I’ve just read People in Glass Houses by Tanya Levin (Black Inc Publishing) and I was somewhat disappointed with the rather bland expose of the mega-church phenomena that is the Hillsong church. Although it makes me wonder when I noticed an advertising campaign about Hillsong last weekend with some sad character doing a pitiful job at selling the church (if that’s what it is) whether the advertising is a result of this book critiquing the so called “prosperity” church. Are they in some sort of damage control? Perhaps not, I just stumbled across the TV ad a couple of Sundays ago when watching morning television which I don’t normally do, so it may just be coincidence although Einstein’s “God doesn’t play dice” reverberates in my psyche.

Tanya likens the Hillsong church to a cult and I don’t think there is anything revelatory in this description, Christianity is a cult, the cult of Jesus and some could argue that all religions are cults and on occasion I’d agree with such sentiments. Tanya writes;

One analysis of twelve-step groups, the most famous of which is Alcoholics Anonymous, suggests one hundred different signs, though psychologist Edgar Schein has suggested belief change happens in only three steps: unfreezing, changing, refreezing.

The Orange Papers has a 100 point cult test where Agent Orange attempts to classify A.A. as a cult and I think it can apply to religious organisations, pyramid schemes, psychoanalysis groups, marketing and get rich schemes etc. etc. and Hillsong isn’t beyond the scope of Orange’s well researched cult test.

I can only hope that the book will cause a ripple in the community, so much so, so that the Government loses their fondness of being seen at the delusional Hillsingers church. Having Australia’s political leaders swaying to a half arsed rip off of a Happy Valley rave party is embarrassing and we don’t really want the national church to be a bunch of money grabbing Jesus freaks praising the “God of Money”. Although Johnny Howard would love to have these good Christian folk voting for his prosperity at the ballot box, no doubt. There is nothing preventing the state to affiliating itself with any church of its inkling, because as far as I know Australia hasn’t a constitution separating church from state, however I have some confidence that secular Australia would kick up a stink if things became overtly churchy, I would hope so anyways.

With the Pentecostal theme of delusion, there are certainly some strange views about world events that leave me flabbergasted, my mouth drawn open and thinking what the fuck? 😯 Last night, Four Corners on ABC TV depicted some strange delusional states happening in the land of evangelicals, like what the fuck….dinosaurs aren’t millions of years old? What they walked around..let me guess 6000 years ago. Another misconception, that evolution is an explanation of creation eliminating the need for God. No! No! No! A resounding No! Evolution is a standalone explanation of how life formed and continues to form and it does not invoke or refute a God, it merely describes a process by which life transforms and diversifies. Whether there is God that drives the process or it is a natural process without God is not what evolution defines or even attempts to identify.

I can fully understand some of the angst by some prominent scientists against these hard core theists who continue to convey misinformation about what has been established as facts and using children to implant ignorance and fear of something that the religious leaders view as a threat to their ideology.

The most scary thing apart from the bigoted homophobic rantings or second class citizenship of women is the apocalyptic prophecy these fundamentalist crusaders adhere to. In an age of nuclear technology, this delusional fantasy is becoming rather concerning when the separation of church and state is becoming blurred and fanatical crusaders of delusion have access to weapons of mass destruction. The silly notions of a 6000 year old earth is piddly piss when some of these theocratic madman are plying for some sort of self fulfilling prophecy accosted from fictional texts.