1 - PRESENTING THE GOSPEL

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CHARISMATIC - WORD OF FAITH EMPHASIS
The first question can be answered by looking at the forum which is used to present the TBN version of the gospel message. The message that is presented by TBN is almost exclusively voiced within the framework of the Charismatic movement and specifically expressed through the preponderance of Word of Faith and Dominion theology speakers and religious leaders that populate the programming. This is not surprising, since Paul Crouch has a religious background that leans toward that type of theology.

However, the main reason for this emphasis is the fact that in the teachings of those who hold to the Word of Faith and Dominion views, there is an emphasis directed toward adherents, stating that their monetary giving to God will return to them more money than they contribute. As a result, the theology fits in very nicely with the nature of TBN and the method by which it obtains its support and funding. Funding is obtained by donations from believing supporters, and if those supporters are already taught to believe that their giving will return a monetary reward, then the stage is set for the type of message that will be emphasized and programmed in order to obtain the largest offerings possible.

This idea plays out very well in reality, when the TBN Praise-a-Thons are viewed on a consistent basis, and the appeals of the various participants are analyzed. Giving to TBN is equated with giving to God, and therefore it is promised that a monetary return on donations will be given by God. In addition, the expenses of the network, incurred by Paul Crouch himself, are claimed to be the result of the work of God and it is the responsibility of Christian believers to support the work and moving of God. Paul Crouch is the self-proclaimed spokesman in relation to what he claims about the network, its mission and its needs, while God remains strangely silent, giving "revelations" and "words of wisdom" to Paul Crouch, the teachers and religious leaders that populate the programming. The words from God always seem to verify what Paul Crouch and his group of teachers and religious leaders wish to say and do.

The cadre of teachers and leaders on TBN is lead by the foremost of the Word Of Faith, Seed Faith and Dominion teachers and include:

John Avanzini
Kim Clement
Kenneth Copeland
Creflo Dollar
Jesse Duplantis
John Hagee
Kenneth "Dad" Hagin
Marilyn Hickey
Benny Hinn
T.D. Jakes
Joyce Meyer
Rod Parsley
Frederick K.C. Price
Oral Roberts
Richard Roberts
R.W. Schambach

Paul Crouch and the teachers and leaders on the network programs find themselves in a symbiotic relationship. They all need each other in order to exist at the level to which they aspire. Paul Crouch needs the teachers and religious leaders to populate his programming schedule and to increase the numbers of listeners to the network. The greater the number of listeners, the greater the amount of offerings that will be given and the larger the network can become. The teachers and religious leaders need Paul Crouch and TBN so that they can gain exposure, sell their books, tapes, CD's and other goods, to win adherents to their beliefs and extend the boundaries of their ministries in addition to tapping into the greater numbers of potential donors. The relationship of those who constitute TBN brings them into a common theology, not of a Biblical nature, but one in which the acquiring of the dollar bill is the highest goal. All other doctrinal issues are secondary or are presumed to be non-existent in the pursuit of the dollar, in order to expand the ministry so that more dollars can be brought in so that the ministry can be expanded so that more dollars can be brought in ....

Word Of Faith and Dominion doctrines are the ideal means for achieving the monetary goals of TBN because those doctrines appeal to the base nature of humanity; the desire for wealth, health and the desire for power. Those doctrines are exploited to the limit in order to obtain the monetary support for TBN and to furnish the lifestyles of those who are the exclusive members of the TBN family of teachers and religious leaders.

These doctrines and beliefs are even expressed in the furnishings found at the TBN studio centers. The decor is primarily the work of Jan Crouch and expresses her feelings of superiority to those who are, as she expresses it, "all you little people" who give their money to support her lifestyle. In the decorating excesses, the kitsch, garish and tawdry design of the faux gold and imitation style of royal furnishings is designed to give the appearance that those who are part of TBN, either as an adherent or participant, are also part of an authoritative and exclusive group who rule over, and are superior to, all other persons. But, just as the furnishings are all fake and imitations of royal furnishings, the doctrines that are being taught at TBN are also fake and imitations of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is the greatest deception being promoted.

THE DOCTRINAL TEACHINGS ON TBN

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BENNY HINN
Benny Hinn is the shining star in the crown of TBN and Paul Crouch treats him with great care. There seems to be nothing that Benny Hinn can do or say that will cause Paul Crouch to question his integrity, truthfulness or doctrinal principles.

Benny Hinn commands tremendous crowds all over the world and claims to be a prophet and to speak with God on an almost daily basis. He claims to have been transported to heaven and has received many revelations and visions. He claims to be a prophet and speaks the direct words of God. He claims to be able to heal and has also claimed that persons would be raised from the dead under his ministry and that of TBN. In an interview with Larry King, he claimed to have healed himself by watching a previously recorded broadcast of his own message.

Benny Hinn's claims are self-proclaimed and are not backed or confirmed by any credentials from God. He claims to be able to heal, but he has never presented any evidence that he has healed a visible disease or defect. He has never restored a missing arm or leg, never healed a Down's Syndrome individual, never healed a congenitally deformed person, restored a missing eye or removed scars as a result of acid or burns. Benny Hinn's claims to healings are always of the internal and invisible type and no proof is ever produced as to their validity.

"But here's first what I see for TBN. You're going to have people raised from the dead watching this network. You're going to have people raised from the dead watching TBN. I'm telling you, I see this in the Spirit. It's going to be so awesome. Jesus, I give you praise for this, that people around the world, maybe not so much in America, people around the world who will lose loved ones, will say to undertakers, 'Not yet. I want to take my dead loved one and place him in front of that TV set for 24 hours.'

I'm telling you, I can feel the anointing talking here. People are going to be canceling funeral services and bringing their dead in their caskets, placing them, my God! I feel the anointing here, placing them before a television set, waiting for God's power to come through and touch them. And it's going to happen time and time, so much it's going to spread. You're going to hear it from Kenya to Mexico to Europe to South America, where people will be raised from the dead. So much so that the word will spread that if some dead person be put in front of this TV screen, they will be raised from the head and they will be by the thousands.

I see rows of caskets lining up in front of this TV set and I see them bringing them closer to the TV set and as people are coming closer I see loved ones picking up the hands of the dead and letting them touch the screen and people are getting raised as their hands are touching that screen."
BENNY HINN, Praise The Lord, TBN Trinity Broadcasting Network, October 19, 1999

"The Lord also tells me to tell you in mid 90s, about '94 or '95, no later than that, God will destroy the homosexual community of America. He will destroy it with fire."
BENNY HINN, Prophecy given: Orlando Christian Center, 1989

"The Spirit of God tells me, an earthquake will hit the East Coast of America and destroy much in the 90s."
BENNY HINN, Prophecy given: Orlando Christian Center, 1989

"The Spirit tells me, Fidel Castro will die in the 90s. Holy Spirit just said to me, it'll be worse than any death you can imagine."
BENNY HINN, Prophecy given: Orlando Christian Center, 1989

"God the Father, ladies and gentleman, is a person and He is a triune being by Himself, separate from the Son and the Holy Ghost. See, God the Father is a person, God the Son is a person, God the Holy Ghost is a person; but each one of them is a triune being by himself. If I can shock you and maybe I should, there s nine of them! What did you say? Let me explain. God the Father, ladies and gentlemen, is a person with his own personal spirit, with his own personal soul and his own personal spirit body. You say, I never heard that! Well, you think you are in church to hear things you heard for the last fifty years?"
BENNY HINN

Benny Hinn teaches false doctrine. His career as a prophet has been chronicled as one of failure. He is unable to prophesy, because he is not a prophet and not anointed by God. He is a false prophet and is declared to be so in Deuteronomy 18:20-22. Yet, he continues on in his "ministry", never apologizing for his errors or repenting to God for claiming what God did not reveal to him. Paul Crouch has decided that he has greater authority than God and ignores the Scripture in Deuteronomy 18:20-22, regarding the definition of a false prophet, and continues to support Benny Hinn and defends every word that he says.

