On behalf of Jesus, televangelist asks followers for fourth private-jet
A US televangelist, on behalf of Jesus, has asked his followers to help fund his fourth private jet. And it sure seems like Jesus has a fine choice in aeroplanes. Jesse Duplantis told his followers that God had asked him to "buy" a brand new Dassault Falcon 7X, which costs $54mn. Understandably, Duplantis' appeal raised some eyebrows on social media. Here are the details.
Jesus asked Duplantis to raise funds from followers
"It was one of the greatest statements the Lord ever told me. He said 'Jesse do you want to come up where I'm at? I want you to bleed me for a Falcon 7X,'" said Duplantis, explaining that Jesus needed donations to buy the plane.
Why can't Jesus use Duplantis' other three planes?
Duplantis said that Jesus had instructed his followers to "spread the Gospel to every living creature", and that this wasn't possible without a private jet. He added that the jet he had purchased 12 years ago was no longer capable of flying non-stop and "exorbitant" fuel stops were required. Duplantis owns a Cessna Citation 500, an IAI Westwind II, and a Dassault Falcon 50.
A Twitter user hits back at Duplantis
Luxury and exorbitance are in tune with Duplantis' religious principles
Interestingly, Duplantis is a prosperity evangelist. For those unfamiliar, prosperity theology holds that riches and luxuries are God's way of blessing people for living a faithful life. It also says that sharing one's wealth with the Church earns one even more of God's blessings. Therefore, exorbitance doesn't bother prosperity evangelists, and it's not a surprise that several of them own private jets.
Preachers should have jets, says Duplantis
"Now, some people believe that preachers shouldn't have jets. I really believe that preachers ought to go on every available voice, every available outlet, to get this Gospel preached to the world," said Duplantis, trying to justify his need for a fourth private jet.
Asking for private jets seems to be the norm
Several prosperity evangelists have already had their share of discussion with God regarding mid-range business aircraft. In 2015, megapastor Creflo Dollar asked his followers for a $60mn Gulfstream G650 - a request which saw severe social media backlash. More recently, prosperity evangelist Kenneth Copeland acquired a Gulfstream V jet from gospel songwriter Tyler Perry on money raised from followers.
What's wrong with flying commercial?
Both Duplantis and Copeland had earlier, in 2016, discussed the necessity of private jets for preaching in an episode of Copeland's show, "Believer's Voice of Victory". Copeland had described commercial air travel as being "in a long tube with a bunch of demons." He had also noted that famed evangelical pastor Oral Roberts "agitated" spirit because he flew commercial and got numerous prayer requests.
