Christian Ministry Tracks TV Profiteers (from Focus on the Family)
The Dallas-based Trinity Foundation, which was founded in 1972 by Ole Anthony, continues to monitor television evangelists that exploit viewers who are in desperate situations. "Sixty percent of the donor pool for televangelists comes from elderly women," says Anthony. "Thirty-five percent are what we call a desperation pool — they've tried everything else. Their son is dying of AIDS, or they have cancer."
Anthony believes that television has exposed a side of the American church that he sees as paganism. "The church should be shocked by the televangelists' blatant parade of pagan ideas and their "gimme gospel of greed." The church should be ashamed for allowing a $2.5 billion business to prey on the elderly, the poor and the desperate and do it in the name of God. I'm calling this paganism because, if you take the cross out of Christianity, nothing is left but paganism," said Anthony in a speech presented at the Philadelphia Conference on Cults and the Occult and the Word Faith Movement.
Along with its investigations of televangelists, the watchdog organization also operates The Dallas Project for the Homeless, publishes the religious satire magazine, The Wittenburg Door, and sponsors several nondenominational home church groups. The foundation also sponsors and staffs a nationwide toll-free help line (1-800-229-VICTIM) for people who believe they or a loved one has been victimized by a televangelist.
For further information about the Trinity Foundation, go to www.trinityfi.org.
3 comments:
Ahh come on, lol, D. james kennedy, chuck stanely, billy graham, james robinson, kirk cameron, ron luce from Acguire the fire, david jerimiah, adrian rogers and jack hayford is on it.
You can watch it online too.
http://www.tbn.org/index.php/2.html
It's just like watching reqular television, take the good and switch the channel on the rest.
That's why I used the word "much" and not "all". The guys you listed make up much too small of the air time for me to consider watching TBN. The distruction, mistruths, and outright unbibiblical lies that are broadcast on that system are vomit inducing. A friend of mine had his elderly mother take out a full mortgage on her home and send the $$ into TBN, and subsequently lost the home (which was originally 75% paid for) because some con artist on that station "told her" that God would bless four fold a large faith donation. Sure, there is much that should be said for why she did this, and personal accountability, but that is only part of the equation. No minstry should be taking advantage of the weak, elderly, or the emotionally needy.
So NO, it's NOT just like watching regular TV. For you and me, yes, we have discernment, but others do not, as is evidenced by this minstry (www.trinityfi.org).
Oh...yes it is like watching regular tv. Spiritual trash versus well spiritual trash.
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