Joel Osteen

So if you don't know who this guy is here's a few hints:

1) One of the million TV preachers.
2) Has a perm-a-grin when he talks.
3) Blinks between every syllabel of every word he speaks.

Sound familiar? If not go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Osteen

So when I saw this guy I thought in my head, "Oh no, another guy preaching miracles and hiring people to fake like they've been healed." However, when I watched him there wasn't any of that. So that was something that struck me as odd but actually nice about this guy.

I've watched the guy a few times and although I don't agree with him on everything (as no religion points agree with one another on everything, that's why they are separate religions) I feel like he is more genuine than many others. Why? Well, he preaches what he believes and doesn't focus on telling his followers why others are wrong. Many, if not most, Evangelical churches focus on the faults of others instead of focusing on their own beliefes. (As a side note, one of my favorite experiences on my mission was when we were on the street with a Jehovah's Witness and Evangelical Preacher. The preacher used a scripture against the JW to prove a point against their beliefs, then used the same scripture on us to prove a point of the opposite view, making the scripture contradict the actual meaning he used against the JW. As long as they can use something against you so that you're wrong, they will not matter if they contradict what they said before.)

Now, my experience with all Evangelicals (and I know most aren't like this, this is my experience) is that they are completely anti every other religion, especially LDS. So what did I assume about Joel Osteen? That he was completely anti-Mormon and would preach against other religions to his grave. Again, I was wrong.

Joel Osteen was on Larry King live. When asked if someone could only go to heaven if they accepted Jesus Christ he said something to the point of, "I don't know." What? Did someone claiming to be an Evangelical preacher just say, "I don't know" to one of the most obvious answers for most Evangelical followers? What was his follow-up comment? It was something like, "I can't judge, only Christ can judge." A caller later asked him, "The Bible says that Jesus told his disciples that the only way to get to Heaven is through Jesus. Do you agree?" Joel Osteen agreed with the caller, but still would not say if a Jewish person, or any other person that didn't accept Jesus Christ as their Savior was condemned to Hell. He has actually said this on a few occasions. At first it seems like he's contradicting himself but if you think about it, he's actually correct because only Christ and the Father can judge us. He's not putting himself in God's shoes like others try to do.

The last few things I saw just a few days ago were on Youtube. First I saw a few videos by this Leaven Ministries religion that does put themselves in God's shoes and think that they are equals with God. It ripped on every word Joel said. Trying to prove him wrong like they know the exact meaning of the Bible and there is nothing else it can mean. It's pretty funny how hypocritic this Leaven Ministries is about this guy. Anyway, I saw another video on the side called, "Osteen Biffs Mormonism" so I clicked on it. Osteen was asked if he though Mormons were Christian because of Mitt Romney running for President. Osteen said something to the fact of, "Well Mitt said Christ was his Savior so I do believe they are Christian. I can't judge if someone is Christian it's something in their hearts." Way to go Osteen, you show that you're not judging someone because you think you know more like this Leaven BS. Of course that video was by Leaven again and they came up with the same lame crap all anti-Mormons do.

It's very respectable the way Osteen is breaking away from main stream, hard nosed, non-humble Christianity judging everyone and putting themselves on pedistals. He preaches what he knows to be true and he isn't putting others down to make himself look bigger. I now have a lot of respect for Osteen no matter what other people say. Osteen, you are a good man.