The Destiny Church has been criticised for demonstrating outside the Al Noor Mosque in an attempt to reclaim Christchurch in the name of Jesus.
The photo above shows Destiny Church Christchurch senior pastor Derek Marina Tait reaching out to a member of the Muslim community during the call to prayer and peace vigil at Hagley Park on March 22.
But on April 25, in the same place, about 100 men from Man Up and Legacy, groups affiliated to Destiny Church, proclaimed New Zealand and Christchurch belonged to Jesus.
Tait said the purpose of the meeting was to stand out in the open and to declare that Christchurch and New Zealand belongs to Jesus Christ who is the one true god.
Social media users were not happy with Destiny’s move.
“It is Christians like Destiny Church who give God a bad name,” said blogger Martyn Bradbury.
“How insecure do you need to be in your faith if you have to turn up at the site of an atrocity against another religion to proclaim your God rules this land?”
“Leave the Muslim community alone/show some respect. PS their religion and yours come from same place, difference is ok,” wrote former Green MP Catherine Delahunty on Twitter.
More than 384 people liked her tweet.
Darryl Ward, an Anglican lay preacher from Paraparaumu, urged Christians to instead show love and care “for our Muslim brothers and sisters”.
Ward said Christianity had never been the “sole faith tradition” in New Zealand.
“Māori spiritual beliefs preceded the arrival of Europeans and Christianity, and other faith traditions from overseas soon followed,” he said.
“While Christianity has been the dominant faith tradition since colonial days, its position has been eroding.”
Source