Posted on 01/30/2015 7:20:21 AM PST by SeekAndFind
The co-founder and former guitarist of the popular world-famous Christian rock band the Newsboys has officially renounced his Christian faith and is calling members of the current version of the band hypocrites.
George Perdikis, who founded the chart-topping Christian band in 1985 with his friend Peter Furler, wrote an op-ed on Wednesday published by the website Patheos explaining how he transformed from a guitarist in one of the most popular Christian rock bands of all-time to a cosmology-enthused atheist.
"I always felt uncomfortable with the strict rules imposed by Christianity. All I wanted to do was play rock and roll," Perdikis wrote. "And yet, most of the attention I received was focused on how well I maintained the impossible standards of religion. I wanted my life to be measured by my music, not be my ability to resist temptation.
"And I'm now an atheist," Perdikis asserted.
Perdikis piece began by explaining the origins of the band, which originated in Queensland, Australia, and how it became a "christian rock band."
After Perdikis was kicked out of his high school and was sent off to a Christian school in Bethesda in 1981, he met Furler, who was a drummer, and jammed with him in a garage for years. When Furler's family moved to Queensland in 1983, Perdikis would travel up the coast to play with Furler on most weekends.
Perdikis later invited his other friend Sean Taylor, who played bass, to join the two in their jam sessions. Perdikis would later invite a vocalist, John James, to join the band. Although the band initially started out playing cover gigs in pubs, churches, parks and other small gatherings, Perdikis said the "band evolved quickly" and he ended up quitting his job in the Air Force and moved in with the Furler family in order to concentrate solely on music.
As the band began to write its own songs and practiced more often, the members decided to describe it as a "Christian rock band" out of respect for Furler's parents, who were "fundamentalist Christians."
"The choice to become a 'Christian Rock Band' was heavily influenced by Peter's parents, Bill and Rosalie Furler. As fundamentalist Christians, the only acceptable form of music was the kind that worshipped God," Perdikis explained. "Bill and Rosalie were like second parents to me and, for that reason, I never questioned their advice."
As the band practiced and wrote more songs, they decided to call themselves "the Newsboys."
"We might have been classified as Christian Rock, but, musically, I felt we were as good as any secular band," Perdikis asserted.
The Newsboys' big break came in 1987 when they were asked to participate in an event with the Christian band Whiteheart. Whiteheart liked the Newsboys' music and later that year the band was recording their first album, "Read All About It."
Perdikis co-wrote the band's first two albums and toured with the band up until he left in 1990. He would later get married, teach guitar and have two daughters.
He explains that after leaving the band, he began to live a life that separated him spiritually from the Church, as he began to search for what his beliefs truly were, admitting that he never really thought much about what he truly believed.
He started to become interested in cosmology in 1992. He became intrigued by the works of famous cosmologists and evolutionists like Neil deGrasse Tyson, Richard Dawkins, Carl Sagan, Lawrence Krauss and others
"I learned so much and was blown away by all the amazing scientific discoveries," Perdikis said.
After his marriage fell apart in 2003, Perdikis said he did not turn toward God, but instead turned his attention toward psychology. About four years later in 2007, Perdikis had renounced his Christian faith.
Perdikis continued in his op-ed by criticizing the Christian music industry.
"The Christian music scene is populated by many people who act as though they have a direct hotline to a God who supplies them with the answers to the universe," wrote Perdikis. "There seems to be more ego and narcissism amongst Christian musicians than their secular counterparts."
He did not shy away from attacking the current version of the Newsboys, which does not include any of the band's original members.
"Recently, the Newsboys were featured in the movie God's Not Dead. The movie demonstrated the pervasive attitude of Christians. The demonized everyone while giving pass to their own particular brand of Christianity, making themselves look like white fluffy white angels with perfect, synchronized lives," Perdikis accused. "The truth is — from someone who knows what went on then and what goes on now– the Newsboys aren't as holy as they profess. Instead of wearing a mask of 'righteousness,' they should acknowledge that they are struggling as much as everyone else."
I suspect most so-called Christian rock bands consist of failed musicians who couldn’t hack it in the secular world and stumbled across this particular niche.
“I always felt uncomfortable with the strict rules imposed by Christianity”
There are no rules imposed by Christianity.
Or at least not by Christ.
Rules in this world are quite draconian, he may find.
Then again, he doesn’t seem that bright.
He may have left his boy band in 1990 but he still needs to grow up.
You really can’t “do science” without the Christian assumptions of a logical, orderly, and predictable universe.
Sounds like he was a CINO.
The doofus couldn’t think for himself?
“I always felt uncomfortable with the strict rules imposed by Christianity. All I wanted to do was play rock and roll,” Perdikis wrote. “And yet, most of the attention I received was focused on how well I maintained the impossible standards of religion.”
Clearly not a Christian then.
This guy was never a Christian. He was a player with a Christian band and maybe nothing more.
I have looked at the wikipedia.org discography for the band.
Could not find that Mr. Perdikis appeared on any album with the band, though he did pen some of the songs that appeared:
George Perdikis (1985–1987,1989–1990) Left the band before their first album, but co-wrote most of the songs on it.
Also from the Christian Post article above:
"I always felt uncomfortable with the strict rules imposed by Christianity..."
Rules? Imposed? Wow. He must not have been given an accurate representation of Christ's sacrificial love--or he chose not to listen to the Truth.
I’m afraid that there are many, many people who claim to be Christians - even sincerely - and who do not know Christ (as the Bible states). The power of relgious seduction cannot be overstated and people (meaning true believers) need to get themselves free of ‘religion’ by going straight to the Word and God in prayer. Let somebody or something come between you and the power of the Spirit in the Word, and all bets are off.
Also, how does one "quit their job in the Air Force"? In Australia, isn't an enlistment like in the US that you either have to fulfill it or get discharged for medical or disciplinary reasons?
The guys story has a lot of holes in it. Sounds to me like the person who lost their faith because they fell into sin, but has to justify themselves by slamming his former religion and the people that still hold it.
Some of us don’t have enough faith to believe in atheism.
Pray America is waking
Look at the focus on "I", "me", "my" here - It's pretty obvious what happened and why.
My nephew has known Micahel Tait since Tait’s DC Talk days and says he’s a fine and righteous Christian. Perdikis is just absolutely wrong in all aspects of this article.
There’s some irony: avowed atheist.
“I always felt uncomfortable with the strict rules imposed by Christianity”
Like that whole 10 Commandments crap, right?
So he wont mind if I just steal his car, cause you know, strict rules suck.
I don’t know what Trey Parker of South Park’s religious beliefs are, but I like this remark which basically shows how ridiculous of a premise that atheism is....
“Basically... out of all the ridiculous religion stories which are greatly, wonderfully ridiculous—the silliest one I’ve ever heard is, ‘Yeah... there’s this big giant universe and it’s expanding, it’s all gonna collapse on itself and we’re all just here just ‘cause... just ‘cause’. That, to me, is the most ridiculous explanation ever.”
It's really sad that people somehow believe that an understanding of cosmology makes one an atheist. And sadly many Christians have been helping that discussion along as much as atheists have.
His decision was influenced by the host of Family Feud? Oh.....wait a minute.....that was Richard Dawson, not Richard Dawkins.....nevermind!
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