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a current affair, court, Driscoll, Hillsong, hillsong conference, Hillsong Conference 2015, Hillsong cult, John MacArthur, levin, Mark Driscoll, tanya levin, trespass
Brian Houston – shamed by God for his stupidity
It’s interesting that the offenses of Mark Driscoll are court-worthy considering his defamation, plagiarism and alleged misuse of church building funds, while Tanya Levin’s questionable minor offense against Hillsong has landed her in court.
The scriptures say,
“If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers!” 1 Corinthians 6: 1-6
The anti-biblical stance of Brian Houston on such issues is rather telling of where he stands with biblical Christianity, Once again Houston exposes himself as a law unto himself.
Recently, Tanya Levin was arrested for supposedly trespassing on Hillsong property.
Brian Houston’s Inclusive Jesus rejects Tanya Levin
Tanya Levin wrote the following on Facebook,
“Yesterday I was contacted by NSW Police and informed that the Fact Sheets following my arrest last week at Hillsong Conference were ready for collection, and that a court date has been set in around 6 weeks’ time.
Below is a copy of the charges, which is a matter of public record. It’s not for me to comment on the details of the fact sheets at this stage. What I can say is that police have monitored my social media activity and one needs to be wary about such things.
And that I never thought that ‘The Accused’ would ever really mean anything more to me than a fine Jodie Foster film.
Source: Tanya Levin, Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/ilikelevin/posts/989455431117061, Published 09/07/2015. (Accessed 09/07/2015.)
Hillsong Church Watch 
I dont understand, any hillsong event is a public place, and anyone can go. There must be more to the story
1 Corinthians 1-6 is applicable to disputes between believers. My understanding is that Tanya Levin has renounced the Christian faith (ie she is an unbeliever), therefore this particular biblical passage is inapplicable. God institutes secular authorities to help maintain peace & order. Everyone knows now that there is a clear expectation for churches to report crimes such as child sexual abuse to secular authorities. Therefore it’s also reasonable for church leaders to involve the police to maintain boundaries against destructive influences. (I haven’t read Tanya Levin’s book, however I trust that Hillsong leadership continues to prayerfully weigh up, & constructively respond to, any truth in the criticisms she’d raised).
I agree with this 100%, although do I qualify for the 1 sheep that you go after and leave the 99 behind?.. 🙂
Definitely there are limits to what churches should have to withstand in terms of very real dangers that may present, and some as you mentioned that they are required to report on a mandatory basis.
I genuinely wonder how such decisions are made, and am thinking about the mulitple issues that people would present with. I wouldn’t like to be the one making the decisions either… that’s for sure.
What’s going on here? Is that a guardian angel?
“What’s going on here? Is that a guardian angel?”
More likely a thug sent from HS because Tanya Levin didn’t “have the guts” to meet in a dark alley (or rather she had the sense not to).
From an atheist’s blog, Benjamin Ady’s response to Houston’s “interview” of Driscoll:
http://burningreligion.com/2015/07/07/my-experience-of-being-deceived-by-australias-most-powerful-celebrity-pastor/
Interesting this site seems to prefer the opinion of athiests … I heard the i/v with Mark Driscoll at HS conf (pre-recorded in the US) & had no problem with it. (Didn’t hear anyone else at HSC upset either, probably as there was so much other good teaching, etc, to focus on). Brian Houston was confronting, but also understanding & graceful towards MD. MD admitted to bullying behaviour, very course words & controversial ideas re women in ministry. MD seemed remorseful & repentant, but don’t worry, I doubt any church will be rushing to employ him soon. (I do admire MD’s lovely wife Grace, loyally supporting him through a very painful period of growth). I personally prefer a church which (like Jesus) leans towards love, truth, healing, repentance & grace, than pandering to the demands of external critics who adhere to the letter of the law.
RE atheists’ opinions being presented as evidence: if they’re telling the *truth* why shouldn’t their opinion be treated as seriously as a Christian’s? An atheist is not “the enemy” of the Christian, the atheism worldview/ belief system is. We were all atheists (“no God/s” atheist/ other God/s religion) before we came to know Jesus Christ remember? Aren’t you glad that we weren’t written off as “the enemy” by the Christian/s who witnessed to us?
