CBS: Investigating The Accountability (And Lack Thereof) of Televangelists
By Nicole Belle Tuesday Jan 29, 2008 2:46pm
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Our usual focus with religious figures is how they play into politics and blur the separation between Church and State, something that televangelist Kenneth Copeland has certainly been guilty of with his backing of Mike Huckabee. But Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) is looking at Copeland for the wholesale lack of accountability of the business of teleministries and whether they should keep their tax-exempt status.
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Worse than used car salesmen
It's about time these lying cheating snake-oil salesmen and saleswomen were investigated! The fact that there are sheeple out there giving them their hard-earned cash is bad enough... that these ba$tards would take it is outrageous! Christian my ass!!
Anyone see the irony in the MSM investigating accountability? I does.
You're not giving your money to me but to the account of God! Praise Jesus!
I'm not at all surprised...guess these people haven't learned from the mistakes of the 1980s trinity(Bakker,Swaggart,and Oral Roberts).
Time to kick their godless asses, or will be in just under a year, hopefully.
In the meantime, enjoy the ending of There Will Be Blood. Really kinda satisfying.
All televangelist are preaching, not for God, but for money, and should be outlawed from the airwaves
He sells fear....just like the repubs do...give me money or you'll burn in hell!
I'm glad to see this being investigated. Money-making schemes such as these shouldn't be tax-exempt.
I've said this before, time and time again - if these assholes want to play the game of politics, they should man up and surrender their tax-exempt status. Gotta pay the cover if you want to go in and play, boys and girls.
I cheered when the fat and slimy Jerry Falwell and the egregiously political D. James Kennedy died, and I quoted (probably misquoted) "the last king throttled to death with ther entrails of the last priest," which never fails to get a reaction if said in public.
I know I'll probably be flamed for this but...everytime Obama goes into his "Yes we can" chant it reminds me of Elmer Gantry (and also Bob the Builder). Caroline Kennedy looked so sheepish leading the "yes we can" when giving her speech at American University. I guess she's not as experienced pandering for the Baptist church crowd as Obama.
If they are tax exempt, so should we all be. End the special privileges.
well, I guess this means that CBS is going to burn in hell...
no one, no insitution, no entity gets in the way of the rightwing christian greed for money-money-money. jesus wants you to be a cut-throat capitalist. how do i know? my televangelist told me so.
Bowling pins, I tell ya.
Drink their milkshakes first.
What took so long for someone to look behind the curtains and see how these greedy bastards were stuffing their pockets and living high on the hog. It's waaay past time that a few of them do bunny-hops in chains.
Kenneth Copeland?!?!?!?
Do you mean this Kenneth Copeland?!?!?!
it's time to tax all of the churches; enough of the free ride on our backs already.
If you're going to bend over, grab your ankles and spell "run" for these self-appointed messengers of gaud, you better grease up your ass 'cause these pendejos would, after relieving you of excess monies, like to skewer you on a spit and turn
you slowly over the coals of mendacity.
Title for a new song, "Next Time Listen to Your Common Sense".
Mathematic Algorithm For The Day: Avoid pain, especially self-inflicted.
Mantra for Life (feel free to share your mantra, there are no secrets): Religions are Toxic. Good words for the soon-to-be ex-prez ( But just like the abolition of all religions, not soon enough). No one changes unless they choose to. Even in pain we cling to the familiar.
Parable: What is the worst thing that can happen? Answer: It has already happened and you perpetuate its re-occurrence with your beliefs.
Tragedy: The rejection of reality in favor of delusions, yours or others, is one of the most stressful intrapsychic experiences one can have.
Delimma: We are victims only when we choose to see ourselves as victims. Self inflicted pain is anger turned inward.
Monty Python's anthem: Run and Hide, Run and Hide.......
"Never trust a preacher with more than one $ 300 suit."
- Lenny Bruce -
As if this is news. Send Me Your Money!
Poets, priests and politicians
Have words to thank for their positions
Words that scream for your submission
And no-one's jamming their transmission
'Cos when their eloquence escapes you
Their logic ties you up and rapes you
De do do do de da da da
Is all I want to say to you
De do do do de da da da
Their innocence will pull me through
De do do do de da da da
Is all I want to say to you
De do do do de da da da
They're meaningless and all that's true
IdiotShrub @ 15:
Its a diversion . . . we need to be going after the people rigging our elections at this very moment . . . where is CBS?
http://www.blackboxvoting.org
Tax all churches. Why should my tax dollars subsidize peoples' delusions?
