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Correct me if I am wrong BUT I grew up believing that “men of God” were supposed to lead by example and live modest lifestyles and yet; I see Joel Olsteen with a home so huge and lavish it would make the biggest Hollywood stars envious and two others talking about how they need to have private jets so they are not bothered by regular people wanting to ask for prayers and blessings and so they can talk to god without someone else on the plane pointing them out as the delusional lunes they are. I do like seeing regular people starting to question these practices and call them out on it.

misstuffy 7 Feb 5
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9

Oh, Joel Osteen is part of the "prosperity gospel" ministry, so he and his ilk consider their ostentatious lifestyles to actually be the supposed example for their parishioners. it's a huge scam, even by religious standards, that quotes some passage in the Bible that promises a reward many times over. They've spun this into financial reward, with the notion that the someone gives them the more they will get in reward (not in terms of nebulous blessings or heavenly reward, but actual financial return on investment). It's sick, but people will give their last penny for a chance to win that prosperity lottery.

Too bad there is not a way to prosecute them for this fraud.

7

They're all hypocrites. Some more than others.

I think everyone here can name at least three off the top of our heads.

6

He follows a book of extraordinary hypocrisy so it's okay him to be extraordinarily hypocritical.

6

You are not wrong. These are men of manipulation and money. God is an illusion.

5

I find Joel Osteen to be the worst possible example of someone associated with any god. His gods are green, and covered in dollar signs !

On Sunday mornings, he has his TV show - I dare anyone here to watch the whole thing without bringing up your breakfast ...

I can't hardly stomach to watch any religious shows and we have an entire channel here devoted to "God"

@misstuffy so do we - overdramatic BS in great abundance !

5

These preachers are grifters, plain and simple. Unfortunately, the people they swindle are either too simple or so invested in being fed easy answers that they are blind to the fact they are being used.

I agree. I find the super religious to either be super gullible OR super criminal hiding behind the Christian label as a license to steal

5

No surprises there!!

NZVee Level 4 Feb 5, 2018

Agreed. I am astounded that they can write so much of their perks off as Church expenses which are not taxable. It is time to tax them.

4

Makes me ill to see the greed in their personal lives.

I am amazed at the brazeness they show when living high on the hog, how can they sleep at night knowing some of their followers lose their homes due to donating to them.

4

I used to listed to Robert Tilton in my gullible days. As I was beginning to see the hypocrisy, a Primetime expose exposed his scam. He would get millions of dollars along with prayer requests. He was secretly recorded taking the money out of the envelopes and throwing away the prayer requests without even looking at them. What did he tell his flock? He told them that God already knew their prayers and that he didn't need to read them. And those idiots believed his nonsense hook line and sinker.

People can be such idiots.

These guys sell false hope. They don't really care, I think half of them enter the profression because it is easy money. THe better they are at lying the more they make

I had a look at his page (can't believe he's still preaching). He's asking for "sow" money. His definition is sow money is money that you can't afford to lose. It proves to God that you have faith in him. So, he wants some poor soul to send him their rent money to prove to God that they trust him.

4

Money and greed. Sad that others don't see that.

As Atheists we are not blind to this hypocrisy.

4

Seeing the true from the false is a major challenge. It is fundamental.

True, if you are blinded by your leaders and conditioned to do as they say and turn a blind eye to their discretions

3

Those guys are all crooks. Creflo A. Dollar changed his damn name to DOLLAR!!! His birth name is Michael Smith.

3

These are prosperity gospel idiots. What makes me scratch my head is that Jesus preached that being rich is a hindrance to their path to heaven.

@Shelton yeah really, seems somewhere these prosperity preachers only bring out his name to punctuate their greed.

3

Mega churches are profiting from a tax free, legal, money making fraudulent enterprise. The pastors are reaping in the profits. None of them practice what they preach. They claim that Jesus preached compassion and sacrifice and helping the poor, they live like kings, and are only in the business of enriching themselves.

You are 100% right and the fact that they can flaunt it and their followers continue to support then boggles my mind.

3

The churches have been preying on the masses for centuries. An example - visit the vatican museum. And don't get me started on the US mega churches, and the like of Osteen. Just a license to steal.

I remember watching the 700 Club on TV one morning. The preacher was wearing an obviously very expensive suit, and actually telling the people to "send in their SSI and Disability checks so they will be blessed ten times over" with financial rewards, send in their rent money he told them, and of course some of these poor desparate folks did just that and ended up homeless and don't get me started on the Bakkers air conditioned dog house!

2

Olsteen and his ilk are snake-oil salesmen. Nothing more.

