Songwriter for Award-Winning, Chart-Topping Christian Group Renounces His Faith

Are you familiar with the Christian music group Hillsong United?

The band won the Dove Award for best recorded worship song in 2018, 2017’s best long form video, and best worship album the year prior. In 2014, it took home five Doves.

Now Hillsong is making news for a very different reason: Marty Sampson — a songwriter for the hitmaker — has announced he’s “genuinely losing” his Christian faith.

As reported by Christian Headlines, Marty put up a now-deleted post to Instagram noting his religious foundation was “on incredibly shaky ground.”

And not only is he losing his religion, he also seems to be losing his concern:

“Time for some real talk. 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.”

He laid out reasons:

“This is a soapbox moment so here I go … how many preachers fall? Many. 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. I am not in anymore. I want genuine truth. Not the ‘I just believe it’ kind of truth. 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’m keeping it real. Unfollow if you want, I’ve never been about living my life for others.”

Furthermore:

“All I know is what’s true to me right now, and Christianity just seems to me like another religion at this point,”

He later explained to The Christian Post that he’s searching:

“I have and continue to analyze the arguments of prominent Christian apologists and biblical scholars, and am open-minded enough to consider the arguments of atheist debaters and debaters from other religions. If the truth is true, it will remain so regardless of my understanding of it. If I search it out, surely it will become even more clearly seen as the truth that it is. Examining a diamond more closer reveals the quality of the diamond. As I am still breathing, I am still learning.”

Of course, these kinds of things are going to happen. People fall out of their faith. I recently covered the case of Christian author Joshua Harris, who wrote a million-plus-selling church dating guide in the 90’s and is now renouncing his religion and getting a divorce (here).

As noted by RedState’s Brandon Morse, John Cooper — lead singer of the Christian rock band Skillet — had something to say about highly publicized religious turnover as of late:

“I have a few specific thoughts and rebuttals to statements made by recently disavowed church influencers…first of all, I am stunned that the seemingly most important thing for these leaders who have lost their faith is to make such a bold new stance. … I’m perplexed why they aren’t embarrassed? Humbled? Ashamed, fearful, confused? Why be so eager to continue leading people when you clearly don’t know where you are headed?

…

“It is time for the church to rediscover the preeminence of the Word. And to value the teaching of the Word. We need to value truth over feeling. Truth over emotion. And what we are seeing now is the result of the church raising up influencers who did not supremely value truth who have led a generation who also do not believe in the supremacy of truth. And now those disavowed leaders are proudly still leading and influencing boldly AWAY from the truth.”

Are you a Hillsong fan? What are your thoughts on this particular story, and on the notion of lost faith in general? I anxiously await them.

-ALEX

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