Groucho @ 17:
I second the motion.
What right do churches have to be tax-exempt? They should be allowed to write off their charitable donations and volunteer time, just like anybody else.
If all they do is collect money and put on a show, they need to pay taxes, just like any other entertainment.
It goes without saying that, if they're promoting a political agenda, they should pay taxes. But you're right, that doesn't go far enough to curb the hucksters and promote real giving.
would jesus wear a rolex on his television show?
Devil worshipers have never asked me for a penny or told me how to live.
I hope they go after those other parasites, Dobson and Pat Robertson. These guys bilk the elderly and the vulnerable of their incomes.
I agree, take their tax exemption away. Robertson is so political it isn't even funny.
I have contempt for these clowns.
flipping the stations on UHF one time...
we saw that bizzare Copeland character..
even without the sound on... looked strangely possessed and delusional
....not recommended to broadcast to children on sunday morning.
--> front groups operating under the guise of religious values
who use brainwashing tactics to politically influence the weak.... dangerous.
We also have not forgotten...
those Pat Robertson type "christian" lawyer scandals in the Justice Department..
http://www.crooksandliars.com/index.php?s=Monica+Goodling
or how Pat Robertson... brainwashes viewers ..family friend Prescott Bush would be proud.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WynH9nJuSuk
or the very informative Jesus Camp Documentary...
that exposed the abuse of children across the country..
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Jesus+Camp
"I am a false prophet and God is a superstitition."
SAY IT!!!!
I may be cynical but CBS and Grassley's timing is very interesting. The fundies have gotten a tad too powerful for the Wall Street types and need to be brought down a notch. The fundies forgot their place and thought candidates should deliver on promises made to them no matter how moonbat crazy and unpopular they are. It's all about the monied interests in the republican party. Huckabee is not their guy.
These criminals milked my grandmother of all her money. She had something short of a million dollars when her husband died of a heart attack. By the time she died a few years later, it was all gone. Her home was filled with thank you letters, signed photographs and signed bibles from these obscene predators. It was terribly sad - we lived in a different state and had no idea it was happening.
*
Man, I wants me a jet. Do ya hear me Jesus, send me a jet... Jesus? ... Are you there Jesus? ... I'm awaitin' ... What? ... Oh, all right! Hey rev Copeland, Jesus said I can have his. So hand over the keys.
everytime I see and hear Barak Obama I think of the television evangelist Creflo Dollar...he has the same kind of attractive and emotional appeal that draws people in like flies...google Creflo and you will see what I mean...people lose their ability to think independently and become mesmerized and entranced
ridiculous argument. i mean for a hundred years and still to this day in the rural areas the church is WHERE we Vote! so its always been an influence and its always gonna be as long as theres a church there will be preachers telling people how to think. that is the whole point of religion.
They are only in business because there are enough stupid/ignorant/naive people to believe their magical stories of magical sky beings.
America is the land of opportunity and these hucksters make the most of it.
CBS should investigate why there are so many stupid people willing to give these frauds their money.
The Televanglist said, "That's not my Cadillac, that's God's Cadillac!"
And the congregation responded, "Let us send money, as our mission, so as to put the Holy Gasoline to be put within it's enormous fuel tank."
Thus, the Televanglist was pleased, for he understood that the fuel gauge would never approach the dreaded letter "E".
The religious right has turned this into an art form, but any church can be guilty. The priest in my parish when I was a kid had 2 sermons: 1) You are all going to hell, 2) you need to give me more money. He begged for funds to build a church for nearly 20 years and when he died, there was no building fund. It wasn't until I read the Inferno that I knew where he ended up.
Televangelists are Crooks and Liars, con men, hustlers, thieves, hypocrites, all pimping a figmental 'god' they know does not exist.
Yeah, there's a LOT of so-called religious organizations that need to have their tax-exempt status looked over.. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) has been doing a good job looking into this. A *Republican* mind you.. WTF are the democrats not doing something about these guys?
Personally, I think the Scientologists need a good look-over. Besides being a brainwashing criminal cult, their tax-exempt status is VERY suspicious.
