I pulled this magazine out of a box of "never placed and never will be" from the 1980's and 90's. Of course it is hypocritical (like most articles) but especially now since the JW religion has their own channel.
It is an article about tele evangelists - the four prominent ones. It takes up 3 1/2 pages and it is full of the misdeeds and greed of these preachers. The style of writing is quite different than a lot articles at the time and even of ones today. If you ever had read the "Golden Age" (?) one of the early mags they put out, the style is similar. It's very tabloid and catty.
"As it was in the days of ancient Israel, so it often is today: Many of the religious shepherds feed themselves and starve their flocks. Last year the television evangelists were on center stage, zealously fleecing the sheep."
Not that the WT is doing that...
From the Bakers, Oral Roberts, Falwell and Swaggart, the article goes into the scandals and how much money was accrued. But it takes an interesting turn on page 7. Instead of it all being painted as bad - the great amounts of money being "used" for religion - the WT oks that.
"It is true that "all the trappings of modern television evangelism" are a long way from the methods of Jesus. But it is also true that times have changed. To preach worldwide to millions involves the use of modern facilities and efficient organizations, and it takes large sums of money. Even so, the basics of Jesus' way of life remain the the model for Christians. The values and principles that he laid down are still the only pathway for Christians today. -1Peter 2:21
Some of those principles follow: 'You received truth free, give free. Don't be anxious about material things. Seek first the kingdom. More happiness in giving than in receiving..... True Christianity has not changed: only the facilities for spreading it have.
It is not the huge amounts of money that are involved that are objectionable. It takes millions to preach worldwide. Money is not evil. It is the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evils. It is the ways of getting the money -- the pleas, the gimmicks, the begging, the deceit, the lies -- that are evil. It is the fraudulent extraction of it from the poor by con games that's evil. And collected for one purpose, then used for another, for personal enrichment -- that's embezzlement..."
I've got a box of the these "spiritual treasures" but am contemplating putting them in the recycling bin. No witness will ever be convinced even if you put them in their hands that the WT is shady.
