Big Business Religion
Townhall.com | Armstrong Williams
This is a testament and conformation once again
to things the Lord has spoken and has had us declared in several articles -- and that there are a people that are not
being taken by these things
Corporations and parishioners are increasingly
coming together to spread the word of God and make money. (The rot continues to grow) All across the country
churches—once intimate places of spiritual interconnectedness—have been
replaced by stadiums of worship that utilize advanced technological innovations
to awe, edify, and rip off those in attendance.
The jig goes something like this: Corporations underwrite the construction
of vast religious complexes that awe people into
regular attendance. The preacher’s image is projected onto a big
screen. His calm baritone is beamed out by state of the art speakers. From all
sides, his voice fills the room. The seats shake as he gives expression to the
word of God. It’s a rousing experience to be sure, and one that is increasingly
paid for by corporations. In return for their funding, the churches
circulate corporate promotional calendar, fliers, and, if the corporation is
really lucky, broadcast an endorsement straight from the pulpit. Trusting the pastor's judgment, the flock simply surrenders
their money to whatever service the corporation is hawking. In such a manner,
countless Christians are fleeced every year.
You might be amazed at how little it takes to rent space in a sermon. Father Henry Wienneski, an Arizona parishioner, tells me he has been approached countless times by corporate representative eager to use the church's trusted position in the community as cover for rip-off schemes. “A corporate representative will approach me and say something to the effect of, ‘we were going to give $5,000 to the Red Cross this year but you know, we decided, why not keep it in the neighborhood? I notice your parish doesn't have a bus. Now, I know the money won't buy a bus but we thought it could help. I'll just write out this check to you and trust that you'll know the best way for it to help the church.’"
Wienneski recalls attending a retreat once where morticians coaxed
business from pastors by offering free gifts, including beepers, funeral plots,
sides of beef, country club memberships and large sums of cash. It's quite a
deal for the mortuary. They invest $6 in a beeper, and in return they get a
pastor who feels obliged to send bodies their way. So the mortuary rips off
another family for $5,000, $10,000, $15,000.
The newest twist is for mortuaries to rent a chunk of church property and offer their own in-house services with the implicit church endorsement. The archdiocese of Montreal and Los Angeles recently contracted with Stewart's Enterprises and SCI chains, renting out their holy ground as though these mortuaries were some Starbucks franchise. In return for a lucrative lease arrangement, the diocese lends its tacit endorsement to the mortuary and, in effect, channels its flock directly into the overpriced mortuaries, swindling their own parishes for millions of dollars per year.
Of course these churches will benefit from their lucrative agreements. They may use the profits to erect some triumphant cathedral, decorated with such stunning artifice that its very presence proclaims the glory of God. All of which just indicates that these pastors don't actually care about their people. (The Lord has in articles has repeatedly addressed the practices and self aggrandizement of these hirelings) After all, many churches could, in fact, offer a free funeral to their members not counting cemetery or crematory expenses. What more logical support group is there at a time of death? Instead, these ministers use their position as trusted leaders to fleece their parishioners.
Similar examples abound. Hundreds of evangelical Christians in the Southern California area were recently fleeced out of millions of dollars in a Ponzi scheme that relied on the complicity of trusted (Greed filled) church officials (That gladly accepted gifts and bribes so that they would pitch their congregants). The scheme was allegedly masterminded by Gregory Earl Setser, a self described former minister who approached church leaders with a can't miss investment opportunity. Saying he wanted "To serve God by allowing Christian ministries to share in… his profits," Setser promised investors up to 50% returns on their initial investments. Several ministers complied, using their positions of trust in the community to lure additional investors. Anaheim evangelist Ralph Wilkerson even allowed Setser to participate in religious presentations.
Hundreds of (Greed filled) parishioners
responded by opening their wallets to Setser. Many ended up being fleeced out
of a combined $160 million. Meanwhile. Setser used the money to finance a
lavish lifestyle for himself and his family.
