HWA's Filipina Lovers

Armstrongism has a long and shameful history of discouraging and denouncing interracial relationships and marriages. In 1967 the US Supreme Court forbade any attempt by governmental authorities to restrict interracial marriage but some among the COGs continue to insist on enforcing this practice. But despite encouraging this racist practice it appears that HWA had a relationship with one or two Filipina women before he married Ramona Martin.

David Robinson wrote that HWA had a relationship with a Filipina woman as noted in a previous post.

But earlier there had been the young Filipino girl whom he had brought over to this country, according to widespread reports. However, he never did bring her to church with him! He apparently kept her under wraps. (David Robinson, Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web, Chapter 7, p. 88.)   

William Dankenbring, who founded and has led his own COG splinter group, Triumph Prophetic Ministries, since 1987, has more information about this matter. However he asserts there were two Filipina women in this matter.

Robinson wrote in 1980....

"But earlier there had been the young Filipino girl whom he had brought over to this country, according to widespread reports. However, he never did bring her to church with him! He apparently kept her under wraps" (p. 88). 

Along these lines, a former evangelist in the Worldwide Church of God -- Albert J. Portune -- told me personally that Herbert Armstrong had brought two Filipino girls to the U.S. and had put them in an apartment in Pasadena -- nobody knows what for. However, later upon learning that one of the girls had found another boy friend, her own age, he grew furious and shipped them back to the Philippines! Knowing about his preoccupation with sex, the purpose those nubile young girls served for him seems rather obvious. (Source.)

Dankenbring also relates this same story in another article but in this account it is implied both Filipina ladies had other boyfriends.

And sometime after evangelist Albert J. Portune left the church, about 1974, I met with him clandestinely, where he was working in the plumbing business. Portune confided in me that he had discovered that Herbert Armstrong had brought two lovely young Filipino girls back to Pasadena and put them up in an apartment. When he learned later that they had gotten boy friends, he shipped hem back to the Philippines. If you can add two and two, you can figure out the rest. (Source.)

And yet despite HWA's personal conduct some in the COGs continued to insist to their followers that interracial marriages were sinful. HWA himself shamefully insisted interracial marriages were sinful in his last book, Mystery of the Ages, re-enforcing this racist prohibition as is noted in this critical review.

Recently PCG's Joel Hilliker brought up this prohibition to his readers.

Be sure that, as at God’s college [PCG's unaccredited Herbert W. Armstrong College], you date within your race— even online dating. In most cases this is obvious, but sometimes it isn’t. If you have any doubts, please talk with your minister before you do any one-on-one dating—although group dating, with three or more people of different races, is encouraged. (Joel Hilliker, "Get to Know Your Follow Singles!," Single Minded for God, 2013, 2015, p. 50.) 

(Interracial dating is discouraged but interracial group dating is permitted? How does that make any sense?)

One shudders to imagine how many potential relationships have been hampered.

It is wrong and racist to forbid interracial relationships. HWA was wrong on this matter and did not observe it for himself. It is racist and wrong that some within the COGs continue to insist on forbidding and denigrating interracial relationships.