I don't think that the filament causing the effect, but either phosphor thickness, or better possible explanation, the effect of the dark faraday space in the discharge:

In a preheat ballast, the filaments are heated only during preheating by the starter. After than, the only heat that the filaments gets, is by the thermionic emission of the discharge itself.
Rapid-start and electronic (Four wires, two for each end of the lamp, filaments aren't shorted) ballasts, supplies heating current to the filaments also when the lamp working, but these aren't the ballast of Men of God's fixture.