Joe Pringle will be heard singing the above song (aka Sydney’s New Years Eve anthem) ‘We are The Light’ on New Years Eve 2011. For information, read the Sydney Media and Sydney Morning Herald reports here:
Sydney Media said the anthem was made to “raise money for international humanitarian aid organisation“. Ironically, the singer of this song Joe Pringle, is part of the global C3 Movement that financially exploits the poor. The head of the C3 movement, Phil Pringle is Joe Pringle’s father. These articles below are just some of the articles that reveal how Phil Pringle uses Christianity and the Christian bible to financially exploit the poor in his own church:
Night full of wonder, like the stars that jewel the sky A world of beauty, with eyes that shine so bright Let’s walk together, come, put your hand in mine We’ll kiss the future, we’re gonna make some history tonight
We are the light, we are the light We are the light, we are the light
Time to dream, time to touch the sky Now’s the moment to believe, this is the night With power, and glory, shine like shooting stars Come on, we are the future, yes it’s time to dream
We are the light, we are the light We are the light, we are the light
Life is a journey, and we’ve got so far to go The seeds we planted, need our love to prosper and to grow The world keeps spinning, to the heartbeat of time Let’s kiss the future, we’re gonna make some history tonight
Time to dream, time to touch the sky Now’s the moment to believe, this is the night With power, and glory, shine like shooting stars Come on, we are the future, yes it’s time to dream
We are the light, we are the light We are the light, we are the light
Shine bright tonight We are the light, we are the light Shine bright tonight
THE CHRIST-LIGHT AND DARK-SIN
It makes perfect sense that the world would write a song like this. It’s catchy, motivational and appealing to the flesh. To a certain extent, we can see Christian themes through this song. However it is important to understand that Joe Pringle is seen in the C3 Movement and in other churches globally as an influential worship leader and teacher. So what is so concerning about Joe Pringle singing this song as a Christian teacher and worship leader?
Jesus says,
“But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” Jesus, Matthew 6:23
“See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.” Luke 11:35
While Jesus tells people to make sure ‘the light within you is not darkness‘, Joe Pringle is reinforcing in non-believers that non-believers are ‘the light‘. This contradicts the fundamental teachings of Jesus and the Christian message, that all man is in darkness and is in need of a Saviour.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”– Apostle John, John 1:1-5
The darkness being referred to here is sinful mankind. As John says later in John 1,
“There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.”– Apostle John, John 1:9-10
To this day, Christians believe that mankind is in darkness until Christ enlightens and redeems the individual who comes to know Jesus as their True Light. Jesus said,
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” – Jesus, John 3:19-21
Jesus is the only man that is not in darkness and is revealed in scripture as the only one who is the Light of God and the Light of The World.
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”– Jesus, John 8:12
“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”– Jesus, John 9:5
“I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.” – Jesus, John 12:46
LIGHT AND DARKNESS DON’T MIX
It is wrong for Joe Pringle to sing a song like this that opposes a foundational biblical truth to the Christian faith. If he believes what he is singing to be true about the spiritual state of Sydney then he is either ignorant, deceived or hypocritical. Is it not the desire of a worship leader to see people give glory to Jesus? Joe Pringle seems to think likewise (as does Phil Pringle).
If Joe Pringle loves Jesus and considers himself as a disciple of Jesus, why is he not being obedient to God through Jesus, John and Paul’s instructions?
“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”– John, 1 John 2:15
Has Joe Pringle compromised his love for God by choosing the road of popularity?
“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said…”– Apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 6:14
It is clear that Joe Pringle strayed from God’s Word. What’s worse is that his father Phil Pringle did not correct him but instead bragged publicly of his sons error. Both have strayed from Paul’s instructions and were tempted and excited by such a worldly offer:
“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light… Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”– Paul, Ephesians 5:6-17
Joe Pringle is singing a message that would only cloud and confound believers and nonbelievers. He is confusing the message of the gospel that the church is meant to uphold and deliver with clarity. This is not of God.
“… For God is not a God of confusion but of peace…”– 1 Corinthians 14:33
John the Apostle says,
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”– Apostle John, 1 John 4:1-6
The Apostle John rightly exposes the antichrist spirit. The spirit behind the song Joe Pringle sung denies Jesus. If fallen mankind is the light, why bother confessing Jesus Christ at all? Why is Jesus necessary to a world believing that their sin and darkness is light? The world will happily believe the lie that the darkness they are in is light to justify their darkness over the true Light of Christ.
Joe Pringle and Phil Pringle failed to ‘test the spirits behind the song to see whether they are from God‘. It is sad to see these leaders who many believe represent the church, dilute the gospel message for worldly gain. They are partaking in the lie, denying that the world is in sin and claiming sinners are the light.
