FINALLY, "popular pastor" & ASS-clown Creflo Dollar gets called on his "Gospel of bling" horseshit.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Televangelist spreads the 'Gospel of Bling,' lands himself in hot water

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Nightline_The_Gospel_of_bling_0118.html



One of the country's most popular pastors is preaching a gospel controversial to many in the religious community. He says Jesus was not poor and he wants Christians to be wealthy, too. Call it the Gospel of Bling.

The man's name is Creflo Dollar, and according to ABC's Nightline, he "sits atop a religious empire." He has a church with a congregation of nearly 40,000 members and offices on six continents, he's published over 70 books, and his daily television show reaches a billion households worldwide. And in many ways, the church has grown with the message that God does not want people to be poor.

"Well, you have to really talk to people who read the Bible," he says. "We've made financial prosperity like it's a wicked thing. We automatically assume that Jesus was poor."

"So you're saying Jesus was rich?" questions reporter Dan Harris. "I say pick the Bible up and read it for yourself," he responds later in the piece. "And as you begin to read it, you'll go through the entire Bible and find out that Abraham, the Bible says, was rich. Isaac and Jacob was rich. Joseph was rich. Solomon was one of the richest people in the world. These were all servants of God. Well, why in the world would God allow his son to come and not be at least to the level of those servants?"

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. Rules for avoiding religious charlatans:

1. If the minister has multiple luxury cars and dresses like a Las Vegas lounge singer, he's a creep for sure.

2. If the minister has not gone to an accredited seminary, you don't know where he got his ideas. In the case of Creflo Dollar, his ideas are definitely not from the Bible.

3. If the church brags about being "non-denominational," that means no one's looking over the minister's shoulder and there's no one to appeal to if he's up to no good. "Non-denominational" almost always means "slick, show-bizzy evangelicals or fundamentalists who appeal to the religiously ignorant."

4. If the minister and his family control everything completely, that means you have no idea what they're doing with the contributions. Legitimate churches are run by volunteer boards elected from among the members, who monitor the finances and can hire and fire clergy.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

2. "Reverend Ike"...

...when I first moved to California, I used to enjoy watching "Reverend Ike."

He was ALL about money. That was it. 100% about the long green. PERIOD.

[Fire Walk With Me]

3. Did his ideas help you?

[Amerigo Vespucci]

4. I had an interesting conversation with a fellow Christian the other day...

...in which I expressed my disdain for the whole "name it and claim it" school of "Christian" assholes.

Here's what I believe.

I believe that the more you give, the more you get.

The more you give of YOURSELF, the higher the QUALITY of what you receive in return.

Reverend Ike was a frikkin' CLOWN.

He preceded Jim & Tammy Faye (God rest her deluded soul), but he was all about MONEY.

SHIT, I love money TOO, and I love the things I can get when I HAVE money, but I also love looking in the mirror and accepting the man that I am.

THAT...my friend...is my final word on Reverend Ike.

:patriot:

[Fire Walk With Me]

5. Well-said!

[Lethe]

11. Rev Ike is a trip

I used to watch him in college sometimes. He was so hilarious, it was like a joke, except he was serious....

He used to say "you got to loose yo money!"

and he would tell his views to send him cash, because "to get something you gotta give something first."

[hippywife]

8. I agree with your list

except maybe number 3. I used to belong to a non-denom and there was total plurality in leadership and accountability on all levels. The leadership was also ultimately accountable to the congregation.

That being said, this man is full of something and it ain't the spirit. :hi:

[DarkTirade]

9. That may be common for nondenomniational churches...

but I went to one that was pretty damn good when I was younger. In some cases it means they're just trying to get away from the bullshit regulations that are involved in being an organization rather than just a church. :)

So there are exceptions there.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. That may have been true when you were younger, but I think that the

infusion of right-wing politics has made it a whole different ball game.

It's in the right wing's interest to have people believe that their economic suffering is due to their not praying hard enough.

[DarkTirade]

14. Well, I do know that the church I mentioned not only still stands

but in addition, the pastor stood up and told the religious right to get the hell out of politics recently. :)

Maybe that church was the one exception, but maybe it's one of many. I hope the latter is correct.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

16. Good for your pastor!

Are you in Minnesota, by any chance?

[DarkTirade]

17. Nope.

This church was in Florida.

[Mizmoon]

6. It is easier for a camel to pass thru the eye of a needle ...

than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. The way to guarantee entry into heaven is to take all you own, sell it, and give the money to the poor. Oh yeah, and give Cesar that which belongs to him and give God that which belongs to God.

Creflo gives Christianity a bad name. My parish priest, who labors for the poor without fanfare, lives the true Word.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

7. "Creflo gives Christianity a bad name"...

...he most certainly DOES, and I've sat silent for years while he's done his "bling dance."

:patriot:

[Mad_Dem_X]

20. Bingo

I'm no Biblical scholar, but even I know that the Bible states, in several places, that accumulating material wealth is not the way to get into Heaven.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

10. Yep, so rich his family had reservations at the Four Seasons in Bethlehem

:eyes:

[Initech]

12. Allow me to quote the Rev. Tim Lovejoy of The Simpsons:

"This new religious cult is nothing more than a pack rituals and chants designed to take away the money of fools. Now let's say the Lord's Prayer 40 times but first let's pass the collection plate!"

That applies to this guy.

[lightningandsnow]

15. Isn't it ironic that his last name is "Dollar"?

[theredpen]

23. It sounds like a SubGenius name

Like "Pope Sternodox" or "Pastor Buck Naked" or "Trixster X. Shaman"

[Manifestor_of_Light]

18. Good article in a recent New Yorker about an evangelist buster.

It was a long Profile.

The guy's name is Ole Anthony and he has the Trinity Foundation, he's near Dallas and sends in undercover folks with video cameras to show what scams Oral Roberts, Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar, etc. are.

[progressoid]

19. I'm still a fan of Robert Tilton

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpNNADzzuz8

[ghostsofgiants]

21. Have you not read Max Weber's "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism"?

This guy is hardly the first person to suggest that being a good Christian means being as prosperous as you can.

[yellowdogintexas]

22. do you suppose he is Lee Mercer Jr's spiritual advisor?

at least he hasn't ordained himself a bishop like that Jakes guy over in Dallas.