Televangelists Lie, Cheat, and Steal
Evan sent me this video which is pretty humorous. It makes me think how even though the preachers are insane, the people who believe them are even nuttier. A sadder thought is that all of these evangelists are bad people. Wikipedia has 33 references to evangelist scandals. They are the scum of the Earth.
I was watching a program called “80’s – The Decade That Made Us”, and it had a story about televangelists Jim and Tammy Bakker, who used the donations from their followers to build a theme park and village which was completely extravagant and over the top. They had the biggest religious based TV network and following at the time. Their controversy arises when another evangelist, Jimmy Swaggert, found out that Jim had an affair with Jessica Hahn (adultery is a no-no) and this caused his world to come crashing down. To add extra buzz to the story, it was found out that Swaggert had hired prostitutes which is also frowned upon. Here are some great quotes from both parties.
Jim Bakker – “The more I studied the Bible, however, I had to admit that the prosperity message did not line up with the tenor of Scripture. My heart was crushed to think that I led so many people astray. I was appalled that I could have been so wrong, and I was deeply grateful that God had not struck me dead as a false prophet.”
Jim Swaggert – “I have sinned against You, my Lord, and I would ask that Your Precious Blood would wash and cleanse every stain until it is in the seas of God’s forgetfulness, not to be remembered against me anymore.” Clip of him crying.
Stories like these are what make me question everything that has to do with religion. These televangelists preach themselves as people of god, but they are really slimy, underhanded, lying, cheating, individuals who make a lot of money for themselves off of the stupidity of their followers. It’s hard enough in this world as it is, people acting like good people and taking advantage of loyalty should be punishable by death. That’s all we need, truth.