Jim Bakker Explained

Jim Bakker
Birth Name:James Orsen Bakker
Birth Date:2 January 1940
Birth Place:Muskegon, Michigan, U.S.
Church:Assemblies of God (1960–1988)
Charismatic (2003–present)
Congregations:The PTL Club
Heritage USA
Heritage Village Church
Morningside Church
Spouse:
    Children:7, including Jay Bakker

    James Orsen Bakker (;[1] born January 2, 1940) is an American televangelist and convicted felon. Between 1974 and 1987, Bakker hosted the television program The PTL Club and its cable television platform, the PTL Satellite Network, with his then wife, Tammy Faye. He also developed Heritage USA, a now-defunct Christian theme park in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

    In the late 1980s, Bakker resigned from the PTL ministry over a cover-up of hush money to church secretary Jessica Hahn for an alleged rape. Subsequent revelations of accounting fraud brought about felony charges, conviction, imprisonment, and divorce. Bakker later remarried and returned to televangelism, founding Morningside Church in Blue Eye, Missouri, and reestablishing the PTL ministry. He currently hosts The Jim Bakker Show, which focuses on the end times and the Second Coming of Christ while promoting emergency survival products. Bakker has written several books, including I Was Wrong and Time Has Come: How to Prepare Now for Epic Events Ahead.

    Personal life

    James Orsen Bakker was born in Muskegon, Michigan, the son of Raleigh Bakker and Furnia Lynette "Furn" Irwin.[2] Bakker attended North Central University, a Minneapolis Bible college affiliated with the Assemblies of God, where he met fellow student Tammy Faye LaValley in 1960.[3] Bakker worked at a restaurant in the Young-Quinlan department store in Minneapolis; Tammy Faye worked at the Three Sisters, a nearby boutique.[4]

    The Bakkers married on April 1, 1961, and left college to become itinerant evangelists. They had two children, Tammy Sue "Sissy" Bakker Chapman (born March 2, 1970) and Jamie Charles "Jay" Bakker (born December 18, 1975). The couple divorced on March 13, 1992.[5] On September 4, 1998, Bakker married Lori Beth Graham, a former televangelist, fifty days after they met.[6] In 2002, they adopted five children.[7] [8] [9]

    Career

    Early career

    In 1966, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker began working at Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) in Portsmouth, Virginia, which had an audience in the low thousands at the time.[10] The Bakkers contributed to the network's growth, hosting a children's variety show called Come On Over that employed comic routines with puppets.[11] Due to the success of Come On Over, Robertson made Bakker the host of a new prime-time talk show, The 700 Club, which gradually became CBN's flagship program.[12] The Bakkers left CBN in 1973 and, soon after, joined with Paul and Jan Crouch to help co-found the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) in California. However, this partnership lasted only eight months until a falling-out between Jim Bakker and Paul Crouch caused the Bakkers to eventually leave the new network.

    PTL

    While under TBN, the Bakkers moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where in May of 1973 they launched an east coast version of Praise The Lord under TBN's umbrella. Less than a year later the Bakkers formed their own non profit organization, registered the PTL trademark, left the umbrella of TBN and the Crouches, and continued their show on 36 WRET Charlotte, 16 WGGS Greenville, South Carolina, and a few other stations. In 1975, they nationally debuted their own late night-style talk show, known as The PTL Club.[13] Bakker founded the PTL Satellite Network in 1974, which aired The PTL Club and other religious television programs through local affiliates across the U.S.

    Throughout the 1970s, Bakker built a headquarters for PTL in the Carolinas called Heritage Village. Over time, the Bakkers expanded the ministry to include the Heritage USA theme park in Fort Mill, South Carolina, which became the third most successful theme park in the U.S. at the time. Viewer contributions were estimated to exceed $1 million a week, with proceeds to expand the theme park and The PTL Club mission.[14] Bakker responded to inquiries about his use of mass media by saying: "I believe that if Jesus were alive today, he would be on TV".[15]

    Two scandals brought down PTL in 1987: Bakker was accused of sexual misconduct by church secretary Jessica Hahn, which led to his resignation, and his illegal misuse of ministry funds eventually led to his imprisonment. Bakker was dismissed as an Assemblies of God minister on May 6, 1987.[16] In 1990, the biographic television movie Fall from Grace, starring Kevin Spacey as Bakker, depicted his rise and fall.[17] On January 18, 2019, ABC's 20/20 aired a two-hour special, entitled Unfaithfully Yours, about the PTL scandal.[18]

