# Televangelist Joel Osteen is getting his own reality TV show **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2011, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510 "2011-11-30T00:17:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/1 "2011-11-30T00:17:26Z")
Produced by _Survivor_ producer Mark Burnett. [Link.](http://blog.chron.com/believeitornot/2011/11/joel-osteen%E2%80%99s-getting-a-reality-show-with-mark-burnett/) :eek: ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/2 "2011-11-30T00:21:49Z")
Why the :eek:? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/3 "2011-11-30T00:54:57Z")
He’s such a doofus. He was on Piers Morgan the other night- of whom it can be said he’s a better interviewer than his predecessor Larry King but we’re not exactly talking Edward R. Murrow here- and could not defend any of his positions on gay marriage or other churches or the criticisms of “Prosperity Gospel” or political candidates he’s endorsed other than by saying “I’ll be honest, I haven’t really studied \_\_\_ in that much depth”. Bitch, you’re getting tens of millions of dollars per year, why voice these views if you can’t defend them? I don’t know which is more disgusting: somebody who is so clearly not embarrassed by their own ignorance still making recommendations to millions of people, or the millions of people who made him rich and famous. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/4 "2011-11-30T01:01:58Z")
I don’t know much at all about him, other than he sure likes to smile. Was the fundamentalist preacher in _True Blood_ sort of modeled after him, or was he just an amalgamation of all of those televangelists? ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/5 "2011-11-30T01:05:09Z")
The wife and I were too lazy to change the tv once when he was on and we watched a bit. I remember saying, “Friggin A, that guy is charismatic.” Then I realized what a stupid thing that was to say. Of course he is, he’s a televangelist. He has to get people to send him their money somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/6 "2011-11-30T01:19:07Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I don’t know much at all about him, other than he sure likes to smile. Was the fundamentalist preacher in _True Blood_ sort of modeled after him, or was he just an amalgamation of all of those televangelists? From what I’ve seen of him (they were giving out some of his books for free at the Y for some reason, and I flipped through while I was waiting for my gf), he’s more or less a self-help Guru with a thin veneer of religiosity sprinkled over the top. If Muslims or Buddhists take over the world, he could simply use a document editor and search and replace “Jesus” with “Allah” or “Buddha” and keep selling the same books. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/7 "2011-11-30T01:25:51Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I don’t know much at all about him, other than he sure likes to smile. Was the fundamentalist preacher in _True Blood_ sort of modeled after him, or was he just an amalgamation of all of those televangelists? I’ll make it short: To many conservative Christians, he is a **huge wimpy preacher who never mentions Hell, salvation, or any difficult subjects, like homosexuality, abortion, or anything else.** He is the very definition of “tell them what they want to hear”. If it is unpleasant, deep, or controversial, he avoids it. Just like Jesus. Oh, wait. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/8 "2011-11-30T01:27:57Z")
Oh, and as a side point, he does believe homosexuality is a sin and people that don’t know Jesus go to hell when they die. He just doesn’t talk about it unless very pressed. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/9 "2011-11-30T01:37:03Z")
Then it would be a kumbaya show? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/10 "2011-11-30T01:44:24Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > Then it would be a kumbaya show? Definitely. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/11 "2011-11-30T01:51:06Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I don’t know much at all about him, other than he sure likes to smile. Was the fundamentalist preacher in _True Blood_ sort of modeled after him, or was he just an amalgamation of all of those televangelists? He’s also extremely focused on what someone else termed the prosperity gospel. Basically, if you’re wealthy, God loves what you’re doing and is rewarding you with prosperity. If you’re poor, then you’re obviously a sinner so get straight with God and he will make it rain. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/12 "2011-11-30T01:59:41Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > He’s also extremely focused on what someone else termed the prosperity gospel. Basically, if you’re wealthy, God loves what you’re doing and is rewarding you with prosperity. If you’re poor, then you’re obviously a sinner so get straight with God and he will make it rain. Has this guy ever read the book of Job? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/13 "2011-11-30T02:07:37Z")
I imagine that would be a criticism of the prosperity gospel that Sampiro mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/14 "2011-11-30T02:37:41Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Has this guy ever read the book of Job? Or, uh, any of the Bible? I’m sure he has, but he’s clueless and has his fingers in his ears(and blinders on his eyes). I mean, how many of the 12 disciples(including the 13th) died terrible deaths? We can’t know for sure, but traditionally it’s all but John. And these were the people he liked! ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/15 "2011-11-30T02:38:25Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I’ll make it short: > > To many conservative Christians, he is a **huge wimpy preacher who never mentions Hell, salvation, or any difficult subjects, like homosexuality, abortion, or anything else.** He is the very definition of “tell them what they want to hear”. > > If it is unpleasant, deep, or controversial, he avoids it. > > Just like Jesus. > > Oh, wait. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/16 "2011-11-30T02:43:14Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > He’s also extremely focused on what someone else termed the prosperity gospel. Basically, if you’re wealthy, God loves what you’re doing and is rewarding you with prosperity. If you’re poor, then you’re obviously a sinner so get straight with God and he will make it rain. Ahhh yes, the Prosperity Gospel. I had forgotten about that little gem. It wraps selfishness and material ambitions up in the cloak of “godliness”, kind of giving a way to rationalize lifestyles that don’t mesh with the traditional sense of christian morality and the selflessness of Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/17 "2011-11-30T15:31:14Z")
What Olsteen lacks in education (no degrees or any special training at all in anything, and he inherited his congregation about a week after the death of his charismatic father) he makes up for in physical appearance (both he and his wife are considered unusually attractive by their followers) and “feel good, prosperity gospel” sermonizing. It’s pretty much a family dynasty with almost all immediate and extended family members employed in their churchly enterprise. Many of my neighbors consider themselves ‘regulars’ at his church and make no pretense that he has any intellectual heft. He just makes them feel good and gives them a goal to aspire to- attractive family and ‘financial blessings’. I ask my friend who attends if there is …Some Law… Which Makes… Southern Charismatics tawlk… Like That… ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/televangelist-joel-osteen-is-getting-his-own-reality-tv-show/604510/18 "2011-11-30T16:18:24Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > I ask my friend who attends if there is ..Some Law… Which Makes… Southern Charismatics tawlk.. Like That… It just happens naturally if you think vowels have two syllables.