Churches have been allowed to play both sides of the fence too long. If they're going to keep their tax-exempt status, they have to follow the law. No politics, no diverting the cash into the preacher's pockets, and all the rest of it. Stringent and transparent and yes, affect "all religious groups" and "the privacy of every community church in America."

And the Rev. Creflo Dollar has followed the long Xian tradition of making Jesus Christ seem like him; he has a theology of JC having been rich. He notes such things as the expensive gifts that the three wise men had given him and how the Roman soldiers thought his clothes worth gambling over when he was crucified.

Something that Xenophanes would have understood.

I'm reminded of [snip] Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-17, Luke 19:45-46, John 2:13-16, Matt 19:16-24, Matt 6:19-21, Matt 6:25-34, Matt 6:24, 1 Timothy 6:10.

Ah, Ipetrich, but don't you know that fallen Man cannot follow the commandments of God? So there's no point in trying to point all this out to a Christian: he or she will just claim that they're a sinner, and then start talking about how the blood of Jesus has washed them clean, regardless of what sins they may have, or may still be, committing.

and that Ananias and Sapphira were zapped when they tried to hang on to their money (Acts 5:1-11), which seems rather Stalinist.

I've just moved to a border town where the only radio station in English is a Christian broadcaster. They've got a Thanksgiving fundraiser and -- what do you know? -- this very passage is quoted ad nauseam, alongside the Parable of the Widow and the Two Pennies, to get people to give whatever money they haven't already donated.

For, "What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; And what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten." (Joel 1:4)

And yes, they had their share of fancy toilets, too. Isn't that pretty revealing?

Finally, I must comment on the delicious irony of one of these hucksters bearing the family name "Dollar". Oh, if only his mother had named him "Freflo" instead [sigh].

Sell everything you have and give the money to the poor, because a rich person can no more make it into Heaven than a camel or thick rope can go through the eye of a needle. (Matt 19:16-24)

Accumulate heavenly treasures, not earthly ones, which are vulnerable. (Matt 6:19-21)

Don't show any foresight, because God will always deliver, as he delivers food to birds and clothes to wildflowers. (Matt 6:25-34)

You cannot serve both God and money. (Matt 6:24)

Elsewhere in the New Testament, we find that

The love of money is the root of all evil. (1 Timothy 6:10)

and that Ananias and Sapphira were zapped when they tried to hang on to their money (Acts 5:1-11), which seems rather Stalinist.

what sane person would throw a large pecentage of cash at the sharp suited evangelicals that pitch god through a TV?

The vulnerable person, the desperate person, the poor, the undereducated, the trusting, the gullible, the disenfranchised, the elderly - these are the victims of the televangelists and the prosperity gospel hucksters in the U.S.

In short, the people that are being defrauded by these shameless individuals are those that Jesus called "the least of these," the ones he told his followers to care for and protect especially in "his name."

The fact that more Christians do not recognize this and lead the charge against these charlatans is only one of many major hypocrisies within Christianity.

It makes sense to me (as far as any religious practise does) that people would donate to their local church/mosque/synagogue but what sane person would throw a large pecentage of cash at the sharp suited evangelicals that pitch god through a TV?

It is indeed hard to believe that people are giving to these televangelists. I can't figure it out. But it seems there are an ever increasing number of prosperity preachers taking to the airwaves. The UHF stations in my locale are littered with them most Sundays. These preachers have a common language of keywords such as "increase", "anointing", and "abundance". Viewers are enjoined to "sow a seed" in order to receive the "anointing" (read cash back). It is claimed that giving will result in "increase" and "abundance" for the giver (read cash back).

Ebonmuse mentioned Paula White, and this woman is a real piece of work - maybe the worst of the lot. I watch occasionally for entertainment value, and one day she had on that shyster Donald Trump peddling a book. Paula was trying to tie “The Donald’s” financial practices in with her prosperity gospel. I hope Senator Grassley follows through and makes these people account for their activities. I am impressed these days when any holder of public office takes on religion regardless of party. Keep in mind that in my home state of Illinois, it was the Democrat controlled senate that just foisted on our public schools the mandatory so called Moment of Silence legislation.