On Jan. 7, 1934, the Radio Church of God took to the air with the remarkable teachings of its founder, a former advertising man named Herbert W. Armstrong. Among them: that the British and their colonists in America had descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel, that God was not a Trinity but a family (Father and Son, but no Holy Ghost) and that the apocalypse would begin in 1936 (later postponed to 1943, then 1972, then indefinitely).

On his program, ''The World Tomorrow,'' and in his magazine, the Plain Truth, Mr. Armstrong called his beliefs the product of methodical explication of the Bible, which he said was ''a coded message not allowed to be revealed and decoded until this time.'' Members contributed up to 30% of their income. Some attended the church's Ambassador College and joined a media empire that strove to link current events to prophecies of a coming ''Tribulation.'' Renamed the Worldwide Church of God, the congregation claimed 100,000 members and a $131 million annual budget when the founder, who called himself ''Christ's chosen apostle,'' died in 1986 at age 93.

Then his successor had a message of his own for the faithful: Mr. Armstrong was dead wrong. Joseph Tkach Sr., whom Mr. Armstrong had anointed just a week before his death, began abandoning the church's unusual doctrines one by one. In 1989 he suspended publication of the founder's final summation, ''Mystery of the Ages,'' a 381-page work that Mr. Armstrong had called perhaps ''the most important book written in 1,900 years.'' Half of the church's members left. Tithes dwindled. The church was forced to slash its payroll drastically and liquidate a real-estate empire that had included campuses in Texas and England. Last year it sold its 48-acre Pasadena headquarters complex, including one of California's leading concert halls, to condo developers.

Through it all, a splinter group in Oklahoma continued to take Mr. Armstrong at his word.

His [Herbert W. Armstrong's] widely-circulated message was an eclectic mixture of cultic doctrine, Jewish observances and Seventh Day Adventism. The church strictly observed the Saturday sabbath, Jewish festivals, and the clean meats of Leviticus 11 . Members were required to give upwards of 30% of their incomes to the church. The ministry of the group controlled the membership through fear and manipulation and decided who they could date, how they could dress, what they could eat, etc. Members were not allowed to wear make-up, observe birthdays or participate in Christmas, Easter or Halloween.

The group believed in British Israelism, the view that the white anglo-saxon Protestants of America and Britain are the "pure" descendants of ancient Israel and God's true people on earth. This was a major component of Armstrong's "theology". In addition to rejecting traditional orthodox views of heaven, hell, eternal punishment and day of salvation, Armstrong also taught that members of the WCG would actually become Gods themselves after the resurrection, a twist on Mormon doctrine.

Once known far and wide as the cult of Armstrongism, [the Worldwide Church of God] now, through repentance, joins hands with conservative Christians in heralding the gospel. Its official organ, Plain Truth magazine, embraces the very doctrines its past issues condemned. It interviews contemporary Christian leaders it once derided. It accepts advertising from various Christian publishers it once shunned.

The Worldwide Church of God, originally founded by Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986), was led through this remarkable change by his successor, Joseph W. Tkach (1927-1995). He reversed Armstrong’s most damnable doctrines in full acceptance of the Trinity, Christ's divinity and humanity, the person and deity of the Holy Spirit, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and salvation by grace through faith alone. Gone is Anglo-Israelism. Gone is the bondage of legalism as a test for fellowship. Gone is the God Family of divine humans. Gone is the exclusivism and cultism.

Not all followers of Armstrong, whose teaching we term ''Armstrongism,'' accepted this welcomed change. Joseph W. Tkach and the administrators made earnest attempts to hold the church together during their doctrinal reexamination period. But those dedicated to Armstrong’s cultism grew impatient, forming about fifty splinter groups from 1985 to 1995. These groups are disassociated from the Worldwide Church of God and each claims succession from Armstrong. Preceding them, another fifty splinter groups separated from Herbert W. Armstrong during his lifetime. Armstrong's teaching bred a hundred factions of which ninety presently remain. The founder's son, Garner Ted Armstrong, leads quite a successful movement with the Church of God, International. Garner Ted Armstrong was once viewed by millions on television as the flamboyant commentator of The World Tomorrow program. Amid charges of sexual misconduct, his forced departure from his father's domain landed him in Tyler, Texas, with thousands of television followers. His playboy lifestyle followed him into the 1990's with new charges of sexual misconduct, again forcing a temporary step-down from his new church (Los Angeles Times, Nov. 23, 1995). Nevertheless, faithful Church of God, International members reinstated him as their iconic representative on 315 cable stations in North America. His espoused doctrines follow that of his father, namely, denial of the Trinity, denial of the bodily resurrection, and denial of biblical salvation.
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However, despite the positive doctrinal changes and widespread acceptance by Protestant Christianity, it is the belief of many who have left the WCG group that many abusive and cultic dynamics remain, including financial manipulation, a complete lack of accountability and a totalistic hierarchy in which the Pastor General controls the church and its assets (see WCG bylaws).

A. Members of the Worldwide Church of God who are part of the "New Covenant," i.e. those who have had a personal experience with Jesus Christ and have truly accepted the doctrinal changes initiated by the Tkachs, all things being equal, should be considered our brothers and sisters in Christ.

B. Those members who are part of the "Old Covenant," who have rejected the doctrines taught by the Tkachs, should be considered as unbelievers. They need to hear again and accept the truth about the nature of God, the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, and salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Reversing course, the financially struggling Worldwide Church of God has agreed to sell the rights to 19 books by church founder Herbert W. Armstrong to a splinter group. Announced March 12, the $3 million settlement ends a costly round of litigation. It also allows the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG) to reproduce Armstrong's teachings.
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Phil Arnn of Watchman Fellowship, a Christian research and apologetics ministry, said the deal raises an ethical question about the WCG.

"These are heretical doctrines that are destructive to the eternal life of anyone who comes under their influence," Arnn said. "To have profited from the release of the copyrights is a matter that I would think [would be] very troubling to the conscience."

Ten years ago, leaders in the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) began denouncing the fringe beliefs of their founder and transforming their church into an evangelical denomination. This revolutionary theological shift caused congregations and families to splinter. It also sparked a financial Armageddon in the highly visible movement of 150,000 people.

Now church leaders propose a physical shift that they say will determine the church's future. They want to turn their valuable 55-acre Ambassador College campus in upscale Pasadena into about 1,500 residential units. Church officials say selling the headquarters will secure the church's financial foundation, provide pensions for its pastors, and create much-needed housing for city residents.

If the church has made such a transformation by the grace of God, why have there been such concerted efforts to adopt a revisionist position as to its founder and history and maintain a "Christian" heritage?