Crooked Televangelists Are Targeted By Senate Probe

Somewhere along the line, some people with questionable ethics decided spreading the Gospel was a great way to get rich and live a lavish lifestyle. That kind of thing has been around for a long time, but never has it reached the levels we see now. Something's starting to happen, though, that we hope puts the skids to this kind of evangelistic fakery. Of course, until the people sending in the money quit doing so, this will continue.

The U.S. Senate also has taken notice of these televangelists who beg for money in the name of God, saying it will bring the givers riches. The only people getting rich, though, are the hucksters separating good folks from their money. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has sent letters to several top televangelists asking for financial documents pertaining to their supposedly "non-profit" operations.

According to The Tampa Tribune, televangelists such as Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland, the Whites from Without Walls in Tampa and others received letters asking for various financial documents. The U.S. Senate wants to know how much they are taking in and how the money is being spent.

This is great information to get from these people. Some, as we've seen, basically rob their own ministries to live incredible lifestyles. They have money in foreign bank accounts to hide what they have. They own numerous homes, fancy cars and spend incredible amounts of money on just about everything but religion or spreading the word.

The bad news is that the believers who support many of these phonies are just as guilty of greed. They buy into the religion of prosperity, that by "planting the seed" with your money, you "reap the harvest."

Robert Tilton is a perfect example of this. All he ever talks about is about sending money to him, not about the word of God. He twists and mangles Bible passages to fit his sales pitch to people staring at a TV. Of course, it's a buyer-beware market out there and if a person is set on sending their life's savings to these people, they can. What's troubling, though, is that many of these con artists care nothing about religion or people. They just want money - your money. Often it is the people least able to part with money who send them the biggest checks. It's sickening that they are preyed upon.

We hope this action by the U.S. Senate puts these people on notice, and we also wish that the people looking for biblical inspiration would turn to the many outstanding and upstanding religious figures around them. They are everywhere. They can be found in our churches, in our communities and throughout our nation.

The Rev. Billy Graham never taught the religion of prosperity nor did he live a life of opulence. His message was pure and from the heart. He just spoke about the Good News and how it changes lives. And that's the bottom line.