The Philadelphia Church of God has an article up by Joel Hilliker about being single in the church.
Here are some of the convoluted beliefs of the PCG:
- What is your big goal in life? Like it or not, for true Christians, the answer is family.
- We are destined to be born into the God Family as Gods! Our entire lives today are meant to prepare us for that future—to teach us to become more and more like God!
- Righteous character is God’s greatest, most magnificent creation—His masterpiece! And He is working on that masterpiece within you. However, this requires your acquiescence, your full cooperation, your total submission. That is what makes it so challenging for Him.
- Your part in allowing God to create His character is your greatest, noblest challenge!
- Physical human families are the first thing God uses. Physical family is one of His most powerful tools for destroying human nature and helping us grow in godly character.
- The Church family is a fantastic way to crush your human nature and get you ready for the God Family! Those in the Church are people with whom God wants you regularly practicing His love!
- Confront the shallow notion that “single” is opposite of “family.” God is preparing you for eternal family life—and He wants to use your experience as a single in His Church to help in that process!
- Your spiritual family provides you unique opportunities to confront your carnality and to build righteous thinking and godly character.
- The women in the Church—the women you date—are sisters first! “First of all, she’s a sister—a member of the Family of God! The Family of God comes first!
- Mr. Flurry continues, “Do you fellows look upon the woman you want to marry as a sister? Is she really like a sister to you, spiritually? Or do you just skip over that part?”
- Dating is a service—an act of giving to the family. It is a way of providing companionship to brothers and sisters in Christ. When you serve in this way, you are drawing those you date closer into the spiritual family and enriching their experience within God’s Church. And on top of that, you are also taking a hammer to your own selfishness! You are becoming more like God! ‘Single’ Is Not the Opposite of ‘Family’
As with all things in Armstrongism, the goal is to look inward to the closed system instead of outward to the world, bringing the kingdom into a reality one person at a time.
40 comments:
Marrying your sister? That's Armstrongism at work again, recapturing true values of incest! PCG, though, seems not to have embraced HWA's example of father-daughter incest.
Or was this message written by one of the low-testosterone HQ soyboys who are themselves more effeminate than any woman they might marry, and who are privately so head-over-heels in love with GRF that they could never become aroused by a mere female PCG member?
As if He Knows says: "The women in the Church—the women you date—are sisters first! “First of all, she’s a sister—a member of the Family of God! The Family of God comes first!
Mr. Flurry continues, “Do you fellows (Fellows? A genuine RCM throwback) look upon the woman you want to marry as a sister? Is she really like a sister to you, spiritually? Or do you just skip over that part?” Dating is a service—an act of giving to the family. It is a way of providing companionship to brothers and sisters in Christ."
Keep it up... snap
https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/us/gunman-kills-7-in-church-group-near-milwaukee.html
So, if I read this right, ... you cant play SPIN THE BOTTLE at Flurry's church??
"Or was this message written by one of the low-testosterone HQ soyboys who are themselves more effeminate than any woman they might marry, and who are privately so head-over-heels in love with GRF that they could never become aroused by a mere female PCG member?"
Joel Hilliker wrote it. That should explain it all to you.
you cant play SPIN THE BOTTLE at Flurry's church??
Only if you've played DRINK THE BOTTLE first.
“Dating is a service—an act of giving to the family.”
Here is how this dating “service” of “giving to the family” works in the PCG in actual practice.
The PCG is one of the most dysfunctional “families” around. The PCG probably can pack more filthy old male and female sex maniacs, sex perverts, and predators into a single congregation than can any other splinter group.
When some totally fucked up ancient thing in the PCG cannot get some young single to go along with its selfish and immoral agenda, the totally fucked up ancient thing just has to complain to some arrogant and malicious pervert like Ronald Morley about it. Ronald Morley will quickly get angry at the young single and try to force the single person to go along with the totally fucked up ancient thing, and get the single person kicked out of the PCG if they do not.
Arrogant and malicious perverts in the PCG like Ronald Morley ought to hand over their own children to totally fucked up ancient things and see how they like it, and leave other people's children alone.
The PCG really ought to discontinue its dating “service.”
“crush your human nature”
“Destroying human nature”
That is a blaring klaxon. That’s straight up plastic bag over the head Cult. That’s scary reading.
I haven't read the Bible in a while, but didn’t God create you with a human nature? Aren’t you born with it? Why would God give you a human nature then want you to destroy it?
No, but you can drink what's in the bottle at a church social!
