Posted on May 29, 2019
The preachers getting rich from poor Americans
677
26
7
8
8
0
Televangelist Todd Coontz has a well-worn routine: he dresses in a suit, pulls out a Bible and urges viewers to pledge a very specific amount of money. "Don't delay, don't delay," he urges, calmly but emphatically.
It sounds simple, absurdly so, but Coontz knows his audience extremely well. He broadcasts on Christian cable channels, often late into the night, drawing in viewers who lack financial literacy and are desperate for change.
"I understand the laws that govern insurance, stocks and bonds and all that is involved with Wall Street," he once said, looking directly into the camera. "God has called me… as a financial deliverer."
Crucially, he always refers to the money as a "seed" - a $273 seed, a $333 seed, a "turnaround" seed, depending on the broadcast. If viewers "plant" one, the amount will come back to them, multiplied, he says. It is an investment in their faith and their future.
In 2011, one of those desperate viewers was Larry Fardette, then based in California. Larry watched a lot of similar televangelists, known as prosperity preachers, who explicitly link wealth and religion. But he found Coontz particularly compelling. He assured quick returns. He seemed like a results man.
And Larry needed some fast results.
The Fardette family was going through a tough time. Larry's daughter was seriously ill and he had health problems of his own. His construction business was struggling, and to make matters worse both his van and his car broke down irreparably within the same week. When a local junkyard offered him $600 for the van, he thumbed the bills thoughtfully and remembered Coontz's rousing speech.
Maybe he should invest the sum as a "seed"?
He instantly recalled the specific number that Coontz had repeated again and again: $273. It was a figure the preacher often used. "God gave me the single greatest miracle of my lifetime in one day, and the numbers two, seven and three were involved," he once said. It is also - perhaps not coincidentally - the number of Coontz's $1.38m condo in South Carolina, paid for by his church, Rockwealth, according to local TV channel WSOC-TV.
Larry has now come to realise there was no foundation to Coontz's promises that donated cash would multiply, but at the time the stirring speeches gave him hope. He did not see any other way out.
He sent off two cheques: one for $273 and another for $333, as requested. Then he waited for his miracle.
It sounds simple, absurdly so, but Coontz knows his audience extremely well. He broadcasts on Christian cable channels, often late into the night, drawing in viewers who lack financial literacy and are desperate for change.
"I understand the laws that govern insurance, stocks and bonds and all that is involved with Wall Street," he once said, looking directly into the camera. "God has called me… as a financial deliverer."
Crucially, he always refers to the money as a "seed" - a $273 seed, a $333 seed, a "turnaround" seed, depending on the broadcast. If viewers "plant" one, the amount will come back to them, multiplied, he says. It is an investment in their faith and their future.
In 2011, one of those desperate viewers was Larry Fardette, then based in California. Larry watched a lot of similar televangelists, known as prosperity preachers, who explicitly link wealth and religion. But he found Coontz particularly compelling. He assured quick returns. He seemed like a results man.
And Larry needed some fast results.
The Fardette family was going through a tough time. Larry's daughter was seriously ill and he had health problems of his own. His construction business was struggling, and to make matters worse both his van and his car broke down irreparably within the same week. When a local junkyard offered him $600 for the van, he thumbed the bills thoughtfully and remembered Coontz's rousing speech.
Maybe he should invest the sum as a "seed"?
He instantly recalled the specific number that Coontz had repeated again and again: $273. It was a figure the preacher often used. "God gave me the single greatest miracle of my lifetime in one day, and the numbers two, seven and three were involved," he once said. It is also - perhaps not coincidentally - the number of Coontz's $1.38m condo in South Carolina, paid for by his church, Rockwealth, according to local TV channel WSOC-TV.
Larry has now come to realise there was no foundation to Coontz's promises that donated cash would multiply, but at the time the stirring speeches gave him hope. He did not see any other way out.
He sent off two cheques: one for $273 and another for $333, as requested. Then he waited for his miracle.
The preachers getting rich from poor Americans
Posted from bbc.com
Fraud
Religion
Christianity
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 6
6
6
0
Very sad but unsurprising, my friend PO1 William "Chip" Nagel.
Televangelists have been using tactics from telethons and the ubiquitous PBS fundraising videos encouraging the faithful to send funding.
The promise of financial multiplication for giving lures the gullible and biblical illiterates as well as Word-of-Faith devotees.
Donating our time, talents and treasure is laudatory. Our LORD knows the state of our heart and soul. HE knows HIS own adopted sons and daughters greatest desires tend to not be monetary. Salvation of loved ones, healing, reconciliation and other non-physical focused desires are fulfilled by the LORD in HIS perfect timing.
1. PBS fundraising videos lure the faithful to purchase a video and or audio compilation not available in stores.
2. That has been a common tactic since the 1970's at least when late night infomercials promised access to something not available in stores.
3. Now we have stores labeled like "As seen on TV"
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Orlando Illi Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price CPT Jack Durish Capt Tom Brown CMSgt (Join to see) MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SGT (Join to see) Sgt Albert Castro SSgt Boyd Herrst SGT Charles H. Hawes SSG Martin Byrne CPT Gabe SnellLTC Greg Henning Cynthia Croft SP5 Jeannie Carle
Televangelists have been using tactics from telethons and the ubiquitous PBS fundraising videos encouraging the faithful to send funding.
The promise of financial multiplication for giving lures the gullible and biblical illiterates as well as Word-of-Faith devotees.
Donating our time, talents and treasure is laudatory. Our LORD knows the state of our heart and soul. HE knows HIS own adopted sons and daughters greatest desires tend to not be monetary. Salvation of loved ones, healing, reconciliation and other non-physical focused desires are fulfilled by the LORD in HIS perfect timing.
1. PBS fundraising videos lure the faithful to purchase a video and or audio compilation not available in stores.
2. That has been a common tactic since the 1970's at least when late night infomercials promised access to something not available in stores.
3. Now we have stores labeled like "As seen on TV"
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Orlando Illi Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price CPT Jack Durish Capt Tom Brown CMSgt (Join to see) MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SGT (Join to see) Sgt Albert Castro SSgt Boyd Herrst SGT Charles H. Hawes SSG Martin Byrne CPT Gabe SnellLTC Greg Henning Cynthia Croft SP5 Jeannie Carle
(6)
(0)
SP5 Jeannie Carle
And I have found that when you rely ONLY on HIM, things happen in your life for good. All we have to do is come to HIM and turn it all over to HIM. Amazing how that works <3
(2)
(0)
4
4
0
The name Robert Tilton - that name will make me cringe for the rest of my life. HE knew how to pinpoint and speak to YOU and the pain in YOUR life. And send you little red pieces of cloth.
(4)
(0)
2
2
0
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google