Replies to post #75666 on Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[Orange Trendline]

specious logic and pure speculation... why am I not surprised, Paul Krugman

Using "Bush will restart draft" in the headline as if it's fact tells you all you need to know: it's a scare tactic. Pure and simple. And only a fool would fall for it.

Dems getting desperate if they're hammering away this much on this issue

[OrangeFluffyCat]

Evangelist's Primetime TV Special Calls Nation to Prayer For Elections

International evangelist Morris Cerullo is taking his prayer initiative for the United States to the small screen just days before the Nov. 2 elections. As part of his Save America Now (SAN) campaign (www.save-america-now.com), Cerullo will host a one-hour, primetime TV special that will air from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1 on nearly 200 stations nationwide, including CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox affiliates and Christian stations.

"Our nation is at a major crossroad," Cerullo said. "It is time for God's people to unite together in prayer as never before as we go to the polling booths on Nov. 2. The Save America Now television special will call the nation to strategic prayer for God's will in the election of our next president. It is time to cry out, 'God, turn America back to you!'"

Christian leaders and musicians who are scheduled to appear on the program include Jerry Falwell, Ted Haggard, Kenneth Copeland, Cindy Jacobs, Keith Butler, Charles Stanley, Tommy Tenney, Jack Van Impe, Judy Jacobs, Eddie and Alice Smith, and Sandi Patty. aka Quacks United

Cerullo is calling on Christians and leaders nationwide to join him for a three-day "Esther Fast," beginning Oct. 31 through Nov. 2.

Morris Cerullo Ministries (MCM) spokesman Greg Mauro said since SAN was launched in January, more than 1,700 congregations have registered their prayer support for the initiative. Additionally, during a week of prayer and fasting on Feb. 7-14, a date that corresponds with 2 Chronicles 7:14, tens of thousands of Christians and churches fasted and prayed for America during some or all of the seven days, he said.

In an effort to reach more than 50 million Americans with a national call for repentance and prayer, MCM has also placed full-page ads in "USA Today," "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post," as well as the top 27 major daily newspapers in the country.

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A little background on old Morris:

Word-Faith teacher. Known for his outrageous claims and fundraising tactics.

Pretends to heal people. Recently new reports say Morris Cerullo was banned from television in Great Britain unless he can authenticate the miracles he supposedly performs.
http://www.peopleunitedforreligiousfreedom.org/morris_cerullo.htm



Morris Cerullo is an ordained Assembly of God Minister and Healing Evangelist. His personal ministry mansion and two-storey home is over 12,000 sq ft. It is behind two secured gates in the richest neighbourhood in America and has been estimated at over $12 million. Mr Cerullo and his wife are the only two that live there, and report that they are on the foreign field 70% of the time... what a waste of God's money!

Morris Cerullo's sky limousine, a Gulstream G4, is estimated to be worth $50 million. He has two full-time pilots and a stewardess who said in depositions that the plane has a gold-plated interior. He has had three similar private jets since.



(Hasn't made himself wildly popular with Jews, as he's spent a few decades purporting
to convert them.)

Last year, John Paul Warren, a former executive for the Morris Cerullo World Evangelism (MCWE) ministry, filed a suit in San Diego Superior Court. Warren charges Cerullo with "fraud, violation of the California Labor Code and misuse of Warren's confidential 5,000 name mailing list,"...
A previous lawsuit filed against Cerullo has been settled out of court. Another former MCWE employee, Harry Turner, reached an undisclosed settlement with the ministry. Turner, a former vice president who resigned in November 1999, also charged the evangelist with "lies and fraud ... to his donors."
During depositions for the Turner lawsuit, "Robert Killion, Cerullo's chief financial officer, admitted that the federal government was investigating allegations of mail fraud at Cerullo's ministry," Charisma reported. Also revealed was that "Davis Frast, a public information officer and inspector with the Postal Inspection Service, said that his agency has received complaints about Cerullo's ministry and the agency is in the first stages of an investigation."
http://www.pfo.org/lawsuits.htm

Cerullo's primary focus is raising millions of dollars in the name of God to support his own personal lavish lifestyle both overseas and in the United States. He says, "The victims of Cerullo's tactics and the source of his millions are the elderly, widows and poor here in the United States as well as in distressed third world nations." Broyles says Cerullo's fundraising tactics include direct solicitations, prayer rallies, the sale of videotapes, prayer networks, television marketing and mail campaigns, among others, all of which are based upon misrepresentations and false promises.

