Posted on 04/16/2009 6:03:40 PM PDT by ReformationFan
Sometimes I get confused watching these mega-church preachers.
Are they reading the same Bible I'm reading?
Do they really have an intimate relationship with the same Jesus I know?
Is the Holy Spirit actually working within them providing the kind of discernment He promises believers?
These questions came to mind while watching Joel Osteen and his lovely wife, Victoria, on CNN's "Larry King Live" last week.
Is this the new face of American Christianity? Is this why Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected? Is this the Good News? Or is this some other religion altogether?
Admittedly, Osteen ticked me off right out of the gate by praising Barack Obama: "Well, I think he's doing a great job. I'm impressed with his skill, his calmness, his just strength under pressure. These are tough times for him."
Actually, no. These aren't tough times for Obama. He's having the time of his life. He's partying it up and eating $100-a-pound beef in the White House. We should all face such tough times. Maybe that's how the mega-wealthy Osteens define tough times. But I submit to you it is the American people who are suffering not the Obamas.
But the interview actually went downhill from there.
(Excerpt) Read more at wnd.com ...
No, I don't suscribe.
Joel Osteen just gives that creepy feeling when you see/hear him. His wife too. Creepy.
He’s a politician.
Osteen’s a fraud.
He doesn’t blink . . . he closes his eyes briefly . . . yeah, kinda’ creepy. Still can’t figure out if the unborn are sacred to him . . . almost like listening to a Methodist preacher who doesn’t want to offend the offensive. Does anyone know if he’s pro-life or pro-death????????
Like a lot of tele-Evangelists, it seems to me that their own prosperity is what they're most concerned about. All I can say, even the Pope doesn't have his own plane.
I would suspect he probably avoids discussing abortions one way or the other because he wants to stay “positive.”
“I would suspect he probably avoids discussing abortions one way or the other because he wants to stay positive.”
What could be more positive than to be pro-life? Think about it.
Joel Osteen is, if I’m not mistaken, a Church of God pastor who decided to water down his gospel message into a feel-good thing for money and political correctness. If he’s not COG (which is the denomination I belong to), he was supposed to be Pentecostal. What angers me isn’t just his hokey-balogna let’s-all-hold-hands-and-sing-cumbaya mentality; I’ve heard that he actually has a place in his church where people can seek the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. However, it’s a tiny room off to the side, with no cameras or any means of drawing attention.
There should be no tiny room. The church IS the “special place” where you can seek the Baptism. You don’t put the Holy Spirit in a box like that.
I think it is a combination between Selfism and Motivationalspeakerism.
Trust your instincts on this one. The gospel is not about physical prosperity here on earth. He has great teeth though.
And I am not a person of faith, just an observer of people.
Unfortunately, this type of Christianity has been around since the apostles. They are the tares.
I don’t like any of the mega churches and don’t understand what the attraction is, frankly.
Osteen’s definition of “positive” is probably very different than how you or I might define it.
The Osteen’s God is $$$$$$$. Lots of it. Rick Warren is another pro-Hussein fraud.
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