RIP, Jim Bakker of PTL Club

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Mendalla

Mendalla

Happy headbanging ape!!
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If anyone was symbolic of all that went wrong with 80s televangelism, it was Jim Bakker. He and his wife Tammy Faye started working with Pat Robertson's CBN and later built their own Christian (for certain values of "Christian") media empire around their show PTL Club. It all came crashing down and Jim eventually admitted to an affair and then went to prison for mail and wire fraud. Once he got out, he was back in business and, surprise, was sued for hawking a fake COVID cure which was settled for $156,000 USD in refunds to purchasers.

So RIP, Jim Bakker. His legacy is showing televangelism's dark, grimy, occasionally smutty side in public view (as opposed to keeping it private like others seem to have managed to do).

What are your reflections on televangelism, both in the classic PTL era and today? To be frank, I have no idea what it even looks like today. I only have my memories of 700 Club, PTL Club, and our Canadian counterparts from that time period.
 
Mendalla said:
If anyone was symbolic of all that went wrong with 80s televangelism, it was Jim Bakker. He and his wife Tammy Faye started working with Pat Robertson's CBN and later built their own Christian (for certain values of "Christian") media empire around their show PTL Club. It all came crashing down and Jim eventually admitted to an affair and then went to prison for mail and wire fraud. Once he got out, he was back in business and, surprise, was sued for hawking a fake COVID cure which was settled for $156,000 USD in refunds to purchasers.

So RIP, Jim Bakker. His legacy is showing televangelism's dark, grimy, occasionally smutty side in public view (as opposed to keeping it private like others seem to have managed to do).

What are your reflections on televangelism, both in the classic PTL era and today? To be frank, I have no idea what it even looks like today. I only have my memories of 700 Club, PTL Club, and our Canadian counterparts from that time period.
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My dad used to watch PTL. He never sent them a dime, but he got a real kick out of watching Jim and cryin' eyes Tammy Faye. To him, it was reality TV before reality TV was even a thing
 
Jaebius said:
My dad used to watch PTL. He never sent them a dime, but he got a real kick out of watching Jim and cryin' eyes Tammy Faye. To him, it was reality TV before reality TV was even a thing
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That's how I tended to approach the televangelists, too, though I knew they were also an image problem for Christianity with the constant appeals for money. Bakker's downfall just confirmed my worst suspicions. Definitely soured me on a certain brand of Christianity. But, yeah, there was definitely a reality TV feel to it in retrospect, wasn't there. Had not thought of it that way before.
 
chansen said:
Just another Christian scam artist.
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What we need is more people that don't think ... so we can push foreword blindly!

Just had a meeting with local supervisory minister for our dying church ... and what has been related is hard to believe regarding some church affairs and relations!

Remember when attending church put your brains at meat hooks in the lobby for the lobbyist ... I don't think this is what the subtle god was referring to. Thus the thing goes down ... all satire ... sat Eire???


Hypo Theosis ... Ur at the bottom ... base metaphor?
 
I kind of remember the pretribulational rapturist televangilists who saw Y2K as as sign of the imminent return of Jesus to earth.

Can't for the life of me remember any of their names right now.
 
WhyCzar said:
I kind of remember the pretribulational rapturist televangilists who saw Y2K as as sign of the imminent return of Jesus to earth.

Can't for the life of me remember any of their names right now.
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Forget if Pat Robertson was one of those or not. He was still alive at the millennium, I know. He just died a couple years ago. Oddly, that's not entirely unexpected. There was a bunch of that around 1000CE, too, though obviously without television the spread and extent was much more limited.
 
Mendalla said:
Forget if Pat Robertson was one of those or not. He was still alive at the millennium, I know. He just died a couple years ago. Oddly, that's not entirely unexpected. There was a bunch of that around 1000CE, too, though obviously without television the spread and extent was much more limited.
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Imagine if what they believed was purely abstract! That is to say dark and mysterious and few probed that ... no question!

Then I'm out ... not really here ... just a figment in your what?
 
Mendalla said:
To be frank, I have no idea what it even looks like today.
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As far as I can tell the televangelism "empires" of today are still business operations wrapped in scripture and stage lights.

Same pattern - the church keeps expanding.

Look at the outreach for this one Led by Pastor Joby Martin and founded in Jacksonville, Florida:

- Join The Church of Eleven22 for our live worship experience.

- Gather with us online, engage in powerful worship, and hear the Word of God preached clearly and boldly.

- Subscribe to The Church of Eleven22 YouTube channel to stay up to date with the latest messages and content.

- To support this ministry and help us continue to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ here: https://coe22.com/donate

Stay Connected:
Website:https://coe22.com
Watch Live / Church Online: https://coe22.online.church
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheChurchofEleven22
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChurchOfEleven22

Pastor Joby Martin:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jobypmartin
 
BTW, the Canadian counterpart I couldn't remember in the original post was 100 Huntley Street. They were in some ways a bit more mainstream and less histrionic than the US televangelists but were still very much in the televangelist mode of "send us money to keep our important work on the air."

