George Perdikis, the co-founder of one of Australia’s most revered Christian bands, recently revealed that he is now an outspoken atheist. He wrote a blog post on Friendly Atheist, at the end of January, titled “I Co-Founded One of the Most Popular Christian Rock Bands Ever and I’m Now an Atheist.”
Confessing his atheistic inclination is not the only thing that Perdikis, who launched his band along with Peter Furler in Queensland in 1985, wrote that garnered so much attention. He also criticized Newsboys’ involvement in the movie titled “God’s Not Dead,” which is named after one of the band’s most popular songs. He accused the members of not being as pure as their audiences imagine them to be.
“Recently, the Newsboys were featured in the movie God’s Not Dead. The movie demonstrated the pervasive attitude of Christians,” he wrote. “They demonized everyone while giving a pass to their own particular brand of Christianity, making themselves look like fluffy white angels with perfect, synchronized lives.”
Even though Perdikis left the Newsboys more than 20 years ago, he claims to know everything that has gone on and continues to go on with the band members, which is how he attempted to substantiate his claim about the members being fake.
“The Newsboys aren’t as holy as they profess,” he wrote.
The founder of Newsboys shared details of his life after exiting the band, saying he got married, had two children and gave up on faith as well.
“As I carved out a life for myself away from the church, I began my own voyage of inquiry into what I believed. My perceptions started to transform when I became interested in cosmology in 1992,” he wrote. “I soon found myself fascinated by the works of Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Lawrence Krauss, Brian Cox, and Richard Dawkins. I learned so much and was blown away by all the amazing scientific discoveries and facts.”
After filing for divorce in 2003, Perdikis started exploring human psychology and gradually learned enough to denounce Christianity in 2007.Perdikis shared how he and Furler started their Christian rock band because of the religious views held by the latter’s parents.
“The choice to become a ‘Christian Rock Band’ was heavily influenced by Peter’s parents, Bill and Rosalie Furler,” he wrote. “As fundamentalist Christians, the only acceptable form of music was the kind that worshipped God. Bill and Rosalie were like second parents to me and, for that reason, I never questioned their advice.”
Apart from that, he said he was never very comfortable with the stringent rules imposed by Christianity, explaining all he wanted to do was play rock music and all he wanted to avoid was the religious standard imposed upon him.
Photo Credits: Huffington Post
