joel osteen

[lourdes00]

hi
i was just wondering why im seeing negative things on the web about joel osteen?
why are people so negative about him, he talks about God, and being in faith how is that wrong?

 

[Simon_X]

I dont know much about him per se, but they were discussing him on Catholic Answers earlier in the week and they didn’t agree a lot with the way he presents things. Did he also have a father who was some kind of popular speaker of sorts?

 

[1ke]

hi
i was just wondering why im seeing negative things on the web about joel osteen?
why are people so negative about him, he talks about God, and being in faith how is that wrong?

He preaches the “health and wealth” gospel and it is spiritually dangerous.

Anyone can “talk about God”. What is important is the content of that talk.

 

[Cairisti]

Did he also have a father who was some kind of popular speaker of sorts?

Joel’s dad was the founder of Lakewood church and was from all reports very popular. When his dad died, Joel, who had previously been in business, stepped into his shoes as the pastor of Lakewood. From what I’ve gathered, it’s a “family” business.

 

[LilyM]

1ke:

He preaches the “health and wealth” gospel and it is spiritually dangerous.

Bingo!

The ‘health and wealth’ or ‘prosperity’ Gospel (the idea that God showers His believers with loads of material blessings (good health, money and possessions) as well as spiritual ones) is totally contrary to the spirit of Christ who:

• had no place in which to lay His head
• sent out His followers without silver
• called upon the rich man to sell all He owned and give it to the poor
• said ‘happy are the poor in spirit’
• said that it is hard for the rich to enter heaven
• called upon us to lay up treasure in heaven and not on earth
• said ‘where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’ (meaning a fair chunk of Mr Osteen’s heart may well be in his bulging bank account)

 

[NotWorthy]

Jesus said that one must “pick up their cross and follow Him”. I’m not sure that the Cross means to become wealthy.

Also, I believe it’s Paul who says the servant can’t be greater than the master. So the Servant should expect to suffer just as the master did.

Joel Osteen teaches the Christian to think of this world. That’s sad. The problem is, he mixes in just enough “Jesus loves you” message to make it sound like, yes, Jesus does want you to be successful.

 

[lourdes00]

Bingo!

The ‘health and wealth’ or ‘prosperity’ Gospel (the idea that God showers His believers with loads of material blessings (good health, money and possessions) as well as spiritual ones) is totally contrary to the spirit of Christ who:

• had no place in which to lay His head
• sent out His followers without silver
• called upon the rich man to sell all He owned and give it to the poor
• said ‘happy are the poor in spirit’
• said that it is hard for the rich to enter heaven
• called upon us to lay up treasure in heaven and not on earth
• said ‘where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’ (meaning a fair chunk of Mr Osteen’s heart may well be in his bulging bank account)

hi
im just trying to make sense of this.
he talks about health and wealth,
do the sick people not expect to be healed? do they not pray everyday for healing.

i dont know much about wealth, i mean we all have money, its what you do with it.
if i had a lot of money and was “wealthy” i would donate most of it to the poor and children across the world.

not having money and not being able to pay my bills on time make me stress,restless, angry, feeling down, and all the negative feelings in the world i feel because i dont have money to get by.
why is it wrong to pray for a little luck as far as jobs or opportunities?

i understand that we as christian have to experience difficulties but i dont believe that were suppose to experience those diffculites all of our live.
god have us this earth to enjoy and to make good thing happen for us and for other people, but when you are poor, and behind on your bills and eventually on the streets nothing good can come of it.

i dont know about him being wrong,
i guess is what people take from his teachings,

 

[Zooey]

He preaches the “health and wealth” gospel and it is spiritually dangerous.

Anyone can “talk about God”. What is important is the content of that talk.

Bingo!

The ‘health and wealth’ or ‘prosperity’ Gospel (the idea that God showers His believers with loads of material blessings (good health, money and possessions) as well as spiritual ones) is totally contrary to the spirit of Christ who:

• had no place in which to lay His head
• sent out His followers without silver
• called upon the rich man to sell all He owned and give it to the poor
• said ‘happy are the poor in spirit’
• said that it is hard for the rich to enter heaven
• called upon us to lay up treasure in heaven and not on earth
• said ‘where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’ (meaning a fair chunk of Mr Osteen’s heart may well be in his bulging bank account)

There you go!!

