“The Wonderful World Tomorrow” advertisement, LIFE, October 25, 1968
1968: THE END IS NEAR
The opening this coming weekend of the world-ending apocalypse movie 2012 makes me wonder–what did Apocalypse look like in 1968? There were many people–”many” may be a gross underestimate–in 1968 who thought that the year was full of evidence that the End Was Near. I ran across this advertisement for . . . for what? On its surface, it’s an ad for The Plain Truth magazine, and a book, The Wonderful World Tomorrow, which was also the name of the radio show featuring evangelist Garner Ted Armstrong.
Born again– in 1968?
“Garner Ted”: That great combination of names– so redolent of all radio evangelists, of Southern good-ole-boys–has stuck with me all these years, though I didn’t really remember who he was until I started this research. (Unlikely that I would have remembered him from his appearances on Hee-Haw, the country-music knockoff of Laugh-In.) Garner Ted’s brand of evangelism calls to mind the “Born Again” movement, and evangelists Jerry Falwell, Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker– in other words, something more associated with the 1970s, rather than the Sixties. But–here he is, Garner Ted, in full cry in 1968, in a full-page, full-color ad in LIFE magazine, of all places, not something marginal and weird. And he and his ministry (at the moment in partnership with his father, the even better-known Herbert W. Armstrong, a partnership that would go off the rails in just a few years) are seizing on the day’s headlines to offer proof positive of the coming of the end times. Here are the opening salvos of the ad:
“It was never like this before”
“All of a sudden what’s happened? It was never like this before.
“Unsafe to walk on streets–in city or in town! Your house may be broken into if you’re away! Crime rampant, even in residence areas!
“Student revolt in 20 countries–violence on campuses. Disheveled hippies lolling about aimlessly.
“Unhappy marriages–increasing divorce– juvenile delinquency! WHY this sudden breaking down of family life?
“Racial strife, mass demonstrations, riots, looting, VIOLENCE! And threat of nuclear war!”
. . . “Many scientists are frightened! They and even military leaders are now using such phrases such as ‘Armageddon’–and ‘the end of the world.’ Humanity’s BIG problem, now, is SURVIVAL!”
Here’s a subject that’s ripe for investigation: the roots of 1970s charismatic Christianity, “televangelism,” and the “born-again” movement in the Cold-War anxieties and social turmoil of the 1960s, especially the upheavals that came in 1968. “Covering 1968″ would be happy to hear any thoughts about this– the sooner the bettter. Time is running out.
First of all, awesome site/project/feed.
Second: Rick Perlstein’s books BEFORE THE STORM and NIXONLAND do touch on some of the material you suggested. Not so much the Xtian right as the Bircher right, but it’s there in the undercurrent.
Both books are great reads, too, especially the latter.
Comment by Tom Marcinko — October 12, 2009 @ 11:17 pm
I would like to comment here that HWA and GTA were not Christians but instead preached a heretical religion often dubbed by others as Armstrongism. It believes in many doctrines that mainstream Evangelical Christianity would never accept. Because of their unusual teachings and highly controlling behaviour they were judged to be a cult by both Christian and secular anti-cult movements.
For example they denied the Trinity, insisted that the Holy Spirit is just a force and not a personal being. They instead taught this ‘God Family’ doctrine which is somewhat similar to Mormonism.
They did not believe in being Born Again in this present life, the way Evangelicals understand it, but believe that one is only born again after you die.
This religion also plagiarized many doctrines from Jehovah’s Witnesses. Like them they believed that the soul is mortal, that death is a state of unconsciousness (soul sleep).
Also, it’s a shame to say they inherited from the Watchtower anti-medicine superstitions. For example members were taught that medicine was of the Devil. Many have died because of this horrible teaching which is still taught by some (but not all) offshoots.
They imposed not one but three tithes upon their members and deceptively hid such information from potential recruits.
And concerning the end time theme, at the time they taught that World War III would begin in 1972 ending with the return of Christ in 1975. HWA had previously taught that Christ would return in 1936, then the end of World War II.
Comment by Redfox712 — November 7, 2009 @ 8:23 pm