I have no idea why I could not remember the name. Their headquarters was in a prominent spot in Burlington, Ontario that I drove by many times when I live in that area.

And we had a huge dustup in Kitchener when a church called a minister with connections to Huntley who proceeded to neglect the congregants who voted to call him in favour of building a new evangelical ministry of his own using their facilities (at least, that's the version I heard locally). I knew a girl in high school whose family went to that church during that time period.
 
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"MAGA Gemini" (@Jaebius) enlightened me on why televangelists don't flourish in Canada.

Canadian Reality: Due to a smaller population and strict CRTC rules on Canadian content (CanCon), Canadian operators often relied on hybrid models—airing secular family programming during daytime hours to generate ad revenue, followed by religious broadcasts during off-peak hours. Many Canadian evangelists seeking a massive global audience ultimately migrated their headquarters to the U.S. to tap into American production budgets and satellite distribution.
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Benny Hinn was one of those Canadians.
 
Okay, so the first thing I noticed there is that David Mainse died recently, too, at 81. The kinder, gentler TV evangelist. RIP.

Huntley and Crossroads (the production company) were at 40 when that article was reprinted in 2017 (from the Observer in 1977) so would be pushing 50 years now. Good history.

I forgot that Crossroads was also behind Circle Square, the children's show. I think I did watch it at times as a kid.

WhyCzar said:
"MAGA Gemini" (@Jaebius) enlightened me on why televangelists don't flourish in Canada.
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That keeps them from starting networks like CBN so they just buy time on (in Crossroads' case) Global or other Canadian networks. Still works to get the message across.

WhyCzar said:
Benny Hinn was one of those Canadians.
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Oh man, that's right. Forgot he had spent some of his life here (he was born in Israel but the family migrated to Canada in 1968).
 
Mendalla said:
His legacy is showing televangelism's dark, grimy, occasionally smutty side in public view (as opposed to keeping it private like others seem to have managed to do).
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Franklin Graham had this to say about his legacy today:

I was saddened to hear today that Jim Bakker had passed away. Jim was responsible for giving Samaritan’s Purse our first major television exposure, and I will be forever grateful for his support and help. Jim enjoyed helping other people. He showcased many ministries on his program and introduced numerous preachers of the Gospel to a much broader audience. The last time I saw him was a few days before my father’s funeral in Charlotte, NC. He came by my office to see me and give his personal condolences. I asked him if he would be at the funeral, and he said, “Am I invited?” I told him that he was absolutely invited and that my father would be disappointed if he wasn’t there. Jim was a friend, and he will be missed. My prayers are with his family. - Franklin Graham
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WhyCzar said:
As far as I can tell the televangelism "empires" of today are still business operations wrapped in scripture and stage lights.

Same pattern - the church keeps expanding.

Look at the outreach for this one Led by Pastor Joby Martin and founded in Jacksonville, Florida:

- Join The Church of Eleven22 for our live worship experience.

- Gather with us online, engage in powerful worship, and hear the Word of God preached clearly and boldly.

- Subscribe to The Church of Eleven22 YouTube channel to stay up to date with the latest messages and content.

- To support this ministry and help us continue to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ here: https://coe22.com/donate

Stay Connected:
Website:https://coe22.com
Watch Live / Church Online: https://coe22.online.church
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheChurchofEleven22
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChurchOfEleven22

Pastor Joby Martin:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jobypmartin
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Is this pious drama that cannot be replicated?
 
chansen said:
Birds of a feather...

This is the "expressions" thread, right?
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Then there is the expression: "unbelievable" right ... and thus the out there faction ...

I see certain spirits as drifting in the Eire as God is said to be like the wind ... and then that movie ... Gone! ... with the wind!

The great unknown took it ...

So many unknown words whirling about to study ... spin?

Can't see it for the vertigo ...
 
WhyCzar said:
"MAGA Gemini" (@Jaebius) enlightened me on why televangelists don't flourish in Canada.



Benny Hinn was one of those Canadians.
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Yes, I've long thought/knew the CRTC rules successfully stopped someone like Baller rising up in Canada. Afaik, there's never been anyone like him here in Korea either, BUT I could easily be wrong about that.

For a short time in my young adulthood, I considered becoming a Bakker myself. The opportunity was there, and the money would've been sweet. All I'd have to do was compromise my beliefs
 
Jaebius said:
Yes, I've long thought/knew the CRTC rules successfully stopped someone like Baller rising up in Canada. Afaik, there's never been anyone like him here in Korea either, BUT I could easily be wrong about that.

For a short time in my young adulthood, I considered becoming a Bakker myself. The opportunity was there, and the money would've been sweet. All I'd have to do was compromise my beliefs
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Flat bred or raised from a secondary system ... like common sense with the working folk? There's a drama about that also ... Ordinary People?

Translation ...
 
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