Family Radio
Family Radio, also known by its licensee name Family Stations Inc., is a radio network based in Oakland, California, USA, founded by Lloyd Lindquist, Richard H. Palmquist and Harold Camping.[1] The network consists mainly of FM radio stations with non-commercial licenses (and a few commercial licenses used as non-commercial) and relays, with some AM stations and two television stations, plus WYFR shortwave in Okeechobee, Florida. The network produces programming in more than 40 languages.[2][3]
Camping has predicted that that the Rapture would occur on four different occasions; first he said it would happen in September of 1994, then he revised the date to March of 1995. More recently on 21 May 2011 his third prediction attracted worldwide media interest. Following the failure of that prediction, the Family Radio website was updated to a new design that contains yet another revised date of October 21st, 2011, including:
This date of Oct 21st also proved to be false. No prediction to date has ever come to pass.
"We always look at the word 'earthquake' to mean the earth, or ground, is quaking or shaking violently. However, in the Bible the word 'earth' can include people as well as ground.
"In Genesis 2:7 we read:
'And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground…' Thus the word 'earthquake' can also be understood to teach that mankind shakes from the cold. Therefore we have learned from our experience of last May 21 what actually happened. All of mankind was shaken with fear. Indeed the earth (or mankind) did quake in a way it had never before been shaken."[4]
To see earlier versions of the Family Radio site one may go to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.[5] The original Judgment Day page is also still accessible here.
Contents |
[edit] Programming
Family Radio's music programming consists mainly of early American hymns and avoids other genres generally, including Contemporary Christian Music and southern gospel.
One of Family Radio's oldest broadcasts was a call-in program called "Open Forum" in which Harold Camping, the station's president, responded to callers' questions and comments as they relate to the Bible and he used the platform to promote his various end-time predictions. The program was finally cancelled not long after Camping's third failed "rapture-less" prediction and a mild stroke which he suffered in June of 2011. Other programs include "Family Bible Reading Fellowship", "Family Bible Study", "Sunday Preaching", "Beyond Intelligent Design", "Christian Home", and "Family Radio World Wide" are examples of other programming offered.[6]
[edit] Support
Family Radio relies solely on listener-supported funding and donations, and is unaffiliated with any other religious denomination.[7] Outside programming broadcast over the Family Radio network is limited as Camping considers the organized church "apostate", and therefore devoid of God's Spirit and under Satan's control.
Family Radio had net assets of approximately $122 million in 2007[8] and received $18.3 million in donations in 2009.[9]
Family Radio spent over US$100 million on the information campaign for Camping's 2011 end times prediction, financed by sales and swap of broadcast outlets.[10]
[edit] Politics
Family Radio does not discuss politics directly, campaign for political candidates, or endorse candidates or issues. Family Radio attempts to distance itself from political and social issues. Nevertheless, Family Radio has presented programs that may have political and social ramifications, such as those that advocate creationism.[11]
[edit] History
Family Radio began obtaining FM broadcasting licenses on commercial frequencies early in FM's history,[when?] and by 2006, was ranked 19th among top broadcast companies in number of radio stations owned.[12] Currently, Family Radio's affiliates in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and San Francisco are on prime commercial frequencies and the licenses of these stations alone may be worth hundreds of millions of dollars if sold today.[original research?]
In 1958, a Family Radio founder, Harold Camping, joined with other individuals of Christian Reformed, Bible Baptist, and Conservative Christian Presbyterian to purchase an FM radio station in San Francisco, California, KEAR, then at 97.3 MHz, to broadcast traditional Christian Gospel to the conservative Protestant community and minister to the general public. With the primary purpose of broadcasting doctrines of Christianity reflective of the teachings of the Holy Bible, Family Radio remained independent, never merging with any particular church organization or church denominations [13]
Through the 1960s, as a ministry, both non-profit organization and non-commercial, Family Radio acquired 6 additional FM stations and 7 other AM stations under guidelines established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) .[14] The flagship station for the network of both full-power and low-power translator stations is KEAR in San Francisco (now at 610 kHz, since 2005 at 106.9 MHz).Due to FCC rules regarding translator stations, the legal primary station for the translators was changed to KEAR-FM in Sacramento, after the former primary FM station in San Francisco was sold to CBS Radio.[15]
With the sale of KEAR-FM to CBS Radio in 2005, broadcasts from San Francisco moved to an AM radio frequency.[16] Family Radio continues to own other large market FM commercial band stations, including WFME 94.7 MHz Newark, NJ in the New York City radio market.
