It reads like a roller coaster ride. Yay! The person behind the Joel Osteen hoax website has been unearthed. Boo… he’s a fellow Minnesotan. Crap.
I can’t help but wonder if we’ve got more than our fair share of loons up here. (Ha, pun intended. Ten points if you get the joke.)
Backstory: Someone created an entire website that mirrored Osteen’s proclaiming that Osteen was no longer a Christian. Evidently Drudge Report even picked up on the headline and ran with it (evidently without fact checking). Sadly, the website has been removed so you can’t peruse it.
According to ABC news, the person behind the phony website is a Justin Tribble from Minneapolis. He says he’s a fan of Osteen, but finds him shallow. He set up the website to he could catch the attention of Osteen and, perhaps, have a chat.
“[It was] a way to get through and have a dialogue with someone who is essentially inaccessible,” he said.
Tribble won’t face criminal charges, but could still be sued by Osteen.
Tribble says he is not bothered by a possible backlash from the thousands of supportive strangers who emailed him thinking they were reaching Osteen.
He hopes, however, that Osteen sees the incident as part of God’s plan and reaches out.
“I think it would be nice to have a conversation with him,” Tribble said. “Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if he prays over me.”
Consider yourself updated. 🙂
