He is the charismatic preacher who claims to be Jesus Christ returned to Earth.She, meanwhile, tells followers she is the repentant prostitute Mary Magdalene, the woman who first saw the risen Messiah standing by the empty tomb.
But it is perhaps no surprise that the Australian authorities remain unconvinced by this somewhat far-fetched declaration of the second coming.
They have warned people to be wary of Alan John Miller, 47, and Mary Suzanne Luck, 32, who have attracted a number of followers to their church in rural Wilkesdale, near Kingaroy, Queensland.
Miller, who has tailored his appearance to match conventional depictions of Christ, claims he now has 30 to 40 people living on site who have flocked to his cult of 'Divine Truth'.
Bizarrely, the presence of Miller and Luck has sparked a property boom in the area - appropriately dubbed Queensland's Bible Belt.
Some 30 followers have aggressively bought much of the land surrounding Miller's compound, where he has been living since 2007, leaving very little available to locals.
His disciples also joined forces in 2009 to buy a $400,000 property where they hold weekly meetings and plan to build a centre for international visitors.
In an apparent coincidence, land clearing has created a giant cross on neighbouring properties. Locals insisted it was not carved deliberately.
'My name is Jesus and I'm serious,' Miller says. 'Just a little over 2000 years ago, we arrived on the Earth for the first time.'
'Because of my personal desire and passion for God, as I grew, I recognised not only that I was the Messiah that was foretold by ancient prophets, but also that I was in a process designed by God that all humans could follow, if they so desired. Read More
Miller, who was born in Loxton, South Australia, and Luck do not have conventional employment and their lifestyles appear to be funded by supporter donations.
2 comments (read or post your own):
Alan Miller says that he is the soul of Jesus. I would argue that we are not our soul, we are infact the material manifestation of our soul. God requires us to bring heaven on earth, if this is what Alan is doing then its a good thing. If he is not then that is between him and God. Jesus was a man who lived the 'Christ consciousness', we do not have to be the reincarnation of Jesus to live this way but we should each one of us attempt to follow in his example.
I used to know mary luck very well when I used to live in australia before moving back home to the uk, i still cant believe she could get involved with something like this. It seems so much like what was happening in Waco, Texas.
Post a Comment
WANT YOUR COMMENT TO APPEAR?
Please, do not engage in any commercial or promotional activity. This includes linking to businesses, book sales, political or religious groups, etc. We welcome links that expound the discussion and investigation.