Many program productions broadcast throughout the Family Radio station network were produced in the Oakland, California facilities. The production process involved pre-recording two weeks of broadcast programming on reel-to-reel tapes distributed to each local Family Radio station for broadcast on the specified date. Free broadcast time was provided by Family Radio to national fundamentalist and evangelical ministries—outside ministries' programs were sent in cassette and reel-to-reel tape formats to respective Family Radio stations for local broadcast. Popular network announcers and the programs they hosted included Jon Arthur (The Quiet Hours, Big Jon & Sparky, Radio Reading Circle); Omar Andeel (The Morning Clock); Harold Hall (The Christian Home); Ken Boone (Music to Live By); Bob Swenson (Transition); and Jerry Edinger (Nightwatch). Each local Family Radio station had local board operators providing world, national, and local news and weather at various intervals throughout the day; regular public service announcements and daily public affairs programming; and local traffic reports via phone call-in during morning and afternoon weekdays. Outside ministry programs included "Focus on the Family", "Freedom Under Fire", "Unshackled", "Back to the Bible", "Family News in Focus", "Beyond Intelligent Design", and "Walk with the King" with Dr. Robert A. Cook. This last program still airs today, although now often edited in places deemed incompatible with Camping's odd end-times and "apostate church" doctrinal stands.
By the late 1980s, programming was delivered via satellite, local news was taken off the stations in favor of a various national news from a Christian news source, and all but a few local announcements are produced at their Oakland, California facilities.[3]
Beginning in the late 1990s, Family Radio began gradually dropping outside ministries because of doctrinal changes in the ministry. As board members left the ministry, they were not being replaced. Harold Camping's views as they were changing became the focus of the ministry. Up until the late 1980s, Family Radio endorsed local church attendance but once Camping stated the church age was over, they now claim that Christians should NOT be members or attend church services of any type. Today Family Radio produces 95 % of their programming and runs very few outside ministries. Most teaching programs are hosted by Harold Camping himself.
Music broadcast by Family Radio in the 1960s and 1970s was typical of religious stations, commercial and non-commercial. Some commercial stations played Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) for a few hours a week, but in the 1980s, as commercial and some non-commercial Christian stations evolved to Contemporary formats, Family Radio remained with a mainly traditional music format composed of choir hymns, various Gospel singing groups such as the Bill Gaither Trio, Christian college choirs, instrumental orchestral hymn renditions from conductors such as Paul Mickelson and Ralph Carmichael, vocalists such as George Beverly Shea, Frank Boggs, Doug Oldham, Mahalia Jackson, John McGill, Dave Boyer, and others, and softer urban contemporary gospel songs. From the 1970s onward, Family Radio included a few selected tracks from some lighter contemporary Christian artists such as Maranatha, Pam Mark Hall, Cynthia Clawson, the New Creation Singers, Ken Medema, Michael Card, Steve Green and others, but largely abandoned this direction by the early 2000s, although this genre is still occasionally heard.
In the mid to late 1970s there began a policy of not announcing the names of artists behind the music aired. Listeners had to write in for information about music heard that they were interested in.
