Texas megachurch pastor Joel Osteen has been challenged over whether he is a prosperity preacher. It came during an appearance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
"I don't believe any of that" said Osteen.
"Do you ask people to send you cash?" enquired Colbert, "No we don't, never," Osteen replied. Colbert then asked if people send cash anyway, "They send cash anyway," admitted Osteen with a laugh. Colbert then appeared to mime someone washing their hands of responsibility.
Colbert, a committed Roman Catholic, had Osteen on the show for a mostly light-hearted interview but seemed keen to press the pastor, author and TV personality on how orthodox his message is and whether he encouraged people to send money to his ministry.
Osteen was on the show to promote his latest book, entitled, The Power Of I Am. When asked by Colbert whether this was a reference to God's self revelation to Moses as "I Am that I Am," Osteen responded: "Mine is a different take on it. Mine is, what follows the word I am, you're inviting into your life... We're supposed to say 'I'm blessed, I'm strong, I'm healthy.'"
Osteen has been criticised for his message by those who say he's not preaching orthodox Christianity, but a self-help gospel. However, his work is incredibly popular, with Lakewood church one of the most popular places of worship in the USA, attracting over 40,000 people each week. His TV broadcasts are said to be viewed by 10 million people around the world.
When he was asked, "Do you have to believe in Jesus to read this book?" Osteen responded, "No. Anybody can read the book... When he was on the earth Jesus went to all kinds of people."
Colbert jokingly contrasted Osteen's positive message with that of his own Catholic faith, saying, "Have you tried the power of crippling guilt? It's works for me, man, 'I'd better do it, I'd better be better!'"
"Our message is a little bit different," responded Osteen. "God is for you, you can recover from a fall, you can reach your dreams."
See the whole clip below.
