Don't 'Give Till It Hurts' . . . the new message is 'Give Or Else It Will Hurt'

Check out this little gem, courtesy of the Friendly Atheist: "Trump’s Spiritual Advisor: Give My Church One Month’s Pay or Face “Consequences”".  It's also being reported in The Christian Post: "Paula White Urges Followers to Sow 'First Fruits' Offering of Up to 1 Month's Pay"

Yes, A certain hamster haired serial liar and misogynist's spiritual advisor is telling people to give their entire January paychecks to her, or else.  Here it is in her own words:

"All Firsts belong to God. When you honor this principle it provides the foundation and structure for God’s blessings and promises in your life, it unlocks deep dimensions of spiritual truths that literally transform your life! When you apply this everything comes in divine alignment for His plan and promises for you. When you don’t honor it, whether through ignorance or direct disobedience there are consequences."

Yes, Paula White says a pretty typically vague promise of rewards if you donate, and promises consequences if you don't.  The downside is there are people who will fall for this.  She's preaching the Prosperity Gospel, which had such a perfect take down on Last Week Tonight starring John Oliver:

We should also note that twice-divorced Paula is worth about $5 million dollars and many in the religious circles don't even consider her a preacher because of her lifestyle.  I know that shouldn't make a difference, but don't ya just love Christians and their ability to rationalize things.

Here's how I see things.  Goods things happen, and so do bad things.  Some of the people who donate will have something good happen and Paula will be happy to use them in her marketing for further donations.  The contributors who have bad things happen to them will be told their belief wasn't strong enough -- in other words they need to donate more.  Sound familiar?

John Hagee says not voting for Trump will piss off God!

"Evangelical preacher John Hagee warns his followers that God "will not hold them harmless" if they do not vote for Donald Trump." is the headline of a post from over on The Immoral Minority blog.  It links to a video posted on YouTube where one of the televangelistas, John Hagee, is pretty much instructing his followers not just to vote . . . which wouldn't actually bother me at all . . . and he's not just telling them who to vote for . . . which I do find a bit disturbing . . . be he is also telling them that God will be holding them responsible if they do not vote for Trump . . . that I find absolutely reprehensible.  Here, check it out yourself:

I am sure if the government attempted to tell Hagee's mega-church who should they 'elect' as the leader of that church, Hagee would be the first person screaming about the separation of church and state.  Conveniently he forgets it when it comes to his own political statements, and that he is actually threatening his followers with God if they don't toe his particular line.

This isn't the first time Hagee stepped into the pool of politics, but I do think it's the first time he has basically threatened his followers in this way, at least about politics.  I would find it hard to believe he hasn't threatened them with God's wrath many times before.  After all, it's the only weapon he has to control other people and have them donate to support his lifestyle, after all he's the 11th wealthiest televangelista in the US.  That didn't happen though a vow of poverty now did it?

It does make a certain amount of sense.  After all Hagee is one of those 'prosperity preachers', you know the ones John Oliver lampooned so perfectly not too long ago.  I am more than a bit surprised that he seems to think Trump is doing anything ther than vote pandering.  Seriously, look at Trump's past, where was his deep religious beliefs then?  Did anyone see any signed during his failed business deals, during his divorces, or during his infidelity?  Nope, but when he decided to run for office, he suddenly started waving a Bible. 

In reality, I don't really care what politico Hagee wants to support, it's using his religious beliefs to not just influence, but threaten his followers.  That's a new low, even for a televangelista.  And no, that's not a misspelling, I prefer to term televangelista.  It's not in the dictionary, but I think it makes a point more than calling him a preacher or evangelist.

Well, I would feel sorry for the members of his mega-church, but they seem to be good little sheep and will more than likely do what he says.  More's the pity!  And people wonder why I tend to laugh a great deal at organized religion, particularly the televangelista variety.  Hagee bought his followers' souls years ago, now he wants to own their votes.