PTM WEEKLY UPDATE -- MAY 12, 2008
Why Plain Truth and PTM? Why not JIM -- Judas Iscariot Ministries?
Q. I have a question and I don't mean to offend. Growing up in So-Cal [Southern California] I was continually cautioned against Armstrongism. If Armstrong's teaching was flawed, why have the name Plain Truth that may confuse people? It seems to me it's like trying to have a ministry named JIM (Judas Iscariot Ministries). Why not just name your ministry something completely different? I don't mean to offend -- just don't understand the logic.
A. No problem -- no offense taken -- thank you for your question! My past is my past -- it is part of who I am, it is what God has transformed into, and it provides part of a journey that enables me to provide the service I can now give to others, in his name.Armstrong's teaching was and is (for it continues to exist, under a variety of names), absolutely, fatally flawed (for many reasons, including his many predictions about the end times -- see graphic from 1934 Plain Truth). Why keep the name Plain Truth -- which is the name he gave to the magazine he founded? We have considered this question virtually every year of the 12 years of Plain Truth Ministries' (PTM's ) existence. Some day we might "change our name" -- but we have no immediate plans to do so. Based on our research, here are the conclusions we almost always come to about the topic you raise:
1) Our ministry is based on God's amazing grace -- the polar opposite of Armstrongism, and for that matter, all religious legalism. For those who remember (and those who do are not as numerous as one might expect) the old Plain Truth, there is something intriguing about seeing a magazine espouse the very opposite of what their expectations might be. Put another way, keeping the old name invites questions, which allows us to be God's servants in telling the story of how we are not, by his grace, what we used to be. Of course there will be some who automatically reject the magazine because of the negative association -- I get a kick out of your analogy -- Judas Iscariot Ministries -- but for every person who automatically rejects us there are many who don't, and in fact if they have some knowledge about our history, they are intrigued.
2) Surveys we have done indicate that many of our readers have no idea about a past Plain Truth -- they have no immediate negative reaction to the title. This is not amazing when one sees surveys about the percentage of Americans who actually know the name of our vice-president, can place Iraq on a world map, know the capital city of their state, etc. Many people don't remember that the original Edsel automobile was a dud -- and while Ford may not plan to re-use the name, I see no reason not to produce a new Edsel.
3) Some of the studies we have done indicate that while the title Plain Truth might put off some people because of its perceived dogmatism about truth, others who are tired of relativism and post-modernism are attracted to someone who stands for something. In our case, of course, it isn't a bunch of arbitrary religious rules and regulations we stand for, but for God's absolute -- his absolutely amazing grace.
Hope this helps -- if you have not yet taken the new Plain Truth for a test drive, please do. Click here to see the current issue and archival issues for over ten years -- and to request a free one-year introductory subscription.
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