King Solomon is the wisest man that EVER LIVED, David C. Pack is the second most wisest man that EVER LIVED and Herbert W. Armstrong is the THIRD wisest man that ever lived
This odd loveless marriage quest has been inherited from the Armstrongs marriage.
Gerald Flurry was able to fit more old sex perverts into his PCG cult than clowns into a Volkswagen.
I am not against the scripture of The Holy Bible.
I know you are trying to confuse me and others on this blog how are dare you?!
The church of God has demonstrable biblical truth with all with eyes to see and ears to hear Moses being strictly a law maker, partially operates as a Prophet. Yet Moses was chosen and destined to be a law priest. He gave us the gift of the law. If you reject the greatest law giver and enforcer God you are going to be burned up and cease to exist in the lake of fire where there will gnashing of teeth.
"We are all brothers and sisters," "dating is an act of service," etc, is a teaching of many religious groups. And it's an abusive cult ploy. What's hidden is that relationships are two way. The expression "one another" as in "love one another," appears over 50 times in the NT. Hiding this amounts to playing the game of the unjust steward. There will be constant givers and constant takers, which is theft. I speak from experience. When I attended services, I spent dozens of hours driving members around. When I had a car accident and asked members for a lift to services, all I got was extortionist demands. People were offended that I even asked. These churches use the business model of under the table "progressive taxation" to win members to their group. All this "we are brothers and sisters" is manipulative crap. You'll be robbed blind if you fall for it.
Anon 4:03 PM if you don't obey the dating and courtship laws your marriage will fail guaranteed!
PCg is a dangerous cult.
UCG, PCG, and other they usually tell people what to do and stuff they are very controlling.
Ronald Morley is dead, and he basically did hand over his children. Fortunately two escaped, fingers crossed one can also get out and the eldest deserves to stay in the PCG his whole life. Arrogant a$$ hat.
Flurry is eager to perform acts of service for the Edmond community by hosting concerts in his Auditorium. He's willing to serve Israeli archaeology with his Israel digs.
The New Testament is filled with accounts of Jesus and His disciples serving those who weren't members of His Church.
So, if dating is an act of service, shouldn't PCG singles be encouraged to date outside their church?
Acts of service? That’s funny!!!! they charge $30.00-$55.00 depending on seats for tickets to their stupid concerts. They offer NO services to anyone to anyone besides destroying families and driving people to the brink of poverty!
Anonymous at 4:51:00 PM PST said...“Ronald Morley is dead, and he basically did hand over his children. Fortunately two escaped, fingers crossed one can also get out and the eldest deserves to stay in the PCG his whole life. Arrogant a$$ hat.”
Ronald's spoiled brat Robert Morley is as arrogant and malicious as his father. Those two busybodies could never even so much as leave other people alone. They always had to be doing evil to other people, never any good at all.
I can't believe PCG members actually believe this crap, but then they believe Gerry is a King, has Christ's coronation stone. How stupid can these people be?
Joel Hilliker is the LAST person in PCG that needs to be lecturing the singles, especially considering his persuasion.
I'm sure that PCG singles are anxious to hear everything that Gerald has to say about dating and sex - NOT! Gerald has such a stellar personal and spiritual track record that all of his single sheep will immediately implement his advice and live happily ever after as a consequence - NOT! And the incestuous "sister" stuff would be hilarious if it wasn't just plain old disgusting!
Human Nature operates on a broad band width. As with color, there is a spectrum of humanity, and each of us occupies a particular space on that spectrum. One thing that I have against organized religion (or for that matter any organization which collectors of followers build) is that these attempt to turn humans from individuals into generic beings, ie, yellow pencils, numbers, Mr. Plastics, or whatever. However, what about the percentage of the general population who are not family orientated? What about those who hold others at a distance, yet from that distance always act kindly and lovingly to those with whom they come into contact? What about those who crave regular periods of isolation, to decompress and to recharge the batteries so that they can continue to do what they do in service to others? Would such a person not make it into the kingdom because "the Kingdom is all about family"?
I asked a psychic whom I knew at one time if she had any insights as to why I was not close to my family. She told me that it was because my family would have been a limitation to me, preventing growth and the reaching of my potential, and that I must have subconsciously realized this at a young age. She said not to worry about it, more or less just to stick to my path. This was totally unique perspective, something which she might have had to deal with herself considering her own personal talents. Had I never met her, I doubt that I would have realized what she shared either on my own or through any other of my normal sources. Realization hit that there had been people I knew in the past who for their own survival had had to separate themselves from their own families. Some had come from criminal backgrounds, had abusive family members, or addictions within their families. The points the Flurry organization has made in this dissertation could also be a defense against those who feel that they have had to put away another form of intoxicant, a toxic religious cult. It's just another way of saying that "if you leave us, you won't make it into the kingdom."