KENNETH COPELAND
Kenneth Copeland is one of the most famous of the Word Of Faith teachers in the religious world today. He has taken most of his teaching from that of Kenneth "Dad" Hagin, his mentor.

God is a "spirit-being with a body, complete with eyes, and eyelids, ears, nostrils, a mouth, hands and fingers, and feet".
Kenneth Copeland ministry letter, July 21, 1977

"God spoke Adam into existence in authority with words (Gen. 1:26, 28). These words struck Adam's body in the face. His body and God were exactly the same size."
Holy Bible, Kenneth Copeland Reference Edition, 1991, p. 45

"God's reason for creating Adam was His desire to reproduce Himself... He was not a little like God. He was not almost like God. He was not subordinate to God even. Adam is as much like God as you could get, just the same as Jesus. ...Adam, in the Garden of Eden, was God manifested in the flesh."
Following the Faith of Abraham I, Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Copeland Ministries, Fort Worth, Texas, 1989, tape 01-3001, side 1.

Claiming that he spoke to Jesus Christ personally, he says that Jesus Christ said the following:
"Don't be disturbed when people accuse you of thinking you are God ... They crucified Me for claiming I was God. I didn't claim that I was God; I just claimed that I walked with Him and that He was in Me. Hallelujah! That's what you're doing ..."
"Take Time to Pray," Believer's Voice of Victory, February 1987, p. 9

Kenneth Copeland is a false teacher and a very dangerous man in relation to the Biblical message. He does not teach correct doctrine and he teaches another Jesus Christ who is different from the Jesus Christ of the Bible. Kenneth Copeland teaches heresy. Paul Crouch supports Kenneth Copeland and takes no interest in the serious nature of his heretical teachings.

These are only two of the false teachers and false prophets who are supported and proclaimed as representative of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit by Paul Crouch. There are numerous other false teachers and false prophets who appear on TBN and are supported and promoted by Paul Crouch.

GIVING AND RECEIVING - The holy grail of fund raising
There are many individuals who continually call Paul Crouch to accountability for the false doctrine and heresy that he constantly presents on the Trinity Broadcasting Network in the name of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. He wishes to embrace those false and heretical teachings for the purpose of obtaining the life blood of TBN, which are the donations given to the ministry by the listeners. Without the major heretical teachings of the health and wealth, "prosperity gospel" and "Word of Faith" messages, he could not operate his organization at such a high profile. He claims to operate TBN in order to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, but he nullifies that claim by preferring the false and heretical to the true and revealed words of God in the Scripture, adopting the position that those who confront him, regarding those false doctrines and heretical teachings, are considered to be "heresy hunters." Now, why a person who claims to present the truth would consider the term "heresy hunter" to be a negative description cannot be understood. Those who Paul Crouch would call "heresy hunters" would take that designation as a compliment, but to Paul Crouch, the term denotes opposition to what are his values.

Any person who Paul Crouch calls a "heresy hunter" does not have to be a very good hunter to find the heresy on TBN. The heresies are broadcast right to the homes of millions of persons on a daily basis. It does not take a great deal of ability to sort them out; only a little discernment and a comparison to what is actually written in the Bible reveals all.

Paul Crouch reacts violently to criticism, even when rightly given, and assumes, for himself, the position of God, pronouncing a judgment of death on all persons who he would classify as "heresy hunters."

God, we proclaim death to anything or anyone that will lift a hand against this network and this ministry that belongs to You, God. It is Your work, it is Your idea, it is Your property, it is Your airwaves, it is Your world, and we proclaim death to anything that would stand in the way of God's great voice of proclamation to the whole world. In the Name of Jesus, and all the people said Amen!
Paul Crouch, Praise The Lord television program, November 7, 1997

"To hell with you! Get out of my life! Get out of the way! I say get out of God's way! Quit blocking God's bridges or God's going to shoot you if I don't. I don't even want to even talk to you or hear you! I don't want to see your ugly face!"
Paul Crouch, Praise-a-Thon, April 2, 1991

Paul Crouch speaks words of disdain and derision to all the people who would actually prefer to believe the genuine and true doctrines taught in the Scripture. Apparently showing the affects of being called to account, for many years, through the messages of those "heresy hunters," he found it necessary to address the issue, in an attempt to justify his further entrenchment into the false teaching that has become the hallmark of TBN theology. His statements can be found in their entirety in the October 2002 issue of the Praise the Lord Newsletter, Volume 29, Number 10.

Beginning his comments with a quote from Philippians 4:15, Paul Crouch, ever so subtly, attempts to equate the giving of the Philippian church to the apostle Paul with giving to, or being partners with, TBN. Pressing on, he poses the question,

"Should we GIVE, expecting to RECEIVE from God?"

The implication that he leaves with the reader is that Christians should expect to receive from God in relation to what they give.

"So, let me ask you and them one eternal question: DID GOD GIVE HIS SON TO DIE, EXPECTING NOTHING IN RETURN? Well, the answer is so obvious it really does not need an answer!"

So, he does not give an answer but lets the reader supply their own conclusion. The question does require an answer. Paul Crouch would assume that God did expect something in return, but the question that he allows to go unanswered, is what did God expect in return? According to Paul Crouch's theology, a monetary gift to God (which is a gift to TBN) will reap a reward greater than the gift given, but in the gift of Jesus Christ, what reward could be considered of greater value than the life of the Son of God? The death of Jesus Christ satisfied the justice of God in relation to the sin of man and such is its judicial purpose. Truly the death of Christ was a gift, but it is a gift of submission and grace on the part of Jesus Christ, which is much different than giving ten dollars to TBN and expecting one-thousand dollars in return.

Paul Crouch's question is entirely backward, because it is the product of a wrong assumption and view about God. Paul Crouch presents his "Word of Faith" doctrinal beliefs as the basis for his claim that God must give to receive. He is asserting that God is bound or subject to some law higher than Himself regarding giving and receiving. The truth is, God does not get or receive, because He needs and requires absolutely nothing outside of Himself. God is the one who provides and gives to those who must receive, because they are incomplete and wanting within themselves.

Paul Crouch's next quote validates his view of God, and lowers His holiness to the level of humanity.

"GOD HAD A NEED—so what did He do? HE GAVE!"

The false teaching inherent in the above statement is instantly apparent. Since when does God have any need? It is mankind who has the need, including Paul Crouch. The teaching is doubly false, because it asserts that God is not complete in Himself and lacks a certain wholeness, but also assumes that those "needs" must be satisfied outside of Himself, requiring a type of giving in order to receive back what He does not have and that giving must be directed toward human beings who supply His need. The teaching is not only false, it is heretical to the core.

