NYC Pastor and wife robbed at gun point of $1 million in jewelry during Sunday service

[Jwheel86]

 

Over under this is an insurance scam? 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Gotta love that "Prosperity Gospel" nonsense.

[Dodger]

17 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

Gotta love that "Prosperity Gospel" nonsense.

 

Well somebody prospered at least. 

[skillzdadirecta]

42 minutes ago, Jwheel86 said:

 

Over under this is an insurance scam? 

Nah... it's Brooklyn. This tracks.

[Mr.Vic20]

Nothing ridiculous going on there! 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

My first exposure to the "Prosperity Gospel" came when I was working in public accounting in South Florida.

 

My firm took on as a pro-bono client an African-American church that served a congregation in Pompano Beach, one of the most economically disadvantaged areas in South Florida.  In reviewing the financial records of the church, I saw that the church paid for the pastor's living expenses.  There was nothing notable about that as that's simply the case for just about all religious denominations.  What did catch my attention was the nature of the lifestyle that the congregation supported.  

 

The pastor and his family lived in one of the most upscale areas in eastern Broward County (he definitely didn't live in Pompano Beach), they drove a new top-of-the-line Lexus SUV, and the clothing expenses reflected shopping trips to Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.  At the time, I was still nominally Catholic and couldn't help but contrast this pastor's lifestyle to that of my priest who lived in small two bedroom apartment with another priest, drove a beat-up old Honda Accord, and who shopped for his non-ecclesiastical clothing at Wal-Mart.  For the record, my parish for which he was the pastor was one of the wealthiest in the Archdiocese of Miami.

 

The pastor and I got along very well with each other and he was very open about how much he enjoyed the finer things in life so I eventually decided to ask him about how he could reconcile his lifestyle with the teachings of Christ, especially those that appear to condemn the accumulation of wealth.  Naturally, I mentioned the lifestyle of my Catholic pastor by way of contrast. The response I received was when I was first introduced to the concept of "Prosperity Theology" and I was utterly stunned.  One of the justifications he provided was that it was the congregation who wanted him to have this lifestyle as it "honored" and "glorified" both God and the congregation as an expression of their faith and devotion.  To this day, I still cannot grasp that particular theological concept at all.

 

Needless to say, I didn't buy a single word of it whatsoever and was actively repulsed by it.  It doesn't take a great deal of imagination to contemplate what damage the spread of this abhorrent theology has done both in this country and the developing world where it really has become a dominant theology among evangelical Protestant churches.

[mclumber1]

1 hour ago, Dodger said:

 

Well somebody prospered at least. 

 

Gold and jewelry are better investments than feeding poor people.  Just saying.  

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Jwheel86 said:

Over under this is an insurance scam? 

[skillzdadirecta]

35 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

The response I received was when I was first introduced to the concept of "Prosperity Theology" and I was utterly stunned.  One of the justifications he provided was that it was the congregation who wanted him to have this lifestyle as it "honored" and "glorified" both God and the congregation as an expression of their faith and devotion.  To this day, I still cannot grasp that particular theological concept at all.

I have several friends who were big into the Prosperity Gospel and I would ask them the same thing. They would respond that if 50 Cent could drive a Bentley, then why shouldn't their Pastor? It's a fuckin' scam but a lot of African AMericans have bought into it. There's also a weird sense of pride if your Pastor flosses better than a pastor at another church. Such a mind fuck.

[Uaarkson]

It’s like the black version of an Osteen mega church.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

1 minute ago, Uaarkson said:

It’s like the black version of an Osteen mega church.

 

Osteen is one of the leading proponents of Prosperity Theology.

[skillzdadirecta]

2 minutes ago, Uaarkson said:

It’s like the black version of an Osteen mega church.

Most of these Pastors are disciples of Osteen's teachings.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

The degree to which this poisonous theology has been exported to Latin America and Africa is truly disheartening.

[LazyPiranha]

20 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

Osteen is one of the leading proponents of Prosperity Theology.

I am one of the leading proponents of Osteen being robbed at gunpoint.

[Anathema-]

It took them two thousand years but the money changers finally reinvented themselves.

[Anathema-]

They seriously fail so hard at Christianity it makes me want to convert, just to show them how it's done.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

The pernicious nature of this theology can best be described by examining what its implications are for "prosperity" and "poverty".

 

Prosperity means that the individual has God's favor and can therefore be assumed to be righteous.

 

Poverty means that the individual has God's disfavor and can therefore be assumed to be sinful.