(For background, check out this NY Times story.. and perhaps drop a line to your congresscritter. I have. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05E7DE1639F93AA35750C0A... )
I have to admit I do miss Robert Tilton. He was my favorite.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/175084/the_farting_preacher/
YES LORD! I WILL RIDE WITH YOU!
Tax the Church's and then Investigate each one of their business dealings.
I'm sure if we did, we'd see a whole lot of them heading for jail cells.
"The lord told me to buy a Citation 10"
HA! What else do you have to hear?!?
Praise Money!
Can I get a halle-moolah?!
Tax exemptions are ridiculous with these groups. The Mega Churches are blatant exploitations of this privelege.
Please, these fucks are con artists. Even the more reputably mega churches are really religious corporations. Tax them all.
All televangelism scams are all the same: God wants you to be rich. I am God's intermediary. I am richer than Midas. Send me your money. I will intercede with God. God will make you richer than Midas too. If he doesn't, it's your own fault because you lacked faith, but don't give up. Send me more money and try again.
S@33 What a fucking bigoted coincidence that you would compare Obama to that asshole Dollar, a soulless, greedy, conman. Hey shit for brains, who has Obama robbed? What an obvious ignorant vile racist fucking comment!
As I live and work on this grain of sand on the outside of our huge galaxy it always amazes me when someone claims to have the "true" answer to not only what the "meaning of life" is but how it actually started. This is sligthly more than a little arrogant since "we" can't even get along with ourselves much less other cultures or religions, right here in the land of the free. We are not even closely intelligent enough to have a credible guess as to the answer....but what do I know.
HaHa that dude Copeland, Crouch, and Hinn are the epitome of Crooks and Liars.
Grassley better watch it. Copeland plays golf with Jesus every Saturday. They gamble on the games, and Jesus is down a bundle to him...
HELL NO! Tax those closeted self-hating right-wing nutjob crusaders right into the ground! If one of those plastic haired freaks takes so much as a dime from his sheeple he should be investigated. In fact all religions should be taxed not just the morons that go on tv and sell prayers to gullible idiots. Razi the nazi has plenty of cash to buy the silence of raped children. Squeeze 'em til he squeaks and then squeeze some more.
jesus zimmerman @ 25:
There's a preacher out there that says Jesus and all of the apostles were wealth men and there is nothing against him and others like him to wealthy afterall Jesus was wealthy.
I myself think they should have a vow of poverty.
I t is funny who are the people giving the short answer are those that cannot.
They did a 20/20 report on this may years ago
This is actually a good thread.
I enjoyed most of the comments here.
It's too bad people here aren't the majority in the US. Let alone the world. It would be nice though if people actually used their brain and logic. Is idea of heaven that great that one would blindly follow and give money thinking one would be rewarded?!?
jesus zimmerman @ 25:
Rolex indeed. He wears Patek Philippe.
We are dumb all over, and a little ugly on the side.... (FZ)
As far as I'm concerned (and who can say that this is not common knowledge) that Televangelist = Thief/liar.
Its Free-Market religon for the right-wingers. A shady lawyer, a crooked accountant, and big fat check for a televangelist is all it takes to get into heaven, for them. Their filling thier niche in the marketplace.
Priceless comment. One of the better comments that made my day. Becomes funnier each time I think about it.
Boy, when the fundies become a nuisance (Huckabee and supporters), those corporate fat cats turn on them awfully quick, don't they?
If you give money to and/or watch these crooks you are an idiot fool!
All televangelism scams are all the same: God wants you to be rich. I am God's intermediary. I am richer than Midas. Send me your money. I will intercede with God. God will make you richer than Midas too. If he doesn't, it's your own fault because you lacked faith, but don't give up. The Lord works in mysterious ways. Send me more money and try again.
No shit
What about charitable donations to private colleges with billion dollar endowments?
Private Hospitals that receive millions of charitable dollars and provide no indigent care?
The whole damn thing stinks.
If these guys don't have to file returns, how is there any oversight at all? How do you spot a crooked preacher if no one gets to see the books? What a racket!
God spoke to me and said, "Go get yourself a $20 million jet right now." So explain to me how 4 private jets are necessary for church business. He claims the church gets reimbursed for private use of these plush little jets, but what do they consider a "legitimate," tax-exempt use for them? These people take the social security checks of little old ladies and buy private jets and mansions with them and then have the absolute balls to say that it's what God wants. And we let them get away with it! Tax free!