Hoping to convince the reader that the Scripture proves his point, Paul Crouch ignores the very Scriptures that crush his self-created theology from the very beginning:

"Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen."
Romans 11:35-36 (NAS)

". . . Who then is he that can stand before Me? Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine."
Job 41:10b-11 (NAS)

Paul Crouch is not the only individual on TBN who believes that God and Jesus Christ have needs that must be satisfied outside of themselves, and also satisfied by human beings. Jesse Duplantis also teaches a version of that theology that would be laughable if it were not so heretical. In one of his many direct conversations with God, Jesse says that God made the following request to him:

"Jesse, make Me laugh."

Apparently Jesse Duplantis believes that he is so original in comedic thought that he can think of jokes that God would not already know. But the major heresy in his statement is that he assumes that God has a need, in this case a need to laugh, that can only be fulfilled, outside of Himself, by the actions of a human being. In the process of claiming that God has needs, Jesse Duplantis trivializes what those needs might be, claiming that God needs to laugh, which Jesse Duplantis is important enough to satisfy.

In another instance of a direct conversation and appearance with Jesus Christ, Jesse Duplantis states the following:

"I wanted to reach out and comfort Him, so I put my hand on the Lord. . . I could tell that Jesus was hurting."
". . .we can delay His coming by waiting for a sign before we act on His Word . . ."
"I didn't know before how much He needed me to reach out to other people. I have always thought of how much I needed Him, not how much He needs me. . .He smiled at me and said, "I chose you. No one else wanted you, and I need you Jesse."

So, during one of his trips to heaven, Jesse claims that Jesus Christ, who was in heaven at the time, was a little depressed that day and he thought that he could give Him some comfort by placing his arm around Him and giving some words of encouragement. At the same time, Jesse Duplantis claims that human beings have the ability to obstruct the purpose, plan and timetable of God by their actions. Not only can human beings upset the plans of God, they can prevent the return of Jesus Christ. The claim is foolish at the very best, because the Scripture states that God already knows the time of Christ's return, so what He already knows will come to pass on schedule, just as He knows it. But, the claims of Jesse Duplantis get even worse as he claims that Jesus Christ also has needs, just as God does in the theology of Paul Crouch. In this case, Jesus Christ needs Jesse Duplantis to reach out to other people. The arrogance of his claim becomes greater as he says that Jesus Christ chose him, when no one else wanted him, because He needed Jesse Duplantis in some manner.

Just as the theology of Jesse Duplantis becomes worse the more he speaks, the theology of Paul Crouch becomes more deviant and aberrant the more he speaks. He again indicates that God needed something that He could give in order to reconcile the actions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. What Paul Crouch claims God needed, was Jesus Christ and by His act of GIVING His Son, God received something in return. Guess what Paul Crouch said that He received that was valued greater than the life of His Son?

"So what did God RECEIVE? As we have shared many times—God received millions, no billions of sons and daughters and you, dear Partner, are one of them! Praise the Lord! We are God's reward for HIS GIVING! God lives by His own law—you HAVE GOT TO GIVE to receive!"

Paul Crouch makes God a debtor, stating that God lives by His own law (claimed to be the law of giving), but it is a law that exists only within the mind of Paul Crouch and is not taught within the pages of Scripture. Paul Crouch states that in order to claim salvation for mankind, God must defer to a higher law than Himself, that of the law of giving. In order to accomplish His purpose, He is obligated to give in order to receive the results of His purpose. Like Kenneth Copeland, who claims that faith is a law higher than God which He had to use in order to create the universe, in Paul Crouch's theology God must subject Himself to the law of giving, in order bring about the salvation of mankind.

Redefining the nature and character of God, Paul Crouch reveals how far he is willing to go in order to maintain the "prosperity gospel" that sustains the giving of millions of dollars to his ministry.

Next, Paul Crouch deals with some aspects of giving in order to soften the reality that giving with the expectation of receiving a monetary reward is more than a little vulgar. He states that motive must be considered:
1. First, a person should give as a "THANK YOU" to the Lord for salvation.
2. Secondly, a person should give because of "our love for a lost world on the their way to hell."
3. Thirdly, "I will prove from God's word that it is perfectly RIGHT to give to God and His work, with a need, fully EXPECTING God to meet that need and to REWARD you for your giving!"

Paul Crouch will deal with the third motive for the rest of his article, ignoring the first two which he has just listed as being the most important. The reason is obvious if one has ever watched a TBN Praise-a-Thon, where the emphasis is solely on giving money so that a reward greater than the gift can be obtained. That is the means by which TBN procures its financing, so that is the point with which Paul Crouch will deal.

Continuing his dissertation, Paul Crouch, quotes Mark 10:29-30, gleefully stating, "Okay, here it is heretic hunters—"

Presuming that the verses support his claim that giving money to God will reap a 100-fold return, he believes that he has confirmed his claim by means of his proof text. So, what do those verses actually say?

28. Peter began to say to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You."
29. Jesus said, "Truly I say unto you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake,
30. but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.
31. But many who are first will be last, and the last, first."
Mark 10:28-31 (NAS)

The apostle Matthew also recounts the same incident, but includes a little more detail.

27. Then Peter said to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?'
28. And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.
30. But many who are first will be last; and the last, first."
Matthew 19:27-30 (NAS)

Like most proof texts presented in the Word of Faith venue, at first glance it would appear that the verses support what is being claimed. However, a closer look reveals a glaring omission. Where is the money to be given as an offering that will return the hundredfold? There is no offering mentioned in the verse, because the passage has nothing to do with monetary giving to God or to any ministry. The passage is about service and what has been renounced in order to answer the call of Jesus Christ. Additionally, the verses began with a question by the apostle Peter in relation to himself and the other 11 disciples because they had already given up everything and had received nothing in return. Their question was about what would they obtain in the kingdom. The answer, by Jesus Christ was directed to the disciples and to no other. Would Paul Crouch wish to claim that Christians, who give to his ministry, will sit on one of the twelve thrones during the kingdom of Jesus Christ? The thrones are for the apostles, not for Christians who give money to Paul Crouch or to any ministry.

Looking deeper into the texts, one is hard pressed to understand how the rewards promised will actually be applied to Christians as Paul Crouch claims. The promise by Jesus Christ to His disciples is that they will receive "brothers and sisters and mothers." Presumably, Paul Crouch must claim that the parents of all Christians who give monetary gifts to ministries like TBN, will suddenly begin producing children so that those Christians can have additional brothers and sisters, and somehow, those Christians will also receive "mothers." Are we to assume that the father of the Christian is to remarry several times, or is the Christian to receive several women into the household who are already mothers? Jesus Christ had already taught about who the brothers, sisters and mothers are in the passages. His teaching is found in Matthew 12:46-50.

46. While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold , His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him.
47. Someone said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You."
48. But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"
49. And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers!
50. For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother."
Matthew 12:46-50 (NAS)

Jesus Christ, in the promise of brothers, sisters and mothers to his disciples, reaches back to His prior teaching and begins to make clear to them what he meant in that previous statement. As a result of their dedication to him, they will receive brothers and sisters and mothers, but they will not be relatives through blood descent, but by being among those who do the will of God, and eventually, by adoption into the family of God through the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross for the remission of their sins.

In a previous paragraph, Paul Crouch attempts to equate the words of Jesus Christ in Luke 6:38 with the concept of giving money to a ministry; in this case to TBN. The quotation comes out of the teaching of Jesus Christ on the beatitudes. So what does the Scripture say?

"Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."
Luke 6:38 (NAS)

Once again, like the other "proof texts" used by the "prosperity teachers," at first it sounds so good and seems to confirm what is being said. But closer examination reveals the claims to be false, based on a wrong application of the verse and an assumption that there are elements inherent in the verse which are not present. The first point that Paul Crouch would have his readers assume is that the verse is about giving money. Not only giving money, but giving money to a specific ministry, such as TBN. However, the verse never mentions giving of money or giving to ministries or even the subject of a ministry. The only time money is mentioned in the section on the beatitudes is in verses 34 and 35, where it is mentioned in reference to lending money to others. If Paul Crouch wanted to make a point about receiving back more than was given, he should have used these verses instead. But they do not support his premise, because money given in the context of the verse would be a loan to a ministry which would have to be repaid along with interest. This is a concept that does not suit Paul Crouch at all, because he wants money that is a gift to TBN which never has to be repaid, and he wants God to dispense the reward. He wishes to have it both ways; money given to his organization for free, and someone else, namely God, to reward the giver so that TBN doesn't have to give money back in return. The entire section on the beatitudes is not about giving money to the ministry of Jesus Christ or any other ministry. It is about attitude, relationships and the giving of self to others, both to the Christian and the non-Christian alike. Verse 38 is not about giving money, but about giving of self to others in which there will be a reward for service. The verse implies that the reward is not of money, but the reward of new relationships, friendships and the realization of the accomplishments of God in the lives of other people.

Paul Crouch deals with two other passages in John 4:35-36 and Galatians 6:6, attempting to support his contention. He misstates the criticism against him by stating that the "heresy hunters" claim that "the rewards are all relegated to the 'sweet by and by'." There are rewards to be obtained in the future, but there are also rewards to be obtained in this life, however the question is not whether there are rewards now, but whether those rewards are as stated by Paul Crouch and the "prosperity gospel" crowd and the method and reason for those rewards being given. So, again, what do the passages say?

31. Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."
32. But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about."
33. So the disciples were saying to one another, "No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?"
34. Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
35. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.
36. Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
37. For in this case the saying is true, 'One sows and another reaps.'
38. I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor."
John 4:31-38 (NAS)

The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.
Galatians 6:6

From the above two passages Paul Crouch rightly assumes that a laborer (preacher, pastor, missionary) should receive a wage or be paid for their services. However, the wage is for services rendered in the manner of teaching and spiritual affairs. Paul Crouch then turns the verses on their heads, stating that it is the giving or the payment that subsequently brings the reward of a monetary return, when it is precisely the opposite.

I often ask, "Have you received anything good from TBN? Teaching, comfort, healing, salvation, answered prayer, 100-fold?" I am amazed and grieved that while millions watch TBN only a very few, comparatively, respond with a love gift of support. No wonder that some are sick, busted, and disgusted —YOU HAVE NOT GIVEN GOD ANY SEED—SO GUESS WHAT? YOU GET NO HARVEST!

The Scripture states that the monetary gift is a paycheck and reward to the teacher not to the giver. Paul Crouch's theology is completely backward.

Paul Crouch's final appeal is to Galatians 6:9.

9. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.
10. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
Galatians 6:9-10 (NAS)

In verse 9, Paul Crouch would assert that it refers to monetary giving to God, which he equates with giving to TBN, and as a result the giver will reap a benefit. However, if what Paul Crouch says is what the verse means, then there is a great difficulty. Verse 10 is the companion, explaining what is to occur as a result of verse 9, and that is "let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." If the claim of Paul Crouch is true, then gifts of money can be given to ministries who are not of the household of faith (non-Christian ministries), and the giver will still be rewarded by God for their actions. This is not an acceptable application of the verse and it reveals that the teaching of Paul Crouch is false.

Misapplication of the Scripture always results in doctrinal difficulties that cannot be overcome, and this is the case with Paul Crouch attempting to apply these verses to a reward for giving; especially to his ministry.

Paul Crouch ends his article with a story about how he mortgaged his $38,500.00 home to guarantee payment on TBN in 1973. He says he still owns the home, which is now valued at $1,000,000.00, which he claims is a result of his giving up his home for the work of the Lord, which he admits he didn't ever really give up. He claims this is a more than a 100-fold increase (actually it is a 25.97 fold increase - a 100-fold increase would be $3,850,000.00) in the value of the home which he attributes to God. However, he doesn't mention that every home in the Newport Beach area has appreciated in value by the same criterion since he purchased his, as well as every home in the southern California area. Those increases were beneficial to the non-Christian as well, so God must be in the business of increasing their wealth also, even though they have given Him nothing for the return.

Paul Crouch says he still owns the house, for which he only paid $38,500.00, now valued at $1,000,000.00, but fails to mention that the $1,000,000.00 house would cover only 20% of the value of the $5,000,000.00 estate that he just recently purchased. Apparently he did not sell the old house and use the proceeds to invest in the new estate, so the entire $5,000,000.00 came from "all the little people out there" such as "all the little grandmas," in the words of Jan Crouch, who support TBN with their nickels and dimes, hoping for a big return from God on their investment.

Paul Crouch ends with one final statement of hypocrisy and one final statement of heresy.

So does "Luke 10" work? Well, Jan and I still own that little home in Newport Beach, and our model is selling for up to one million dollars! Wow, it just hit me—that's what we paid for Channel 40! Not a bad return of our $38,500, wouldn't you say? That's more than 100-fold!

And, now, since we travel so much, we get to stay in lovely guest houses from coast-to-coast visiting the many TV stations. But guess what—God has also given us thousands of new fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers, and I Know every one of you would give us a room and a dinner if we knocked on your door! We gave ONE HOUSE—God has given us a million houses or more—so ask Jan and me if God's promises are true. Yes, yes, yes—a million times yes!

Do you have a need? I've given you the KEY! Put it in the lock and turn it! GIVE GOD SOMETHING TO WORK WITH.

Paul Crouch claims that the value of his home is due to the fact that he gave it to God, "We gave ONE HOUSE—God has given us a million houses or more..." But he really didn't give the house away because he still owns it. At the same time, he didn't leave his brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or land for the sake of Jesus Christ. In the process of making his statement, he confirms the fact that he does know the true meaning of Mark 10:29-30, regarding being given thousands of new fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers, which he conveniently ignored when he quoted those verses earlier.

However, the most serious error of Paul Crouch's statement is that it defines God as subservient to the actions of human beings and reduces His power to the result of a decision by another individual to give or not give, "GIVE GOD SOMETHING TO WORK WITH." Without the gift of money to TBN, Paul Crouch claims that God has nothing to work with. He claims that God can produce and give the donor a 100-fold return on the gift, but He can't operate without the initial gift of money, which, conveniently, must be given to TBN. Where did God get the money for the 100-fold return? Something is terribly wrong with that theology. The devil, when he was tempting Jesus Christ, told Jesus to turn the stones on the ground into bread, knowing very well that He could actually accomplish such a miracle. Jesus Christ could work a miracle when He was required to pay his taxes, producing a coin in the mouth of a fish caught by the apostle Peter. When it was required that 5,000 and 4,000 people be fed on two separate occasions, he produced bread and fish in his hands by a miracle, and kept passing out food until all the assembly were fed and satisfied. When Lazarus died, Jesus Christ produced life by a miracle. When people were sick and afflicted, He produced health by a miracle. John the Baptist said that God could produce sons of Abraham from stones lying on the ground. God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit do not require the American dollar in order to accomplish their eternal purpose.

