Over the past few days, I have seen the video from Destiny Church doing the social media circuit. In it, young men stand at a podium inciting violence against anyone who has called out the oppressive manipulative violent behaviours of the ‘church’. The video highlights without a doubt that Destiny operates well outside any ‘church’ and more closely resembles a ‘cult’. There are some key characteristics that are present to consider an organisation a ‘cult’?
Firstly, cults are led by someone who is both charismatic in their own way and is authoritarian and demands loyalty from all members of the group. This often requires people to be isolated from friends or family that do not agree with the view of the leader.
Secondly, manipulation, coercion, and control are all mechanisms by which the leadership controls the group. So the ability of the leader to convince others that they are the sole authority is central to its success.
Thirdly, members of the group are framed as holding the ‘true’ story or way of being and are the authority – so the ‘us’ against ‘them’ mentality rules and are embedded throughout the group. Anyone who speaks against them is portrayed as wrong, dishonest, the enemy and cast as evil.
Alongside this there has been an increased articulation of war rhetoric and violence from Destiny members – including Brian Tamaki. Over the past years, as Tamaki has lost his influence in Aotearoa, he has become increasingly desperate, and as such increasingly violent and extremist. His constant attacks on Māori, Takatāpui, LGBTQI+ communities, Muslim, Hindu and other ethnic minority communities in Aotearoa are an indication that he is desperately clinging to a failing cult. His recruitment of young people, in particular young Māori and Pacific Nations people (who are often in vulnerable situations) and his manipulation of minds through espousing hatred, homophobia, racism, transphobia and xenophobia to create an ‘enemy’ in the minds of those young people is repulsive and nauseating. The ranting hatred and violence being espoused by young men as a part of a fake ‘sermon’ is equally vile and abhorrent.
What kind of person represents themselves as a ‘church’ leader and motivates young people into believing such hatred? Tamaki is not the measure of a Christian, in fact he is the total opposite. He is full of deceit. His behaviour is manipulative and coercive. He is an instigator of violence through the hate-filled rants that he delivers. He also creates fear, distrust and hatred through his promulgation of lies about any people or communities that do not believe what he believes. And more recently he has escalated this through threatening communities of people that speak out against his propaganda. We only need to look at the latest threats circulated by Destiny Church. For example, here are some of what those young people voiced in the recent video:
“We call on the enumerable company of angels in Jesus’ name to come and strike these things down, to kill them, to purge them, to cast them down into the deepest depths of hell where they belong. They have their chance, but they are done, they are dead, they are gone. In Jesus name we cut their heads off, we place them on our mantels right now, we raise them up and we say Jesus christ is lord”.
“We come against anyone who has ever spoken against anyone from Destiny church right now. We come against every dobster, every online hate group, every keyboard warrior. We come against those that hunt down Destiny church members, we come against everyone who hates on the church, anyone who has ever spoken against the church. Right now we unleash the angelic destructioner, angel right now to come after you, they are coming from our view, they are going.”
Espousing such threats of spiritual and physical violence is not Christian. To those young men standing and roaring abuse at those that do not agree with Brian Tamaki or the ways in which Destiny Church reigns down abuse on communities – you are pawns in a much bigger game of manipulation and coercion. What you are saying is abusive and creates fear. You are fronting for a leader that needs to send fear into communities. That is not Christian. We have seen religious fearmongering around the globe throughout history. We continue to see it in the invasion, occupation, and murder of Indigenous peoples in Gaza. You stand and threaten to kill people. You threaten to behead people and place those heads on your mantle. Do you have any idea of the historical violence, abuse, oppression, tyranny and persecution that was done in that exact way? Do you have any idea the reality and impact of such cruelty of thought, and that the domination of people through fear, such as you screamed in your words, has existed against Indigenous Peoples and ethnic minority groups for generations. You stand and threaten spiritual attack. By who? Destructive angels?
There are no groups “hating on Destiny”. There are people that disagree. It is that plain and that simple. You are being led to send out violent messages against people because they disagree. Who are you coming for? Are you coming for anyone that says something that Brian Tamaki doesn’t like? Who are you saying is “hunting Destiny church members”? No one is hunting Destiny Church members. Just because people voice their disapproval does not mean they are hunting anyone. That is a fiction created by Brian Tamaki to incite violence.
Threats of violence have not come from those that disagree with Tamaki or Destiny Church. Every single threat of violence made has come from Destiny Church themselves, including the leadership. It is Brian Tamaki who has talked of ‘purging’ people in this country. It is Brian Tamaki who speaks of burning down mosques. All of those threats have come from the Leader of Destiny Church.
Across Aotearoa, Brian Tamaki has been condemned for his outrageous vilification of Takatāpui, LGBTQI+ and ethnic minority communities. Church leaders have voiced their absolute distain at his views and his violent rhetoric highlighting that it has no place from anyone claiming to “promote the gospel of Jesus Christ” ( https://www.1news.co.nz/2017/11/01/unacceptable-head-nz-anglican-condemns-brian-tamakis-labelling-of-gay-clergy-as-contamination-in-churches/). So, will the destructor Angels be sent to come after them? And who is the all-powerful person that will send them? Brian Tamaki? It is highly unlikely that any angels, destructive or otherwise would see him as anything other than a self-appointed lay preacher who does nothing but promote fear and hatred. This is, of course, if colonising destructor angels existed.
None of this manipulation is a surprise. Nor is it new. This is a Tamaki act of coercion and inciting violence, who is spreading hatred. To manipulate people to a point where they will make threats and assert violence on his behalf. This has been common practice for Brian Tamaki. Over the past few months Tamaki has escalated with his xenophobic views and threats towards Hindu and Muslim communities. The extreme position taken by Brian Tamaki has now seen the revoking of his firearms licence after being assessed as not being “a fit and proper person”.
He has not only voiced devastating and distressing views about these communities, but he has voiced lies and falsehoods to deliberately and intentionally create an environment of hatred and fear for those communities. There is no take-over of this country by ethnic minority groups in this country. There is no call from “New Zealanders” and there are not a “whole lot of kiwis” that agree with him. These are lies created to bring fear when there is nothing to fear. This behaviour is not only abhorrent, it is dangerous, it is destructive, it is deplorable and it is about power and control over not only these communities but over the members of Destiny Church. These latest violent raves from Destiny church do nothing but confirm the ways in which Tamaki has deeply embedded violence and hatred within an organisation that he calls a church, but which we all know is a cult.