropping British Israelism, abandoning the non‑Trinitarian theology, and rescinding obligations such as mandatory Sabbath observance by the 1990s; scholars note this shift as one of the most dramatic organizational theological reversals of the late 20th century [2] [8].
7. Consequences: schisms and successor groups
Doctrinal revisions prompted departures: ministers and members who wished to retain Armstrong’s original teachings formed splinter groups (Philadelphia Church of God, Living Church of God, others) that preserved many Armstrong‑era doctrines, while the original organization renamed itself Grace Communion International and largely embraced evangelical Christian beliefs [4] [1] [9].
8. How scholars and reference works frame WCG
Encyclopedias and research starters describe the WCG as starting on the religious fringe—sometimes labeled a cult—because of its charismatic founder, unique doctrines, and insular culture, but they also document the church’s evolution into an evangelical body following the Tkach reforms [7] [8] [2].
Limitations, disagreements and what sources do not say
Available sources document the main doctrinal points above and the broad arc from Armstrong’s teachings to later reform [1] [2] [8]. Sources differ on tone: some emphasize authoritarian control and cult‑like features [7] [3], while institutional statements from descendant churches focus on biblical authority and doctrinal lists [6] [9]. Sources do not provide exhaustive doctrinal lists in a single place here; for full, original statements the church’s historical publications and the “Fundamental Doctrines” archive would be the primary documents (not found in current reporting).