Please tell me that this is a joke...
 

A friend sent me this link and, for the life of me, we cannot figure out if it is an elaborate joke or an out of control case of the "gimmes". Which do you think it is?

and don't miss the "attire" and "gifts" tabs at the bottom of the screen

Re: Please tell me that this is a joke...
 

As well as you can mail your presents to the lovely Pastor's wife.
Not a joke, unfortunately. :(

TUH-HACKY!

I can understand if some of the $100 per person cost goes to benefit the ministry.

But what kind of shepherd would ask his flock to buy Gucci, Louis, Escada, etc. etc. for his wife?

Does this church have a reputation for things like this?

Is this the bougie black church in Houston?

:eek:

I thought post offices boxes couldn't accept delivery of boxed items but I guess they could send her gift cards from the stores. Would the tickets purchased be considered tax deductible since it's for the pastor's wife?

Normally what's allowed by law to be tax deductible is the amount you get when you subtract the value of goods and services provided from the actual cost per person.

So, say dinner and drinks at cost have a value of $60 -- $100 - $60 = $40, and $40 would be considered tax deductible.

Wow.

I have never cared for his TV ministry and now I know why.....I am speechless! :eek: :(

I had never heard of him or her until I got this party link in my e-mail on Friday. If I was a member, I would quickly cease said membership.

I did a Google search on the New Light Ministries and it turns out that "Dr." Bridget Hilliard is a "Dr." because she was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from a place called Friends International Christian University.

Does anyone know if it's proper etiquette to call yourself a doctor when it's an honorary degree?

About 3 years ago, his TV ministry use to come on BET in the mornings. I pretty much stopped watching BET around then, so I'm not sure if it still does. I didn't care for it because ALL they ever talked about was "financial increase". :o

"FICU" sounds like a hospital ward.

Why would an institution bestow a doctorate to someone who hasn't yet earned one on their own?

I know of several prominent members in my community who were awarded honorary PhDs by my university for their contributions to the system, but only after they had already graduated with their doctorates from other campuses.

Perhaps it'd be more appropriate if all references to this lady were made with quotation marks around the title:

"Dr." Bridget Hilliard

At our TV station, we have been told not to refer to Jerry Falwell as Dr. Falwell because he just has an honorary doctorate and hasn't received anything past his bachelor's degree, I believe. He still calls himself Dr. Falwell all the time, though, and his flock believes he's well-educated because of it.

It's the WONDERFUL result of the Word-Faith/Prosperity movement:

http://www.apologeticsindex.org/139-prosperity-teaching

ETA: This is interesting: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/140-prosperity-doctrine

They specified what color dress the women have to wear! And "gift ideas" ? Designer handbags and gift certificates to Neiman Marcus??

If this is for real, this woman has a serious case of the "gimme's". Spoiled much? :rolleyes:

That website is a big piece of antipapist suck.

And this lady needs to get smacked in the head.

Where do you see "antipapist suck"? I acknowledge that this site has been developed from a Protestant perspective. However, you can't throw out all the research on this entire site because you disagree with their position! While they do categorize each entry based on their own interpretation/opinion, they also provide links to other information.

Word-Faith is regarded as heretical by ALL but its own followers. It has no basis in Church Tradition or Scripture.

ETA: I am the last person you need to worry about promoting any information that would attack the Catholic Church, however I do promote the safe exchange of questions regarding all things Christian. Being Catholic/Orthodox/Protestant/etc. does not make you Christian. Christ makes you Christian.

Their page on Roman Catholicim is clearly written with a Protestant bias. That is antipapist suck.

"In other words, whatever truths Catholicism may teach in theology generally, serious errors are also encountered. We can see this, in theology proper (the Catholic Church as the continuing incarnation of Christ); in bibliology (Catholicism as the only true Church of Christ); in hamartheology (aspects of pelagianism; moral and venial categories); in Christology (Mariology; the Church as continuing incarnation; the Mass); and in soteriology (Catholic teaching on justification, sanctification, regenerarion, and the sacraments)."

from http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c16.html

That's antipapist and wrong. I'm not going to take it seriously.

Do I think the word-faith movement is stupid? Absolutely. Anyone with a basic grasp of Judeo-Christian principles would. That doesn't mean I think that website is legitimate.

This tension among the overarching sects of Christianity has existed for CENTURIES! You can't possibly disregard all information presented by non-Catholics simply because they refute Catholic teachings.

