Churches that Abuse Part 1

Okay, I promised that I would post something about spiritual abuse, so I'm going to try and illustrate some problems that have arisen within the evangelical movement of Christianity.
As a Christian, I must do this objectively and responsibly, without using smear tactics or ad hominem attacks or going by just assumptions, but I will try to show some of the dangers that have come to light from many of the false teachings we are warned about in the book of Revelation.

1. Televangelism - wikipedia has a great in depth description of the history of televangelism, and there are credible teachers out there, so I am not trying to put down the whole lot. Even though many may not like him, Billy Graham holds a majority of the respect of the modern televangelists. I've been to one of his seminars, and I believe he speaks from the heart. I know nothing of his financial records, however, which I understand has been under some scrutiny in recent years.

I think that it started out as all things do, with good intentions, but the seed of corruption gets planted and it can become a dishonorable practice. The problems with this method of reaching out to the masses in modern times are listed as follows:

(From Wikipedia) 1, Accountability - Many televangelists exist outside of established churches. They have little or no oversight from denominational structures and many are accountable to no-one. In cases where their ministry is run by a board of directors, this is frequently made up of family members and other people who will not challenge the televangelist. Many are not members of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, an independent organisation which promotes high financial standards amongst Christian ministries.
(From wikipedia) 2. Supernatural theology. Most televangelists hold charismatic or Pentecostal viewpoints, believing in spiritual gifts, divine healing, and other miracles. These subjects remain controversial within Christian thinking. In some instances, claims of miracles have been shown to be fraudulent.
(An example of this is Peter Popoff. He was caught in the 80's using an earpiece into which his wife communicated the names from prayer lists, along with their afflictions, addresses, and where they sat in the congregation. He claimed that this was the voice of God speaking to him. I don't know how much more fraudulent you can be than this man. He ripped off millions of dollars from unsuspecting people, all in the name of God. He was convicted of fraud and disappeared for about 20+ years. Now he is back on TV selling the "Miracle Spring Water"
which he claims is "free" but in order to get his "blessing" you have to send in money. Then you're supposed to get what he claims to be Dead Sea Salt, which is nothing more than an iodized salt packet like you'd get at Sonic for yor fries. You sprinkle this salt along with the water in some ritual and poof! you'll be blessed with money.
I watched this man's infomercial, and noted he and his wife's body language, the way they responded to questions, etc. and these people no more know their Scriptures than the man on the moon. They are con artists in the name of the Lord and that is blasphemy. That is dangerous. )
(from wikipedia) 3. Flamboyant lifestyles. Many televangelists have accumulated significant personal wealth from their ministries and own large properties, luxury cars, and even private jets. This is seen by critics to be contradictory to Christian principles. There is also frequently confusion between personal and ministry assets.

(Peter Popoff and Benny Hinn have estimate wealth in the millions)

(From wikipedia) 4. Financial emphasis. Televangelism requires substantial amounts of money to produce programs and purchase airtime on cable and satellite networks. Televangelists devote much time to fundraising activities. Products such as books, CDs, DVDs, and trinkets with supposedly miraculous powers, are aggressively promoted to viewers. Opponents regard such an emphasis as inappropriate and also question whether the money would be better used relieving poverty or employing traditional missionaries.

(See point 2)

(From wikipedia) 5. Personality cult. Traditional Christian teaching emphasises the following of Jesus and not a particular preacher, however televangelism tends to build a personality cult around the televangelist.

(From wikipedia) 6. Health and wealth teaching. Many televangelists preach a prosperity gospel that promises material success to believers, subject to their generous donations to the “work of God”, which inevitably means the televangelist. This is regarded as a serious heresy by other Christians.
(Plus it ruins the lives of many people who deplete their savings based on what someone told them on a television)

(From Wikipedia) 7. False prophecies. Numerous televangelists have issued false prophecies, for example Benny Hinn’s claim that Fidel Castro would die in the 1990s, or Pat Robertson's claim that the War in Iraq would end in 2006. Many other televangelists have made false prophecies of the Second Coming.
("No one knows the day or the hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. "Matthew 24:36)
(I'll let this verse speak for itself)
(From Wikipedia) 8 False teaching. Televangelists frequently depart from or add to traditional Christian doctrines.
(From Wikipedia) 9. Entertainment focus. The style of televangelism seems to mirror that of the secular entertainment industry, with emphasis on celebrity, slick production, and aggressive marketing.
(From Wikipedia) 10. Exploitation. Followers of televangelists frequently are poor and uneducated[citation needed], lacking the ability to critically analyse the message they are presented with, which frequently links a blessing from God to making sacrificial donations to the televangelist. This has led to claims of exploitation of the vulnerable.
(From Wikipedia) 11. Crowd manipulation. Allegations have been made that many televangelists use psychological techniques, including mass hypnosis, to produce the desired response from people in what is a charged emotional atmosphere[citation needed].
(From Wikipedia) 12. Disputed success. Televangelists claim to be reaching millions of people worldwide with the gospel and producing numerous converts to Christianity. However, such claims are difficult to verify independently. It has also been questioned whether non-believers actually watch Christian television.
(From Wikipedia) 13. Televangelists often strongly dispute these criticisms and claim they are doing God's work.