You Can Be a Millionaire Defrauding Believers
Lindani Mangena, a twenty-four year old smooth talking believer, took about three million pounds from people after he told them he was a modern-day Moses. He promised them cash returns of %3000. To people who believe the earth is six-thousand years old and that a snake and a donkey can talk, this makes lots of sense.
When I was growing up my father once attacked a real estate investor named Donald Davenport in print for his post office scam, warning potential investors that it was likely to be fraudulent. He was sued for defamation and libel and the case was dropped a few weeks before Dr. Davenport declared bankruptcy.
But gullible in one thing, gullible in all. The lessons learned by those involved with Dr. Davenport obviously didn't fully attach themselves to the memory cells system of the SDA immune system. Once again we see gullible people who accept things on faith, coming to grips with the fact that faith doesn't work.
So while the believers were singing "Onward Christian Soldiers", Mr. Mangena was living like a rock star.
Money flooded in so swiftly that Mangena installed a cash-counting machine at the offices, while one witness saw "piles" of notes in his luxury apartment. Stephen Winberg, prosecuting, said £1m disappeared "supporting a wildly extravagant lifestyle ... to which the defendants had not, to put it mildly, been accustomed".
Just because someone tells you they are from God, does not mean they are from God. In most cases, it means they are trying to rip you off.
Some investors, believing God had blessed him, remortgaged, only to lose their homes and life savings. Others struggled to stave off repossession. Many had to forgo holidays, and large numbers were plunged into depression. One victim even gave up his job to join the company.
So to tally up the things faith can accomplish: It can bankrupt you. It can lead you to let your children die from treatable illness. On the plus side, you have something to do once or twice a week.
When I was growing up my father once attacked a real estate investor named Donald Davenport in print for his post office scam, warning potential investors that it was likely to be fraudulent. He was sued for defamation and libel and the case was dropped a few weeks before Dr. Davenport declared bankruptcy.
But gullible in one thing, gullible in all. The lessons learned by those involved with Dr. Davenport obviously didn't fully attach themselves to the memory cells system of the SDA immune system. Once again we see gullible people who accept things on faith, coming to grips with the fact that faith doesn't work.
So while the believers were singing "Onward Christian Soldiers", Mr. Mangena was living like a rock star.
Money flooded in so swiftly that Mangena installed a cash-counting machine at the offices, while one witness saw "piles" of notes in his luxury apartment. Stephen Winberg, prosecuting, said £1m disappeared "supporting a wildly extravagant lifestyle ... to which the defendants had not, to put it mildly, been accustomed".
Just because someone tells you they are from God, does not mean they are from God. In most cases, it means they are trying to rip you off.
Some investors, believing God had blessed him, remortgaged, only to lose their homes and life savings. Others struggled to stave off repossession. Many had to forgo holidays, and large numbers were plunged into depression. One victim even gave up his job to join the company.
So to tally up the things faith can accomplish: It can bankrupt you. It can lead you to let your children die from treatable illness. On the plus side, you have something to do once or twice a week.
8 comments:
Evan buddy,
Who are you to say he is not blessed? The personal experiences and inner witness of his followers guarantee his blessings. The fact that he has been convicted by non-believers does not prove that he is not the new moses. God works in mysterious ways, the faithful are called to sacrifice and we all have our cross to bear.
if some of those have lost their faith, well they don't have enough faith because they are obviously too impatient. All things to come those who wait on the lord, and it will happen in gods time not mans time.
There is no reason needed, it all comes down to faith. Either you have or you don't. SNAP.
just kidding. ;-)
This reminds me, to some degree, of a sermon I heard not too long ago (sadly, I still attend with my wife to keep the seas of life calm) wherein the pasta told a story about his dad taking his and his brothers' college fund and giving it to a bible camp instead because he felt 'convicted in the spirit'. Not long after, he lost his job. Many years later, while working at a car rental agency, he experienced a 'blessing' in that when they went public (it was National Car Rental), he made a good bit of money. The pasta told us this was how the blessing of tithing was rewarded, all these years later. Talk about a non-sequitur. The point being, no matter what the issue, if you have blind faith, it all makes sense anyway. I'm sure some of these defrauded folks still believe the hand of the almighty is behind it anyway. Remember, he used Pharaoh and Cyrus and Nebuchadnezzar for HIS MIGHTY PURPOSES, even though they didn't even believe. There are times when it all makes me want to vomit.
The paranoid mind can immediately infix any data point into the delusional structure. In fact, they can be quite convincing.
...took about three million pounds from people after he told them he was a modern-day Moses. He promised them cash returns of %3000. To people who believe the earth is six-thousand years old and that a snake and a donkey can talk, this makes lots of sense.
lol Why would giving money to Moses make a lot of sense??
Jason, what's even funnier to me is that you think that giving money to Moses is the most unbelievable thing on that list.
Moderators, Andrew is banned. Besides we don't allow harrassing comments. He's a stalker and a blog terrorist.
Evan,
That is pretty funny! So why would giving money to Moses make a lot of sense?
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