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Tony Anthony (born as Andonis Andreou Athanasiou on 30 July 1971,〔〔〔〔 name changed by deed poll in 1975 to Andonis Andrew Anthony, but known since childhood as Tony〔) is a British Christian evangelist. He became prominent following the 2004 publication of his autobiography, ''Taming The Tiger'', in which he claimed to have been a violent criminal before converting to Christianity. The book was well received by the Christian community, and Anthony began an international ministry as an evangelist. However, an independent investigation in 2013 concluded that large sections of the book are false.〔 ==Early life and conversion== Tony Anthony was born in London. According to his books, his father is Italian and his mother is Chinese, and he spent part of his childhood with relatives in Canton, China. He claimed to have been trained in kung fu by his grandfather, and that he won three Kung Fu world championships after returning to London, before working as a bodyguard and turning to violence and crime, including murder, after his fiancee died in a car accident.〔〔 He recounted that in 1989 he was arrested for burglary in Cyprus and was sentenced to three years imprisonment in the Central Jail of Nicosia, where his Buddhist upbringing did not give him much strength to endure the harsh conditions.〔David F. Dawes, (A tiger's progress from Kung Fu champ to Christ ), canadianchristianity.com, October 2005. Retrieved 6 January 2012.〕 Over six months, he was visited every week by an Irish missionary, Michael Wright, and converted to Christianity. They developed a friendship which continued after Anthony's release. He was sentenced again in 2001 to 15 months in prison in the United Kingdom for perverting the course of justice and other charges.〔(Couple lied about death crash ), ''Reading Post'', 5 June 2001. Retrieved 1 August 2013.〕 By his own version of events, his car had hit a female motorcyclist at night, killing her, but he had not stayed at the scene and later denied it to police. The person killed was Elizabeth Bracewell, sister of footballer Paul Bracewell.〔 Anthony's wife, Sara, received a sentence of 120 hours of community service for her role in the cover-up.〔 When Anthony was jailed (as when he married) he used a false date of birth.〔http://crosswire.org.uk/2013/07/01/globe-trotting-kung-fu-bodyguard-evangelist-investigated-over-biography-lies/〕 Anthony set up Avanti Ministries in 2003 to support his evangelistic work (avanti is the Italian for 'go'). The organisation received charitable status on 3 June 2004.〔〔The Charity Commission regulates British charities. Its website, http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk, indicates that Avanti Ministries Limited is charity number 1104111, incorporated on 21 September 2003 and registered as a charity on 3 June 2004.〕 In 2004, Authentic Media (then part of Christian publishers Send the Light and currently owned by the Australian company Koorong) published Anthony's autobiography, ''Taming The Tiger''. The book won the 2005 Christian Booksellers Convention award, was translated into 25 languages, and 1.5 million copies were distributed.〔 ''Taming The Tiger'' brought Anthony to the attention of Christians worldwide, who were enthralled by the conversion of such a violent criminal.〔 He travelled internationally to tell his story; video interviews were broadcast in Canada on ''100 Huntley Street'' in 2005〔 and 2011, and in the Netherlands by Evangelische Omroep. Anthony was also the keynote speaker at the Global Day of Prayer event in London in 2010.〔 He was a member of Leigh Road Baptist Church.〔http://lrbcfc.blogspot.co.uk/2006/11/keepy-uppy-champion-gets-more-than-he.html〕〔http://radio.lovesouthend.org/eventdetails.php?EventID=440〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tony Anthony (evangelist)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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