PCG: They Didn’t Win in Court. They Bought Their Way Out—Then Edited Herbert Armstrong

The Philadelphia Church of God has spent more than two decades crowing that it “won” the lawsuit the Worldwide Church of God filed after PCG printed Herbert W. Armstrong’s writings without permission. That claim is not a misunderstanding. It is a sales pitch. PCG uses it to present itself as the church God miraculously protected and as the rightful heir of Armstrong’s work.

Gerald Flurry put the myth in print in the May 2003 Philadelphia Trumpet:

We have just won the greatest victory ever in the Philadelphia Church of God! It will probably be our most thrilling victory in this entire end-time work.

PCG was still repeating the same line years later, including earlier this year. The court record tells a different story. So does PCG’s own later editing of Mystery of the Ages—the book it claimed was too sacred to touch.What the courts actually decidedWCG first sued PCG in 1997 to stop PCG from distributing Armstrong’s works while WCG owned the copyrights. The court dismissed that first filing without prejudice, meaning WCG could sue again. It did. The second case ran until 2003. 

The reason for the suit was straightforward. PCG never asked permission. It copied Mystery of the Ages almost verbatim, swapped the copyright notice from WCG to Herbert Armstrong, and stripped out the warning against reproduction without permission. By the time of the Ninth Circuit decision, PCG had distributed about 30,000 English copies plus foreign-language editions. 

In 1999, the district court granted summary judgment to PCG and charged WCG nearly $300,000 in attorney’s fees and costs, but stayed payment pending appeal. That is the only stage PCG can honestly call a win—and it did not last.

On September 18, 2000, the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court 2–1. It held that WCG owned the copyright, that PCG’s wholesale copying was not fair use, and that the district court had to enter an injunction stopping PCG from distributing the book. PCG also had to pay WCG’s appellate costs. The case was sent back for a damages hearing. 

The Supreme Court declined to hear PCG’s appeal on April 2, 2001. In March 2001, a new district judge granted a preliminary injunction. From that point forward, PCG was legally barred from distributing Mystery of the Ages. The remaining question was not who owned the book. It was how much money PCG would have to pay WCG for having printed it anyway. 

WCG’s forensic economist later put the claimed “profits” denied to WCG at about $3.84 million, or $4.3 million with interest, based on PCG’s distribution of nearly 100,000 copies. The damages trial was scheduled, postponed, put back on the calendar, and pulled off again while the parties talked settlement. Those talks broke down in December 2002. Then, in early 2003, the case disappeared—not because a judge declared PCG the winner, but because the parties cut a deal. 

Attorney Helen Liggett summarized the record this way in 2007:

So the facts are, Worldwide Church of God sued Philadelphia Church of God and lost at the district court level, then won on appeal, then was awaiting an amount from the court as to how much PCG would have to pay WCG and instead took money from PCG to dismiss the case and let PCG restart publishing of HWA’s works and for damages that the court would have ordered PCG to pay.PCG didn’t win, it lost in court and was going to be ordered to pay WCG damages, but WCG and PCG agreed on an amount, so the judge never decided the damages issue. There is no way that can honestly be characterized as a victory for the PCG.

That is the case. Not a divine reversal. A purchase.WCG took the cheap exitJoseph Tkach Jr. had already told the public why WCG wanted the book buried. In Transformed by Truth he wrote that the church felt it was its “Christian duty to keep this book out of print … because we believe Mr. Armstrong’s doctrinal errors are better left out of circulation.” 

That was the moral posture during the lawsuit. WCG had repudiated Armstrong’s core teachings: British-Israelism, the God Family, Saturday Sabbath as a salvation issue, and the rest of the system it later branded heresy. After Armstrong’s death it pulled Mystery of the Ages, destroyed warehouse stock, and told critics the book was “riddled with error.” Then, when PCG printed it anyway, WCG went to federal court to keep those “errors” off the street.

By 2003 the posture had changed. WCG’s income had collapsed from roughly $170 million before the splits to about $25 million. The damages trial was still ahead. Enforcing copyrights against a swarm of Armstrong splinter groups and internet archives was expensive and leaky. So WCG sold. 

On January 16, 2003—seventeen years to the day after Armstrong’s death—the parties agreed that WCG would sell PCG the copyrights to Mystery of the Ages and 18 other Armstrong works for $3 million. PCG later said insurance covered about $1 million of that, leaving PCG a net cost of $2 million. The paperwork closed in March 2003. The injunction was vacated. The lawsuit was dismissed. No judge ever fixed a damages number. 

WCG officials called it stewardship. Chief financial officer Bernard Schnippert said the church had “found a buyer who’s willing to pay for material which [they] think is valuable,” and that the church “would never be able to make this amount in royalties” by publishing the works itself. In-house counsel Ralph Helge told ministers the $3 million offer was “substantial,” would bring “assured revenue,” and would end “further intensive, costly litigation.” Critics said the quieter truth out loud. Former WCG pastor Reginald Killingley put it this way: “They’re willing, in effect, to support what they condemn—to permit the perpetuation and promotion of heresy for the sake of money.” Phil Arnn of Watchman Fellowship called it an ethical problem: WCG had spent years insisting Armstrong’s doctrines were spiritually destructive, then cashed a check so a splinter group could put those doctrines back into circulation. 

