Say a Televangelist Is Dishonest and a Phoney.....

Well I think St Peter will be kinder to the follower of the crook than to the crook himself when they both show up at the gate.

:)

I think they are super lame. I am a Christian, but I cannot stand Joel Osteen. He asks for money and is shown in front of thousands, if not millions, of people. Sure, he may have helped people come closer to God, but he is phoney. It doesn't make me less of a Christian for thinking that and it doesn't make him less phoney for bringing some people closer to God.

I think this question could be applied to nearly any situation in which we have faith.

In regard to televangelists, when I was a practicing Christian, they did not shatter my faith in God. I've learned to separate the actions done 'in God's name' from the deity itself. People are fallible. If you are coming to Christ because of one's belief in a person, then yes, you are going to be shaken in your faith.

I think that there will always be people who manipulate their positions of power. Do we stop believing in the concept of democracy because we are disillusioned by a president or congressman? Do we stop valuing the work police officers do-- and stop valuing law and order-- because some cops are corrupt or make mistakes? Judges? Doctors?

Back to your question: I believe that people who believe in Christ/God because of something they heard from a televangelist--they were open to believing to begin with.

I think what's harder is to have our own pastors fail us. My personal faith was shaken by a ministry which was very angry with its followers.The church wasn't growing in regular attendance or in financial stability as they would have liked and there was a lot of guilt coming from the pulpit-- as well as some plain ol' misinformation/misinterpretation... that's what made me stop going to that church. It did shake my faith, those hard interactions. Humans are rarely good representations of God on all counts.:) I recovered but have since sought another path... but that was to do with me, not because of anyone's actions, and certainly not because I felt angry or let down by God due to inadequate representation. There are many ideals in Christianity worth striving for: Christ's love and benevolence and wisdom are beyond compare.

It does not shake my faith when something happens to a minister or a priest. Your faith cannot be in man because no one is perfect. There are great ministries out there making lots of money because they are feeding the people and the people are happily paying tithes for being fed. If the ministry does something stupid and loses itself by greed or something to do with sex you cant be surprised. Money is about the most powerful force on this earth other than faith. God has warned us the "For the love of money is a root of all evil: and some whose hearts were fixed on it have been turned away from the faith, and been wounded with unnumbered sorrows." 1Timothy 6:10. Think about it, the only time you hear about good preachers gone bad is when they've invested money improperly or had illicit sex. Both of these things we are warned about in the bible.
Satan—the god of this world—pushes a false philosophy onto the world. Satan sets the agenda, the unbelieving world follows, and mankind continues to be deceived. Even believers get caught in Satan's snare from time to time. And the media loves it when this happens.

Well, my late Dad, a faith believing man... always said:
God gave us a brain. He does not do things for you, he gives you a brain in order to gain WISDOM... and to learn to discern intentions and conduct in and around your life. If whoever is in a leadership role, in their religion... if he is a liar and a fake... then it is the individual's responsibility, to know that and use their brain.
Anyone can learn (bad or good) from a criminal. But that does not mean, we feed the criminal who feeds off of innocent people.
If someone gets swayed by a fake, then it is up to us, to then CHOOSE how to then carry on. That a person, CHOOSES their religious influence and 'leader.' Because we have a choice... and free will. If we use our brain.

My Dad also said, you can be close to God, in your own way. It does not mean going to a building (Church) or how much money you give. It is your faith and how you grow.... spiritually in a correct manner. Using, Wisdom.

That's a good question. But I wouldn't compare a televangelist to a person who is truly homeless. The phony televangelist is not in need of money/food/clothing/shelter. He/she is simply robbing people blind while steering them toward false promises.

Well, i give the homeless gift cards to places like McD'... that way I know they aren't using the money to buy weed or give them food like granola bars (right now we have people in Hawaii that are living in tents on the beach... I love giving them bottled water and granola bars.)

I see it as more that you should SEEK out the poor and gift them, than if someone asks. I don't go for people asking.

And yes you are right, the Bible even goes into that we should still tithe even when we are not sure that the money is going to holy things. Now if you ARE sure that it is not, you are free to tithe elsewhere.

