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One of my favourite things about working from home is that I get to listen to Geoff Hutchison’s morning program on abc radio in Perth and a while ago he interviewed a lady called Tanya Levin who has wrote a book called “People in Glass Houses” about her experiences with Hillsong.

Listening to her interview, reading articles and listening to the reaction from other viewers it raised many issues which I think I will debug.

Some of Tanya Levins anger about Hillsong and other denominational Pentecostal churches and other ‘big’ churches are not new with such claims like:

  1. If you do not go to church, you are not saved,
  2. you HAVE to give money,
  3. All tax cheats
  4. and they are a cult

Listeners reactions

One email from ‘Trisha’ was spot on with her comments about how you are the person responsible for your Salvation/ Christian life and life in general. A lot of the other callers did not highlight the issues raised in the book but rather talked about their beliefs.

That is all good but at a gun fight, you cannot bring a pee-shooter, you need to bring biblical truth…

My beliefs on some of the comments raised

If you do not go to church, you are not saved

This is not written in the bible anywhere at all, while most churches do not preach this it is definitely spoken about and used as a scare tactic at times. However just because some people may say it, it does not mean it is true.

In the book of Acts 2:42-47 it shows the benefits of regular fellowship with fellow believers.

You HAVE to give money

If you read the bible, tithing is your free will. You do not have to give nothing BUT the benefits of giving to God cheerfully (which goes to church running and other community areas) shows that it is worth doing.

Tax cheats

Churches are classified as a non profit organisation which allows for some freedom in the taxation department. I do not doubt that some churches have been busted for cheating the system and if so, they deserve the consequences but not ALL churches cheat.

Churches are a cult

If you look at the dictionary meaning of a cult, you would have to say that yes churches are.

Does this mean that they are the same as Devil worshipers and other new age cults like Scientology? No, what it means is that churches have rules just like every other organisation/ business/ country. Without rules and a system an organisation will get nothing done and the church will become useless.

So what does all this mean?

As I said before, we all have a free will and so its up to you! I have had a bad experience with a church and I know so many others who have as well. The problem is not God but rather the people who represent God - Man and the last I looked none of us men are much better.

You cannot stay bitter and twisted at a church because of some man. Its not what God would want you to do, move on and seek forgiveness.

Some churches are indeed dodgy

Do not get me wrong, some churches are indeed dodgy. Some Pastors and others do use scare tactics and even preach biblical wrong dribble. However most churches do preach what is in the bible.

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3 comments so far

 1 

October 19th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Bob
 2 

Yes, I too just finished Tanya Levin’s book a few weeks or so ago and join the applause for her show of strength and fortitude in writing it. It certainly reflected much of my own thoughts over the years about groups such as Hillsong and YWAM; groups which may not fall within the strict gamut of a ‘cult’, but nonetheless because of their organisational structure and dynamics, are very ‘cultish’. I was raised in the Elim Four Square and after the usual mid-adolescent jaunt with a joint (it was actually beer in those straight days) I ended up with the AOG and attended their bible college. My god, what a socialisation process in narrow-mindedness that turned out to be. For example, in those dim dark days we were required to sit well apart if driving in a college vehicle with a fellow female student - you know the philosophy, sex leads to dancing mindset! Later I joined YWAM, and looking back recall a fairly genuine desire to serve god and make a positive difference in the lives of young people. After a couple of years however I was disturbed by some of the behaviour of leadership that had parallels to some that is described by Tanya in her book, “People in Glass Houses”. I eventually left the organisation after other issues came to the fore such as when YWAM started espousing the belief that the USA was especially chosen by god to bless the whole world (wonder what the tens of thousands of dead and maimed Iraqis now think about this brilliant hypothesis, aye - let alone the poor old YWAMmers from outside this blessed American fold?). No, I didn’t fall out with leadership or anything like that. I was in fact one of the ‘fair headed young men’ who just started to exercise his intellect and appraise the organisation he was committed to in an intelligent and rational manner. It would be too lengthy for this comment page to go into all the parallels that I see between YWAM and Hillsong in line with themes raised by Tanya in her book, but let me say that in my opinion there are some disturbing parallels to be drawn. But life goes on doesn’t it and it is better to make the difficult transition and leave, rather than compromise your personal integrity and stay on to grow into a disgruntled, bitter or ‘neutralised’ individual. In fact I left and went through a period of significant withdrawal. I can remember sitting in the university library in my second year (writing one of the seeming countless required essays) and thinking how I longed for the excitement and challenge of the good old Mission. Well, like all addicts committed to seeing the cold turkey process through to the end, I struggled through a genuine existential crisis and came out he other end a relatively intact human being (well, in my opinion that is!). I later qualified professionally in humanities-based disciplines that I thank for honing my appreciation for critical analysis of human behaviour. Well, I could go on and on, but will stop there. In closing though, let me say, that to me, the important thing in life is to practice genuine care for others whenever and wherever possible, without compromising our own safety and basic need for things such as financial security and the like. We also have to try to be honest in these endeavours and if we catch ourselves hurting one of the ‘little ones’, we should stop and re-evaluate our motives and direction in life. So it goes for Hillsong, YWAM, members of the AOG, me and ‘yous’.

December 15th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
 3 

@Bob - Thanks so much for your comment!
You raise some very good points and thanks for being honest and being able to share your personal views and life experiences.

In reading your views my only comment is that while life deals us rotten luck and bad cards you must play what you are dealt with and remain bitterless…

Look forward to see more comments from you Bob!

December 17th, 2007 at 9:04 am

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