Hi befurther and thank you for the interesting post.  

Don't worry, nobody is going to get trampled while waiting for the true followers of the Lord Jesus to rush to the forefront in defense of this false teaching which is so blatantly greed driven just as it was in centuries gone by when it embarrassed and strongly damaged the credibility of the Catholic church even then.

This is one strong example among many as to why we must not confuse Jesus the Son of God with the doctrines and institutions of sinful man which do such a poor job of reflecting Him.  

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303425504577354161756441588.html

Prophets, Not Profits

April 21, 2012, 8:25 p.m. ET

God does not want you to be rich.

Every so often, he raises up a prophet to teach wayward profiteers about the sacrifice he demands.

Ephren W. Taylor II, who called himself "the Social Capitalist," may be one such prophet.

This son of a preacherman sold investment schemes at megachurches from Bishop Eddie Long's New Birth Missionary Baptist Church near Atlanta to Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston. The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged Mr. Taylor with running a Ponzi scheme. His victims are now congregating in a class-action lawsuit. (Read more about Mr. Taylor on my blog, tellittoal.com.)

"There's more fraud in the name of God than anything else," says Ole Anthony, president of the Trinity Foundation, which has been investigating religious fraud since 1987.

Fleeced flocks have long herded onto the victim hotline Trinity provides, their finances and their faith sheared. "It's so incredibly damaging," says Mr. Anthony, who has made plenty of enemies among members of his faith and even been accused of running his own cult.

Every religion provides fertile fields for fraud. The SEC also recently charged an alleged Ponzi schemer targeting Persian Jews.

But the "Prosperity Gospel" has made Christians especially vulnerable. Plant a seed, reap a harvest: Many preachers and televangelists promise a hundred-fold blessing for every dollar donated to them—something not even the Prince of Darkness, Bernie Madoff, had dared.

"It's totally infected American churches," Mr. Anthony says. "But the saddest thing is that with satellite TV it's infecting the poorest parts of the world. People who barely have enough to eat see their pastor flying in a jet and living in a mansion. And if they don't get it, it's because they have secret sin in their lives. It's always the victims' fault."

Anyone peddling insurance, real estate, sales opportunities or investments at church has probably not read the Bible. Anyone preaching wealth and prosperity is twisting its verses for a quick buck and making a mockery of their faith.

I have taken the liberty of actually reading the Bible throughout my life for those who will not. Here's what it says: Love of money is the root of all evil. Blessed are the poor. Store your treasure in heaven. Give to Caesar what is Caesar's. Hand over your possessions to the poor and follow. Love your enemy. Turn the other cheek. Don't lie. Don't cheat. Don't steal. Don't hit up your neighbor's wife. And my favorite: It is easier to shove a Fat Cat through the eye of a needle than it is for a camel to go to heaven—or something like that.

Jesus was not a capitalist. When he turned water into wine, he did not open a liquor store. When he multiplied loaves and fishes, he did not establish Wal-Mart. When he miraculously healed the sick, he did not bill Medicare or start an HMO. Somehow, profiting richly from the sick and infirm was considered unjust back in those days.

He worked as a humble carpenter, an itinerant preacher and sometimes helped fishermen for free. The only business transaction he was ever reported to have completed was taking a whip to money-changers for turning his Father's house into "a den of thieves." In the end, he took up his cross and demanded his followers do the same.

"The central message of Christianity is giving your life away," says Mr. Anthony. "I live on $55 a week, plus room and board." If that sounds too much like socialism, there's always another temple where everyone is free to worship. It has even more Ponzi schemes, and a really convenient address, too: Wall Street.