I don’t mean to suggest that all organized religion has been bought and paid for. (However the Lord does, that even the churches and ministries that appear the most upright pure and holy are run as businesses. The very church buildings themselves and their furniture and church activities are contrary to anything recorded in the New Testament. (Christ did not preach and teach the building of physicalchurch structures either for meetings or for worship. And the Apostles understanding that Christ had taught the destruction of all physical churches and synagogues did not build a physical church of Jerusalem. The Proof text is in acts when they had all that money of people selling their houses and lands laid at their feet – they build nothing in Jerusalem or outside of Jerusalem – the first physical churches were build generations after the Apostles were dead and the church was falling into Talmudic Judaism – one might well say the sign of Talmudic Christianity is the physical buildings they build to glorify their name and to satisfy their personal vanity and comfort.) And as such regardless of their “Good” activities these churches and ministries are in abject disobedience and dishonor to Christ and what He and the Apostles walked in as living ensamples. And God flat out abhors the existence of these churches and ministries as He hates the (Christian hirelings and their disciples called) Nicolaitanes in the Book of Revelation.) Many parishioners across the country dedicate themselves to spreading the word of God. They set up in poor communities and they try to help their parishioners affix hope and perspective to their lives. (Though) These parishioners (Do not appear that they) are not motivated by materialism (and greed they do so for personal aggrandizement) or personal vanity (So that their might be lifted up in the eyes of the people and might show themselves as teachers prophets.) They do not use God as an instrument to empower themselves. (They instead speak in and of themselves and build a ministry that is beholden to themselves, while all the time they make it appear that ) They wish merely to spread His word, and to open others to the truly beautiful possibilities of spirituality. (But the spirituality they offer is not entering into worshiping God in spirit and truth as Christ demanded, but rather is a side spur line that is used deceptively as a drawing card by these churches and ministries -- to as the writer said to Awe the people into attendance. Neither in any of these ministries or churches are the parishioners ever brought into a true coming to Christ and a true hearing of Christ and leaning of Him. (Because this would cause the parishioners to obey Christ and become beholden to Him and the church would begin to lose it members as they would begin to obey God for themselves and go and do His will wherever He might send them as demonstrated in the book of Acts. So instead these false teachers and false preachers and false prophets they addict people to themselves and their ministry, or the ministry or denomination they have rented themselves out to and shamelessly shill for.)
But if (So that when Lording it over and fleecing a local congregation no longer is able to satisfy these wolves in sheep’s clothing, and they come to lust after bigger game, so that) a preacher wants to be on TV, or court the masses, or achieve the psychic gratification of wielding (Power over) thousands of worshippers, (To get the money to fuel all of this, he must begin to employ alternate means of funding beyond gifts and tithes. And from this the process begins of) him turning his church into a kind of religious Wal Mart—a huge religious emporium complete with restaurants, recording studios, projections screens and stadium seating. (A place where) Parishioners (come out of the wood work in droves to) flock to these structures like the apes to the monolith in 2001. But it costs (huge amounts of) money to keep these mammoth structures running. (So that the congregations become enslaved to these mega-buildings and their Lords that rule over these complexes. And this is exactly the same with their smaller counterparts aka the little local church, and this is exactly why Christ forbade this serving of brick and mortar on the mount of transfiguration and when he condemned the temple for destruction he also condemned all man made church structures to destruction as well and the apostles understood these things absolutely so that in all their days they build no physical churches, synagogue, or temples.) More often than not, the preachers turn to corporate sponsorship to pay the bills. The end result is that the parishioners are distilled into just another stream of revenue.
Maybe we can’t end corruption in the church, but we can demand that our
pastors' refrain form any form of corporate sponsorship during their sermons.
Doing so would help prevent the swindling of countless families, while
reestablishing the church as a trusted sanctuary during a family's most
desperate time of need. Such moments simply should not be considered
purchasable by local corporations.
The will of man and the will of God
Written: 2/2005
John 5:30-32 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I
hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but
the will of the Father which hath sent me.
The Word of Faith
Moment pioneered by Kenneth E. Hagan a former Baptist preacher and then later
co-opted in the 1980’s by Hagan’s most notable disciple Kenneth Copeland the
Word of Faith Movement has become the single most corrupting force in the
charismatic movement today. Combining the its sassy self-indulgent message of
faith healing, with the prosperity gospel, Madison avenue style marketing, and
Hollywood style choreography of their worship and preaching – has made this
into an almost unstoppable juggernaut affecting churches and denominations
coast to coast that don’t have any affiliation with them or even preach their
message.
What Hagan tapped is
America’s insatiable lust for success and American’s slavish worship for those
who are deemed successful.
The core of this
message is that everything of the world is good just as long as you wrap it
between a couple of bible verses. It doesn’t matter that what you are teaching
is clearly not in the Gospels, that it was not taught by the Apostles or
understood by the apostolic fathers.
John 5:30-32 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I
hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but
the will of the Father which hath sent me.
For example one of
their assertions is that Christ was financially wealthy and that the Apostles
were also financially wealthy. The logic of these faith Pharisees runs like
this that the disciples gave up father and mother and brethren houses and lands
and Jesus promised them 100 fold in this world that the world to come. So they
say if Peter gave up a house and a acre of land and a boat and 2 sets of nets
he was given by Christ 100 houses, 100 acres, one hundred fishing boats and 200
fishing nets – so where exactly was this supposed to happen? Why in Acts they
will proclaim when these people got saved and sold all they had and had all in
common,
The problem is that
in Acts chapter 2:43-46 this
event takes place and in Acts chapter 3:3-6 when Peter and John are supposed to be loaded with all this
giving – a lame beggar asks both Peter and John for alms.
