The Dream Scheme: And He's At It Again
The Dream Scheme is my series on scams. All kinds of scams. It started with MLM's and Pyramid Schemes, and now I'm branching out into televangelists and other ways that the crooked get your money and often your heart. For other posts on this you can check out my old blog " Postcards From a Gypsy Pack Rat" and look down the sidebar for "The Scam Posts".
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Before I start I want to clarify that I am a woman of faith. I believe that there are good churches and good pastors out there. This is not a post about religion or faith. This is a post about taking advantage of people.
One of the longest and most pervasive scams out there is using religion and the faith of a people to obtain financial gain.
Back in the 1980's before computers and youtube where everyone could have their own show, there was Jim Bakker. Jim Bakker was a televangelist who built up a huge following. He had mansions, an amusement park to rival Disneyland, and a singing wife who wore so much make up that when she cried she could dye her dress black from the rivers that ran down her cheeks. He also ran a big con where he scammed his followers into supporting that lavish lifestyle by selling off more hotel stays than were available in his fantasy complex. And he drugged and raped a woman and then paid off people to keep it quiet using the funds that his supporters sent him. He was found guilty by a court of law and received a sentence of 45 years. Yes, 45 years! That's how serious this all was. This all got reduced down to 8 years and then later he was released after 5. In the meantime his wife Tammy Faye got smart and divorced the guy. - Note although she was mocked and vilified during this, by the time of her death people remembered her fondly and it appears she was not aware what was going on. Stupid yes. A villain, no. She lived the rest of her life fairly peacefully and as far as I can tell stayed true to her faith. She was a victim to a certain extent. Bakker did not keep her in the loop as to the finances of the family and I suppose she thought the money was earned through various legitimate sources. He was a very controlling husband and didn't want her questioning him. She was expected to smile, stand by his side, and sing songs. Which she did. Before we go on, let me say that I believe in redemption. I think you can make a serious mistake and change your life and move on. I think you can serve time in prison and come out and never break the law again. So Bakker comes out. He does criticize his ex-wife for divorcing him. I guess he figured she should stick around for 45 years waiting for a guy who cheated on her and turned her life upside down with his criminal behavior. Anyways, you would think that if he were truly repentant, he would live his life quietly. Find a normal job. Perhaps remarry. Do volunteer work. Go to church as a parishioner, not as a preacher. Live in a modest home. Just live a low-key existence repenting for his sins and being grateful that he was released early and showing God everyday that he has changed his heart and is about helping people, not taking advantage of them. Well, he did get married again. And he went back to the very things that got him into trouble in the first place. He now has his own show and he's back to building up a different type of park for his followers. His new ministry isn't as big as the old one, but it is not a quiet one hidden away. He has a show. He says outrageous stuff, and he gets mad at being criticized. He sees himself as a victim for having to serve in prison.
He's a doomsday preacher. He sells buckets of slop for food storage and claims he is a prophet and that God speaks to him directly. We're not talking about God speaking to him personally in the way that people of prayer understand. We're talking about his claim that God speaks to him and he is the voice of God. He is constantly asking for money for his slop buckets (they call it food), his church, his latest project, books, etc. Anything that he can hawk and claim that it's to building up the kingdom of God. He did this before and pocketed the money. He is also a big supporter of Donald Trump and tells people that if they don't support the president then they don't support God because God told him that Trump is the man. He ignores anything bad that Trump does - I have yet to hear him address the situation of the imprisoned children at the border. Instead he talks about what a great man Trump is and adultery isn't that bad (he equates adultery to sexual assault). Actually, Jim and Donald have a lot in common. In many ways they are the same man. So if giving money to a felon doesn't make the hair on your neck warn you, then what about claiming that a man who tortures children is God's leader? Look, I'm not saying there isn't an end times or that it isn't coming. I'm not saying it is. I don't know. If anything I believe that no one knows when Jesus comes again and the only way we can really prepare for that is by being a good person and loving people. And if Jesus doesn't come in our lifetime then we haven't wasted it agonizing about it but instead spent it loving people. We're supposed to love people without the strings of reward - but that's a post for my Woman at the Well series. If someone is making money from being a doomsday prophet then you can be pretty sure that is not coming from God. Further, if it's a felon doing it then you can be pretty sure it's another scam. Now I'm not against giving money to churches. Churches need money to survive. There's bills to pay, buildings to maintain, salaries, charity work, support systems, etc. It all costs money. I'm saying don't give your money to guys like Bakker. That money is not going to God's work. It's going to Jim's pocket.
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Today's Canadian Woman is
Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova (1909-1990)
Now here is a woman who did do God's work. A WWII refugee to Canada she was hugely influential in her charity work with those who came to the country. She said, “I experienced personally how much it hurts to be hungry. To be a refugee, to be without a home, to be without country, to be without friends. And this is something dreadful; you have no more roots, you have no one to turn to.” She also said, “Charity begins at home…and then it goes on to embrace next door neighbours and all those who need help.” To learn more about her, go to the Canadian Heroines site. Lotta Hitschmonova
