Arnold Murray

Arnold Murray is a fundamentalist Christian Bible-teacher, famous for his televangelism. He is the pastor of the Shepherd's Chapel in Gravette, Arkansas.

His broadcasts are carried by numerous television stations in the USA, often in late night or early morning hours. Broadcasts originate from a very spartan studio: an unadorned black curtain behind Murray as he preaches while seated at his desk, which is topped only with 2 figurine's of a bald eagle and occasionally a small bouquet of flowers. A fringed American flag stands behind his chair. His daily program consists of thirty minutes of Bible study, and thirty additional minutes of questions via mail. Murray has been engaged in tele-evangelism since 1985.

History

Arnold Murray began his ministry in California, being ordained by representatives of the "Soldiers of the Cross", headquartered in Englewood, Colorado. Shepherd's Chapel is registered as a nonprofit under that name in Arkansas. (Unverified)

Murray is a former Marine who fought at the Chosen Reservoir, in Korea.

Murray claims to hold a doctorate, but refuses to identify the college which issued this doctorate, or the institution where he received his undergraduate degree.

Recently, Murray's son Dennis Murray has taken over some of the reins of his father's ministries as Arnold Murray is now past 80 years of age. Dennis Murray is occasionally the preacher on the program when his father is obliged to rest. Though not as engaging and lively as his father, Dennis Murray follows his father's teaching style and general doctrines. It is Dennis Murray's voice that is heard announcing during the opening of each program, welcoming viewers.

Unlike other controversial ministers, Murray has never authored any books or biographies about his life, or testimonies about what God has done in his life. Despite numerous attempts by various ministries asking Murray and his son, Dennis for biographical information, Murray keeps his Christian life a secret.

Unlike most ministers, Murray does not beg for money and does not take a salary for teaching Gods word. His refusal to beg for money lends to much of his appeal as a teacher of scripture. He is not a member of the ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountablity) and owns several luxury vehicles. Shepherd's Chapel has no Board of Directors or Elders which Murray answers to. Murray also spends very little time in prayer for those asking for it.

Preaching style

Murray preaches a chapter by chapter, verse by verse approach to teaching, utilizing the King James Version of the Companion Bible and The Strong's Concordance almost exclusively, and routinely excoriates "false preachers" who he claims know little of the Bible's wisdom. Murray makes a point of not naming the preachers and denominations he disagrees with, saying "let's just stick to studying God's word." Murray declines to answer questions about particular denominations within Christianity, and other religions. In doing so, he never risks offending his audience by naming names of denominations, preachers or organizations. He does mention "revolving reverends" and "one verse Charlie's," but never names who they are. His hands are always busy, rubbing his fingers and gesturing often.

Controversy

Murray has come under some scrutiny for his political and spiritual views, which he terms right-wing. He claims to disagree with racist views.

He gained a certain level of notoriety for pulling a 9mm handgun out of his briefcase in response to a heckler who shouted "blasphemy" at him during a sermon, and tried to rush towards the desk that Murray sits behind during the taping of his program. Murray's response was to say "take this nine millimeter to that boy!".

Murray predicted the end of the world in 1981 and 1985.

Teachings

God

Rejects the historic Christian view of the Trinity (summarized in the Athanasian Creed) in favor of the view called Modalism or Sabellianism. Like this little lady said. She said, 'To my husband I am a wife, to my children I am a mother, that's my office. To hundreds of third graders I am their teacher and have been down through the years. That's a different office; none of them the same, but I'm still the same person.' I like that. It's simple and to the point.

In mentioning God the Father, Murray often refers to him not as "The Father," but "Our Father." He refers to Jesus as "Yeshua."

Human Origins

He believes that all the races where created on the sixth day of creation based on the scripture of Gen 1:26 and Adam and Eve were created after the seventh day. Traditional Christianity says otherwise; that all people were descended from one man and one woman, and that God rested on the seventh day. He also teaches a difference between Adam and the ha'Adam.

In a similar manner to the Mormon Church, he teaches that human spirits pre-existed from the time of creation. He also says that the "elect" are those who sided with God during the rebellion of Satan.

Teaches the doctrine of the "serpent seed", the belief that Satan had sex with Eve, (alluded to by earlier writers such as Hildegard of Bingen) and that Cain was the offspring of the union. Further, he believes that the descendants of Cain are called Kenites. He claims that these folks are referred to in Matthew 13 as the "tares".

Eschatology

He teaches that the pretribulational Rapture is a false doctrine, and that those who believe it could be deceived by Satan during the tribulation. According to Murray, anyone who believes in the Rapture is said to have "the mark of the beast" mentioned in Revelation 13.

He distinguishes between the terms Sheol, keber, Gehenna, Hades, Tartarus, and the lake of fire, while some Christians do not understand the terms or infer them to mean the same thing (viz., Hell). He teaches that the Lake of Fire is an annihilation of the soul; that wicked souls cease to exist after judgment day. (He bases this on Ezekiel 28 and other passages.)

Other Teachings

• He believes and has stated as fact that NASA scientists have discovered a "missing" day in time that corresponds to the Bible's account of the sun's standing still in the sky (Joshua 10:13. Murray was observed doing this on May 5, 2005.
• Teaches "The Gap Theory," That there is a separation of time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.
• He has said "shame on you" to all people who oppose Bush's sending troops to Iraq.
• He believes that the Bible supports the Death Penalty for those accused of murder and rape.
• Murray rejects the use of the term "reverend" for religious leaders, claiming that only God is entitled to this term.
• Teaches that there were 10 souls, not 8 on Noah's Ark. Traditional Christianity teaches that there were 8: Noah, his wife, Noah's 3 sons (Shem, Ham and Japheth) and their wives. Murray teaches that the other 2 souls on the ark were Kenites.
• He teaches that the Rapture is a false doctrine, and that those who believe it will be deceived by Satan during the tribulation.
• He believes that all the races where created on the sixth day of creation and Adam and Eve were created after the sixth day. Traditional Christianity says otherwise; that all people were descended from one man and one woman.
• Teaches the Father, the Son, and The Holy Spirit.
• He teaches of a difference between Adam, and eth ha'Adam.
• Teaches Deu. 23:2. The subject of Galatians 3:26 - 4:11 is "SONSHIP IN CHRIST", not "Whom can ye marry".

--taken from Wikipedia.org

Official Website: http://www.shepherdschapel.com/

Additional Resources

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