[Discussion] Televangelists

[Multiply]

It's all about the money. Every last bit of it is about money. You go to service and low and behold someone's asking for some money. Always. Then when you don't give 'enough' they give you that weird look... Anyway to the main point of the thread. Look at this cheese. Remember this video?:

Spoiler

[video=youtube;UIobdRNLNek]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIobdRNLNek[/video]

Yeah, Creflo Dollar asking for 65 million dollars for a jet. Now he's claiming that the devil is trying to stop his dreams of getting a 65 million dollar jet. Now he's claiming he never asked anyone for a dime.




This fool... What makes me more sad, is the people in the crowd just clapping and jumping and hollering being excited. This is a joke. This guy is nothing but a thief. The problem is even if he never gets 65 million for his jet, I guarantee he has gotten millions so far. He can pocket all of that because it isn't on any records. That church money is a hell of a drug.

 

[The Dreamer]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

I fail to see how this is related to the title.

 

[RAMENATOR]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

And do you not think politics in the usa is also a joke? Wherever money is to be made, there will always be people to take advantage of something that is otherwise good.

Btw, you haven't made much of a case for yourself even though as a Christian myself, I agree with the basic premise of the thread: a lot of what you see/hear on television from 'televangelists' is a money grab. Tell people what they want to hear, and they will give you money. Same thing with politics among other things.

 

[New knight48]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

People pay for things to make them feel better. Sometimes they pay too much. Religion is just one of those things to make people feel better. I personally feel better seeking truth and not deceiving myself.

 

[BlazeRelease]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

It's also a joke because they cherry pick which "sins" are the bad ones and constantly sin themselves.

You know, divorce, greed, gluttony, lobsters, clams.

But those are all fine.

 

[Joker]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

They ask for money in church to pay their bills, God isn't gonna make money appear out of thin air for being a good worshipper, though you praise a higher being, you're still a slave to material things on Earth, no mater what

 

[Waindo]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

Well, duhh.:|
Vatican is the richest corporation in the world.

 

[The Dreamer]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

Well, duhh.:|
Vatican is the richest corporation in the world.

First of all, it's a country/city.
Second, Vatican doesn't publish its finances and anyone who says they know what goes in and out is lying.
Third, if we're going to guess Vaticans financial state the last glimpse we had was the Vati-leaks scandal wich actually revealed financial struggles. So yeah...

 

[ANiMUS]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

It's also a joke because they cherry pick which "sins" are the bad ones and constantly sin themselves.

You know, divorce, greed, gluttony, lobsters, clams.

But those are all fine.

Actually the last two were only for the Jews. Christians are different :| the Jews killed God's son they don't have his favor anymore. When Christianity started to reach out towards the gentile nations they made it a point to state that Christians were no longer bound by the Mosaic Law :|
They kept a few things though. One being against consumption of blood.

OT: most that profess Christianity nowadays don't even read their bible. They just simply nod their heads at the preacher's word and hand over their money believing that will gain them some sort of salvation.

 

[ZK]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

Actually the last two were only for the Jews. Christians are different :| the Jews killed God's son they don't have his favor anymore. When Christianity started to reach out towards the gentile nations they made it a point to state that Christians were no longer bound by the Mosaic Law :|
They kept a few things though. One being against consumption of blood.

OT: most that profess Christianity nowadays don't even read their bible. They just simply nod their heads at the preacher's word and hand over their money believing that will gain them some sort of salvation.

Throughout history very few people have been able to read and understand the bible. Throughout the Christian world most commoners were illiterate and even if you could read and write your own, local language the bible was rarely translated until after the Reformation. In the Late Antiquity biles could be found in most local tongues, but this custom slowly fell out of favor with the church as Latin came to take the place as the de-facto written language of the clergy.

EDIT: My point is of course that many devout men and women throughout the course of history never read the bible, yet I would dare venture that they were as Christian as anyone else. Knowing every passage from the bible hardly constitutes a good Christian.

 

[Zexion~]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

Lol you love to hate religion.

But yes everything about it is a joke

 

[ANiMUS]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

Throughout history very few people have been able to read and understand the bible. Throughout the Christian world most commoners were illiterate and even if you could read and write your own, local language the bible was rarely translated until after the Reformation. In the Late Antiquity biles could be found in most local tongues, but this custom slowly fell out of favor with the church as Latin came to take the place as the de-facto written language of the clergy.

It is still ridiculous to put your faith in something that u haven't read for yourself. Regardless of if one takes the title of Reverend, Pastor, or Pope, they are all ppl and ppl lie. Back in the times of Reformation the word of the Church was Law and speaking out against it would bring the penalty of torture and death. There are many who risked/ gave their lives to ensure ppl had the ability to read that book for themselves.

If u r set about calling yourself a Christian then you should try to learn more about the god u serve. If there are things that u don't understand then ask those more knowledgeable than u. If their answers don't satisfy u then keep searching.

 

[ZK]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

It is still ridiculous to put your faith in something that u haven't read for yourself. Regardless of if one takes the title of Reverend, Pastor, or Pope, they are all ppl and ppl lie. Back in the times of Reformation the word of the Church was Law and speaking out against it would bring the penalty of torture and death. There are many who risked/ gave their lives to ensure ppl had the ability to read that book for themselves.