 

Therefore, being poor not only carries an economic burden, but also a moral stigma.  This is an absolute perversion of Christ's own words in Luke 6:20 - "Blessed are the poor, for their is the Kingdom of God."

 

God damn this theology and its advocates to Hell.

[skillzdadirecta]

40 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

The pernicious nature of this theology can best be described by examining what its implications are for "prosperity" and "poverty".

 

Prosperity means that the individual has God's favor and can therefore be assumed to be righteous.

 

Poverty means that the individual has God's disfavor and can therefore be assumed to be sinful.

 

Therefore, being poor not only carries an economic burden, but also a moral stigma.  This is an absolute perversion of Christ's own words in Luke 6:20 - "Blessed are the poor, for their is the Kingdom of God."

 

God damn this theology and its advocates to Hell.

Yup. It's evil as fuck.

[thewhyteboar]

Christianity peaked with St. Francis. 

[TUFKAK]

Oh no!

 

Well anyway.

[Bacon]

Things of value were lost 

lol

[GeneticBlueprint]

3 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

The degree to which this poisonous theology has been exported to Latin America and Africa is truly disheartening.

 

Because this is all I can ever relate things back to. Sorry.

 

Mormon President Tells Africans That Tithing Will Break Their Cycle of Poverty

FRIENDLYATHEIST.PATHEOS.COM

---

How exactly do they think this will work...?

 

Quote

“We preach tithing to the poor people of the world because the poor people of the world have had cycles of poverty, generation after generation,” he said. “That same poverty continues from one generation to another, until people pay their tithing.”

 

[Bloodporne]

Quote

"All right, all right, all right," Wooderson says in the video, as he raised his hands and lowered himself to the floor.

 

[Bloodporne]

[Bloodporne]

10 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

The pernicious nature of this theology can best be described by examining what its implications are for "prosperity" and "poverty".

 

Prosperity means that the individual has God's favor and can therefore be assumed to be righteous.

 

Poverty means that the individual has God's disfavor and can therefore be assumed to be sinful.

 

Therefore, being poor not only carries an economic burden, but also a moral stigma.  This is an absolute perversion of Christ's own words in Luke 6:20 - "Blessed are the poor, for their is the Kingdom of God."

 

God damn this theology and its advocates to Hell.

Yeah it's total trash. I found out about this whole thing when I lived in Florida as well ironically. My best friend did two years and when I used to go visit him on the weekends, this absurdly decked out dude used to come strolling in like clockwork every time and meet with several inmates for like one minute at a time, going down the line. He looked like he escaped Barry White's entourage circa 1976. We thought it was hilarious for a while but turns out he was a pastor and apparently literally charged the inmates (or well, their no-doubt piss poor families) money for those visits of "spiritual advice"

[DarkStar189]

Nobody deserves to be robbed. But it's hard for me to give any care if you are wearing a million dollars worth of jewelry.  If I strap bands of cash to my body and walk around its probably not going to end well. It's just common sense.

[DarkStar189]

9 hours ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

 

Because this is all I can ever relate things back to. Sorry.

 

Mormon President Tells Africans That Tithing Will Break Their Cycle of Poverty

FRIENDLYATHEIST.PATHEOS.COM

---

How exactly do they think this will work...?

 

 

A fun 40 sec clip. Pay tithing if you want protection on the day of vengeance and burning!

[Bloodporne]

10 hours ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

 

Because this is all I can ever relate things back to. Sorry.

 

Mormon President Tells Africans That Tithing Will Break Their Cycle of Poverty

FRIENDLYATHEIST.PATHEOS.COM

---

How exactly do they think this will work...?

 

 

This guy is such a fucking ghoul, he literally looks like Judge Alvin from Nothing But Trouble

 

[Kal-El814]

When the bible said the meek will inherit the earth, maybe they meant Meek Mill who’s gotta be good for $10M+.

[stepee]

2 minutes ago, Kal-El814 said:

When the bible said the meek will inherit the earth, maybe they meant Meek Mill who’s gotta be good for $10M+.

 

I think they meant when the meek is left a dead hellscape of earth as all the billionaires fuck off to space.

[GeneticBlueprint]

1 hour ago, DarkStar189 said:

A fun 40 sec clip. Pay tithing if you want protection on the day of vengeance and burning!

 

Pay tithing don't worry about your basic needs

 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2012/12/sacred-transformations?lang=eng

 

Quote

“If paying tithing means that you can’t pay for water or electricity, pay tithing. If paying tithing means that you can’t pay your rent, pay tithing. Even if paying tithing means that you don’t have enough money to feed your family, pay tithing. The Lord will not abandon you.”