Family Radio's text publications, continue to be based on the text of the authorized King James Bible.[17][18] Prerecorded Bible readings broadcast over satellite, shortwave, radio frequencies and the internet are generally based on the Modern King James Bible.[19]
Leading up to May 2011, Family Radio spent millions of dollars to advertise the incorrect 2011 end times prediction.[20]
Two days after the supposed rapture didn't happen, A Bible Answer (a Bible teaching ministry) has offered to buy 66 full-powered radio stations from Family Radio founder Harold Camping in an effort to get him to resign from preaching such false doctrine. The offer comes with a catch though - they will not take possession of the stations until October 22, the day after Camping's new set-date for the end of the world. A Bible Answer's website calls for Camping to resign from the Family Radio board, citing "the self-proclaimed expert on the Bible has brought reproach upon Christ, the Bible, and the church," and adds "After taking the money of his supporters, let Harold give up all he has, to show he believes what he is preaching. He does not or else he would sell. It is time to get new leadership at Family Radio."[21][22]
On August 3, 2011, the radio industry website Radio-Info.com reported that Family Radio was putting two of its stations up for sale: WKDN in Philadephia and WFSI in Annapolis, Maryland (covering the Washington, DC and Baltimore areas), with CBS Radio as a potential buyer. The article said that the ministry may be selling the stations to pay off "operating deficits accumulated over the last several years".[23]
[edit] Teachings and beliefs
Central to Family Radio's and Camping's teaching is the belief that the Bible is the Word of God and completely true. However, he emphasizes, this does not mean that each sentence in the Bible is to be understood only literally. Rather, the meaning of individual Biblical passages needs to be interpreted in the light of two factors. The first is the context of the Bible as a whole. The second is its spiritual meaning: in Camping's words, "the Bible is an earthly story with a Heavenly meaning." In Camping's latest publication, "We are Almost There!",[24] he stated that certain Biblical passages pointed unquestionably to May 21, 2011 as the date of "Rapture", and pointed to October 21, 2011 as the end of the world. This event did not occur.[25] The organization's website became inaccessible early that day, and wasn't reachable until the early morning of May 22.
Since leaving the Reformed Church in 1988, Camping has taught doctrines that largely conflict with doctrines of the Reformed Church and traditional Christian teaching. The principles of Biblical hermeneutics upon which Camping frames his present teachings are:
- The Bible alone is the Word of God.
- Every Biblical passage must be interpreted in the light of the Bible as a whole.
- The Bible normally conveys multiple levels of meaning or significance.[26]
- Numerology cannot be applied to numbers in the Bible when following the Biblical rules—some individuals have attempted to apply the concept to Camping's research.
- That salvation is unmerited and cannot be achieved by good works, prayer, belief or acceptance. It is a pure act of God's grace and that those to be saved were chosen "before the foundation of the world". He has added conditions to salvation and teaching relative free will of humanity. However, he has admitted that some, though very few, could be saved, while still in the worldly churches, just as there would be those saved inside the nation of Israel, and that leaving the churches is something a believer should do, just as a believer should not lie or cheat. He also gives credit to God for what has been called "common grace", where the unsaved, the yet to be saved and the saved are blessed to do good works, but this is not considered the gift of salvation itself.
Examples of how Camping's teachings vary from conventional Christian doctrines are:
- Departing from doctrines stating no one can know the time of Christ's second coming, he teaches that the exact times of the Rapture and the End of the World are to be revealed sometime towards the end of time: (Daniel 12:9-13) prophecy.
- Camping teaches that the "Church age" is over, that Satan now rules in all churches, and that no person remaining in a church at the time of the Rapture can be saved. He attempts to distinguish his ministry from a "church", saying that Family Radio does not have a "membership" or hold "authority".
- Camping now teaches that "hell" is synonymous with "death" and the "grave", and that there is no everlasting torment, common in the teachings of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
- Camping now teaches that The Cross was just a demonstration of what had already happened before the foundation of the world.
- Camping taught that the world would end in September of 1994, March of 1995, May 21, 2011, and again on October 21st, 2011[27] using the following flawed reasoning:
- According to Camping, the number five equals "atonement", the number ten equals "completeness", and the number seventeen equals "heaven".
- Christ is said to have hung on the cross on April 1, 33 AD. The time between April 1, 33 AD and April 1, 2011 is 1,978 years.
- If 1,978 is multiplied by 365.2422 days (the number of days in a solar year, not to be confused with the lunar year), the result is 722,449. (This, however, is a rounded number; taken precisely, the figure is 722,449.0716)
- The time between April 1 and May 21 is 51 days.
- 51 added to 722,449 is 722,500.
- (5 x 10 x 17)2 or (atonement x completeness x heaven)2 also equals 722,500.
