#38 Joel Osteen
Feb 7th by Jon
1. Joel Osteen got $13 million for the advance of his second book.
2. Joel Osteen can bench press 300 pounds.
3. Joel Osteen once killed a polar bear with his bare hands while on vacation on Alaska.
I made up one of those facts, but the other two are from a 60 minutes special they did on Osteen. (Although I do have my doubts about number 2.) Someone as successful as Osteen was going to make the list at some point, but you might not have expected the reason. Is it his biblical teaching? Nope, although the whole “no pain, all gain” approach to Christianity that he is sometimes accused of has raised lots of questions for lots of people. Is it because he’s got a giant globe on stage with him when he speaks? Nah, I like globes. The reason I’ve challenged Osteen to a bench press contest is that he calls his father, “daddy.” And he doesn’t really even say it that way, he pronounces it “datty.” I listened to Best Life Now on CD while mowing the lawn and he kept saying things like, “My datty started a church” or “My datty was a good man.” And for some reason that really bothered me. I guess at the end of the day I’m a fan of saying dad and father. Something about grown men saying “datty” just makes me feel very country to me. That’s probably not the best thing to get hung up on and reveals my own shallowness, but I’m kind of immature and wanted to be upfront about that. And if Andy Stanley or Rick Warren or any other pastor said, “Datty” I would write the same review.
Comments
I tried not to post. I told myself I wasn't going to do it, this is way to old (the first post of this was from 107 weeks ago?!?) but now I can't help it. The offense is too great, the cost is too high. It is posts like this that really injure me. I recognize myself for who I am. I am a seriously disturbed individual. I recognize clearly the depths of my depravity. Even now as a child of God, forgiven, I still have my sin nature to deal with. I know that God chose to love me, despite all my sin, despite the fact that I am not worth his time and energy. I also know the message, the supposed gospel of Joel. I have listened to it. So what kind of Christian example do I want to leave. I want to reach out to those who are lost, without exception. God's grace knows no bounds, he reaches out to the black and white, the rich and poor, the Asian, Indian (I mean the country, I have some neighbors…), Mexican. Gay and straight, adulterer and murderer, child molester or thief. I am no better, and I have no right to judge these people. However I am a Christian as well. It is my responsibility to show discernment. Where there are those who are teaching a false doctrine, it is our responsibility to respond, this is also Biblical, and it would defy our scriptural calling not to act. This is not to the world, this is not to send a message to the lost, this is to deal with a cancer within the body. Yes I am using harsh words, and I can't apologize for it. As a missionary I can not hear someone pervert the gospel of Christ like he does and sit by saying nothing, as a Christian I can not hear him preach half of a message and lead a church where the congregates sleep, AND IT DISTURBS ME GREATLY WHEN HE GETS ON A SHOW LIKE LARRY KING, AND ALL BUT SAYS THAT THE SACRIFICE OF THOSE WHO DIED TO BRING THIS MESSAGE TO OTHERS DIED IN VAIN. For all intents and purposes he denied the name of Christ. So what kind of Christian example would I leave if I let this be. I am praying too, I am praying for the Christian body as a whole, including him, while I pray for him and care for him deeply, and I hope God will touch his life, it doesn't mean I do not have a responsibility to speak out against something like this, Paul touches on it a lot, as mentioned in a previous post by Tbowick in response to another comment on this page.
Crap, that was supposed to be a reply to the last comment on the first page… I think I'll copy it there too just to spare any confusion, now if only I could figure out how to delete this…
Thank you for that, Steve. You're not too late — people are still reading this. I started to post something here just yesterday and then decided it still needed work. Yours is great.
Joel Osteen weirds me out. There is something wrong with people who are that happy all the time! I have no doubt that he's a good guy, but I do question his theology. I know that's not my place, but I'm just being honest.