    Early investigations

    In 1979, Bakker and PTL came under investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for allegedly misusing funds raised on the air. The FCC report was finalized in 1982 and found that Bakker had raised $350,000 that he told viewers would go towards funding overseas missions but that was actually used to pay for part of Heritage USA. The report also found that the Bakkers used PTL funds for personal expenses.[19] FCC commissioners voted four to three to drop the investigation, after which they allowed Bakker to sell the only TV station that he owned, therefore bypassing future FCC oversight.[20] The FCC forwarded its report to the U.S. Department of Justice, which declined to press charges, citing insufficient evidence.[19] Bakker used the controversy to raise more funds from his audience, branding the investigation a "witch-hunt" and asking viewers to "give the Devil a black eye".[20]

    A confidential 1985 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) report found that $1.3 million in ministry funds was used for the Bakkers' personal benefit from 1980 to 1983. The report recommended that PTL be stripped of its tax-exempt status, but no action was taken until after the Jessica Hahn scandal broke in 1987. Art Harris and Michael Isikoff wrote in The Washington Post that politics may have played a role in the three government agencies taking no action against PTL despite the evidence against them, as members of the Reagan administration were not eager to go after television ministers whose evangelical followers made up their base.[21]

    Sexual misconduct and resignation

    A $279,000 payoff for the silence of Jessica Hahn, who alleged that Bakker and former PTL Club co-host John Wesley Fletcher drugged and raped her, was paid with PTL funds through Bakker's associate Roe Messner.[22] Bakker, who made PTL's financial decisions, allegedly kept two sets of books to conceal accounting irregularities. Reporters for The Charlotte Observer, led by Charles Shepard, investigated PTL's finances and published a series of articles.[23]

    On March 19, 1987, after the disclosure of a payoff to Hahn, Bakker resigned from PTL.[24] Although he acknowledged that he had a sexual encounter with Hahn at a hotel room in Clearwater, Florida, he denied raping her. Bakker was also the subject of homosexual and bisexual allegations made by Fletcher and PTL director Jay Babcock, which Bakker denied under oath.[25] [26] Rival televangelist John Ankerberg appeared on Larry King Live and made several allegations of moral impropriety against Bakker, which both Bakkers denied.[27]

    Bakker was succeeded as PTL head by the Rev. Jerry Falwell of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia.[28] Bakker chose Falwell as his successor because he feared that fellow televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, who had initiated an Assemblies of God investigation into Bakker's sexual misconduct, was attempting to take over his ministry.[29]

    Bakker believed that Falwell would temporarily lead the ministry until the scandal died down, but on April 28, 1987, Falwell barred Bakker from returning to PTL upon hearing of allegations of illicit behavior which went beyond the Hahn allegations.[30] Later that summer, as donations declined sharply in the wake of Bakker's resignation and the end of The PTL Club, Falwell raised $20 million to keep Heritage USA solvent and took a promised water slide ride at the park.[31] Falwell and the remaining members of the PTL board resigned in October 1987, stating that a ruling from a bankruptcy court judge made rebuilding the ministry impossible.[32]

    In response to the scandal, Falwell called 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".[33] On CNN, Swaggart stated that Bakker was a "cancer in the body of Christ".[34] In February 1988, Swaggart became involved in a sex scandal of his own after being caught visiting prostitutes in New Orleans.[35] The Bakker and Swaggart scandals had a profound effect on the world of televangelism, causing greater media scrutiny of TV ministers and their finances.[36] Falwell said that the scandals had "strengthened broadcast evangelism and made Christianity stronger, more mature and more committed."[37] [38]

    Fraud conviction and imprisonment

    The PTL Clubs fundraising activities between 1984 and 1987 were reported by The Charlotte Observer, eventually leading to criminal charges against Bakker.[39] Bakker and his PTL associates sold $1,000 "lifetime memberships", entitling buyers to an annual three-night stay at a luxury hotel at Heritage USA during that period.[40] According to the prosecution at Bakker's fraud trial, tens of thousands of memberships were sold but only one 500-room hotel was ever finished.[41] Bakker sold "exclusive partnerships" which exceeded capacity, raising more than twice the money needed to build the hotel. Much of the money paid Heritage USA's operating expenses, and Bakker kept $3.4 million.[42]