[edit] Stations
[edit] Satellite
Eutelsat Hotbird 6 - 13 degrees east, Transponder # 89, Vertical LNB polarization; Satellite frequency: 12.597 GHz
- Family Radio Europe (English): channel 8222
- Family Radio International 1: channel 8233
- Family Radio International 2: channel 8234
Astra 2B - 28.2° east, Transponder # 36, Vertical LNB polarization, Satellite frequency: 12.4024 GHz
- Family Radio Europe (English) : SID 9558
[edit] Full-powered stations
Family Radio can be heard in English from the following local international stations:
- Moscow, Russia: Center 1503 kHz AM
- Weekdays 11pm - 12:30am and 8pm - 9:00pm
- Istanbul, Turkey: Radio Joy FM 89.6 mHz
- Weekdays 5am - 8am and 8 pm - 11pm
- Maseru, Lesotho: 1197 kHz
- Weekdays 6pm - 9pm and 10pm - 1am
- Metro Manila, Philippines: DWSS 1494 kHz (Tagalog)
- Weekdays 6pm - 10pm
Family Radio also offered international coverage via Short Wave Radio in several languages.
[edit] Translators
In addition to its full-powered stations, Family Radio is relayed by an additional 54 low-powered translators:
East Coast tanslators
| Callsign | MHz | City of license | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| W212AP | 90.3 | Notasulga, AL | FCC |
| W203AT | 88.5 | Albany, GA | FCC |
| W220AN | 91.9 | La Grange, GA | FCC |
| W220BD | 91.9 | Roanoke, VA | FCC |
| W203AL | 88.5 | Duluth, MN | FCC |
| W209BC | 89.7 | Wakelee, MI | FCC |
| W205AP | 88.9 | Pascagoula, MS | FCC |
| W212AG | 90.3 | Berwick, PA | FCC |
| W204AC | 88.7 | Emmaus, PA | FCC |
| W207AG | 89.3 | Freeland, PA | FCC |
| W215AF | 90.9 | Muncy, PA | FCC |
| W208AF | 89.5 | Nanticoke, PA | FCC |
| W280CV | 103.9 | Scranton, PA | FCC |
| W207AE | 89.3 | Reading, PA | FCC |
| W207AX | 89.3 | Burlington, VT | FCC |
| W206AH | 89.1 | Eau Claire, WI | FCC |
West Coast Translators
| Callsign | MHz | City of license | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| K202CG | 90.3 | Jonesboro, AR | FCC |
| K205CI | 90.3 | Phoenix, AZ | FCC |
| K201CQ | 88.1 | Prescott, AZ | FCC |
| K217BJ | 91.3 | Banning, CA | FCC |
| K219AO | 91.7 | Fairmont, CA | FCC |
| K268AH | 101.5 | Palm Springs, CA | FCC |
| K241AJ | 96.1 | Palmdale, CA | FCC |
| K220EY | 91.9 | Porterville, CA | FCC |
| K227AH | 93.3 | River Pines, CA | FCC |
| K213BZ | 90.5 | Richvale, CA | FCC |
| K213CH | 90.5 | Ridgecrest, CA | FCC |
| K238AC | 95.5 | Salida, CA | FCC |
| K209CE | 89.7 | San Luis Obispo, CA | FCC |
| K204CL | 88.7 | Smith River, CA | FCC |
| K223AL | 92.5 | South Lake Tahoe, CA | FCC |
| K290AG | 105.9 | Stockton, CA | FCC |
| K214CA | 90.7 | Grand Junction, CO | FCC |
| K209BQ | 89.7 | Amana, IA | FCC |
| K236AA | 95.1 | Cedar Rapids, IA | FCC |
| K206BF | 89.1 | Fort Dodge, IA | FCC |
| K205CA | 88.9 | Ottumwa, IA | FCC |
| K206DU | 89.1 | Lafayette, LA | FCC |
| K272DU | 102.3 | Black Eagle, MT | FCC |
| K217CD | 91.3 | Great Falls, MT | FCC |
| K259AN | 99.7 | Billings, MT | FCC |
| K203EP | 88.5 | Shepherd, MT | FCC |
| K214CQ | 90.7 | Grand Island, NE | FCC |
| K220GM | 91.9 | Placitas, NM | FCC |
| K206BI | 89.1 | Carson City, NV | FCC |
| K254AK | 98.7 | Reno, NV | FCC |
[edit] Television
- WFME-TV, West Milford - Newark, New Jersey - New York
- WYBE-DT66 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (leased simulcast of WFME-TV; actually WYBE's fourth digital subchannel but slotted as 35.66 to match WFME channel number)
- KFTL-CA, San Francisco, California
- KITL-LP, Boise, Idaho
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.truthradio.com/Camping.pdf
- ^ Family Radio Worldwide. Family Radio. 21 January 2008 <http://www.familyradio.com/>
- ^ a b Family Stations, Inc., Goliath Business Knowledge on Demand, http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/product-compint-0001274570-page.html
- ^ http://www.familyradio.com/x/whathappened.html
