How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business
Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Publisher Founding: March 1, 2014
Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com
Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Journal: In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal
Journal Founding: August 2, 2012
Frequency: Three (3) Times Per Year
Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed
Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access
Fees: None (Free)
Volume Numbering: 12
Issue Numbering: 3
Section: B
Theme Type: Idea
Theme Premise: “Outliers and Outsiders”
Theme Part: 31
Formal Sub-Theme: None
Individual Publication Date: May 22, 2024
Issue Publication Date: September 1, 2024
Author(s): James Haught
Author(s) Bio: James A. Haught, syndicated by PeaceVoice, was the longtime editor at the Charleston Gazette and had been the editor emeritus since 2015. He was thought to have been the first investigative reporter in West Virginia. He won two dozen national newswriting awards and was author of 12 books and 150 magazine essays. He was also a senior editor of Free Inquiry magazine and was writer-in-residence for the United Coalition of Reason. He died on Sunday, July 23 (2023), at the age of 91.
Word Count: 372
Image Credit: None.
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2369-6885
*Please see the footnotes, bibliography, and citations, after the publication.*
Keywords: Ben Kirby, conspicuous consumption, Daylight Atheism, designer clothes, evangelists, For-Profit Faith, Guillermo Maldonado, John Gray, Judah Smith, megachurch, Paula White, PreachersNSneakers, Steven Furtick, T.D. Jakes, Thorstein Veblen, Washington Post.
How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business
Among sleazy occupations, is anything worse than big-money evangelists with their private jets, garish diamonds, piled-up hairdos and $5,000 suits?
A new book, PreachersNSneakers: Authenticity in an Age of For-Profit Faith and (Wannabe) Celebrities, exposes TV pastors “who get rich off of preaching about Jesus.” It’s written by Ben Kirby of Texas, a born-again Christian who watched gospel television and noticed that many leaders flaunted outlandishly expensive clothes and shoes designed for the superwealthy. He posted his findings on Instagram and drew 200,000 viewers. Now he has turned it into a book.
A Washington Post article states: “In 2019, Kirby posted a picture of Pastor John Gray wearing the coveted Nike Air Yeezy 2 Red Octobers, selling at the time on the resale market for more than $5,600.”
Astounding. What kind of narcissist pays $5,600 for a pair of shoes? The Post adds:
“Kirby has showcased Seattle Pastor Judah Smith’s $3,600 Gucci jacket, Dallas Pastor T.D. Jakes’ $1,250 Louboutin fanny pack and Miami Pastor Guillermo Maldonado’s $2,541 Ricci crocodile belt. And he considers Paula White, President Donald Trump’s most trusted pastoral adviser who is often photographed in designer items, a PreachersNSneakers ‘content goldmine,’ posting a photo of her wearing $785 Stella McCartney sneakers.”
A report by London’s Guardian further adds: “Pastor, author and religious personality John Gray appears in a recent post … sporting a Gucci sweater that cost more than $1,100. In another photo, Pastor Steven Furtick sports a pair of thousand-dollar Saint Laurent boots.”
More than a century ago, sociologist Thorstein Veblen coined the term “conspicuous consumption” for the flagrantly rich who paid glaring sums to show off their wealth. It became a popular label of contempt.
When preachers do it, there’s a double reason for contempt because evangelist money comes from gullible believers who are sold a fantasy of make-believe. The megachurch message says an invisible god will reward worshippers (donors) in an invisible heaven after death — and burn others in hell. Intelligent, educated, modern people know this is a fairy tale. Religion isn’t true. Its purveyors commit a form of fraud.
There’s nothing more sleazy than a huckster wearing $5,600 sneakers paid for with money from naïve believers.
This article is adapted from a piece that originally appeared at Daylight Atheism on April 5, 2021.
Bibliography
None
Footnotes
None
Citations
American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition): Haught J. How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business. May 2024; 12(3). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/Haught-preachers
American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition): Haught, J. (2024, May 22). How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business. In-Sight Publishing. 12(3).
Brazilian National Standards (ABNT): HAUGHT, S. How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business. In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, Fort Langley, v. 12, n. 3, 2024.
Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition): Haught, James. 2024. “How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 12, no. 3 (Summer). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/Haught-preachers.
Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition): Haught, J “How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 12, no. 3 (May 2024).http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/Haught-preachers.
Harvard: Haught, J. (2024) ‘How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, 12(3). <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/Haught-preachers>.
Harvard (Australian): Haught, J 2024, ‘How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vol. 12, no. 3, <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/Haught-preachers>.
Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition): Haught, James. “How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vo.12, no. 3, 2024, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/Haught-preachers.
Vancouver/ICMJE: James H. How preachers turned faith into a sleazy business [Internet]. 2024 May; 12(3). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/Haught-preachers.
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