Scholarly work requires us to consider, evaluate and weigh all positions, even while - perhaps - not agreeing with their viewpoints. "antipapist and wrong" does not equal "I'm not going to take it seriously." Agree to disagree and move on!!

When I asked for evidence regarding "antipapist suck," I was looking for evidence in their pages on things other than Catholicism. Of course they're going to present contrary views because the Christian church is hopelessly splintered and fights itself!

LISTEN. You are in seminary, right? Antipapist=anti-Catholic. What they are saying about the Catholic Church is INCORRECT AND ANTICATHOLIC. Catholics also don't believe the church is "hopelessly splintered" but if you want to have a negative worldview like that, go for it.

When something inaccurately describes my religion, I'm not going to take it seriously. If somebody said Roe v. Wade didn't allow abortion, I wouldn't take that seriously.

Why does that site have no pages on Martin Luther or Lutherans? That seems like a fairly serious omission for a scholarly site on religion.

You don't have to agree with what is said to see the value in the research. If I saw a site that said Roe v. Wade didn't allow abortion, I'd be very interested in their research and would follow it to understand their position. Some of their research might be useful and true even if they have inappropriately understood it. This is why Christian churches can take the same information and get different answers (and sects).

I'm not asking you to agree with the apologeticsindex opinion regarding Catholicism. I'm asking you to follow their research on Word-Faith and come to your own conclusion.

I don't need to follow their research when I already know it's stupid. I know the sky is blue, I don't need a book to tell me that.

No, but it might be nice to know why the sky is blue.

I already know. I don't look things up to tell me things I already know. I'm in law school, I don't have that kind of time.

I'm pretty much done with this conversation.

That link is crazy! How tacky to assume that people would want to pay $100 for a ticket for your birthday party, and then buy you a designer handbag on top of it. Wow! :rolleyes: Whatever happened to the host treating the guests?

I'm surprised they didn't require a particular store for the ladies to buy the dresses from so they could get a kickback.

Are they going to have fashion police stationed at the door and issue citations to those that didn't follow the dress code?

The God I believe in isn't short on cash, mister.

Probably. "I'm sorry, ma'am, your dress isn't quite close enough to cream or gold, so we have to ask you to leave... but please leave your gift of the Gucci handbag over on that table before you go." :rolleyes:

It's ok to request a dress code such as black tie, but you do NOT dictate to ladies what color dress to wear.

Out of curiosity, is the good "Dr." affiliated with any Greek organization?

KR, All I gotta say is: OH Hell Naw!

That is Too Tacky For Words!

Darn! And here I am, with other plans for March 12th! :(


At the risk of sounding catty and unladylike, I hope nobody but her family shows.

What's she going to do for her 75th birthday? Raise the dead?!


BTW, does anyone else think that she looks a little like Michael Jackson?

*dead*

What if you accidently show up with Coach bag as a gift or something not on the 'preapproved' list? Is she going to turn the gift down? Seriously, this is crazy.

lol...if i went I'd buy her a 9.99 purse from Walmart, lol. Or maybe one of those SUPER tacky Louis Vuittion fakes, hehe.

Ooh ooh ooh!!! I sooooo know where to get those!

Maybe we should contact 'she who shall not be named' who just got a Lexus. :)

Oh dear Lord. And I thought Tammy Fae Baker was tacky...

There are lots of times that people throw "Black and White" parties and things like that... Where everyone has to wear (you guessed it) black or white. I don't really see TOO much of a problem with something like asking them to wear a particular color.... (I DO think she could have chosen something less gaudy and tacky.)


The rest of the entire thing sickens me. It is disgusting and I think morally reprehensible. :(

We had our Black Diamond Ball every year, and it was always known we could wear Black and White. That doesn't make that invitation any less tacky!!

Oh, I definitely agree that the invitation is tacky!!!!! :) I just don't think it's all that unusual to request a certain color of dress.

I have an "honorary" Doctorate of Divinity from the Universal Life Church, but I don't run around calling myself "Dr."

I wonder if I can ask for a cream-colored Gucci handbag?

Ticky-tacky.

Hmm. I've never heard of such a thing. Maybe it's just not done around here. *shrug*

I'm contrary enough that if someone told me I had to wear cream or gold, I'd show up in fire engine red. :p