Christian Scams Just Keep Coming


When I was a Mayor, a preacher drove a couple of hours from a rural area to see me. His purpose was, first, to tell me tales of his side career in "intercessory prayer." He had saved a Governor's plane from crashing and some other tall tales, all saving the lives of politicians. He didn't seem to have tales of saving lives people not in the news. I was a person in the news back then. Eventually, he came to the purpose of his visit. He had seen a vision of a hole in MY heart and done "intercessory prayer." "Haven't you had a period of not feeling 100% recently?" he wanted to know. It was a little difficult getting him out of my office because he was so convinced he had saved my life and wanted me to thank him. Though it was tempting to play his game I did not. I've looked at stories of "intercessory prayer" with interest ever since. 

This is one today on Christian Post, an article explaining the difference between intercessory prayer and other prayer. I read it because I wanted to know how someone "heals" someone else. The article turns out to be a joke. Proper "intercessory prayer" requires praying with a group, it says. That can only mean when the prayers fail there are others to let you down easily. Perhaps the person who wrote the article gets money for telling people such nonsense.

The scam of "intercessory prayer" gets worse. There is a site where you can join others doing "intercessory prayer." It doesn't offer prayer to heal like the preacher who visited me or to move the path of a hurricane like Pat Robertson did a few years ago. Instead, it invites people to pray for politicians. It lists all of them and you can pray for. It also has a place you can send money to support this "important" work. It smells scam to me. The most helpless and gullible must be its victims.

I wonder if I could make some money by setting up a parody site claiming intercessory prayer for atheists? Probably some Christian is already taking money from people doing this.

Every day, of course, claims are made about the afterlife, heaven and hell. They are just as bogus as the preacher who claimed he cured my "hole in the heart."  I gathered from listening to him he bragged to his congregation about the successful intercession he did and I assume they believed him. He was not able to brag about healing me.

It amazes that the government checks the claims of services and products for sale against the claims made by those who sell them. There are regulations and penalties levied against dishonest firms. No such thing regulates claims made by religions. Yet, religious groups must steal billions of dollars every year.

Christian scams are one of our most serious thefts.

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