When Gerald Flurry decided to split off and start his own splinter group, reportedly to "preserve" the perfect words of Herbert Armstrong, little did we know just how hilariously he'd imitate HWA. Oh, his preaching style evolved into a spot-on mimicry, complete with yelling and bombastic threats from the pulpit—because nothing says "divine inspiration" like a good old-fashioned rant. Then he went all out building a college campus with its own "House of God," in a desperate bid to cosplay the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena. How original!
Lawsuits started flying faster than you can say "copyright infringement" after Flurry began publishing HWA's books, booklets, and articles without so much as asking permission from the Worldwide Church of God. Found guilty—shocker—he ended up shelling out over $3,000,000 for the rights to a myriad of those sacred tomes. Not long after, the PCG "discovered" some major issues between HWA's interpretations and the oh-so-revelatory messages Flurry was getting from his god. Flurry's blatant disregard for his followers, coupled with his stunning lack of transparency and accountability, led him and the Philadelphia Church of God to edit the "divinely inspired" words of Armstrong whenever they clashed with Flurry's divine ego trips.
Armstrong's writings were the icing on the cake for them—until they decided to erect their mini-me Ambassador Auditorium as a gleaming monument to Herbert Armstrong himself. Then, when the WCG decided to sell off items from the real Ambassador Auditorium, Flurry pounced like a kid in a candy store, snagging one of the Steinway pianos and those two Baccarat crystal candelabras from the lobby. He then proceeded to imitate every little thing the WCG had connected to the Auditorium. He started a concert series (because who doesn't love recycled culture?), launched the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation (AICF—how utterly original), and claimed to spearhead humanitarian projects around the world. And that's about as "humanitarian" as they got: some buildings, concerts, and a few thousand dollars tossed overseas into a couple of projects that no one's ever heard of or even pretends to care about.
Exit and Support Network has an excellent article about how "humanitarian" Flurry and the Philadelphia Church of God really are, and it's exactly what you'd expect—pure gold for anyone who enjoys a good laugh at hypocrisy.
Does the Philadelphia Church of God have a humanitarian work?First, let’s define our terms. Merriam-Webster defines humanitarian as “a person promoting human welfare and social reform.”Visit the PCG website, and at the bottom you’ll see an image with the word “Humanitarianism” superimposed over it. Click on that and you’re introduced to the wonderful world of PCG humanitarianism, all of which is framed under their “Armstrong International Cultural Foundation” and Armstrong Auditorium.The PCG gives the following context to their lofty humanitarian activities under the foundation:
The two-pronged concept behind all of the foundation’s goals and activities is: 1) that man is a unique being, possessing vast mental, physical and spiritual potentials—the development of which should be aided and encouraged, and 2) that it is the responsibility of all men to attend to and care for the needs of their fellow men, a precept professed by the vast majority of religions of the world—appropriately summed up in three biblical words: ‘Love thy neighbor.’
Oh, "Love thy neighbor"—what a bizarre, utterly alien concept for any COG group to actually grapple with, right? The tired, worn-out mantra they trotted out as their go-to excuse for ignoring their neighbors was, "Why waste money now when God will fix everything in the Kingdom?" Because, you know, divine procrastination is totally a thing.
Garner Ted tried this noble little outreach in the Pasadena area, using the Student Center as a kitchen to feed the homeless and destitute. Oh boy, did the crap hit the fan on that one—big time! Another minister even teamed up with other Pasadena churches to start a program for people battling addictions. But Herbert slammed the brakes on that real fast. After all, never forget that alcohol was basically the church's second god—priorities, people!
The ESN post continues:
One wonders about all spiritual AND physical aid and help they’ve provided to the impoverished, needy, homeless, widows and orphans! Let’s dig in to see how they are serving their community.
Quick refresher: the PCG headquarters is in Edmond, Oklahoma, in the United States.
Surprisingly, a quick review of the page is startlingly bereft of humanitarian efforts for actual neighbors. Here’s some highlights:
- they did some archeological excavations in… Jerusalem
- they refurbished a Liberty Bell in… Jerusalem
- ah yes, back in 1996 they helped some handicapped children in… Jordan
- they “lent support” to the Petra National Trust (whatever that means) also in… Jordan
You have to keep reading for the real juicy humanitarian efforts, though:
- in 1998, (wait for it) they sponsored a small concert series that attracted tens of thousands of guests
- in 2004 they “obtained some of the treasures” from an old auditorium (you read that correctly)
- in 2010 they completed construction of a new auditorium to house these treasures!
It should be mentioned that they participate in an archaeological dig in Jerusalem at this time, but not as a humanitarian project.
ESN continues:
They incompletely quote this passage: “ ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Absent in this “humanitarian” endeavor is mention of a single dollar, outreach program, or volunteer effort that serves the physically needy who comprise the actual Edmond-based neighbors of the PCG. That’s because they don’t actually do any of that. They don’t donate to food pantries, visit the elderly or sick, provide for those impacted by floods or storms, etc. They don’t help the homeless, victims of domestic violence, or the widows and children of dead soldiers. They give away a LOT of printed propaganda, but they don’t even give away FREE Bibles. I know, because I used to be a member.
