Part 2
Religious Con Men
If you’ve read this far, you’ve probably guessed where this was heading. Not all con men are used car salesmen or drug addicts. As I stated earlier, con men come in all flavors, and their goals are as varied as the flowers on a hillside in the spring. The one thing they have in common is that they want something from you, and they will do or say anything to get it.
Enter the religious con man. (Yes, even preachers are not always what they first seem.)
It isn’t too difficult (hopefully) for the average person to see through a Jerry Falwell or a Jimmy Swaggert. Any time you tune in to a religious broadcast and see someone wearing a suit that cost more than your monthly mortgage payment, whose hair style reminds you of the Country-Western singers of the 1960s, you can safely assume he’s in it more for money than to help you get to heaven.
Have you ever looked in on the Trinity Broadcast Network? Talk about a gallery! I don’t know most of those clowns, but Benny Hinn, Paul Crouch (not to mention his double-wigged wife Jan), and Robert Tilton all look like characters in a “Diamonds Are Forever” commercial. Anyone who flouts his carats while “preaching Christ” has a definite credibility problem, especially considering that Jesus purportedly told his followers to “sell all that you have and follow me”. Yet these jokers rake in millions every year.
But not all religious con men are so obvious or so ostentatious. Many of them live less opulently than those mentioned above, yet are no less con men in that they use charisma or other persuasion to work that tithe check loose from your bank account. Any preacher who uses fear tactics to hold onto his congregation is a con man, pure and simple. The “hellfire and brimstone” preacher has been around for centuries, and his tactic worked as well in the American colonies of 1800 as it does today. Simply stated, the tactic threatens the listener with eternal death unless he “supports the work”. In the case of Herbert Armstrong, since he didn’t teach an ever-burning hell fire, the listener was threatened with the Great Tribulation, which was even more immediate and could be easily illustrated by photographs of the Holocaust of World War II.
Yes, Herbert Armstrong was a con man. Unlike many TV evangelists today, he didn’t use charisma to get what he wanted, he used advertising skill and raw threats…but it worked. (His son Garner Ted, on the other hand, was the charismatic one; together they formed sort of a “good cop/bad cop” duo. Ted at least made you like him.)
How Can You Tell?
Obviously, not everyone with a winning personality is a con man. Lots of people are just naturally friendly and charming. So how can you tell if the person who is your “best friend” is really genuine or taking you for a ride?
Well, it might be difficult, especially if you are emotionally attached to the individual. The person we are talking about might be a relative, your child, or even your spouse! So how can you know?
The first step, as always, is to recognize that it’s even possible you might be a victim. Even if you don’t think you are, you might want to evaluate your life just to be safe. And if you have a particular individual in mind, then you really should take the time to sort it out.
Ask yourself this: Do you feel you are on the “losing” side of the relationship? Is this person always “getting” and never “giving”? Does he “borrow” money and never pay it back? Repeatedly? Does he make promises that he never keeps? Is he always in a crisis and only you can help him out of it? Does he repeat the same “mistakes” over and over, and you always have to bail him out of them?
Does this individual flatter you and then immediately want something, only to ignore you until the next time and then repeat the process? Is he flattering only when you are alone together, but abandons you in the company of others? Do you see him doing the same things to other people? When you need something, is he there for you, or is he suddenly “too busy” to help you out?
All by themselves, any one of these scenarios might not prove anything, but if you can detect a pattern of such behavior over a period of time, there is a good chance you are being conned, even if money is not the capital you’re being conned out of.
One More Thing
If you’ve evaluated the possibilities above and think you might be the victim of a con, but you still aren’t sure, there is one more thing you can do that may prove conclusive.
Whoever the con man (or woman) is, and whatever it is that he wants…
Disappoint him.
Just that. The next time he approaches you in need, simply say no.
And see what happens.
Nine times out of ten, the true con man will fly into a rage. How dare you say no! Who do you think you are! After all he’s done for you! You’ve been friends for years, and he always thought you were different! Now you’re turning your back on him in his hour of greatest need! What kind of friend are you! Who needs you! He never wants to speak to you again!
Or some variation of the above. It may not be done in a shouting voice, but the underlying reaction will be the same. YOU have let HIM down! YOU are the ogre, the perpetrator, the bad guy! YOU should be ashamed of yourself!
If you get this reaction, or anything close to it…then you know. No more guesswork.
What you do after that is up to you. Make sure, before you take this step, that you are willing to let the relationship end, because it might. But the odds are that he’ll be back again, next time he wants something.
Now…try it with your preacher.
–01/31/2007