Televangelist Peter Popoff’s ministry has reimbursed a Nanaimo woman after she went public with concerns about the fundraising techniques used by the California-based church.
The first story about the Popoff rip off and Josie Gurney appeared in the Nanaimo paper May 12th and was drawn to the attention of the Popoff headquarters in the US by a Canadian Word for the World (Popoff employee), who sent the original article to the California headquaters.
Her faith started turning to suspicion when she compared notes with her sister, and realized the letters were word-for-word the same. Then she saw a television documentary debunking the faith healer.
In the 1980s, Popoff was widely known for accurately guessing audience members’ home addresses and their illnesses, fueling belief he truly enjoyed divine revelation.
But in 1987 skeptic James Randy followed the evangelist across the U.S., eventually learning his assistants gleaned information from audience members before the show, then fed it to Popoff using FM radios transmissions to a receiver fitted in Popoff’s ear.
His ministry collapsed and went bankrupt within months of the news being revealed on the Johnny Carson Show.
Popoff is now back, and today he sells his message on late-night television.
Gurney was shocked when she learned the truth.
“I just feel awful, I feel stupid,” she said.
Hello Petey – the original Jame Randi exposure.
Peter Popoff disappeared after being found out and resurfaced again in 2007. He is on Canada’s Vision Channel, several US stations and is picking up air time all over the world.
Charity Navigator: Popoff is raking it in again. Breakdown of revenue growth, salaries, assets etc.
Popoff Canadian listings
Popoff UK, Australia listings
via: Religion News Blog
Update: Some time ago a 30 minute documentary was made on the Randi exposure of Popoff. A clip from it can be seen on YouTube. The film was made by Aron Ranen.
Update: A website has been set up to document Popoff’s scams, history, finances, companies, direct mailing operation (former Kelly Media employee talks about her employment with the Popoff’s family company), expensive homes etc. Parts of his website People United for Christ has now been blocked in Canada because of ongoing exposure and past investigation.
There are things Canadians can do, A few Global stations, Vision, and CHEX carry his informercial/services. A polite letter writing campaign will help get this fraud of Canadian airwaves and prevent him from conning more vulnerable Canadians.
His web on demand site in the US is no longer operational. ABC’s 2007 report and the Better Business Bureau information is also available on Peter Popoff: Pwn and Owned.
Please also Google video ”The Blind and the Dead” by Texe Marrs.
He features countless video footage of well known tv preachers, including the clip of Kenneth Copeland and Rodney Howard Browne appearing to tell jokes back and forth in foreign tongues, which is nothing less than blasphemous and a grievious misuse of this Gift, as the Lord didn’t give it for entertainment purposes or to make spectacles of ourselves in church services, for others to laugh at. When viewing this clip, it should make you SAD and very grieved indeed (unlike the audience members, most of whom appeared to find it amusing).
Clearly there is a counterfeit revival working in many churches today, which is why we need to be more discerning than ever before and not accept every supernatural sign and wonder as necessarily being from God but rather to TEST it, to see whether it even be Scriptural.
How do we test it? By matching what we see and hear against Scripture. If it doesn’t line up, then it needs to be discarded, no matter how impressive it appears at face value.
In the case with speaking in tongues, read the passages of Scripture that explain how this Gift is to be used in the Church today and match that against that video clip of Copeland and Browne.
P.S. The Bible is ALWAYS supposed to be CAPITALIZED, even in the middle of a sentence. It’s a sign of respect. If it’s not capitalized, then you’re reducing it to the same level as a novel. Likewise with the word Scripture.
It never ceases to amaze me how few Christians know that. Just thought I’d throw that it in. I’m not aiming that comment at any one person. It’s just free information for anyone that cares to know.
hey Mr.Popoff …i would like you to STOP sending me letters in God’s Name
take me off your mailing list.
Popoff earned 23 million last year. Your money, he’s a fraud.
You must ask why every church in the world isn’t denouncing this man, pointing the finger at him? Why doesn’t the glorious church of Christ speak against the actions of this man from behind the pulpit every single day to warn it’s people from the deception out there? Where are the shepherds that are supposed to watch over the flock? Where are the whistle blowers shouting from the rooftops, the abomination of this man and men like him? The church could have averted the plans of this man and saved many from the misery left in his wake. Instead, he lives the lavish lifestyle having reaped his harvest from the misfortune of others, pre-groomed by their religion to believe in the extraordinary.
WHY ON EARTH DOES IT TAKE THE WORLD TO EXPOSE THIS MAN OF GOD AS A FRAUD WHEN THE CHURCH IS CALLED TO PUBLICLY REBUKE ITS OWN DEVIANTS?