WCG had other options. It could have held the copyrights, licensed the titles, and collected royalties for as long as the copyrights lasted. It could have kept the works out of print, as Tkach said Christian duty required. It could have published annotated editions under its own control. Instead it took a lump sum, walked away from ongoing property rights in those 19 titles, and let PCG restart the Armstrong publishing machine.

That is not courage. It is a cash-out. A church that claimed Armstrong’s teachings were false still monetized them, then left the field.

And it did not even sell the whole library. The deal covered 19 items: seven books, eleven booklets, and a 58-lesson correspondence course. Armstrong wrote thousands of other pieces—Plain Truth articles, Good News articles, booklets, letters, broadcast scripts. Those copyrights stayed with WCG, later renamed Grace Communion International. GCI still holds a large share of Armstrong’s intellectual property even while teaching that the man was a false teacher and that his system was unbiblical. The institution that “disproved” Armstrong remains a landlord of Armstrong. Then PCG started altering the book it called "inspired"PCG’s public story is that it rescued Mystery of the Ages from destruction and preserved Armstrong’s words. That story collapses as soon as you compare the 1985 text with the edition PCG issued after it owned the copyright.The most important deletion is not subtle. On page 245 of the original, Armstrong wrote:

No prophets are mentioned as having either administrative, executive or preaching functions in the New Testament Church. 

 

PCG cut that sentence from its 2003 edition. Researcher Robert Kuhne documented related passages that PCG also stripped or planned to strip, including Armstrong’s statement that the Church is built on Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles, and this line from page 350:

All teaching came from Christ through the apostles — and a few times Christ communicated to apostles via the prophets (of which there are none in God’s Church today since the Bible for our time is complete).

PCG did not hide the motive from its own ministry. In the October 21, 2004 Pastor General’s Report, Stephen Flurry explained the edit in language that should end any claim of textual fidelity:

We removed that sentence from the 2003 version, not because we are doing away with Mr. Armstrong’s teachings, but because of what God has added to the Church since Mr. Armstrong died—the revealed truth that there is, in fact, a prophet guiding the Church today who also serves an administrative and executive position within the Church.

He added that there were “no prophets in the Church during the Philadelphia era—throughout the entirety of Mr. Armstrong’s ministry—but God has since revealed that there is one leading His people during the Laodicean era.” Rather than write a new section into Armstrong’s book, PCG “felt it best to preserve the text as closely as possible to the original and simply strike that sentence and then let our other literature, like That Prophet, reflect the Church’s new teaching.” The next printing, he said, would also cut the parenthetical on page 350. That is not preservation. That is retrofitting.

Armstrong’s sentences were a problem for Gerald Flurry because Flurry claims to be “That Prophet,” a man with administrative, executive, and preaching authority over the church. Armstrong said the New Testament Church does not run that way and that there are no such prophets in God’s Church today because the Bible is complete. Those lines had to go so PCG literature would not contradict PCG government.The irony is blunt. PCG spent six years in court insisting that Mystery of the Ages was so essential to its faith that suppressing it violated religious liberty. After it bought the copyright, it treated the same book as a draft that could be silently corrected to match Flurry’s office. WCG had been accused of rewriting Armstrong to bury him. PCG rewrote Armstrong to enthrone a successor Armstrong never appointed.The myth and what it is forPut the pieces together and the “greatest victory” slogan is doing institutional work.

PCG printed a copyrighted book without permission. A federal appeals court said that was infringement, not fair use. An injunction stopped the presses. A damages trial was coming. PCG then paid millions of dollars—$3 million on the face of the settlement, about $2 million after insurance—to buy the copyrights and make the case go away. That is a commercial settlement after a legal loss, not a court victory. 

WCG, having told the world it had a Christian duty to keep Armstrong’s “errors” out of print, sold those same writings because $3 million in hand beat the cost and uncertainty of holding the property, collecting royalties, or fighting every copy on the internet. It abandoned the moral claim that justified the lawsuit and kept the rest of Armstrong’s catalog anyway.

PCG then edited the crown jewel of that purchase so Armstrong would no longer say there are no New Testament-style prophets running the church. The book that supposedly proved PCG was Armstrong’s faithful remnant was altered to prove Gerald Flurry is a prophet Armstrong said the Church does not have.

None of that requires a theological verdict on Armstrong, Flurry, Tkach, or anyone else. The paper trail is enough. PCG did not win the lawsuit. It lost on the law, bought the inventory, and then changed the inventory. WCG did not protect the public from teachings it called heresy. It sold the rights, took the money, and left the contradictions standing.

PCG: Micah Turgeon, Son of Wayne Turgeon and Gerald Flurry's Grandson Planned His Escape From Clutches of the PCG

 

Exit and Support Network has the following tidbits up about Micah Turgeon, son of Wayne Turgeon. He had apparently been planning for several months to escape from the cult compound in Edmond, Oklahoma. This departure added to the recent exposure of the UK financial statements for PCG and the crap has been hitting the fan.  Flurry has decreed that no more sermons, sermonettes. etc be shared online to anyone.

Here is the beginning:

Micah Turgeon Has Left the PCG:
July 12, 2022
Micah Turgeon, GF’s grandson [and and son of Wayne Turgeon], has left the PCG after months of preparation to “escape.” He was an H.W. Armstrong College student. –G.

