Evangelical Churches: The Cult Of Personality Lives
Robert Paul Reyes
April 15, 2006
In most Christian denominations religious leaders don clerical garb to identify them as "men and women of god." When I spy a Catholic priest with his distinctive collar, I know he is in the ministry of serving God, not in the business of peddling Jesus junk.
The great majority of televangelists wear business suits, which is most appropriate because they resemble CEO's more than ministers of the Gospel.
A Jerry Falwell with his business suit, pot belly and round face speaks of upper middle class conformity. I don't expect him to preach messages that will upset, challenge or inspire his congregation. His sermons are calculated to fill the collection baskets, not to fill the minds of his followers with revolutionary ideas.
A Jerry Falwell will only rile up his congregation when he is scapegoating gays or feminists in a cynical attempt to raise funds. Falwell portrays gays, feminists and pagans as agents of the devil who are capable of upsetting his congregation's middle class lifestyle.
Most Catholic and mainline Protestant churches are magnificent temples with pointed ceilings that direct attention to the heavens. Most evangelical churches are modern buildings with false ceilings, behind almost every podium is a huge closed circuit TV screen bearing the larger than life likeness of the pastor.
When an individual is in a Catholic Church even an agnostic might feel that he is in the presence of God, but when he is in an evangelical church he thinks: I'm in Jerry Falwell's or Pat Robertson's church.
Modern day fundamentalism is all about the cult of the personality, it's not about an honest attempt to find meaning in life.
I'm a freethinker who is more at home on my sofa watching TV than I am in a church pew. This essay is not an attempt to glorify Catholicism or mainline Protestant churches, but a warning to stay away from evangelical business empires that will shrink your wallet and shrivel your soul.
The great majority of televangelists wear business suits, which is most appropriate because they resemble CEO's more than ministers of the Gospel.
A Jerry Falwell with his business suit, pot belly and round face speaks of upper middle class conformity. I don't expect him to preach messages that will upset, challenge or inspire his congregation. His sermons are calculated to fill the collection baskets, not to fill the minds of his followers with revolutionary ideas.
A Jerry Falwell will only rile up his congregation when he is scapegoating gays or feminists in a cynical attempt to raise funds. Falwell portrays gays, feminists and pagans as agents of the devil who are capable of upsetting his congregation's middle class lifestyle.
Most Catholic and mainline Protestant churches are magnificent temples with pointed ceilings that direct attention to the heavens. Most evangelical churches are modern buildings with false ceilings, behind almost every podium is a huge closed circuit TV screen bearing the larger than life likeness of the pastor.
When an individual is in a Catholic Church even an agnostic might feel that he is in the presence of God, but when he is in an evangelical church he thinks: I'm in Jerry Falwell's or Pat Robertson's church.
Modern day fundamentalism is all about the cult of the personality, it's not about an honest attempt to find meaning in life.
I'm a freethinker who is more at home on my sofa watching TV than I am in a church pew. This essay is not an attempt to glorify Catholicism or mainline Protestant churches, but a warning to stay away from evangelical business empires that will shrink your wallet and shrivel your soul.
Print
Email
