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June 10th, 2012
02:07 PM ET
Megachurch pastor Creflo Dollar on his daughter: 'She was not punched'By Steve Almasy, CNN Atlanta (CNN) - Telling thousands of parishioners that he should never have been arrested, Pastor Creflo Dollar said at his Sunday morning service he neither choked nor punched his 15-year-old daughter, as she claimed in a report to police. Dollar, senior pastor of World Changers Church International in suburban Atlanta, told congregants in the sprawling megachurch and listening at one of more than a dozen satellite churches that when the facts of the case come out, they will be "appalled." "The truth is, she was not choked. She was not punched," Dollar said. On Friday, deputies responding to a 911 call photographed a scratch on the daughter's neck and arrested Dollar on charges of simple battery, family violence and child cruelty. Dollar said the mark on his daughter's neck is more than 10 years old, the result of eczema, a skin condition. CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories "I want the church family to know that all is well in the Dollar household," he said, in his first public comments since spending more than 12 hours in jail. He immediately addressed the issue upon taking the pulpit Sunday, speaking for nearly eight minutes about the challenge of raising children and denying he had hurt to his daughter. After Dollar told the crowd about the skin abrasion, one man yelled, "Case dismissed!" Dollar's daughter said she argued with her father over attending a party, investigator Brent Rowan of the Fayette County Sheriff's Office told CNN on Friday. Rowan said the daughter told the deputies that her father charged her, put his hands around her throat and began to choke her, according to a police report. She said he then slammed her to the ground, punched her and beat her with his shoe. Deputies also spoke with another daughter, 19, who corroborated her sister's account of what happened. Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter Dollar blamed the devil for causing the controversy, saying that to discredit his message of "prosperity gospel," the enemy must discredit the messenger. Prosperity ministers preach that God rewards the faithful with wealth and spiritual gifts. Pastors such as T.D. Jakes, Dollar and Joel Osteen have become the Prosperity Gospel's most well known preachers, building megachurches and business empires with a message equating piety with prosperity. Dollar's church claims about 30,000 members and has an $18 million, 8,500-seat sanctuary about 15 miles from downtown Atlanta. Friday's incident was emotionally charged and escalated from an argument, Dollar said Sunday. But he never intended bodily harm to anyone, he assured the audience. "I love her with all my heart," he said, shaking his head with conviction. Creflo Dollar's Prosperity Gospel finds followers and critics He cited a Bible verse from Psalms that talks about malicious witness against the good man, and evil men delighting when he stumbled. He later, during his sermon, also joked about the arrest, saying that being a religious man sent to jail "upped my resume." "Paul ... Jesus ... and Creflo," he said to a huge cheer. The pastor, known for his pinstriped suits, laughed at being clothed in a yellow jumpsuit and sandals while being handcuffed and being held in a cell. For most of the service, Dollar spoke of the people being "the righteousness of God by faith," the third in a series of sermons he prepared weeks ago, he said. "No weapon that forms against you shall prosper," he reminded the audience, citing scripture. At the end of the more than hourlong appearance, he said that he was persevering thanks to God's love. "And we couldn't do it without the love of you brothers and sisters." After the service, congregants declined to comment on Dollar's appearance. Since he started his ministry in an elementary school cafeteria in 1986, Dollar has earned praise and criticism. Supporters say he has preached a message that's financially empowered his parishioners and challenged the idea that Christians should be ashamed to be rich. Critics call him "Cash-Flow Dollar," and say his message perverts the Gospel. CNN's John Murgatroyd and John Blake contributed to this report. soundoff (2,056 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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The only way to the high father is through me, now smoke my holy leaves and be blessed with my anointing THC, for mine is the kingdom of stoners and thy will be done in heaven as it is on earth for I am just a made up fictional character in a old book that asshats and godtards use to make a profit
sorry but a preacher who goes by the name Rev Dollar I just don't find to be too impressive.
Dollar prophets. Dollar profits. Which Christian is lying? John 8:44 King James Version (KJV) 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
“After Dollar told the crowd about the skin abrasion, one man yelled, "Case dismissed!"
And that one line shows the mentality of the people that listen to this guy.
“Paul ... Jesus ... and Creflo," he said to a huge cheer”
And wow, what an ego.
Jesus , is your hello, anything else is just hell.
Translation: I'll take care of the b..ch when I GET HOME!
Indeed. If I were her, I'd install a hidden camera, for evidence later on.
he is a preacher , do you really think all he does is just beat her ?
