Prosperity Preacher Says God Wants Him to Have a New Private Jet, Asks Flock to Pay for It
Jesse Duplantis, one of America’s most popular prosperity preachers has his eyes on a new $54 million Dassault Falcon 7X private jet, but he wants his followers to pay for it.
Duplantis, who runs a ministry and a church in Destrehan, Louisiana, just outside New Orleans, already owns a private jet, in fact it’s already his third one. All of them have been paid for in cash with donations from his faithful flock, but he now wants them to once again come through for him so he can buy the three-engine Dassault Falcon 7X private jet which would allow him to fly “anywhere in the world in one stop,” increasing his global reach and reducing fuel costs, because he has his own fuel farm…
“I want you to believe in me for a Falcon 7X,” the 68-year-old prosperity gospel preacher said in a video appeal to his flock. “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.”
He then goes on to tell viewers how he managed to buy his three previous private jets with donations from his followers, and explain how he could just use his current jet, which he bought in 2006, but that the $54 million Dassault Falcon 7X would actually help his ministry spread the gospel more efficiently, by reaching far away places on a single fuel stop.
In the video, Duplantis claims that God told him “I want you to believe in me for a Falcon 7x”, and when he asked how he was going to pay for it, the preacher said that he remembered what God told him back in 1978 – “Jesse, I didn’t ask you to pay for it, I asked you to believe for it.” So he’s now asking his flock to “pray about becoming a partner for to it”, which basically means donating money to his ministry.
“So pray about becoming a partner to it, if you’d like to,” the preacher says. “And if you don’t, you don’t have to, but I wish you would, because let me tell you something about it – all it’s gonna do is touch people, it’s gonna reach people, it’s gonna change lives, one soul at a time.”
“I really believe that if the Lord Jesus Christ was physically on the Earth today, he wouldn’t be riding a donkey,” Duplantis added. “He’d be in an airplane flying all over the world.”
Now, if that last line doesn’t convince you to donate a bit of money for this man’s new private jet, you must not be a true believer…
As you can imagine, Jesse Duplantis’ unusual crowdfunding efforts have attracted a lot of criticism from more conservative Christians, many of whom argued that the tens of millions of dollars in donations could be put to much better use than a new private jet. Some asked why Duplantis and other preachers needed private jets in the first place, when they could just jump on commercial flights instead. But the preacher clarifies that three years ago, when along with fellow televangelist Kenneth Copeland, he defended the need for a private jet.
“You just can’t manage that today, in this dope-filled world,” Copeland said. “You get in a long tube with a bunch of demons, and it’s deadly.” Both Copeland and Duplantis agreed that private jets were essential to fulfilling their ministries’ mission.
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, supersonic interceptor aircraft which later became widely used as an attack aircraft. It was originally developed by Lockheed for the United States Air Force (USAF), but was later produced by several other nations, seeing widespread service outside the United States. One of the Century Series of fighter aircraft, it was operated by the air forces of more than a dozen nations from 1958 to 2004. Its design team was led by Kelly Johnson, who contributed to the development of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Lockheed U-2, Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird and other Lockheed aircraft.[2]
The F-104 set numerous world records, including both airspeed and altitude records. Its success was marred by the Lockheed bribery scandals, in which Lockheed had given bribes to a considerable number of political and military figures in various nations to influence their judgment and secure several purchase contracts; this caused considerable political controversy in Europe and Japan.
The poor safety record of the Starfighter also brought the aircraft into the public eye, especially in German Air Force service. Fighter ace Erich Hartmann was forced to retire from the Luftwaffe due to his outspoken opposition to selection of the F-104.
The final production version of the fighter model was the F-104S, an all-weather interceptor designed by Aeritalia for the Italian Air Force, and equipped with radar-guided AIM-7 Sparrow missiles. An advanced F-104 with a high-mounted wing, known as the CL-1200 Lancer, was considered, but did not proceed past the mock-up stage.
An emotional support animal (ESA) is a companion animal that a medical professional has determined provides benefit for an individual with a disability. This may include improving at least one symptom of the disability. Emotional support animals, typically dogs, but sometimes cats or other animals, may be used by people with a range of physical, psychiatric, or intellectual disabilities. In order to be prescribed an emotional support animal the person seeking such an animal must have a verifiable disability. To be afforded protection under United States federal law, a person must meet the federal definition of disability and must have a note from a physician or other medical professional stating that the person has that disability and that the emotional support animal provides a benefit for the individual with the disability. An animal does not need specific training to become an emotional support animal.
The Air Carrier Access Act establishes a procedure for modifying pet policies on aircraft to permit a person with a disability to travel with a prescribed emotional support animal, so long as they have appropriate documentation and the animal is not a danger to others and does not interfere with others (through unwanted attention, barking, inappropriate toileting, etc.
CNBC
Want to travel with an emotional support dog, duck or miniature horse? Starting next month, United Airlines will want passengers to show they can behave.
The airline is setting more stringent requirements for emotional support animals, joining Delta Air Lines in cracking down on a sharp increase in such animals in the cabin. Delta complained that some of the animals soiled cabins or bit travelers.
United said the number of customers bringing emotional support animals on board has risen 75 percent over the past year.
“The Department of Transportation’s rules regarding emotional support animals are not working as they were intended to, prompting us to change our approach in order to ensure a safe and pleasant travel experience for all of our customers,” United said.
Late last month, a Brooklyn artist tried to bring a peacock on board a cross-country United flight, but was turned away by the airline because of the bird’s weight and size.
“As a reminder, animals currently prohibited from traveling in the cabin include hedgehogs, ferrets, insects, rodents, snakes, spiders, reptiles, sugar gliders, non-household birds, exotic animals and animals not properly cleaned or carry a foul odor,” said United.
The animals below are not on the prohibited list.
Last 2 images above courtesy of Markozen photoshop.
Panic broke out on a passenger jet when it skidded off the runway at a Turkish airport and plunged down the side of a cliff overlooking the sea.
The Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800 with 168 passengers and crew had flown from Ankara and landed at Trabzon on the Black Sea coast late on Saturday.
Everyone on board was evacuated safely, provincial governor Yucel Yavuz said. No injuries were reported.
The cause of the accident is being investigated, officials said.
State-run Anadolu news agency said there was panic on board as the plane went out of control.
Pictures show the jet lying nose down on a muddy slope just metres from the water’s edge.
“We tilted to the side. The front was down while the plane’s rear was up. There was panic, people shouting, screaming,” passenger Fatma Gordu was quoted as saying.
Mr Yavuz said the airport was closed for several hours while investigations took place.
In a statement Pegasus Airlines said the plane “had a runway excursion incident” as it landed at Trabzon.
I would have died from a heart attack. Unless I would have had 6 alcohol drinks in me, then I would have enjoyed it.
Image copyrightREUTERSImage caption It is not yet clear why the plane careered off the runwayBBC
Image copyrightREUTERS