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This is hardly surprising. Or anywhere near new. A religion designed to encourage poor people to give more than they can afford and endure all sorts of privations in expectation of an eternity of happiness will always get used by people with no scruples to enhance their worldly power and wealth.

And of course, the government has no problem with helping out with the amassing of such obscene wealth. After all, it's the religion that keeps the masses more docile than any other method ever known.

My belief is that people such as the Copeland's, Hinn's, Dollar's, et al have NO ethics whatsoever. These people are no better than anyone who contributes, etc. to live in modest or below modest means!

To live in such extravagance while those who fund them is hypocrisy at its epitome! Yet, I know that those who give freely have their reward. I must always remember that in the end, God will judge people such as those mentioned in the first paragraph. I do not want to have to be those people when answering for their behavior.

Shalom

a believer need not live to this extent of extravagance to be considered overboard (imo).
scripture says this..................... "But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels [of compassion] from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."
one need not have jet's, condos and large bank accounts to have this worlds goods - we are encouraged to help those who are needy, to share whatever we have and to let our LIVES be our testamony to our faith not our WORDS.
i agree /darryl in that God gets the final say and He alone truly understands the intent of mans heart.

"A religion designed" eric said........ maybe your are right to some extent - some have perverted the truth for personal gain. scripture says this......... "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep himself unspotted from the world." to me the key to that scripture is "keep himself unspotted from the world." this is the task set before those who are believers.

Buz said:

"A religion designed" eric said........ maybe your are right to some extent - some have perverted the truth for personal gain.

More than a few, mon. Think of the problems the Catholic Church developed that resulted in the Protestant movement. It wasn't just theological disagreements, you know. {;-)

eric,
i am in complete agreement with your post.

"Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

scriptures tells us that many people (even today) that we believe are doing "Gods work" will be told in essence that apparently their motives were incorrect and their works were for nought. i have to remind myself daily that being Christian is NOT who i SAY i am but rather How i live my life in the presence of God. integrity is always doing the right thing, even when no one is observing - and doing it all for Gods glory. can't say i've achieved that goal yet, but i daily work on it.

I believe they espouse false teaching most of the time. I think it's a shame their audience doesn't understand the Bible well enough to see their false teaching and enable them by sending money to them.

Don't a fair number of the congregations of these preachers admire the success of their pastors, and seek to emulate them?

fN,
i must agree with you. too many churches gauge their success on how 'many' people walk thru its doors on sunday morning.
i would challenge the congregants of these megachurches whose preachers (their word not mine) are multimillionaires and have the fancy cars, jets and homes to stop their offering to the church for one year and instead find a family in their community with needs greater than theirs and each week give them the offering. if 25,000 parishoners were to do this for one year - do we think there would be a change in their communities? - would we think that those being helped by Christians would see the gospel being lived out? yes this would require getting off your pews and actually going into the community and seeking those who are in need.....hmmmmmm.....just thought of something - that is exactly what Jesus did, imagine that !
which is easier...sacrifice....or.....obedience ? it is too easy to 'sacrifice' an offering to our church and then expect 'them' to find a means of distributing it out to the community.......now obedience (to Gods word) would require 'us' to go into our communities and spread the good news and help our neighbors. that's what Jesus would do............and this applies (especially) to me as well.

As I said, elsewhere, God's judgments on these false prophets and chasers after filthy lucre are imminent. You are also right Eric, the beef of the Protestants was not merely theological (although everything is ultimately theological) but had to do the with the ripe results of the sin nature gone wild under the guise of religion. These media charlatans of today are just the modern equivalent of the corrupt kings of the OT, and the Byzantine opulence and Romanist corruptions of the NT erra. God has judged, and will judge them all - just as He also judges the sinful corruptions and excesses of the secular world - which are legion!! The shame is greater for Israel and the Chruch because they should know better - which just shows the power of sin - and the necessity of the Cross, if man is to be extricated from the wretched effects of sin.

One must also remember the MANY Christians who have denied worldly fame and fortune, and serve without notice and reward (in this life) daily, across the globe. "True religion and undefiled" is still alive - but will never get the press that the exceptions will. As I said, it is God who is exposing these things, not (as it would appear) the secualr enemies of Christ.

It must also be remembered that exposees of Gurus and sercualist scam artists are also legion in our very sinful world. But the rumors fly more freely if the preacher gets drunk on Saturday night than if the brewery owner does. Understandable.