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Arnold Murray's Deceptive and Manipulative Fund-Raising Tactics

Question/Comment: 

----- Original Message -----

From: Emailer #274

To: Paul Stringini

Sent: Monday, August 03, 2015 1:21 PM

Subject: Arnold Murray

I just read some of what you wrote about Shepherd's Chapel and Arnold Murray's teaching.  I have watched him off and on for several years and was, quite frankly, appalled at some of the things he says. I am a Messianic Jew who was saved in 1980.  I picked up on all of his false teaching. I know that he died in Feb., 2014, and that his son has taken his place although Arnold is still on TV. 

What I am wondering is where do they get the money to be on two cable networks and antenna TV 24 hours a day?  I don't think they ever ask for money or have fund raisers and as far as I know, they don't have a very large congregation. 

Have you been able to find the "money trail" to see who supports them?

Thank you,

Emailer #274

My First Response:

----- Original Message -----

From: Paul Stringini

To: Emailer #274

Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2015 1:58 AM

Subject: Re: Arnold Murray

Hi Emailer #274,  it is very good to hear from you. 

 

This issue is something that I only began to be unravel over the past few years.  It is part and an example of the truly deceptive nature of Arnold Murray's ministry.  And it is notable that even people like you or I  (who clearly understand the nature of his false teachings) still fail to detect the nature of his duplicity in regards to money. 

 

It was actually a combination of my own self examination and the words of Shepherd's Chapel students that inadvertently made me see what is really going on by their repeated assertions of Arnold Murray's virtue in regards to money.  I make a habit of examining the things I say, and why I say them, and along the way I have tried to learn to avoid attempting to manipulate people's opinions of me by asserting the things about me which I would like them to believe, even if true.  When you do your alms, do not sound a trumpet before you like a hypocrite.

 

You see, Arnold Murray was a braggart.  He loved to talk about his military service and also about all the ways in which he is morally superior to other teachers.  Everything we know about him was something he himself told us about himself.  One of the ways in which he loved to trumpet about how morally superior he was over other teachers was the oft repeated mantras, "I never beg," and, "I hate to talk about money." It is such a stark and simple claim that it basically goes unexamined.

 

What does it mean to "beg?"  I have no doubt that to Arnold Murray it meant to get down on one's knees and weep and say, "Please give me your money!"  By comparing himself to a worst case, he deflects our attention from the fact that he made an appeal for money at the end of every broadcast, "We are Brought to you by your tithes and offering, if we have helped you, please help us keep coming to you."  (Or something like that)  Also,  the Shepherd's Chapel runs advertisements for their over-priced products constantly, and for every product they ask for a "donation."  Asking for a donation is begging.  It may not be a caricature of "on hands and knees"  but the point is that they are asking for money.   The only reason we think otherwise is because of the frequency of his protestations that he "hates talking about money," and he, "never begs." 

 

And what about his claim that he "hates talking about money?"  I don't buy it.  Methinks thou dost protest too much... You know, people who hate to talk about money, have the option of avoiding the subject.  I know that I would consider it unseemly for me to declare I hated talking about something that I frequently mention. What Arnold Murray did was trumpet his own virtue, and the loudness of his braying convinced us that there had to be some truth to it.

 

So, basically, he asks for money all the time; because of his assertions to the contrary, we see him as morally superior in regards to money, and give him a pass for mildly asking for donations and offerings.  But were his requests for money truly mild?

 

Anyone who listens to the Chapel for very long will hear Arnold talk about how the Chapel "prunes early."  This refers to the fact, as asserted by Arnold, that if a television market fails to become self-supporting within a given period of time that the Chapel broadcast is pulled from that market.  It's basically a threat.  Pay up, or we pull out.  This is not exactly begging, it's more like extortion.  Granted, the people who are paying want to see the broadcast, but many of them may not yet realize what they are in for. 

 

Also, during the time when Arnold was attempting to get his Satellite dish (Big Momma)  they did have major fundraising drives (not telethons by any means, but there was more talk about money).  I have some of that on some old cassettes, I forget which ones.  But he talks about upcoming installment payments and such.  I'm not very well informed about his pre-satellite ministry, but I know they already had a large mail-order cassette ministry.  Their actual financial records are kept secret, but having visited the chapel in 1995 and having seen their Cassette duplicators at work, it was obvious that they made quite a profit off the sale of cassettes, and the CD's are probably even more profitable, because they are cheaper to make while able to fetch a higher price at market due to the general public ignorance of compact disc costs.

