Torben Sondergaard
Torben Sondergaard
| Torben Sondergaard | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 9, 1976 Brande, Denmark |
| Nationality | Danish |
| Occupation | Evangelist |
| Religion | Charismatic Christianity |
| Spouse(s) | Lene Sondergaard |
| Website | torbensondergaard |
Torben Sondergaard (born 9. August 1976) is a Danish Christian evangelist and faith healer.
He is the author of several books, a public speaker, and the founder of his ministry called The Last Reformation.
He mainly teaches on Christian restorationism and charismatic Christianity.
He recently gained media attention for performing exorcisms on children and claiming he can cure homosexuality.
| Torben Sondergaard | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 9, 1976 Brande, Denmark |
| Nationality | Danish |
| Occupation | Evangelist |
| Religion | Charismatic Christianity |
| Spouse(s) | Lene Sondergaard |
| Website | torbensondergaard |
Biography
Torben Sondergaard was born in 1976 and grew up in a small town in Denmark.
He was a member of the Danish Lutheran state church where he was baptized and confirmed.
The 5th of April 1995, he visited a charismatic church and after receiving prayer he experienced:
*"…like a light came into my body.
And I fall to the floor.
I don't know what happened.
But I experienced the power of God on my whole body.
And when I stood up "What was that?" And somebody said, congratulations Torben.
You have experienced God.
You are born again…"*
Afterward, he became an usher in the church but being dissatisfied with not being able to preach, he and his wife decided to leave.
After attempting to start three churches and start ministry work from 2000 to 2013, mainly in the Danish cities Holstebro and Herning, Torben Sondergaard moved to Aalborg and focused on his ministry The Last Reformation.
Theology and beliefs
Torben Sondergaard claims to receive revelation and directions directly from God having visions of Heaven and Hell.
After fasting for 40 days he received a book from God, as God said:
"*You shall write a book, and I will give you one chapter each day.
But on Sundays, you shall not write.
you shall have time off together with your family.*"
Torben Sondergaard believes that "you cannot find the entire truth in a single denomination, but by taking a little from some different ones.
He teaches baptismal regeneration, speaking in tongues as the sign of baptism in the Holy Spirit, believer’s baptism and baptism to Jesus Christ not using the Trinitarian formula.
His view on the church is that of the American Restoration Movement. Torben Sondergaard teaches that children are better at reading, understanding and interpreting the Bible than adults and teach that in the Bible "not… all of this is from God. I'm 100% sure that all of this is not from God… Those chapters and verses [meaning not specific chapters and verses but headlines and verse numbers in general] are not from God. And they have destroyed the Bible.". In this instance Sondergaard refers to John 3:16 and Romans 10:9 specifically, pointing out that the subdivision of the Bible into verses and chapters wrongly has led to the doctrine of salvation through believing and confessing your faith alone. He therefore rejects the idea of building theology and doctrines on these verses but emphasises the integrity of books and epistles and that they have to be read in context in order to be understood. This will, according to Sondergaard, inevitably lead to the conclusion that you need to repent, be baptized in water and receive the Holy Spirit to be saved.
Torben Sodergaard teaches that financial blessings come from giving and believes in supernatural manifestations such as physical healing, claiming "about 90 percent of all the people, that he or others in his team pray for, are healed".
Lack of healing is caused by a lack of faith.
Salvation
In the conversion of a believer to Christianity, the personal experience is stressed above merely believing, and salvation is for a Christian completed through baptism in water not using the Trinitarian formula as well as through baptism in the Holy Spirit with the manifestation of speaking in tongue.
Believer’s baptism is according to Torben Sondergaard "the most powerful about the Gospel, and where you really get set free and begin a new life.
And as Jesus received the Holy Spirit through water baptism it is through baptism that a Christian receives the Holy Spirit, and receiving the Holy Spirit has now substituted receiving Jesus.
The baptisms take place in trash cans and rainwater barrel placed in a kitchen and during the baptisms exorcism is often performed on the baptized.
After baptism you can live a sinless life.
Something Torben Sondergaard has experienced.
Controversies and critics
Tied to cult and sects in Denmark
In 2013, the interdenominational and ecumenical Danish church organization "Dialog Center", that worked with monitoring sectarianism in Denmark, tied Torben Sondergaard to the sect Evangelist led by Christian Hedegaard and the cult "Faderhuset".
Warning in the media against The Last Reformation as a cult
Different media stations and major newspapers in England, Ireland, and Spain recently warned against Torben Sondergaard's ministry as a cult.
Other ministries warning against Torben Sondergaard
Grace Community Church, the church of the well-known pastor Tim Conway, warned against Torben Sondergaard and his ministry as a cult in 2015.
The same year, Lutheran Mission in Denmark warned against Torben Sondergaard’s practice of baptism as a meeting with about 350 people was held by Lutheran Mission and Torben Sondergaard practice was warned against and discussed.
Secretary General of Luther Mission in Denmark, Jens Ole Christensen, sent a letter to all local leaders in the country as well as publicly stating:
"*Grace in Christ is the most inner heart of the Gospel.
When this is challenged, differences in teaching becomes really dangerous.
That is what is at stake in this case.*"
Different Christian blog writers in Denmark, Norway, Canada, USA, and in other countries warn against Torben Sondergaard’s ministry by publicly referring to it as a cult and criticizing Torben Sondergaard’s teaching on the gospel and his view on baptism.
Threatening female theologian
In 2006, Torben Sondergaard was accused of threatening a female theologian when she asked critical questions as part of research for a book.
In her book ‘Sects in Denmark’ she writes about the incident:
"*Many who have dared to criticize a charismatic leader have experienced threats and getting warned that God would let them drop dead like Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5.
This also happened to me when I dared to ask critical questions about the notorious Danish evangelist Torben Sondergaard (cast in the television program "Sick with Jesus") in connection with my research for this book"* .
Thrown out of festival for quackery
In 2008, Torben Sondergaard was thrown out of a festival for quackery.
He later acknowledged the incident but denied the accusations.
Casting demons out of children and healing autism
In 2016, Torben claimed his followers had delivered a 9-year-old girl with autism from her demons, and that he can cure homosexuality.
It got both national and international attention in the media.
Connection with controversial preachers
Todd Bentley
In 2003, Torben Sondergaard invited the controversial tele-evangelist and faith healer Todd Bentley to Denmark, and in 2005, Torben Sondergaard offered people coaching in order to "live the life Todd lives". In 2008, when Todd Bentley’s ministry was under critical media attention, Torben Sondergaard openly warned against him in a letter published in the Danish Christian newspaper. In 2015 Torben Sondergaard quoted Todd Bentley’s as a prediction and validation of the work Torben Sondergaard was doing in Denmark.
Christian Hedegaard
After prosecution and conviction for quackery, members leaving, foreclosures and internal strife, Christian Hedegaard left Denmark and started ministry work in the United States.
Only a few year prior to this, from at least 2001 to 2007, Torben Sondergaard was involved with Christian Hedegaard and people associated with his ministry.
Torben Sondergaard also recommended sick people to visit Christian Hedegaard's ministry and wrote on his website:
"I will warmly recommend you to go to his [Christian Hedegaard] *'spiritual power' meetings, which he hosts in this country.
See when and where he will host the next meeting on his website.
Also, you can order CDs with teaching, music and so...*".