Your last sentence is revealing. Truth is not listed amongst Hillsong’s (alleged) virtues and you dismiss critics as being outsiders. *If* there are no critics within Hillsong- if it isn’t already a mindless “yes men” team that is through God’s mercy only.
Thanks. I continue to wonder why people who call themselves Christians are afraid of taking their position out into the world when that was the point. Being an atheist doesn’t always mean being anti theist, but it can do when the influence of that theism is destructive.
It is ridiculous to think we can avoid the influence of any religion or lack thereof unelss you live an Amish lifestyle. But mainly I keep thinking of the old Greater is He that is in you verse…
Liked the way you put it, anyway 🙂
“Interesting this site seems to prefer the opinion of athiests”
This comment proves you have not even come close to reading many articles on our site at all. So browse our archuves before offering another uninformed opinion.
Considering that it is NONBELIEVERS that Hillsong are trying to reach, why is Houston attempting to arrest and shun the voices of nonbelievers in an attempt to save them through the means of “being relevant”?
Non-believing voices are valid if they are sniffing that Hillsong does not represent Christianity. And those that have left (likr Tanya) are right. Considering that Christian ministers, pastors and leaders have CONDEMNED Hillsong for peddling false gospels and New Age teachings, these non-believers are right. Just that, you’d think that Hillsong leadership would actually listen to the customer and return to Christian teaching… right?
“I heard the i/v with Mark Driscoll at HS conf (pre-recorded in the US) & had no problem with it.”
We will publish the transcript soon. We hope you rethink what was said. There were lots of problems with it, even the way it was presented.
“Brian Houston was confronting”
Brian Howard is confronting? He has been publicly disgraced as a coward again and again. He can’t even sit in the presence of a critic. And if they are a female critic, he either runs from them or threatens to hit them. (See our article on the Royal Commission.) Try bringing up the topic of homosexuality and other people’s religions and he turns into a giant New Age pansy.
“MD seemed remorseful & repentant, but don’t worry,”
Liars are good at putting on shows. Your point?
“(I do admire MD’s lovely wife Grace, loyally supporting him through a very painful period of growth).”
We are dealing with both an unrepentant Ananias & Sapphira who only support eachother in wicked works.
If Grace wants to support her husband, she needs to lead him back to the Mars Hill elders and allow them to help them both clean up his massive mess. That’s the Christian thing to do. But as Ps Saiko Woods tells his audiences, “liars run”. There is too much at stake if these two went back to humbly right their wrongs. Instead, the Driscoll’s have run from their mess, using God as their excuse not to return. And that is proof that they are unrepentant and need to step down, for good.
“I personally prefer a church which (like Jesus) leans towards love, truth, healing, repentance & grace,”
That would be a Christian Church that focuses on Jesus. Not a Hillsong Church. You don’t seem to have a remote clue what the love of Jesus looks like and seem to have a poor understanding of truth, healing. repentance & grace.
“than pandering to the demands of external critics who adhere to the letter of the law.”
So you are a nonbeliever? Because it doesn’t sound like your idea of “love, truth, healing, repentance & grace” come even come close to Christ’s definitions. To the secular- yes. But not Christ’s.
The “letter of the Law” that you say Christians are asking Driscoll to follow are JESUS’ own teachings.
The problem with people like you T&L is that you prostrate yourself before sinful man and twist Jesus’ words according to the ways of man. At the end of the day, the victims behind the Mars Hills bus grow because it is apostates like you that tell everyone to sing ‘kumbayah!’ and move on without dealing with the wicked, festering mess that you call “Christian leadership”.
These men show no compassion towards their victims nor God and His Word, and are only thinking of themselves. Stop being the problem, repent, read your bible, and contend for the faith, not these frauds.
Your anger is towards others pushing Tanya away, you say. How are YOU leading her to Jesus?
