God is Love Pentecostal Church

The God is Love Pentecostal Church (IPDA) (Igreja Pentecostal Deus É Amor) is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in Brazil. The headquarters are in São Paulo.

History
The Igreja Pentecostal Deus é Amor was founded in São Paulo in 1962, by Daví Martins de Miranda (or David Miranda). The spread of the IPDA and other pentecostal churches was encouraged by economic regression, urbanization and the emergence of the informal settlements since the 1950s, where the IPDA gained most of its new followers at this time. Among the poorest, promises of "the miracle that will free them from their situation", fell on fertile grounds. By 1995 it had spread to 30 other countries, with a membership of 800,000 members in 2001 Census. As of 2003, there were 8,140 churches.

In 2004, the church inaugurated the Temple of the Glory of God in São Paulo, with an auditorium of 60,000 seats.

Beliefs
The denomination has a Pentecostal confession of faith and its doctrine belongs to the Finished Work Pentecostalism.

The organisation's emphasis is on faith healing, exorcism, laying on of hands, anointing of the sick and missionary work. Compared to other Brazilian Pentecostal churches, Deus é Amor is of a fundamentalist Christian ideology and separates itself from society. The God is Love Pentecostal Church maintains extremely rigorous standards, identical to those of the New Testament Christian Churches of America, the Apostolic Pentecostals and the Holiness Pentecostals, removing members from social life. Members are prohibited from watching television (seen as the image of the Beast and the electronic eye of the Beast), exercising and sports, going to the cinema, the beach, amusement parks and water parks, swimming pools, theater and circuses, gym, listen to popular music and practice dancing. Members are prohibited from celebrating any type of celebration or participating in holidays, which are seen as profane parties. Members are prohibited from visiting other churches. Members are prohibited from participating in gambling and children are prohibited from playing with or possessing toys. Women are prohibited from cutting their hair, dyeing their hair, dyeing their nails, wearing lipstick, makeup, wearing high heels, wearing earrings, piercings, necklaces, bracelets (except watches), rings (except engagement and wedding rings), wear pants, wear shorts, wear clothes containing denim fabric, wear split skirts, wear short skirts, wear short-sleeved or sleeveless blouses, short, sleeveless or short-sleeved dresses and shave your body. Men are prohibited from having a long beard, long hair, wearing shorts, jeans or any clothing made from denim fabric, wearing piercings, earrings, necklaces, rings (except engagement and wedding rings), wearing a hat, wearing clothes that contain the colors red, pink, lilac, purple and wine. Like women, men are prohibited from shaving their bodies. The church practices teetotalism and members are prohibited from drinking Coca-Cola (seen as Satan's drink), soft drinks, using drugs and tobacco. The church practices conscientious objector. The church is opposed to ecumenism and politics. The God is Love Pentecostal Church has an internal regiment somewhat similar to outward holiness, in book format that contains the dress codes and moral conduct codes, as well as the time of punishment for those who do not comply. In temples, it is forbidden to have artificial flowers, seen as the devil's flowers. The Church has a vision somewhat similar to restorationism, as it believes that the God is Love Pentecostal Church is a restoration of the primitive church. The church practices Believer's baptism. They practice rebaptism of people who come from other churches, even if they were baptized in the trinitarian formula. The church prohibits the use of drums and guitars, seen as Satan's instruments. The church has a record label where it releases albums by church singers and prohibits members from singing non-church songs. Members can only date from the age of eighteen, and they must obtain authorization from the pastor, and both will be monitored by the pastor, the family and the church, and will not be able to hold hands, kiss or have dates without the pastor and the family is nearby. The church opposes adultery, fornication, divorce, remarriage, abortion, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, bigamy, polygamy and incest. The church practices the excommunication of those who carry out such acts, among others considered sins. The church practices the shunning of those who leave the church, even if it is a relative. The church practices closed communion, allowing participation in holy supper only for those who are members. Even if a person is a member, they cannot participate if they do not speaking in tongues, seen by the church as sealing. The church considers itself the one true church, stating that all other churches belong to the devil and whoever wishes to be saved will end up joining the God is Love Pentecostal Church.


 * "Here among us are many adulterers and adulteresses, masturbators, people obsessed by sexual intercourse, thieves, vagabonds. Who of you likes television and secular music, is misguided. Those who join in today's fashions, even in miniskirts, their tummy free, walk around, are sinning heavily against God." - David Miranda

Controversies
The IPDA has established strict control mechanisms to survey the presence of its followers. Members of the churches have to obtain "faith cards", which must be stamped each day of the week to prove their presence at the worship service and the obligatorial payment to the church. Life within the church is completely controlled by the leaders. If a member misses a service, he will be punished according to the internal rules.

The organisation, together with Edir Macedo's Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus, is accused of using the acquisition of the Edificio Cines Plaza y Central cinema in Montevideo, Uruguay as a disguise to cover up money laundering.

Furthermore, the IPDA is accused to have connections to the organized crime scene of Brazil. Many former favela gang members work as pastors after their conversion.