Now Christ had said
give to any man that asketh of thee hoping for nothing in return and great will
your reward be in heaven. So do you suppose that Peter if he indeed had 100
fold houses and lands would have said hand on a minute pal I’m going to run to
one of my nearest houses and be back with a bag of gold or two. Instead Peter
said silver and gold have I none – was peter just waxing poetic or was it
indeed that he was financially destitute and John by his side was also in the
same financial condition -- so God bears these two witness by healing this man.
Question would God bear witness to peter and john if they had money in their
pockets all along? Would god have borne witness to these two men if in fact
they had a vast treasury a few blocks away? And another important question does
the fact that this man was healed negate Peter and John from this man’s initial
request for alms? No!
Consider now
Christ’s own example, that before Jesus began His ministry He forsook all. He
left His father, mother, brothers, sisters, and brethren. But wasn’t Christ
also the first born in his family? Yes indeed He was and that had great
significance as to His standing in the house of Joseph of Nazareth.
Christ was entitled
to not only the family name as the First born but the family inheritance as
well. – And that would have consisted of 1) The family carpentry business, 2)
The family home, 3) And whatever wealth and possessions Joseph had accumulated
over those 30 years.
So Christ not only
left His father, mother, brothers, sisters, and brethren to follow God but he
left houses and lands and his entire family inheritance. In Christ’s actions we
see the demonstration that Jesus was not at all like the Pharisees of whom He
testified that they were those that “Taught commandments but did not
themselves. Jesus walked long in his own commandments before he issued them to
his disciples. We can say with some certainty here that He gave up everything
He owned or had rights to in this world. So that in actuality Jesus during his
entire ministry only possessed the sandals that He wore, the one garment that
He wore, and a cloak. ( I included a cloak because he let his disciples take a
cloak)
Mark 6:3 Is not this (Jesus) the carpenter, the
son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are
not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
I have read in
Justin Martyr’s writings in 160 AD that Jesus was a carpenter of farm
implements – more particularly Justin Martyr tells us that Jesus had made ox
yokes, and plows. It is an indisputable fact that Christ made Himself of no
reputation before He even began His ministry in Capernaum. So when did Jesus
receive his hundred fold of houses, lands, mothers, and fathers, sisters and
brothers and 100 fold of his earthly inheritance that he gave up. The answer is
in the Gospels Jesus said ye are my brethren my mother and father. Jesus was
given houses and lands in that they were fed and taken care of by others but in
fact Christ did not own anything except the sandals that He wore, the one
garment that He wore, and a cloak.
I want you to firmly
see that like Abram, Jesus willing gave all that up to become a sojourner in
Israel, seeking a kingdom that was not made with hands.
But we need to see
something even more powerful than that transpired during Christ’s ministry.
After Jesus gave up houses and lands and was baptized by John the Baptist, the
bible says Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil. –The
third temptation was when the devil showed Christ in a vision all the kingdoms
of the earth and said: “It is mine to give to whom I will. If you will bow
before me I will give you all these kingdoms. – To this Christ responded: Thou
shalt only worship the Lord your God. And then the bible records that the Devil
left him for a season.
We need to now see
that during Christ’s ministry as the Messiah the anointed heir apparent to the
throne of David that Jesus was continually offered the throne of David by all
those around him. How so? It is in the word Messiah, it is in The Son of David,
It was the question that Pontius Pilot asked, it was in the rage of the
Pharisees, it was the words on the lips of all of all of Israel as Jesus rode
into Jerusalem on the donkey. It was the words continually on the lips of
Christ’s blind and carnal disciples as they fought continually about their
positions in Christ’s earthly kingdom, they even during the last supper over
it, and even after the resurrection the question came up once again Wilt thou
at this time take your kingdom?
For over three
decades I have heard preachers time and time again proclaim that Christ at any
time could have taken what was rightfully His. That Christ could have taken the
throne of David. And all will say a hearty Amen to this. And with this same
earthly sensual logic these same preachers tell us that it is not Christ’s will
that any of us be poor. That it is not Christ’s will that any of us be sick,
and that Christ has given the world into the hands of the Church that we can
rule and reign with him. What I am going to say now has been a mystery and I
cannot expect anyone to understand it except that the Father has given it to
them.
It is utterly false
that Christ could have taken the throne of David at anytime. As He had forsaken
his natural father, mother, sisters, brothers, houses, and lands, and made
Himself of no reputation, so too did Christ forsake his inheritance as the
Messiah and Heir to David’s throne. Forsaking Jerusalem, the palace of Herod,
the lands, and the brethren that would at his word have sworn instant
allegiance to Him. And on this point the devil returned after a season and
goaded and tempted Christ almost daily to seize upon it.
