NEW YORK -- God wants Creflo Dollar to have a luxurious private jet, and anyone that thinks otherwise is working for the Devil. That's the view of a controversial American huckster/televangelist, who broke his silence this week after being pilloried for demanding his credulous flock pay for a Gulfstream G650.
God wants Creflo Dollar to have a $65 million luxury private jet... but the Devil has stepped in
Last month Dollar launched an online appeal requesting each congregant “sow $300 or more” to help fund the purchase of the $65 million private jet, which boasts two Rolls Royce engines, multichannel satellites and high-speed Internet.
After the pastor’s demand for such earthly ostentation was reported on (and widely mocked), the video demanding the cash was withdrawn and the flamboyant religious businessman went quiet… until this week, when the Godly entrepreneur responded to his critics by suggesting Satan is trying to discredit him.
In a video posted to YouTube, the 53-year-old pastor channeled Lucifer, telling his congregation “I got to discredit that man [Dollar] before he starts showing people Je-sus! I'm on my sabbatical, and the enemy's trying to discredit me. I never one time came to you and asked you for a dime for this airplane, did I?”
He did and here’s the video:
He continued: "They [the critics] don't know what we do. That's why they asked the question, what does a preacher need with an airplane? If you knew what we did, then you wouldn't ask that question. Just because the world doesn't have it, doesn't mean that you can't.”
Dollar leads the World Changers Church International, a kooky Christian offshoot based in Atlanta that peddles the lie that the most faithful will be rewarded with earthly cash. In the original appeal, the ministry said a new jet was needed because the existing plane nearly crashed on a recent trip overseas. A new Gulfstream G650, however, would allow Dollar to continue spreading his faith across the globe. "Believe it or not, there are still millions of people on this planet who have never heard of Jesus Christ and know nothing of His greatness,” the video preached.
In 2012, the controversial evangelical was arrested and charged with beating up his 15-year-old daughter. The charges were later dropped.