Well...

NKY evangelist's trial exposes lavish lifestyle: Man accused of keeping hundreds of thousands of dollars


An INTERNET evangelist?!? We're all in the wrong business...

Mind you, it wouldn't be surprising for anyone claiming that the economic structure of the world will soon collapse to be carrying gold and jewels. That's assuming that gold and jewels will be worth anything then. Much better to stockpile canned goods and clean water. And guns to protect it all. And... oops! I'm beginning to sound like a survivalist. No, don't stockpile anything! If we're going down the tube lets make Mama Earth happy and all go together. Give her a chance to get over us, recover, and start afresh...

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None of this

is proving to be very surprising.

Corapi: I won't leave Montana to live with order

Some of the comments are interesting, and slightly more than just the usual 'attack, defend' posts you see.

I think the thing that I always found a bit disconcerting was his lifestyle. I always wondered about his vow of poverty, in the context of his religious order...

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Please, no!

Evangelist produces ‘Real Housewives of the Bible’ DVD

*Sigh*

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Conduct for evangelism

Top Evangelical, Catholic, and Mainline Bodies Issue Evangelism Rules

"Missiologists applaud unity effort, but note what's missing and what will raise eyebrows."

And all of this will affect the rank-and-file church member in what way?

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I hope

that in this new church he really practices what people appear to have given him after his hypocracy and fall from 'grace'...

Ted Haggard to Pastor New Church in Colorado

That would be forgiveness, understanding and acceptance. He speaks about that. It appears that he's had a conversion. If true, perhaps he could become a Franciscan? (Sorry. Joke. Catholic first, then Franciscan...)

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He's certainly raised a ruckus...

Evangelist Slams Priest for 'Pulpit Betrayal'

Taking a moment to be judgemental, I'd have to say that this evangelist has beaten me to the judgemental position...

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A further word

on David Wilkerson's prophecy...

What You Need to Know about David Wilkerson's 'Urgent Message'

The Catholic Church would say that even if it was tested and discerned, it's still a private revelation and no one needs to pay any attention to it. There have been man prophets foretelling the soon-to-occur end of the earth and it's still here. That might suggest something to you...

These things happen

but you shouldn't be preaching one thing and doing another. At least that's what I understand...

Todd Bentley marries woman whom he had extramarital affair with

And he wants the courts

to give him back his gun and badge?

NYPD being sued by cop who saw demon and wants his gun back

Oh, my!

Oh-oh...

Does this mean he's going to run for political office?


Dobson resigns as Focus on the Family chair

I wouldn't be surprised. There's great worry in the Religious Right camps about their loss of influence...

Doesn't it make you wonder

how much of these huge empires are really needed and how much of them are simply testaments to a preacher's grand designs?


Family spat divides televangelism empire

"‘Hour of Power’ church struggling due to recession, change in leadership "

How much of this huge infrastructure is needed to worship, how much is needed to pray, and how much of it is really used to try to spread the Gospel rather than reach the already converted for their donations and to attract other people already converted but worshiping somewhere else?

Just think...

they've got their own wacky neighbour (and a truly odd duck he is, too!)


Why Benny Hinn Became Our Wacky Neighbor

If you want to learn more, get the book The Confusing World of Benny Hinn. I did, and it's an eye-opener!

Cool, hip,

preaching to guys (or would that be 'dudes'?)...


Who Would Jesus Smack Down?

Now he says

that he never claimed to be heterosexual.

Haggard still struggles with sexuality, he says in documentary

The fears that caused him to remain quiet about his orientation and struggles are pretty legitimate. In his culture, it's pretty much guaranteed that he would have been shunned, abandoned and rejected. Personally, I have sympathy for him (which is directly against my normal, knee-jerk reaction to evangelists caught in hypocritical situations and lies and illegal or immoral behaviours). I just want to see where this goes in the long run...

They're under terrible pressure

but they don't all give in, and they don't all preach one thing and do another.

Offbeat Evangelist Seeking Counseling


And the ministry comments:

Nov 28 - From the Board of Directors

(Sort of like -'And now a word from our sponsors...')

Let go and...

Disgraced pastor returns, as Christian businessman

"I wish he'd just leave it alone and let God promote him and not promote himself..."

I'd say 'amen' to that. Alas, evangelists like him don't see themselves as ordinary people. They see themselves as special people called by God and so aren't expected to listen to the ordinary folk. Note that in all the things he is stated as saying in this article about his situation, even when he admits to sinning he doesn't say that he's sorry. It's someone else's fault. He apologized for hurting his family at least. It's very sad as, if another fall comes for him, it will be his final fall from grace...

From a Canadian blog comes

this interesting article...

Mega-ministries fall on hard times

When you read about the lavish lifestyles and lives of excess these evangelists lead it's no wonder they start having hard times. Some of them might even have to start trying to live on an average person's salary. Where did God tell us we'd live lives of wealth? Where did God suggest that we should live lives of excess? Apparently Jesus was aware there would always be poor amongst us, and he never said that none of those poor would be us ourselves. Paul worked as a tent-maker. This probably wasn't one of the highest paid professions in his time. Eh, I'm talking to myself again...

He's made this decision on his own, it appears

Evangelist Haggard returns to the pulpit in Illinois

I wonder if he's been cured of his homosexuality, or should I say, still cured?

A good man

Evangelist Billy Graham at 90: The man frail, the legacy strong

He's made a bigger difference in the religious culture of evangelicalism than all the televangelists combined, and, minus a few slips (and none with lasting repercussions) has maintained his integrity thoughout...

Speaking of Benny Hinn

as I was yesterday, this is the watchdog group that keeps an eye on these people...

Trinity Foundation

(They also publish The Wittenburg Door, The world's pretty-much-only religious satire magazine... ... A word about The Door)