Osteen church burgled for HOW MUCH??

[BigT]

@Sicks_Ate

Googling “Osteen prosperity gospel” turn up LOTS of hits. This is also a good article: The False Promise Of The Prosperity Gospel: Why I Called Out Joel Osteen And Joyce Meyer | HuffPost Religion

I agree that the quote you brought up does address the issue I brought up. However, it does so in a context that goes beyond the prosperity gospel. The prosperity gospel, as you’ll note in Guin’s link, is all about giving financially to get blessings from God, and that that will have you be blessed financially. Osteen expands that to all good works.

I still say it’s closer to repackaged motivational speaking than to any specific heresy. There still is a minor difference. You give, not to the church or God, but to the poor. You don’t give to show your faith in God.

I’m not sating he’s right. The stuff you’ve linked has actually made me more wary of him than I was, but I still don’t think it’s quite the prosperity gospel. But I understand if you disagree.

Regardless, he does specifically say that he is against pressuring people to give HIM money to get blessings, which is what the prosperity gospel does. That’s what makes the prosperity gospel not just a heresy, but an actual scam. I would not hesitation to call those who preach the prosperity gospel “hucksters,” but I would not use that term for Osteen, even though I think his theology (as much as he has one) is questionable.

I do think he’s hit upon one good thing: Christians need some sort of real life Christian encouragement. Too many churches are about condemnation or about theological ideas that don’t really touch the real world. It’s no wonder that so many seek that encouragement elsewhere.

I don’t know the name of it, but my sister is currently listening to another large church that does a much better job of still preaching the gospel, while still encouraging believers. I think Osteen’s biggest problem is that he got so caught up in the encouragement that he forgot everything else.

BTW, that article does a really bad job of indicting Meyers. He takes for granted that you’ll see what she teaches as heresy. And he seems to forget his thesis that of it being about the prosperity gospel. At least the points he makes with Osteen’s teachings are actual arguments.

[Little_Nemo]

@drewtwo99

Ok as an atheist who has very little use for any religion, I have to say that Osteen is about as much of a threat as a sappy motivational poster “Teamwork: You don’t have to do it alone!”

Yeah the guy is a millionaire who lives opulently and people continue to donate to him. He’s a motivational speaker who rarely even talks about Christ or Christian values anymore. He does genuinely give pretty good advice, even if it is insipid and uninspired.

But come on. Smash it? Why do people let it happen? Get off it. There are real, dangerous religions in this world and Osteen is actually probably a net positive in the world even if he is a hypocrite and lives opulently.

Agreed. It’s not like Osteen is part of the “gay people cause hurricanes” crowd. I’d rather see people giving money to him than Pat Robertson.

[armedmonkey]

@Fishybreath

Wow, communion must take forever.

As has been mentioned, it’s an old sports arena. They still have the T-shirt cannons.

[Esox_Lucius]

@Thudlow_Boink

Yeah: Is there anything unsavory about Osteen or his church aside from its being really, really big (and from the antipathy some people around here have toward religion in general)?

For one thing, he’s selling false hope. For another, and I find it hard to see why this is getting passed over so easily here, greed is greed. If he isn’t taking widows’ life savings, he’s still taking a shitload of other people’s money and spending it lavishly (can I say Osteen-tatiously?) on himself. Whatever his message is, the example he’s setting says “Think positive and you too can be greedy and selfish”. And wouldn’t you know it, those happen to be the dark little urges in our character that con artists prey on.