2

"Delusional lunes" That made me laugh out loud. Joel Olsteen is a dirt bag and so is Oral Roberts, Pat Robertson, The whole Graham family, James Dobson, Jim and Tammy Faye and the list can go on and on. If only there was a way to stop these "delusional lunes"

I have been thinking about that. What about an Atheist CHurch and the funds actually going out to do some real good for the needy.

2

I was also raised this way in the south. Sometimes in the 80's I think, it changed to the idea that you don't have to build wealth in heaven (jewels in your crowns/mansions on high) but that god would bless you financially here on earth. That ostentatious display of wealth that some folk would hide to appear more pious, became a badge of righteousness. The united pentecostal movement seemed to be at the forefront of that movement when I was a teen in the deep South. They drove expensive cars, had lavish homes, the women had their hair done once or twice a week and wore designer outfits. But NO MAKE-UP could be worn and TELEVISION was allowed in their homes. Though they had a vast radio presence everyday.

Candy Level 4 Feb 5, 2018

APparently Tammy Faye missed the memo on no makeup

@misstuffy Actually JB&TF were originally Assembly of God, which while it is a pentecostal based faith, it is not part of what is considered the United Pentecostal Church. (formed later due to some disagreements about the trinity vs 1god)
[en.wikipedia.org]
[en.wikipedia.org]
I don't mean to preach but I was raised in the A/G faith (which has also radically changed in the last 30 years) But I am also a firm believer in "Know thy enemy" so I can use that knowledge against when they try to preach to me. Tee Hee

@Candy Love it! I think what most Christians do not understand about Atheists is that many of us have far more extensice Biblical knowledge than they do and that is why we are Atheists. It certainly is true in my case, so your know thy enemy fits right in with that!

2

Greed, greed, greed.

2

It's what happens when atheists run an xstian church...hehe..easy to fleece if you don't have the faith or scruples...not saying that being atheist means you don't have scruples, but if you are unscrupulous and don't believe, it is easy to take advantage of the fearful. I remember when the 'faithful' thought there was going to be a rapture, and hearing atheists say that they would love to have these people give them all of their worldly belongings since they weren't going to need them anymore. Similar thing. Preying on the praying. See what I did there?

yes but most of these so called Atheists believe on some level. They justify it by saying god told them they deserved to reward themselves but I agree, they are not true CHristians, not by the teachings of the Bible

@misstuffy I would say they don't believe at all. It is part of the con. It's just a legitimate con game. And one of the rules of a con game: don't drink your own koolaid. It's the ultimate con if you have no conscience. It's the same con that the fortune teller's and seance practitioners used to use, but they have the government to back their legitimacy. The way to assuage that guilt is by thinking that they are just charging for a 'white lie' to help them in their day to day life.

@JohnnyThorazine I do agree it is a con. No question you are right about that!

1

Jim Baker From the PTL Club, has been around trying this Prosperty crap for years. Now he has new wife and church is on tv with his kids...its disgusting. Mostly crying about the end days. He was in jail for messing around with his Church's money...same ole schtick...

What happened to Tammy Faye? Divorce? Death?

@misstuffy Rhey divorced when Jim went to jail, she later died of cancer

1

I grew up in a lot of different churches, Baptist, Assembly of God, Mormon, and Pentecostal. All of them have one thing in common. They all worship money. I don't care how small or how large the congregation is, the pastors all want to be very wealthy or they are wealthy. It is a scam. I mean if they are supposed to be like Jesus, they should live humbly, not like the priests of Egypt in biblical times. I just can't bring myself to believe in those fairy tales anymore.

Glad you are intelligent and got out

Glad you are intelligent and got out

1

It is time for a remake of Elmer Gantry. I am amazed Hollywood hasn't yet done at least one. And, why doesn't TV have a reality series like Duck Dynasty but named Preacher Dynasty, complete with lavish spending, fucking in the choir loft, wigs & facelifts for Jesus, and child porn in the Sunday School? And of course, my personal favorite, a rendition of "God's Loophole"

I would watch that one but they probably don't want to encite a riot.

1

I’ve driven by that dude’s pad. He’s such a kook, needs to be removed from his ivory tower.

We need to bring people like him down

1

Just another way to look at this...nobody forces people to follow these bad but very clever so-called men of god. Put some of the blame on the masses of idiots who choose to allow such men to proliferate.

NZVee Level 4 Feb 5, 2018

Unfortunately the masses are buying into the fairy tale, I call it CInderella Syndrome, that they too can marry prince charmings life of prosperity

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