To know God Is to Obey - Lukewarm Christians be warned, page-155 - HotCopper | ASX Share Prices, Stock Market & Share Trading Forum

Originally posted by Taurisk: ↑

@wafflehead - I do not often post in this sub-forum, but have made a friend who is a true believer. Of course, it is his own, very personalised truth and I cannot reveal his particular 'true' church - but today, with a heavy heart, I checked a post - on here as well, which listed 84 preaching videos by different pastors, lay preachers etc. and then began checking how much these people were worth in personal wealth.

I managed to retrieve the first one, won't mention him by name, but he is an evangelist, lives in Los Angeles and is worth 14 million - not a bad sum, but in a lifetime of scrimping and saving an ordinary person, living a good and pious life could never achieve such wealth. He has certainly won the lottery and there will be more to come as he gets older.

For the second one, it was impossible to find a Wikipedia entry for him - very shy and guarded about his personal wealth he is, but he is a prolific producer of books and videos, all sold for money, all sold all over the world, by a church which does a lot of good, too. I then gave up and just generally checked 'pastors wealth' - there is a link at the end of this. For example Billy Graham, is/was worth $25 million - not bad either

It isn't a bad living and it should be a warning , an alarm bell ringing out to all and sundry: that these people are often well-motivated but they will eventually share the fate told in the bible story (New Testament) of a rich man never reaching the kingdom of heaven. Jesus was asked that question and he answered:
“Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God? It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

Why would you believe anything these people preach as the 'sole truth', often pitching one variety of Christianity against another?

Take care all
Taurisk

Check out these preachers' lives:

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/net-worth-richest-pastors-will-blow-your-mind.html/

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I wish I could say something really clever in reply, but in truth I find deeply perplexing.

I come from a very poor family and grew up on a dairy farm in Moruya, but I never felt poor and the great superpower derived from living a country life with good, solid, ordinary people is that you end up with a fully function Bullsite Detector.

As far as I'm concerned all TV evangelists, preachers and their ilk are conmen and women. Why people cast their lot in with these crooks is more likely for psychological reasons, rather than seeker some deeper meaning in life. I can see the potential of religion, but have never experienced it working even remotely as a force for the progress of humanity.

Now as wafflehead I could go off on a tangent here, but I believe there are a couple of markers that will let you know if you are on the right track.

!. Any religious teachings that contradicts proven science is not of G.d.
2. Any religion claiming to be the only path to G.d, the only truth of G.d, the only accurate knowledge about G.d, is not of G.d.
3. Any religion that denigrates other true religions, calls them pagan, that they are run by Satan, are not of G.d.
4. Any religion that does not have oversights, fully disclosed accounts, or has highly paid practitioners, is not of G.d.
5. Any religion that has religious experts and claims infallibility is not of G.d.
6. Any religion teaching a prosperity doctrine is not of G.d.

Nobody can be wealthy and claim to be Christian.

Now your friend may have specific reasons why he needs to find some niche of belief. Why he needs to subjugate his own worth and value into the compliance of some so-called religious expert. I'm guessing he has linked up with an American religious group. They are the most contagious.

Religion is the black death of this age, that's why the Bible called this age, The Abomination of Desolation. That's why you can be certain that everybody on HC claiming some religious truth is wrong.

Sorry about your friend. One day they'll hand his ass back to him on a plate and only then might he wake up.