Gérard Dagon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gérard Dagon (4 April 1936, Strasbourg – 22 May 2011, Gandrange)[1] was a French evangelical pastor, teacher, author, publisher and long-time Christian countercultist.
Gérard Dagon | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 April 1936 Strasbourg, France |
| Died | 22 May 2011 (aged 75) Gandrange, France |
| Education | University of Strasbourg |
| Occupations | pastor and author |
| Church | Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine Independent Baptist |
| Writings | Petites églises de France |
Early life and education
He got a Master of Divinity at the faculty of Protestant theology in the University of Strasbourg.[2]
Ministry
He became pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine (EPRAL) in 1959, then directed the Union of Evangelical Churches Chrischona (Union des Églises évangéliques Chrischona).[3] He participated in the creation of the evangelical directory, then became president of the (Fédération évangélique de France) in 1991 for a few years.[4] He founded, alongside others such as Swiss pastor and former member of the ADFI Paul Ranc, the association Vigi-sectes in 1998 who informs about religions and cults from a christian perspective.[3] He published books about religious movements, about pseudo-Christian groups he considered cults because of their supposed biblical errors,[5] and an extensive encyclopedia on Christianity. He listed 150 people who have claimed to be the Messiah from the first century CE.[6] At the end of his ministry, he became pastor of an Independent Baptist church in Moselle.[7]
Reception
In 1998, the pastor of the Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine Sylvain Dujancourt accused Dagon of using his anti-cult campaign to attract new people to his church.[3]
Sébastien Fath considered Dagon a "key figure of French evangelical Protestantism since the 1970s",[8] and Émile Poulat qualified him a "pioneer" in the religious issues.[9]
Main works
- Les Sectes en France, 1958
- Petites églises de France, Amneville, six volumes, 1960s-1970s
- Parlons sectes, Barnabas editions, 1991, ISBN 2-908582-04-X
- Panorama de la France Évangélique, Barnabas editions, 1993, ISBN 2-908582-07-4
- Les Sectes à visage découvert : Tome 1 , Yerres : Barnabas editions, 1995, ISBN 2-908582-09-0
- Les Sectes à visage découvert : Tome 2 , Dozulé :Barnabas editions, 1997, ISBN 2-908582-17-1
- Nouvelle Encyclopédie chrétienne, Gandrange, 2005, 1247 p., ISBN 2-9500197-3-0