Alex Magala, an aerial sword swallower and acrobat who admitted to stripping down for gays and girls when he was youthful, says he’s now a born-again Christian and lately criticized Pastor Mark Driscoll for his look at James River Church's Stronger Males Convention. in Missouri, an “uninformed” place.
“Pastor Mark Driscoll's feedback about my act failed to acknowledge the distinction between male strip teasing and a stunt rooted in artwork and sport,” Magala stated in a press release posted on his Instagram web page on Wednesday.
“Solely an uninformed particular person would make a comparability between my act and an inappropriate efficiency. I really feel that this harmful act is ideal for the Stronger Males Convention. It offers inspiration to the viewers and permits them to succeed in new heights of what’s attainable of their lives.”
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Magala stated he’s a Christian and has “at all times tried to make use of my expertise to encourage and entertain audiences in a method that respects my religion”.
“The act in query was designed to be a celebration of bodily human achievements and is according to the aim of James River Church to convey others to the sunshine of God,” Magala added. “It’s important to method such performances with an understanding of their intent, quite than lowering them to mere leisure.”
Viral video clip Magal's sword-swallowing efficiency, which made him well-known on household reveals like “America's Obtained Expertise” and “Britain's Obtained Expertise,” adopted by Driscoll's response, has already sparked a flurry of feedback on social media and headlines in publications as various as USA Immediately. Driscoll insisted Monday that the outlet had misinterpreted what he meant by the Jezebel spirit.
“Merriam-Webster defines a jezebel as 'an insolent, shameless, or morally unrestrained lady.' It's a derogatory phrase much like 'tramp,' and has ties to racism and anti-Black sentiment, in line with the Jim Crow Museum,” USA Immediately reported.
Driscoll, the outspoken senior pastor of Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, responded to USA Immediately.
“The Jezebel spirit isn’t synonymous with 'tramp' and has nothing to do with racism. The Jezebel spirit is a demon that has labored by means of women and men for hundreds of years, from Queen Jezebel in 1 Kings to Jesus' rebuke of the church in Thyatira in Revelation 2.” he stated wrote on X. “This demon tries to regulate and dominate, most frequently by means of seductive girls, however usually by means of boastful, domineering males. I actually wrote a guide about it. I need to give it away utterly free. I’ve none of it, I simply need women and men to be taught extra concerning the non secular warfare behind the warfare we see.”
In his guide New days outdated demons Driscoll presents “a prophetic examine of intercourse, gender, revival politics, and the way progressive Christianity is only a renaming of historical paganism. The identical demons that have been energetic within the days of Elijah are nonetheless energetic at present, castrating males, maiming kids, closing church buildings, and silencing lecturers Bible.”
In his criticism of Magal's efficiency on the Stronger Males Convention held April 11-12 on the Nice Southern Financial institution Area in Springfield, Driscoll objected to the efficiency, claiming she embodied the Jezebel spirit. It was unclear whether or not he was conscious of Magala's efficiency previous to the occasion.
In 2016, whereas Magala's star was rising as a family-friendly sword swallower on 'Britain's Obtained Expertise', a Each day Mail report revealed that Magala was additionally working as a feminine and homosexual stripper in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
“My life is sort of a film,” Magala instructed the publication. “You will have seen within the motion pictures when the killer will get phrase of his subsequent sufferer. I’ve the identical story. I get the deal with of the membership, the time and the colour of my underwear. I arrive on the scene: lights, music, fireplace.”
Though Magala factors out that fellow acrobats, the Ramadhani brothers, have additionally been recognized to carry out shirtless on the convention, Driscoll seems to have criticized him.
“We're going to speak about the right way to be Elijah and the right way to cope with the typical Jezebel. However let me do it,” Driscoll stated, kneeling in a video of his criticism of Magal's convention speech posted on X.
“I've been up since 1am. The explanation I'm hoarse is as a result of I've been praying for you and my coronary heart may be very heavy for you. I need to be very cautious about this and it's not what I need to say however the Jezebel spirit he already opened our occasion right here.
“Earlier than the phrase of God was opened, there was a platform. It was a raised place. There was a pole on it, Asherah. The identical that’s utilized in a strip membership for girls who’ve a Jezebel spirit to seduce males. Earlier than that was a person who pulled shirt like a lady does in entrance of the bar in a strip membership,” he continued.
Magala, a Moldovan immigrant, claimed in his assertion that Driscoll had unfairly judged him due to his previous.
“After my speech on the James River Church convention, a 53 yr outdated Pastor judged a 21 yr outdated me. Nicely, to place this in perspective, I needed to supply Pastor @markdriscoll to maneuver to a rustic on the opposite aspect of the planet, eg China or Russia, the place he has by no means been earlier than , that he has virtually zero language abilities, zero associates, zero household, and $60 in his pocket, and let's see how he can deal with it,” he argued.
“Imagine me, I attempted. I couldn't discover any work. So I spent $35 (out of $60) on a sword and carried out on Hollywood Blvd. I spent the remainder of the cash on milk and oatmeal. In my first efficiency, I obtained tip $4.50 And I'd go on however my sword swallowing accidents gained't let me carry out usually… I simply ran out of oatmeal… I additionally needed so as to add that everybody finds God in their very own time.”
Magala stated on Instagram on Wednesday that he has no plans to apologize for his efficiency.
Dan Meyer, a fellow skilled sword swallower and member of Driscoll's church in Arizona, praised Magala for “giving God the glory.”
“Wow! Nice efficiency Alex! It nonetheless blows my thoughts how lengthy you’ll be able to hold your sword down for therefore lengthy,” he wrote. “I solely final about :30-:45 seconds earlier than I’ve to take it down. Nice job bro! The viewers cherished it… effectively, MOST of them! Give God the glory!”
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