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Senate investigates big-spending televangelists

Religion What is your take on religion? Do you base your thoughts in life according to your religion? Do you feel that religion should be kept out of Government and Politics?

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Old 11-28-2007, 06:13 PM   #1 (permalink)
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Senate investigates big-spending televangelists
CBS News has learned Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, is investigating six prominent televangelist ministries for possible financial misconduct.

Letters were sent Monday to the ministries demanding that financial statements and records be turned over to the committee by December 6th.

According to Grassley's office, the Iowa Republican is trying to determine whether or not these ministries are improperly using their tax-exempt status as churches to shield lavish lifestyles.

The six ministries identified as being under investigation by the committee are led by: Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn. Three of the six - Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar - also sit on the Board of Regents for the Oral Roberts University.

The letters sent Monday were the culmination of a long investigation fueled in part by complaints from Ole Anthony, a crusader against religious fraud who operates the Dallas-based Trinity Foundation, which describes itself as a watchdog monitoring religious media, fraud and abuse. "We've been working with them for two years," Anthony told CBS News. "We have furnished them with enough information to fill a small Volkswagen."

Anthony said after twenty years of working with media organizations to expose televangelists, he saw little reform. He says that's why he turned to another tactic, going straight to Grassley. He is confident that Grassley's inquiry will be different, "What we hope is that this will lead to reform in religious nonprofits."

Senate Panel Probes 6 Top Televangelists, Sen. Charles Grassley Asks Ministries To Turn Over Financial Records Within One Month - CBS News

Tales of $23,000 commodes, Rolls-Royce cars, private jets, foreign bank accounts and gifts of jewelry to organizations that get millions of dollars in tax breaks got the senator’s attention.
“Jesus came into [Jerusalem] on a simple donkey. What are his disciples doing, flying around in jets?” he quipped to reporters last week.
Scourge of rich televangelists, Grassley has gadfly bona fides
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Old 11-28-2007, 06:13 PM   #2 (permalink)
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Old 11-29-2007, 11:29 AM   #3 (permalink)
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A $23,000 toilet?

Ha! Satan himself would blush...
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Old 11-30-2007, 08:20 AM   #4 (permalink)
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The Cult of Ole (the man behind Sen Grassley's investigations
From Dallas Observer
Crossfire, Filed under: News You Can Actually Use, Actually
He brought down Robert Tilton, W.V. Grant and Larry Lea, three of Dallas' high-flying televangelists in the early 1990s. And when he wasn't diving in dumpsters to pick through preachers' trash, he was entertaining journalists from around the world at "The Block," Trinity Foundation's collection of homes in East Dallas.

Reporters, heathen bunch that they are, found much to admire at Ole Anthony's Columbia Avenue compound: a small group of believers living simply, dwelling together and sharing their possessions, much like the early Christians; a charismatic, highly intelligent leader who challenged the compromised state of American Christianity; and a foundation dedicated to helping the homeless as well as hunting down slippery TV preachers.

I remember a reporter who broke some of those stories on the televangelists telling me only a little facetiously that the person we really needed to investigate was Ole Anthony. But let's be honest, folks: We in the media were too busy begging Anthony for the next collection of dirt on America's shadier televangelists so we could call it our own. Then former Trinity member Wendy Duncan came out with a self-published book a few months ago called I Can't Hear God Anymore: Life in a Dallas Cult; in it, she describes
Trinity as a cult and depicts Anthony as a manipulative, deceitful bully.

