THE WORD-FAITH RAVENOUS WOLVES
"Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" Matthew 7:22-23
FALSE PROPHETS
TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test
the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out
into the world. 1 John 4:1
FAITH HEALERS THEN AND NOW
Rasputin and Hinn
Senate Inquiry Targets Televangelists
By
ERIC GORSKI
November 7, 2007
The Associated Press
Acting on tips about preachers who ride in Rolls Royces
and have purportedly paid $30,000 for a conference table, the top Republican on
the Senate Finance Committee said Tuesday he's investigating the finances of
six well-known TV ministers.
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said those under scrutiny include faith healer
Benny Hinn, Georgia megachurch pastor Creflo Dollar and one of the nation's
best known female preachers, Joyce Meyer.
Grassley sent letters to the half-dozen Christian media ministries earlier this
week requesting answers by Dec. 6 about their expenses, executive compensation
and amenities, including use of fancy cars and private jets.
In a statement, Grassley said he was acting on complaints from the public and
news coverage of the organizations.
"The allegations involve governing boards that aren't independent and
allow generous salaries and housing allowances and amenities such as private
jets and Rolls Royces," Grassley said.
"I don't want to conclude that there's a problem, but I have an obligation
to donors and the taxpayers to find out more. People who donated should have
their money spent as intended and in adherence with the tax code."
Those ministries that responded Tuesday either said they were cooperating or
committed to financial transparency and following the law.
The investigation promises to shine new light on the kind of TV ministries that
were crippled by sex and money scandals in the 1980s. Experts also say it
stands out as an unusual case of the government probing the inner workings of
religious organizations.
Most of those under investigation preach a variation of the "prosperity
gospel," the teaching that God will shower faithful followers with
material riches.
Grassley's letters went to:
Kenneth and Gloria Copeland of Kenneth Copeland Ministries of Newark, Texas, a
$20 million organization and prosperity gospel pioneer. Questions were raised
about the transfer of church assets to a for-profit company, Security Patrol
Inc., a $1 million loan from Gloria Copeland to the group, and a "personal
gift" of more than $2 million given to Kenneth Copeland to mark the
ministry's 40th anniversary.
A Copeland spokeswoman released a statement saying the ministry is working on a
response to Grassley's letter, follows all laws and best practices governing
churches and religious nonprofit groups, and "will continue to do
so."
Creflo and Taffi Dollar of World Changers Church
International and Creflo Dollar Ministries of College Park, Ga. Grassley's
letter asks for records on private planes, board makeup, compensation and
donations and "love offerings" to visiting ministers. In a statement,
Dollar called his ministry an "open book" and said he would
cooperate. He also questioned whether the investigation could "affect the
privacy of every community church in America."
Benny Hinn of World Healing Center Church Inc. and Benny Hinn Ministries of
Grapevine, Texas, is asked about use of a private jet, a home in Dana Point,
Calif. and "layover trips" while traveling on ministry business. Hinn
did not respond to requests for comment.
Bishop Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and Bishop Eddie Long
Ministries of Lithonia, Ga., was questioned about his salary, a $1.4 million
real estate transaction and whether he, and not the board, holds sole authority
over the organization. Long plans to fully comply with the Senate's request,
and his church has "several safeguards" to ensure transactions comply
with laws governing churches, according to a statement from Long's spokesman.
Joyce and David Meyer of Joyce Meyer Ministries of Fenton, Mo., who were
quizzed about receiving donations of money and jewelry and the handling of cash
from overseas crusades. They also were asked about expenditures at ministry
headquarters, including a $30,000 conference table and a $23,000 "commode
with marble top."
The ministry's lawyer released a statement describing the ministry's work and
public release of several years' worth of audits. He also said the IRS found in
October that the group continues to qualify for tax-exempt status.
