[jariel]

Quote:

1. Kenneth Copeland
2. Creflo Dollar
3. John Hagee
4. Charles E. Blake
5. Benny Hinn
6. Joel Osteen
7. Eddie Long
8. Ed Young
9. Franklin Graham
10. Rick Warren


"Hallelujah, I just moved into a $10.5 million mansion."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/19...d%3D128787

[Deluge]

That guy looks like he is shitting razorblades.

[Jackhammer]

I've seen Osteen on Sunday morning TV speaking to like an entire stadium of people. Dude must be raking in some ridiculous cash. I'd be a Jesus nut too if that was my case

[ColSpanker]

Benny Hinn blows on people and they start convulsing. There's plenty of women out there who can do the same thing, so I don't understand why he makes the big $$$.

[ColSpanker]

Whatever happened to Rev. Ike?

[el mechanico]

This dude is right in my back yard. I mean walk through the woods and I'm there. I heard him on TV one day saying that he need atleast 100 people to drop large sums of cash in his donation box on sunday. Interesting to watch though.
http://www.lesliehale.com/

[Vitriol]

It's amazing that people still give money to Televangelists considering how there's been so much information over the past couple of decades about how they're just ripping people off. Seems like they're probably doing better than ever.

SEND... ME... YOUR... MON-EEYYY!!!

[Screwston]

I've seen Joel Osteen in action. That church is fucking huge...I think it's the biggest in the country. I'm not even religious but its a crazy experience.

[Cincinnatus]

I'm currently setting up multiple online storefronts pushing religious products, especially targeting women as customers. Religion is such a huge fucking industry.

To counter the Jesus pimps, my favorite atheist commentator: http://www.youtube.com/patcondell

Brilliant, he is.

[Giovonny]

These guys understand the psychology of Game. It works on sluts as well as betas, followers, and those searching for a higher power.

-Present yourself as special and superior
-Dress well
-Speak well
-Claim to have knowledge that no one else has
-Speak to people as though they are lacking something and need you to fulfill it
-Believe that you choosen to lead the "sheep"

If you do this well, people will give you their money, bodies, and mind.

These church followers go to work everyday and give a % of their money to these preachers. Why? Because the preachers promise them that they will inherit the world.

Sounds like a Pimp-Ho relationship to me.

[speakeasy]

Interesting thread. In the last few months I've been thinking heavily about about religion, life, death, science, atheism and all this related stuff. I went to visit my family during Christmas. My parents have started becoming heavily religious as of late. I guess that happens to many people as they age and realize they have fewer years ahead of them then behind them. They asked me to go to Christmas service with them at this new church they love. Even though I'm not religious, I went for the heck of it. I figured why not? After all, when I was in Bangkok I got invited to Buddhist ceremonies and went for the life experience, so visiting my parent's church was done in the same light. Just curiosity to see what goes on in there. My parents also watch a lot of that televangelism stuff on TBN. I don't care to listen or watch it, but sometimes I did just for curiosity as well.

The first thing that strikes me about these churches and why they are so successful is that they are a form of entertainment for a lot of people. The pastors at my parent's church were actually pretty damn funny. They were preaching the word, but also telling a lot of funny personal stories that would have the congregation cracking up. Those southern black preachers with their flamboyant histrionics can really be entertaining guys, like even if you're not religious, they say a lot of really funny shit. Sometimes you can feel like you're watching Kat Williams on stage but with a religious twist. Remember that televangelist Reverend Price that used to come on TV? He would sometimes bag on people in the audience and it was funny as hell. There is also a lot of music in these churches. They'll have Gospel, Blues, Christian rock bands and all kinds of stuff. It gets people excited and has them dancing and all. So one can't underestimate the modern church's ability to be good form of entertainment for a lot of people. Even I was entertained and I'm an agnostic.

Another thing that I observe is that these churches can not only be entertaining but it has a huge motivational speaking component to it. Guys like Joel Osteen are more than just preachers delivering the word of God, they are also great motivationalists, right up there with the likes of Tony Robbins. They make people walk out of there feeling energized and alive. I even felt that effect on me when I left the Christmas service. Even just being surrounded by so many people who seem high on life after service can have a mood altering effect on you. Now imagine that effect being in Osteen's church which is the biggest mega-church in the country with like 40,000 members and you can see how he has become this rockstar-like preacher. Those pastors on the list may make a lot of money, but so does Tony Robbins and Chris Rock for what they provide, so I don't begrudge them for that. Gone are the days where church made you feel guilty, where you are supposed to get on your knees and beg for God's forgiveness for all the shitty things you've done in your life that would send you to hell. These mega-churches stay away from that sort of message and focus mainly on positivity and motivation. They will not say anything that makes people feel guilty. I saw Osteen being grilled about homosexuality and gay marriage on CNN. He really shied away from condemning it and danced around the question saying that he has gay congregation members that he accepts and what people do is their personal choice. Hmm...well the Bible is pretty clear on homosexuality. I guess guilt has been left up to the Catholic church.