If there is an afterlife, it may limit the spectrum, but I can't believe that it will totally eliminate it, as they seem to contend. God created far too much diversity to allow it to be contained in such a matter.
Very true.
Ha! Ha! 'Anon 4:03' I'd say the opposite is true. Ron Dart was hated for teaching that ALL apostasy in the ACOG came from the ministry's terrible marriages.
"If your pastor is preaching strange doctrine then the FIRST place you look for the reasons why he's teaching heresy is his marriage."
Hey, Heil Hilliker, remember the last time you were in Manila and you sat at the meal table surrounded by single ladies? That was about 10 years at least by now. Well, they're still single up to now, so you're in no position to lecture about marrying "your sister." A lot of good whatever teaching you gave.
Just continue with your lockstep loyalty with the lockstep-in-failed-prophecy Flurry. You're equally a false prophet as he is since you promote most of the stuff anyway.
UCG is the same way as PCG.
3:42 said, "He gave us the gift of the law." Not true. He (Moses) gave the Israelites the gift of the law. Jesus made it null and void (Gal.3). To cling to the Law of Moses is a denial that the Messiah came.
That has great implications, 11:11! Every single ministerial marriage in Armstrongism must have sucked bigtime! And that, due to the inevitable results of authoritarianism as opposed to love. It's why we had arguably the weirdest "church" in the history of religion.
Lots of reasons to criticize the PCG, but you literalists are making a mountain out of a mole hill here. It's obvious that he's talking about a 'sister' in the faith.
Not every single ministerial marriage 6:37 but the entire system was and still is flawed for various reasons.
Therefore resulting in a high percentage of marriages that operate in an unbalanced structure and that unbalance structure results in wider implications for the Churches.
A LOT of these women aren’t allowed to even have a debit card. They have to run every little purchase through their husband and even ask permission if they can have a Starbucks. I’m not exaggerating! Yes part of it is BecUse most of them are so strapped for cash because the “church” requires so much of them. But the. Among the women it becomes a self righteous, thing to show off their submissiveness. You’ll hear them frequently say things like “let me ask my husband” or my husband said I can have Starbucks today. They say it with such a self righteous tone, it’s really sad.
This is far worse than I realized Anon 9:46.
Although 'let me ask my husband' is a well known code word amongst women in the Church for 'no'. They cannot get away with saying a direct 'No' to more powerful women or heavens forbid the local Pastor. So a safe 'no' translates as 'let me ask my husband'.
Flurry is "THAT FALSE PROPHET" HE IS a phoney and a quack.
I grew up in the church, married in the church and was taught that as wives, we were to "let our husbands be the leaders." That is a seriously flawed outlook as I learned when my husband decided to follow Pack. We were together for 28 years, the best approach is to follow no one blindly. When it became apparent to me that we were headed in the wrong direction, I no longer followed along. I told my husband that I will not follow blindly and will decide for myself what my decisions would be. Turned out, it was the best decision I made. He is now passed and I stand on my own 2 feet. The way I read the Proverbs 31 woman, was not a "let me ask my husband" person.
The PCG is not about to help the singles in it. In fact, it often treats them very badly.
Wayne Turgeon once mentioned to a congregation that, “We should pray for our singles, not prey on them.” But nobody listened to him. In fact, the old perverts, especially the local leaders, all became even more vicious. In the end, Wayne allowed it.
Anonymous at 9:16 AM PST,
Even many people who married inside the WCG in the past had no idea what their mates were really like, how they would change, what they would end up like, or where they would end up after the Great Apostasy of January 1995 blew the WCG into little pieces.
Rather than being totally unified and of like mind, the WCG people ended up all over the religious and irreligious scene.
Anonymous at 9:16 AM PST,
Even many people who married inside the WCG in the past had no idea what their mates were really like, how they would change, what they would end up like, or where they would end up after the Great Apostasy of January 1995 blew the WCG into little pieces.
Rather than being totally unified and of like mind, the WCG people ended up all over the religious and irreligious scene.
True ChristianTuesday, November 30, 2021 at 2:28:00 PM PST
King Solomon is the wisest man that EVER LIVED, David C. Pack is the second most wisest man that EVER LIVED and Herbert W. Armstrong is the THIRD wisest man that ever lived
That’s some grade A trolling there TC….well done
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