Randy and Paula White of the multiracial Without Walls International Church and
Paula White Ministries of Tampa, Fla. are asked about home purchases in San
Antonio, Texas, Malibu, Calif., and New York, credit card charges for clothing and
cosmetic surgery and the reported purchase of a Bentley convertible as a gift
for Bishop T.D. Jakes, a prominent Texas preacher and televangelist. An e-mail
to a spokeswoman for Jakes was not immediately returned.
In a statement, Randy and Paula White declined to comment on specifics, saying
they needed time to review the letter with their lawyers. But the Whites called
the Grassley letter "unusual, since the IRS has separate powers to
investigate religious organizations if they think it's necessary."
Hinn, Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar all sit on the board of regents for
Oral Roberts University, which is mired in a financial scandal of its own.
The Senate Finance Committee has chided secular nonprofits for governance and
compensation problems in the past, but this level of scrutiny for what are
basically "non-pulpit churches" is unprecedented, said Ken Behr,
president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.
Because the groups have tax status as churches, they are not required to file
tax forms open to public inspection.
Church gunman may have made Web threats
By
GEORGE MERRITT
Associated Press
December 11, 2007
DENVER – In between his two deadly shooting sprees, church gunman Matthew
Murray apparently posted a furious threat on the Internet to kill Christians.
But whether the warning reached police before he struck again was unclear
Tuesday.
Murray shot himself in the head and died after being hit by shots from a church
security officer, police said.
He was struck multiple times by a security officer at New Life Church on
Sunday, but his death was ruled a suicide, the El Paso County Coroner’s Office
concluded after an autopsy.
The warning – and other anguished, despair-filled messages over the past few
months – was posted by someone using the screen name “nghtmrchld26.” The
postings paint a picture of a home-schooled Colorado youth once affiliated with
the Youth With a Mission program – as 24-year-old Murray had been.
“I’m coming for EVERYONE soon and I WILL be armed to the (expletive) teeth and
I WILL shoot to kill,” the Sunday posting by nghtmrchld26 said.
“God, I can’t wait till I can kill you people. Feel no remorse, no sense of
shame, I don’t care if I live or die in the shoot-out. All I want to do is kill
and injure as many of you ... as I can especially Christians who are to blame
for most of the problems in the world.”
At least one visitor to the site was alarmed and contacted the FBI promptly,
before the second attack, the site’s administrator said. But the FBI would not
immediately confirm that.
The message was posted on a site for former Pentecostals at 9:55 a.m. or 10:55
a.m. – the time zone was not clear, said Joe Istre,
site administrator and president of the Association of Former Pentecostals.
Either way, that was several hours after Murray killed two people at Youth With
a Mission, a training center for missionaries in the Denver suburb of Arvada,
and at least two hours before he killed two more people at the New Life Church
in Colorado Springs around 1 p.m.
Denver FBI spokeswoman Rene Vonder Haar said the agency began an investigation immediately
after receiving a call at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. She refused to discuss the nature
of the call but said the information was passed on to police in Arvada and
Colorado Springs.
But Colorado Springs police Sgt. Scott Schwall said
that police there did not learn the Murray family home’s address in Englewood
until after the church shootings, and that a search did not begin until well
after dark.
Arvada police spokeswoman Susan Medina confirmed the FBI passed on information
regarding the mission center shootings about 10:30 a.m. She would not discuss
the information in detail but said “we began work on that tip immediately.”
Medina said Arvada detectives did not go to Murray’s home and speak to his
family until 3 p.m., well after the second attack. Medina said police cannot
say with certainty who nghtmrchld26 is.
Murray was dismissed from Youth With a Mission in 2002 for what the training
center has described only as health reasons. Youth With a Mission maintains an
office at the New Life Church.
The online threats appear to include whole passages lifted from a manifesto
written by Eric Harris, one of the teens who carried out the 1999 massacre at
Columbine High School – 13 miles from Murray’s hometown.
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which
also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you
hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I
delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for
our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose
again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by
Cephas, then by the twelve. 1 Corinthians 15:1-5
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