 

Pay tithing don't feed your starving kids

 

 

 

 

Quote

When I was growing up in Guatemala, my family owned a factory that made uniforms for sports teams. My dad wanted the children in our family to learn to work hard. We helped him in the factory.

...

My dad paid us for the work we did. Then he would ask, “What are you going to do with your money?” I knew what the right answer was: “Pay my tithing and save for my mission.”

...

When I was about 13, our business lost a lot of money. We had to get rid of a lot of our machines. Instead of having two hundred workers, we had fewer than five. They worked in our garage at home. I had always paid my tithing, but I never really understood how important it was. Then I learned an amazing lesson.

...

After some events related to a civil war in Central America, my father’s business went bankrupt. He went from about 200 full-time employees to fewer than five sewing operators who worked as needed in the garage of our home. One day during those difficult times, I heard my parents discussing whether they should pay tithing or buy food for the children.

 

On Sunday, I followed my father to see what he was going to do. After our Church meetings, I saw him take an envelope and put his tithing in it. That was only part of the lesson. The question that remained for me was what we were going to eat.

 

[blah blah blah God provided in the end]

 

Mormon church is literally worth hundreds of billions of dollars but they still need your money you can't afford not to pay your tithing to them otherwise God won't bless you.

 

1 hour ago, Bloodporne said:

This guy is such a fucking ghoul, he literally looks like Judge Alvin from Nothing But Trouble

 

 

Most compare him to Palpatine

 

[skillzdadirecta]

2 hours ago, DarkStar189 said:

Nobody deserves to be robbed. But it's hard for me to give any care if you are wearing a million dollars worth of jewelry.  If I strap bands of cash to my body and walk around its probably not going to end well. It's just common sense.

There are absolutlely some people who deserved to be robbed. Again this dude was doing this in Brooklyn of all places. A place historically known for robberies and stick-ups. He's supposed to be serving that community yet he's rubbing his wealth in their faces. I can TOTALLY see some cats saying "We HAVE to get this dude!" The fact that they got him in front of the church says to me they were definitely making a statement. Fuck this guy and everybody like him.

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

There are absolutlely some people who deserved to be robbed. Again this dude was doing this in Brooklyn of all places. A place historically known for robberies and stick-ups. He's supposed to be serving that community yet he's rubbing his wealth in their faces. I can TOTALLY see some cats saying "We HAVE to get this dude!" The fact that they got him in front of the church says to me they were definitely making a statement. Fuck this guy and everybody like him.

He is using spiritual authority to effectively rob his congregants to create this opulence. I feel not one bit of sadness that his things were taken from him.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

As someone on the Discord server stated:

 

"The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away."

[Zaku3]

16 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

My first exposure to the "Prosperity Gospel" came when I was working in public accounting in South Florida.

 

My firm took on as a pro-bono client an African-American church that served a congregation in Pompano Beach, one of the most economically disadvantaged areas in South Florida.  In reviewing the financial records of the church, I saw that the church paid for the pastor's living expenses.  There was nothing notable about that as that's simply the case for just about all religious denominations.  What did catch my attention was the nature of the lifestyle that the congregation supported.  

 

The pastor and his family lived in one of the most upscale areas in eastern Broward County (he definitely didn't live in Pompano Beach), they drove a new top-of-the-line Lexus SUV, and the clothing expenses reflected shopping trips to Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.  At the time, I was still nominally Catholic and couldn't help but contrast this pastor's lifestyle to that of my priest who lived in small two bedroom apartment with another priest, drove a beat-up old Honda Accord, and who shopped for his non-ecclesiastical clothing at Wal-Mart.  For the record, my parish for which he was the pastor was one of the wealthiest in the Archdiocese of Miami.

 

The pastor and I got along very well with each other and he was very open about how much he enjoyed the finer things in life so I eventually decided to ask him about how he could reconcile his lifestyle with the teachings of Christ, especially those that appear to condemn the accumulation of wealth.  Naturally, I mentioned the lifestyle of my Catholic pastor by way of contrast. The response I received was when I was first introduced to the concept of "Prosperity Theology" and I was utterly stunned.  One of the justifications he provided was that it was the congregation who wanted him to have this lifestyle as it "honored" and "glorified" both God and the congregation as an expression of their faith and devotion.  To this day, I still cannot grasp that particular theological concept at all.

 

Needless to say, I didn't buy a single word of it whatsoever and was actively repulsed by it.  It doesn't take a great deal of imagination to contemplate what damage the spread of this abhorrent theology has done both in this country and the developing world where it really has become a dominant theology among evangelical Protestant churches.