L Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology, is rumoured to have said “If you want to get truly rich, start a religion” or words to that effect. Well, old L Ron wasn’t wrong if the billions raked in by his “church” is anything to go by. Personally, I believe, as do a few others, that Scientology was actually a concept for his next piece of science fiction (he wrote several sci fi stories) and he launched it as a form of research, just to see what would happen.
Others have done the same, started a cult, called it a religion, and the founders accumulated incredible tax-free wealth via the donations of the followers they attracted, brainwashed and who continued to work themselves ragged on behalf of the cult leaders. The Moonies, Rajneesh and a host of others all did it and the chief gurus (and their under-gurus – one level down from the top bloke) did very well off the money and adoration of those who gave up everything in the pursuit of “spiritual salvation”. But only achievable if they paid up first in cold hard cash.
And now we have Hillsong. Hillsong began as a small Pentecostal church in suburban Sydney in the 1980s but today is worth a staggering (tax free, because it calls itself a church) $103.4 million, annually. Like all the other money-focused cult-corporations, it has focused relentlessly on attracting wealthy celebrities as well as high end corporate types with serious money, to join the “church” and fund the luxurious lifestyles of it’s founders and their immediate underlings. Sounds familiar. doesn’t it? Yes, it does.
Hillsong now has 37 locations around Australia as well as 91 internationally and the money is rolling in for founders, Bobbie and Brian Houston, and donations are big business. The organisation plays on people’s faith, and members are encouraged to pay up, on top of the tithe, in order to (hopefully) gain favour with God, and are openly encouraged to make big donations, which apparently will grant them the “honour” of being able to “resource God’s House”. Unfortunately, people caught up in the organisation’s hype are encouraged to believe that the greater the donation they make, the closer they will get to God’s “favour”. Is this the Hillsong version of “buying one’s way into Heaven”?
Seriously, this is a highly money-focused organisation with a hard-core approach to recruitment tactics and with equally hard-core methods employed to coerce it’s congregations to hand over money. Big money. What it isn’t is a religion.
Yet it has managed to attract huge numbers of people through its doors and they have all become mesmerised by the the noise, the light shows and the hype. Oh, and the promise of special access to God on the proviso they make large donations to the “church”. No wonder it strives to attract the influential and the wealthy.
But if you look at the overall Christian texts, Jesus was a humble carpenter who spent His time with humble people. He was not impressed by money apparently, had a low tolerance for materialism and money grubbing in general, and according to the texts, implied that no one could buy their way into the Kingdom of Heaven. Money was irrelevant to Him because He was all about helping the poor and the afflicted, and encouraged people to develop spiritual growth and lead good and honest lives. Well that sounds more genuine and something a genuine religious leader would say. There is nothing in any of those writings that implied He recruited His apostles to hit on his followers for as much money as they could get out of them so that he, and his chosen twelve, could live in wealth and luxury. You just couldn’t buy favour with this man!
Which makes me wonder where Hillsong got the idea to imply to their followers that they could buy “greater favour” with God by paying out a lot of money to the “church” (the Houston’s really) and, if their followers really knew anything about the Deity they claim to be worshipping, why haven’t they seen the contradiction? Like, it’s staring them in the face! I’m guessing it’s either because they have never read a Bible, or more likely, they have been brainwashed into believing the hype. I’m leaning towards the latter.
Because that’s how organised cults operate.