How could this have
been sin how could this have been wrong if He was the Messiah? Because it was
not the will of the father. If there ever was a person that we could say every
promise in the book was theirs it would have been Christ – and yet they were
not all his for the claiming confessing and taking. Consider the words
“Physician heal thyself.” Even after He rose from the dead the wounds remained.
Moving on one day Simon Peter rebuked Christ that He should not die, and Christ
turned around and rebuked Satan for speaking through Peter’s mouth. Peter was
not the only one voicing the devil’s siren song for Christ to take matters into
his own hands. His disciples were speaking the words of the wicked one
regarding Christ being the king of an earthly kingdom, the people of Israel
were continually speaking the enemy’s words, the Pharisees and Priests also
goaded Christ, but Christ was not taken in by any of this talk. He refused to
accept any of it, even when the rich young ruler came and Christ could have
easily accepted his gifts and offerings He steadfastly refused. And instead of
having received the gifts of men Jesus instead testified in the last few days
before he was crucified: “Foxes have holes and birds have nests but the Son of
man has nowhere to lay his head.
I want you to see
the magnitude of this thing. When he and Peter needed to pay temple tax – Jesus
was the one who said silver and gold have I none. So the Father provided and
Jesus instructed Peter to catch a fish and a single gold coin would be in its
mouth to pay both their temple taxes. We see that Peter did have fishing gear
so we can be sure that on quite a few occasions Peter and the others caught dinner.
When the disciples
were really hungry they rolled wheat between their hands and ate just grains of
wheat. We can speculate that they ate fruit along the roads where they walked.
When the feeding of
the 5000 and the 4000 occurred we see that they did have some money but nothing
compared to the cost of buying some plain bread. Notice that Christ did not
take up an offering for the need. Instead of taking from the people Jesus felt
compassion and wanted to provide a meal for all. A child provided the bread and
fish and it was then multiplied by God.
Jesus and the
disciples walked every where they could have had a horse and wagon but they did
not. They could have had an ox cart but they did not. They could have had
chariots but they did not. They could have had runners go ahead and announce
meetings but they did not. They could have met in any number of public places
specifically the local Greek and Roman forums. Christ could have rented the
Hippodrome a huge coliseum for gladiator fights and sports events just outside
Jerusalem. Josephus writes about the place that it had seating for 10,000 or
more and Jesus could have held miracle crusades there, but He did not.
Instead Christ had
to pray to the Father every day for his daily bread just as he instructed his
disciples to do. Christ was under the blistering sun in the day, he was in the
freezing desert at night, when it rained he got soaked, when there were dust
storms he got covered with dust from head to foot. Jesus had to borrow a donkey
to ride into Jerusalem. Jesus had to borrow a room for the last supper. Jesus
was buried in a borrowed tomb. And when He was on the cross and said to John
behold your mother and to His mother behold your son – don’t you think if he
had been holding back all along that he would have said John give to my mother
the fortune we put aside. See to it she receives my houses and lands. When
Jesus was hung on the cross the only things he had was his most faithful
disciple John so He gave him to his mother to take care of her.
As it was with the
disciples before they were converted, after Christ rose from the dead so it is
with this breed of carnal preachers and corrupt teachers of our day. Man and
women who continually preach and teach the words of the wicked one. And what
are these words?
They are that: we
can do what the Master did not and still be his servants.
They are that: we need not give up houses or lands, brothers, sisters, and our
earthly inheritances and we can still be a disciple of Christ.
They are that: as a member of the Church that we can love mammon and the things
of this world and we can still be a disciple of Christ.
They are that: we
can exalt ourselves, we can come in our own names, we can exalt our own
ministries, we can receive the praise of men, we can exalt other people’s
ministries, and we can still be a disciple of Christ.
And they are that: we can learn the words of others and teach men to do so and
we can still be a disciple of Christ.
As the disciples
were confused about Christ ruling an earthly kingdom before they were
converted, and remained confused even after Christ rose from the dead so are
the carnal preachers and corrupt teachers of this day. These men are confused
about the Church being called to rule and reign as an earthly kingdom here and
now. And this is of no small significance in a day when the church that is
increasingly preaching greater and greater corruption in the area of financial
wealth, and earthly prosperity, and their assumption of a physical earthly
kingdom.
Jesus said the servant
is not above the master. If our Master forsook all his earthly rights, and
goods to seek the excellency of God wandering the fields and villages with no
certain home, and that He himself had to pray for His daily bread -- where does
this put us?
Whose disciple are
we if we possess what He Himself put off and counted all as loss? Jesus said”
“No man can have two masters and yet we have more than one. Jesus said: “You
cannot be my disciple and serve – another, money, or the things of this world
and yet we do.
If we therefore are
not Christ’s disciples, if we indeed have the grace to see that Jesus is not
our master, then whose servant are we, and to whom do we belong?