Arnold Murray

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Ephesians 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

2Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

Definition: Reprove
G1651 - ἐλέγχω, elegchō, el-eng'-kho
Of uncertain affinity; to confute, admonish: - convict, convince, tell a fault, rebuke, reprove.

Who is Arnold Murray?

Arnold Murray is the "pastor" of a church called the Shepherd's Chapel out of Gravette, Ark, with over 200 television stations carrying his ministry. Mr. Murray presents himself as a Christian scholar, calls himself "Dr.", and says he is a an ex-marine who served in the Korean war where he was wounded. Unfortunately, proof of his doctorate degree is not available. He also refuses to provide any documentation regarding his scholastic achievements. In fact, getting any information on Mr. Murray is very difficult. He is rather private about his personal history and has refused to provide any biographical information about himself. What we learn of Mr. Murray is what he tells us on his television show and his website. Also, it is immaterial whether or not Mr. Murray has a doctorate. He does not need one to be an adequate teacher. But since he refers to himself as "Dr.", it would be nice to know from what institution he received his credentials.

Mr. Murray stated that when he was young he attended many different churches and that he has incorporated some of the teachings of these different churches into his current theology. Again, these different churches are not mentioned. I would be very curious to know which ones they were, especially if some of them were non-Christian cults.

Mr. Murray, or Pastor Murray, as his followers call him, teaches a brand of Christianity with many problems. Mr. Murray denies the doctrine of the Trinity, denies the existence of hell and the rapture, and states that Eve had sexual relations with the devil.

When watching his television show it becomes quickly evident that he is a bit condescending to those whom he claims are misled, something that seems to have rubbed off on his followers. He justifies this approach by stating that he was in the Marines and learned how to "teach his troops" with discipline. It seems his approach is lacking the humility and grace of the Holy Spirit which is demonstrated in this brief audio clip where Murray threatens someone with a 9mm handgun. In addition, it seems that he has made a false prophecy as is documented by the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, a secular religious analysis organization.

Mr. Arnold Murray also frequently refers to the Christian identity movement which teaches that the British and, therefore, the Americans and Canadians, are the true descendants of the ancient Israelites the 10 lost tribes. Jews in Israel are really descended from Cain who was the result of sexual intercourse between Eve and Satan. Murray also teaches that all people had a pre-existence in spirit-bodies before they were born here on earth.

Mr. Murray supports his off-base theological positions by interpreting verses in light of his pre-conceived ideas, sometimes stripping biblical verses of their context. He also selectively appeals to the Strong's concordance, cites what Greek and Hebrew words mean, and weaves his theological positions into the text. In reality, all he has done is justify his ideas through his unsound interpretive techniques.

The fact that Mr. Murray deviates from orthodoxy in some significant areas (i.e., trinity), that he is cryptic about his qualifications and experience, that he is often rudely condemning of those who do not agree with him, and that he has non-biblically based teachings are all signs of a false teacher. I recommend that you stay far away from this man and the Shepherd's Chapel.

What does the Shepherd's Chapel teach?

The Shepherd's Chapel is, at the very least, a controversial church with many unorthodox doctrines. The following list of teachings from the Shepherd's Chapel is derived from scouring the Internet, chat rooms, bulletin boards, asking the followers of Arnold Murray, and looking at the Shepherd's Chapel web site.

Even though the Shepherd's Chapel is considered to be a non-Christian cult by many people, it is left to be fully determined whether or not it is.

Unorthodox

Denies the Trinity and teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are really three offices held by the one God.
Denies the existence of eternal Hell.
Denies the doctrine of the rapture.
Denies physical resurrection of believers. We will be raised spiritually.
Teaches annihilationism: non-existence after death for sinners.
Teaches that certain Old Testament kosher laws regarding meat should be followed.
Teaches Serpent Seed doctrine: Eve had literal sexual relations with the serpent.
The offspring of Eve's impregnation resulted in Cain, Satan's offspring.
The Kenites are the tares of the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matt. 13.
Satan's fallen angels impregnated women around the time of Noah.
Interracial marriage is wrong.
Being born again is to enter into this body from a spiritual body of another age.
America and Britain are the lost tribes of Israel.
People were alive in a pre-existence.
There was an earth age prior to Adam where a race of people lived.
The Rapture is a false doctrine.

Orthodox

Satan is a literal being.
Jesus will return.
Jesus will set up a future millennial kingdom.
The Bible is the inerrant word of God.

Other

The earth is millions of years old.
Arnold Murray is one of God's true teachers on earth today.

What is the Shepherd's Chapel?

Shepherd's Chapel is an independent Church in Gravette, Ark, which is the product of the gentleman by the name of Arnold Murray. Arnold Murray is an avid Bible teacher with a radio and television ministry found on over 200 TV stations. However, what Arnold Murray teaches in many areas of theology is his own brand of Christianity. In fact, it is not Christian at all in at least one very important essential; he denies the doctrine of the Trinity. This is a serious error for him as it is a denial of the true and living God. Murray teaches the heresy known as modalism, that God is one person who takes three forms: the Father who became the Son who became the Holy Spirit. Also, the Shepherd's Chapel teaches what is called the Christian Identity movement. This is the belief that the British and, therefore, the Americans and Canadians, are the true descendants of the ancient Israelites the 10 lost tribes. This later doctrine is very often used to by militia groups support racist ideologies. It is no surprise, therefore, to find that the Shepherd's Chapel s against interracial marriages. I am not here saying that the Shepherd's Chapel teaches racism, but their denial of interracial marriage is unbiblical.

Mr. Murray goes through the Bible verse by verse adding his own interpretations and using the Strong's concordance to support his position. Those who do not understand God's word, and those who have very little biblical training are easily swayed by the pseudo logic and Greek word explanations Murray uses to support his positions.

One comment that is very revealing is that the people who follow Murray are very often just as rude and condescending as he is. They, like their teacher, regularly call others liars, deceivers, idiots, losers, etc. Murray is full of quick, condescending remarks about anyone who disagrees with him. Unfortunately, it is rubbing off on his followers and this is particularly troublesome since there is a recording of him pulling a gun on someone who disagreed with him in a teaching setting.

I would like to add that obtaining specific information from Shepard's Chapel is very difficult. I have gleaned as much as I could from their website, from reading other web sites about Shepherd's Chapel, and from going over the newsletters from Arnold Murray. The statement of faith on their web site is not very descriptive and I think it is this way on purpose.

A list of the Shepherds Chapel teachings is most revealing. I strongly recommend that Christians and non-Christians alike stay away from this pseudo-Christian group.