My best friend was telling me, some time back, about a perfectly appalling interview with Joel Osteen, that she had seen on TV .

Interviewer: Do you believe in Jesus?.
JO:Well… I don’t know.
Interv: Do you believe in the Bible?
JO: Well…I don’t know.
Interv: Is Jesus the Son of God?
JO: Well…I don’t know.
Interv: Are you a Christian?
JO: Well…I don’t know.
Interv: Is what you teach Christianity?
JO: Well…I don’t know.

She said, it made her sick, to hear the way he went on that way–Trying to sell his “feel-good” ideas, and making sure not to claim any real faith. (Just in case, one must assume, that might make him unpopular…thus reducing his income).
All the Christians, Catholic, Protestant, & Eastern Orthodox, who have been put to death down through the ages for refusing to deny Christ!! And Joel Osteen “doesn’t know”.
“Because you are neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth”–Jesus Christ’s words, in the Apocalypse/Revelation.

 

[LilyM]

hi
im just trying to make sense of this.
he talks about health and wealth,
do the sick people not expect to be healed? do they not pray everyday for healing.

i dont know much about wealth, i mean we all have money, its what you do with it.
if i had a lot of money and was “wealthy” i would donate most of it to the poor and children across the world.

not having money and not being able to pay my bills on time make me stress,restless, angry, feeling down, and all the negative feelings in the world i feel because i dont have money to get by.
why is it wrong to pray for a little luck as far as jobs or opportunities?

i understand that we as christian have to experience difficulties but i dont believe that were suppose to experience those diffculites all of our live.
god have us this earth to enjoy and to make good thing happen for us and for other people, but when you are poor, and behind on your bills and eventually on the streets nothing good can come of it.

i dont know about him being wrong,
i guess is what people take from his teachings,

Firstly ‘prayer’ and ‘luck’ should not even be mentioned in the same breath. There’s no such thing as luck. If God answers you prayer give HIM the glory and don’t attribute it to luck or coincidence.

Now there’s nothing wrong with praying about any of these things you’ve mentioned - after all, even Jesus in Gethsemane prayed that His cup of suffering be removed. Just as long as you realise, as Christ did in Gethsemane, that the Father’s will could very well be for you to drink the cup of suffering, every drop, and knowing that, we should end our prayer as He did, with ‘THY will, NOT mine, be done’.

He did, after all, tell us to take up our cross DAILY. That means we must expect that we will suffer to a greater or lesser degree - on a daily basis! And embrace those sufferings as our way of truly imitating Christ and participating in His passion with Him, of being another Simon of Cyrene if you will.

The way JO and similar preachers talk, makes God sound like a vending machine who can somehow be compelled to relieve all our physical ills and shower money and health on us.

 

[a_cermak]

I honestly haven’t heard him preach much, but his message doesn’t seem to be health and prosperity per se, but rather that the Creator wants you to be as good of a person as you can be given your circumstances. He definitely does NOT preach the cross, but he’s not all light and air either.

He does resist labels. He does believe in Christ, I am doubtful of that interview, but he doesn’t for example believe that those who don’t aren’t saved (I’m not sure if he’s a universalist or what his soteriology is).

 

[Simon_X]

Firstly ‘prayer’ and ‘luck’ should not even be mentioned in the same breath. There’s no such thing as luck. If God answers you prayer give HIM the glory and don’t attribute it to luck or coincidence.

Now there’s nothing wrong with praying about any of these things you’ve mentioned - after all, even Jesus in Gethsemane prayed that His cup of suffering be removed. Just as long as you realise, as Christ did in Gethsemane, that the Father’s will could very well be for you to drink the cup of suffering, every drop, and knowing that, we should end our prayer as He did, with ‘THY will, NOT mine, be done’.

He did, after all, tell us to take up our cross DAILY. That means we must expect that we will suffer to a greater or lesser degree - on a daily basis! And embrace those sufferings as our way of truly imitating Christ and participating in His passion with Him, of being another Simon of Cyrene if you will.

The way JO and similar preachers talk, makes God sound like a vending machine who can somehow be compelled to relieve all our physical ills and shower money and health on us.

Seriously Lily, you really should look into becoming a Cannon Lawyer…your arguments are usually rock solid and considerably logical…

 

[Ignatius]

hi
i was just wondering why im seeing negative things on the web about joel osteen?
why are people so negative about him, he talks about God, and being in faith how is that wrong?