Warren, who has first-hand knowledge of MCWE operations, says, "Cerullo made countless promises to his donors he never intended to keep. He would raise money for popular projects that would generate extraordinary donor support, then never do the project, but keep the money." Warren says shortly after moving to San Diego to assume the leadership of MCWE he discovered that Cerullo used the charitable status of MCWE to personally profit. "Cerullo merchandises the gospel for his own personal wealth," says Warren. Warren has asked Cerullo to repent for his deceptive fundraising practices and to return millions to his donors, but Cerullo refused.

Cerullo's son, David Cerullo, runs the former PTL Network, now known as the Inspiration (INSP) Network based in North Carolina, which serves as a primary medium for disseminating Cerullo's solicitation programs and generating names for future fundraising efforts. "Neither Cerullo's MCWE nor his Inspiration Network are financially accountable to any group," says Rutherford. "In fact, Cerullo, his son David and his wife Theresa are all members of MCWE's board of directors."

Warren's attorneys say their sources report 70% of Cerullo's income comes from profit-oriented business activities as opposed to the non-profit activities dictated by his tax- exempt status.


Morris Cerullo allegedly received a message from God in September of 1989. Apparently, God said, "Take up your pen and write. I want you to warn my people. There are 5 major crises that are coming in the next decade of destiny, the 1990s".
The world will be experiencing the greatest economic turmoil in the history of humanity."
It will be "one of the greatest crises we have ever experienced."
"It will be an incredible financial crisis and it's going to plunge the world into a state of great turmoil and perplexity." "We're going to see in this decade a complete collapse of the present worldwide monetary system." "It will make the Wall Street crash of 1929 seem like a picnic." And when will that happen? He declares, "And that crisis will come before the year 1994."




"Did you know that from the beginning of time the whole purpose of God was to reproduce Himself?...And when we stand up here, brother, you're not looking at Morris Cerullo; you're looking at God. You're looking at Jesus" (Morris Cerullo, "The End Time Manifestation of the Sons of God," Morris Cerullo World Evangelism tape 1).

Morris Cerullo said "You represent all that God is and all that God has...Jesus was the visible expression of God. Jesus was the Son of the Living God. Now, who are you? Sons of God…everyone say it. What is working inside of us is the manifestation. When you look at me, you are looking at Jesus…To see Jesus was to see God. To see me is to see Jesus. Jesus knew who He was. Don't you think it is about time we know who we are?" ("Joel's Army," Jewel van der Merwe, Discernment Ministries)

As I lay there on the floor in this condition, my spirit was taken out of my body and the next thing I knew, I was in the heavens... Suddenly, in front of this tremendous multitude of people, the glory of God appeared. The Form that I saw was about the height of a man six feet tall, maybe a little taller, and twice as broad as a human body with no distinguishing features such as eyes, nose, or mouth.
Morris Cerullo, The Miracle Book (San Diego, CA: Cerullo Word Evangelism, Inc., 1984),

Morris Cerullo claims he was led out of a Jewish orphanage by two angelic beings; transported to heaven for a face-to-face meeting with God; and told he would be capable of revealing the future. (Cerullo, The Miracle Book, ix; and 7 Point Outreach -- World Evangelism and You (pamphlet), 4.; Cerullo, The Miracle Book, xi.; "God's Faithful, Anointed Servant, Morris Cerullo.")

Claiming that God was directly speaking through him, Cerullo uttered, "Would you surrender your pocketbooks unto Me, saith God, and let me be the Lord of your pocketbooks....Yea, so be thou obedient unto my voice." (Morris Cerullo, "A Word from God at the Deeper Life World Conference," Deeper Life, March 1982, 15.)

". . .God is releasing what I believe is the last great anointing upon His Church. God is going to have a people in this end time hour! His hand will be strong upon them. His glory will cover them. They will operate on a new level and new spiritual dimension that will enable them to supersede every natural limitation."


