Hillsong writer: 'I'm genuinely losing my faith'
Marty Sampson, a prolific worship music writer known for his work with Hillsong Worship, Hillsong United, Delirious and Young & Free, revealed he is losing his faith and believes Christianity is “just another religion.”
“Time for some real talk,” the Australian writer wrote in a since-deleted post on Instagram. “I’m genuinely losing my faith, and it doesn’t bother me. Like, what bothers me now is nothing. I am so happy now, so at peace with the world. It’s crazy.”
“This is a soapbox moment so here I go … How many preachers fall? Many,” he continued. “No one talks about it. How many miracles happen. Not many. No one talks about it. Why is the Bible full of contradictions? No one talks about it. How can God be love yet send four billion people to a place, all ‘coz they don’t believe? No one talks about it. Christians can be the most judgmental people on the planet—they can also be some of the most beautiful and loving people. But it’s not for me.”
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The "All I Need Is You” writer said he’s “not in” anymore and desires “genuine truth."
"Not the ‘I just believe it’ kind of truth," he wrote. "Science keeps piercing the truth of every religion. Lots of things help people change their lives, not just one version of God. Got so much more to say, but for me, I keeping it real. Unfollow if you want, I’ve never been about living my life for others.”
Christianity “just seems to me like another religion at this point,” Sampson said.
“I could go on, but I won’t,” he wrote. “Love and forgive absolutely. Be kind absolutely. Be generous and do good to others absolutely. Some things are good no matter what you believe. Let the rain fall, the sun will come up tomorrow.”
Sampson’s announcement, accompanied by a picture of Sampson pulling down the temple pillars as described in the Bible, sparked an outpouring of responses on social media.
Popular Christian author Drew Dyck said he was “saddened” to learn of Sampson’s abandonment of Christianity.
John Mason, founder of the God First, Life Second movement, said Sampson’s falling away demonstrates that “our minds are directly related to our spiritual position.”
“When sound biblical theology is neglected for an American, spiritualized, cultural friendly replacement, exposure to that theology will naturally turn away a mind, heart & soul that has never submitted to that eternal truth. In other words, the falling away is the right response,” he tweeted.
“The good news is, by God's grace, he and others still have an opportunity to believe in Christ through the truth of the Gospel, be disciplined and trust fully in God's Word with the help of the Spirit. We should pray that someone will talk alongside them and show them the truth.”
Answers in Genesis founder Ken Ham said Sampson's rejection of his former beliefs reinforces the need for parents to instruct their children in doctrinal truths at an early age. “This sad situation about this person is a reminder the church & parents need to teach apologetics to counter today's attacks on God's Word,” he tweeted.
Sampson’s post comes just weeks after famed Christian author Joshua Harris announced that he no longer considers himself a Christian.
"I have undergone a massive shift in regard to my faith in Jesus. The popular phrase for this is 'deconstruction,' the biblical phrase is 'falling away,'" Harris, former pastor and author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye, announced on Instagram on July 26. "By all the measurements that I have for defining a Christian, I am not a Christian."
Harris’ announcement sparked a debate within the evangelical Christian community regarding the doctrine of salvation, with some arguing he was never truly a Christian.
"There may be even some who sin by repudiating Christianity, but if they ever were genuinely Christian, they will return by repentance at some point, and that is a Gospel promise," R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said. "If persons do continue in their repudiation of Christianity, then we have to remember the text 1 John 2:19 where we are told that, 'They went out from us, because they were not of us,' which is to say they never were truly Christians. They were pretend believers.”
Read the latest on this story: Hillsong worship leader clarifies he hasn't renounced faith, but it's on 'incredibly shaky ground'