We must admit she kind of forced our hand. Dallas Observer investigative reporter Glenna Whitley set out to determine whether any of Duncan's claims hold water. And you'll find the result of her work in today's cover story, "The Cult of Ole." You don't want to miss this special report. It's hitting Dallas newsstands right now.

http://www.dallasobserver.com/Issues/2006-08-03/news/feature.html

http://news.dallasobserver.com/2007-11-22/news/turning-the-tables/

Wendy J. Duncan
I Can't Hear God Anymore: Life in a Dallas Cult
http://www.dallascult.com
Old 11-30-2007, 12:23 PM   #5 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wendyjduncan View Post
From Dallas Observer
Crossfire, Filed under: News You Can Actually Use, Actually
He brought down Robert Tilton, W.V. Grant and Larry Lea, three of Dallas' high-flying televangelists in the early 1990s. And when he wasn't diving in dumpsters to pick through preachers' trash, he was entertaining journalists from around the world at "The Block," Trinity Foundation's collection of homes in East Dallas.

Reporters, heathen bunch that they are, found much to admire at Ole Anthony's Columbia Avenue compound: a small group of believers living simply, dwelling together and sharing their possessions, much like the early Christians; a charismatic, highly intelligent leader who challenged the compromised state of American Christianity; and a foundation dedicated to helping the homeless as well as hunting down slippery TV preachers.

I remember a reporter who broke some of those stories on the televangelists telling me only a little facetiously that the person we really needed to investigate was Ole Anthony. But let's be honest, folks: We in the media were too busy begging Anthony for the next collection of dirt on America's shadier televangelists so we could call it our own. Then former Trinity member Wendy Duncan came out with a self-published book a few months ago called I Can't Hear God Anymore: Life in a Dallas Cult; in it, she describes
Trinity as a cult and depicts Anthony as a manipulative, deceitful bully.

We must admit she kind of forced our hand. Dallas Observer investigative reporter Glenna Whitley set out to determine whether any of Duncan's claims hold water. And you'll find the result of her work in today's cover story, "The Cult of Ole." You don't want to miss this special report. It's hitting Dallas newsstands right now.

http://www.dallasobserver.com/Issues/2006-08-03/news/feature.html

http://news.dallasobserver.com/2007-11-22/news/turning-the-tables/

Wendy J. Duncan
I Can't Hear God Anymore: Life in a Dallas Cult
http://www.dallascult.com

Hi Wendy,

Even if Ole Anthony is crooked as you suggest, how does this excuse the flagrant deceit of these unholy televangelist scoundrels, who take money off sick old ladies on the pretence that they have some special healing abilities, or a "hotline" to God?

Then spend the money on executive jets and $10,000 a night hotel suites??

BTW good luck with the book
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Old 12-02-2007, 07:13 AM   #6 (permalink)
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The love of money is the root of all evil.
Old 12-02-2007, 08:23 AM   #7 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Grace View Post
The love of money is the root of all evil.

Now the way that is explained by these prosperity teachers, lavish-life-livers, is that moneyis not the root of all evil, rather THE LOVE of money is the root of all evil.

And to further justify their extravagance they use this passage:
"...for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."

OhDear
Old 12-02-2007, 09:19 AM   #8 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OhDear View Post
Now the way that is explained by these prosperity teachers, lavish-life-livers, is that moneyis not the root of all evil, rather THE LOVE of money is the root of all evil.

And to further justify their extravagance they use this passage:
"...for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."

OhDear

Yes, very sad. I wonder how they get around " Its easyer for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle, than it is for a rich man to get to heaven."

Those are the types I picture on that day, that will be very heart broken to find that they never had a relationship with Jesus.
Old 12-05-2007, 08:25 AM   #9 (permalink)
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Graysher,
Re: Good luck on the book. Thanks, I appreciate it.

My question back to you: Does the means justify the end?


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The love of money is the root of all evil.
Old 12-05-2007, 12:44 PM   #10 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wendyjduncan View Post
Graysher,
Re: Good luck on the book. Thanks, I appreciate it.

My question back to you: Does the means justify the end?

You mean is it ok for televangelists to rip off their gullible audiences if the end result is several large mansions, a fleet of luxury cars and a private jet?

I think not. I think it's despicable.

And the televangelists who claim to be able to heal, or have some hot line to God are committing a far greater sin.
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