Televangelists: It was ever thus corrupt
By Libby
Televangelists always reminded me of the old-time peddlers of the pioneer days when some guy in a wagon would roll into towns whose residents might live their whole lives never having ventured more than 20 miles away from home and would hawk their tonics and elixirs that guaranteed virility and long life. Same gig except the preachers are selling healing and salvation instead of snake oil. The ethics of exploiting the gullible always seemed to me to about the same.
I'm amazed that they continue to thrive in today's, if not more enlightened, certainly more mobile times but it appears the corruption never changes.
The article posts a long list of decidedly un-Christian and probably illegal behavior. It's not exactly shocking. One can still recall the scandals surrounding Swaggart and Bakker and whatever happened to that guy who used to be on TV all the time who wore multiple sunglasses on his head at once and was always showing footage of his stable full of tiny little horses? I always loved that guy. His show was hysterical. We used to watch it in the wee hours of the morning and make drunken crank calls to his switchboard asking to be put through to the good Rev.
The only real surprise is that these shysters are still able to make such a good living at bilking the lonely and gullible souls of the world. I guess the old adage is true.
Televangelists always reminded me of the old-time peddlers of the pioneer days when some guy in a wagon would roll into towns whose residents might live their whole lives never having ventured more than 20 miles away from home and would hawk their tonics and elixirs that guaranteed virility and long life. Same gig except the preachers are selling healing and salvation instead of snake oil. The ethics of exploiting the gullible always seemed to me to about the same.
I'm amazed that they continue to thrive in today's, if not more enlightened, certainly more mobile times but it appears the corruption never changes.
Richard Roberts [son and heir to the more famous Oral] is accused of illegal involvement in a local political campaign and lavish spending at donors' expense, including numerous home remodeling projects, use of the university jet for his daughter's senior trip to the Bahamas, and a red Mercedes convertible and a Lexus SUV for his wife, Lindsay.
She is accused of dropping tens of thousands of dollars on clothes, awarding nonacademic scholarships to friends of her children and sending scores of text messages on university-issued cell phones to people described in the lawsuit as "underage males."
The article posts a long list of decidedly un-Christian and probably illegal behavior. It's not exactly shocking. One can still recall the scandals surrounding Swaggart and Bakker and whatever happened to that guy who used to be on TV all the time who wore multiple sunglasses on his head at once and was always showing footage of his stable full of tiny little horses? I always loved that guy. His show was hysterical. We used to watch it in the wee hours of the morning and make drunken crank calls to his switchboard asking to be put through to the good Rev.
The only real surprise is that these shysters are still able to make such a good living at bilking the lonely and gullible souls of the world. I guess the old adage is true.
posted by Libby Spencer at 12:50 PM
6 Comments:
I don't see the big deal. I doubt his followers mind him doing this. It's his crappy college. plus, the family sounds fun!
on the other hand, bill moyers special on christian zionism last night was decidely unfun. Israel has made a collosal mistake getting in bed with these nutbags
Lester, it pissed somebody off enough to sue them. They're supposed be using that money to spread the word of the gospel and all that good religious stuff.
And don't forget that our taxes support these pirates.
Everyone laughs and snickers at the rubes taken for a lot of money by the various gurus when faux Hinduism was the fashion, but somehow it gets quiet in the room when you mention that vast landscape of money grubbing, power seeking and often licentious Christianoid leaders and their organizations who have bilked the world for centuries.
How true Fogg. When it comes to its own excesses the value voters see no value in talking about it.
There was a movie sometime back (probably at least 15 years, but I am not sure). I don't even know the name, but it starred Steve Martin and Debra Winger and he was a Jim Bakker, Oral Roberts type. It showed exactly how these con artists work and yet no one commects the dots.
At least you show people the correct path, Libby. If they are still too stupid to see, what else can you do?
All any of us can do is keep talking LLL.
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