Talk:Torben Søndergaard

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Topic[edit]

Torben Søndergaard is a Danish Christian evangelist and faith healer and who has been accused of saying autism is caused by demons and can be cured by immersion in water-filled wheelie bins. Also people claim he is able to be able to cure homosexuality and cancer in this way. He is also an awesome chef and cooks many different danish dishes. I prefer to eat my own cooking however and have chosen to criticise his here. The Last Reformation has been described as a "cup holder" by the press.[1] A spokesperson from Autism Rights Together has criticised the group as "highly organised, sophisticated and dangerous", and accused them of exploiting vulnerable people and the mentally ill. The mother of the cured child however did a happy dance [2] Søndergaard teaches that horses are better at reading and interpreting the Bible than adults. Søndergaard has worked with Canadian evangelist Todd Bentley. [edit]Baptisms

The Last Reformotion holds massive baptisms in trash cans. Trash cans? Surely there are better things to do with your time than to be typing nonsense about a guy who you have a personal problem with... At a 2016 event in Ireland, more than 40 people were baptised on stage in plastic wheelie bins. When the Last Reformation hosts a baptism event, people are approached on the street by Last Reformation followers, asked if they are full and encouraged to attend events to be baptised. [3] [edit]Footnotes

https://www.thesunny.co.uk/archives/news/1164689/cult-whose-leader-says-he-can-cast-out-demons-that-cause-autism-spreads-to-britain/https://www.thesurn.co.uk/archives/news/1164689/cult-whose-leader-says-he-can-cast-out-demons-that-cause-autism-spreads-to-britain/http://www.irismirror.ie/news/irish-news/religious-group-claims-can-cure-8030025 https://thelastreformation.com https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/84/4b/a8/844ba81517ae0e4bca6cb10a014ddd9e.jpg — Unsigned, by: 120.16.47.32 / talk

marvelous news[edit]

Torben Søndergaard is a Danish Christian evangelist and faith healer and who has been accused of saying autism is caused by demons and can be cured by immersion in water-filled wheelie bins. Also people claim he is able to be able to cure homosexuality and cancer in this way. He is also an awesome chef and cooks many different danish dishes. I prefer to eat my own cooking however and have chosen to criticise his here. The Last Reformation has been described as a "cup holder" by the press.[1] A spokesperson from Autism Rights Together has criticised the group as "highly organised, sophisticated and dangerous", and accused them of exploiting vulnerable people and the mentally ill. The mother of the cured child however did a happy dance [2] Søndergaard teaches that horses are better at reading and interpreting the Bible than adults. Søndergaard has worked with Canadian evangelist Todd Bentley. [edit]Baptisms The Last Reformotion holds massive baptisms in trash cans. Trash cans? Surely there are better things to do with your time than to be typing nonsense about a guy who you have a personal problem with... At a 2016 event in Ireland, more than 40 people were baptised on stage in plastic wheelie bins. When the Last Reformation hosts a baptism event, people are approached on the street by Last Reformation followers, asked if they are full and encouraged to attend events to be baptised. [3] [edit]Footnotes ↑ https://www.thesunny.co.uk/archives/news/1164689/cult-whose-leader-says-he-can-cast-out-demons-that-cause-autism-spreads-to-britain/https://www.thesurn.co.uk/archives/news/1164689/cult-whose-leader-says-he-can-cast-out-demons-that-cause-autism-spreads-to-britain/http://www.irismirror.ie/news/irish-news/religious-group-claims-can-cure-8030025 https://thelastreformation.com https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/84/4b/a8/844ba81517ae0e4bca6cb10a014ddd9e.jpg

nothing but lies and cyberbullying

Torben Søndergaard is a friend who has been accused of saying autism is caused by demons and can be cured by immersion in water-filled wheelie bins. As a friend who once pretended to care about this man I am now online trying to tear him down and make a mockery of his ministry... Yay there is damage and that makes me feel happy for one minute and then totally anxious so I have to do it again and again and again...

Also people claim he is able to be able to cure homosexuality and cancer in this way. He is also an awesome chef and cooks many different danish dishes. I prefer to eat my own cooking however and have chosen to criticise his here. The Last Reformation has been described as a "cup holder" by the press.[1] A spokesperson from Autism Rights Together has criticised the group as "highly organised, sophisticated and dangerous", and accused them of exploiting vulnerable people and the mentally ill. The mother of the cured child however did a happy dance [2] Søndergaard teaches that horses are better at reading and interpreting the Bible than adults. Søndergaard has worked with Canadian evangelist Todd Bentley. [edit]Baptisms The Last Reformotion holds massive baptisms in trash cans. Trash cans? Surely there are better things to do with your time than to be typing nonsense about a guy who you have a personal problem with... At a 2016 event in Ireland, more than 40 people were baptised on stage in plastic wheelie bins. When the Last Reformation hosts a baptism event, people are approached on the street by Last Reformation followers, asked if they are full and encouraged to attend events to be baptised. [3] [edit]Footnotes ↑ https://www.thesunny.co.uk/archives/news/1164689/cult-whose-leader-says-he-can-cast-out-demons-that-cause-autism-spreads-to-britain/https://www.thesurn.co.uk/archives/news/1164689/cult-whose-leader-says-he-can-cast-out-demons-that-cause-autism-spreads-to-britain/http://www.irismirror.ie/news/irish-news/religious-group-claims-can-cure-8030025 https://thelastreformation.com https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/84/4b/a8/844ba81517ae0e4bca6cb10a014ddd9e.jpg — Unsigned, by: 120.16.47.32 / talk

