The mega church is capitalism and religion at their pinnacle!
The biggest is Lakewood church lead by Joel Osteen. There are 90 mega churches with over 10,000 attendees every week! These are making a very few people very wealthy! Osteen has never disclosed his charitable donations. He claims he doesn't draw a salary yet he lives in a $10.5 million dollar mansion. While it is "free" to go to Lakewood church, Osteen charges $15 to reserve a seat when he takes his show on the road. For better seating you are looking at 3 to 4 times that. Doesn't christianity preach specifically against the rich? Didn't Jesus have nothing but disdain for the wealthy, something about a camel and the eye of a needle?
It is hypocrisy, it is about self serving, self aggrandizing, greedy people. They, particularly Osteen, preach do as I do and you will be wealthy like me! This is christianity in the US today it seems like. With unemployment, real unemployment not the bullshit numbers reported on, well over 10% nationally, these mega churches are preying on the most vulnerable. They preach you can be wealthy too if you listen and follow what they preach. That is a load of crap! The only people getting rich are those associated with the churches!
Of the 90 largest mega churches, the average attendance is somewhere around 12,000 per week, which is over 1 million people (1,080,000). Now if each one of those people put just $2 into the collection plate or donate otherwise per week, that is $2.160 million dollars PER WEEK! Or over $112 million dollars per year. This is a very conservative calculation, if it is $5 per person that ups the donations to over $5 million per week!
Like the catholic church, these mega churches do not pay taxes as ordinary businesses do. But aside from that, they do not operate as a charitable organization. The operating expenses of these mega churches cannot be any more than a third of the money brought in. While these "churches" do have to report their expenditures to charity, I would bet it is far less than a quarter, probably closer to a tenth of income. So where does the money go?
The Lakewood Church reports income of $70 million per year.
Osteen says he does not draw a salary from the church.
Osteen lives in a 10 million dollar mansion. The $260,000 tax bill is paid by Covenant Trust.
He claims he lives off profits of his books and is reported to have made $55 million, including advances on his books of up to $13 million.
Joel Osteen has said that a person should never feel guilty for being rich, as God views that as an insult. Instead, he should praise God for blessing him with the money.
Proverbs 11:28 Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.
James 2:6 But you have dishonoured the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you by might? and do not they draw you before the judgment seats?
Luke 6:20-21 Then he looked up at his disciples and said "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."
There are MANY quotes from the old testament regarding the wealthy. But some how Osteen and all the other mega church preachers seem to be above the word of their god. But that is the point isn't it, they are. They flourish, none of them have ever been struck down by their god. They can rewrite the words how ever they chose, like all christians they take the easy road and ignore the inconvenient. They are elites, they are better than those who they feed off of like parasites, they are the betters of the commoners. Right??
Fucking hypocrites!
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