Brian’s Cult
The word cult is derived from the Latin word cultus meaning worship or adoration. The hallmark of any cult is the adoration and exultation of a leader, to the detriment of the worship of God. In this context Garth George is perfectly correct to be concerned that Brian Tamaki and his Destiny church has all the makings of a proper cult. He may not be quite Jonestown material yet, but the excessive reliance on a single man who claims a direct connection with God is highly dangerous. The reality is that the covenant sworn this weekend by 700 of his male followers makes criticism of Tamaki by his followers virtually impossible. And a man who cannot be questioned and who is not accountable to his followers is a dangerous man indeed.
Tamaki usually addresses criticism of his ways by pointing to the excellent results his church has had in turning people’s lives around. He claims that a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. While this is true, the biblical context for such a saying is the production of individual spiritual fruit, not the corporate production of a church. It is manifestly obvious that a bad organisation can still produce good work, at least temporarily. Otherwise nothing good would ever come of government.
The real test of any church is how the members of the church develop their spiritual lives and their own walk with God. It is obvious from what we see of the contents of this covenant, that members are not encouraged to do anything except accept the words of Tamaki. I suspect that, if God calls a Destiny church member to do something great for Him outside of Tamaki’s ambit, He is going to have to speak very loudly indeed. This covenant is probably the most restrictive, crushing thing I have ever seen.
What Brian Tamaki has created here is not a church, but a personality cult centered around him. Check out the Close Up interview of him here and count how many times he mentions himself and his achievements. How many times does he mention Jesus Christ? Once.
Technically, Destiny is not yet an official cult in the theological sense of the word. They appear to have the same basic doctrines as mainstream Christian churches. In particular, they do not deny the lordship and divinity of Jesus (though they are getting perilously close to this with the former) and they do not deny that salvation is by grace. But while Tamaki is the sole interpreter of God’s will and remains unaccountable to his congregation or to a convocation of peers, there remains the real possibility of gradual attrition of doctrine. It is also highly likely that Tamaki will gradually come to “believe his own press” and slowly lose track of reality.
At that point, Destiny will become a cult in every sense of the word.
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- Quote of the day « Homepaddock — [...] Quote of the day It is manifestly obvious that a bad organisation can still produce good work, at least ...
- Brian’s Cult « Something should go here, maybe later. — [...] MacDoctor as usual says things succinctly. He may not be quite Jonestown material yet, but the ...
Oct 30 09 5:52 am
Density Church Has Arisen From The Dead!
Hallelujah at the power of res-erection!
Our spanking brand new site is here at http://DensityChurch.net/
Yours in the Spaghetti Monster, Lord High Bishop Brian Tamariki
You are a very sick person. Funny. But sick.
Oct 30 09 6:57 am
If you take the trouble to view the TV3 video on this fellow’s antics you will hear a nauseating address in which Tamaki shouts to the faithful “I am God!”
He believes his own press alright. I’m told by people who know him that he’s actually a bit thick and it is likely his press is written by his very bright wife.
Dangerouser and dangerouser…
Oct 30 09 9:00 am
I saw that Adolf.
It could be interpreted 2 ways I thought – but that’s the point. Even at best, he is “speaking for God”.
Just one short step…
scrubone´s last blog ..Obama Stimulous Costing Big Money
…One giant leap for fruit-loops.
Oct 30 09 3:35 pm
MacDoctor … thanks for your reasoned assessment. I agree with you completely.
I had a solid Christian upbringing, and got as far as a bit of post-grad level theology. I’ve been through one or two Pentecostal churches too. I feel pretty clear in my mind on where and how far someone like Brian Tamaki is deviating from what I can believe as the “truth”.
But unfortunately there’s any number of other wingnuts out there – on both sides of the Christian divide – who have lurched out with comments on this that are just as off-base as Brian Tamaki is.
I do despair of ever seeing a reasoned and informed view of this kind of story, so your post was a breath of fresh air.
Oct 30 09 6:44 pm
Brian Tamaki is a complete and utter Coltest, and like all who have gone before him sexual deviancy will enter the picture soon. Almost without fail, all these religous leaders turn into sexual predators and with his almost obsession with gays, I predict he will probably be involved in some homosexual activity. Its only a matter of time…..