Nice job, C&L. The Republican base says "we don't like Huckabee because he's using our Jesus groove to divert votes away from tax cuts and the war," so ABC, being a good little M$M pawn, runs a story that will indirectly smear Huckabee, and what do you do? You repost it for all who skipped it the first time can see it again. Thanks, but no thanks.
Televangelists = Robert Tilton farting
jesus zimmerman @ 25: would jesus wear a rolex on his television show?
I don't know, but I did get an email from Jesus offering to sell me a rolex.
AlexDem @ 39:
I second. And while they're at it, they should take a look at the dude in Houston and the huge Calvary Chapel place in Costa Mesa. The so-called "success theology" has been a big thing in my small neck of the woods. Several small churches here are picking up on these tactics and are openly preaching that if you give, and give huge, blessings will shower upon you. Those who are fleecing the sheep do not know Christ. And those that are falling for it are just plain stupid.
helenahandbasket @ 19:
Never trust a preacher period. If his suit is more than $300 he's smart enough to know he's fleecing the public. If his suit is less than $300 he's too dumb to know he's peddling supersticion.
Ah, come on, it's plain to see that the devil is driving the investigations of these holy men. The devil wants to keep god's message from getting out. Christians are powerless against all this persecution. (Except for co-opting the political and judicial processes, radio, tv, print, and the internets.)
Every one of the slimy bastards needs to locked up. Revoking the tax-free status is just the beginning of what needs to happen to these pigs.
.
EVILgelicals line their pockets with the gold of others...
Christians walk the path of Christ...
How much did Christ profit from his social work to the poor?
"Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. Render unto God that which is God's."
Is a plane a Godly or earthly possession?
White washed tombs filled with bones = EVILgelicals
.
these pigs live in mansions, drive fancy cars and fly around in private jets.
... and the justifiy it with things like "well kind david lived in luxery" "god wants the best for his children and I am a child of the king!"
It is immoral to live like that when there are soooo many people in the world in need
there is a special place in JAIL for these creeps!
There's another guy out there selling miracle water and miracle manna on t.v. I can't think of the guys name but he seems determined to rip-off old ladies and dumb people until any money they may have is gone. Let's get this bastard out of there !!!
unsurebtwilling @ 51:
Funny how the Christian religion can suit that Jesus feller to their interests whenever it is necessary. For a person who they never met, the Christian elite sure do know what Jesus wanted and don't hesitate to put words on his mouth. LOL
My Jesus also did tons of coke, had orgies, and played in a rock'n'roll band...
Religion is the opiate of the masses, and these guys are the Cartel owners.
Whilst churches can & do good caritable work. However, when you look at the sheer wealth of some the televangelists, whose religion values modesty you've got to say they stop being religions and become scams.
What other industry can you make a claim for a product which you sign up & pay for, that has never been objectively demonstrated?
Why does charlatanism cease to be charlatanism the moment you invoke Jesus Christ?
The FBI are investigating subprime lenders for predatory lending. Many of these companies promised the world for nothing, and were not able to fulfil it. Televangelists do exactly the same. Predatory practises on the weak & poor to take their money with big promises... which never materialise.
Let them be tax exempt for the component of income that goes into legitimate charitable works. The rest is business. Let them be subject to every other type of proof of claims the rest of the market has to provide.
Hmmm. Almost makes me forget about CBS hanging Dan Rather out to dry for implying that maybe George Bush was a deserter, or that whole thing about not confronting the Administration about the obvious lies leading to the invasion of the Middle East.
... something about the pot calling the kettle black comes to mind...
ANY non-profit organization, that makes it's money through donations are not taxable. It's not just religious organizations. If a church invests in a STORE, or a PRIVATE SCHOOL, and makes profit from it, then those proceeds ARE taxable.
I have a solution for you. MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!
If some weak-minded idiot wants to give their money away to a snake oil salesman on TV, that's up to them.
The problem with this world is that you people aren't satisfied with your own "perfection". Once you achieve your epiphany, you presume to impose it on everyone else.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it. Religion is so stupid. Religious people are so stupid. YOU are SO enlightened.
PLEASE.
LEAD me somewhere.
What a joke.
