"Restore Stephen Baldwin" Asks for Donations
A website is appealing to visitors to donate money to what it says is a noble cause - helping actor Stephen Baldwin.
RestoreStephenBaldwin.org claims that the actor's 2002 conversion to evangelical Christianity hurt his career opportunities and led to him file for bankruptcy in 2009. The website hopes to bring in donations to help restore the actor to popularity so he can spread Christianity to the masses.
The site compares Baldwin to a modern-day Job, the biblical figure who lost his family and wealth but remained faithful to God.
The money donated through the website goes "directly into [Baldwin's] bank account," according to the site's Q&A section. The actor needs this "personal wealth," it claims, because "Stephen's influence is in Hollywood. Hollywood worships money and without it you are seen as a loser and cannot be an effective influence to this group."
The website says it was created with the permission of Daniel Southern, Baldwin's spiritual advisor and president of his ministry, and that the actor was not involved with planning the movement. Southern confirmed to the Washington Post that Baldwin was not involved in the website's creation and that the actor has not seen any significant money yet.
"Right now, it's more curiosity," Southern said.
So how much does Baldwin need to become restored in the public eye? The website estimates the actor needs "several million dollars" to pay off his debts but "deserves hundreds of millions for his Job like faithfulness in the face of relentless loss and persecution."