Digg this
Sometime around 2,000 years ago, a particularly famous Jewish carpenter said that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Now, whether you believe the speaker was divine or just a really, really quotable philosopher, you’d have to admit there’s something askew about a modern Christian minister bathing in gold coins like $crooge McDuck.
Meet the Reverend Creflo Dollar. Yes, that’s his real name. Derided as “Rev. Cashflo” by some detractors, his flamboyant lifestyle has attracted the attention of the United States Senate. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has asked Dollar and five other mega-church pastors to open their books, show how much they’re raking in, and justify all those income-tax deductions they’re handing out.
Whether it’s using a private jet, driving a Rolls-Royce or Bentley, or installing a $23,000 commode, there is obviously money going down the toilet. As a Christian myself, and a person who believes in tithing, I feel I have a right to know where my money goes. If a person gets a tax deduction for a donation, the deduction and donation should be for a legitimate purpose.
A $23,000 commode? Yes, apparently, one of Dollar’s Missouri colleagues does everything in style. And Grassley is taking notice:
Jesus came into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey. Do these ministers really need Bentleys and Rolls-Royces to spread the Gospel?
In response to the Senator’s request, Creflo Dollar recently released his church’s top-line financials. Last year his World Changers Church International collected $69 million from the faithful, but Dollar insists that he’s not exploiting his followers for personal financial gain.
And Grassley’s question about twin Rolls-Royces that Dollar and his wife reportedly drive? CBS News got the straight dope from the good Reverend:
That’s not true. First of all, we don’t have two Rolls-Royces. And secondly, the one Rolls-Royce that was purchased was purchased by the donors, or the members of the church, and it was a surprise to me. I had no idea they were doing it.
Whew! That’s a relief. I was beginning to suspect that Creflo Dollar’s church bought him a $300,000 car. But it was just the members of the church, who chose to buy him the car instead of laundering the money through the collection plate. I guess that makes it okay.
Bob Geldof is the legal guardian of the late Michael Hutchence’s 11-year-old daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence. Now, on the 10th anniversary of her real dad’s suicide, Geldof is legally changing her name to Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Geldof. That’s much less silly, isn’t it?
