Thursday, July 31, 2008

The Grassley Investigation, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, and Paula White

Do these four prosperity gospel ministries that refuse to cooperate with Grassley's Senatorial investsigation have a double standard?

Have you ever wondered why Kenneth Copeland and three other prosperity gospel ministries of the six involved in the Grassley investigation have refused to cooperate w/the investigation and disclose their financial affairs? In all fairness, as of now, it has been reported that Benny Hinn and Joyce Meyer Ministries have fully cooperated with Grassley's Senate investigation, and are implementing the necessary changes to be in compliance with IRS requirements so we will leave them out, even though their names are mentioned in the following article.

This is an excellent article titled "Making Idols Out of God's Good Gifts"that sheds some light on this matter. The bottom line here seems to be which has precedent over these ministries that refuse to cooperate; i.e., standards of honesty, integrity and accountability according to God's Word that all Christians are to adhere to, or hide behind what some claim to be their "constitutional rights"?
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Friends, whatever you think of their "prosperity theology," this lack of transparency is simply not a biblical response. Scripture is plain that Christians should be "children of light" (I Thess. 5:5) and not of darkness. Indeed, scripture reserves special condemnation for the "works of darkness." (Rom. 13:12) We are told that our deeds should be "above reproach." (II Tim. 3:2) Whatever else these verses might mean, surely they also mean that complete openness, transparency, and self-disclosure should be the proper posture for both individual Christians and for any organization that presumes to call itself a Christian ministry.

But what is particularly interesting about the Grassley Six is that they have found some unlikely advocates. The Alliance Defense Fund, a legal defense group that is normally a great defender of Christian values, appears to be on the side of the "Grassley Six." Gary McCaleb, the ADF's senior counsel, criticized the "tone" of Grassley's investigation. The American Center For Law and Justice, led by conservative firebrand Jay Sekulow, said it was "concerned about the constitutional issues raised by the inquiry." Kelly Shackleford of the Texas-based Liberty Legal Institute voiced similar concerns. More Here

Tags: Grassley Investigation, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Kenneth Copeland, Paula White, Prosperity Gospel
Related Story: The Kenneth Copeland Family Empire

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