Contrary to rumors, there are no bills anywhere to kick religious preachers off TV and radio...

[Archae]

But there are times I wish there was.

BTW, I saw one preacher couple of years ago claiming Madeline Murray O'Hare was behind just such an attempt to get TV preachers banned, and when it was pointed out to him that O'Hare had been murdered in 1995, he said "That's what the Devil wants you to believe."



These Televangelists Were Called Out on Their Duplicity, but They’re Still Making Lots of Money Today

December 26, 2014 by Hemant Mehta 34 Comments

Slate just published a video about three televangelists — Peter Popoff, W.V. Grant, and Jim Bakker — who, despite being caught in their cons, are still making money from gullible Christians:

The worst part about these hucksters isn’t just that they’re taking people’s money; it’s that they’re giving their victims false hope that might actually damage their health in the process. They tell them, in some cases, to throw their canes on the stage or throw their medicine away because Jesus has cured them. It’s the sort of bullshit that becomes very believable to some when it’s tied to the Bible.

But they don’t care because their greed has long overtaken their goodness.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/12/26/these-televangelists-were-called-out-on-their-duplicity-but-theyre-still-making-lots-of-money-today/

[TexasProgresive]

1. This rumor has been around for a long time

It is just one more thing to get RWRNJs' panties in a knot. Just like "Obama is going to take our guns not let us buy ammo so we have to buy them while we can"- and then when demand overruns supply they are sure they are right.

[brewens]

2. I used to like to refer to the religious right as "Pastor Ted Christians". It does seem

that once a Swaggert, Bakker or Haggert get's exposed and taken down, they never get back to where they once were. They still probably have enough die hard fans to give them enough to live on anyway.

[TlalocW]

4. Swaggert and Bakker never got back to where they once were

Because they were national and on television. I'm sure they've recovered nicely and are doing okay though.

Popoff (mentioned in the original post) was never a TV preacher (nor was Grant), and when James Randi first exposed him, it took a while for his fortunes to dip, but I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't made a full recovery. I know a few years ago, a news team looked into what he was doing, and he ran from them in a brand new sports car.

Grant has fallen on harder times, but he still isn't working for a living. His organization is a lot smaller than what it used to be, but he's still in Texas (Dallas, I believe). On youtube, there's a good documentary/reality show from across the pond of a famous hypnotist over there who had a contest to find someone who would make a good hypnotist. When the winner was weeded out from the others, they revealed their actual plan was to - in 6 months time - turn someone into a faith healer, just to show how easy it was to exploit people. They paid a visit to Grant's "church."

TlalocW

[brewens]

9. I had a pretty cool neighbor in a fourplex. Some mail got mixed up and I end up with

some solicitation from Oral Roberts University for her. We got into a little conversation about it and she actually was donating to them. I was pretty nice but ended up more or less telling her that she should be asking them for a scholarship or a job if anything.

For the late 80's, she was a pretty cool girl by my standards and I would never have guessed. Attractive and liked to smoke and drink as did I. I had asked her out but never got anywhere. At the time she was in no position to be giving money away to those people.

[on point]

3. hopefully cable cutters, ala carte cable channels, and internet viewing will kill them off

except for their sucker flock who may now have to pay to be fleeced

[Initech]

5. They're scam artists who should have lost their tax exempt status long ago.

To borrow a quote from one of my favorite albums: "Selling skin, selling god, the numbers look the same on your credit card."

[nichomachus]

6. Americans have had an enduring love affair with charlatans

Right from the very beginning.

And they love nobody quite so much as they do religious charlatans.

[Capt. Obvious]

7. If only I had that money

If only I had that money Catherine and I gave to that TV preacher who was screwin' that hockey player.

[Journeyman]

8. "Prey TV looks like pay TV to me; it's just a curse on the human race." ~ Pete Townshend

But they're not going away and no one will ever be able to ban 'em from media.

Since well before the time Sister Aimee* pioneered radio evangelism, before she stood on an L.A. stage pinning money to a clothesline and exhorting her followers, "I don't want to hear the clinking of coins; I want to hear the rustling of bills," these hustlers and charlatans have been with us. Christ himself preached against them, but that hasn't diminished their numbers or their crimes in the least. They are a scourge upon the poor, selling dime store tricks and salvation for a dollar a pop. And the worst is, even if we can purge them from our personal lives, they remain in the shadows, cruelly impacting every facet of our society. They are indeed a curse on the human race.


*For those unfamiliar with Sister Aimee Simple McPherson, her's is a life well-worth a short study. There's very little that will astonish you about the religious hucksters of our day once you know the origins of the prototype.

[Caretha]

10. Durn!

....did I say that out loud?