James @ 75:
You're perfectly right. We shouldn't treat chronic gamblers, addicts, the mentally ill or anyone who gets caught up in a cult or religion. They did it to themselves and deserve whatever misery they get. WE should never have to help someone out of a hole that they fell into, right? I mean, sure, it might be the right thing to do, but THEY did it to themselves.
BC @ 74:
Man you can't even quote Marx right.
Oh Lord won't you buy me an HDTV
American Idol is trying to find me
I'll wait for delivery each day until three
Oh Lord won't you buy me an HDTV
CD @ 77:
Well done on the technicality of translating from the original german. Are you implying that by using the common phrase with 'masses' instead of 'peoples' the entire comment is rendered wrong?
Kerry @ 1:
you almost insulted used car salesmen.
my momma always taught me that heaven is free
if you open your eyes... its not hard to see that religion in itself is a complete and utter sham
http://www.seesharppress.com/20reasons.html
if most of the religious yokels had gone to school and learned something about science and the way the natural world worked.... maybe people would have a little bit of respect and dignity for their own humanity instead of sacrificing it all to a giant lie and a story.
How stupid do you have to be to fall for something like these televangelists? I mean...... fix your f'n brain america before you lose the rest..........
hey, that’s great.
when will they investigate the white house for national leaks?
These are the same nuts who don't want to pay taxes yet they also want to put prayer back in schools.....so another generation can give and give and give.....
Jesus Christ, look at that freak! I've heard more restraint and decorum from professional wrestling announcers. It's one thing to pretend you love the Bible even when you're wiping your arse with it, but it's pushing it a bit much to try and make it sound like you're having the biggest orgasm of your life with every syllable. Is he just trying to spread the good word by making sure people in neighbouring countries can hear him yelling about it, or what?
Dave @ 16:
Dem folks is scary. It only re-enforces my belief that all religions are scams to be vigorously avoided at all co$t$.
OMG QUIT BASHING CHRISTIANS UR GOING TO HELL CUZ UR A ATHEIST AND UR EVILZORZ!!1!!11!1
Now that that's out of the way: Good on CBS for smacking these bastards down.
Churches should pay taxes.
Marco @ 86:
SEE WHAT HYPNOSIS CAN DO? I WILL NEVER BE CONVINCED THAT COPELAND AND DOLLAR WERE NOT TRAINED IN HYPNOSIS.
Marco @ 86:
Rusty Shackleford @ 23:
Not all religions are bad... It's the individual churches, preachers and often members that make the rest look bad.
There are good churches out there, as well as preachers. Like everything else it can be corrupted, we're only human.
Ramone @ 35:
<
CBS should investigate why there are so many stupid people willing to give these frauds their money.
Amen to that.
If these Televangelists represent All Christians then Osama represents all Muslims and Stalin all Atheists.
These people have been raping my grandmother and mother for decades. My grandmother is on Social Security and believes that if she gives this guy money that God will help her pay her bills and get her off social security. It's sick. She's old. I blame her for believing it as much as I blame him for doing it. It's absolute insanity. Jail time and death aren't good enough payback for the crooks that take money from dumb grandmas.
Right Wing Neo Conservative KOOLAID DRINKERS
meet at CAMP JESUS with sen Foley and Craig this sat at
the bush ranch
Good for Sen. Grassley. Their conspicuous consumption raises a lot of questions, so it's good to see someone keeping these televangelists honest. At the same time, anyone who thinks Pat Robertson or Jesus Camp is representative of Christianity in America obviously doesn't know a Presbyterian from a Pentecostal. Or their ass from a hole in the ground.
Think of it this way...the government, seeing that churches are doing good things for society (way back when, at least), gives tax exemption to them. Years pass, and people who want to make all the money they can and have no scrupples decide, "Hey, if I pass myself off as a church...I can keep more of the money I make, and I don't even really have to do anything!" An air-tight deal for these guys. So they form a church, concoct some biblical-sounding doctrines to back it all up, and rake in the dough.
Meanwhile, there are other churches, existing for legitimate religious and spiritual purposes. But these charlotens make the whole lot look bad by posing as one of them, and even getting more than a few of them to follow their message. But there are churches out there that aren't out to make a buck, and pastors who are in it to help people, not take their money. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church, (as an example) would figure out exactly how much money he needed to live on, and then give the rest away to the poor and needy. If he got a raise, then he'd just give that much more away.
Granted, there are few that dedicated, but they aren't all in it for the money either.
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