- ^ Family Radio announcement of the Rapture, retrieved, archived from the original on October 23, 2010, http://web.archive.org/web/20101023040240/http://www.familyradio.com//
- ^ Family Radio broadcast programs, Family Stations, Inc., http://209.10.202.163/english/connect/broadcast/zone_sched/
- ^ Family Radio General Information, Family Stations, Inc., http://www.familyradio.com/english/admin/
- ^ Family Radio profile, Ministry Watchers., http://www.ministrywatch.com/profile/family-stations.aspx
- ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110524/ap_on_re_us/us_apocalypse_saturday
- ^ Goffard, Christopher (May 21, 2011). "Doomsday prediction: Harold Camping is at the heart of a mediapocalypse over his Doomsday prediction". Los Angeles Times (Oakland). http://www.latimes.com/la-me-rapture-20110521,0,1687317.story. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
- ^ Family Radio Monday/Friday Program Schedule, Family Stations, Inc., http://www.familyradio.com/english/connect/broadcast/zone_sched/cst.html
- ^ State of the News Media 2006., Journalism.org, http://www.stateofthenewsmedia.org/2006/printable_radio_ownership.asp?
- ^ Who or What is Family Radio?, Family Stations, Inc., http://www.familyradio.com/english/connect/bio/haroldcamping_bio.html
- ^ Multiple Ownership;Radio Broadcast Stations, Small Business Administration, http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/comments/dfcc02_0313.txt, retrieved 2008-05-22
- ^ Infinity Broadcasting, CBS RADIO pressroom, http://www.cbsradio.com/press_center/releases/pressrelease124011-04-18-2005.html, retrieved 2008-05-22
- ^ Family Stations, KEAR 610 AM, Radiotime your guide to radio, http://radiotime.com/station/s_44534/Family_Radio_Network_610.aspx, retrieved 2008-05-22
- ^ "Family Stations text Bible". FamilyStations, Inc.. http://www.familyradio.com/graphical/literature/frame/.
- ^ Harold Camping. "Open forum/text, authorized King James". FamilyStations, Inc.. http://forms.familyradio.org/dbqf/forum_100207j.html. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
- ^ "Family Stations audio Bible". Family Stations, Inc.. http://www.familyradio.com/english/connect/audio_archive/fbrf/.
- ^ "Apocalypse Not Yet: 'Rapture Hour' passes quietly". CBC News. May 22, 2011. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/story/2011/05/21/apocalypse-day.html.
- ^ Family Radio gets a $1 million offer to sell their 66 stations - Radio-Info.com (released May 30, 2011)
- ^ Goodbye Harold - A Bible Answer (released May 23, 2011)
- ^ "Round 3 of the bidding for Family Radio FMs in two markets", News article from Radio-Info.com, http://www.radio-info.com/news/round-3-of-the-bidding-for-family-radio-fms-in-two-markets 3 August 2011; retrieved 8 August 2011.
- ^ ...Multiple Ownership of Radio Broadcast Stations in Local Markets, Small Business Administration, http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/comments/dfcc02_0313.txt, retrieved 2008-05-22
- ^ Pilkington, Ed (May 24, 2011). "Apocalypse still imminent: Rapture now coming in October". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/24/rapture-october-harold-camping-apocalypse?INTCMP=SRCH.
- ^ Harold Camping. "First Principles of Bible Study". Family Stations, Inc. http://www.familyradio.com/graphical/literature/study/study_contents.html. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
- ^ May 21 is Judgment Day: Christian group
[edit] External links
- Family Radio Worldwide official website
- Worldwide.familyradio.org
- Family Radio Network's channel on YouTube
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- American radio networks
- Christian fundamentalism
- Family Radio stations
- Christian radio stations in the United States
- External services (broadcasting)
- Christian media companies
- Companies based in Oakland, California
- Broadcasting companies of the United States
- Radio broadcasting companies of the United States
- Television broadcasting companies of the United States
