Oral Roberts was the first televangelist and one of the most recognizable leaders for religious fundamentalism in the United States. The worldwide audience for his TV show was in the hundreds of millions. His followers claimed he was more famous than the Pope.
As a faith healer, Roberts banned from his church those whom he couldn’t cure, citing lack of faith.
At one point Roberts demanded $8 million to continue his ministry, saying he was going to hang out in his holy tower, a huge cross he had constructed, until he got the money or God was going to bring him home. At the last moment he got paid.
Oral Roberts was the Elvis of television evangelists, turning his religion into a million dollar business for politics and profit.
Randy feels a strong bond with his deceased uncle because they share much of the same experiences- growing up in a evangelical family, getting married and having children at a young age and then coming out as gay later in life.
Listen as Randy takes us inside one of America’s most famous religious families.
What drove his uncle to suicide and what inspires him to write letters in his memory.
Meeting Tammy Faye Bakker for the first time.
Why many gay men in Dallas love First Lady Laura Bush, despite her husband’s anti-gay politics.
And did Oral Roberts ever hear the famous joke about the “two gay guys named Bob?”
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[Originally posted on 08.01.11]
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Comments
Oral Roberts is such a charming guy and I really appreciate his perspective coming from a religious family
I think his name is Randy Roberts Potts, and yes, he’s just as charming and sexy in person.
yeah I found him really attractive and charming b.c. there is something kinda old-fashion about him. My bf material
Let’s go kneel at his church! I hear the communion wafers are very salty! LOL
After I had listened to this interesting show again I read an article about the Dutch church liquidator Marc de Beyer. In the Netherlands each week, around two churches close their doors forever. This mainly affects the Catholics, who will be forced to offload half of their churches in the coming years…The trend has swept across all of Western Europe, with churches forced to close in France and Belgium too. But in the Netherlands, Christianity’s retreat from society has been particularly drastic. The Protestant Church alone loses some 60,000 members each year. At this rate, it will cease to exist there by 2050, church officials say.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,805075,00.html