Then the bit about Flurry canceling all sermons posted online:

PCG Makes Decision Not to Post Anymore Sermons Online:
July 13, 2022
Well, it looks like GF and his top idiots got sick and tired of reading ESN’s critiques of their sermons and Bible Studies. They recently posted this announcement:

Announcement:

Headquarters has finished posting weekly sermons and Bible studies at pcg.church. Pastor General Gerald Flurry made this decision after considerable discussion with regional directors. The service was important during government lockdowns, but regular Sabbath services and Bible studies have now resumed. Mr. Flurry understands that there will be a very small number of exceptions who will still require this service. If you believe that your situation is an exception, please contact your regional director. If your exception is approved, you will be able to continue to access the recordings. (All members continue to have access to announcements.) But for the large majority of members and their families, we look forward to seeing you more at services and Bible studies.

ESN has exposed them to the hilt anyway and their continual sermons are basically only a re-hash of things.
But Micah Turgeon left, so that’s huge!! hahaha
They can wallow in that for a while! –[name withheld]

Typical Narcissistic Rage:
July 13, 2022
I think it was an angry, emotional, impulsive decision to stop the online sermons and I believe it was the exposing of the UK financial reports [July 9 letter] and Micah Turgeon leaving that caused it. Close family like Micah leaving has to be a blow to their ego. Typical narcissistic rage. –Former PCG member

PCG is now on the warpath trying to discover who has been leaking sermons and other information. They are too dense to realize that in 2022 and with the proliferation of smartphones, internet services, and "dissident" sites they have lost all control now. I was told some time back that Flurry can ban smartphones all he wants, but many PCG members have kept them and still use them when they aren't around other church members. Many PCG members have resorted to leaving their phones in their cars when attending church services or other functions. They are losing control of their members just like all the other COG's currently are experiencing.

Another contributor to ESN had this to say when news of Micag Turgeon's escape spreads through the congregations, HQ, and the student body of HWA College:

July 13, 2022
As high on the ladder as Micah Turgeon was, you can bet there are members on the lower tiers that are thinking of bailing, too. Also, once the news of Micah Turgeon’s exit spreads, it might lead to more saying “I’ve had enough.”

As of right now most of Micah's articles are still up on the PCG site. As has happened in the past in the church as soon as someone who writes or preaches for the church ends up leaving, the church immediately scrubs their existence from all church offerings. It will be interesting to see how long he "exists" on PCG's website.

Another contributor made this astute observation about PCG losing control:

July 14, 2022
It is no happenstance that GF removed access to his secretive online sermons after ESN posted and analyzed their UK Financial Report [see July 9 letter above]. First, they shut down the tape libraries where even shut-ins couldn’t receive them; then the CD sermon tapes were ordered to be destroyed, then members weren’t to share their recorded sermons, next no smartphones were to be used, and now this. How many other tyrannical rules they’ve imposed on members is anyone’s guess. If this purported “one true church of God” is really “God’s Church,” then why are they hiding their sermons from outsiders, unlike what any genuine Christian church would do? The answer is because they reveal the sick control going on inside, including their Satanic no-contact ruling that causes untoward suffering. Yet, PCG will scream “Satan is persecuting God’s Church!” at any exposure of their evil deeds. I agree they will be unable to stop all info from getting out no matter how tight they try to control it. –A. R.

Micah joins a long line of COG children of top leaders who have planned their escapes from various COG's.  Their mental well depended upon it. COG leaders are so blinded by their abusive techniques that they have no idea of the collateral damage they are causing to their own children and members. The mental anguish builds up for so long and then the dam bursts.

The Churches of God are in such a rapid downward spiral that they have no ability anymore to recover from it. Like many others before us, we should take great pride in contributing to the dissolution of Armstrongism.

Previous stories on Wayne Turgeon, Micah's father:

PCG: Famine of the word will happen when Gerald Flurry's booklets are no longer available...Wut?

Philadelphia Church of God Cult: Kicked out of PCG because she was a "threat to their cause"

PCG's Wayne Turgeon Gets His Comeuppance From Swiss TSA Agents

Philadelphia Church of God: Cal Culpepper, Wayne Turgeon - Gerald Flurry's Gestapo Agents

PCG Wayne Turgeon: You don't know who you are messing with if you mess with PCG

PCG: God Inspired Wayne Turgeon Into Forcing PCG Students To Work On Sunday

PCG's Wayne Turgeon's Ungodly Advice On Punishing Your Children: Because Silly Children Bring Shame Upon Their Human Father and the PCG

Wayne Turgeon: "...a man of low character..."

PCG Wayne Turgeon: Christ died only for PCG Members Though Only After They Have Read As Much PCG Literature As Possible Which Replaces Their Sin

PCG's Wayne Turgeon: "I sat up for hours waiting for some noise from anybody, and it was dead quiet."

PCG Wayne Turgeon Dares To Talk About Godly Families and Trust

Wayne Turgeon: Trust the ministry and learn to say "Yes, sir!" and do what your minister instructs

Wayne Turgeon On Being United With The Rock

PCG Wayne Turgeon Admits Church Can't Afford To Light Up HWA Auditorium For Church Members

Wayne Turgeon: Love Your Enemies But Ignore Your Family Members Who Are No Longer Part of PCG

One of the sad hallmarks of the current COG splinter group masquerading as the Philadelphia Church of God is its abhorrent treatment of family members and friends who are not part of the PCG, especially those who left the church for various reasons.

