It's spun. The article never says we are to become "God, the father".
From the article:
Put together all these scriptures in this booklet, and you begin to grasp the incredible human potential. Our potential is to be born into the God Family, receiving total power! We are to be given jurisdiction over the entire Universe!
Scripture:
Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the sons of God.
Rom 8:20 For the creation was not willingly subjected to vanity, but through Him subjecting it, on hope;
Rom 8:21 that also the creation will be freed from the slavery of corruption to the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Rom 8:22 For we know that all the creation groans together and travails together until now.
Rom 8:23 And not only so, but also we ourselves having the firstfruit of the Spirit, also we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly expecting adoption, the redemption of our body;
From the article snippet you posted, with my commentary:
The WCG belief in a "God Family" has been likened to the Mormon belief that the faithful will one day attain godhood.
Set up expecation by comparing to doctrine that is similar on the surface, but different in effect.
"Our potential," wrote Armstrong, "is to be born into the God Family, receiving total power! We are to be given jurisdiction over the entire universe!. … We shall impart life to billions and billions of dead planets."
Left off quote that shows that "We shall impart life, etc, etc. is speculaton. Actual quote:
What are we going to do then? These scriptures indicate we shall impart life to billions of dead planets, as life has been imparted to this earth.
Now I will agree that a major problem with Worldwide, from what I can gather, is that people took Herbert Armstrong's speculation as gospel and made unofficial doctrine out of it.
Neither did I or the magazine. I dunno where you got that from.
Set up expecation by comparing to doctrine that is similar on the surface, but different in effect.
No trinity, becoming god, ruling a planet - you have to admit is quite similar to what Mormon's teach.
people took Herbert Armstrong's speculation as gospel
Um, speculation? From an article he begins:
It's positively astounding! It has remained undiscovered by science. Higher education has never taught it. And organized religion has withheld it. How? By suppressing the real gospel message Christ brought from heaven that reveals the awesome purpose of human life.And I know you were talking about the planet bit, but that's a detail of the whole tapestry of what Armstrong claims is THE Gospel of Jesus.
And I've been reading your current belief statement. "The God Family" etc is still pretty solidly Armstrong; though I didn't see any planet mentioned.
I've read Armstrong and the UCG version. They look to me to be of the same basic stuff.
name one doctrine on United's website that you think was created by Herbert Armstrong and I'll cite proof of it's existence before Armstrong.
Am I understanding you now to be distancing the UCG from Armstrong? I honestly don't get your point here. Would it be a bad thing in your view if UCG's beliefs were the same as Herbert Armstrong?
Or are you saying that Armstrong had the same beliefs as Jesus, or knew Jesus's true message? Something like that? And objecting to my attributing your theology to him instead of "scripture"?
Is this what you mean?