Another thing that keeps people there is the social component. If you go to a huge church and you're single, it's pretty easy to meet a girl. Or if you're an aging couple(like my parents) and you want to make friends with like-minded people, it's a place to find that. Since America is so lacking in any feeling of community these days, churches provide that for people. You can walk in there and hold hands with strangers while singing out loud and beaming with happiness. How many places can people get that sense of camaraderie?

So I think the religious factor of church is only one part of why people go. For some the religion itself may not even be much of a factor at all. I recall reading a story about an Orthodox Jew who was an atheist yet still carried out all the practices. He didn't take the idea of God seriously but that wasn't why he was going to synagogue and following traditions. He was doing it for cultural reasons and the sense of community and tradition.

All in all, it felt kinda weird being in a church service. The only times in my life I've even been to church I can recall is for weddings and baptism services for the kids of some of my Catholic friends. For me it was just a new experience and I went in there with an open-mind and tried to dial down my cynicism for a few hours. I did walk away with something useful. I thought the pastor's soliloquy on learning to forgive was excellent.

[Mr.GM]

(01-23-2012 12:25 PM)Giovonny Wrote:  

These guys understand the psychology of Game. It works on sluts as well as betas, followers, and those searching for a higher power.

-Present yourself as special and superior
-Dress well
-Speak well
-Claim to have knowledge that no one else has
-Speak to people as though they are lacking something and need you to fulfill it
-Believe that you choosen to lead the "sheep"

If you do this well, people will give you their money, bodies, and mind.

These church followers go to work everyday and give a % of their money to these preachers. Why? Because the preachers promise them that they will inherit the world.

Sounds like a Pimp-Ho relationship to me.

*We have tons of those Rich neo-pentecostal jesus pimps here in BR as well..

[WanderingSoul]

Tellin me that no one in his congregation could use a helping hand? Seems like he could have bought a one million dollar home and then used the other nine to help.out a whole lot of people that have been donating ten percent of their menial checks to him each month. Fuckin piece of shit con artist if you ask me.

[xmlenigma]

[jariel]

(01-23-2012 05:48 PM)RioNomad Wrote:  

Fuckin piece of shit con artist if you ask me.

I'm trying to remember when the church was not a business full of con-artists.

Today, church in America is real big business -- in fact what American institution isn't? It's full of people who live in sin and think that a couple hours in church a week absolves them of it all. Furthermore, they actually believe they need another mortal, the pastor, to speak to God for them and tell them that the way they live thier lives is in accordance with his will, and make him rich to do so.

Christianity, the concept of it, was stolen from the ancient Egyptians i.e. the 10 Ten Commandments are taken from the 42 Negative Confessions, then used to build up white nationalism and further white supremacy against African slaves -- who were only allowed to read the bible -- who ultimately came to believe in the whole fairy-tale since it stood to reason that if God or Jesus didn't look like them, given that he's the supreme being, the supreme beings are the ones that do -- I don't think the KJV has it, but pretty sure the Book of Mormon and other bibles still even teach the Curse of Ham.

To all the Black Catholics out there, Pope Martin V started the slave trade -- via Spain and Portugal, not Africa -- so I guess have fun at mass this weekend.

At the end of the day, I'm not mad at these pastors for getting rich, because the church is full of suckers who deserve to lose their money, given the hypocrisy that serves as the backbone of their mundane lives while they purport to be God-fearing people -- i.e. racists, hoes, etc. -- or suckers who have never taken the time question anything and have just swallowed the bullshit whole, no chaser.

[Tayo]

Joel Osteen goofed on Monday 28th August, 2017 when he lied that his church was flooded just so that he would not open his church as a shelter for flood victims. Different people went down to his church and took videos and pictures show that he was just lying.

[The Beast1]

I don't care for Osteen nor his "good things come from good works" style of preaching. That's not what Christ's message was about.

However, if he doesn't want a bunch of displaced ghetto folks romping around his church that's his business. This bullshit of forcing Christians to do shit because they're Christian means nothing.

The equivalent is housing homeless bums in your own home during a bad storm. You're a good person for doing so, but I shouldn't have the expectation tossed onto me.

[Sherman]

I grew up protestant and believe it is a deeply flawed belief system and a big business. Con artist like Benny Hinn are basically atheists because they could not believe in a god when they are intentionally creating fraudulent miracles to make money. And John Hagee makes me nauseous with his Israel worship. Islam doesn't seem to have these type of hucksters.

