by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Jim Bakker, a notorious American huckster who for decades has used religion to separate hard-working Americans from their money, appears to still be using God to line his pockets - and to protect him from prosecution - as he peddles survivalist foodstuffs and quack medicines to a gullible public.
An Associated Press article which ran in my community newspaper yesterday, summarized Bakker's most recent legal battle with the state of Arkansas. Jim Bakker, who was convicted of fraud in the 1980's and ultimately served almost five years in prison - and has recently been sued by the state of Missouri for fraud - is under investigation by the Attorney General of Arkansas for alleged financial harm, and even possible physical harm, to residents of that state.
Arkansas is concerned over a product that Bakker's current religious television show was peddling to "cure" coronavirus. That activity by the televangelist was also the basis for the lawsuit by the state of Missouri. As a part of the investigation into Bakker's questionable sales operation, the state of Arkansas is seeking personal information on the members of Bakker's congregation. The television preacher and his high-priced lawyers - one of whom is a former governor of Missouri - immediately raised a "separation of church and state" objection to bar Arkansas from gaining that information.
Jim Bakker has a long history of invoking God when when it suits his larcenous purposes.
I first became familiar with Bakker and his wife at the time, Tammy Faye, back in the 1970's when they were running the PTL (Praise the Lord) Club on television, a morning religious talk and entertainment show that was often playing in or around the military office where I worked. At that time the Bakker's were using the show to raise money for a Christian theme park. That endeavor finally culminated in the opening of Heritage USA in South Carolina which, at one time, was the third most visited entertainment park in the United States,
Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker were known for living well and enjoying an opulent lifestyle. Tammy Faye once famously replied to a comment about her expensive jewelry by saying "God would not want me to wear junk." And they were master fundraisers. At one point the PTL Club was bringing in over a million dollars in donations per day.
The Bakker's maintained their financial empire for more than a decade, but things began to unravel in the 1980's after it was revealed that Jim had been having some type of romantic affair with a young church secretary. That young woman, who later claimed that Jim and another male employee of the PTL Club had drugged and raped her in a hotel room, revealed that she had been given nearly $300,000 by Bakker to maintain her silence on the matter. That allegation soon led to an official fraud investigation and the ultimate collapse of the organization.
As things were unravelling, Bakker, who feared that Jimmy Swaggart was plotting to usurp his following, turned management of PTL and its enterprises over to Jerry Falwell - thinking that Falwell would let him back on the gravy train once all of the fuss had died down. Instead, Jerry Falwell wound up banning Jim Bakker from rejoining that tainted ministry. Eventually the PTL Club succumbed to bankruptcy.
During the height of controversy over control of PTL, Jerry Falwell called Jim Bakker "a liar, an embezzler, a sexual deviant . . . and the greatest scab and cancer on the face of Christianity in 2,000 years of church history." And Jimmy Swaggart told Larry King that Bakker was "a cancer in the body of Christ." (Jimmy Swaggart's condemnation of Bakker was before Swaggart himself became embroiled in a scandal involving a prostitute dancing on furniture in a sleazy motel room - and Falwell's condemnation of Bakker came long before his son and successor, Jerry Falwell, Jr, became the business partner of a pool boy.)
But Bakker was convicted on 24 counts of fraud and initially sentenced to 45 years in prison. That sentence was later reduced on appeal, and he wound up serving just short of five years before being paroled. Bakker's parole lawyer was the celebrity attorney Alan Dershowitz who reportedly assured the parole board that he would personally "guarantee that Mr. Bakker would never again engage in the blend of religion and commerce that led to his conviction."
How's that promise working out for you, Alan?
Jim Bakker left prison in 1994, and in 2003 he began broadcasting the "Jim Bakker Show" out of Branson, Missouri. He now pursues a survivalist bent and preaches about the end of times as he peddles freeze-dried food to his gullible followers. His latest commercial venture was a miraculous silver solution which he promoted as a cure for coronavirus - and that is what got him sued in Missouri and brought about the investigation by the state of Arkansas.
Jim Bakker is eighty now. It's been almost fifty years since his first big evangelical promotion, the PTL Club, went nationwide - and he's still on the grift. As long as there are people who are naive enough to believe that Donald Trump is the face of true Christianity, people like Jim Bakker will live quite well without ever actually having to hold a job or contribute anything of value to society.
It's a sweet gig, and Jim Bakker isn't about to give it up - ever!