Fathers and mothers have turned against children. Children have turned their backs on parents and grandparents. The abominable edicts from Flurry, Turgeon and other goosestepping henchmen of the PCG have separated families so horrifically that it has led to suicide by several members. They have no problem with this and hold their heads up high and puff their chests out pretending to be enforcing God's standards.

Turgeon writes:

I have dealt with situations where I needed to love my “enemies.” Some of those relations have improved to the point where these people are now great friends of mine. It showed me, personally, that God will bless us if we follow this command. 

 

Verse 44 ends, “… and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” God’s Church will definitely face more intense persecution. When persecuted and unjustly accused, it can be hard not to become indignant and try to retaliate. Christ is clear that we must endure people’s mistakes as well as any intentionally hateful acts. There will come a time when the offender may repent, and we must be quick to forgive them. 

 

“That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (verse 45). All who ever lived are potentially God’s children, and He loves each and every one of them. We happen to be part of the firstfruits, but there will be many more to follow Christ’s and our example. 

 

“For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?’’ (verses 46-47). These publicans were tax collectors who most despised. There were also Gentiles at that time who were regarded as dirty, disgusting dogs. We have to have love for the whole world, not just those in God’s Church today. Anybody in the world can love their inner circle of friends and associates, but it takes the love of God to sacrifice for even those who hate you. Turn the Other Cheek

Here is the instructions  that Gerald Flurry commanded all of his followers to do:

July 22, 2016 

My mate has former friends from PCG who have told of a brand new ruling sent down from King Flurry that was announced last Sabbath. Jerry Flurry, in his "omnipotent wisdom," has ruled that now all contact with unbaptized children who have left the PCG is to be terminated immediately. 

It has been the policy for years that parents were still allowed to talk to children who have left the PCG only If they were unbaptized. Now Pope flurry has even taken away that small mercy. 

The talk amongst the children now affected by this judgment is that this will push many PCG families over the edge and force them to leave or get put out. Others feel that this will put one more nail in the coffin of Flurryism. Flurry is looking more and more like "mad King George" as his actions are ruining the PCG. All of his egomaniacal pipe dreams have come to nothing. The dig in Jerusalem has failed. The PCG radio station broadcast from the Edmond compound has failed. Membership has plummeted since the late 90s and there is almost no growth. Some wonder that in the end all that will be left is a small "Jonestown faithful" secluded on the Edmond compound. --Former PCG member. Exit and Support

To read more on the true Philadelphian love that the PCG exemplifies, check out the following:

Gerald Flurry Commands Cult Members to Cut Off ALL Contact With Nonmember Children

MaryAnn McCullough: Philadelphia Church of God Causes ANOTHER Suicide In Milton, Ontario Congregation

Gerald Flurry And PCG Have Blood On Their Hands AGAIN Because Of Another Suicide Of A Member

Philadelphia Church of God "No Contact Policy" Causes Another Suicide

Philadelphia Church of God Causes Another Suicide

Philadelphia Church of God Sinks to Another New Low

How Fred Dattalo, Cal Culpepper and Gerald Flurry Caused The Suicide of Janet De Gennaro

"Gerald Flurry, Fred Dattolo, Tim Oostendarp, Cal Culpepper, Eric Anderson, Jim Cocomise and John Chandler. I hold you responsible for the death of my daughter Janet De Gennaro."

PCG: Another Suicide Attempt Due To Aberrant Teachings

Gerald Flurry and the Philadelphia Church of God Sink To A New Low

Fred Dattalo Warns PCG Members To Get Ready For Persecution

PCG Suicide: More Information on Errol Concepcion and the Disastrous PCG "No Contact" Policy

The Most Disrespectful Church of God Dares to Teach About "Respect"

PCG: "...why is Flurry allowed to prosper and live the high life--buying multi-million dollar jets while people are killing themselves? Why is his pampered and arrogant children/grandchildren getting great jobs/perks at Edmond HQ ..."

PCG: While Some Members Struggle To Survive The PCG Elite Hire Private Chef's For NTBMO

PCG: Gerald Flurry and Elite Grandkids Travel In Luxury While Members Stay In "...nasty fleabag motels."

PCG Member Claims PCG is NOT A Cult and that PCG Families Are Made Happier By The Church

Gerald Flurry And PCG Have Blood On Their Hands AGAIN Because Of Another Suicide Of A Member

NOTE:  I will keep this at the top for a few days.  Newer entries are below this one.

We have all heard over the last few years the disgusting policy that Gerald Flurry has forced upon his members telling them to cut off all contact with ex-members whether they be family or friends.  It has had a devastating impact on the lives of many people, none more so than the following story of a suicide that happened recently in PCG due to its no contact policy.

PCG is deliberately LYING to members about this.

From Exit and Support website: Letters of those impacted by PCG:

Suicide in PCG Due to No Contact Ruling:

(Notice: Certain details have been changed in this letter due to further clarification.)

July 28, 2014
Janet C. Privratsky, age 30, a member of PCG, committed suicide on July 20 because she had to cut off her parents and only brother due to the no contact rule. She became depressed and then killed herself. Her husband's name is David. Someone I know (ex-PCG) attended the funeral and said it was heart rending to see the parents' grief. Not one person from PCG was in attendance. PCG is truly a sick organization. --[name withheld]

Members Being Told Death of Janet Privratsky Was Due to Heart Failure:

July 29, 2014

Just read on your site this morning about Janet's death being a suicide. Those in the PCG are being told it was "heart failure." People have been so saddened and shocked!