    After a 16-month federal grand jury probe, Bakker was indicted in 1988 on eight counts of mail fraud, 15 counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy. In 1989, after a five-week trial which began on August 28 in Charlotte, North Carolina, a jury found him guilty on all 24 counts. Judge Robert Daniel Potter sentenced Bakker to 45 years in federal prison and imposed a $500,000 fine.[43] [44] [45] At the Federal Medical Center, Rochester in Rochester, Minnesota, he shared a cell with activist Lyndon LaRouche and skydiver Roger Nelson.[46]

    The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld Bakker's conviction on the fraud and conspiracy charges, voided Bakker's 45-year sentence and $500,000 fine and ordered a new sentencing hearing in February 1991.[47] The court ruled that Potter's sentencing statement about Bakker, that "those of us who do have a religion are sick of being saps for money-grubbing preachers and priests",[48] was evidence that the judge had injected his religious beliefs into Bakker's sentence.[47]

    A sentence-reduction hearing was held on November 16, 1992, and Bakker's sentence was reduced to eight years. In August 1993, he was transferred to a minimum-security federal prison in Jesup, Georgia. Bakker was paroled in July 1994, after serving almost five years of his sentence.[49] His son, Jay, spearheaded a letter-writing campaign to the parole board advocating leniency.[50] Celebrity lawyer Alan Dershowitz acted as Bakker's parole attorney, having said that he "would guarantee that Mr. Bakker would never again engage in the blend of religion and commerce that led to his conviction."[51] Bakker was released from Federal Bureau of Prisons custody on December 1, 1994,[52] owing $6 million to the IRS.[53]

    Return to televangelism

    In 2003, Bakker began broadcasting The Jim Bakker Show daily at Studio City Café in Branson, Missouri, with his second wife Lori;[54] it has been carried on CTN, Daystar, Folk TV, Grace Network (Canada), Daystar Television Canada, GEB America, Hope TV (Canada), Impact Network, WGN, WHT, TCT Network, The Word Network, UpliftTV, and ZLiving networks.[55] [56] [57] Most of Bakker's audience receives his program on DirecTV and Dish Network.[58]

    Bakker condemned the prosperity theology in which he took part earlier in his career, and has embraced apocalypticism.[59] His show has a millennial, survivalist focus and sells buckets of freeze-dried food, such as beans on toast,[60] to his audience in preparation for the end of days.[61] Elspeth Reeve wrote in The Atlantic that Bakker's "doomsday survival gear" is overpriced.[62] A man named Jerry Crawford, who credits Bakker with saving his marriage, invested $25 million in a new ministry for Bakker in Blue Eye, Missouri, named Morningside USA. Production for The Jim Bakker Show moved to Morningside in 2008.[59]

    Prophecies and statements

    In 2013, Bakker wrote Time Has Come: How to Prepare Now for Epic Events Ahead about end-time events.[63] Bakker has changed his views on prosperity theology.[64] In his 1980 book Eight Keys to Success, he stated, "God wants you to be happy, God wants you to be rich, God wants you to prosper."[65] [66] In his 1996 book, I Was Wrong, he admitted that the first time he actually read the Bible all the way through was in prison. Bakker also wrote that he realized that he had taken passages out of context and used them as prooftexts to support his prosperity theology.[67]

    Bakker's revived show features a number of ministers who bill themselves as "prophets". He now says that "PTL" stands for "Prophets Talking Loud".[68]

    In an October 2017 video, Bakker said that "God will punish those" who ridicule him;[69] he has said that Hurricane Harvey was a judgment of God, and he blamed Hurricane Matthew on then-President Barack Obama.[70] [71] Bakker predicted that if then-President Donald Trump was impeached, Christians would begin a Second American Civil War.[72] He compared the 2017 Washington train derailment to the sinking of the RMS Titanic and stated the Amtrak train derailment was a warning from God.[73] He also claimed that he predicted the September 11 attacks of 2001, stating that he "saw 9/11 in 1999 before New Year's Eve" and that there would "be terrorism" and bombings in New York City and Washington, D.C."[74] A few days after the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, he stated that "God came to [him] in a dream... and he was wearing camouflage, a hunting vest and had an AR-15 strapped to his back" and that God supported Trump's plan to arm teachers.[75] Following the death of Billy Graham on February 21, 2018, Bakker attended Graham's funeral and paid his respects, stating that Graham was the greatest preacher since Jesus,[76] and also remarking that Graham had visited him in prison.[77]