Citizen Journalist
Jim Bakker, a notorious American huckster who for decades has used religion to separate hard-working Americans from their money, appears to still be using God to line his pockets - and to protect him from prosecution - as he peddles survivalist foodstuffs and quack medicines to a gullible public.
An Associated Press article which ran in my community newspaper yesterday, summarized Bakker's most recent legal battle with the state of Arkansas. Jim Bakker, who was convicted of fraud in the 1980's and ultimately served almost five years in prison - and has recently been sued by the state of Missouri for fraud - is under investigation by the Attorney General of Arkansas for alleged financial harm, and even possible physical harm, to residents of that state.
Arkansas is concerned over a product that Bakker's current religious television show was peddling to "cure" coronavirus. That activity by the televangelist was also the basis for the lawsuit by the state of Missouri. As a part of the investigation into Bakker's questionable sales operation, the state of Arkansas is seeking personal information on the members of Bakker's congregation. The television preacher and his high-priced lawyers - one of whom is a former governor of Missouri - immediately raised a "separation of church and state" objection to bar Arkansas from gaining that information.
Jim Bakker has a long history of invoking God when when it suits his larcenous purposes.
I first became familiar with Bakker and his wife at the time, Tammy Faye, back in the 1970's when they were running the PTL (Praise the Lord) Club on television, a morning religious talk and entertainment show that was often playing in or around the military office where I worked. At that time the Bakker's were using the show to raise money for a Christian theme park. That endeavor finally culminated in the opening of Heritage USA in South Carolina which, at one time, was the third most visited entertainment park in the United States,
Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker were known for living well and enjoying an opulent lifestyle. Tammy Faye once famously replied to a comment about her expensive jewelry by saying "God would not want me to wear junk." And they were master fundraisers. At one point the PTL Club was bringing in over a million dollars in donations per day.
The Bakker's maintained their financial empire for more than a decade, but things began to unravel in the 1980's after it was revealed that Jim had been having some type of romantic affair with a young church secretary. That young woman, who later claimed that Jim and another male employee of the PTL Club had drugged and raped her in a hotel room, revealed that she had been given nearly $300,000 by Bakker to maintain her silence on the matter. That allegation soon led to an official fraud investigation and the ultimate collapse of the organization.
As things were unravelling, Bakker, who feared that Jimmy Swaggart was plotting to usurp his following, turned management of PTL and its enterprises over to Jerry Falwell - thinking that Falwell would let him back on the gravy train once all of the fuss had died down. Instead, Jerry Falwell wound up banning Jim Bakker from rejoining that tainted ministry. Eventually the PTL Club succumbed to bankruptcy.
During the height of controversy over control of PTL, Jerry Falwell called Jim Bakker "a liar, an embezzler, a sexual deviant . . . and the greatest scab and cancer on the face of Christianity in 2,000 years of church history." And Jimmy Swaggart told Larry King that Bakker was "a cancer in the body of Christ." (Jimmy Swaggart's condemnation of Bakker was before Swaggart himself became embroiled in a scandal involving a prostitute dancing on furniture in a sleazy motel room - and Falwell's condemnation of Bakker came long before his son and successor, Jerry Falwell, Jr, became the business partner of a pool boy.)
But Bakker was convicted on 24 counts of fraud and initially sentenced to 45 years in prison. That sentence was later reduced on appeal, and he wound up serving just short of five years before being paroled. Bakker's parole lawyer was the celebrity attorney Alan Dershowitz who reportedly assured the parole board that he would personally "guarantee that Mr. Bakker would never again engage in the blend of religion and commerce that led to his conviction."
How's that promise working out for you, Alan?
Jim Bakker left prison in 1994, and in 2003 he began broadcasting the "Jim Bakker Show" out of Branson, Missouri. He now pursues a survivalist bent and preaches about the end of times as he peddles freeze-dried food to his gullible followers. His latest commercial venture was a miraculous silver solution which he promoted as a cure for coronavirus - and that is what got him sued in Missouri and brought about the investigation by the state of Arkansas.
Jim Bakker is eighty now. It's been almost fifty years since his first big evangelical promotion, the PTL Club, went nationwide - and he's still on the grift. As long as there are people who are naive enough to believe that Donald Trump is the face of true Christianity, people like Jim Bakker will live quite well without ever actually having to hold a job or contribute anything of value to society.
It's a sweet gig, and Jim Bakker isn't about to give it up - ever!
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