Lavish Spending of America's First Family of Televangelism Revealed in Bitter Legal Feud

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: America's "first family" of televangelism is being torn apart in a bitter legal feud which includes allegations of lavish spending on private jets, mansions and a $100,000 motor home for their pet dogs.

Paul Crouch, 77, and his wife Jan Crouch, 73, run the Trinity Broadcasting Network which delivers the Christian message to every continent except Antarctica 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It bills itself as "the world's largest religious network and America's most watched faith channel".

The network broadcasts prosperity gospel programming, which promises that believers will be materially rewarded, and raked in $92 million in donations in 2010.

During a recent Praise-A-Thon one preacher asked viewers to shout "Fear not" three times, count down from 10, and then rush to the phone with donations.

The couple's granddaughter Brittany Koper, 26, has now filed court papers claiming she was sacked after discovering "illegal financial schemes" adding up to tens of millions of dollars.

Mrs Koper claims she was made to turn over her house, life insurance policy, car, furniture and jewellery to the organisation as "an act of Christian contrition" when she complained about alleged financial misdeeds. » | Nick Allen | Los Angeles | Friday, March 23, 2012

Doesn’t any American who gives money to this questionable organization need his head read? Making mega-bucks from Jesus must surely be anathema to the teachings of Jesus Christ. And to Jesus Christ Himself! – © Mark

TV Evangelist Vows to Build Christian Centre at Ground Zero to Counter 'the Lies of Islam'
MAIL ONLINE: An evangelical preacher has vowed to build a Christian centre at New York’s ground zero in protest at the mosque proposed to be built there.

Bill Keller said he is raising funds to build a house of worship within a few blocks of where terrorists flew planes into the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.

As tension mounted ahead of the ninth anniversary of the attack this Saturday, Keller said Muslims were ‘going to hell’ and he had to intervene to counter ‘the lies of Islam’.

Keller, a TV evangelist, has ratcheted up the ill-feeling directed towards Muslims and his inflammatory language sparked renewed fears of Islamophobic responses.

His first sermon was on Sunday at the New York Marriott Downtown Hotel, his temporary headquarters, and he plans to open his Christian centre on January 1 next year.

The mosque, called Park 51, is scheduled to begin construction next year and will be a 13-storey community centre with enough space for 500 worshippers.

'When they decided to build a mosque and decided to preach what I consider a 1,400-year-old lie from Hell, I decided that somebody should be down there preaching the truth of God's word,’ Keller told the crowd.

‘All these people will die and burn in hell. Islam is not and has never been a religion of peace.

‘How could you build bridges with people who ask their Muslim brothers to fly a plane into the Twin Towers and killed thousands of innocent people?’ >>> Daniel Bates | Moonday, September 06, 2010

Bill Keller Ministries >>>

Tele-Evangelist in Florida Loses His Show for Upsetting Muslims
With many thanks to Robert Spencer, whose website, JihadWatch, is where I first read this story:

WFTV.COM: ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A Christian televangelist who harshly criticizes Islam and other religions said Friday that his late-night program is being pulled off the air because of pressure from a Muslim group.

Earlier this month, officials from the Council on American Islamic Relations wrote a letter to the TV station's owners asking for an investigation of the show it broadcasts, "Live Prayer with Bill Keller."

In a May 2 broadcast, the televangelist said Islam was a "1,400-year-old lie from the pits of hell" and called the Prophet Mohammed a "murdering pedophile." He also called the Koran a "book of fables and a book of lies."

Council officials asked for equal air time for Florida Muslims to counter Keller's comments, but never got the chance.

The hourlong show, which airs nightly at 1 a.m., is broadcast on WTOG-TV, a CBS-owned station that airs the CW network locally. WTOG station manager Laura Caruso said the decision to end Keller's contract was a programming one, made by station executives and the televangelist.

But after speaking with CBS executives, the Islamic group claimed credit for Keller's demise. His last broadcast will be Aug. 31.

"They really based their decision upon our letter," said Ramzy Kilic, the group's civil rights coordinator. "They really did not know that Bill Keller was involved with this kind of anti-Muslim rhetoric."

Keller said his "Bible-based" message hasn't changed in the five years the program has aired.

"(CAIR) intimidated the folks in New York, and the folks in New York caved in," Keller said.

Keller said he is starting a new morning TV show on another Tampa Bay area station that will debut Sept. 3. [Source: Fla. Televangelist Loses Show After Muslims Complain]

Mark Alexander