We've covered the "prosperity gospel" hucksters, who operate some of the largest and most profitable mega churches in the country, and whose pitch to their flock is the more we shear you, the holier you'll become. Take Paula White (please!), the mega church grifter and "spiritual advisor" to cheating sexual predator and serial liar Donald "Cheat-o" Trump.
Stephanie Mencimer, writing at Mother Jones, has a great article on White's predatory practices which have made her a very wealthy woman. In her followers' eyes, that means she's favored by the almighty, as if wealth -- no matter how fraudulently achieved -- is the barometer of holiness. Here's White's account of first meeting Trump:
“'God kept opening doors until eventually, 19 years ago, I get a phone call out of the blue, from this man named Donald Trump,' she said, recalling the day in 2002 when the twice-divorced New York real estate mogul reached out to her after catching her show on a local Florida TV station. 'He said, ‘You’re fantastic.’ He said, ‘You have the ‘it’ factor.' I said, ‘Sir, we call that the anointing.’" White said the Lord told her to help Trump know God." (our emphasis)You know that when Trump tells a woman she has the "it" factor, he's not looking for spiritual guidance. For her part, she saw a wealthy mark that might grow her mega church scam financially, so all's fair. It also puts her status as a Trump surrogate under scrutiny given her "church's" tax exempt status. Mencimer reports on a "sermon" from White earlier this month, where she tells the about-to-be-sheared flock that she should get their money even if they won't be able to pay their electric bills:
"She broke it all down for her congregants, making it simple: If they prioritize their paychecks for more earthly needs, like keeping the lights on, they were treating Florida Power and Light (FPL) like God himself. 'Instead of writing [that check] to the house of God as I’m instructed to, then what I’m saying spiritually is, ‘FPL, I have now established a spiritual law that put you first. So, FPL, save my family, FPL, deliver my drug addicted son. FPL, kill this cancer that doctors say is in my body.’” (our emphasis)It doesn't matter to White, who's worth millions and who owns a private plane and a waterfront mansion in Florida, that her flock may be living paycheck to paycheck. It only matters that she closes the sale. Mencimer's article closes with this chilling scene as White "heals" childless women:
"She told a story about helping a woman in Hawaii with no uterus and no fallopian tubes give birth. Then she moved to each hopeful woman—some of whom were infertile, others who struggled with repeated miscarriages—and held their hands or touched her belly, telling one that she’d no longer miscarry. One woman fell on the floor. Others cried in expectation of fruitfulness. White wept and spoke in tongues. 'Holy, holy, holy, hallelujah,' she cried, and then held a basket of money up high. 'It is blessed!'Read the whole article; it's a portrait of gluttony, avarice and idolatry wrapped in false piety.
When it was over, White held a book signing for her newest book release, Something Greater, which is all about her relationship with God. But Something Greater, of course, is really all about her relationship with Trump. His name is mentioned 177 times in 288 pages. Jesus merits just 82." (our emphasis)
(photo: Trump checking out Paula White's "it" factor)