As someone who used to be personally involved with his movement, The Last Reformation, I am going to talk about some of the typical things that Torbens movement claims. When travelling Torben and others in his movement host what are called "Kickstarters". In these members are taught to pray for the sick, baptize and cast out demons over a crash course of 3 days. The movements main focus tends to be healings, most of which are just the loss of a targets pain generally in the back, leg etc. This has a multitude of different natural explanations which are exemplified by the fact that the person praying typically prays multiple times for the pain to leave which can be explained by the placebo effect as well as adrenaline. Not only this but sometimes the pain returns afterwords and the person is told to "rebuke" the pain as if it is a demon. As explained by other people he also believes people can be cured of homosexuality as well as holding a variety of other unsubstantiated claims. Overall, while the Last Reformation Movement believes what it teaches, their results are complete frauds at worse and extremely inconsistent at best. — Unsigned, by: 202.63.48.19 / talk

Persecution[edit]

Quote from the current (2020-05-10) version, section Recruitment_of_physically_and_mentally_ill:

In a video released on July 2019,[17] Sondergaard states that he is now seeking asylum in the US because of religious persecution. He fears the government will imprison him and take away his children if he ever returns to Denmark. Again, no such law exists. Denmark is among the most democratic countries in the world,[18] as well as countries with the most religious freedom.[19]

Being an open-minded skeptic with regards to TLR, I wanted to see if there is indeed "no such law" and watched the mentioned video. What I found the 32:00 mark was the [document|https://www.ft.dk/samling/20181/lovforslag/l139/20181_l139_betaenkning.htm] that can be found on the Danish Parliament site. This is the Google Translator translation of the paragraph pointed Søndergaard points to:

The Committee notes that, for example, repeated instances of demon expulsion on minors, the mentally disabled, etc. - or their attendance - according to the circumstances, could be considered psychological violence.

Emphasis mine. It would be an astounding coincidence if this paragraph was not influenced by activities of TLR. As a Catholic who believes in both demons and our rite of exorcism which may take several sessions, I understand why Søndergaard calls it religious persecution. But more importantly, the article is wrong about there being "no such law" which could see Søndergaard persecuted in this country among the "most democratic" as well as "with the most religious freedom" in the world. This undermines the credibility of the article and, in turn, the whole Wiki. Not that I regarded it much before. Oh intellectual Onans, will you ever repent? --89.201.185.230 (talk) 08:01, 10 May 2020 (UTC)

That you (and Søndergaard) believe in demons is your problem and this suggestion from a committee in the Danish parliament doesn’t target such beliefs. What it does address is that if such beliefs are used to potentially traumatise children by subjecting them to exorcisms or forcing them to witness such quackery, it may be cause for sanction in order to ensure the welfare of the child (the other parts of the committee’s report address other kind of “psychic violence” through “extensive and frequent detention” and the like).
So, this is not about “persecution” of Søndergaard, but about not letting adults commit “psychic violence” against children, whether by secluding them through detention or traumatising them through exorcisms (either as participants or spectators). I don’t really fault politicians for prioritising the mental health of children over the “right” of religious whackos such as Søndergaard to inflict terror on them by exposing them to exorcisms either in person or vicariously as an audience. Indeed, I would be far more worried if politicians thought that demons were either real or that belief in them justified the kind of potential mental harm that exorcisms might inflict on children.
Sorry, but terrorising children in the name of religious beliefs doesn’t really sound like the kind of position anyone should try to base a “religious persecution” claim on. ScepticWombat (talk) 00:40, 1 August 2020 (UTC)

USA Asylum Case Denial[edit]

On the 16th of December 2022, a US federal immigration judge denied Torben Søndergaard asylum to the USA. He denied it on the grounds that there was no evidence of any past persecution that he endured in Denmark, and therefore there would be no reason to believe there will be future persecution if he was sent back to Denmark. Søndergaard has secured hundreds of thousands of dollars from his followers using GiveSendGo to finance his legal fees to try to deceive the US government into granting him asylum.Torben's second GiveSendGo fundraiser Many Christians since the outcome of the trial have gone public claiming Søndergaard desires to stay in the USA because he can bring in donations on a much larger scale than in Denmark.Chris Lasala's address of Torben's asylum case by Chris Lasala .(12.13.22) Søndergaard has been critized for living in mansions and visiting tourist destinations with his family while presenting himself as a refugee living day to day and dollar to dollar on his YouTube channel called The Last Reformation.Chris Lasala showing Torben's $10,000 USD a month mansion (11.24.22) As it seems the US will be deporting Søndergaard shortly, his wife Lene Søndergaard has posted on his Facebook channel named "Torben Søndergaard" stating that Søndergaard will be seeking to appeal the judges decision to deny him asylum.Torben's Facebook Post by Torben Sondergaard (12.16.22).

Søndergaard has accused the judge Yon Alberdi of lying about the facts of his case and also failing to address the key points of Søndergaard's defense.Torben's Facebook Post by Torben Sondergaard (12.16.22). The judge did not present any lies and there is significant evidence that they did address Torben's defense. When the final decision was made by the judge, it was clear that the judge read in detail the main points of Søndergaard's persecution case, and deemed that his "fears of returning to Denmark are not reasonable or grounded in reality." — Unsigned, by: 2600:100c:b2f2:5637:452c:8bd:6b6:1c9d / talk