Former Rugby Star’s Church Believes Most Christians Are ‘Going To Hell’
Scott Morrison is going to hell. So is Hillsong Pastor Brian Houston and most of the donors who gave money to former Wallaby star Israel Folau’s legal defence fund organised by the Australian Christian Lobby, according to the teachings of Folau’s church.
The 30-strong congregation of the Truth of Jesus Christ Church, established by Folau’s father Eni in 2013, believes the “everlasting torture and doom” of hell awaits most Christians, with Catholicism seen as “the synagogue of Satan” and “masked devil worship”. A Christian parent of a promising young rugby player was concerned when Israel Folau began inviting players to his church. The parent decided to find out for herself what the Folaus were preaching. What she discovered has disturbed her greatly.
Hate group
“I honestly do not want my son involved in what I have come to understand is false teachings and counterfeit Christianity. I’ve gone, I’ve checked it out and I would call them an isolated hate group,” she said of her attendance at bible studies at the home of Pastor Eni, as he calls himself, as well as discussions with Eni’s disciple, his 20-year-old nephew Josiah Folau.
The parent had begun questioning the church’s beliefs 12 months before Israel Folau’s controversial social media post in April that said homosexuals, fornicators, drunks, atheists and others were bound for hell. The former rugby player is now seeking up to AU$10million in damages from Rugby Australia, claiming he was unfairly dismissed over the post on religious grounds. A campaign overseen by the Australian Christian Lobby was paused when donations for Folau’s legal battle topped AU$2.2m. The parent said she raised her concerns about the Folaus’ teachings with the ACL once they became involved.
Eni Folau is understood to have forbidden his son to take down the offending post which cost him his career, believing that God has given his son this fortuitous platform to spread God’s word.
The Folaus see the battle with Rugby Australia as similar to David and Goliath. “He’s going against the Goliath that is Rugby Australia, with all its resources, to show that a single man who has the one true living God on his side is able to do anything (Philippians 4:13),” Josiah Folau wrote to the parent.