Faith based scam?

So, I got an odd letter in the mail the other day. It was from St. Matthew's Churches and had a bunch of text all over it talking about how I needed to open it and receive God's blessings.

Now, I'm a Christian. I believe in evangelism and reaching out to others.

I'm also an American. Whenever I see something that claims to be awesome, I start wondering what the spin/catch is. Maybe it's the effect of the endless commercials and the pursuit of profit, but it's made me a little cynical.

Instead of throwing the letter away, I tossed it on my 'slush pile' of junk mail and promptly forgot about it.

Tonight, I finished reading my Bible for a little bit and remembered the letter. I went ahead and opened it up out of curiousity. I found a paper "prayer rug" and a "prophecy" that said I should tear up if I'm not going to read it.

First, a prayer rug as a 'medium' to communicate with Jesus goes up against everything I've come to understand from reading my Bible. The New Testament warns against using psychics and mediums. The Holy Spirit follows after Jesus' resurrection to allow us to have a personal relationship with God. No divine stationary is required. I really don't know how a paper prayer rug is supposed to save my soul. There's an optical illusion to it as well, which I guess is supposed to inspire. A gimmick.

At this point, I feel a little sick to my stomach. Using faith to fleece the flock? The letter screamed "scam!" I went ahead and opened the 'prophecy' to read it next. It's nothing I'm going to quote here. It does touch upon many Biblical promises, but the scriptures it quotes at the end stood out to me: Joel 2:28-29. By coincidence or design, I finished reading the Book of Joel before I read the letter. The scriptures were referenced inaccurately; far from what could be considered a difference in translation. I threw away the letter, or I'd quote it directly, but it basically talked about praying and getting all sorts of good stuff. I was surprised that the letter didn't ask for money directly. I guess that happens after you write back.

My wife, ever the researcher, immediately took to the internet. She found a blog, the Pondering Pastor, who pointed out some inaccuracies, and ended up looking up the Better Business Bureau's report on St. Matthew's Churches. Apparently, they don't count as a Church/non-profit because they won't release full financial statements. That was something of a give-away when we noticed their website was a '.com' and not a '.org.' Wikipedia claims that after you reply to the first letter, future letters will come from the 'church' claiming you need donations for your prayers to come true. Yes, I know wikipedia is not the fountain of impossible to alter truth, but the whole situation reeked enough my wife and I felt we had our answer. I'd post the links, but....well, battery is dying as I type. If I have time I'll update it tomorrow.

Evangelism, I can support. An attempt to extort money and profit based on someone's faith and insecurities? That's horrible.