Religious News

A while back, on my previous blog (A Stab in the Dark - now resting at the bottom of the internet void), I posted a story about a Congressional investigation of televangelists who use the prosperity gospel message to rake in thousands, if not millions, of dollars from viewers. Benny Hinn and Creflo Dollar (word of advice: NEVER, and I mean NEVER, follow a minister with the last name Dollar. Or any other type of currency for that matter!) are among the top names being investigated.

Well, I hadn't heard anything for months, so I assumed that it was a dead issue. I confess that because the main force behind the investigation, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, is himself an evangelical Christian, I had mixed feelings regarding the success of such a venture. Here's the original article.

But now it seems that the invesigation is rolling on and the televangelists are starting to buckle. According to an article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution posted on Melissa Rogers's blog, one of the last of the holdouts, a Rev. Eddie Long, has submitted documents pertaining to his ministry.

I would like to think that this action will curtail, if not eliminate, predation taking place under the guise of religious ministry. But the cynical side of me is reminded of P.T. Barnum, who said, "There's a sucker born every minute." What is truly repulsive to me is that the prosperity gospel movement, which has been stealing money from the desperate and needy since the 1920s, cannot be found in the Judeo-Christian texts. The verses used to back up the claims of the poponents of this theology (although I shudder to apply the word to their actions!) are used out of context and out of sync with the larger scriptural message. Think about it: if God wanted everyone to be surrounded with wealth and possessions, why then would Jesus be quoted as saying, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven." (Luke 18:25)?

At any rate, it's going to be interesting to see how this turns out.