Followers Sue Church After Doomsday Fails To Come

[kpete]

Ex-doomsday followers fight for money back

By Candice Marcus

Updated Wed Jul 7, 2010 1:20pm AEST

One of two civil claims brought against religious group Agape Ministries may be settled out of court, a lawyer has told the Adelaide District Court.

One of the plaintiffs cannot be named because of a temporary suppression order.

That plaintiff and another former church member, Martin Penney, are suing pastor Rocco Leo and two of his associates, Joe Venziano and Mari-Antionette Veneziano.

They want their money back, claiming they handed over more than $400,000 and $1 million respectively to the church based on lies about a doomsday scenario.

more:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/07/2947056.htm?section=justin
http://jonathanturley.org/2010/07/07/followers-sue-church-after-doomsday-fails-to-come/#more-24752

[MadMaddie]

1. Hmmmm

Well uh....not much to really say!

[joeybee12]

2. Hey, I'm still alive! I've been cheated! I demand restitution! n/t

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

29. Pardon my oversight. *BANG*

[Richardo]

38. !!

:rofl:

[Soylent Brice]

45. lol

[Lance_Boyle]

3. Gah, as much as I think these idiots should have to suffer their VOLUNTARY losses,

it's a far worse crime to let the religio-hucksters keep it.

[csziggy]

34. If I were the judge, I'd tell the loser, "too bad!" Then fine the preacher $1.5 million

Don't let the crook get away with it but let stupidity be punished. Maybe turn the money over to a non-religious aid group that will help people.

[JuniperLea]

4. What is it they always say?

There's a fool born every minute... a fool and his money will soon be parted...

Too bad they didn't look to what Jesus actually said about such things... then they would have known "no man knows the day or hour" and it would have saved them a lot of money!

Idiots.

:rofl:

Pardon my schadenfreude!

[Ozymanithrax]

10. If a con man sells you the Brooklyn bridge, or takes your money in three card monty...

he can be sent to jail for fraud.

If a church cons money from you after promising doomsday, that is freedom of religion.

[Fuzz]

19. I should start a cult/church, but my conscience won't allow it.

[Ozymanithrax]

25. The first church of three card Monty has a nice ring to it...n/t

[JuniperLea]

21. Bullshit in the name of God!

It's the American way!

The Church of Juniperism accepts no money:)

[Ozymanithrax]

26. Bullshit...thy name is God n/t

[A HERETIC I AM]

30. Except that this story isn't about a church in America.

It's from Adelaide, South Australia.

Just sayin'.


Still, there is HUGE money to be made in deceiving people in the name of god regardless of country. Just look at Benny Hinn, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, etc. etc.

[lfairban]

33. Sucker!

"There's a sucker born every minute",often erroneously attributed to P. T. Barnum.

[ORDagnabbit]

5. LOL....idiots. n/t

[KeyWester]

6. " respectively to the church based on lies "

As far as I am concerned, all people who give money to the church do so based on lies. The church promotes lies as fact.

[johnnie]

7. Ha!

[walldude]

8. ....

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[malaise]

9. Bwaaaaaaaaaah hahahahahahahahahha

That's the only reason snake oil salesmen tell them about doomsday - to rob the sheeple.

Grow the fuck up. The only doomsday they'll face is ReTHUG rule.

[valerief]

11. Churches are no different than governments. They can lie as much as they want.

Who's gonna stop them? Their own military (available to both church and state)? Bwahahahaha!

[Blue Owl]

12. cue the muted trumpet

waaa waaaah WAAAAAHHHH....

[Oregone]

13. Why doesn' anyone give me that kind of dough?

I wont tell you the world is going to end...if it was, I wouldn't need it. Id make my life and the life of others better in an egalitarian manner.

Seems like you either got to promise people the moon and stars, or the destruction of both, to liberate them from their dough. Good ol fashion common sense doesn't work anymore

[JuniperLea]

22. Pst... hey buddy... come over here...

Give me $5000 so I can get my five million, and I'll split it with you! Here, I'll even let you hold my priceless emerald until I give you the 2.5 mil!

They call it The Fregosi Emerald;)

[LargeGreenSpider]

24. The Fregosi Emerald!!!

LOL. I got that.

[JuniperLea]

27. Heh...

;)

[Generic Other]

41. If I wear that thing do I get to go to Detroit?

LOL

[Kalyke]

44. Heh...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUftpgCf8yE

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. Ok in the 17th century I get it

but in the 21st, Jesus Age... what is wrong with people?

