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[C_A]

Rev. Graham has put the lifts in many, many shoes, but I HAVE to admit...Osteen frequents my nightmares....

[Khara]

Jimmy Swaggart ruined any chance of the christian god finding a place in my heart.  My mother watched him every single Sunday.  Made me watch for years until I was old enough to just never be home.

My parents were pentacostal.  That is some scary shit.  Speakig in tongues, casting out demons, healings.........

[C_A]

Jimmy Swaggart ruined any chance of the christian god finding a place in my heart.  My mother watched him every single Sunday.  Made me watch for years until I was old enough to just never be home.

My parents were pentacostal.  That is some scary shit.  Speakig in tongues, casting out demons, healings.........

My aunt used to watch Robert Schuller.  He was in my nightmares all by himself till Osteen came along.  My mom was a fan of Norman Vincent Peale and +Fulton J. Sheen.  My uncle was into Reverend Ike and Father Divine, (well...till the good father went to prison).

They're all a bit...unusual...

[Khara]

My aunt used to watch Robert Schuller.  He was in my nightmares all by himself till Osteen came along.  My mom was a fan of Norman Vincent Peale and +Fulton J. Sheen.  My uncle was into Reverend Ike and Father Divine, (well...till the good father went to prison).

They're all a bit...unusual...

Robert Schuller?  Crystal Cathedral?  They're bankrupt now you know. 

I remember Peale, he wrote "The Power of Positive Thinking." 

I don't know who those other two are.

[C_A]

Robert Schuller?  Crystal Cathedral?  They're bankrupt now you know. 

I remember Peale, he wrote "The Power of Positive Thinking." 

I don't know who those other two are.

I know!
Yes, he did.  It's really not a bad little work!
You're better off that way...

[dark magus]

Swaggart, now that was a piece of work. And let us not forget Jim & Tammy Faye Bakker.

[C_A]

On the matter ITT, I see it the same with many of the "auteurs" in the community.  Face it...if they weren't making money, they wouldn't be writing with pink ink on cotton balls.  They would have "real" jobs.  Or maybe they wouldn't.  Not my concern.  Especially considering that an awful lot of them are basically the same book, written with ever-so-slight differences.  Over and over again.  And of course, for a hefty honorarium, you can get them to address your gathering of their admirers.

Wish I could hang issues like that on "just" the Pentecostals.  Or the Shi'ite.  Or the Chassidim.  But I can't.  S.E.'s point is well taken.

[Khara]

Swaggart, now that was a piece of work. And let us not forget Jim & Tammy Faye Bakker.

You know, I was all for the Bakker witch hunt until I did a paper on it in college. Hell I lived in the middle of the scandal when it happened.  Did you know Tammy Faye ended up married to the Messner guy who supposedly "turned his heart around with god" and testified against Jim Bakker?  That most of the evidence in his trial was Messner's testimony?

Then Jim goes to jail and Tammy Faye is still living high on the hog, divorcing Jim while he was in jail (now ain;t that christian?) now married to Messner who, while admitedly participated in the fraud, didn't lose a penny of his personal fortune.

When Jim came out of jail he started a small ministry, didn't attempt to gain any personal fortune or start another worldwide ministry, he is in Branson, MO these days and back on TV.  He just preached.  His children chose to live with him, then move on to start their own ministries.  In fact the son holds church in a bar in Brooklyn.

For me, that said a hell of a lot about his character.  I mean who could begrudge him sleeping with that Hahn woman?  My god who would want to slide on or off Tammy Faye with all that greasepaint.  As for the fraud, you know, to this day believe he was unaware of what was really going on until his ass was on the line for it.

Eh, my parents took me to PTL at least once a month.  I grew up with Tammy Sue and Jamie.  My parents church and my parents were all gold contributors to the PTL lie.

[dark magus]

There is alway going to be two sides to every story (sometimes more) and it does seem to bear out, the closer you live to that event the more the truth is known.

[Khara]

There is alway going to be two sides to every story (sometimes more) and it does seem to bear out, the closer you live to that event the more the truth is known.

This is very true. 

[Serpentium]

Swaggart even made the news over here at the time, that's how huge the scandal was. And bearing in mind what our own Clergy get up to without Media comment, that's some trick. Then it all went quiet about him, until his epic "Jesus has forgiven me" sermon. What an operator! He's slipperier than 6 Eels in a bucket of snot. (A term I got from this forum somewhere)

The first Church scene here (Unless I'm very much mistaken) is a rally by the "First Universal Temple of Mammon". I think C_A's comment about something in the woodpile money changers in the Temple particularly apt too. You don't need to poke a turd to know that it smells of shit, and Swaggart stank. Even from here.

[Khara]

Want to know the very best thing about Jimmy Swaggart?

He was Jerry Lee Lewis's cousin. 

Want to know the second best thing about Jimmy Swaggart?

He was Mickey Gilley's cousin as well.......  Now Mickey owned the Bar/Saloon Gilley's which was the inspiration for Urban Cowboy.

There, no one can ever say I didn't have something nice to say about Jimmy Swaggart!!!

[oldghost]

Wrong PH it would be in a clearing or a circle of stone outdoors. An no suits.

[C_A]

On the topic, for me again...

Neither.  While I have been known to "say my peace", (at the expense of the "peace" of others), I don't consider it funny.  But neither do I consider it infuriating.  I right the wrongs I can and leave the rest to others.

Are there things that do infuriate me?  Monsanto winning lawsuits in Canada.  But that's a subject for another thread...

[Pterodactyl Handler]

Wrong PH it would be in a clearing or a circle of stone outdoors. An no suits.

nah, if you had millions of people, you'd have to kick it up a notch. Some of those megachurches have 40K people in attendance each weekend. If you had that many pagans trying to assemble in the same place, you'd need seating, speakers, a roof... and there would be books, cards, and ritual tools for sale. EVEN YOU can have a spiritual awakening for the low low price of $99.99. ACT NOW!

When True Believers meets the Charismatic Leader, they'll will whip out their checkbooks faster than you can say Blessed Be. Wiccans aren't any different than Christians in that regard.

Are there things that do infuriate me?  Monsanto winning lawsuits in Canada.  But that's a subject for another thread...

you'll dig this, if you hadn't heard it yet: http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampentland/2011/08/12/india-sues-monsanto-over-genetically-modified-eggplant/