Believe me, I know how this will be kept on the "down low!" They will not want this out there, for many reasons. One of them being, PCG is in the process of purchasing property in the UK, raising up another college. This would not go over well at all. I am shocked--not once did this enter my mind.
It sickens me. Here it is in a nutshell: You obey the PCG rules because those laws, rules, judgments, anything that comes down from the "government" (which, believe me, members strongly and devoutly believe comes from God); if you go along with all this, you will get along just fine in the PCG, and love it there. But if you disobey and voice any disapproval, and do not agree, and do not give in, you cannot stay in the PCG; cannot be among the people.

Janet's parents and brother, for whatever reasons, were suspended from PCG. I do not know when. David and Janet would, of course, be told they could no longer see her mom and dad and her brother, since the ones who leave are considered to be "Laodiceans."

In their hearts, to whatever degree, David and Janet felt God (down through His "government") was telling them to do this. David, most likely still does, no matter how much he hurts. He'll just suck it up and draw closer to all his PCG family, with all their "love and support."

Everyone in PCG just hopes and prays no one in their family leaves. They don't want to go down the same path as Janet or want that for anyone in their family.

I can tell you right now, many in PCG do not agree with that ruling! But if you choose to leave and your family's in, you just cut yourself off from your own family! They'll turn it around and say, "We did not cut you off, you cut us off when you left us!" They believe firmly, Satan now has you.

If you have any more details or proof about this, let us know. I do know for sure that it was a PCG minister that officiated at the funeral.
Thank you. --Anonymous

PCG Members Disturbed By Enormous Amounts Of Tithe Money Being Spent On Jude Flurry And Celtic Throne Stage Show

Exit and Support Network reports:

Celtic Throne Performances One of the Biggest Scams Ever:
June 5, 2024
PCG is flying its VIP’s around to their Irish dance performances as they are touring the U.S. this summer. The cost for this is astronomical! I know there are many members who are furious about this, but are afraid to express it. Others are just so brainwashed that they believe everything they are told without question. They are made to believe the Celtic Throne performance is “the Work.” In reality, it is not. It’s Amy Flurry’s dream for Jude [her son]. No concert goer is being converted or “warned” or even enlightened about the PCG cult’s beliefs. Not a single person! No one even knows that it is affiliated with the PCG. Don’t believe me? Just check out the Celtic Throne’s website. This has to be one of the biggest scams Armstrongism has managed to shove down their members throats! –Former PCG member. (highlights, Banned)

For many years now the Philadelphia Church of God has been producing staged productions about various Old Testament characters and heroes of the PCG. They have done David the Endless Throne, The Book of Isaiah Musical, The Morning Star Musical about Peter Waldo, The Book of Ruth, The Widows Mite, Undefeated–The Story of Isaiah and Hezekiah, and its latest touring extravaganza The Celtic Throne. Musicals on all kinds of Old Covenant heroes and none on Jesus.

Celtic Throne is based upon the rock that Gerry Flurry went to Oregon and dug up which is supposedly the every rock Herbert Armstrong knelt at in the wooded glen and prayed. If this sounds suspiciously familiar recall that Joseph Smith also went into the woods to pray and then supposedly received heavenly visitation and revelations from the godhead. Herbert did the same thing praying to his god for revelation. 

PCG has placed so much significance on this rock that it is now the most sacred thing the Philadelphia Church of God owns that has reported ties to Herbert Armstrong. It even has its own special display case where it is enthroned on a royal purple dais so the faithful can gaze in wonder. 

The idolatry of the PCG with this rock is appalling and even worse, Flurry has convinced his followers that this is now the every stone Jesus will return to when he establishes the Kingdom on earth. 

Jesus was supposed to descend and sit on the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey until the British returned the stone to Scotland. That was blasphemy to certain Armstrongites. With Herb's prayer rock that terrible tragedy has been averted, Jesus will return to sit on Herb's rock encased in PCG's throne. That is why the PCG uses it in the touring stage show, Celtic Throne.

Celtic Throne is the stage show that tours the midwest and eastern states that showcases Jude Flurry, other Flurry relatives, and children of PCG elite as they sing and dance Irish Dance numbers. Irish Dance is now the official dance of God that Flurry has said that David danced when he was naked dancing in the streets and is the official millennial dance approved by God himself.

Celtic Throne is also a stage production especially commissioned to showcase Jude Flurry and other PCG elite children. Millions of dollars have been put into the production and touring of this show over the past few years. All of this was paid for with tithe money. Every single bit of it. Even worse, the PCG uses its corporate jet to fly Jude and some of the elite children around the country so they can dance in propaganda stage shows presented to the unsuspecting public.

Jude Flurry is admittedly a talented guy and has won several competitions. PCG is trying to promote him as the next Michael Flatly.

PCG, for some strange reason, is also using this stage show to court Republicans, even though the PCG refuses to vote.

Stephen Flurry gloats to the faithful where he had lunch:

Tithe money paid for ALL of the flights of the PCG jet to Florida for Lil'Stevie to hob knob the elite:

Multiple trips to Florida at church members' expense for Stephen Flurry and other PCG elite to hobnob with the Republican elite and for the stage show. This is how you spread the gospel message in Armstrongism today. Poor Bob Thiel was left in the dust once again.

