Oral Roberts

Well, God done gone and called him home.

Like Rats Off a Sinking Ship

More news from the smoking crater that used to be Oral Roberts University:

Benny Hinn and I.V. Hilliard resigned as regents, where they were involved in making major school decisions, university spokesman Jeremy Burton said Thursday. Burton declined to say why the two resigned, but said both wrote the board to express their support for the school's mission.

The resignations come a month after the resignations from the board of regents of two other televangelists, Jesse Duplantis and Creflo Dollar.

Hinn and Dollar are among six televangelists being investigated by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley to determine if the high-profile preachers violated their organizations' tax-exempt status by living lavishly on the backs of small donors. They have denied wrongdoing.

Ha! Do they think we're all as stupid as the people who send them money?

The Hinn ministry also spends a great deal on pastor Benny's lifestyle when he's on the road. These records show hotel suites for well over a thousand dollars a night and transatlantic flights on the Concorde — at more than $8,000 round trip. That is, before pastor Benny began flying in a multi-million-dollar private jet.

But Benny Hinn's followers may not know about how all of their donations are spent. For example there's Hinn's palatial new home, now being built for $3.5 million in an exclusive gated community overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The plans call for more than 6,000 square feet — 7 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms and a basement garage with enough space for ten cars. Who's paying for that? Not pastor Benny. That mansion on the Pacific is considered the Hinn ministry's church residence or "parsonage," and the ministry is picking up all the expenses for land, construction, even property taxes.

(confession via postsecret.com)

Religion Takes a Spin

For some reason, religion is very much in the news lately. Go figure.

Mike Huckabee thinks God wants him to be president. Or maybe he thinks he's Jesus, or something.

It seems that Huckabee, who is running as a Christian conservative, who makes constant references to his beliefs and his background as Baptist minister, and who once interrupted a speech to take a phone call from God, is upset that reporters ask him about his religion.

And with that, Huckabee went on to speak more about his religion. . . .

But Huckabee is not alone in wanting people to respect this religion, while failing to practice tolerance when it comes to the beliefs of others. Mitt Romney, in his effort to convince Christians that he loves Jesus, kinda trampled all over non-Christians in the process. And, of course, they're quick to point out the multitude of errors in Romney's claims.

If Romney is going to attack humanists and secularists as "wrong," then let him explain why they were so far ahead of his church on the greatest moral issues of the past half-century.

You'd think a guy who wants to be president would be a little more knowledgeable about history (oh, and let's not forget that pesky Constitution problem).

And if you haven't had your fill of religious antics on this fine morning, here are a few more links that should sate you: God talks about Richard Roberts, will the Germans ban scientology? And finally, here's your annual reminder that Christmas is not just a Christian holiday (don't click on these last two links if you're uncomfortable with the f-bomb) -- nor is it celebrated only in the United States. Sheesh!

Richard Roberts Resigns

This news is actually a bit old at this point, but the busy holiday weekend has left some disorder in its wake. Anyway, it turns out that Oral's son, who grew up amongst the corrupt leaders at the top of America's Religious Right and apparently looked at that landscape that thought that he, too, could live lushly off the contributions of all the poor, sincere rubes who think they can get into heaven by sending their money to greedy men in designer suits.

The father once actually threatened his flock with the promise that God would call him home if they didn't send him money. And it worked out well for Oral (he raised over $9 million with just that one ultimatum) -- he wasn't "called home" and for many years lived at an exclusive St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida (under an assumed name), and communted between Boca and Tulsa in a private jet.

But things didn't go so well for the son, and he's finally resigned from his post as Oral Roberts "University" president (see below as to why I put that in quotes).

"I'm sure there is corruption everywhere," said freshman Ben Conners, one of several people interviewed before the resignation. "But if you're holding students to such a high standard, making them sign an honor code and live by these strict principles, I expect the administration to be living an even stricter set of principles. To see something like this, it feels empty, like an elaborate masquerade party."

Interestingly, Rev. Carlton Pearson, a former member of the ORU board of regents made a candid admission when talking about the current situation at ORU:

People are asking questions and questioning answers, and we're not used to it.

I hope they learn to like it, and that the practice spreads to other members of the Religious Right! Asking questions and questioning answers is a healthy endeavor and can lead to good things like well-informed decisions and educated opinions.

Dobson Hearts Huckabee

It will be of little surprise to my regular readers that I consider Mike Huckabee's endorsement from James Dobson, a deranged and hateful man who encourages parents to beat their own children, to be just as humiliating as Rudy Giulaini's thumbs up from the unhinged Pat Robertson. The good news, though, is that the religious right is splitting themselves into irrelevancy.

ps: Mr. Dobson, how about you lay off my family for a while and focus on the Oral Roberts tribe? And if that doesn't keep you busy, cast your gaze over to Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn and their respective kin. And then, if you ever manage to get that whole religious right(eous) glass house in order, then you can resume all your whining and sputtering about all us regular folks...

UPDATE: will he? or won't he?

Yikes! ORU Scandal Goes Mainstream

The scandal at Oral Roberts "University" has moved from the blogosphere to the mainstream press, and a lot more details have come to light, such as...

Dead bolt locks were installed on all bedroom doors at the insistence of the Roberts' oldest daughter. This was precipitated by Mrs. Roberts repeatedly moving into the home her 16 year old male "friend," which made her daughters uncomfortable.

This is going to be a huge mess.

Oral Roberts "University"

Well, as it turns out, yet another fundamentalist organization (Oral Roberts University) has been exposed as a cynical front for good, old-fashioned profiteering and (underage?) sexploits. Maybe Oral Roberts can lay a healing hand on the crooks who run the place? Oops! The chief crook is his own son (and daughter-in-law) -- is that what people are talking about when they refer to conservative family values?

UPDATE: more here.