You guys are legit nuts. There's a tv show where some guy talks about things that we all probably struggle with in life. And he tells stories about the subjects to illustrate his points. It's about being a better person, adopting certain mindsets to let you better manage common situations that being stress, sadness, anger, whatever. I don't think there's anything other than a positive impact from watching it.
But sure, it's like listening to what Hitler, a genocidal, war-mongering maniac, had to say. Because Joel Osteen is all about going to war with the world, eradicating races and religions, having fun with the whole killing thing - they're cut from the same cloth. He's just like Alex Jones, a liar, a propogandist who tries to come up with the most controversial shit he can just to get people at each other's throats. Same guy.
Osteen tells people that it will curry favor with the heavens above to give money to the church? That's his crime against humanity? The same thing that every church and every synagogue on the planet tells its members? I think it's a safe bet that his church spends a bunch of money on charitable endeavors, employs a lot of people, and so it doesn't all go straight to his pocket. But sure he's obviously gotten rich too, yet he's clearly providing value, or his members would go elsewhere. All religion is a business at the end of the day anyway. If you can't raise enough money from the congregation, you're not paying the rent. I don't see what he's doing that makes him any different than any other religious figure with an organization to keep afloat.
The rabbi in the top synagogue here in LA makes $800k a year. He gets up and gives the sermon every week just like Osteen. He asks members to donate to the synagogue every time he speaks. It's implicit that donating is a good thing, that God will love ya for it, that you're helping to keep the place going, to do your part for the religion's continued survival. If they televise his sermon every week, he's Hitler too?
I think most of you have some unresolved issues with religion that you're allowing to spill over into a simple comment that his show spends 20 minutes talking about how to better yourself and your life, and that it is substantively good. Content that Zeke compared to what you'd see in Hallmark cards. Make sure not to get a card for your pop on father's day, lest you be confused for striving to resuscitate the glory that was nazi Germany.