WHY? Because Christians are not taught by their leaders to think critically. They are not taught to be skeptical when it comes to “god” things, just skeptical when it comes to secular ideas. They are taught to “only believe”. Don’t question the man of god. Don’t scrutinize the doctrine whole Christian history and theology – it shows weak faith and god will not be pleased. They are cowed into blind submission.
For too many centuries, god and religion has gotten a free pass from public criticism and scrutiny, doing pretty much anything it wishes without too much resistance. It has been untouchable for too long. It’s about time for change.
According to Genesis chapter 11, The Tower of Babel represents a human race that was proud and rebelled against God. Everyone spoke one tongue or language. The goal of mankind was to build themselves a monument of their own achievments. Makes me think of a “One World Order”. Anyhow at this point, because man put himself in God’s place, the tongue or language was confounded, to many tongues or languages.
Now we fast forward to Acts chapter 2. The Holy Spirit shows an empressive pressence by tongues like flames of fire. Here mankind is not confounded, but marvels that each nationality understands the others language or tongue.
Tongue is an english translation for the greek word language. So when I read this, I started to see an intelligence to this event. More than just a meanless babble. It turned the whole world from upside down, to right side up. Speaking in a spiritual sense. Yep, that’s what Jesus does. It’s something to think about.
Ironically, I just happened to be up at 4:am today and just happened to be flipping channels and stumbled across a much older and fatter Popoff and his wife on Vision, giving one supposed ”money transfer” testimonial after another after receiving Popoff’s alleged healing miracle water.
(I’m sure there is a reason why they were given the 4:am time slot—if they were on during peek hours, enough Christians would speak out—hopefully—but because most people aren’t up during those wee hours of the morning, they don’t know these type of people are on there.
Also think about it…..who are some of the most vulnerable people up during those odd hours of the morning……poor people, shift workers on meagre incomes, the sick, the dying, the desperate, etc.
Bene, do you have an e-mail address I can write to at Vision to ask them to take this guy off the air?)
It was heartbreaking to watch this level of deceit and to know that they (he and his wife) have been allowed to get away with it even AFTER being exposed on Johnny Carson many years ago.
Clearly the people sending him money have not done their homework. They have turned a blind eye to critical thinking (to paraphrase Ole Anthony) because they’re impressed by what they see and hear (ie. supposed testimonials about healings and wealth miracles) but they need to know that not everything that barks is a dog and just because something looks impressive, doesn’t mean it won’t bite you in the end.
There are many wolves in sheeps clothing roaming the airwaves today (sadly Popoff is just one of many) and it’s our job to discern what pasture they’re from by examining their fruits and doing a bit of research first (try Google video, You Tube, apologetic websites, etc).
Even beyond that however, is to know your Bible for oneself, so that no one anywhere (whether on tv or in person) can con you by false doctrine and teachings. This is part of the problem as I would bet the majority of people sending these charlatans money are biblically illiterate (not stupid in any way but ignorant of biblical truth).
DON’T send these people money just because they look or sound impressive at face value. You need more concrete evidence than that. If you googled them and discover they’re living a lavish lifestyle or have been exposed for being deceptive in the past, you’re essentially throwing your money away to a charlatan huckster.
You’d be better off giving to a local soup kitchen or homeless shelter in your area. (I personally do not like to be solicited for money and am immediately turned off by anyone attempting to lighten my bank account, whether via phone, the tv or door to door sales people.)
By the way, Popoff’s wife is just as guilty because she’s been his accomplice all these years and has reeped the same lavish lifestyle through her husband’s deception, yet no one ever mentions her, which seems unfair.
How many people that attend a local church in their community actually GOOGLE their pastor’s name? And what would make a faithful believer even think about doing so? When a person sews seeds by faith, there seed will always be multiplied back to them. POPOFF is the one who will lose everything he owns if he is a fake. POPOFF obviously got away the first time but this second go round he and his wife will not. He has some nerve.
I have received many letters from Peter Popoff recently and I read them and throw them away, but I must say that when he said money was coming my way very soon, and I did receive 4 checks totally 13,000 within the next week. I thought it to just be a coincidence and still didn’t send him any money. Well today I received a letter from Peter Popoff along with other mail in my box and opened his letter first. He said that he saw rent money coming my way and I just laughed and opened my other mail and I had a check for 900.00 for my rent for January 2011. It was from a local nonprofit organization in my city where I live (new Orleans) . I don’t know what to think now.
Landen
If you’re not a fan of Peter Popoff, why are you even on his mailing list ?
