By Nigel Boys
George Perdikis, co-founder of the Australian Christian pop-rock band Newsboys that was founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Queensland, left the band before their first album was released, but co-wrote most of its songs. He has declared he is an atheist, according to Patheos.
The website, which provides information about various religions, continued that Perdikis never wanted to live up to the Christian image the band was populating and has now renounced Christianity.
Perdikis left the band in 1990 and the group went on to release 16 studio albums, 6 of which have been certified gold. Although he co-founded the band, he was never comfortable with the strict Christian rules imposed on it.
“All I wanted to do was create and play rock and roll … and yet most of the attention I received was focused on how well I maintained the impossible standards of religion,” wrote Perdikis in the guest article. He continued, “I wanted my life to be measured by my music, not by my ability to resist temptation.”
After being kicked out of a secular school in 1981, he spent 6 months being educated at a Christian school on the insistence of his parents, writes Perdikis. He adds that he co-founded the biggest group in the history of contemporary Christian music when he met Peter Furler, who had a large drum kit.
The newly-declared atheist writes that the decision for the group to become a “Christian rock band” was largely under the influence of Furler’s parents, Bill and Rosalie. He added “As fundamentalist Christians, the only acceptable form of music was the kind that worshiped God. Bill and Rosalie were like second parents to me and, for that reason, I never questioned their advice.”
Although he co-wrote most of the songs on the first two albums after the group was named ‘Newsboys,’ he was always more interested in music than spirituality, so he left the band to travel a separate path in 1990, Perdikis writes.
When he became interested in cosmology in 1992 and learned about some of the amazing scientific facts and discoveries, Perdikis’ life began to change, he writes. Turning to human psychology, coupled with his divorce in 2003, finally turned him away from God.
Since renouncing Christianity in 2007 and declaring himself an atheist, he has spoken about how the Newsboys aren’t quite as righteous as they appear.
In the Patheos blog, he denounced their appearance in the film “God’s Not Dead” as pushing forward their own brand of Christianity while demonizing others’ beliefs. He continued that although the movie makes the band look like “fluffy white angels” who lead “perfectly synchronized lives,” this could not be further from the truth. “The Newsboys aren’t as holy as they profess,” he adds.
Although none of the original members of the Newsboys are still with the band, Perdikis is the only former band mate who has renounced Christianity.
