Adelaide Pastor Addicted to Porn

Having been raised in a uniting church environment, I've always held the belief that these were more than a place of worship. In days gone by in Australian culture they were the cornerstone and moral grounding for many communities. Whether main stream church leaders identify as Ministers, Reverends, Fathers or any multitude of titles, they are generally held in high esteem.

If we look back to the early 80's a slow shift in attitudes towards main stream churches has taken place. Parishioners have fallen in numbers. Some main stream churches that once drew 300 people to a Sunday service have either closed their doors, or, are battling to keep their doors open.

The idea that people don't want to hear a monologue sermon, more so they don't want to hear the truth, seems to echo in every article I've read about the decline of main stream churches in Australia.

We live in a society where everything is disposable, including people. Most want a quick fix solution. Consumable items are wanted, not needed, and they are required yesterday. The drive for money, power, prestige consumes people. It can push families into financial stress and also break homes apart. This mindset seems to be the general Status Quo of life in Australia in the year 2008.

It's really no surprise to me that there has been a steep rise in popularity of Evangelism. The Pentecostal Charismatic movement is certainly alive and well in Australia today.

I believe the majority of people in our society still believe in hope. They actually want a better life, free of stress, worry and the weight of confusion that seems to enter most peoples lives at some point. Combine these fears with people such as Pastor Michael Guglielmucci and other Charismatic Pastors and your going to draw a large following pretty quickly because these people offer hope. They promise fulfilment of people's dreams.

But like so many Pentecostal Charismatic Pastors before Pastor Michael Guglielmucci they all have two negative flaws in common. One they are all human; open to temptations of the flesh; in Pastor Michael Guglielmucci it's a so called porn addiction. The other common denominator is they all believe they are above accountability for their own actions.

To me that's pretty damn obvious in the case with the Adelaide Pastor Michael Guglielmucci terminal illness fraud scam. The question of whether Pastor Michael Guglielmucci intends to make himself available to police has been asked many times since this story broke. However every time the question is asked, the answer is the same, "No", Pastor Michael Guglielmucci will not be making himself available to the police. Instead we hear he's in hiding because of his porn addiction.

The people who Pastor Michael Guglielmucci has scammed are not all well heeled (wealthy). For instance a grandmother on an disability pension, saved $800, to take her four year old grandson who has cerebral palsy to Sydney for a holiday. Instead she was so touched with the plight of Pastor Michael Guglielmucci she donated the entire $800.

Being addicted to porn is not a criminal offence. However orchestrating an eloborate hoax (terminal illness) and using this to scam and defraud people for money, is a criminal offence, period!

Having been a member of a Pentecostal Evangelist Charismatic Church, I know from first hand experience how they operate. The hope and promises they preach are nothing more than tools of trade for these shysters.

Pentecostal Evangelism in Australia is BIG business. However until people actually start to realise this I believe we are going to keep seeing repeat performances of Pastor Michael Guglielmucci scams and other falls from grace by these modern day Carney's.

Followers and supporters (cough... zealots) are beating the "turn the other cheek drum". Andrew Evens the former Family First MLC and incidentally also a Pastor at the Paradise Church in Adelaide stated "My gut feeling is that people will forgive him." Granted everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However saying something like this whilst your a Pastor of a church is like telling you parishioners who to vote for in an up coming election.

In so far as "turn the other cheek". From what I've seen first hand from a Charismatic Church Pastor the "turn the other cheek" was the complete opposite. It normally is for these type of Pastors. From my experiences it seems to be "do as I say not as I do".