It wasn't that you weren't allowed to read the bible, (with the possible exception of some countries where servants weren't allowed to own a bible, I'm not entirely sure) you simply couldn't read it.
People believe in different ways. There's no 'right' way to be Christian. Some people don't believe in the words of the bible. They believe in a Christian God, but not necessarily in the words of your bible. It should be noted that there are many different versions of the bible, plus you've got many branches of Christianity and even more congregations.
Why's it difficult to believe that some people simply, well, believe?

 

[Anorien16]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

I wonder what makes that branch the 'Mainstream Christianity' ... its more the branch of Christianity that makes to the mainstream US news to be laughed at.

 

[Wabbit]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

It's all about the money. Every last bit of it is about money.

What makes me more sad, is the people in the crowd just clapping and jumping and hollering being excited. This is a joke.

That is basically every religious organization
and their followers

Remember there was a news about some people who cut off their dicks because some godman said so.

 

[ANiMUS]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

It wasn't that you weren't allowed to read the bible, (with the possible exception of some countries where servants weren't allowed to own a bible, I'm not entirely sure) you simply couldn't read it.
People believe in different ways. There's no 'right' way to be Christian. Some people don't believe in the words of the bible. They believe in a Christian God, but not necessarily in the words of your bible. It should be noted that there are many different versions of the bible, plus you've got many branches of Christianity and even more congregations.
Why's it difficult to believe that some people simply, well, believe?

Ppl back then could read the bible, but as u stated it was only written in Latin. Latin was a language only used by nobles and the church at that time and the Church back then believed that everything except Latin was a vulgar tongue and that it was a sin to translate the bible into the language of the common ppl.

"just as the body without spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead."

I will just leave it at that. U can't expect someone to think u love them if u never show it.

As for those that have never had a chance to read the bible and still tried to live by it. The Christian God can read hearts and is a God of love. He isn't going to condemn those that didn't have a chance, but for those that have the opportunity their fate is in their own hands.

 

[Cruciatus]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

If you're going to tear apart a religion, I suggest you attack the beliefs of that religion rather than the actions of the Church. The Church is arbitrated by humans and is therefore vulnerable to human error; whereas we assume that unalienable beliefs of that Church body (for example, the Ten Commandments) are designed and enforced by God.

For example: Christianity is bullshit because Jesus says that we should love and accept everybody but yet at other points in the Bible, it is said that homosexuals and prostitutes should be stoned.

Tearing apart the Church makes for a weaker argument, which is not to say that the Church isn't full of hypocrisy as well. Maybe next time you should just say "Why I think the Christian Church is a joke."

 

[The Dreamer]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

If you're going to tear apart a religion, I suggest you attack the beliefs of that religion rather than the actions of the Church. The Church is arbitrated by humans and is therefore vulnerable to human error; whereas we assume that unalienable beliefs of that Church body (for example, the Ten Commandments) are designed and enforced by God.

For example: Christianity is bullshit because Jesus says that we should love and accept everybody but yet at other points in the Bible, it is said that homosexuals and prostitutes should be stoned.

Tearing apart the Church makes for a weaker argument, which is not to say that the Church isn't full of hypocrisy as well. Maybe next time you should just say "Why I think the Christian Church is a joke."

If that's what you see as a good argument, then you're not gonna tear anything besides your credibility.

 

[RAMENATOR]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

I tend to be very picky about which church I attend based on the way things are taught/preached. The main thing being I don't believe something is right or true just because someone stands up and tells me it is. I read the Bible for myself and if what they are preaching about does not match up, then there isn't any point in listening further. I also will listen to the overall message for indicators: are they telling me what they think I want to hear, or if it is lines up with the realities of the world. Many churches/preachers sugarcoat things and try to convince you to be a Christian because "life will become easier and better and all of your problems will go away," or others preach intolerance towards others and take things to the extreme, etc...

What is really ironic is that I am sitting in a mall food court and was just approached by two students about some 'Mother God' stuff that churches are apparently trying to hide. Ironic, eh?

Anyway, I am with the many of you who have reason to take issue with what is commonly portrayed to be Christianity and it annoys me as well. Many belief systems are their own worst enemy. Some of the things are true and some are not (the stereotypes and alleged teachings). Some things are hard truths and some are exaggerated/taken out of context. It is up to each person to choose whether or not they want to believe something or not and will respect and defend that right.

It is very easy to take advantage of these kinds of things. It is why I like the movie 'The Book of Eli' so much. It shows how there are people out there who want to make money off of other people.

 

[Cruciatus]

Re: Why I think mainstream Christianity is a joke.

If that's what you see as a good argument, then you're not gonna tear anything besides your credibility.

I don't. Lol

I was just providing an example that actually deals with matters of faith; i.e. Christianity, as opposed to the Church.

I go to a Catholic school and happen to believe myself that Christ came to abolish the Old Covenant and usher in a new one. That being said, the actions of Jesus are our greatest example of how to act and live our lives. Being loving, accepting, and willing to associate with the downtrodden (since, of course, Jesus dined with Gentiles and touched lepers) is the way to live.