All of this has a strange twist in that Flurry has said that Republicans would be the ones to kick the PCG faithful out of the country when the times of trial hit. It would be them forcing the church to flee to Petra or Pella or whichever idiotic place Flurry has dreamed about.

PCG members cannot understand how this is proclaiming a gospel message and more importantly how does this portray Jesus Christ to the world? 

In the PCG Jesus is always left on the back burner when it comes to how great and glorious Old Testament prophets and heroes are. 

Imagine one's entire gospel message centered on a dirty old rock and an Irish dance stage show. But what can we expect when we have UCG with its blue puppet and Bob Thiel's animations proclaiming a supposed gospel message. Isn't Armstrongism the grandest thing ever!!!!

One thing is for sure, Armstrongism has no limits to the depth they will descend before they have to acknowledge Jesus Christ.

As the person wrote on Exit and Support:

"No concert goer is being converted or “warned” or even enlightened about the PCG cult’s beliefs. Not a single person!"

Edmond Oklahoma: A warning report for Armstrong Auditorium patrons, donors, performers, and community partners.

 

Dan Moffett

A warning report for Armstrong Auditorium patrons, donors, performers, and community partners.

Before You Support the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG)

The report includes 15 sources, the organization’s published defenses, and ten questions for patrons, donors and sponsors.

Its strongest findings are:

• Family cutoff is explicitly defended today. An October 16, 2026 Trumpet article acknowledges instructing members to sever contact with certain family members. Gerald Flurry’s current book also presents this separation as religious obedience. theTrumpet.com
• The auditorium’s PCG connection is documented. The foundation identifies PCG as its sponsor and describes Armstrong Auditorium as the church’s auditorium. Armstrong International Cultural Foundation
• Financial and medical teachings warrant scrutiny. Published teachings connect tithing, health and spiritual standing. Medical help is permitted in some passages, while reliance on it is framed in terms of insufficient faith. The report examines that tension. Philadelphia Church of God
• A specific prophetic claim failed. Flurry’s January 2021 prediction that Trump would remain president contradicted the election outcome and subsequent Biden presidency. theTrumpet.com

The suicide section treats the bereaved father’s published testimony seriously while clearly explaining that it does not establish a verified finding that PCG caused his daughter’s death. That distinction makes the warning more credible and defensible. exitsupportnetwork.com

A warning report for Armstrong Auditorium patrons, donors, performers, and community partners

Research date: October 30, 2026

People considering support for Armstrong Auditorium have substantial reasons to investigate the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG). The clearest documented concern is a policy requiring members to cut off contact with certain family members—a policy defended in the organization’s own current publications.

Other concerns involve concentrated religious authority, financial pressure, teachings about medical care, and accountability for prophetic predictions.

This report distinguishes the PCG’s published statements, outside reporting, personal testimony, and conclusions drawn from that evidence. No interviews were conducted or response solicited from PCG leadership; its published explanations are included.

1. Armstrong Auditorium’s connection to the PCG

The connection is openly acknowledged by the organization.

The Armstrong International Cultural Foundation states that the Philadelphia Church of God sponsors both the foundation and Herbert W. Armstrong College. It describes performances at Armstrong Auditorium as taking place at the church’s auditorium. The auditorium’s FAQ also identifies the PCG among the organizations using the building. armstrong.foundation

Consequently, purchasing tickets supports a cultural operation within the PCG’s institutional network. Sponsorships and public endorsements can also help that operation gain visibility and community acceptance.

That does not establish that every ticket dollar is transferred to church ministry, or that every audience member endorses PCG doctrine. This research did not establish how ticket revenue, concert expenses, or any surplus are allocated.

The warning for patrons is straightforward: investigate the organization behind the venue before providing money or public endorsement. The quality of its performances cannot answer questions about its treatment of members and their families.

2. The Flurry family’s central leadership roles

Gerald Flurry’s official biography identifies him as the PCG’s pastor general, Herbert W. Armstrong College’s chancellor, and chairman of the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation.

Stephen Flurry’s official biography identifies him as a PCG evangelist, college president, executive editor of the Philadelphia Trumpet, and vice president of the foundation’s biblical archaeology projects. It identifies Gerald as his father. pcg.church

These overlapping positions establish that father and son occupy central roles across the religious, educational, publishing, and cultural network.

Family leadership alone does not prove misconduct or personal ownership of nonprofit assets. It does, however, make independent accountability an important question.

Supporters should ask:

• Who can independently investigate complaints about senior leaders?
• Who reviews decisions involving their relatives?
• Can members challenge leadership without risking their standing or relationships?
• Is an appeal heard outside the same chain of authority being challenged?

An adequate answer should identify an actual process and meaningful protection against retaliation.

3. Family cutoff is a current, acknowledged teaching

The most consequential evidence comes from the organization itself.

In an October 16, 2026 Trumpet article, “Honor Thy Father—Unless He Votes Wrong,” Joel Hilliker acknowledged that PCG instructs members to cut off contact with family members it considers to have turned away from God.

The article defends the practice as biblical separation rather than secular estrangement. It argues that the standard comes from Scripture and that separation seeks repentance and return. www.thetrumpet.com

Gerald Flurry’s 2026 book The Father’s Love, chapter 8, also defends family cutoff. It presents the practice as obedience, puts protection of the spiritual family above the desire to maintain certain family relationships, and acknowledges that unwillingness to follow this requirement has contributed to members leaving. www.thetrumpet.com

This concern cannot reasonably be dismissed as merely an accusation by disgruntled former members. The organization currently publishes its own defense of the policy.

