Don't look now--Jesus has some money for you

Not feeling well? Got the blues? Need a new car, a house, or cash? Don't waste your time just wishing you were better off, or buying lottery tickets! You can get results within days, thanks to the Rev. James Eugene Ewing and the
miracle of direct-mail godly promotions. These blessings are brought to you by Ewing's "St. Matthew's Churches"--of which the main cathedral is a post office box in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

There have been lots of televangelists offering hope and healing (for a donation) over the years, but I haven't seen such an appeal to ignorance and avarice since watching Reverend Ike on television. At least Rev. Ike conducted "services" (pep rallies for people who wanted to become rich) in a real building.

Like so many chain letters, the recipient of an epistle from these blessed anonymous folks (the letter is "signed", in script, by "Saint Matthew's") is given detailed instructions and advised to fill out and mail a form (along with the included magical prayer rug), together with a "seed gift" and warned not to "break this flow of power between us." The implication is that if your wishes are not granted within a few days, you must not have followed the instructions carefully. The instructions also say that Jesus is watching you and waiting, so be sure to "Give God your best seed" (i.e., a nice big check or money order).

Ewing's St. Matthew's Churches mail scam has been discussed in detail at this
link, cited above, and his organization has been tracked for years by the Trinity Foundation, as described in the previous link. It is unfortunate that there are, even in this modern age, predators that seek out those who are poor, uneducated, or with little hope and rob them of what little they have.

It's not only the televangelists and mail-order prayer scams, but alleged psychics, alternative healers, inventors of free-energy machines other flim-flam artists. Not a few politicians travel in the same herds.