It's like when people point out how criminal the religious establishment has been throughout history, building lavish cathedrals on the backs of exploited slave labor and taking people for all they were worth, and all the poor "lost souls" who gave everything to the corrupt church.

In the end, no, I do not believe the pure of heart were penalized for the crimes of their church.

But it isn't wise to stare googly eyed and believing at the pulpit of any preacher. If people are brought something valuable, it is no thanks to these lame brains. I'd save the credit for the messages delivered by non liars and fakes.

As for giving money to potential "unworthy" people. You're right, you're a giver or your not. Its none of your business what your few bucks is for. Unless you're making major contributions to a cause-then you should check it out of course. But I've given plenty of beer and smokes CASH to people who needed a little momentary relief.

A few months back, I gave a few cigarettes and some coins to a man panhandling under a bridge in town. He thanked and blessed me, and walked back to his spot. Hands together, he looked towards the ground. At first, I thought he was counting the money I had given him, and I felt ashamed because it was a small amount and all I had to give. Then, his face went towards the sky and he was beautiful and golden as his mouth moved in prayer. He was thanking God.

I was humbled. This man was filled with gratitude for God. Bridge as his home, he was more grateful than I was in my plenty. Watching his face; his pure devotion, I was given tears.

The man gave me a lesson in humility, humanity, gratitude, and hope. He lead me closer to God, and towards my True Self. I am grateful.

It is not my place to decide who is a worthy Teacher. I am not one to judge (though I do, *sigh*). What is between a man and his God, is private. It is my desire to be humble enough to see myself in criminals, vagabonds, drunks, abusers, victims, monks, gurus, phonies, saints, neighbors, warriors, family members, children, the elderly, the victors and the fallen. I can hear God's voice just about anywhere, if and when I'm open to hearing it (and not busy shutting out, judging, or "othering" the messenger).

And also, I think it's screwed up to make great profit off of other's fear, desperation, longing, and Trust.

What an intriguing set of questions. Of course I wonder if there is another question (deeper question) underneath these questions.

Does listening to a televangelist who is a liar and phoney make your faith less? What do you think about that? I know my answer.

What if, like the homeless man, *I* use money that I haven't earned (hello Mr. Visa and Ms. Mastercard), and spend it on stuff I don't need... does that make me a bad person? I know I do this and I know my answer.

What if, like the televangelist, I lie and I'm fake, is my advice or my "message" to others unworthy?

All of life is an experience, an opportunity to grow and evolve. Feels good then stay in that direction. Feels bad, then tweak my way a little towards what feels good.

God is good and loves us all the time. He uses ALL of our experiences and every circumstance for GOOD (even if we humans call them bad).

Thanks for posting this! It helped me to get clear about a few things!

I think that just shows that God can work good from evil.

My main concern is that these insincere and unethical people, whether they are on tv, in a revival tent or a pulpit in a local church, will lead people not closer to the Lord but further away from him. My middle daughter lives in Florida and has been searching for a church home...for some reason she has not been going to churches that are part of the denomination that she was raised in and that I still attend. She and her boyfriend were going to check out some large church in the area where they live and I, out of curiosity, went to the church's website. I could tell immediately that they were not a Bible Based Church but were one of the "Prosperity Churches"...similar to Joel Osteen. Unfortunately my daughter is not as firmly rooted in the Bible as she should be in order to be able to discern whether or not something is really Biblical or not.
I do not think that these men and women that you are talking about are ever going to actually bring someone to a BIBLICAL walk with the Lord. It would be like expecting someone who speaks only English to teach someone to speak fluent Spanish....how can you teach something that you don't know???

Oooh that's a really good question. If the person is brought closer to God at without bringing them financial hardship (and ill-gotten gain for the phoney), maybe it's not such a bad thing. That's tricky though. My DH said they drove past a church near his firehouse in the inner city & he saw a silver Bentley in the parking lot. He couldn't believe it. His lieutenant told him its the pastor's car. His jaw hit the floor.

You've gotten good answers - the only thing I would add is that maybe you could find a local organization or your own church to give your tithes/offerings/money to that you know is doing honest work in your own community. That's what we do.