The central ethical problem is the use of family relationships as a consequence of religious conformity. Someone considering departure may face a choice between freedom of conscience and continuing contact with loved ones.

That creates a powerful means of control even when a person remains physically free to leave.

This should be distinguished from an individual choosing distance from someone abusive or unsafe. The concern here is separation imposed on religious grounds.

4. Historical reporting raises serious questions about marriages

Dixon Cartwright’s report in The Journal: News of the Churches of God, issue 106, described a December 2005 sermon clarifying PCG’s separation policy.

According to that report, the policy extended to immediate relatives who were former members or classified as “Laodicean,” with qualifications involving spouses and unbaptized or supposedly invalidly baptized children.

The report said a marriage could continue when the non-PCG spouse was willing to live peacefully, while hostility or contention could justify separation. Questions could be referred through regional leadership to Gerald Flurry. www.thejournal.org

Those qualifications matter. The evidence does not support saying that every member must divorce a nonmember spouse or avoid every person outside PCG.

Nevertheless, the reported standards raise a serious question: Can reasonable disagreement with church leadership be treated as hostility?

If so, a spouse may feel pressure to remain silent to preserve the marriage. A religious organization should explain clearly how disagreement differs from conduct that genuinely threatens a spouse’s safety or well-being.

Supporters should request the current written policy rather than relying on assurances that the organization values families.

5. Suicide: a bereaved father’s testimony

Exit & Support Network publishes correspondence from Dan De Gennaro concerning his daughter Janet Privratsky’s death in 2014.

In an August 15 letter, he stated that a medical examiner’s certificate confirmed suicide. He also said he intended to explain the danger of PCG’s family cutoff policy. The page includes additional contributors’ allegations and accounts. exitsupportnetwork.com

This is a named bereaved parent’s published testimony, hosted by a critical support organization. It deserves serious attention.

However, this review did not examine the underlying death certificate, investigative file, or clinical records. Anonymous statements on the same page do not independently verify the circumstances.

The evidence supports saying:

A bereaved father publicly raised concerns about PCG’s family cutoff policy following his daughter’s death by suicide.

It does not establish that PCG was legally or clinically determined to have caused the death, that one factor explains it, or that members have a demonstrated elevated suicide rate. No reliable PCG-wide rate was established in this research.

That distinction does not diminish the family’s grief. It keeps the warning grounded in what can be supported.

Supporters can demand safeguards against isolation and severe distress without claiming that an investigation has established causation.

6. Spiritual authority and the freedom to disagree

In “God’s Family Government,” Gerald Flurry describes the church’s government as a divine family arrangement.

The same article says his office is open to complaints about harsh or dictatorial ministers and presents leaders as servants. Those statements are relevant and should be included in any fair assessment. pcg.church 

This statement by Flurry is untrue. He does not maintain an open door policy for complaints. According to ex members.

An invitation to appeal can be valuable. But appealing to the highest religious authority within an organization differs from obtaining an independent review of that authority.

The concern becomes especially serious when contested policies are presented as Yahweh’s commands. Members may experience disagreement with leaders as disobedience to Yahweh, even when the disagreement concerns a human interpretation or administrative decision.

The practical tests are:

• Can a member question a policy openly?
• Can a complaint be investigated outside the leadership structure involved?
• Can a person leave peacefully while maintaining ordinary family contact?
• Can someone seek outside advice without religious penalties?

The freedom to join should be accompanied by a meaningful freedom to leave.

7. Financial teaching can create spiritual pressure

Dennis Leap’s PCG article “A Review of Tithing” teaches multiple obligations: support for the religious work, a second tithe saved for festival attendance, and a third tithe during the third and sixth years of a seven-year cycle.

The article links financial and physical well-being with obedience, asks whether ill health may relate to failure in tithing, and warns about neglecting tithes and missing a future reward. pcg.church

An important distinction: the festival tithe is described as money saved for personal festival use, not simply another payment to headquarters. However members are required to send in 10% of the second title to the church. pcg.church

Religious giving alone does not establish exploitation. The concern is pressure created when giving is tied to divine approval, healing, or ultimate reward.

Members should be able to raise questions about hardship and expenditure without being treated as spiritually deficient.

This report does not assert a verified current debt total, embezzlement, personal enrichment, or a measured membership decline.

Donors should request audited financial information, related-party disclosures, board information, and an explanation of how cultural revenues are used. Figures belonging to similarly named organizations should never be substituted for PCG’s accounts.

8. Medical teaching contains an important tension

Carl Hilliker’s “Forget Not All His Benefits” links healing with faith and obedience, contrasts reliance on medical help with reliance on divine promises, and repeats Herbert W. Armstrong’s assertion that medicines cannot heal. It also connects faith in physical healing with spiritual salvation. pcg.church

However, Stephen Flurry’s “We Are What We Eat” reproduces Armstrong’s qualification that he was not telling people never to visit a doctor and would not advise someone against the help available to them. pcg.church

It would therefore overstate these sources to claim a universal PCG prohibition on doctors.

The concern is the pressure within the qualification: medical treatment can be permitted while being framed as a response to insufficient faith.