As head of the C3 movement, Phil Pringle is endorsing a highly ungodly message sung by his son. Pringle has chosen to let this happen in his church. Phil and Joe Pringle are rejecting the message of Christ BEING the light to save sinners and only promoting a message that is against the light of Christ. They have sadly demonstrated in this instance that they are deceiving themselves.
If led, please pray for Joe Pringle and Phil Pringle. May this NYE message not be a preview of what this year holds with the teachings in C3.
14 thoughts on “C3 Leader Joe Pringle Sings In The Dark, “We Are The Light””
Jeremysaid:
This is a very poorly written essay. The conclusions come from no where and simply posting scripture references without linking them to your opinion amounts to throwing a handful of stones into a tree hoping to fell it.
Please do us all a favor and re-write your article with some skill and prove your point rather than expecting us to ‘follow like Sherpa’ and blindly agree with you.
I really like the extensive use of scripture. I think, sometimes, there is a place for a river-rapid of information in an article, especially when it pours through scripture in the process. It tends to pack a punch, driving the truth home for those who really want to hear. That the Word of God is sufficient and the authority for all things pertaining to God, life and godliness. Unless you don’t want the latter….?
except that even Jesus was more of a ‘whisper in the ear’ preacher than a sledgehammer preacher.
Some people like to impress with their words and knowledge (doesn’t that puff up?).
I am assuming that ‘churchwatcher’s intentions are pure/humble, and i personally believe that this message will be more effective and reach more people if its shorter and more to the point.
I believe in a God who wants relationship with me, more than i believe in a bible that has answers for all my questions, and proof’s for all theology.
The more I read of the bible, the more questions I have and the more ‘shades-of-grey’ i find my theology to be. Especially having drowned in a theology of the greater ‘church’ of the last twenty years.
If churchwatcher engages with me and my feedback, i will continue, encouraging and helping to ‘sharpen the iron’… if not, then i shall move on…
🙂
Dr Zorrosaid:
“[…] except that even Jesus was more of a ‘whisper in the ear’ preacher than a sledgehammer preacher.”
‘“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. [14] [b]
15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.
I don’t know what you would call the foregoing Jeremy, but personally I’d call it a sledgehammer.
Jeremysaid:
Agreed in part- I think Jesus knew when to whisper and when to use a sledgehammer, although it is hilarious to note that He never seemed to use the sledgehammer expecting it to change someone’s ways…
I find many people are good at one but not the other, ‘discernment prophets’ often lack the skill to whisper— myself I lack the skill to use a sledgehammer…
I was expecting to be pulled up a lot sooner though….. Usually my incitement gets a reaction somewhat faster 😀
Micksaid:
Hey I read your article with interest, but i’m confused.
Do you think it’s bad that Joe Pringle sings the song because his dad is a church leader, or do you think it’s bad that Joe sings the song as a christian?
I love singing along to secular songs, and have even belted out a saucy song or two on a karaoke machine =) Applying your arguments about Joe to me would mean I’m going against God’s word!
The important thing is to exercise discernment, and this is where C3 gets into trouble. They have a marked tendency to confuse the things that are of God and the things that are not, and the confusion that reigns in the minds of the “leaders” is communicated to the congregation, whether by preaching or by example.
C3 “teaching” is an unholy mish-mash of twisted scripture taken out of context, prosperity / word of faith heresy, dominionism, feel-good self-help waffle, works of the law, gnosticism, new age nonsense, eastern mysticism, and borderline occult. Since that is the case, why would anyone expect that C3’s musical endeavours would be untainted, or that they would be helpful or productive in any way?
Gary MacDougallsaid:
if you didn’t tell me it was a christian song, just reading the words i would think it was composed by New Agers.
“The seeds we planted, need our love to prosper and to grow”
-Straight out Prosperity gospel indoctrination and mind control
“The world keeps spinning, to the heartbeat of time” -sounds like Bob Dylan
This part could have been written by the Beatles on an LSD trip:-
“Let’s kiss the future, we’re gonna make some history tonight
Time to dream, time to touch the sky”
“Time to dream and time to touch the sky” is just like Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds…LSD.
The C3 movement is big on what they call ‘market place ministry’. They believe that Christians need be the best in society with what God has given them so they can convince God is evident in their lives. Joe Pringle’s ‘market place ministry’ is backwards.
Especially when he is singing a satanic lie upon non-Christians, using descriptions pertaining to God’s attributes such as light, power and glory. This message only works against the Christian message. I’ve edited the article today to include James White’s video.
I do not see the problem here….. this song has nothing to do with christianity, It was made for New Year’s Eve. Just because a christian is singing it makes C3 and Phil Pringle ‘twisted’.
