PCG Proclaims Armstrong Auditorium “A House for God”

Rendering of Armstrong Auditorium (Rees Associates)

Today, PCG’s Stephen Flurry (son of self-appointed prophet and the so-called Philadelphia Church of God leader Gerald Flurry) in an article titled A House for God! posted the following:

Armstrong Auditorium may not rise to the level of excellence of Solomon’s house, but judging by the initial wave of reviews, it will take your breath away.

I do not doubt that PCG spent enough money to have an attractive building. It reportedly cost PCG $20,000,000 (see PCG: Armstrong Auditorium Mission) which is a lot for a church that probably brings in perhaps around one-half that amount in a year. As PCG seems to have around 6,000 people or so in total that attend with it, this is a heavy financial burden per attendee.

Now by titling the article A House for God! it might seem that PCG is indicating that it has God’s criteria to actually be part of its church.

But that would be an improper conclusion.

While PCG will likely let nearly anyone who buys a concert ticket to go into its Armstrong Auditorium for performances, it has non-biblical restrictions to prevent people from attending its church services (some of which presumably will be at its Armstrong Auditorium) as well as for being baptized:

New prospective members of Flurry’s church are asked the question: ‘Do you believe Mr. Armstrong fulfilled the role of the end-time Elijah? If they don’t believe this then we don’t invite them [to services]’ (The Philadelphia Trumpet. January, 1993, page 15) (Quoted in Nickels, Richard. Appendix C. In Early Writings of Herbert W. Armstrong. 1996. p.232).

“MOA {Mystery of the Ages} is required reading for those who seek baptism in the church, and church policy mandates reading the book before services because ‘it provides the key to understanding the Bible’ ” (Leap D. Continuing to Fight. Philadelphia Trumpet, February 2002, p. 26).

I have also heard, but not seen documented, that prospective members of PCG must also declare that they believe that Gerald Flurry is a prophet of God before being allowed to be baptized.

Of course, the Bible teaches that there is only one name under heaven by which humans can be saved and that name is Jesus, not Gerald Flurry nor Herbert W. Armstrong:

10 Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:10-12)

PCG simply does not understand that Jesus is the only “name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”. PCG, in my view, has always had the wrong focus.

And, it seems, in the past several years, PCG has really been into physical relics and seems highly focused financially on looking the most physically like the old Worldwide Church of God.

I believe that PCG should spend more time investigating its non-biblical requirements and doctrines and return to “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3), not its interpretation of human leaders and non-biblical pronouncements.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include the following:

Teachings Unique to the Philadelphia Church of God Simply calling oneself ‘Philadelphia’ does not make one so (see Revelation 3:7-9), nor does Gerald Flurry calling himself “that prophet” make it so. This article provides many quotes from this group which claims to be faithful.
What Did the Early Church Teach About Idols and Icons? Did Catholic and Orthodox “saints” endorse or condemn idols and icons for Christians?
The Temple and the Work This article discusses the two temples of the Old Testament and gives insight as to their possible relevance to the situation which has impacted the Church during this past decade or so.
The Elijah Heresies Does the Bible teach that there will be a future Elijah? Must it be Herbert W. Armstrong?
What is a True Philadelphian? Many claim to be part of the Philadelphia era of the Church, but is claiming enough? This article has biblical and historical evidence about who really are the Philadelphians.
Are the Laodiceans the Modern Sadducees and Pharisees? Discusses similarities of the Sadducees and Pharisees to various COGs in this end-time.
Who Was Herbert W. Armstrong? How is He Viewed Today? Includes quotes from the 1973 edition of The Autobiography of Herbert W. Armstrong and explains who he was and how he should be viewed today.