If you throw his letters away upon arrival, why don’t you contact his ”ministry” and TELL them to REMOVE your address from their mailing list ASAP (or have you already done that and they repeatedly ignored it)? There is a name for such things and it’s called junkmail or in his case ”religious junkmail.”
By the way, with regards to your first post, most local pastors in small town communities do not rake in the type of $$$$$ that big time tv evangelists do because their sermons aren’t broadcast around the globe; therefore they have a smaller listening audience which means less revenue and a smaller church budget.
Therefore less income means less extravagance and therefore more modest homes, cars, clothes, sanctuary and no private planes either because they simply don’t have the budget for that type of thing.
You can still Google them for other reasons (to see if they’ve ever been sued or whatever) but chances are, if they’re not on tv, they’re not particularly rich, which is a GOOD thing because they’re setting an example of modesty for their flock. It’s not a sin to Google them out of curiosity either.
Also most small town pastors home addresses are listed in the phone book so you don’t even need to Google them to see what type of house they live in. Just Google Street view it.
You can see what type of car they drive when they pull into the church parking lot each Sunday (if they own any other cars, drive past their house sometime and see what’s parked in the driveway) and that will tell you everything you need to know—or at least part of the picture. Are they wasting money on cosmetic surgery and hair rugs? (You can often tell this just by looking at someone.) Designer clothes?
As for Popoff’s supposed ”divine revelation” about money coming your way and it miraculously showing up in your mailbox thereafter……..don’t fall for it ! Spontaneous things like that can happen in life but it’s got nothing to do with ”Swami Popoff.”
Keep in mind that those letters are mass mailings. There is no way Popoff would have time to send each person on his mailing list a personalized letter with personalized prophecies for each person—must be thousands, if not millions on his mailing list—and he’s telling them the same thing……money is on the way. If you send that same message to thousands of people, you will hit paydirt somewhere.
Where is Jesus in all of this money talk? Why isn’t Popoff preaching about salvation? How about a mass mailing asking people to accept Christ into their lives instead ? Why does he keep dwelling on money? Jesus didn’t do that and He was our example.
By the way, regarding seed being multiplied back to the sower…..this doesn’t necessarily involve money. The blessing reaped could come in various other forms—such as an unexpected job offer or unexpected opportunity come your way, seemingly out of the blue or bumping into someone at just the right time and place to help you in a given situation (to help your broken down car or whatever).
By holding our tongues when faced with idiocy, fraud or pretense; or by pretending to respect something despicable, we are in fact, condoning it.
In most circumstances, we have an obligation to challenge false claims. This is particularly important when the nature of the claims is such that they are harmful. In these cases, we must should intervene.
False expressions of respect are not the answer.
Landen (or anyone else interested)
Please listen to Dr. Scott Johnson’s teaching on ”My Trip Down Charismania Lane” as he received a similar mass mailing from a relatively well known evangelist—not Popoff though–(thankfully Scott was smart NOT to take the bait). He’s quite humorous at times on this teaching.
Dr. Johnson’s website is Contending For Truth. Com (download his teachings and scroll down the page until you find it). While there, you might also want listen to his other sermon/expose on Joel Osteen and a few others. Very eye opening.
Atheist At Birth… for once I agree with you.
Just wanted to add that Dr. Scott Johnson’s teaching (where he refers to the mass mailing he received by a slimy evangelist) can be found on Part 2 of My Trip Down Charismania Lane #238.
He begins talking about it after the first 41 minutes, if you want to fast forward to hear it. Sounds similar to ”Swami Popoff.”
See Contending For Truth. Com
This video remix/song is about Peter Popoff:
http://www.youtube.com/user/SavasTub
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I am receiving mail from peter popoff and was up late and saw his show & fell for it. Then as I was laying in bef one night I had received my evelope telling me to burn a candle with crinkled half cut money on it & send back in wit money. I didnt & it bothered me to research him & im glad I did. This is sad & he should be stopped.
Sweetie
the term for that is ”Charismatic Witchcraft” and witchcraft is called an abomination in Scripture and listed amongst those that will be cast into hell (see Galations 5:19 which list the 17 works of the flesh).
Any form of divination falls into this category (astrology, palm reading, fortune tellers, etc). In Old Testament days, witches were put to death by stoning, under God’s penalty (which shows you how grave an offence it was and still is to God….it’s just that since the new covenant with Jesus in the NT, we’re under grace…for now).
Nowhere in Scripture does it say that you have to cough up money first before God will answer your prayer and keep in mind that candles are always used in witchcraft ceremonies. Nowhere in the Bible does it say Jesus used candles (or any other gimmicks for matter) when he prayed.