The reality is, without a gift of money to TBN, only Paul Crouch would have nothing, including his $5,000,000.00 dollar estate, luxury cars and string of guest cottages (paid for by gifts to TBN) that he can occupy during his travels.

If Paul Crouch was true to his theology, he would be investing the donor money that comes to TBN, into other ministries in the name of God. Just think what a 100-fold return would be on the $100,000,000.00 dollar empire that Paul Crouch oversees and the donations that TBN receives in just one year. A 100-fold return would mean that enough money would be returned by God for 100 years of operation. Paul Crouch would never have to ask for money again. But, no one should hold their breath waiting for that to happen. The theology of Paul Crouch is designed only to bring the money into his organization. The payback to the donor is claimed to be the responsibility of God, and since God does not actually operate in that manner, there never would be a return on the investment, which Paul Crouch knows very well to be the truth. That brings this article to the last point made by Paul Crouch. It is the point of his entire newsletter; the building of the theology so the purpose can be injected at the end:

Our great week of revival Praise-a-Thon is near:

NOVEMBER 4-8

Your pledges and gifts of love keep this great worldwide voice on the air lifting up Jesus 24 hours a day!

The bottom line is that the theology of Paul Crouch is based on the greed of the donor who is hoping to become rich and healthy as a result of some offering to a ministry like TBN. Paul Crouch and the donors who adopt that theology, hide behind the claims of the "prosperity gospel," ignoring the reality that they are simply advocating and attempting to buy the favor of God through a gift of money. It is the old Catholic church system of selling indulgences with another spin.

Additionally, since Paul Crouch has a defective theology, it is also apparent why the people who are the teachers on TBN also promote other false doctrines that are designed to support the giving of money to the ministry.

JOHN AVANZINI - who teaches that Jesus Christ lived in a mansion, wore designer clothes and had such a huge ministry financially that he required someone (Judas) to handle His finances, which is why they had a bag of money that Judas carried.

CARLTON PEARSON - who now has adopted his heretical teaching called the "Gospel of Inclusion," which states that everyone in the world is going to heaven whether they know Jesus Christ or not, they just don't realize it.

KENNETH COPELAND - who teaches his doctrine about Christians being in the "God class" which Paul Crouch has also adopted, claiming that he is a "little god" himself.

JESSE DUPLANTIS - who claims there are two classes of Christians in heaven; those who are strong and those who are weak, the weak ones having to smell the leaves from the Tree of Life to gain strength.

BENNY HINN - whose prophecies have all failed, predicted that Jesus Christ would stand on the platform with him in one of his services, claimed that he was healed by watching a taped broadcast of one of his own services and once stated that there were nine persons in the trinity.

MARILYN HICKEY - who teaches that generational curses given by God also apply to Christians, and that the "Prayer of Agreement" is taught in Matthew 18:19, a verse in which agreement with God and prayer is never mentioned.

Leaving these aberrant doctrines aside, it becomes apparent how the "prosperity doctrine" system operates. The core is the Prayer of Agreement doctrine, (used extensively by Marilyn Hickey). If God is subject to the law of faith and to the law of words, (stated by Kenneth Copeland), then Christians, agreeing with each other, praying in faith with the right words, can make God into a spiritual genie in which every desire must be fulfilled by Him. When coupled with the "Seed Faith" doctrine, (originated by Oral Roberts), in which money given to a participating ministry will activate faith, and that money will be multiplied and returned to the giver many times over, then the reality of the goal is seen. Money is the goal and core of virtually every "prosperity gospel" and Word of Faith ministry.

View On Doctrine's reply to Paul Crouch's second article about Giving And Receiving HERE

2 - REPRESENTING CHRISTIANITY

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THE MESSAGE
The second question posed is whether TBN is representative of the true Christian community. Sadly, TBN presents to the world the most distorted, false and misleading view of true Christianity that could be conceived. Virtually everything that is presented as representative of Christianity is false, and it is presented by claiming that God has spoken directly in support of what is being done, what is being taught and what is being shown to the world. Nothing could be farther from the truth. God has not spoken to those people and God does not approve of how they portray the gospel message of Jesus Christ. This becomes abundantly clear when the theology of Paul Crouch is examined.

If the head of the organization has a defective theology, then the organization can have no better theology than its leader. In the case of Paul Crouch, he confuses truth with error, and assumes that error is acceptable.

When notified and confronted with the heretical teachings that he allows on TBN, Paul Crouch reacts with violent criticism against those who point out the error. He calls them "heresy hunters" and condemns them all to hell. It is difficult to understand how Paul Crouch could believe that the disclosure of heretical teachings could in any way be considered a threat to him. It would seem that he would welcome the information so that he could deal with the individual with the incorrect teaching in a Biblical manner. After all, he claims to represent God and it would seem that he would wish that what God says should be represented as faithfully as possible. However, that is not the case.

SUPPLANTING GOD
Regarding those who inform him of heretical teachings on TBN:
"I think they're damned and on their way to hell; and I don't think there's any redemption for them."
PAUL CROUCH, Praise-a-Thon, April 2, 1991

"To hell with you! Get out of my life! Get out of the way! I say get out of God's way! Quit blocking God's bridges or God's going to shoot you if I don't. I don't even want to even talk to you or hear you! I don't want to see your ugly face!"
PAUL CROUCH, Praise-a-Thon, April 2, 1991

REVELATIONS THAT ARE NOT
PAUL CROUCH: ....I want you all to listen carefully. This is a word - a prophetic word that came to me on September the 25th. Now we didn't have a clue that God was gonna do what He has done this week. We didn't know. Now a few of you, God had tipped off. Who was it? I think you said it, Schambach, when you came in, and somebody else said to me. It was you, James Payne. Said it was going to be the greatest week that Trinity has ever had. And I said, "I receive it. I accept it." But I hadn't really had that same quickening in my spirit. I knew it was gonna be good, but didn't know it was gonna be this good.

PAUL CROUCH: Well, this is from sweet little Judy Alsop. She's one of our own sweet ladies that works here on the Internet. She's the one that takes many of your e-mails and things that come in off the Internet and sends it to the right place. And this is the word of the Lord that came to her, and I want you to listen carefully. This is, this is awesome!

PAUL CROUCH: Now, remember, this is 9/25, so that's 9, 10, 11, it's not quite two months old, okay? And she sent it to me.

JUDY ALSOP REVELATION: Paul. The ministry of TBN is about to explode. The platform I've given you to reach your...

PAUL CROUCH: Well, go ahead. Let's give the Lord a.. That much has already happened, hasn't it? That explosion has just occurred.

JUDY ALSOP REVELATION: The platform I've given you to reach the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ is going to expand beyond your wildest imaginations. Kings and princes will plead for your help because of the power and the magnitude of this tool of Christian television I've placed within all of your hands. You must be ready and prayed up so that you will know how to respond to each request from these many heads of state.

JUDY ALSOP REVELATION: It is time, once and for all, to take your sword in hand, the mighty sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Speak it out. Proclaim defeat to the enemies of God.

PAUL CROUCH: Stand up, everybody. In the Name of Jesus, we proclaim defeat to the enemies of God. We speak it forth by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony, and the word of our confession. The enemies of God are defeated in the Name and by the blood of Jesus Christ. They are under our feet by the victory of Jesus Christ when He said, "Behold, I am He Who was dead, but am alive forevermore, and have the keys of death and of hell." We receive it in Jesus' Name.

