Maybe no-one remembers this but a while back I challenged everyone to guess what a certain flash file was advertising (I apologise but I lost the sound in editing out the giveaway logo, that was probably the best bit). This was duly ignored, but I was reminded of it today for reasons that'll be made clear below. The intro was for a church in America - Lakewood Church- that a guy called Joel Osteen runs. The reason I'm posting this again now is that various people have started to question Joel Osteen's preaching. Normally these sorts of things are all about whether or not someone is preaching some point of doctrine correctly, y'know the sort of thing where people go 'I think he's undermining the Cross by his lack of emphasis on the fallen nature of man' or something. However for Mr./Rev. Joel Osteen the issue seems to be not a question about what he preaches but a question of whether he preaches anything at all. His talks seem to consist of 'Hey everyone, you can have a great life if you just step up and take it. God will give it to you! Hell Yeah! I mean Halleluiah! Yeah!'.
Which matters why? Well an authentic Christian is someone who wants to know God more and authentic Christian teaching is that which tells people more about God and how He affects their lives. Joel Osteen doesn't seem to be doing this. Normally, this sort of thing can be safely ignored because it just goes away and no-one cares. However this guy has the largest church in America, huge tv audiences and is seen as a bit of a spokesperson for Evangelical Christianity. I'd like to say along with many others, that this man does not represent me or the Evangelical as it is normally understood.
(8) Oxygen - Willy Mason
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Benjamin
If this is true, he also doesn't represent me...
American Evangelical Christians aren't always that Evangelical... or even all that Christian... they sure are American though...!