NZ Cults & Religious Groups List: D

Hot picks: Destiny Church, Dianetics, Dissociative Identity Disorder

D

Dalhoff, John. John Dalhoff (1944-2001) was the founder of Zenith Applied Philosophy (ZAP).

Deception, Deceptive Recruitment. A mind control technique. See the deception entry in the Cult FAQ.

Deepavali. See Diwali.

DeLuca, Rob. Rob DeLuca is the Pastor of His Way Church. He has strong links to Todd Bentley and he strongly endorses William Branham, the Word Faith Movement, the Holy Laughter Movement, Kathryn Kuhlman, and Rodney Howard-Browne. Rob DeLuca is assigned a Danger rating here because of his endorsement of and association with proponents of strongly unbiblical teaching. Submissions for this listing are now being accepted. Please see the Contact page.

Density Church. A satirical web site (currently offline) based on Destiny Church and their web site. Allegedly pastored by Brian Tamariki, it apparently fooled Destiny Church members occasionally.

Destiny Church. Cult. With the very unbiblical swearing of an oath of loyalty to Senior Pastor/Bishop Brian Tamaki at Labour Weekend 2009 there is now no doubt that Destiny Church is a cult. This is not something that has happened suddenly; it's been shaping up for many years, with (for example) Cultwatch labelling them an emerging cult in a television item in October 2004. This 2009 report from a former member:

I used to be a member of Destiny Church but I left over 5 years ago when Tamaki said he was the spiritual father, the shepherd (and that his sheep hear his voice) and the significant voice (where we were not permitted to listen to Radio Rhema or attend any other Christian ministry - this was considered "spiritual adultery") of the church. That sounded like father, son and holy spirit to me - the Bible says people like this will come, and that they carry an anti-christ message.

A review of a typical Destiny Church service (from November 2003) is online at Ship-of-Fools. (No, you shouldn't read anything into the name of that web site. No, we don't have anything to do with that review or that site.) Submissions for this listing are now being accepted. Please see the Contact page. If you are a Destiny Church member who has been told to write to us, please don't bother. We already know you are required to defend Brian Tamaki.

Old listing material, which is believed to be quite outdated: Total of at least 20 branches: Kaitaia (since February 2002, fomerly Kaitaia Elim Church), Whangarei, Auckland, Thames, Hamilton (Te Rapa, started March 2002, reported to have 60% Maori and Polynesian attenders), Tauranga, Te Puke, Rotorua (formerly Lake City Church), Whakatane, Opotiki (cell church), Gisborne, Hawkes Bay (Napier), Taumaranui, Taranaki (New Plymouth), Wanganui* (started May 2004), Porirua, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin* and Brisbane. A Queenstown branch is apparently on the way.

* Branches soon to be closing.

Density NZ. A satirical web site based on Destiny NZ and their web site. [This listing out of alphabetical order deliberately.]

Destiny NZ. An unashamedly Christian political party (now disbanded) officially started on 4 July 2003. Party Leader was Richard Lewis. While it had very close ties to Destiny Church (for example, Brian Tamaki spoke at the formation event), they were technically independent from that church. They aimed to have candidates for most electorates by the September 2005 general election. Destiny NZ was disbanded in September 2007, making way for The Family Party.

Destiny Television. Television show run by Destiny Church.

Dianetics. Name used by Scientology cult. Stay well clear of it.

Dissociative Identity Disorder. More commonly known by its old name Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD).

Divett, Hamish. Hamish Divett was the pastor of the Christian City Church which invited Rodney Howard-Browne to New Zealand on RHB's first visit in early/mid 1990s. Hamish Divett publicly admitted that he had problems with a number of RHB's emphases. Mr Divett has a degree in psychology. (FYI listing.)

Diwali. Hindu celebration, the Festival of Lights. Also called Deepavali (literally "Row of Lamps"). It falls in October or November depending on the phase of the moon.

Dollar, Creflo A, Jnr. Televangelist. See the Creflo A Dollar Jnr listing on the TV page.

Dowsing. Also called "water divining" or "water witching". An occult method for finding water using sticks, metal rods, pendulum, etc, which twitch, cross, or otherwise move when the dowser comes near water. For more information see Christian Research Institute's statement on dowsing or Rasmus Jansson's article Dowsing - Science or Humbug? which gives some information on the claimed scientific backing to dowsing. Rasmus warns "Reading this page may induce noxious energies (with negative polarity, of course) disturbing the energy flow of your natural aura. Beware the field!"

Dr Dino. See Kent Hovind.

Drug Free Ambassadors. Front group for the Scientology cult. Stay clear.

Drunken revival movement. Part of the false revival movement. Key practitioners are Rodney Howard-Browne, Todd Bentley and John Crowder. In New Zealand the drunken revival movement is supported by Jack and Gaye Stradwick. In October 2009 Lee Grady, editor of Charisma magazine, wrote (emphasis in the original):

With all of this emphasis on Holy Ghost intoxication, did anybody notice that the Bible clearly commands us to be spiritually sober?

If soberness wasn't mentioned in the New Testament, then I wouldn't be beating this drum so loudly. But I find numerous references, from both Peter and Paul. "But you, be sober in all things," is Paul's admonition to Timothy (2 Tim. 4:5, NASB). He tells the Thessalonians, "But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation," (1 Thess. 5:8).

Peter hammers the same point. He wrote, "Prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 1:13) and "The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer" (1 Pet. 4:7).

The soberness here is not primarily a reference to abstaining from alcohol (although it's worth mentioning that believers who drink will find it more difficult to obey these commands). To be sober can be defined "to show self-control," "to be sane or rational," or "to be free from excess or extravagance." A sober Christian knows the heights of God's inexpressible joy, but he is never ruled by emotions, passions, lust or any other category of temptation that has the power to dull the spiritual senses.

When I look at the state of our nation today, and consider our spiritual challenges, it's obvious the last thing we need are Christians who are so sloshed in emotional euphoria that they can't pray intelligently and work diligently.

This is not a time for God's people to be incapacitated. We need to be thinking, planning, strategizing, researching and building—all using the Holy Spirit's wisdom. Yes, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit like never before—but He is not going to fill us so we can act like giddy freshmen at a frat house keg party. Let's put the childish things behind us. It's time for us to grow up and sober up.

Dungeons & Dragons. A role-playing game with a fantasy theme. The first version came out in 1974. A new version, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, came out in 1977.

Dunn, Benjamin. A colleague of John Crowder, and teaches in a similar vein (no pun intended regarding their drug culture).

Duval, Maria. See Maria Duval scam.