Tag: prosperity gospel

Christ Embassy’s false gospel; Bill Gothard quits; Ultraman banned

Bill Gothard, founder of the Institute in Basic Life Principles, has resigned in the wake of an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse.

Sometimes the Prosperity Gospel scam does work. But guess who gets rich of it?

A former Aum Shinrikyo cult member who surrendered after 17 years on the run has now been sentenced to 9 years in prison for his participation in three cult-related crimes.

Cult leader Victor Barnard, who faces abuse charges, is missing.

Plus: The fictional True Detective series may have been inspired by the Hosanna Church child abuse case.

Benny Hinn’s money machine * Narconon problems * Scientology’s money pit

Benny Hinn and his traveling money machine were in Pittsburgh. Here’s why you shouldn’t fall for the scheme.

Scientology and money also go hand in hand. By why exactly did they buy that building?

Speaking of Scientology: Like the cult itself , Narconon, a drug rehab organization that uses treatments based on L. Ron Hubbard’s quackery is sinking deeper into problems.

Cult leader ‘Little Pebble’ to be denied parole

William Kamm, jailed for abusing underage followers whom he manipulated into believing they were to help him start an ‘immaculate race,’ won’t be released when he is eligible for parole, the parole board says.

Also: A family brainwashed by a conman who robbed them talks about the ordeal. And New York is suing Ultra-Orthodox Jews who enforce a dress code in their stores.

Plus, some parents claims St. Anthony’s Monastery near Florence, Arizona, is a cult. Also in Religion News Briefs, find out why a New Zealand politicians wants to stop Muslims from flying. And more….

Come to church and donate your money: we’re buying a mall

god and money Among the items in today’s edition of Religion News Briefs: ‘Come to church and give us your money: We’re buying a mall.’

Plus: the Muslim cleric at the foreground of the campaign to prosecute a young Pakistani girl accused of blasphemy may have planted the evidence — burned pages from the Koran — himself.

From the religion beat: the popular Faith & Reason column at USA TODAY is closing down.

Watchdog: Jesse Duplantis’ ministry is big business

Jesse Duplantis Trinity Foundation, an evangelical watchdog led by Ole Anthony has been investigating evangelist Jesse Duplantis.

Investigator Pete Evans says ‘Donors expect the money they donate to the church to go to the poor and needy. Not to build mansions for the pastor.” Duplantis is building a mansion, owned by the ministry, that has 35-thousand square feet of covered space.

Prosperity gospel faces challenge: frugal savers

Prosperity Gospel Despite the economic downturn, the prosperity gospel remains alive and well. Pastors like Cowan or televangelists like the Rev. Creflo Dollar and the Rev. Kenneth Copeland continue to promise that financial blessings will follow donations to their ministries.

But it faces a challenge from a new austerity gospel, which says God blesses those who work hard, save their money and pay off their debts.

Prosperity Gospel: Did Christianity Cause the Crash?

Prosperity Gospel America’s mainstream religious denominations used to teach the faithful that they would be rewarded in the afterlife. But over the past generation, a different strain of Christian faith has proliferated—one that promises to make believers rich in the here and now.

Known as the prosperity gospel, and claiming tens of millions of adherents, it fosters risk-taking and intense material optimism. It pumped air into the housing bubble. And one year into the worst downturn since the Depression, it’s still going strong.

• In the same issue of The Atlantic: Lead us not into debt: Finance guru Dave Ramsey wins followers with a simple message: find God and lose your credit cards.