I'm an agnostic, but I think if I were religious, if I had a genuine belief in a loving, munificent God, I'd be profoundly insulted and angered by these parasitical grifters. Basically, their spiel is that God is an extortionist and functions as a sort of celestial Don Corleone...send him (or his earthly representative) money, and he'll reward you with a gift or favor. The more money you send, the bigger the gift. Are you jobless, in debt, struggling to raise the kids and pay the rent? Send $1,000 in order to demonstrate your faith, and God will reward you. Oral Roberts, Hinn, Robert Tilton, Jim Bakker...it's pretty much the same scam. It would be laughable and pathetic, except there are some really sad, lost people out there who actually send in money that they can ill-afford to spend, depriving themselves or their kids of necessities. I've always felt that if there is a Hell, these charlatans are destined for one of the hottest corners of it. If there isn't a Hell or a God, then they're still scumbag criminals, in my opinion.
