From: Pilgrimpub@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2005 9:26 PM
To: Mentonebay@aol.com
Subject: JOEL'S INTERNET CRITICS [06/30--2005]
JOEL OSTEEN'S INTERNET CRITICS CONSTITUTE
A RATHER MOTLEY CREW [06/30--2005]

If you have been receiving my emails lately, you know that I have sorta been on another little "exploration" expedition on the Internet, checking out the critics and criticisms of Joel Osteen, our neighbor north of the ship channel on the east side of Houston.

Of course, the majority of the articles and blogs which can be accessed by "Googling" around the Internet seem to be of the negative variety, and I have somewhat categorized the critics as I have examined their posts.

(1) Some of them are what I call the "entrepreneur" group -- they want to get another product on the market to sell. They are always looking for fresh "new blood," for they can make merchandise of it. They offer a variety of products which expose cults, aberrants, and other heretics.

(2) Some of them are of the Pedobaptist "Reformed" category, although some of these may actually be of the "Baptist" variety ecclesiastically. They don't have any use for much of anything which smells of being even close to "Arminian." If a church has more than a hundred people in the services, it may have to pass a litmus test with some of these. The Pedobaptist element baptizes babies and believes the "elect" get regenerated when they are infants, and the "Baptist" element may cozy up with the baby baptizers but they think that regeneration is reserved to sometime later, but surely "prior to faith." But these things do not stop them from alleging that Joel "doesn't preach the gospel." A few of them apparently are identified with small groups and small churches which know the "doctrines of grace" forward and in reverse, and they obviously believe themselves to be the very "salt of the earth" for the preservation and propagation of "Reformed" theology.

(3) Some of the critics are obviously trying to make a name for themselves, and "exposing" Joel is just another opportunity for embellishing their names. One gentlemen of this particular category has called for something on the order of an "Internet crusade" by "bloggers" to oppose Joel. This is the same "Apostle of Just About Everything Worthy of Anyone's Attention" who gives the testimony that he and his family were all "saved" during a Baptist "invitation," but then later -- after he met the Pedobaptist "Calvinists" and learned the "truth" -- he posted three long articles on his website claiming that invitations have "corrupted Christianity." You may recall that I replied to his conniption fits against public invitations about a year ago. One might wonder if he is perhaps "living proof" of his charge against invitations!

(4) Most of them complain that Joel "does not preach the gospel," but if you can even find the Gospel on their websites you will have found something akin to the "needle in the haystack."

(5) A few of them apparently are identified with small groups and small churches which know the "doctrines of grace" forward and in reverse, and they obviously consider themselves to be the very "salt of the earth" for the preservation of "Reformed" theology.
Their idea of "evangelism" seems to be the proselytizing of the "elect" from Arminian churches.

(6) As for the others, I am not quite sure what category they fit other than something akin to "off the wall." -- Bob L. Ross