ANSWERS: 24
  • self enrichment and agrandisment spring to mind
  • The apostle Paul indicated that the time would come when imitation Christians would appear. They would bear the name Christian but not live up to it or produce its good fruits. He told elders from Ephesus: “I know that after my going away oppressive wolves will enter in among you and will not treat the flock with tenderness, and from among you yourselves men will rise and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves.” (Acts 20:29, 30) From these apostates arose Christendom with its hundreds of conflicting religious organizations teaching things that are merely represented as being Christian. Actually, they are “twisted things,” ideas of men and not the truth of God’s Word. It has been among these false Christians that the bad fruitage of fanaticism has manifested itself. These so called "Christian ministers" are more about self and making money than about sharing true spiritual food.
  • Because they like themselves more than anything else.
  • It almost invariably comes down to two things----money and power. They may begin with good intentions but when the money begins to flow, God is forgotten and "self" takes His place.
  • They probably see themselves as the new coming of Jesus. Its about power. Its probably so different from the mainstream that they need a diff foundation.
  • $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and POWER
  • “Ministers say that they teach charity. That is natural. They live on hand-outs. All beggars teach that others should give.” -Robert Ingersoll-
  • Because they are greedy bastards.
  • This is what it looks like when Christ does not sit at the center of a Christian's life. +5
  • money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, mnoey.
  • They are more interested in self-promotion. Wealth and power. +5
  • Because they're not actually Christian and they want your money.
  • Yes they do. They are more focused on building up their Church than Jesus Christ himself. Focus on Him and he will do the rest.
  • He's got it $$$$$ and power. Did you follow the money Try this guy phony as a three dollar bill yet people throw millions at him hoping for a miracle once reported as to his staff see I got that little old ladied=s last five bucks http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=benny+hinn+wealthj&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=iwvsSs2cFI3YtgOetvDhBw&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CBkQqwQwAw#. http://www.rickross.com/reference/hinn/hinn1.html Old P.T. had it right a sucker born every minute.
  • Absolutely. The purpose of "evangelism" is to make money off of selling something that's free already and that is religion. Some "evangelists" take up to 49% off the top from donations for their own personal use...they would take more but the IRS would change their tax status on them if they did. It's a racket - pure and simple. For every honest and earnest preacher out there there is a criminal just waiting to bilk you out of your hard earned cash. The "gifts of god" are free - so why so many idiots send their hard earned cash to these criminals I'll never know.
  • Speaking as someone who lives in the heart land of some of the more notorious of these ministries (I live down the freeway from TBN. In fact, I used to drive by it everyday going to/from work) and having personally met some of these TV Evangelists, their friends, and their family members here's what I've observed: They mean well - really - but they often get caught up in the ridiculous adulation that simple minded, even "snapped" Christian devotees give them. Often the overhead for these ministries is quite high and, frankly, there IS competition among the ministries for donations. As a result, they get overtaken by the harsh realities of the marketplace and feel like they have to be self-promoting to get, "their fair share". I'm not agreeing with it, but it's a sobering fact. Quite often these ministers are drawn to Televangelism because they have attention seeking personalities. Getting attention for people with this psychic make-up can be like crack - the more they get the more they want. They're always looking for a higher high. They lack accountability. It may (or may not) shock AnswerBaggers to know that many of the Christian TV personalities that you see on the air don't have a "home church", don't have a Pastor, and don't have accountability partners outside of their organization. As a result they can become insular and become further and further out of touch with reality as their ministry and organization grows. Adding to that last problem is how many TV Evangelists surround themselves with sycophants rather than "regular folk" who will regularly bring them back to reality via "hard truths" regarding their behavior in particular and the organization in general. Personally, I feel that this THIS is prescription for fixing these ministries BTW! Sadly, it's not uncommon for Jesus to get lost in the mix of the "strange brew" that I've outlined above. However, I want to leave you all with this thought: These generally aren't bad, evil, greedy, power-hungry people - though there ARE exceptions. Most of these people are doing the best that they can BUT they have made some really poor decisions, used exceptionally bad judgment, and as a result fallen into a kind of unfortunate psychosis - of the kind that we all suffer from to varying degrees. As a result it's only a matter of "when" God's Fatherly discipline is going to fall on them. However, that's not unusual since Heavenly Father does this with ALL His children*. So rather than pouring vats of harsh, cynical judgment on these folks I would encourage the reader to learn from them (you have to admit they're powerful object lessons for a whole lotta life lessons) and acknowledge humbly: "There but by the grace of God go I!" Thank you for letting me share. P.S. Here's the AB question that I'm going to post if no one else does first: "It's been argued that due to it's high cost of TV broadcasting using television as a tool for ministry/evangelism isn't a wise stewardship of God's money . . . well you can see where that's going. Maybe, I'll post it, maybe I won't. * The problem is that for TV Evangelists God's discipline is usually public and quite embarrassing for both them and the Church of Jesus Christ as a whole - we BOTH get black eyes.
  • They are false prophets. They claim to have some divine power but they don't. They decieve millions of people that believe it is Christianity. But all it is, is a dirty scam to earn money. -Matthew 7:15-23 "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "So then, you will know them by their fruits. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'
  • because they are ful of greed...
  • they know they're bank account numbers but don't know jesus's
  • Because they're true objective is to make themselves rich, NOT spread the word of God.
  • They care more about their new car than the gospel.
  • Vanity, hypocrisy and heresy.
  • Because "while the cat's away, the mice will play"? ;-)
  • They are lovers of money and lovers of self more than lovers of God.

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