How the Mighty TV Evangelists Are Fallen!

I couldn’t let the morning pass without a reference to a little article in the LA Times. Someone has been clearly throwing ‘stones’ by the bucketful at The Crystal Cathedral, that glass monolith to the fervor of the Christian right and its now retired ‘pastor’ Dr. Robert H. Schuller. With a grandfatherly smile that stretched from ear to ear, he’s the reverend, you’ll recall, who faced criminal charges when he was alleged to have assaulted a United Airlines flight attendant.

He was, he said at the time, angered because he could not hang his ministerial robes behind his first class seat (he seemed concerned more about wrinkles and less about violation of Federal Aviation Safety Regulations); because he declared his specially ordered low-fat meal was "inedible;" and because the airline dared to serve a plate of grapes that also had cheese on it! Poor Reverend Schuller! Such a prima donna mentality did not quite match the supposed piety of the father figure many saw on their televisions every Sunday, beaming down at them during the grandly titled “Hour of Power” from that glass testament to extravagance and indulgence (oops, my mistake - that should read "to piety and sanctity").

Well, it now appears that monument is in deep s—t, having filed for bankruptcy protection last fall, citing more than US$50 million in debt. Oh dear me! Another from the Jim and Tammy Baker school of “the Lord wants us to be rich” bites the dust!

The article appears today because a bankruptcy filing this week showed the church is actively seeking buyers for the edifice, including offers from – praise be! – the Roman Catholic Church! This at least might prevent large chunks of the 40-acre site being turned into apartment buildings. Ah, the ways of the Lord are mysterious indeed!

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/07/crystal-cathedral-bankruptcy-hearing.html

For all his worldwide fame and adoration, Schuller was not liked by all, I’m delighted to report. One site goes so far as to say this –

in view of this very dangerous time, when evil is making deeper and deeper inroads into the so called church, Robert Schuller has, by promoting New Agers and their doctrines, done his part to lead the church further and further away from Biblical doctrine down some very dark paths.

And that is an extremely mild criticism. More more (oh, so wicked!) information on Schuller at –

http://www.inplainsite.org/html/robert_schuller.html

- and on the lifestyles and incomes of a host of other televangelists at -

http://www.inplainsite.org/html/tele-evangelist_lifestyles.html