Televangelist
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Televangelists are greedy preachers who love bright lights, TV cameras and huge congregations that they never have to meet personally -- unless, of course, that person is rich and/or powerful. They often complain of the unholiness of liberals while convincing poor people to send in their life savings in the hopes of gaining eternal salvation. They tend to avoid the unwashed rank-and-file unless they can profit monetarily from the meeting. They want everybody to be good Christians -- a word that means "Christ-like" -- even though Jesus never wore a Rolex or a $2500 suit, nor did He live in a 10,000-plus square foot estate on the beach, all paid for by contributions from gullible faithful people who believe that every Bible-thumping sociopath preacher is their "Get Out of Hell Free" Card as honest and God-fearing as they are.
We are not talking "salt of the earth" here, people. More like cinnabar. Or arsenic.
[edit] History
Televangelist is a portmanteau of "television" and "evangelist", used to describe the preachers on the TV. The phenomenon really took off in the late 70s/early 80s, when preachers were on TV all the time claiming direct links with God, the ability to lay on hands, and even the ability to prophesy.
However, many of the ones who claimed these supernatural powers turned out to be frauds, and even many of the ones who didn't were found to be utter hypocrites who engaged in the very sin they told their watchers to avoid. Jimmy Swaggert and Jim Bakker were among the worst of the latter group.
There are some televangelists still around, notably Pat Robertson, Joyce Meyer, and T. D. Jakes.
One who managed to redeem herself was Tammy Faye Bakker (latter Messner), who devoted her last years to ending homophobia.
[edit] See also
[edit] Further reading listening
- Genesis, "Jesus He Knows Me", We Can't Dance, Atlantic Records, 1992.
- Stevens, Ray, "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex", Crackin' Up, MCA Nashville, 1987
- Morris, James, The Preachers, St. Martin's Press, 1973.
