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Jesse Duplantis a US preacher defended
asking his followers to donate for the buying for him a fourth private jet,
saying: “if Jesus were on Earth today, he wouldn’t be riding a donkey”.
In
a video posted to his website last week, Louisiana televangelist Jesse
Duplantis called upon believers to “pray about becoming a partner” to his
mission to purchase a $54m (£40.6m) Dassault Falcon 7X private plane.
Duplantis
68-year-old minister, whose sermons are broadcast around the world, said God
had not only spoken to him but also specifically identified the three-engine
business jet by
name.
“He
said, ‘I want you to believe in me for a Falcon 7-X’,” Duplantis told viewers.
The jet “costs about $54 million new”, “although used ones are
listed online for as little as $20 million”.
The
Falcon 7X would be Jesse’s TV preacher’s fourth private plane since founding
the Jesse Duplantis Ministry in 1978.
“I've
owned three different jets in my life and used them and used them and just
burning them up for the Lord,” he said.
Duplantis
acknowledged that the fundraising drive might ruffle feathers. “Some people
believe that preachers shouldn't have jets,” he said. “I
really believe that preachers ought to go on every available voice, every
available outlet, to get this gospel preached to the world.”
He
added: “If the Lord Jesus Christ was physically on the Earth today, he wouldn’t
be riding a donkey - he’d be in an airplane flying all over the world.”
Duplantis preaches “prosperity gospel”, an interpretation of
Christianity which holds that God rewards the faithful with material wealth. He
has an estimated net worth of $40m and has previously called God his “sugar
daddy”,
In 2015, Duplantis and Copeland, defended their use of private
jets, arguing that “commercial planes were full of ‘a bunch of demons’ that
will bog down their busy schedules with prayer requests.
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