Well, we just did this: JUDY ALSOP REVELATION: Call for a public assembly. Gather men and women of God publicly on the air. Pray, praise and worship. Then openly proclaim the victory of God over the present challenges to the TBN station licenses.

PAUL CROUCH: Lord, God, in the Name of Jesus, we proclaim victory over these challenges to the licenses of the TV stations that belong to You, Lord. We proclaim deliverance and victory and release. God, this is Your year of Jubilee and Your year of release and debt cancellation, and we decree it, we proclaim it, we speak it by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony, in Jesus' precious Name.

JUDY ALSOP REVELATION: Take authority over the principalities and powers that dare to threaten this ministry. I have raised it up from infancy for My own purposes, saith the Lord. Just as I commanded Ezekiel to prophesy life to dry bones, and they took on life, so I am commanding you to prophesy death to the threats, challenges, and bondages the enemy has placed on TBN. Command them to cease and desist, and you will see this dilemma die and disappear before your eyes.

PAUL CROUCH: God, we proclaim death to anything or anyone that will lift a hand against this network and this ministry that belongs to You, God. It is Your work, it is Your idea, it is Your property, it is Your airwaves, it is Your world, and we proclaim death to anything that would stand in the way of God's great voice of proclamation to the whole world. In the Name of Jesus, and all the people said Amen!

JUDY ALSOP REVELATION: It is time to move on. I have given a period of grace to TBN's enemies and challengers, and I have used the pressure of this long trial to develop character and stamina in you and Jan and those around you who have held up your hands. But it is time to go forward. Speak, declare, prophesy the victory and purpose of God for TBN. No license will be revoked. No station will be shut down.

PAUL CROUCH: This is the Word of the Lord.

JUDY ALSOP REVELATION: No station will be shut down. Oh, no, exclamation point! I am giving into your hand more licenses and more stations even more powerful than those that was threatened by the enemy.

PAUL CROUCH: The devil has shot himself in the foot.

JUDY ALSOP REVELATION: It is time to push ahead into the promises of God. Call together the prophets, the teachers, the preachers, the pastors, the singers, and men and women of faith to agree with you in prayer and proclamation. It is time for the canceling of the enemy's assignment against TBN. The time has come to declare victory and to move forward to appropriate all the territory the Lord your God has reserved for His will and for His purpose in this hour. Let nothing deter you from pushing forward. Put an end to this long battle once and for all and move into the new era of victory and expansion I am holding out before you. You have many warriors with you, both human and angelic. I will open your eyes as I did those of Elisha and his servant to see the chariots of fire surrounding you.

PAUL CROUCH: Is this the Word of the Lord?!

JUDY ALSOP REVELATION: More are they with you than your enemies! Arise! Call the people of God together and seize your victory. Take hold of the prize of your high calling of God in Christ Jesus. I am giving you the nations for your inheritance. Come! Follow Me! We have work to do in many lands.

Signed,

Jesus Christ, Captain of the Hosts

PAUL CROUCH: Oh, come on! Praise Him, people! Praise Him! Praise Him out loud!
— Paul Crouch, Praise The Lord, November 7, 1997

As a result of the prayer that Paul Crouch gave during the reading of the alleged revelation from the Lord (Jesus Christ), there were many inquiries from listeners who were quite concerned by the fact that Paul Crouch presumed upon himself the place of God and proclaimed death to those that opposed his ministry, which he equated with the ministry of God. In response to those inquiries, a letter was developed and sent to all persons who made an inquiry. It is reproduced below, with the recipient's name and address removed.

January 9, 1998 [Name] [Address] [City, State, Zip] [Country] Dear We have received your recent ---- to Mr Crouch regarding the word of personal prophecy he read on the air November 7, the last night of our fall Praise-a-thon. We are sorry you have misinterpreted the prophetic word from the Lord as well as the prayerful declaration of it on the air. Let us submit a gentle reminder of the nature and value of prophecy, as outlined in I Corinthians, chapter 14. Prophecy is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is not to be considered equal with the divine revelation of Scripture, but is given to address a specific person or situation with the three-fold purpose of "strengthening, encouragement, and comfort" (v.3,NIV). The Prophetic word Mr. Crouch received came through a TBN employee, as the Holy Spirit impressed words and concepts on her mind, including the closing title, "Jesus, Captain of the Hosts," which is appropriately suited to the demeanor of the message. The contents of the prophecy are in line with scripture. God's judgment on Israel's physical enemies is a common theme throughout the Old Testament. Since Christ triumphed over all the spiritual enemies of humanity by His death on the cross (Colossians 2:15), the apostle Paul tells us we now struggle "not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12, NIV). Contrary to your interpretation, this prophetic word does not threaten death to people who oppose TBN but to the threats themselves: "I am commanding you to prophesy 'death' to the threats, challenges and bondages the enemy has placed upon TBN." Further, the prophecy says, "It is time for the canceling of the enemy's assignment against TBN." As Paul Crouch led the people in prayer, he led them in spiritual battle against real spiritual enemies who perpetrated the attack against TBN in the first place. Although we understand, according to the apostle Paul, that we "prophesy in part," we do believe the prophecy to be a true word of encouragement and declaration of faith in God's ultimate victory in TBN's situation. It was spoken through a human vessel, just as other words of prophecy have been given to the people of God through the ages. God bless you, Margie Tuccillo Assistant to the President

The letter was written under the authority of the President of TBN who happens to be Paul Crouch. Reviewing the above letter, it becomes apparent that there is an attempt to evade the real issue that is raised, and that issue is in relation to the prayer made by Paul Crouch during the reading of the "revelation" and not the "revelation" itself.

It is unfortunate that Paul Crouch did not write the letter himself, but instead assigned it to his assistant with instructions to put the proper spin on what was said. By doing so, he involves not just himself, but another person as well, in the creation of a document that was designed to disclaim what was actually said. This is not proper conduct, especially for the Christian who claims to speak for God and have a ministry which is controlled by God.

The first difficulty in the letter is in regards to the "prophecy" itself, which is declared to be of lesser value and "...not to be considered equal with the divine revelation of Scripture..." It is difficult to understand how the direct words of the Lord in one case, are of lesser authority and value than those of another case. There is no place in the New Testament where it is taught that the words of the Lord carry different weight or value, due to varying circumstances. This degrading of the words claimed to have been spoken by the Lord is presented so that the "prophecy" itself might be considered to be less than what was claimed, in order to minimize the consequences of what Paul Crouch said in relation to it. In this instance, the Lord is used as the "fall-guy", as His words are not so important, and "sweet little Judy Alsop" learned quickly that her important message has become somewhat less than the "revelation" which she first received.

The second difficulty in the reply is the fact that its source has been reassigned from the Lord to the Holy Spirit. In the same manner that the words of the Lord are degraded into a lesser category of prophetic words not equal with Scripture, it is attempted to degrade the source of the words also, by claiming they were not directly from the Lord but came through a second party, namely the Holy Spirit. The attempt is to present the Holy Spirit as having less authority or importance than Jesus Christ. Yet this contradicts the direct words of Paul Crouch that he spoke during the reading of the prophecy, This is a word - a prophetic word that came to me on September the 25th. and then he said, And this is the word of the Lord that came to her. Paul Crouch stated that it was a revelation from the Lord and his entire presentation was predicated on the claim that it was a revelation from the Lord.