C3 Church Watch 
This is a very poorly written essay. The conclusions come from no where and simply posting scripture references without linking them to your opinion amounts to throwing a handful of stones into a tree hoping to fell it.
Please do us all a favor and re-write your article with some skill and prove your point rather than expecting us to ‘follow like Sherpa’ and blindly agree with you.
Thank you for your criticism Jeremy. The article has been updated.
Huge improvement! – I would challenge you still, to reduce the number of words you have used.
See if you can say the same thing with only 1000 words.
..then maybe 500.
Also, do a spell check 😛
You have a really good point to make, and i’d hate it to get lost amongst the ‘noise’ of the internet.
🙂
I really like the extensive use of scripture. I think, sometimes, there is a place for a river-rapid of information in an article, especially when it pours through scripture in the process. It tends to pack a punch, driving the truth home for those who really want to hear. That the Word of God is sufficient and the authority for all things pertaining to God, life and godliness. Unless you don’t want the latter….?
– Lulu
That’s a really relevant point Lulu.
except that even Jesus was more of a ‘whisper in the ear’ preacher than a sledgehammer preacher.
Some people like to impress with their words and knowledge (doesn’t that puff up?).
I am assuming that ‘churchwatcher’s intentions are pure/humble, and i personally believe that this message will be more effective and reach more people if its shorter and more to the point.
I believe in a God who wants relationship with me, more than i believe in a bible that has answers for all my questions, and proof’s for all theology.
The more I read of the bible, the more questions I have and the more ‘shades-of-grey’ i find my theology to be. Especially having drowned in a theology of the greater ‘church’ of the last twenty years.
If churchwatcher engages with me and my feedback, i will continue, encouraging and helping to ‘sharpen the iron’… if not, then i shall move on…
🙂
“[…] except that even Jesus was more of a ‘whisper in the ear’ preacher than a sledgehammer preacher.”
‘“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. [14] [b]
15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.
I don’t know what you would call the foregoing Jeremy, but personally I’d call it a sledgehammer.
Agreed in part- I think Jesus knew when to whisper and when to use a sledgehammer, although it is hilarious to note that He never seemed to use the sledgehammer expecting it to change someone’s ways…
I find many people are good at one but not the other, ‘discernment prophets’ often lack the skill to whisper— myself I lack the skill to use a sledgehammer…
I was expecting to be pulled up a lot sooner though….. Usually my incitement gets a reaction somewhat faster 😀
Hey I read your article with interest, but i’m confused.
Do you think it’s bad that Joe Pringle sings the song because his dad is a church leader, or do you think it’s bad that Joe sings the song as a christian?
I love singing along to secular songs, and have even belted out a saucy song or two on a karaoke machine =) Applying your arguments about Joe to me would mean I’m going against God’s word!
Some secular music is all right, and some is not.
The important thing is to exercise discernment, and this is where C3 gets into trouble. They have a marked tendency to confuse the things that are of God and the things that are not, and the confusion that reigns in the minds of the “leaders” is communicated to the congregation, whether by preaching or by example.
C3 “teaching” is an unholy mish-mash of twisted scripture taken out of context, prosperity / word of faith heresy, dominionism, feel-good self-help waffle, works of the law, gnosticism, new age nonsense, eastern mysticism, and borderline occult. Since that is the case, why would anyone expect that C3’s musical endeavours would be untainted, or that they would be helpful or productive in any way?
if you didn’t tell me it was a christian song, just reading the words i would think it was composed by New Agers.
“The seeds we planted, need our love to prosper and to grow”
-Straight out Prosperity gospel indoctrination and mind control
“The world keeps spinning, to the heartbeat of time” -sounds like Bob Dylan
This part could have been written by the Beatles on an LSD trip:-
“Let’s kiss the future, we’re gonna make some history tonight
Time to dream, time to touch the sky”
“Time to dream and time to touch the sky” is just like Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds…LSD.
Well when I was single myself it was because I hadn’t yet married.
I assume that you are married yourself, Christian. If your wife has an IQ of 84 she’s more intelligent than you are.
The C3 movement is big on what they call ‘market place ministry’. They believe that Christians need be the best in society with what God has given them so they can convince God is evident in their lives. Joe Pringle’s ‘market place ministry’ is backwards.
Especially when he is singing a satanic lie upon non-Christians, using descriptions pertaining to God’s attributes such as light, power and glory. This message only works against the Christian message. I’ve edited the article today to include James White’s video.
How come you dont have your site viewable in wap format? cant see anything in my netbook.
I do not see the problem here….. this song has nothing to do with christianity, It was made for New Year’s Eve. Just because a christian is singing it makes C3 and Phil Pringle ‘twisted’.