I like to listen to Joel Osteen, too. I'm always hesitant to endorse TV preachers, because you never know what's going on behind the scenes. But purely on the face of things, I find his messages comforting. If you review what I originally wrote in Curses, Crosses and Blessings, you'll see that I'm a person who struggles a lot with questions about innocent human suffering. It seems to me Rev. Osteen is the type of preacher who fills my own need for kind, encouraging, upbeat words of faith.

I punned on the word "ostentatious" because I think it is a bit over the top for me to presume to speak as Rev. Osteen speaks.