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John Oliver, Televangelists, 'Nuff Said

RavenSky said:
R
Underseer said:
Technically, the term for it is Prosperity Doctrine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_theology

What's interesting is that if you look at the basic tenets of prosperity doctrine (rich people deserve to be rich because they are more holy, poor people deserve to be poor because they are sinful), it lines up nicely with the beliefs of your average FOX News watcher.
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And is the total opposite of the bible they all claim to follow.
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Not totally. Like a lot of things, many conflicting topics can be supported with a few carefully-selected verses.
 
I thought televangelists would have died out with Jimmy Bakker, Oral Roberts and co. Yet still they linger. How, I don't know.
 
Seed Faith or Prosperity Doctrine is supported by Luke 6:38 - "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

For some time now I've had a hunch that this is what Paul the Apostle was all about.

I Corinthians 16

:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also.

:2 On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.
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It would seem that Paul was coming for his "cut" at some point and wanted to make sure they were setting it aside every week rather than waiting until he got there. He was shrewd enough to know that his cut would be a lot bigger if it represented the skimmings of what his flock had for several months rather than whatever he could fleece from them in a single sitting over one weekend. This was evidently his modus oprandi for the entire area he had groomed. He didn't have Copeland's private jet but he got around.

Great video, by the way. Thanks for pointing it out!
 
The thing that also gets me is this: not just the slimy bastards themselves that are ripping the people off, but all those that are in collusion to make it work. From my understanding, the majority of people that work for these frauds aren't aware (somehow) that they're working/volunteering for crooks, but some have to be in on it. Then there's the "Christian" TV networks, they have to know. All in all, there's a lot of scum out there.
 
Makes me wonder, where did Dr. Dino Kent Hovind go wrong? These televangelists must be paying just enough in taxes to keep the IRS off of him.
C_Mucius_Scaevola said:
DBT said:
I thought televangelists would have died out with Jimmy Bakker, Oral Roberts and co. Yet still they linger. How, I don't know.
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Never underestimate the gullibility of the general public.
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They are part of a special segment of the Christian cult. Anyone that tries to expose their segment is just trying the bully them, meaning that part of the special segment must be real special.
 
AthenaAwakened said:
Iznomneak said:
An update related to the video:


IRS Getting Pressured To Crack Down On Televangelists Following John Oliver’s Segment

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2015/08/20/irs-televangelists-john-oliver/
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Which is as it should be. I only wish we could get those bastards on wrongful death.
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It is monsters like them that push the limits of free speech. We shouldn't have to have laws stating it is against the law to imply that prayer will heal disease. Of course, they are very careful how they craft it.
 
Jimmy Higgins said:
AthenaAwakened said:
Which is as it should be. I only wish we could get those bastards on wrongful death.
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It is monsters like them that push the limits of free speech. We shouldn't have to have laws stating it is against the law to imply that prayer will heal disease. Of course, they are very careful how they craft it.
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I think that they are well past the limits of freedom of speech. Freedom of speech does not protect anyone from fraud, perjury, or slander. They are well into the area of fraud. It is the freedom of religion that they are abusing and hiding behind.
 
Well the problem is not so much freedom of speech, it's freedom of religion. It is impossible to prove in a legal sense that the people making these claims do not religiously believe them to be true. Like with pornography, "I know it when I see it" doesn't satisfy the requirements necessary to proceed with legal action.
 
skepticalbip said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
It is monsters like them that push the limits of free speech. We shouldn't have to have laws stating it is against the law to imply that prayer will heal disease. Of course, they are very careful how they craft it.
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I think that they are well past the limits of freedom of speech. Freedom of speech does not protect anyone from fraud, perjury, or slander.
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It'd be fraud if they said giving them money will cure you of cancer. They most likely discuss the two subjects like W did with Hussein and 9/11. Very close to each other, but far enough to claim they never said money to the church will cure them of cancer.
 
Jimmy Higgins said:
skepticalbip said:
I think that they are well past the limits of freedom of speech. Freedom of speech does not protect anyone from fraud, perjury, or slander.
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It'd be fraud if they said giving them money will cure you of cancer. They most likely discuss the two subjects like W did with Hussein and 9/11. Very close to each other, but far enough to claim they never said money to the church will cure them of cancer.
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I consider taking money on the promise of magical returns to be fraudulent.
 
hylidae said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
It'd be fraud if they said giving them money will cure you of cancer. They most likely discuss the two subjects like W did with Hussein and 9/11. Very close to each other, but far enough to claim they never said money to the church will cure them of cancer.
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I consider taking money on the promise of magical returns to be fraudulent.
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And in a world without lawyers, I think that'd be the case, especially if most of that money goes to non-charitable causes.

The only way these people can possibly have managed to win out like this is by using just enough for charity, paying just enough in taxes to stay off the radar.

But then again, buying a $65 million jet? Even $1,000 round trips, that's 65,000 round trips. I have no idea how that can be viewed as a legitimate expense for a church. Even if for just charitable church work, it just isn't logistically reasonable overhead.
 
Since losing Jon Stewart, I have been catching up on Oliver, and he's great. Wish I had a better more stable place to watch him though. The Daily Show as posted on Comedy Central's website for all to see.
 
Jolly_Penguin said:
Since losing Jon Stewart, I have been catching up on Oliver, and he's great. Wish I had a better more stable place to watch him though. The Daily Show as posted on Comedy Central's website for all to see.
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I was just thinking about how thankful I am for John Oliver. He makes it a little easier to see Jon Stewart leave TDS.
 
hylidae said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
It'd be fraud if they said giving them money will cure you of cancer. They most likely discuss the two subjects like W did with Hussein and 9/11. Very close to each other, but far enough to claim they never said money to the church will cure them of cancer.
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I consider taking money on the promise of magical returns to be fraudulent.
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And I think the Attorney General would agree with you if it weren't presented as religion. It would be difficult to prove in court that the televangelists didn't believe (in the religious sense) that it was true - even though the televangelists' motives are obvious to anyone with half a brain.
 
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