One thing that Joe Tkach Sr. had going for him was that he actually donated to various organizations and helped those in need locally in Pasadena and elsewhere, much to the chagrin of some pearl-clutching church members.
The United Church of God does some good works through Vic Kubik's organization, which surprisingly helps non-church members, too. So, hey, there are a few COG groups that do love their neighbors—unlike the four oh-so-elitist COG groups that couldn't care less: the Philadelphia Church of God, Continuing Church of God, Church of God Preaching the Kingdom, and Restored Church of God.
Perhaps they didn’t read James 2:16:
And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
The entire PCG humanitarian “work” is a facade for building their own fame and reputation. Sure, they host a lot of high-class, quality musical performances, but not for free. You have to buy a ticket. And those performances don’t fill hungry bellies, provide shelter from cold and rain, or pay the rent of recently widowed mothers.
Even based on their own standard, the PCG is failing to live up to the biblical principle of “love thy neighbor.”
They are the same as every other grifting church, transferring wealth from the rank and file members to the elites of their gated Edmond compound under the guise of ‘good works’, and even invoking the Bible to do so.
I can only imagine what Christ actually thinks about the PCG.
By Ivan (former PCG member)
July 17, 2025 The Humanitarian Side of the Philadelphia Church of God
10 comments:
If I gave money to any Christian church, I would do so on the understanding that the money be spent teaching the public Christ's way. They can donate a token amount to charity, but that is not their role. I and others are free to help the biblical poor directly. To me, it's a issue of division of responsibilities.
Hold your horses right there NO2HWA!!! What an absolute lie this paragraph is: " One thing Joe Tkach Sr had going for him was that he actually donated to various organisations and helped those in need locally......
There is much eye witness testimony from individuals in both Pasedena and Chicago that your hero Joseph W? Tkach Senior was robbing the funds he was in charge of left, right and centre.
Here is Jack Kessler WCG attorney and accountant "..Joe Tkach Snr felt justified in giving himself, from the trust fund he controlled a little advance of $500.000 as a 'needy church member' to take advantage of a special investment in unregistered securities..."
More eye witness testimony from Chicago WCG congregation on Joseph W? Tkach Senior from a local Chicago deacon gave: " Tkach often spoke of 'loans' to poor members but having them labelled as "gifts" and pocketing the money when it was paid back."
So wonderful Joseph W? Tkach when in charge of the Chicago congregation funds would help the poor members by giving them loans but writing it down as gifts. Then these poor members when paying back their 'WCG loan' were really paying Tkach and he would pocket the money.
Money and Tkachites can NEVER be trusted. I recall bare faced lies be said to me over a count at a Feast site....
That's why I don't believe any of the ACOGs when they claim that all donations remain in the country of the donor. There's nothing to stop funds being "lent" to other countries, especially to their American head quarters. The "borrowed" money can remain on the books for decades. Accounting tricks can make assurances of donations remaining in their country of origin meaningless.
There are accountability organizations that rate churches and charities. You can prequalify organizations whom you choose to support financially. Armstrongism hides behind "We're God's True Church!" Or, "We have the truth about the sabbath" They position themselves as being totally above members' evaluation, and then give us bogus prophecies and mercilessly squander the widows mites.
This whole PCG church is trash.
I dont know that I could call Flurrys mimicry "spot on". Its like a budget version of HWA with none of the rhetorical skill and the volume just turned up to 13.
The nicest words I've seen here about UCG in a long time. Thanks are in order.
Is this actually putting butts in the seats at sabbath service? Is it bringing tithes into the coffer?
I heard an interesting story on talk radio yesterday. A journalist had posed as a poor woman who needed formula for her baby. She called around to forty churches of all faiths, including some of the Eastern religions, and then published the results. She got the runaround from the majority of the churches, but a handful actually helped. One pastor who offered help literally went to the store himself and bought her some formula! And then a funny thing happened! The churches which helped started receiving thousands of dollars in donations from people who read the story. The woman began receiving trash talking phone calls from the churches which failed to help, with one pastor labeling her as a witch!
I believe that if the right message is out there, people will respond. There are many reasons why Armstrongism has failed, and why it is no longer growing! The fact is that back in the day, WCG local congregations didn't so much as have local phone numbers, and the pastors had unlisted numbers. This was done allegedly to shield the church from persecution. Funny thing. When a church makes itself unavailable, people get turned off and stay away.
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” ~I John 4:1
My friends before you even consider contacting the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG) or watching their program or supporting their work.
Please take the time to learn about this abusive destructive group and the FALSE PROPHET that rules over them, “KING” and “THAT PROPHET” Gerald Flurry, and now his son Stephen Flurry. Stephen has yet to appropriate any titles for himself like his dad has. You can bet he will when he takes the “throne” at his fathers death.
Here is a first hand account of one family who's lives have been permanently scared by the sick and degenerate actions of this evil “church”:
https://armstrongismlibrary.blogspot.com/p/how-fred-dattalo.html
There are thousands more accounts of lives ruined and families destroyed listed on this site:
https://exitsupportnetwork.com/letter-archives/
Is the "throne" a water saver?
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