You would have respected his father, John Osteen. He was a man of God. He had no really nice material possessions. Every time I saw him driving, it was a car far worse than whatever I was driving, even in my used car teen days.
Edit: I was born in Houston and lived there for the first 45 years of my life, leaving in 2005 for a calmer and smaller place. I still visit Houston monthly. From the early 60s to his passing, John Osteen had a regular Sunday sermon on the local uhf channel that I watched for years. He didn’t talk about money.
I once saw him with a member of his church at the pharmacy at MD Anderson Cancer Hospitsl in the late 70s/early 80s. The patient didn’t have enough money for his rx. John paid for it. I was behind them in line getting my late dads prescriptions. I was always impressed with John Osteen. Can’t figure out how his wife came to embrace prosperity religion.
I knew John Osteen, Joel’s father, well. He was a man of God. He had a small and dilapidated church on the poor side of Houston. He didn’t have a yacht, a mansion or any of the other trappings his son purports to deserve as Gods prosperity gospel preacher. John Osteen was a preacher. Joel seems to be a grifter. Just watch below about how Godly Joel was during Hurricane Harvey.
The lure of wanting to belong to a successful group of humans, in this case wealth and excess representing success, is so powerful a draw it cannot be underestimated. Obviously Osteen must be blessed by God since he's got such a big house? Maybe the congregants can get some of that action, right? It's ridiculous and sad.
Wealth as a sign of moral strength is something as old as Christianity as a movement. It’s also demonstrably false. Social Darwinism is a major part of right wing philosophy, isn’t it? They’re not poor rural folks, they’re temporarily embarrassed millionaires, and the success their religious and social idols have will trickle down to them eventually .
The news clip of Osteen smiling, and upbeat after the horrible incident made me angry. He said, It's God's will while he smiled. Good grief. What a sick jerk. That is how he justifies his wealth and insensitivity, it's God's will. Humans disgust me.
But thank god churches like this and the Church of Scientology enjoy tax-exempt status. What a grift!
I am loathe to judge people by appearance. It's truly against my principles.
But there are exceptions. Hello. Joel.
Pay taxes, Joel Osteen. For a start.
The perpetrator was wrong to bring a gun there to start a shooting.
What she should have done is arson.
You would have respected his father, John Osteen. He was a man of God. He had no really nice material possessions. Every time I saw him driving, it was a car far worse than whatever I was driving, even in my used car teen days.
Edit: I was born in Houston and lived there for the first 45 years of my life, leaving in 2005 for a calmer and smaller place. I still visit Houston monthly. From the early 60s to his passing, John Osteen had a regular Sunday sermon on the local uhf channel that I watched for years. He didn’t talk about money.
I once saw him with a member of his church at the pharmacy at MD Anderson Cancer Hospitsl in the late 70s/early 80s. The patient didn’t have enough money for his rx. John paid for it. I was behind them in line getting my late dads prescriptions. I was always impressed with John Osteen. Can’t figure out how his wife came to embrace prosperity religion.
I knew John Osteen, Joel’s father, well. He was a man of God. He had a small and dilapidated church on the poor side of Houston. He didn’t have a yacht, a mansion or any of the other trappings his son purports to deserve as Gods prosperity gospel preacher. John Osteen was a preacher. Joel seems to be a grifter. Just watch below about how Godly Joel was during Hurricane Harvey.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YAJUqjUIo0Y&pp=ygUaTGFrZXdvb2QgY2h1cmNoIGh1cnJpY2FuZSA%3D
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0BbYgAF5EQ&pp=ygUaTGFrZXdvb2QgY2h1cmNoIGh1cnJpY2FuZSA%3D
Good article as always.
John Osteen surely is in heaven. He may not see Joel when Joel’s time on earth ends.
Truly excellent. Missing only the bright, shiny forehead demonstrating the absence of vanity.
The lure of wanting to belong to a successful group of humans, in this case wealth and excess representing success, is so powerful a draw it cannot be underestimated. Obviously Osteen must be blessed by God since he's got such a big house? Maybe the congregants can get some of that action, right? It's ridiculous and sad.
Wealth as a sign of moral strength is something as old as Christianity as a movement. It’s also demonstrably false. Social Darwinism is a major part of right wing philosophy, isn’t it? They’re not poor rural folks, they’re temporarily embarrassed millionaires, and the success their religious and social idols have will trickle down to them eventually .
The news clip of Osteen smiling, and upbeat after the horrible incident made me angry. He said, It's God's will while he smiled. Good grief. What a sick jerk. That is how he justifies his wealth and insensitivity, it's God's will. Humans disgust me.
Joel is not a human man.
It also incenses me to know that such a hugely profitable business doesn’t have to pay taxes because it’s a “religious” organization.