If you want more information on Popoff, just type his name into Google Video, along with the word ”apostate” or ”charlatan” and it will load your boat.
Hopefully you will e-mail his ministry and demand that your name and address be immediately removed from his mailing list.
I stumbled upon his broadcast a few months ago, around 4:am……and he and his wife were talking about a thing called ”divine wealth transfer” which is NOT found anywhere in Scripture. It’s utter nonsense but to someone who has never read the Bible, I can see how alluring it can be with their warm friendly smiling faces and countless ”divine transfer” testimonials. Be not deceived. Not everything that quacks like a duck is a duck.
I’d highly recommend getting the King James Bible on CD and listening to several chapters per day, to refresh your mind about what is and isn’t found in Scripture. Start in the New Testament (easier to understand….especially if you’re a baby Christian, new to the faith), then begin the Old Testament.
When you read and study the Bible each day for yourself (instead of allowing a tv evangelist to interpret it for you), you will become for-armed against deception and suddenly, you will be able to spot a charlatan instantly, long before they’re even exposed on credible news shows.
I personally have turned off all tv evangelists except for 2 people (but I don’t send them money, nor do I agree with everything they say). I prefer to get the bulk of my Bible teaching from the late Pastor David J. Meyer’s archived sermons (see Last Trumpet Ministries website, as well as Google Video) and Dr. Scott Johnson’s website at Contending For Truth. Com—-especially listen to Scott’s testimony called ”My Trip Down Charismania Lane” (parts one and two).
Pastor Meyer discusses ”Charismatic Witchcraft” in one of his archived teachings but forget where. He was referring to Rex Humbard but you could apply the same teaching to many others.
peter popoff cant solve all your problems he just gives hope dont believe everything he says.Also dont keep giving him money give to your church.
As I said in another thread … anybody who sends money to television preachers needs to get into counselling. Nobody – and I do mean NOBODY – who is called to preach the Gospel of Grace, needs to be on television. The first century church turned the known world upside down simply by preaching the Gospel — without having radio, television, internet, etcetera.
There are many small churches around the world, where the pastors don’t have a lot for their families to live on from day to day, and have to moonlight just to make ends meet each month. These are the places where the Gospel is actually being preached.
Then you have these televangelists, whom God supposedly called to be on television, scamming and manipulating people who are in trouble and honestly seeking God. I’ve yet to see any minister on television who wasn’t there to build his own empire, rather than to preach the Gospel of Grace.
By the way — Peter Popoff is on Peter Youngren’s GRACE TELEVISION NETWORK, Monday to Friday, from 1:30 P.M. – 2:00 P.M., and on Sunday mornings at 8:30 A.M.
I am not including the times to suggest people watch it – God forbid! But rather I want to show you how that – if you pay enough $$$$ for the time slot – any program can be aired on GRACE TV … particularly if they need millions of dollars to purchase and run the station.
Every time you send in a donation to support GRACE TELEVISION, you are keeping frauds like Peter Popoff on the air.
Oh Peter. The devil has a long red hot poker ready for you.
Peter Popoff’s name is a joke to me. “Popoff” continually takes my Father’s money (always cash, no check or money order) and he is still smoking 4 packs of cigarettes a day, my siblings are still hooked on drugs, and he still doesen’t have true love. All of this Authority and Power; Popoff promised him; is just like Popoff, a farce. If Popoff was a true man of the cloth, he would surely know that GOD has all Power. This man had the nerve to tell my Father that I was the enemy and not to let me keep him from the true blessings that God has for him. One one has to pay any man to receive what God has for them. My advocate to the Father is “Jesus”. Sad to say this but my Father refuses to believe that this man is Satan in the flesh. Popoff has told him that God revealed to him (Popoff) that the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church is not real and if he truly wants to receive these blessings he must follow his instructions that God has revealed to him.
I agree with Ronald. But God allows these preachers to stay on TV to judge the sheep who lust like donkeys for things and who love to idolize man, not God. I myself, and my dog, will stand apart and watch the fall of the wicked.
If Popoff was a true man of the cloth, he would surely know that GOD has all Power.
So why doesn’t GOD do something about Popoff instead of allowing those who so desperately want the power of GOD in their lives, to be led away from Him and his love?
peter popoff cant solve all your problems he just gives hope….dont keep giving him money give to your church.
Maybe peter popoff and god are not all that different after all. Especially about the money thing.
….Kinda thought we had moved on from Theology 101…Why do bad things happen to good people…RE:”So why doesn’t GOD do something about Popoff instead of allowing those who so desperately want the power of GOD in their lives, to be led away from Him and his love?”
