Brian Tamaki and Destiny Church – When Cults Fill the Void
31 October 2009
7 Comments
Dr. Glenn Peoples at Beretta has posted some good stuff on the recent “Brian Tamaki” events.
You should also check out this very good interview of Brian Tamaki and Richard Lewis, along with cult watcher and Destiny critic Mark Vrankovich here.
What do you think of Brian Tamaki? I have to say, I actually quite like the guy (but then I also quite like Richard Dawkins too), but that has little to do with agreeing with what they believe.
I think we have to bear in mind that Brian and co are dealing with people that most churches would probably not know what to do with, so how does this play into the equation?
I used to think Destiny was heterodox as while they do have some questionable teachings, they do remain true to the fundamentals.
However,after seeing this interview it would seem now that they are moving towards being cult-like.
Thats the perfect climate for a cult to grow, dealing with people who are generally shunned by society. These people often have troubled lives and have been abandoned by their families, so being such a vulnerable position makes them ripe for Churches like Destiny to begin the brainwashing.
I think most intelligent people can see through Brian Tamaki and see him for what he is, greedy and egotistical. It’s a money making scheme hidden behind a religious screen.
In the second epistle of Peter, we read of a most serious warning about a particular sort of false teacher who would come in the name of Jesus Christ,
‘But there were false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.’ (2 Peter 2:1-3, NKJV).
In verse 3, ‘covetousness’ comes from the Greek ‘pleonexia’ (pleonexia) – [The actual Greek word is contained within the brackets if your browser supports Gk. Letters]. This word is derived from pleonektes [pleonekths] which is Gk word 4123 in Strongs. Its meaning is ‘desiring more’ ‘greedy for gain’ or, ‘avaricious.’ Avaricious, of course, is from ‘avarice’ which means ‘extreme greed for wealth and gain.’
The NIV renders the first part of 2 Peter 2:3 as,
‘In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up…’ (2 Peter2:3a, NIV). The NIV Study Bible note on this verse quite correctly states this:
‘In their greed: They will be motivated by a desire for money and will commercialise the Christian faith to their own selfish advantage.’
The Amplified Bible has this,
‘And many will follow their immoral ways and lascivious doings; because of them the true Way will be maligned and defamed.
And in their covertousness (lust, greed) they will exploit you with false (cunning) arguments…’
(The Amplified Bible, 2 Peter 2:2-3a).
The acclaimed Bible commentator Matthew Henry made this comment upon the false preachers outlined in these verses,
‘…(They) who make a gain of those whom they make their proselytes, serving themselves and making some advantage of them; for all this is through covetousness, with a desire and design to get more wealth, or credit, or commendation, by increasing the number of their followers. The faithful ministers of Christ, who show men the way of truth, desire the profit and advantage of their followers, that they may be saved; but these seducing teachers desire and design only their own temporal advantage and worldly grandeur.’ (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible; 2 Peter 2:1-3a comments).
But apart from Peter, the apostle Paul also makes a comment about those who were, or would be, motivated to preach the gospel for financial gain:
‘Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.’ (2 Corinthians 2:17).
Personally, I find that comment by Paul astonishing! Why? Because in a day in which it was dangerous to be a Christian, Paul already condemns those who ‘peddle the word of God for profit’! While such deceivers and manipulators were obviously already around, I believe that Paul’s words are largely prophetic and that the Spirit in him was able to look over a thousand years down the road and perceive the prosperity teachers of our own age!
So while many false teachers would come, a particular group of these would simply be motivated by greed and by the desire for personal financial gain. This group would exploit the naïve with ’stories they have made up’, in other words, with false doctrines which they would craftily introduce in order to financially enslave somewhat naïve and trusting people, thereby making themselves wealthy. Of course, this is nothing new; for many centuries even the established church in many parts of Europe allowed “bishops” (who were often really politicians) to live in comparative luxury among people who (while they struggled even to survive and to feed their families) were nevertheless ordered to pay a tax to support the often lavish lifestyles of the former. The ordinary poor were taught that it was their ‘biblical duty’ to pay this church tax (totally, of course, without any biblical support.)
Using godliness for financial gain.
Brian Tamaki has set up a system similar to the Roman Catholic church – a franchised business system that takes advantage of people seeking to follow the Christian way through personal relationship to Jesus Christ.
Cult churches are usually a mixture of truth and falsehood, which makes them difficult to deal with.
Some people may be genuinely helped in Brian’s church through being pointed to Biblical principles to correct their lives, however they will eventually be harmed if they go along with Brian’s improper insistence of worshipping him as the leader through his unbiblical covenantal obedience system, just like the Roman Catholic Pope tries to assert over the entire world.
That bypasses exclusive devotion to Jesus Christ through directly following Bible counsel.
The Bible is the authority of Christianity, not church leaders.
The Bible is authored by God through guiding its contributing writers:
2 Tim 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Brian has incited idolatry and is drawing disciples after himself:
Acts 20:29-30 …. savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.
1 Tim 6:5 ….. men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
See this comment in the Washington Post on perversion in churches about money.
The Prosperity Gospel, Ho Ho Ho, “Praise the lord”.
(lord with a little “l” because it isn’t the LORD of Genesis 1:1, it is “The God of this Age” or “Prince of the power of the air”:
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. (NKJV)
Ephesians 2:1-2 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience (NKJV)
Brian Tamaki of Destiny church is one of New Zealand’s flamboyant money perverts.
He is glorifying POTPOTA (Prince of the Power of the Air) or GOTA (God of this Age).
See the coiffered idol.
Look for the photo of him with a perspex pulpit.
Perspex pulpits are the latest covet item of preachers everywhere.
I heard a church pastor in Palmerston North some years ago expressing his desire and affection for such a fashion accessory.
The only use could be to validate his importance in front of the congregation.
It is a very sad business, all this decadence in church leaders.
2 Cor 11:13-15 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
brian tamaki is a sneaky dishonest maori any time a maori gets a chance to rip people off they take it brian tamaki is a thief a liar and a false prophet he just wants your cash
Good to hear from you Benjamin,
Let me affirm that the words in this article were penned by the previous owner, and I have penned my thoughts about the man in other places…
http://iamjonnyking.com/brian-tamaki-man-of-god-man-of-dog-or-a-protestant-pope/
However, the issues with Brian Tamaki has nothing to do with the colour of his skin, but everything to do with the sin-colour of his heart, which without the grace of God is a restless brute beast!
As I think about our human condition in Christ, I am reminded of these words from Luther… simul iustus et peccator… which means “saint and sinner at the same time”… Saved forever by Christ as a positional reality and truth, while still sinning in practice, as we are being made into His image!
Time will tell with Tamaki… Will there be reformation out of what has been a dangerous trajectory, or will the recent affirmations be a harbinger of his future destination?
The problem we have is that Brian ignores some areas of the bible that people find socially unacceptable and focuses on other parts of the bible that people find socially unacceptable.
It is not until Christians admit to themselves that they have either not read the bible or choose to follow on some parts that the will realise the contradition within the pages.
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