I’m not denigrating the opinions of atheists (if there is truth in what they say) & yes I was one myself. However, atheists are more likely to be unwittingly influenced by the “dark powers of this world & … the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6: 12-14), veering us away from God’s truth, grace & love … Don’t fret, there are spiritually healthy Christians in Hillsong church praying for their leaders, for ever increasing wisdom, maturity & accurate teaching. When necessary, perhaps prompted by the Holy Spirit, they humbly approach / write to leaders re issues of concern. (Rather than make a public spectacle which can be damaging, destructive & discouraging for all).
But Spiritual deception is not behind this atheist’s blog entry. He is demonstrating his God-given conscience (however greatly weakened through unbelief) is still functioning; originally on behalf of the underdog, now also to expose Houston *as well* as Driscoll. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+2%3A14-15&version=KJV
Try to forget about how the whole conference *felt* for those who attended and try to think objectively:
*Who misled the media – the atheist, other outsider/s (whether Christian or not) or the church leader?
*Is that atheist now closer or further away from God thanks to Houston’s intentional misuse of the truth via a technicality (live interview replaced by recorded one)?
* How is the unbelieving world going to respond to seeing a church leader deceiving other people then trying to convince his followers that the media/ critics are the liars- even (when all else fails) resorting to playing “spot-the-Pharisees” since apparently it works every time on Hillsongees?
The outsiders are not the deceivers in this case. The ones telling the UNpleasant truth are not Hillsongee’s enemies in this case either. (Proverbs 27:5-6)
Brian Hou$ton shut up please
You’re not qualified in this country
Tanya, maybe you could get a real job?
@ Really – well, Tanya Levin says she’s a social worker AND an author. She writes books, Brian Houston writes books. Maybe by your standards Brian needs to get a job too? He clearly doesn’t live up to the biblical requirements of a pastor.
“Tanya, maybe you could get a real job?”
Why don’t you give your credentials, so we can see how qualified you are to judge Tanya?
Hey CW, what happened in court today re Tanya Levin’s trespass charges???
Tanya has updates on Facebook:
“All prosecution witnesses have been questioned and cross examined. Prosecution rests. Court resumes November 18.”
And apparently Channel 9 made an appearance.
I went to her Facebook but couldn’t see any updates. Do you have a link???
Tanya Levin Facebook
This is what happened in court today:
First, you go into this room where you’re not allowed to be on Facebook. That’s why my updates have been so brief.
Proceedings began about 11 am, and the prosecution began their case. Morning tea was 1130-1150. The prosecution continued. Lunch was 1-2. The prosecution continued and finished just before 4, when they finished. The matter will continue on 18 November.
Due to this matter being carried over, it’s best I keep my giant cakehole shut for a while longer, even though there’s lots more to share.
And also because some of your comments from my post where I uploaded Hillsong’s ‘refrain’ letter were attempted to be admitted as evidence today. Be careful what you write on social media, people, You may end up as part of Exhibit 3.
Thank you so much to everyone for your messages and encouraging words. They really do mean the whole world to me, because I wish I wish I wish I could tell you the things that people write to me about, but I can’t because I won’t without permission. But your support for me is actually for the young people, the vulnerable, and all the others who are fodder for exploitation.
I wish I could tell you the haunting things I’ve been told by victims of Hillsong,(and I will call them victims because they have been victimised on a rainbow of levels) since I was arrested. But it’s cakehole shutting time.
Lots of people think I lounge about my cottage on the hill in leopardskin dressing gowns, calling Channel 9 whenever i feel like redecorating the guest wing
Rather I am #grateful that my 1996 Volvo didn’t repeat the episode from Tuesday at downstairs in the (new) Wollongong mall carpark where it refused to move for ten minutes at the exit ticket gate. This same Volvo has a cassette player, and I am now so much more familiar with Yoko Ono’s singing than anyone currently living should be. Tapes are hard to come by. Times get desperate, though. Beggars, choosers, all that.
So I have had Kick by INXS pretty much going constantly as it is the best out of my tiny selection. So here is your theme song for today. This week?
I’ll put up some photos too cos that’s what gets the REAL likes amirite?. But you must agree: Michael Hutchence is the Dalai Lama when he says:
Sometimes you kick. Sometimes you get kicked.
Keep kicking, everyone, and thanks for helping me kick xo