The third difficulty in the reply is the fact that there is an attempt to degrade the words of the "prophecy" by implying that they were not the actual words given by the Lord, or the Holy Spirit, but some of them were simply descriptions of ideas that were impressed on the mind of Judy Alsop by the Holy Spirit. Again, this contradicts the direct words of Paul Crouch that he spoke during the reading of the prophecy, And this is the word of the Lord that came to her. So, the entire "prophecy" is devalued, and the words are depreciated by being her attempt to describe the "impressions" placed in her mind by the Holy Spirit which were not authoritative or inspired. In fact it is claimed that words and concepts were impressed on Judy Alsop's mind, including the closing, "Jesus, Captain of the Hosts." The reader of the letter is left with the impression that those words might not have been the actual words spoken by the Holy Spirit but could have been a concept or impression as well.

The fourth difficulty in the reply is that it attempts to assign confusion, on the part of the inquirer, about the "prophecy" rather than the words of Paul Crouch. It is apparent that the prophecy does not threaten death to people, but only to the threats, although death to the powers and principalities is also mentioned which can only be people or spiritual beings. But the reality is that people are not directly mentioned as being the ones to be threatened. It was Paul Crouch who made the threats against people and there is the problem.

The fifth problem is that the reply attempts to redefine and place a new meaning on the words that Paul Crouch spoke in his prayer. The letter never deals with what he actually said, but speaks what is said that he meant, "...real spiritual enemies who perpetrated the attack against TBN in the first place." So, the battle plan is to ignore what he did say and claim that he meant something other than what he did say. In other words, a diversion was created in order to promote a deception.

Paul Crouch was caught off guard in this instance, waxing eloquently in his kingdom, but he did not just misspeak, he spoke what he truly wished would happen and that was a great error. It was an error not just because he spoke what he wished to happen, but because he held that view in the first place. Not only does Paul Crouch hold to a view that he has the right to call for the death of his enemies, his star performer, Benny Hinn, has the same belief.

"You know, I've looked for one verse in the Bible. I just can't seem to find it. One verse that says, `If you don't like 'em, kill 'em.'' I really wish I could find it! Sometimes I wish God would give me a Holy Ghost machine gun. I'd blow your head off!"
Benny Hinn

In contradiction to the letter, which claims that there is a connection to the Old Testament by a common theme of judgment against Israel's enemies, Christians are under a New Covenant, whose provisions are by authority and teaching of Jesus Christ, which are quite different from those commonly believed and promoted by Paul Crouch..

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore, you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Jesus Christ, Matthew 5:38-48 (NAS)

It is quite apparent that Paul Crouch is willing to make some very serious denials in order to preserve the illusion of his integrity. Rather than admitting to his error in holding to a belief that he can call for the death of his enemies, He is willing to denigrate and devalue what he claimed is a direct revelation from Jesus Christ, in order to cover his conduct, and preserve and perpetuate the misconception that he did not actually say and mean what he did. Because of that, he refuses to be accountable for his own actions, both in the face of his audience and before the presence of God.

In answer to the second question, TBN does not represent all Christians correctly. Paul Crouch actively supports and provides a forum for those who teach doctrines and beliefs that are heretical, and not only that, he actively defends those heretical claims and beliefs. He defends heretical beliefs by condemning those who wish to proclaim the correct belief, to death and hell. This is an unbelievable situation to be in for a person who claims to be a believer in Jesus Christ and states that he considers the Bible to be the word of God.

Not only does he misrepresent Christians by the doctrines that he supports and defends, he misrepresents Christians by his conduct in assuming that he has the right, in place of God, to determine who goes to hell and who does not. He has elevated himself to a position in which he claims to judge the eternal end of human souls, which is reserved only to God.

Christians are also misrepresented in his attitude, conduct and appearance to the world. He wishes to appear superior and worthy of being a supreme ruler. To that end, the fake royal furnishings of the television studios, the unusual clothing and his adoption of Dominion theology, in which he believes that he will be one to assert authority over the governments of the earth in order to usher in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. This presents a twisted and distorted view of real Christianity.

His support and promotion of those teachers who use the gifts of donors in order to live lifestyles beyond that of any normal individual, using the justification for their excess, their statements that God wants every Christian to be rich and successful, is another distorted and twisted presentation of real Christianity.

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Christianity Today, week of August 7, 2000

$40 million Suit Filed Over Omega Code
Dying minister claims Trinity Broadcasting Network stole her story.

By Mark A. Kellner in Los Angeles | posted 8/8/00
A dying woman has filed a $40 million lawsuit against religious broadcasters Paul and Jan Crouch and their Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), among others. Sylvia Fleener, 53, of Union, West Virginia, claims that The Omega Code, the 1999 apocalyptic movie, was originally her story.

Fleener's attorney described her as an interdenominational Christian minister dying from internal scleroderma, which causes hardening of the organs. According to a statement from her attorney, Daniel Quisenberry of Kirtland & Packard, his firm began legal action because Fleener felt convicted by God to speak out.

Quisenberry's firm filed the lawsuit on July 11 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The lawsuit says Fleener presented TBN officials with a manuscript titled The Omega Syndrome in 1996, hoping TBN would produce a film from it.

Fleener received no response but was surprised when TBN released The Omega Code last year. The complaint alleges 38 similarities between characters and plot devices in the two works. Both feature the Bible as the source of coded information on the end times. Both have a lead character who is initially good but ends up as the Antichrist. And in both, racists seek to kill Jews.

Quisenberry says Fleener was a 20-year supporter of TBN and had confidence in its TV ministry. He adds that TBN officials ignored Fleener's comments when she brought the similarities to their attention.

Colby May of Washington, D.C., an attorney for TBN and Crouch, denied Fleener's claims. "It is a shame and certainly a hallmark of life in America in the 21st century that this kind of legal difficulty traces and tracks every business," May tells Christianity Today. "In this instance, there is simply no truth to the claim that Trinity and anybody associated with The Omega Code infringed on anybody's copyright or intellectual property, and certainly not Mrs. Fleener's."

"A writer knows when [her] material has been taken." Quisenberry tells CT in response. "She noticed, of course, that the title was close but didn't expect the parts of her book were there as well."

Progress of the complaint is uncertain. Quisenberry wants to depose Fleener before her death. "She would rather spend the rest of her days on this earth with family and friends close to her," he says. "Instead, she got this big fight thrown in her lap."

Copyright © 2000 CHRISTIANITY TODAY

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God Only Knows What to Make of This Copyright Lawsuit
Los Angeles Times/December 17, 2001
Steve Lopez

When last we visited the Costa Mesa-based televangelists Jan and Paul Crouch, they were purchasing a $5-million Newport Beach estate in the name of Jesus, who lived like a pauper.

Now there's news on another front.

The colorful Crouches, who preside over those hair circus praise-a-thons on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, have been sued for $40 million in a battle over artistic interpretation of the end of time. They are indeed a gift from God, these people.

Also sued were the Crouches' son Matthew, TBN and a host of associates. The whole crew has a Jan. 2 trial date in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

The story goes like this:

A West Virginia Christian author named Sylvia Fleener, who is on her deathbed and wants justice served before she passes, says the Crouches seem to have forgotten one of the Ten Commandments. Namely, Thou Shalt Not Steal.