    On the Stand in the Gap Today radio program, Pennsylvania Pastors Network president Sam Rohrer criticized Bakker's civil-war prediction.[78] Christian Today criticized Bakker's show for preying on "the most vulnerable kinds of people" and claimed that it had "no place on our TV screens."[79]

    COVID-19 misinformation

    See also: Misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bakker sold colloidal silver supplements that he advertised as a panacea. In March 2020, the office of the Attorney General of New York ordered Bakker to cease making false medicinal claims about his supplements' alleged ability to cure the 2019–2020 strains of coronavirus, and the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration also sent a warning letter to Bakker about his claims regarding the supplements and coronavirus.[80] [81]

    Missouri attorney general Eric Schmitt and Arkansas attorney general Leslie Rutledge filed lawsuits against Bakker for allegedly pushing the supplements as a treatment for the virus.[82] [83] In the State lawsuit against him, Bakker is represented by former Missouri governor Jay Nixon, who has argued for the suit to be dismissed. Nixon says that the allegations made in the lawsuit are false, stating: "Bakker is being unfairly targeted by those who want to crush his ministry and force his Christian television program off the air."[84]

    In April 2020, prohibited from receiving credit card transactions, Bakker disclosed to his viewers that his ministry was on the brink of filing for bankruptcy and urgently petitioned them for donations.[85]

    The following month, GEB America and World Harvest Television dropped Bakker's program from their networks after DirecTV owner AT&T asked channels to reconsider airing the show. AT&T made the request of its channels in response to a deplatforming campaign from the liberal Christian group Faithful America.[86] [87]

    On May 8, 2020, Lori Bakker announced that Jim Bakker had suffered a stroke that his son Jay described as “minor”. Lori stated that he would be taking a sabbatical from the program until he recovers. She blamed the stroke on Bakker's hard work on his show and wrote that he had described the criticism against him as “the most vicious attack that he has ever experienced”.[87] Bakker returned to his program for the first time following his stroke on July 8, 2020.[88]

    On June 23, 2021, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced the settlement of the state's lawsuit against Bakker. Bakker and Morningside Church would be prohibited from saying silver solution could "diagnose, prevent, mitigate, treat, or cure any disease or illness". Restitution of about $157,000 would also be paid to those who bought silver solution between February 12, 2020, and March 10, 2020.[89]