Morris Cerullo is now offering thorugh his television show and web site "God's Victorious Army Financial Breakthrough Spiritual Warfare Bible". Here is the description of how to attain financial freedom and wealth as Cerullo contends Christians should: "This Bible is the definitive word on finances, with special icons designed to lead you throughout God's Word, teaching you about Biblical finances. This beautiful, genuine bonded-leather Bible has more than 2,000 pages, chock full of financial breakthrough principles and spiritual commentaries honed from Morris Cerullo's fifty years of experience serving the Savior ... THIS INCREDIBLE BIBLE CAN BE YOURS FOR A LOVE GIFT OF ONLY $89 OR MORE." (Morris Cerullo, at http://www.needlenook.com/~mcweis/bible.html (caps are Cerullo's), 1997, with comments by Sandy Simpson)


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Cerullo refers to himself as `Dr. Cerullo,' although he does not have any degree earning him this title," says Lundy. "He runs MCWE from offices in San Diego, which he calls `mission control,' but he does not serve as the minister of any physical church or congregation." Cerullo raised millions of dollars and bought the defunct PTL Network, theme park and conference grounds from bankruptcy court after Televangelist Jim Bakker's career ended when he was convicted and sent to federal prison for fraud."


Attorneys say trouble seems to be following Cerullo and his MCWE ministry. Numerous former employees have reported possible criminal violations to the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Customs and the U.S. Postal Inspector. Cerullo has been banned from television in Great Britain unless he can authenticate the miracles he supposedly performs, and the Jewish community has protested what they call his underhanded attempts to convert practising Jews to Christianity. In addition, many established, respected religious organizations have distanced themselves from Cerullo and MCWE.Attorneys in this case are deeply concerned that Cerullo's fundraising practices are harmful, especially to the elderly. Earlier this year, Superior Court Judge Linda B. Quinn denied a motion by Cerullo to dismiss Warren's claims. Cerullo appealed Judge Quinn's ruling. He sought immunity from litigation under the First Amendment to the Constitution. The appeal was to be heard in the Superior Court of Appeals of the State of California at the
San Diego County Courthouse at 9am on November 14.

By all accounts, the hearing went well for Cerullo's opponents. Cerullo himself was present with his wife to witness the proceedings. Rather than answer the charges, Cerullo is trying to hide behind the first amendment that states that ministers cannot go to court against one another. The Appeals court will give a ruling within the next 90 days.

The Appellate Court of the State of California ruled Jan 3, 2002 that Cerullo, whose Morris Cerullo World Evangelism (MCWE) is based in San Diego, had immunity from litigation under the First Amendment, which precludes the courts from getting involved in the internal disputes of religious groups. MCWE said that the allegations are "100 percent without merit" -- cited the ministerial exemption when it sought a preliminary judgment dismissing Warren's claims. That motion was rejected, but the appeals court upheld it in its December ruling.

Claiming that God was directly speaking through him, Cerullo uttered, "Would you surrender your pocketbooks unto Me, saith God, and let me be the Lord of your pocketbooks....Yea, so be thou obedient unto my voice." (Morris Cerullo, "A Word from God at the Deeper Life World Conference," Deeper Life, March 1982, 15.)


Back in the 90's Assembly of God Evangelist Morris Cerullo had a telethon on national telethon with a special guest Robert Tilton. The purpose was to collect money to buy back Jim Bakker's Heritage USA, the Christian theme park in Fort Mill, South Carolina, founded by Jim Bakker. In the 1980s, Heritage USA attracted 6 million visitors annually and employed more than 2,000 people.

Evangelist Cerullo was successful in his undertaking and the park stayed opened for a few years but nevertheless closed its door closed November 30, 1997. But unknown to most people was the fact that Morris Cerullo undertook this venture because the number one boss of the Assembly of God denomination Thomas E. Trask asked him to do it. The Assembly of God denomination through its different superintendents was a driving and controlling force behind Jim Bakker's PTL Club.

Jeffrey K. Hadden, professor of sociology at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville reported that 'A little-known clause in the Heritage USA charter bequeaths the entire kingdom to the Assemblies of God in the event that Jim and Tammy were not able to reign?"

[OrangeFluffyCat]

'God, turn America back to you!'

Possibly in the "be careful what you wish for" category.

Afterall, why not start with a good old fashioned "smiting".
Whatever happened to smiting anyway?

Forget stoning people, what this country needs is the return to old fashioned "smiting" values. A few (ok a lot) well-placed lightening bolts and things could be looking up considerably in no time at all...

Smite all the fake religious!

(That would be two birds with one stone. Bush would be toast.)