You have to hand it to the men in the PCG. They know how to keep their wives under control. You will not find any brawling women in the Philadelphia Church of God. There have been countless articles in the last month about women being submissive, good homemakers and good mothers. God forbid if any of them opened their mouths and voiced a theological understanding.
King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.) Proverbs 21:9
It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.
In the latest screed from the HWA Idolatry cult, they have this article:
The Spiritually Valiant Woman
The article focuses on women of the Hebrew scripture and Loma Armstrong. Nothing about the strong women of the New Testament story. Nothing about the rich women who were merchants of trade. Nothing about the women who ruled over men righteously or taught men.
There is Lydia the trader who was wealthy from fabric trade in purple cloth. She made so much money she was "sponsoring" a local church. Because they met in her house, it was the tradition the leader of the group was the homeowner. She was doing such a good job at running the local church that Paul and Silas came to visit her before they left for a trip.
Lydia was the first Christian convert in Europe. She responded to
Paul’s gospel ministry when he visited her town of Philippi.[6]
Subsequently, the fledgling Christian congregation in Philippi met in
her home. Lynn Cohick (2009:190) notes that when Paul and Silas prepare
to leave Philippi they went to Lydia’s house (not the jailor’s house)
and met with the believers there. Presumably Lydia followed the pattern
found throughout the New Testament that the owner of the house in which
the church met was also the church leader.
Then there is Pheobe who was a minister (diakonos) of the church and a major patron wisely suing her money.
Tradition holds that it was Phoebe who
carried Paul’s letter to the Romans. As was the custom in those days,
the letter carrier bore the authority of the one who sent him or her. A
usual part of delivering letters was explaining their contents to the
recipient(s) and passing on verbal messages from the sender.[7] So Paul
must have thought highly of Phoebe to entrust her with the delivery
of his letter.
In
Romans 16:1-2 Paul speaks warmly of Phoebe and describes her as both a
diakonos and a
prostatis.
I commend to you our sister Phoebe,
who is a minister (diakonos) of the church which is at Cenchrea; that
you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that
you assist her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she has
been a leader/patron (prostatis) of many, and of myself as well. Romans 16:1-2.
Paul only ever used the word diakonos (which literally means
“servant” or “minister”) in the context of ministry. [See endnote 8.]
Phoebe was a Christian minister in the church of Cenchreae. Phoebe was
also a prostatis. This word and its cognates mean “leader”.
Phoebe was also not a stay at home mother. She travelled sharing the gosepl as she went.
It seems that Phoebe traveled widely for the sake of the Gospel. In his commentary on
Romans 16:1-2,
Theodoret of Cyrrhus (393-460) writes, “[Paul] opened the world to her
and in every land and sea she is celebrated. For not only do the Romans
and Greeks know her, but even all the barbarians.”
Phoebe was not a stay-at-home wife and
mother. She was active as a minister in the church of Cenchreae and as a
leader-patron in the public sphere. Paul used Phoebe as an apostolic
envoy in Rome by entrusting her with his letter to the Romans. Paul
trusted Phoebe and recommended her highly to the Roman Christians.
Working Women of the New Testament
None of these strong courageous women matter to the "men" at PCG. They need their women kept down in the glory days of the 1950's and 60's when Loma was alive. Her words and actions mean more to them than anything in the New Testament does. It is more important train PCG women in housekeeping, cooking and child rearing than it is to be agents of God's word.
"The woman should be mentally able to do
many of the things the man does, but she typically doesn’t unless he
isn’t there to fulfill that role. Deborah judged a nation and led men to
battle! Her song is canonized in Judges 5. Mr. Armstrong often said he
always looked for a woman who could “wear the pants,” but didn’t. "
"In addition to developing other feminine traits, a female’s development
of her mind must be at the top of the list. However, beware that Satan
likes to use that intellect whenever women are doing “mindless” tasks—to
broadcast thoughts like, My mind is too sophisticated for this. A woman must understand what it means to be feminine and why her role is what it is to truly thrive in it."
"In 1 Samuel 1, one woman altered the course of history because of her
understanding. God prohibited Hannah from bearing children until she
learned the vision behind it (request our free book The God Family Vision). Once she learned this, she conceived and bore Samuel. After his birth, Hannah began to prophesy! You can find that in 1 Samuel 2:1-10.
“She probably understood God’s family plan more deeply than the most
righteous women of God in the Bible,” Gerald Flurry writes in The God Family Vision."
"Hannah’s prophecy continues to be fulfilled today. David’s throne
still exists, and we look toward the resurrection when we, as God’s
firstfruits, will step into the role of the Bride of Christ and
spiritual mother to multiple millions in the World Tomorrow. If our
ladies understand the vision behind their “physical” duties and don’t
let those duties become more important than their spiritual development,
it will put them at a greater advantage spiritually—not hold them back.
“If you have a son, can you look into his eyes and begin to educate
him about the resurrection and the God Family vision? Can you really
help him see why he is alive? Can you see as Hannah saw?” Mr. Flurry
asks. “Hannah was some wife. She was desperately unhappy for a while;
but it was because of that unhappiness that God could teach her this
deep spiritual lesson” (ibid).
That’s right! Women can—and must—learn deep, spiritual lessons! Then
they must be able to educate their children about those lessons."
"Armstrong College is based on this understanding. Men and women take
mostly the same courses—the only ones that differ have to do with
speaking (based on the principle stated by the Apostle Paul)—and while
the male students take advanced courses on speaking, the young ladies
learn about homemaking and nutrition. But they all have to learn the
same doctrines and memorize much of the Scriptures."
"Mr. Armstrong always reminded us that it was his wife, Loma, who was the
instrument God used to call him and start the Philadelphia era of God’s
Church. Many young women on all three of the Ambassador College
campuses in the 1950s and ’60s looked to her as a guidance counselor. As Mr. Armstrong wrote in the May 1967 Plain Truth,
“She, herself, marveled at the wisdom that just came spontaneously from
God as she counseled with these many girls about their many problems.”
God inspired her with wisdom through His Spirit! Her intellect, now
combined with God’s mind, was serving a tremendous function in the Work!"
