Rick Warren and the Outcast

“And that was a turning point in my life two-and-a-half years ago, where God basically said to me – and I’ve never heard God speak audibly; it’s in my mind – “The purpose of influence is to speak up for those who have no influence. The purpose of influence is to speak up for those who have no influence.” And in religious terms I had to say, “God, I repent, because I can’t think of the last time I thought of widows and orphans.” I live in a very affluent Southern California neighborhood. There aren’t any homeless people lying on the streets where I live. And I said, “I can’t think of the last time I cared about the homeless.”

And so I went back and I began to read scripture, and it was like blinders came off. Now, I’ve got three advanced degrees. I’ve had four years in Greek and Hebrew and I’ve got doctorates. And how did I miss 2,000 verses in the Bible where it talks about the poor? How did I miss that? I mean, I went to two different seminaries and a Bible school; how…”
-Rick Warren

Reasons I Hate Giving Money to Church

“Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, has opened an investigation into the finances of six of the leading prosperity televangelists, Paula White, Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer, Eddie Long, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn. Grassley is looking into whether these celebrity preachers abused their tax-exempt status by using proceeds to enrich themselves with luxury items like mansions, private jets, and fancy cars.”

Quotation from The American Prospect

A concise definition of the prosperity gospel: A well-coiffed and designer-clad televangelist badgers his TV listeners to send him their hard-earned dollars so that God will in turn financially bless them.

“Joyce Meyer calls herself a woman of God, and maybe she is, but Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, wants to know how Meyer can justify spending $23,000 in tax-exempt religious contributions for a marble-topped commode. Meyer’s church, Joyce Meyer Ministries in Missouri, is one of six Christian ministries Grassley is investigating for possible abuses of their tax-exempt status. Another of Grassley’s targets is Without Walls International Church, a controversial megachurch based in Tampa.”

Their ministry later clarified that this is not your ordinary toilet but really:
“While many have mistakenly associated this piece of furniture with a common household toilet, this particular term actually refers to the classic definition of commode identified by Webster’s Dictionary as, ‘a tall elegant chest of drawers.”’

To which I would say I still don’t want to give you money so you can by a “tall elegant chest of drawers” for $23,000. There are people who are hungry, people who need medicine and people who need clothes. I know a lot of people have been affected by Joyce Meyers in a positive way but…seriously?