American author, televangelist, and pastor Joel Scott Osteen is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
One of the more well-known names connected with prosperity theology is Osteen, who is well-known for his weekly televised services and multiple best-selling books.
Controversy
The Bible’s caution that it is simpler for a camel to fit through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven is overlooked by one notable pastor.
Joel Osteen, one of the wealthiest and most well-known preachers in the US, has drawn criticism when social media users revealed evidence of his lavish lifestyle.
After it was learned that Mr. Osteen, the pastor of Houston’s Lakewood Church, one of the enormous congregations referred to as “megachurches,” had a Ferrari sports car valued at more than $300,000, the pastor faced criticism.
People on Twitter criticized the pastor, saying that his ownership of a Ferrari is compelling evidence in favor of taxing churches. “Ferrari is in style.
That suggests that either a race was won or Joel Osteen spent more money than he was permitted to after receiving it from Jesus to give to the poor, according to a user.
Mr. Osteen, whose net worth is said to be more than $50 million, is a proponent of the “prosperity gospel,” which asserts that financial wealth is a symbol of God’s blessing on a person’s life.
Prosperity theology, which encourages the idea that those who give money to God will also be blessed with money, is highly profitable for preachers.
In those faiths, giving money to God automatically involves giving it to the church leadership. The traditional Christian teaching, which promotes charity giving, responsible resource management, and wealth sharing among Christians, is in direct conflict with that theology.
Numerous protestant organizations have criticized Mr. Osteen and prosperity theology.
In addition to the Ferrari, Mr. Osteen also owns a $10.5 million house.
He claims that his church does not pay him and that instead, the proceeds from the sale of his books are used to fund his opulent lifestyle.
Mr. Osteen came under fire for receiving $4.4 million in PPP government assistance for his church during the coronavirus crisis. one of the biggest loans ever given to a company or group in the Houston area.
The church argued that the assistance was necessary for its 368 full- and part-time employees as justification for the borrowing.
Because Mr. Osteen appeared to disagree with the idea of hosting disaster victims there, his church faced criticism during Hurricane Harvey.
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Early Life
One of John Osteen and Dolores Pilgrim‘s six children, Osteen was born in Houston, Texas. In the back of a disused feed shop, his father, a former Southern Baptist minister, created Lakewood Church, of which Osteen is the current senior pastor.
He attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he studied radio and television communications, but he did not graduate; he did not obtain a degree from a divinity school.
He graduated from Humble High School, a public high school in the city of Humble, Texas, in 1981.
He moved back to Houston in 1982, started the Lakewood television program, and for 17 years until his father unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack in January 1999 produced his father’s televised sermons.
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