Garner Ted Armstrong

{{christianity|1}}
'''Garner Ted Armstrong''' {{lived|1930|2003}} was a [[televangelist]], the son of [[Herbert W. Armstrong]], and co-founded the Worldwide Church of God with his father. He had an [[adultery]] scandal<ref group=note>Why, oh why, is this so predictable?</ref> which led to him being excommunicated from the Worldwide Church of God in 1978 to found his own Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association and Church of God, International. At the same time, his excommunication was at least partly the result of a power struggle to succeed Herbert between Garner and the church's general counsel Stanley R. Rader.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1978/07/02/archives/church-founder-excommunicates-his-son-garner-ted-armstrong-world.html Church Founder Excommunicates His Son, Garner Ted Armstrong], New York Times, July 2, 1978</ref>

Armstrong taught [[British Israelism]] and Sabbath-day (Saturday) worship. He was caught in yet another adultery scandal in 1997, which was exposed on the [[Geraldo Rivera]] television show on 11 July 1997<ref>[https://hwarmstrong.com/garner-ted-armstrong-geraldo.htm Garner Ted Armstrong and Geraldo Rivera: Sex, Crimes and Videotape]. hwarmstrong.com, April 2009.</ref><ref>[https://exitsupportnetwork.com/intercontinental-church-of-god-garner-ted-armstrong/ Garner Ted Armstrong Exposed]. exitsupportnetwork.com, </ref> and as a result stepped down from leadership in the Church of God, International to found a new splinter denomination, the Intercontinental Church of God. He died in 2003.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-sep-16-me-armstrong16-story.html Garner Ted Armstrong, 73; TV Evangelist Formed Own Church After Break With Father], LA Times, Sep 16, 2003</ref>

Reruns of his TV sermons are still found on late-night TV if you're really bored and want to watch something besides the usual infomercials peddling [[pyramid scheme|make money fast]] and [[fad diet|weight loss]] scams.

== Church of God International ==

The Church of God International (also written Church of God, International or CGI) is an organization that split from Herbert W. Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God in 1978; its founders included Garner Ted Armstrong, who led it until 1998. It is headquartered in Tyler, [[Texas]].<ref name=wpacog>{{wpa|Church of God International (United States)}}</ref> It claims to have "ministers and congregations throughout the United States and Canada, and also have churches in the United Kingdom, Jamaica, the Philippines, and Australia."<ref>[https://www.cgiuk.org/about-us/ About Us], CGI UK</ref> It operates through a combination of traditional local churches, television, internet, booklets, and CDs.<ref>[https://www.cgi.org/about About], CGI</ref>

It has various doctrinal peculiarities. It seeks to restore many Jewish elements to Christianity and attempts to strip Christianity of all syncretic and pagan influences, which means no Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Valentine's Day, or any of the other holidays Hallmark loves so much.<ref name=wpacog/> In contrast it celebrates the Feast of Tabernacles ([[Jewish_holidays#Sukkot|Sukkot]]).<ref>[https://www.cgi.org/fot Feast of Tabernacles], CGI website.</ref>

It believes [[Hell]] is a matter of annihilation, not fire and brimstone, for unbelievers. It also has elements of [[British Israelism]], consistent with its {{wpl|philo-semitism||.}} And while it denies [[unitarianism]], it also denies [[trinity|trinitarianism]]: it is {{wpl|Binitarianism|binitarian|,}} disputing the [[Holy Spirit]] is separate from either God or Jesus.<ref name=wpacog/>

== Intercontinental Church of God ==

The Intercontinental Church of God (ICG) is a splinter group from the above CGI, founded by Garner Ted Armstrong in 1998, and also headquartered in Tyler, Texas, and with many of the same beliefs.<ref>{{wpa|Intercontinental Church of God}}</ref> It is strongly focused on spreading its mission via mass media, internet, and print publications, as well as traditional churches.<ref>[https://theicg.org/about/mission-goals/ Mission and Goals], ICG website</ref> Again, its observances are heavily influenced by [[Judaism]], with its holy days being: [[Passover]], Days of Unleavened Bread (part of the Passover commemoration), [[Pentecost]] (a Christian feast celebrating the divine spirit passing into disciples), Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), Atonement (Yom Kippur), Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), and The Last Great Day (inspired by [[Book of Revelation|Revelations]] 20)<ref>[https://theicg.org/about/holy-days/ Holy Days], ICG website</ref>

== External links ==

*[http://www.garnertedarmstrong.org Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association]
*[https://www.cgi.org/ Church of God International website]
*[https://theicg.org/ Intercontinental Church of God website]

==Notes==
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== References ==
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[[Category:Televangelists]]

Categories: Televangelists