Fleener, who wrote a 1996 novel called "The Omega Syndrome," worked several connections in an attempt to get an early manuscript--encased in a white binder--into the hands of the Crouches. She was certain it would make a terrific film, but no one associated with Trinity ever got back to her.

Three years later, in 1999, she went to see a movie with a rather curious title. Produced by Matthew Crouch, with Papa Paul as executive producer, it was called "The Omega Code."

Despite getting panned, "The Omega Code" was one of the top 10 grossing films in its first weekend, thanks to true believers who flocked to theaters.

It was so successful that a $25-million sequel was released just after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. At the time, Matthew Crouch suggested the timing was perhaps orchestrated from on high.

"God . . . positioned this film to be the answer for a question we didn't even know would be asked."

Perhaps so, but God unfortunately tanked as a film marketing and distribution Guy. The film went down in flames.

But forgive me, for I digress. Let's get back to the first movie. It's 1999, Sylvia Fleener is in the theater watching "The Omega Code," and I don't think it's an exaggeration to say she almost choked on her popcorn.

"I was literally devastated by the similarities," Fleener says in court records.

What made it all the more hurtful was that she had been a fan of the Crouches.

"I struggled to understand how this could have been done by those people, who had convinced me of their 'Christian' principles on their broadcasts."

Rebecca Holden of Nashville says her good friend Fleener has internal scleroderma. But despite her grim prognosis, Fleener wants to see her copyright infringement case through to the end.

"She wants [the Crouches] to be exposed, so people aren't duped by them," says Holden. "They're the ones who give Christians a bad name."

This is all utter nonsense, says Colby May, the Crouches' Washington, D.C., attorney.

"These works are so different, eschatology is the only thing that puts them in the same universe," he argues. "It's the story of the Second Coming of Christ, and a work-up to Armageddon itself."

If the works are indeed so different, you have to wonder why John Rawls, a TBN attorney in Los Angeles, had this to say on Friday:

"There have been some settlement discussions."

Why would TBN and the Crouches settle out of court with Fleener?

"Because we have a very good case, and they know it," says Daniel Quisenberry, Fleener's attorney.

A writer hired by Quisenberry read Fleener's "The Omega Syndrome," and then read a book called "The Omega Code," which was based on the movie and written by none other than Paul Crouch.

In court records, the man who compared the books says he was "convinced that there was copying between the works." He found striking similarities in characters, mood, pace and setting.

And then there's the smoking gun.

Kelly Whitmore, a former assistant to Jan Crouch, says in court records that she used to pack Jan's bags for trips. (If you've watched any of the TBN hootenannies, Jan is the one who makes Tammy Faye Bakker look like Plain Jane. One can only hope Jan's cosmetics bag had wheels).

Whitmore says that in the mid-1990s, Crouch requested that she pack a white binder that contained a manuscript Crouch referred to as the "End Times" movie project. It was a manuscript Whitmore now believes was a copy of Sylvia Fleener's "The Omega Syndrome."

Colby May calls Whitmore an ex-employee with an ax to grind. But if so, it's a pretty sharp ax.

"I recall Paul Crouch complaining about the title of the project several times," Whitmore says in court records, "and he would usually refer to it as 'The Omega' because he said he did not care for the working title, especially the word 'Syndrome.' "

I believe we're beginning to understand why settlement discussions are underway. But if settling means admitting sin, can the Crouches and their $100-million enterprise continue selling tickets to God's kingdom?

I believe God positioned this lawsuit to be the answer to that question. If we know nothing else, we know this, courtesy of the Crouches:

The Lord works in mysterious ways.

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Rick Cross - http://www.rickcross.com

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Televangelists settle $40 million plagiarism suit
Sum undisclosed in case brought by author who claimed TBN movie 'The Omega Code' was based on her book.

The Orange County Register/January 1, 2002
By Teri Sforza

The $40 million fight over the true genesis of end-times thriller "The Omega Code" has reached an end time of its own.

Orange County-based televangelists Jan and Paul Crouch have settled the plagiarism lawsuit filed against them by West Virginia minister Sylvia Fleener, who alleged that the Crouches stole liberally from Fleener's 1997 doomsday novel, "The Omega Syndrome," for their successful 1999 film, "The Omega Code."

The terms of the settlement are confidential, but Fleener is pleased, her attorney said.

"Even though they didn't copy word for word, and it isn't the same exact story, things are very, very close -- so close that experts said this couldn't have happened by chance," said Fleener's attorney, Daniel J. Quisenberry.

A trial was slated to begin Wednesday. In settling the case, the Crouches did not admit wrongdoing. Calls seeking comment from the Crouches, their attorneys, their Trinity Broadcasting Network and their son's production company, which produced the film, were not returned.

When the suit was filed in July 2000, Crouch attorney Colby May said, "Be clear that 'The Omega Code' was an original work, which Trinity had separately commissioned.

Challenging the independent development of 'The Omega Code' is flat wrong." Both works are based on the Bible and the Book of Revelation, which describes a fiery end of the world, and set them in "a millennial tale of international intrigue."

Fleener, a devout Christian who said she frequently contributed money to the Trinity Broadcasting Network over the years, started working on her apocalyptic "The Omega Syndrome" in 1978.

She updated Revelation with a powerful antihero who lives in a luxurious, art-filled estate in Rome, speaks multiple languages, pushes a one-world-government, one- world-religion agenda and ends up being the anti-Christ. Her hero, orphaned young when both parents were killed in a drunken-driving accident, starts out admiring the antihero and winds up in jail.

Fleener sent copies of her manuscript to the Crouches through friends and acquaintances between 1994 and 1996, the suit says.

Fleener copyrighted her book in 1996, and it was published by Hope Manor Publishing in 1997. She never heard back from the Crouches, she said. In 1999, Fleener was curious about the title of the movie "The Omega Code," which was produced by the Crouches' son, Matthew, and TBN. The suit says she went to see it and was aghast at the similarities: She saw her anti-hero, living in a luxurious, art-filled estate in Rome and speaking multiple languages. She saw her hero losing both parents in a drunken-driving accident, initially admiring the anti-hero and winding up in jail.

There were many more similarities involving other characters, plot elements and publicity artwork, the suit contends.

The Crouches' film was shot on a budget of about $8 million and generated more than $13 million at theaters, making it the third-highest grossing independent film of 1999. More than 1 million "Omega Code" videos have been sold.

The Crouches launched TBN in rented studios in Santa Ana in 1973 and have shaped it into a $100 million- a-year enterprise. They live in a $5 million ocean-view home in Newport Beach and run the world's largest Christian television network, which TBN says is carried on more than 2,500 television stations, 17 satellites, the Internet and thousands of cable systems around the world. Its multimillion-dollar headquarters is located alongside the San Diego (I-405) Freeway in Costa Mesa.

TBN and Matt Crouch's company, Gener8Xion Entertainment, released an apocalyptic sequel, "Megiddo: The Omega Code 2," shortly after the events of Sept. 11, even as the rest of Hollywood was holding back tales of destruction. Fleener's background is in business, and she said she's worked in oil, gas, real estate, land development, management, promotions and advertising.

She helps preserve historically significant structures in her home state and hopes to complete a second Bible- based novel. Fleener has an auto-immune disease known as systemic scleroderma, or hardening of the skin, and is very ill. She wanted to see justice done, her attorney said.

"There's some question whether she would have made it through a whole trial," said Quisenberry.

Register news researcher Gayle Carter contributed to this report.

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Rick Cross - http://www.rickcross.com