[Cr33pin]

[Tayo]

Since his church is tax-exempt it is only fair he gives back.

(08-30-2017 09:40 AM)The Beast1 Wrote:  

I don't care for Osteen nor his "good things come from good works" style of preaching. That's not what Christ's message was about.

However, if he doesn't want a bunch of displaced ghetto folks romping around his church that's his business. This bullshit of forcing Christians to do shit because they're Christian means nothing.

The equivalent is housing homeless bums in your own home during a bad storm. You're a good person for doing so, but I shouldn't have the expectation tossed onto me.

[Tayo]

The guys has been receiving a lot of backlash and insults on twitter since Monday.

(08-30-2017 10:08 AM)Cr33pin Wrote:  

[Laska]

Any church whose clergy gets paid is going to sell you on the religion with money in mind. There are individual exceptions, but still. It's less in the Orthodox church, because they get paid less, but there was still extra theatricality in the priest, especially to the sermons.

[Samseau]

(08-30-2017 09:40 AM)The Beast1 Wrote:  

I don't care for Osteen nor his "good things come from good works" style of preaching. That's not what Christ's message was about.

However, if he doesn't want a bunch of displaced ghetto folks romping around his church that's his business. This bullshit of forcing Christians to do shit because they're Christian means nothing.

The equivalent is housing homeless bums in your own home during a bad storm. You're a good person for doing so, but I shouldn't have the expectation tossed onto me.

I don't think so, hypocrisy is a major sin. A church leader should be blameless and serve as an exemplar to all.

Not opening your doors to the poor and needy during a time of extreme crisis? Are you kidding me?

I know my Priest, who doesn't have .01% the wealth Joel has, would throw open his Church doors immediately in the event of a natural disaster with very little concern about anything being damaged or stolen by those seeking shelter.

My Priest gives zero fucks about money, and I would never trust anyone claiming to be a man of God who says or does otherwise.

Money is the #1 sin of the Bible, there isn't even a close second. Things like promiscuity, whoring, homosexuality, drug use, and anger are all far less concerning as far as loving your Neighbor go.

The fact that Joel was more concerned with keeping his property in good condition instead of finding ways to help his Neighbors speaks volumes over his supposed faith, and I would be very surprised to see his Church not suffer a massive drop in attendance.

[Number one bummer]

Well I'm glad the left found their punching bag for the disaster and it isn't solely Trump or his wife. I find it amusing that the left freaked out about his postings calling for prayers. The secular left is famous for their "#prayers" for whatever group of people is killed by muslims terrorists that is week. The left view prayer as a way to virtue signal while doing nothing about the issue. They are simply projecting their own beliefs on this guy, they believe prayer is reserved for virtue signaling and #notallgoatfuckers. The secular left thinks they have Christianity figured out and that it should play into their narrative when they see fit. They love to be the gatekeepers of what "good" christian beliefs are.

If you support letting in goatfuckers and abortion you are a good christian for being non-judgmental or some shit. If you vote against pro-abortion candidates and want western civilization to survive they point out that you aren't a real Christian and racist.

[Tayo]

Since his church gets benefits by being tax-exempt, he would have even used this opportunity to get more members/followers to his church. Eventually he has allowed people to seek shelter in his church.

(08-30-2017 10:44 AM)Samseau Wrote:  

(08-30-2017 09:40 AM)The Beast1 Wrote:  

I don't care for Osteen nor his "good things come from good works" style of preaching. That's not what Christ's message was about.

However, if he doesn't want a bunch of displaced ghetto folks romping around his church that's his business. This bullshit of forcing Christians to do shit because they're Christian means nothing.

The equivalent is housing homeless bums in your own home during a bad storm. You're a good person for doing so, but I shouldn't have the expectation tossed onto me.

I don't think so, hypocrisy is a major sin. A church leader should be blameless and serve as an exemplar to all.

Not opening your doors to the poor and needy during a time of extreme crisis? Are you kidding me?

I know my Priest, who doesn't have .01% the wealth Joel has, would throw open his Church doors immediately in the event of a natural disaster with very little concern about anything being damaged or stolen by those seeking shelter.

My Priest gives zero fucks about money, and I would never trust anyone claiming to be a man of God who says or does otherwise.

Money is the #1 sin of the Bible, there isn't even a close second. Things like promiscuity, whoring, homosexuality, drug use, and anger are all far less concerning as far as loving your Neighbor go.

The fact that Joel was more concerned with keeping his property in good condition instead of finding ways to help his Neighbors speaks volumes over his supposed faith, and I would be very surprised to see his Church not suffer a massive drop in attendance.