Flurry the Fony?
By SBladeWhile doing a little Internet surfing the other day, I happened to come across a very interesting website. The author was making the bold claim that Gerald Flurry, Pastor General of the Philadelphia Church of God, had plagiarized his work. Mr. Jules Dervaes, author of the Via Del Rey website (www.viadelrey.com), firmly makes this startling charge: “Yes, we believe Flurry took these writings for his own, especially when you compare the original 1990 version of Malachi‘s Message with the seven scrolls.”
Mr. Dervaes, states that he first wrote and delivered the work in question over a two-year period from 1986 to 1988. Furthermore, he offers proof of this and of the fact that Flurry received a copy. Upon comparing Dervaes’s The Letter to Laodicea and Flurry’s Malachi’s Message, I’m inclined to believe him. He goes on to state: “Flurry seized these writings as his own--as coming to him "out of the blue!" To scare people into not seriously questioning how he arrived at his message and to thwart any rivals who could challenge him, he used the oldest tricks in the book--claiming an angel specially delivered the message to him personally. A la Joseph Smith with Mormonism.”
As a former member of the PCG, I once bought into Flurry’s nonsense. Even after departing I still thought that Flurry believed what he taught and was sincere in his teachings. After reviewing the Dervaes information, I am rethinking my position. Could Flurry be nothing more than an opportunist? Did he see a chance to grab a piece of the pie for himself? Surely having been to Worldwide Church of God headquarters he saw the rewards for being “Gawwds Chosen Man”, surely he saw the pseudo power and prestige it brought? Did he pull a play from Herbie’s handbook and snag his “revealed truth” from another author? It is almost universally agreed by his detractors that he and the PCG seem to worship HWA. Is it possible that he uses HWA as bait, or rather a marketing tool to build his little façade of a church?
Anyone who was in the PCG during the early years can attest to the fact that the big push was to get names and addresses of Worldwide Church of God members. The poor bastards were then mailed Flurry’s marketing material, those unfortunate souls that bought into it leapt from the frying pan into the fire. Then there is the matter of Flurryland, the PCG’s grand headquarters and college. If we are in the “Last Hour” as he claims, why does Gerry need this white elephant?
In my opinion the answers to the questions I’ve posed paint an ugly scenario. A scenario that is really not that surprising… Like every single one of the horde of religious hucksters we have on planet Earth today, Flurry is in it for the money and power.
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