Quatloos!

Who says disgraced televangelists who spend years in jail don't come back in another form, reinvent themselves and sell a gospel tailor made for "the end times"?

Jim Bakker (Heritage USA) is back with survival packages:

"Bakker hawks his wares on his self-titled The Jim Bakker Show, where instead of purchasing items, viewers can buy “Love Gifts” --as they’re called --by making “donations” at extremely marked-up prices.

"Along with the Time of Trouble Beans, which consists of 14 totes full of black bean burger mix for $3,000 and End of the World Biscuits, food items include End of the World Gravy and Kevin’s Krazy Lasagna. Viewers can get an assortment of other survival gear including a Bakker's Dozen Extreme Canteen Kit that consists of 13 packs of ponchos, thermal blankets, glow stick and whistles for $500.

"A Live Warm Suit Jacket is also available that claims to keep “you warm and comfortable” at temperatures of -30 Fahrenheit, at a “donation” of $250.

"Bakker served five years of a 45-year sentence for stealing millions from his ministry, The Praise the Lord Club. He was also accused of raping Jessica Hahn, a church's secretary, in the 1980s. Bakker testified that had been set up, arguing that sex with Hahn was consensual. "

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/...ntcmp=features

Yuck! He still has bad taste. From "prosperity preacher" to end times prophet...

Five years of a 45-year sentence? How soon until he's back for the remaining 40?

Here's a link to the Fox News article:

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/09/ ... -biscuits/

Ol' Jim sure looks different!

also this:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... nemas.html

Altho Bakker was originally sentenced to 45 years, on appeal it was held that the trial judge's comment that Bakker's antics had made religious people look like saps was inflamatory and indicated a reliance on something not brought up during the trial, so, while the conviction itself was upheld, the sentence was set aside and on remand the new sentence was a mere 8 years - and as Bakker completed a majority of that time and in good behavior, there was a campaign for him to get early release.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bakke ... arceration
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case? ... 62&scilh=0

It's worth noting that, for at least part of his sentence, his cellmate was Lyndon LaRouche, who certainly can teach anybody about selling low quality stuff for high prices.

Why is the song "Friends In Low Places" running through my head?

Bakker still owes the IRS more than he can ever repay, so others own everything connected to his "ministry".

In happier days....



Assemblies of God churches seem particularly adept at shaking down members for the "tithe" and "love gifts". One local preacher that recently died was famous for demanding 10% of gross income as "God's". Quite offensive especially when you are talking about self-employed wages where many have 200K in gross but 20K or less in net income.

Back in the eighties, my mother in law was a follower of the Bakkers. She watched his TV show "religously". This was the period when he was in his heyday and things were just beginning to come to light about him.

Specifically, the Bakkers had a hotel or resort attached to PTL-Land, their bible-themed amusement park. For a sufficient donation ($1,000 IIRC), one would be entitled to a one-week stay at the resort every year.

Unfortunately, they accepted donations that amounted to about 1000 percent of the capacity of the resort. I believe this was one of the charges that sent him to prison.

I could never convince my MIL that selling 1000% of an asset was a crime. She brushed me off, saying "You just don't understand". My wife and her siblings are not sure, but we all strongly suspect that my in-laws somehow scraped up the $1000 donation, which they could absolutely not afford. Needless to say, they never got to stay at PTL-Land.

That's the tragedy with the easy-believism which the paytriot anti-government is riddled with, many Christians who don't do their due diligence and subscribe to outlandish ideas, rejecting traditional religions for these fake ones led by charlatans like Bakker. People who can ill-afford to donate do so as they irrationally get carried away.

Senator Grassley attempted to do an investigation of some of the leading prosperity preachers like Benny Hinn, Creflo "Dr." Dollar, Joyce Meyer, Paula White, Kenneth Copeland, and Eddie Long, some of which were indignant over the investigation. http://www.christianpost.com/news/grass ... sts-48383/

Number Six wrote:People who can ill-afford to donate do so as they irrationally get carried away.

A case study: I've mentioned it before on here, but somehow I've gotten onto the mailing list of Prophet Peter Popoff (as he now styles himself). His latest missive asks for the "loan" of $50, but it's pretty clear that he's not sure his addressee has that to lend:

Peter Popoff wrote:You may ask, "Where am I going to get $50.00 to loan to Jesus like Peter?" God is going to help you, Brother morrand, and me, to borrow it. ... God showed me to tell you that this is your door of opportunity for your 100 FOLD BLESSING.

You may have a credit card which you can use to get this $50.00. Or, you may be able to get this seed from a friend or a loved one. If you will let God guide your thoughts, He will help you to think. I feel that someone is to sell a car or some jewelry that they are not using and put the money into God's work at this time.

You may not see exactly how or where you are going to get your seed to sow, but someway - somehow - God will lead you as you pray.

(Emphases in original)

He then goes on to suggest praying that the Lord will give "him" (i.e., me) faith to see where to get the fifty bucks from: a bank, a loan company, friends, loved ones. He doesn't actually mention leg-breaking loan sharks, but maybe he hadn't thought of that.

Now, the point of all of this beggary is (as mentioned) to get a 100 FOLD BLESSING. What that is, is not directly stated. It's strongly implied that your loan of $50 will return $5,000 (a 100x return on investment, as it were), though he never actually comes out and promises that in numbers. Possibly, God also mentioned to him that such promises tend to fall afoul of various laws. It probably doesn't matter much. If the rent's overdue, or the car payment, or the gas bill, it gets awfully tempting to hear what you want to hear (money's gonna rain down from heaven if I can just scrape together $50) whether it's actually promised reliably or not.

morrand wrote:Now, the point of all of this beggary is (as mentioned) to get a 100 FOLD BLESSING. What that is, is not directly stated. It's strongly implied that your loan of $50 will return $5,000 (a 100x return on investment, as it were), though he never actually comes out and promises that in numbers. Possibly, God also mentioned to him that such promises tend to fall afoul of various laws. It probably doesn't matter much. If the rent's overdue, or the car payment, or the gas bill, it gets awfully tempting to hear what you want to hear (money's gonna rain down from heaven if I can just scrape together $50) whether it's actually promised reliably or not.

Why not just send him a handful of Iraqi dinar?

After all, it'll be worth a bazoolion dollars after the revaluation!

I'd buy him some dong, but I don't know if he'd know what to do with it.

If I'm going to use money as "seed", I'll damn well make sure that I "sow" it in my own "field".