 

Arnold Murray's money comes from thousands of people who are duped into trusting him.  He plays it like a classic con-man.  "Don't trust me!  I hate talking about money, and I never beg, I'm a very private person, I asked the Lord to take away my ministry before I would lead a single person astray..."  All boasting.  All masking the contrary facts.   

 

Arnold Murray basically uses a very similar duplicitous scheme to paint anyone who dares criticize him as morally inferior to himself.  "I never talk about other denominations."  It is probably the most common complaint I get from Chapel students, how Arnold never mentions names of other ministries or denomination and how I'm a wicked man for mentioning Arnold Murray by name and criticizing his ministry.  Arnold Murray was a man well appraised of the fact that he lived in a glass house.  So in order to protect himself from criticism, he claimed forswore criticizing others.  Of course, the truth is that Arnold criticizes other Christians constantly, he uses very unflattering terms to describe other ministers and degrades the intellect of people who do not agree with him. They are, "just a little bit stupid."

 

The bible provides no such injunction against speaking of false teachers by name, this is a nearly worthless courtesy Arnold Murray offers. Since Arnold is critical of just about every other ministry that is not led by one "Pastor Arnold Murray" is it a very convenient boast for him to make.  His ministry is basically a cult of personality,  so criticizing him without mentioning his name would be a ridiculous exercise in forced reticence.    It costs him nothing, and shields the minds of his followers from taking a serious look at any material critical of his teachings. He asserts his moral superiority in a matter which is only advantageous to him while at the same time slamming everyone who disagrees with him.

 

One of his followers asked me how I would like it if Arnold Murray mentioned my name,  and I said I would like it just fine.  He's the one with an interest in not mentioning my name, it is not a courtesy that benefits me, it is a courtesy that benefits him.

 

These are just one part of an aspect of Arnold Murray's ministry which often gets overlooked as people try to sort through his Satanic sexcapades and other itching ear novelties, Arnold's psychologically manipulative abuse of his flock.  Arnold used a combination of flattery and abuse to both ingratiate and degrade his followers. At the same time making them feel superior to everyone who does not believe as they do, as well as making them feel woefully inadequate as compared to himself.  He was intentionally deceptive and encouraged his followers to be the same way.

 

That intentional deception has led to many difficulties in dealing with his ministry.  If you read the letters I get, you would soon see how many people will swear up and down that Arnold Murray did not teach that the Jews were the biological offspring of Satan.  It's because he refuses to call Jews, Jews. That's intentional deception and I have a page where I analyze some candid audio proving that is exactly what he taught  Are the ethnic people known as "the Jews" the Kenites?  But many of his students do know the truth, that's why I've been asked if I'm in any part Jewish, and I've been called a Kenite more than once.  Some of them are truly racist,  but many really don't know that they support someone who teaches the worst slander ever spoken in the name of Christ.

 

Thank you for this question,  if there is anything further I may do for you, I am at your service.

 

Sincerely,

Paul Stringini

Emailer's First Reply:

----- Original Message -----

From: Emailer #274

To: Paul Stringini

Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2015 6:30 AM

Subject: RE: Arnold Murray

Paul, thank you for your reply.  I have a whole list of TV preachers, evangelists/teachers that I would call out and have no guilt about their being exposed (unfortunately several of them live and pastor churches in the metro Atlanta area where we live).  Most of the ones on TV are constantly begging for money so that they can have more mansions, vacation houses, expensive cars, jewelry, jet planes, and their followers have no problem giving them the money.  One local pastor just asked his congregation for 60 million dollars for a new jet.  They live in a mansion and have several other expensive houses and condos.  There are two nationally 

Also, several of them have lost their ministries because of sexual scandals.  One was kicked off of the board of directors of the "Christian" ministry that he started.  Another very elderly man who has been around for over 60 years has complete control over his congregation.  He tells married couples how many children they can have, encourages abortions and encourages men to have vasectomies. After he has told a man to have this procedure, he has them disrobe and he examines them to make that they have had the procedure.  Why anyone in their right mind would subject themselves to this and stay in his church and attend his conferences is beyond me.

I think I have vented enough for now.  I would give you the names of the other TV preachers that I mentioned above but it looks like you have your hands full with exposing Shepherd's Chapel.

God bless,

Emailer #274

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