As a believer I am deeply offended

[Thats my opinion]

by the prosperity gospel. In this morning's the LA there is an article about a legal battle inside the Trinity Broadcasting Network. The founders--the Crouches--continually beg for money which gullible people send in by the millions----mulch of which Crouch and his wife take for themselves. They buy a $100,000 van for their dogs, luxurious houses all over the country and much more. It is a blaspheme and a scandal. I wish the law could get them.
My temperature goes up a mile about this sort of thing---which is not limited to TBN.
It makes what many others of us do that much more difficult.


Accuse me of the NTS perspective--and I will plead guilty as charged. Religious fraud is still fraud, and is disgusting..

[PoliticAverse]

1. It's sad. but the gullible and their money are frequently parted.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,956551,00.html

[longship]

2. As an atheist I would proudly stand with you

Nt

[immoderate]

3. What religion is not fraud?

You want people believing only certain ridiculous things? How do you choose?


--imm

[AlbertCat]

5. I repeat

What religion is not fraud?

[obxhead]

10. +1

give and act in a certain way and we "promise" you'll be rewarded after you die.

The fact that they've kept the scheme going for over 2000 years makes it the best ever created.

[Thats my opinion]

11. Plenty!

Too bad you are so bigoted you can't see it.

[immoderate]

14. Don't be silly!

I'm open to being enlightened by the true religion. You got it? Share the wisdom.


--imm

[Humanist_Activist]

19. Recognizing fraud as fraud isn't bigotry...

the saddest part is actually the perpetrators and victims of that fraud are the same people.

[Goblinmonger]

4. And the pope doesn't piss you off?

He's wearing Prada and sitting on probably billions of assets.

I like your outrage and owning the NTS, but let's not just stop at those whose theology we dislike.

[wandy]

7. Hay just had to pick up on you're tag line.

Intel inside my butt. AMD Phenom 970. Bet it's gonna kick Intel butt. No it aint built yet but I've been into
AMD since 5X86. Not to mention that I used Advanced Micero Devices to build an ASIC for a project I was working on.
I could be wrong.
I'll let you know.
Wandy

[edhopper]

16. Two words

Ivy Bridge

[wandy]

6. As a former cathloic I'm going to ask you to do something....

Look around you. See the magic. Their is no need for a preist on high to tell you the world is a wonderfull place.
If their was a grand plan it was just the math. The basic rules by which all thingts must work.
You and you alone controle destiney.
Will you turn you're back on a hungry child?
Will you adopt a kitten?
Show you're love for me as you serve you're fellow man.
Don't look to the gospel. Look to you're self.
Wandy

[Leontius]

8. Show your love for me as you serve your fellow man, beautiful and true

but isn't that mentioned in the teaching of Christ several times in several different ways. I'm not disagreeing with your statements just pointing a great teacher agreed with some of what you say and taught that as a way of living.

[wandy]

9. It dosn't matter my greatness. It doesn't matter what hight's I've reached. What car I drive...

how powerfull my sterio is. If I've done nothing for those around me.
No matter how little.

Then my life was waisted.

[Thats my opinion]

12. And that, wandy, is the very heart and substance of the Christian message.

Religion is not the only path to that conclusion--but it is an authentic path.

[LeftishBrit]

13. I'm offended by it too!

I'm not a believer, but I hate con artists, and I hate people who worship Mammon.

[LARED]

15. Summed up nicely here.

Last edited Sat Mar 24, 2012, 03:58 PM - Edit history (1)

Mat 6:24 "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

17. If there's anything Jesus is consistent about, it's

condemning the greedy.

[Adsos Letter]

18. ...and the hypocritical. n/t

[onager]

20. This is not exactly Late Breaking News in theology

I saw this a lot when I was a kid - a LONG time ago - in the Deep South: my white relatives and neighbors would joke about our gullible black neighbors writing checks to obvious hucksters like Father Divine and Sweet Daddy Grace (famous black preachers of the time).

Usually at the same time they were writing their own checks to Oral Roberts, Billy James Hargis, or the Protestant Pope, Billy Graham.