Just rhetorical...

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

15. It's no use suing God because he's always broke. Pass the basket.

[dem mba]

16. how could a court ever allow the plaintiffs to win?

then every church and temple in the world would be ripe for a lawsuit. sorry, you gave the money of your own free will. suckah.

[NNN0LHI]

17. They should have purchased rapture insurance. Its kind of like travel insurance

No rapture and you get your money back.

Don

[struggle4progress]

46. Rapture Insurance FAQ

What is rapture insurance?

Rapture insurance is a unique insurance product that protects your investments in rapture-related ministeries, in the unfortunate event that you are not raptured on or before the promised

That must be expensive. How much does rapture insurance cost?

Rapture insurance is surprisingly affordable. For as little as $100, you can buy insurance that will replace up to $50 of your qualifying donations to a rapture-related ministeries. If you need more insurance, simply buy more. For example, if you need $500 worth of your donations insured, simply purchase $500 worth of insurance for the low low price of $1000

But what if I am raptured? Won't I lose my money?

Remember: you are buying rapture insurance because you are afraid you will not be raptured. Our company is actually betting that you will be raptured: if you are raptured, we make money because we won't have to pay your insurance claim. So we are rooting for you! Wouldn't it be nice to have the peace of mind that comes from knowing our reputable company is on your side?

Well, that makes sense. But what happens to me if you are raptured and I am not?

All our standard policies come with an automatic rider covering this case. In the unlikely case that you are unable to collect from us because we have been raptured and you have not, we will pay you $75 for every $50 worth of insurance you buy. So if the rapture date passes, and nobody answers our phones, and our office seems eerily abandoned, you can still feel confident, knowing that you will receive an extra large payoff

[Bozita]

18. That suit could harm my new business, "Jesus Forgives But Your Relatives Won't Inc."

Most folks seem to be interested in our Rapture Special.

For a one time fee of $149.95, my organization will enter your home within 12 hours of the Rapture and erase all of those porn images and videos from your hard drive.

[HughBeaumont]

20. Why do the names sound like something out of "Tony n' Tina's Wedding"?

GAWD . . . is won HAIL of a drug.

[alcibiades_mystery]

28. ROFL

Who would give money to somebody named Mari-Antoinette Veneziano.

Sound like a bunch of fuckin' doo-tah-doos.

[Sebastian Doyle]

47. Too bad the Sopranos aren't still on the air

This sounds like a much better mob front business than garbage trucks.

[gaspee]

23. LOL!

hahahahahahahahahahahahah!

[LiberalFighter]

31. Did they ask themselves what the pastor and his associates were going to do with the money?

Considering that they were going to be raptured too?

And if money was going to be needed after the rapture why give it to them when they would need it to pay the guy at the pearly gate? If the pastor and his associates got to the pearly gate first would they make sure to leave their entrance fee so they could get in? Or was the entrance fee all the money they collected from everyone only enough for the pastor and his 2 associates?

[niyad]

32. the problem is, you are asking logical questions. .

[LiberalFighter]

40. It's a major fault of mine. I need to work on it more.

[brooklynite]

43. But they need money NOW!!!

Time's a wasting! The World's going to end! We need money to SPREAD THE WARNING! (minus administrative expenses...)

[JoeyT]

35. They gave him 1.4 million dollars?

And he still couldn't afford some Flavor Aid and cyanide? Cheap bastard.

[old mark]

36. This happened at the end of the 19th century, too - The US seems to breed

"religious" groups who believe in strange things ; The last century spawned the Jehovah's Witnesses, who believed that jesus had "invisibly" returned in the 1870's and that the world would end in 1914...they later changed their minds and the group continues today. Link:

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0881835.html


Several other religions came out of this movement over 100 years ago - people sold everything and waited in the "wilderness" for the coming of god....He never showed up.


Funny that the church would need money if the world was ending, though...could be these folks wer not thinking too clearly?

mark

[Blue_Tires]

37. DAMN... not even a decade later, have people forgotten the Y2K lesson?

[pipi_k]

39. Still, I give them points for...

not falling for the, "OK it didn't happen this time, but it will definitely happen on insert random date here!" bullshit.


Or maybe they will fall for it again, who knows.


Only human beings can be this stupid...

[Kalyke]

42. It doesn't say when the alleged Doomsday was to supposed to have been.

I think that's integral to the story, myself.

:)