Well, his theology subsists in the typical protestant heretical notions such as Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, etc., but so are all of the protestant preachers.

 

[nate12387]

hi
i was just wondering why im seeing negative things on the web about joel osteen?
why are people so negative about him, he talks about God, and being in faith how is that wrong?

My mom watches him on TV often. I don’t he says really anything that is contrary to the catholic faith per say.

At the end of each talk though he does invite all of them to get saved and to do to bible based church. Depending on the way you look at it, this could go against the catholic church.

 

[LilyM]

Seriously Lily, you really should look into becoming a Cannon Lawyer…your arguments are usually rock solid and considerably logical…

Well thankee kindly :tiphat:

I did just (as in last week) complete my civvy law degree, so I should hope I can argue reasonably well. No reason I can’t look into doing Canon Law down the track, I guess. :newidea:

 

[blessedtoo]

There you go!!

My best friend was telling me, some time back, about a perfectly appalling interview with Joel Osteen, that she had seen on TV .

Interviewer: Do you believe in Jesus?.
JO:Well… I don’t know.
Interv: Do you believe in the Bible?
JO: Well…I don’t know.
Interv: Is Jesus the Son of God?
JO: Well…I don’t know.
Interv: Are you a Christian?
JO: Well…I don’t know.
Interv: Is what you teach Christianity?
JO: Well…I don’t know.

She said, it made her sick, to hear the way he went on that way–Trying to sell his “feel-good” ideas, and making sure not to claim any real faith. (Just in case, one must assume, that might make him unpopular…thus reducing his income).
All the Christians, Catholic, Protestant, & Eastern Orthodox, who have been put to death down through the ages for refusing to deny Christ!! And Joel Osteen “doesn’t know”.
“Because you are neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth”–Jesus Christ’s words, in the Apocalypse/Revelation.

Add to that the interview on Larry King:

LK: Do you think abortion is wrong?
JO: I don’t know, Lar-r-r-y.
LK: Do you think homosexuality is wrong?
JO: I don’t know, Lar-r-r-y.
LK: How about premarital sex?
JO: I really don’t know, Lar-r-r-y.

Seems there’s much Mr. Osteen doesn’t know. I wouldn’t want someone with that much uncertainty guiding my spiritual life.

 

[thistle]

Well thankee kindly :tiphat:

I did just (as in last week) complete my civvy law degree, so I should hope I can argue reasonably well. No reason I can’t look into doing Canon Law down the track, I guess. :newidea:

Congrats.

 

[puzzleannie]

when he is discussed on this forum it is with regard to his teachings and the areas (many) in which they conflict with Catholic doctrine. personal attacks on the man himself are out of place on any forum, let alone a Christian one.

 

[Zooey]

Add to that the interview on Larry King:

LK: Do you think abortion is wrong?
JO: I don’t know, Lar-r-r-y.
LK: Do you think homosexuality is wrong?
JO: I don’t know, Lar-r-r-y.
LK: How about premarital sex?
JO: I really don’t know, Lar-r-r-y.

Seems there’s much Mr. Osteen doesn’t know. I wouldn’t want someone with that much uncertainty guiding my spiritual life.

http://www.policeexplorers.us/forums/images/smilies/1smilies2/sad.gif
I don’t really see him as a Christian teacher, so much as a “life coach”(so-called) like Tony Robbins, or Oprah’s Guru-Of-The-Month.
He uses just enough Christian terminology to sound respectable…without actually ever saying anything that has any relationship to faith or morality.

 

[Cat]

The one time I heard him speak (we were staying in a hotel), he said that we need to avoid people who drag us down. We should not associate with the sick, the poor, the alcoholic, the mentally-ill, the criminals, and anyone else who is not where we want to be. We should associate with those people who bring us UP to their level.

He preaches a gospel that Jesus never preached.

 

[TobyLue]

Watch this on youtube and also this on JO and see what he preaches
These are just a couple of the many youtube videos on JO.

I have a couple of relatives who really like this dude. The thing is that now they contradict many Catholic teachings, i.e. infallibilty; how can a bunch of men tell women what to do with their bodies; makes no difference on what you believe as long as you like what you are doing; etc.