TV Evangelist and "Adulterating SOB" Garner Ted Armstrong

"Al, let's get one thing straight! I'm a no good, fornicating, adulterating son of a bitch!"

- Garner Ted Armstrong to a fellow minister.

TV evangelist Garner Ted Armstrong looked like a movie star, spoke with the authority of an Oxford professor crossed with a general and had the down-home manner of a friendly bartender. He also had the libido of a rhino in heat, while at the same time milking millions from unsuspecting viewers. In some ways he was the worst of the TV evangelists, who really started making it big in the Seventies.

GTA'’s father, Herbert W. Armstrong had been on the air for decades, and actually founded a denomination called the Radio Church of God (subsequently renamed the Worldwide Church of God). A gifted orator, Herbie brought in thousands of converts, including chess whiz Bobby Fischer, most of whom paid up to three tenths of their incomes to the church. His teachings were a mixture of old-time religion and doomsday, and he was always predicting the end of the world. During the Sixties his son Garner Ted, a Korean War vet who received a BA, MA and PhD from the church'’s unaccredited Ambassador College in California, took over the reins. His "The World Tomorrow"” show (shown locally on WOR TV and broadcast nightly on WOR radio) had a huge international following, and thousands sent for his monthly magazine, The Plain Truth, which resembled a glossy Watchtower. You could often find copies in subway stations. He also did nationwide speaking tours, which filled large arenas.

Never seen a Worldwide Church of God branch? Not surprising. They usually met in rented spaces. A friend'’s brother belonged to a chapter in New Jersey that we dubbed Temple Beth Ramada, since it met Saturdays at a Ramada Inn. The church demanded absolute loyalty and obedience from followers, while its leaders lived in luxury.

Soon after GTA took the reins he developed a reputation for adultery, especially with naive young coeds from Ambassador College. He would keep repenting of his sins, then going back to his old ways. Eventually Dad sacked his son, but brought him back in the early Seventies - probably because he brought in the bucks so well. It was in 1975 that it finally hit the fan, when Time magazine finally wrote stories about what was going on within the church. GTA was permanently removed - – and promptly founded his own church, while Herbie, then in his 80s, took over the church’s broadcast empire. The State of California put the college in receivership, and soon there were numerous reports of irregularities. Herbie was shown to be an alcoholic, and GTA'’s affairs became the stuff of legends. The church slowly began to collapse.

GTA died in Texas last year. Geraldo Rivera had run an episode on his show several years ago which reportedly showed GTA seducing a woman.