The idle banter is annoying…Do beat that drum somewhere else!
I was up at 4:30 am yesterday (Sat) and again found myself flipping channels and stumbled upon Popoff and his wife on Vision tv, doing the same shtick over a year later since my previous blogs on here. Nothing has changed, except I imagine they’ve pocketed more money since then.
I could see how someone in a desperate situation could get lured into their message though because they appear so warm and inviting (like the best friends or parents you never had—particually if you’re from an abusive background where no kindness or love was ever shown, nor your intelligence and worth every validated and perhaps isolated from the world due to chronic or terminal illness and desperate for a miracle), with a fireplace and soft music playing in the background and the promise of miracles and riches, if only you’ll sew into their ministry. What they fail to mention are the thousands of people who DID send them money for months or years on end, and NOTHING HAPPENED except that now their bank accounts are considerably leaner, while the Popoffs are now considerably fatter and richer.
The soft music, fireplace and friendly veneers are smokescreen facades to lure you in by lowering your defences, especially in the wee small hours of the morning, when problems seem more overwhelming than regular daytime hours. The money factor alone is a red flag that something is amiss because the true Gospel (which is believeing in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ from the dead) has nothing to do with money or gimmicks like anointed healing oil, water or prayer cloths.
How they have managed to get back on the air (after James Randi exposed him on Carson) is beyond me, not to mention the extensive exposes about him via Google, You Tube and Google Video searches.
While I have compassion for the poor, desperate and biblically illiterate followers of his, they are without excuse because they failed to do their homework through simple internet searches and reading and studying the Bible for themselves, instead of allowing these tv hucksters to interpret Scripture for them. ”My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
They’re exploiting poor, desperate, biblically illiterate people for greedy lucre sake, like almost all Charismatic hucksters littering the airways today but as bad as the others are, Popoff takes it to a whole new level with his ”divine wealth transfer” garbage and endless streams of ”religious junkmail”, which isn’t even found in Scripture.
The Bible says ”lay hands suddenly on no man” so I’d be careful about allowing Popoff (or any other snake oil huskster) to lay their hands on you, whether in person or via the tv screen because false spirits can be imparted that way—or the Bible wouldn’t have cautioned us against it.
Brano, was your 2012 resolution to continue to be an ass and only attack people rather than provide valuable input? If so, good on you for sticking to it thus far.
Theology will be a thing of the past soon enough. Yes brano, Theology 101 – the underbelly of all religious belief systems – Don’t try to understand why god does or does not act, it is above you to know no matter how your rational mind and sensibilities scream otherwise – god is in control, he knows what’s going on and it will all work out according to his perfect will so stop worrying about what’s going on in this world.
So useful a lesson for those who would rather put the onus on a mythical god instead of thinking for themselves. Little wonder suckers get suckered by men of god like Popoff.
…zzzzzzzzzzzz
Add some providential will, of the one true God, then step back and observe.
Sweet dreams brano. It’s what keeps the fairy tale alive.
We must be extremely careful how we deal with persons who are operating in the
(and by the power of) the Holy Spirit !!
Some sinned against the Holy Spirit when they said (maintained that Jesus had a demon) and the work He did was of the devil. Jesus said Mark 3: 28..” Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men.and whatever blasphemies they utter;
but whoever blasphemies against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty
of an eternal sin.” because they were saying ..”He has an unclean spirit.”
Brother Peter has only been a great blessing to my spiritual life and I believe that he
is always seeking the counsel of God..so I always pray that he is led by the Spirit.
If you discern (suspicion?) that a brethren has gone wrong then go to him personally..or pray hard and
that our Father will straighten him out. Talebearing is the devil’s great weapon
against Christ’s body to separate us !! God desires that we be in the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace. Love always. Brother /Pastor Bill
The first time I saw this man I was in some financial trouble I stayed up late and was watching tv an I saw him. I did call not thinking he was fraud. The first letter I got he ashed for money. I didn’t reply. The second and third the same. The next one I told him that if I have to pay God for him to bless me I’ll stay poor. That was it.
i also get letters from peter popoff. now that i have done my research about him i feel better b/c all b4 i felt bad for not sending in any (seed money) and it seemed 2 me that he was reading my mail b/c he mentioned how god was goin to heal my myenathinse gravis. But i came relize that god wants me to keep my faith and not send any more of my money 2 peter popoff b/c god does not want my money he wants my love and faith so peter popoff can sit on my middle finger an i think yall kno the rest and i want every last dollar i sent him back