    Works

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. Ostling. Richard N.. Richard N. Ostling. Power, Glory – and Politics. June 24, 2001. Time magazine. November 9, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20090308110631/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101860217-143137,00.html. March 8, 2009. dead.
    2. Web site: Herald-Journal - Google News Archive Search. google.ca. September 1, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20200213143115/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=doYfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nM4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6009,3137616&dq=finding-refuge-in-a-doting-grandmother&hl=en. February 13, 2020. live.
    3. News: Welch. William M.. Ex-wife of evangelist Jim Bakker dies. USA Today. July 21, 2007. November 29, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20110523233146/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-07-21-tammy-faye_N.htm. May 23, 2011. live.
    4. News: Sturdevant. Andy. Tammy Faye Bakker's year in Minneapolis: scoping out the sites, from college to marriage and ministry. MinnPost. May 28, 2014. February 2, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170203075601/https://www.minnpost.com/stroll/2014/05/tammy-faye-bakkers-year-minneapolis-scoping-out-sites-college-marriage-and-ministry. February 3, 2017. live.
    5. Web site: Tammy Faye Bakker Gets Divorce, Custody of Son, 16. Los Angeles Times. March 14, 1992. February 18, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20181009180218/http://articles.latimes.com/1992-03-14/news/mn-3158_1_tammy-faye-bakker. October 9, 2018. live.
    6. News: Garfield . Ken . April 1, 2000 . The Preacher's Wife: Lori Beth Bakker says she is her own woman . . Fredericksburg, VA . September 1, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160429094010/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=20000401&id=YWQzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cwgGAAAAIBAJ&pg=6682,207555 . April 29, 2016 . live.
    7. News: About Pastor Jim Bakker The Jim Bakker Show. The Jim Bakker Show. October 1, 2018. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20181001220448/https://jimbakkershow.com/about-us/about-jim/. October 1, 2018. live.
    8. Web site: Jim Bakker's Son: The No. 1 Thing to Remember When Dealing With Immigrants. Lancaster. Jessilyn. Charisma News. June 2, 2017 . en. January 23, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190124041816/https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/65297-jim-bakker-s-son-the-no-1-thing-to-remember-when-dealing-with-immigrants. January 24, 2019. live.
    9. Web site: EXCLUSIVE: Jim Bakker's Son Ricky Believes This Is the Generation That Will See Christ Return. Staff. Charisma. Charisma News. January 9, 2019 . en. March 18, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190203032906/https://www.charismanews.com/culture/74716-exclusive-jim-bakker-s-son-ricky-believes-this-is-the-generation-that-will-see-christ-return. February 3, 2019. live.
    10. Web site: Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker Lived Here - in a Kit Home!. Sears Home. searshome.org. November 23, 2011. February 14, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180215024019/http://www.searshomes.org/index.php/2011/11/23/jim-and-tammy-faye-bakker-lived-here-in-a-kit-home/. February 15, 2018. live.
    11. Web site: Tammy Faye Bakker-Messner, "On her first television appearance and creating The Jim and Tammy Show . Television Academy Foundation Interviews . October 23, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190408085932/https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/jim-and-tammy-show . April 8, 2019 .
    12. News: Robertson's Bakker Connection. The Washington Post. February 6, 1988. February 22, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180311081305/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/02/06/robertsons-bakker-connection/f558f67c-c4f5-489c-b733-e768d1daacdc/. March 11, 2018. live.
    13. Web site: Tammy Faye: Faith & Flamboyance . Biography (TV) . August 7, 2000 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170210075814/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1682420/ . February 10, 2017 .
    14. News: Televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's fall from grace. Connelly. Sherryl. New York Daily News. August 5, 2017. February 12, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180213022105/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/televangelists-jim-tammy-faye-bakker-fall-grace-article-1.3387060. February 13, 2018. live.
    15. Web site: Shepherd. Steve. Submit Yourselves To God. Sermon Central. I believe that if Jesus were alive today, he would be on TV. April 17, 2012. February 13, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180213195629/https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/submit-yourselves-to-god-steve-shepherd-sermon-on-authority-166240. February 13, 2018. live.
    16. Web site: Assemblies of God defrocks Bakker. United Press International. May 6, 1987. February 12, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180213022246/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/05/06/Assemblies-of-God-defrocks-Bakker/6768547272000/. February 13, 2018. live.
    17. Web site: 'Stars of'Fall From Grace' Go Beyond Caricature in Portrayal of the Bakkers. April 23, 1990. Los Angeles Times. February 18, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305214751/http://articles.latimes.com/1990-04-23/entertainment/ca-323_1_jim-and-tammy-faye. March 5, 2016. live.
    18. Web site: See Exclusive Clip From '20/20' Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker Special. January 16, 2019. Rolling Stone. January 23, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190123223854/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/tammy-faye-jim-bakker-special-2020-clip-779879/. January 23, 2019. live.
    19. Web site: Federal report: PTL president abuses donations. United Press International. January 27, 1986. December 31, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20190101002748/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/01/27/Federal-report-PTL-president-abuses-donations/7682507186000/. January 1, 2019. live.
    20. News: PTL Fund Raising A Tangled Saga. Isikoff. Michael. Michael Isikoff. Harris. Art. The Washington Post. May 23, 1987. December 31, 2018.
    21. News: PTL's Missing Millions. Isikoff. Michael. Michael Isikoff. Harris. Art. The Washington Post. June 21, 1987. January 12, 2019.
