![]() Of the highly debated Pope Francis, Osteen offered a favorable opinion. I'm not here to preach hate or push people down.”Ģ. ![]() “I believe that God breathed life into every person and that every person is made in the image of God and you have accept them as they are, on their journey. In a follow-up interview with Josh Zepps of The Huffington Post, Osteen was asked if that statement included homosexuals. He accepts you, he approves of you,” Osteen wrote in his last book. “It doesn’t matter who likes you or who doesn’t like you, all that matters is God likes you. Here are eight of Osteen’s most controversial quotes:ġ. ![]() Though he tries to steer clear of political issues, he has been put on the hot seat a number of times about his stance on some of today’s most talked-about (and divisive) topics. With average weekly attendance surpassing 43,000 at his megachurch in Houston, Osteen reaches and impacts many, according to Outreach Magazine. Love him or loathe him, Joel Osteen is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to influencing the masses. SPECIAL: Prayer Changes Your Brain in 4 Amazing Ways Often categorized as a preacher of the “prosperity gospel,” Osteen supplies his audience with a steady stream of feel-good vibes and promises of good things to those who please God. His social media feeds and verified websites have made almost no mention of the hoax.As with any public figure, pastor and televangelist Joel Osteen has garnered a fair share of criticism from both the American public and his contemporaries. On Facebook, some of Osteen's actual followers wrote to say they weren't fooled by the hoax, while others sought clarification from the pastor. He's come under the influence of the Devil,' said Margaret Samson, a twelve-year member of the church." The fake site also included what it claimed were reactions from Osteen's congregation. Comments on the video and elsewhere ranged from expressions of sadness to congratulations. The hoax seems to have convinced some folks of the story's legitimacy, as the fake Twitter feed confirmed the news on the fake website. The video was uploaded by "ChristianityNews," via an account that seems to have been set up earlier this month. The hoax was bolstered by a YouTube video that included mock-up images of the websites of CNN, Drudge Report, and Yahoo - all with headlines blaring the false news that Osteen had repudiated Christianity. The fake site featured a letter titled "I am leaving the Christian faith," in which the person posing as Osteen thanked his wife, his congregation, "the State of Texas and my close friends, Oprah Winfrey and Larry King, for all of our support over the years." ![]() The website was not available for part of Monday afternoon, seemingly a victim not of punitive action but of over-loaded servers. To perpetrate the hoax, a convincing media "bubble" was constructed, complete with a fake Twitter feed (that's now been suspended) and a website that duplicated the look of Osteen's actual site - but with one "e" in the pastor's last name in the URL address. ET, Tuesday: Man Behind Hoax Describes Motives, Public Responseīut the story isn't true, according to The Houston Chronicle, which reports that "Lakewood Church officials are aware of the hoax and 'false rumor,'" quoting church representative Andrea Davis.Īnd on Osteen's Twitter feed this morning, the pastor's staff responded to a question about the story by writing, "It is a false rumor: Pastor Joel is not leaving the church." It now seems that that rather enigmatic tweet may have set off more interest in the fake story Monday than had been generated when the hoax was hatched last week. April Fool's Day was one week ago - but an elaborate hoax targeting Pastor Joel Osteen gained wide attention Monday, after those behind the hoax used Twitter, YouTube, and other social media to spread spurious claims that the pastor had renounced his faith and would close his huge Texas church.
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