Supporters should ask whether members can obtain medical and mental health care without shame, whether ministerial permission is expected, and what protections exist for children and dependent adults.

This review did not establish how consistently these older published teachings are applied today or verify a specific treatment denial.

9. Prophetic claims should be tested against their actual wording

Gerald Flurry’s January 2021 Trumpet cover story was titled “Why Donald Trump Will Remain America’s President.”

The article rejected the prospect of a Biden presidency and presented that conclusion as grounded in Bible prophecy. The National Archives records Biden’s 2020 victory, with 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232. www.thetrumpet.com

The prediction about remaining president through that transition did not match the outcome.

Trump’s later return following the 2024 election does not erase the intervening Biden presidency. prod.millercenter.org

A religious leader should be accountable for the specific claim made at the time. If later events are presented as vindication, readers should compare the original wording and timeline with the later explanation.

This report does not attempt a comprehensive list of alleged failed prophecies. A documented example is more useful than a long list whose wording and dates have not been checked.

The concern is reliability when human interpretation is presented with divine certainty.

10. Assess conduct, not merely the label “cult”

Critics use “cult” as a warning, but the word is not a substitute for evidence. This report does not use it as a legal or clinical finding.

The strongest warning identifies practices that readers can examine:

• Religious requirements to sever family relationships.
• The personal cost of leaving.
• Leadership accountability.
• Pressure surrounding money.
• Freedom to seek outside advice and care.
• Responses to incorrect prophetic predictions.

Sabbath observance, biblical festivals, distinctive names for the Father and Son, or disagreement with mainstream doctrine do not themselves establish abuse.

The ethical issue is how people are treated and whether they retain meaningful freedom of conscience.

The documented family cutoff teaching provides a substantial basis for concern about high control.

11. Questions supporters should put to the organization

Before providing sponsorship, donations, or public endorsement, request clear written answers:

1. Can a baptized member leave PCG and retain normal contact with parents, adult children, and siblings who remain?
2. What conduct triggers family cutoff, who decides, and what independent appeal exists?
3. Does disagreement with a minister count as hostility, division, or apostasy?
4. Can a spouse decline church involvement without pressure to separate?
5. Can members obtain medical and mental health care without permission or adverse religious judgment?
6. What safeguards protect people reporting distress, misconduct, or financial hardship?
7. Who independently investigates allegations involving senior leaders or their relatives?
8. What audited financial information is available, and how are cultural revenues allocated?
9. How are incorrect prophetic predictions acknowledged and corrected?
10. Will PCG publish its current family contact policy in language prospective members and patrons can readily understand?

These are requests for accountability. They are not declarations that an unverified offense has occurred.

A refusal to answer is a reason to withhold confidence, rather than proof of a particular allegation.

12. A warning supporters can act on

Armstrong Auditorium is part of a religious and cultural network whose current publications defend cutting off family relationships. That fact warrants scrutiny before financial support or public endorsement.

Patrons and donors can pause support while seeking satisfactory answers, read the organization’s own explanations, and listen carefully to named former members and affected relatives.

Those wishing to support the arts can choose organizations whose policies better match their values.

Criticism should focus on leadership, policies, and evidence. Ordinary members may themselves be navigating fear, dependency, and painful choices. Treating them with dignity is consistent with demanding accountability from those who lead them.

13. Biblical principles for evaluating religious leadership

For readers seeking to obey Yahweh and follow Yeshua, these passages provide principles for examination. They do not independently establish the historical allegations above.

• 1 Peter 5:2–3: Shepherds should serve willingly and avoid domination.
• 2 Corinthians 1:24: Spiritual service does not confer ownership of another person’s faith.
• Acts 17:11: Religious teaching should be examined against Scripture.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:21: Test what is taught and retain what is good.
• Mark 7:9–13: Religious claims must not become a means of evading responsibilities to parents.
• 2 Thessalonians 3:14–15: Discipline must be considered alongside the instruction to treat someone as a brother rather than an enemy.
• 2 Corinthians 2:6–8: Correction must account for comfort, forgiveness, and the danger of overwhelming sorrow.
• Matthew 7:15–20: Teachers should be evaluated by their fruits.

Claims to represent God do not place human leaders beyond examination.

Sources

The report draws on these sources, including primary PCG publications and separately identified reporting and testimony:

1. Armstrong International Cultural Foundation: Philadelphia Church of God
2. Armstrong Auditorium: FAQ
3. PCG: Gerald Flurry biography
4. PCG: Stephen Flurry biography
5. Joel Hilliker: “Honor Thy Father—Unless He Votes Wrong,” October 16, 2026
6. Gerald Flurry: The Father’s Love, chapter 8
7. The Journal: “PCG clarifies disfellowship policy,” part 1
8. Exit & Support Network: Letters concerning PCG, 2014
9. Gerald Flurry: “God’s Family Government”
10. Dennis Leap: “A Review of Tithing”
11. Carl Hilliker: “Forget Not All His Benefits”
12. Stephen Flurry: “We Are What We Eat”
13. Gerald Flurry: “Why Donald Trump Will Remain America’s President”
14. National Archives: 2020 Electoral College Results
15. University of Virginia Miller Center: Trump’s life between presidencies

My own personal experience with this evil cult. 

I have 2 children that haven't been allowed to contact me for 14 years now.  And grandchildren I have never been allowed to see or talk to

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