Please remember that you are choosing to read my opinions.

Within 5 seconds of turning on a popular "spiritual" TV station, I heard:

"When you release your ($1000) seed, God will release the Harvest in his hand."

So click that comment button. Release the seed of comment, and tell me why religious networks have no integrity and allow scam artists on their networks. Then, and only then, will God will release the harvest of knowledge upon us.

I have a rule of thumb. If they are on TV, they are trying to pull my leg. They want your money, and they'll apparently say anything to get it. In fact, they'll give you the whole prosperity gospel shtick (even though I don't agree with everything on that site, they illustrate what I'm trying to say) just to convince you that they are blessed and you can be just as blessed, especially if you give to them. I mean, they get rich off of you, how are you going to get rich in that one way relationship?

It is very transparent to the skeptic, and certainly the most avid bible readers will see the twisting of the bible to support their prosperity theology....

But almost all televangelists have serious problems. If they aren't false prophets, they are ambiguous (at best) about salvation, or something else. What I'm interested in is not scriptural discrepancies, or even lack of the true use of the bible in these cases. I just want to know...

How do they get away with it?

I know the answer, but I still can't believe it works, and keeps working, no matter how many times it is exposed over the years.

It is tried and true manipulation. I've seen it with my own eyes. It is hysteria. It is abuse of power. People come to these churches with real needs. Maybe they are sick,  poor, hungry, or hopeless... maybe they just have a deep, spiritual need of some other sort... and these "preachers" send a message that all you have to do is open yourself up to their message, give them money, believe what they say, and whatever it is that you want, and they promise, will come true.

I've had ears behind the scenes in these churches that promise to heal you and your loved ones of their problems. Where they bring people up on stage and "heal" them of problems they never had. I've seen people taken for money when they are desperate for their loved one to get better against all odds. And this isn't necessarily on TV. This is down the street. This is happening to your neighbors, and your family.

There have been good people, who've given up their own comfort in order to help others. That isn't what I see when I turn on the TV, or walk down the street, though. I see preachers in over-priced suits, fancy cars, and big houses. Would it hurt these men of God to associate with the masses and ride the bus? To wear a suit off the rack? To live modestly, instead of lavishly?

No. No it wouldn't.

I want to see John Hagee riding a bus.