Dear Friend,
Pastor and “special government employee” Paula White is no stranger to grifting. Like so many charismatic televangelists, she has long been a peddler of prosperity gospel, the mathematically improbable and biblically incongruent idea that by giving money to a religious cause, one will increase their material wealth.
Back in the aughts, White’s church was the subject of a Senate Finance Committee investigation, which revealed that $900,000 of tax-exempt ministry funds had been used to pay for a private jet, a waterfront mansion, and the “salaries” of extended family members. But that’s a drop in the bucket for a church that netted $150 million in just two years around that same time.
That was all well before White hitched her wagon to Donald Trump, who appointed her to lead the newly established White House Faith Office in February. The stated purpose of this federal office was to “assist faith-based entities, community organizations, and houses of worship in their efforts to strengthen American families, promote work and self-sufficiency, and protect religious liberty.” The executive order continued: “the Federal Government welcomes opportunities to partner with such organizations through innovative, measurable, and outcome-driven initiatives.”
While there has been little to no news since then about what, if anything, the Faith Office is accomplishing, its director has been hustling on several initiatives of her own. A month ago, White posted a video “challenging” viewers to give “a sacrificial offering of $133, $52, or $414” – all references to scripture. Two weeks ago, she warned followers that if they did not give $133, “God can’t use you.”
Most recently, White has been telling followers to “Obey the Holy Spirit and honor God with your best Passover offering” made payable to Paula White Ministries. For $1,000 or more, donors will receive a “Holy Land Communion Set” in an “attractive, commemorative boxset,” a devotional book, and DVD series. a “beautiful 10-inch Waterford crystal cross,” and “seven supernatural blessings for your body, your family, your finances, and your future.”
Passover is “all about the Blood of Jesus,” White reminds us, but also definitely about financial transactions. According to her, Exodus 23 outlines the supernatural blessings one can buy by texting or calling right now: “God will assign an angel to you, he will be an enemy to your enemies, he will give you prosperity, he will take sickness away from you, he will give you a long life, he’ll bring increase in inheritance and he’ll bring a special year of blessing.” (She notably leaves out the parts about not spreading false reports or oppressing immigrants.)
For any doubters, White’s website includes this truly “incredible testimony” from Alfred: “As a result [of donating], my unemployment benefits were restored and increased this past week.” And what, pray tell, will these offerings be used for? Allegedly, “to preach the gospel and help with humanitarian efforts around the world.” After all, as White, author of the Good Book, “Money Matters,” says: “Ministry takes money.”
Paula White Ministries is certainly taking money. Religious fraud, faith healing scams, and prosperity gospel schemes are not new. However, it is egregiously abnormal and unethical for a White House official to be engaging in all of the above. Were this happening in an episode of The Righteous Gemstones, it might be funny. But White is cashing in on her prosperity gospel while serving as an active member of a presidential administration that’s imposing austerity on the American people and eliminating humanitarian aid overseas.
American Atheists will not be asking for any sacrificial offerings this Easter season, but I am going to remind you to register today for our 2025 National Convention this April 17 – 20 in Minneapolis. You won’t receive crystal crosses or personal angels, but you will get three full days of fun social events, workshops, and presentations from speakers like Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Seth Andrews of The Thinking Atheist, plus YouTubers Drew McCoy (GMSKeptic), Taylor Leigh (The Antibot), and Owen Morgan (TellTale Atheist)!
We’ll cap off this year’s conference as we always do: coming together on Easter Sunday to pack thousands of meals for locals in need. While Christian nationalist politicians use their power to cash in and slash resources for our nation’s food banks, we atheists will prove “two hands working can do more than a thousand clasped in prayer.”
Hope to see you there,
Melina Cohen
Director of Strategic Communications & Policy Engagement
American Atheists is a 501(c)(3) non-partisan, nonprofit educational organization that relies on the support of members like you. Contributions are tax-deductible. Our Federal Tax ID Number is 74-2466507 and our Combined Federal Campaign number is 52217.
American Atheists
225 Cristiani Street
Cranford, NJ 07016
United States