The trouble with these mega church prosperity preachers is that they usually start humble, and on the straight & narrow path, until the money starts coming in, making them mega-rich. Then they become blinded by their wealth, and their message loses it's power. It's all about getting rich.
No need to be jealous, if your not slow and truly get a real understanding (comon-sense) of God's word then you Sister, Brother, will be rich and in more ways than you could ever pay for. Peace be with you.
You're slow. Very slow. So incredibly slow. You make earthworms look like Mario Andretti.
His congregation will support him no matter what. Just look at how many comments here support child abuse. People are actually complaining about a child having the right to call the police when they're being hit.
Blind sheep always follow the false preachers.
Did your parents spare the rod, if they did the bible says they did not love you. The truth hurts, but Jesus heals. Seek the Lord.
He looks like a wolf in wolf's clothing to me. He doesn't look genuine. If the cops had to be called, and both of his daughter's agree; then it doesn't look good for Creflo "send me your dollars".
That's right, Joesnopy. Beat and choke your daughter if you don't want to raise grandchildren. How learned of you. How insightful. You should write a book on parenting. You sound great at it.
Of course he won't admit guilt. He is afraid he will lose donations from the flock, if they saw him as a child abuser. The truth will set you free.
Wrong again, Make you free, not set you free. Call me.
FATHER AND DAUGHTER ARE FOREVER HURT ON THIS EPISODE.
HE CAN DENY IT BUT WOUNDS WILL REMAIN.
"Dollar blamed the devil for causing the controversy"
Hilarious, and yet terrifying that so many people think that way.
All I can envision is Flip Wilson. "De Debbil made me do it!"
"But he never intended bodily harm to anyone, he assured the audience." To me, that means he did harm her. Whether he intended to or not, he did. Hey Creflo, it says in scripture "you cannot serve both God and money".
Whether or not he tried to choke his daughter, or punched her, the statement "all is well" in the family is laughable. If all's well, why would a teen call the police (I'm not saying he did or did not abuse her, but the fact that she called law enforcement says something about the workings of the home in general, even if it is an 'acting out' teen). Oh... yeah.. it was the devil. For 'pastors' like this guy, it's all about the money. Period.
Prayer changes things.
Crapping your pants in public changes things.
find unimagined filth
like rain dances change the weather.
This is what's unhealthy: lying to little children and telling them that an invisible being lives in the sky and will burn them forever if they don't follow his rules.
I doubt if any "believers"–especially the clerg– really believe in a higher being. They're just too embarrassed to admit they bought into a lie, and they would rather perpetuate the lie than appear to be a fool.
all people must lie to themselves to the best of their abilities to deny God. No one is 100% successful in that lie.
Prove it.
Of course, you know all about lying, since you don't seem to know how to tell the truth. Why don't you look at your own ethics before you start throwing stones.
find an accomplished liar
find an idiot.
there is no herbie
sigh, there seems to be so many apparent christians bearing false witness here. I guess they have no issue with going to hell because of it.
Ignore me. I'm an ass hole.
even if for some unbelieveable reason your god exists – it is not my god. Never was and never will be.
find herbie
nope, still no herbie
SHE ONLY KNOWS...
From his statements, he is claiming both daughters are liars. The older daughter telling the officer that she feared to tell the truth while her parents were there as she gave her account, is common if someone is in fear. The older daughter also had no reason to lie, nothing to gain in lying, only things to lose. Much the same for the younger daughter that was attacked, nothing to gain, everything to lose.
I believe the two daughters are telling the truth. The should get counselling and moved to a safe residence. The millions of dollars at stake, suggest they could have a tragic accident in the near future, and somehow I don't expect he would care about it until he steps up to a pulpit.
Well, if they are liars, I can certainly see where they get it from.
I was hoping he would say he lost it for a sec. Teenages can be H to raise people. Most parents lose it at one point. Just need to back off for an hour or so and comeback and than take care of it. He even has that point in his book. Both boys and girls can be a mess but yes girls are different because they can have the baby so yes the standards are not equal but that is life and I do not want to raise a grand child. Do you?
You do realize that pregnancy also requires male participation? Do you think it's okay that boys can impregnate girls then dodge all responsibility? Nice double standard you have going there.
Responsibility is equal. Shame on you for not knowing that.
I second that, tally. There is no excuse for tolerating behavior in male children when one would never condone the same behavior in a female child.
What does "teenages can be H to raise people" mean?