Brian Tamaki

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Brian Tamaki is the leader of the Destiny Church, a Charismatic Christian movement that preaches a conservative biblical morality in New Zealand. It is well known for its controversial position on Homosexuality, its "patriarchal" views, and for their belief in a decline of Christian morals and family values in the nation.

In 2003, several members of the Destiny Church started the Destiny New Zealand political party, led by Richard Lewis. The party ran candidates in most electorates in the 2005 general election gaining 0.6% of the party vote in the elections^{[citation needed]}.

On 18 June 2005 Tamaki was ordained as bishop of the Destiny Church movement (which totals 15 churches throughout New Zealand and Australia) by kaumatua Manuel Renata.

1 Personal Life
2 Criticisms
3 Reference
4 External links

[edit] Personal Life

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In Tamaki's autobiography, Tamaki revealed that as teenagers, his wife Hannah Tamaki tried to kill him after he, in a heated argument, "committed the cardinal sin of telling her that she was just like her mother."[1]

[edit] Criticisms

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The New Zealand Herald reported on 31 July 2005 that Newstalk ZB host Mike Yardley claimed Tamaki had directed "highly offensive abuse" at him while off-air during an interview on July 20. Although he would not disclose the exact abuse, other sources have said it included four-letter words and personal attacks.

The broadcasting of Tamaki's preaching on homosexuality has led to penalties from the Broadcasting Standards Authority,^{[citation needed]} and may have contributed to the dropping of his Destiny Television broadcast from TV2 to be replaced by children's programming. It is currently broadcast on Prime Television. Tamaki's stance on homosexuality has also inspired several spoof songs about him, the most popular being The Oneness of Brian Tamaki and Beelzebub by Anon.[2] His fundamentalist christian views on homosexuality, has resulted in significant opposition throughout the liberal and GLBT communities of New Zealand.

In March 2006 controversy ensued after a television news network reported Tamaki and his wife took a $40,000 cruise on one of the world's most luxurious liners, the Queen Mary II, after some of their Pastors gifted it to them.[3]. GayNZ.com has reported that Radio Pacific host John Banks aired an interview with Tamaki that attacked a New Zealand AIDS Foundation's takatāpui (Māori for GLBT person) HIV prevention project, in which Tamaki referred to traditional Māori pre-colonial intolerance for male homosexuality, a society, he claimed, in which gay and lesbian people were exterminated. However, many Māori academic authorities question his basis for this claim. [4]^{[neutrality disputed]}

He has been labelled "anti-gay" for his views against homosexual practice, and his opposition to the Civil Union Act 2004. He has received criticism from the media and GLBT community in New Zealand for his views. Tamaki has also stated that the abundance of females in leadership roles in New Zealand (which currently has a female prime minister, Helen Clark and several female cabinet ministers) is "the work of the devil"^{[citation needed]}. Labour MP Georgina Beyer confronted Tamaki at the protest in Wellington, charging "Your hatred is totally intolerable". She also compared him to despots like Robert Mugabe in a 3 News interview (see link below).

In May 2006, Tamaki was voted the least trusted person in New Zealand. [5]. In June 2006, he declared opposition to Sue Bradford's private members bill, which seeks to outlaw parental corporal punishment of children [6].