    22. News: Larry King Live Interview with Jessica Hahn (rush transcript) . . . July 14, 2005 . July 29, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070821011040/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0507/14/lkl.01.html . August 21, 2007 . live.
    23. Richard N.. Ostling. Enterprising Evangelism. August 3, 1987. Time. January 27, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070212091610/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0%2C8816%2C965155%2C00.html. February 12, 2007. dead.
    24. Ostling . Richard N. . Richard N. Ostling . Jim Bakker's Crumbling World . December 19, 1988 . . December 5, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080220084524/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,956551,00.html . February 20, 2008 . dead .
    25. Web site: Report: Former Co-Host Fletcher Says Bakker Bisexual. December 5, 1988. AP News. January 23, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190123223106/https://www.apnews.com/1edbfbf8ad79965c9a80bcc1f98c97bf/. January 23, 2019. live.
    26. Web site: Ex PTL Employee Testifies He Had Sex With Bakker. September 22, 1988. Washington Post. January 23, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190419162329/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/09/22/ex-ptl-employee-testifies-he-had-sex-with-bakker/33c99727-bffe-43c0-ac57-c1dc9751fe51/. April 19, 2019. live.
    27. Web site: Bakker Issues Denial of Rival TV Minister's New Sex Allegations. April 26, 1987. Los Angeles Times. February 18, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20160529055750/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-04-26/news/mn-1576_1_jim-bakker. May 29, 2016. live.
    28. Ostling. Richard N.. Richard N. Ostling. Taking Command at Fort Mill. Time. May 11, 1987. November 9, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20090308110637/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964322-1,00.html. March 8, 2009. dead.
    29. Web site: Fire-and-brimstone evangelist Jimmy Swaggart admitted today he instigated a.... United Press International. March 24, 1987. January 1, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190101193824/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/03/24/Fire-and-brimstone-evangelist-Jimmy-Swaggart-admitted-today-he-instigated-a/5623543560400/. January 1, 2019. live.
    30. News: Falwell Takes Control, Bars Bakker From PTL. Harris. Art. The Washington Post. April 29, 1987. January 1, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190101145401/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/15/AR2007051501365.html?noredirect=on. January 1, 2019. live.
    31. American Notes: Fund Raising . . September 21, 1987 . November 29, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20050212141215/http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,965543,00.html . February 12, 2005 . dead .
    32. Web site: Falwell Quits, Warning PTL Ministry May End. The New York Times. October 9, 1987. January 1, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190101145239/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/09/us/falwell-quits-warning-ptl-ministry-may-end.html. January 1, 2019. live.
    33. Book: Crouse, Eric R.. The Cross and Reaganomics: Conservative Christians Defending Ronald Reagan. 2013. Lexington Books. Google Books. 9780739182222.
    34. News: Son of Jim and Tammy Faye Finds His Own 'Grace' . Jim Bakker is a cancer in the body of Christ . . . January 15, 2011 . February 12, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180213084653/https://www.npr.org/2011/01/15/132864466/jim-and-tammy-fayes-son-finds-his-own-grace . February 13, 2018 . live .
    35. Web site: Swaggart Says He Has Sinned; Will Step Down. The New York Times. King. Wayne. February 22, 1988. January 1, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190101145243/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/22/us/swaggart-says-he-has-sinned-will-step-down.html. January 1, 2019. live.
    36. Web site: Crystal Cathedral founder Robert Schuller dies at 88. The New York Times. Singh. Lisa. Banks. Adelle M.. April 2, 2015. January 1, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190412034441/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/crystal-cathedral-founder-robert-schuller-dies-at-88/2015/04/02/61b96702-d970-11e4-bf0b-f648b95a6488_story.html. April 12, 2019. live.
    37. News: Preacher Scandals Strengthen TV Evangelism, Falwell Says . . March 19, 1988 . December 5, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121103120420/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73577139.html?dids=73577139:73577139&FMT=ABS&FMTS . November 3, 2012 . dead.
    38. Web site: The Rev. Jerry Falwell, returning to Heritage USA to .... United Press International. October 9, 1987. December 2, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171203153805/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/10/09/The-Rev-Jerry-Falwell-returning-to-Heritage-USA-to/8017560750400/. December 3, 2017. live.
    39. Web site: Miller. Hunter. How a Sexual Assault Scandal Led to the Uncovering of a $158 Million Crime in a Televangelist Empire. popculture.com. September 28, 2017. February 13, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180214142046/http://popculture.com/tv-shows/2017/09/28/jessica-hahn-sex-scandal-jim-bakker-ptl-club/#3. February 14, 2018. live.
    40. Web site: Schmidt. William. For Jim and Tammy Bakker, Excess Wiped Out a Rapid Climb to Success. The New York Times. May 16, 1987. February 21, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180215084321/http://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/16/us/for-jim-and-tammy-bakker-excess-wiped-out-a-rapid-climb-to-success.html?pagewanted=all. February 15, 2018. live.
    41. Web site: Harris. David. Former Heritage USA resort is again up for sale. The Business Journals. September 29, 1997. February 14, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20040521172657/http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/1997/09/29/story4.html. May 21, 2004. live.
    42. Web site: Top 20 Church Scandals: #9 Jim Bakker PTL Scandal. Bakker kept $3.4 million in bonuses for himself. PimpPreacher.com. July 1, 2015. February 14, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180215083819/http://pimppreacher.com/post/122919285600/top-20-church-scandals-9-jim-bakker-ptl-scandal. February 15, 2018. live.
    43. News: Applebome . Peter . Bakker Is Convicted on All Counts; First Felon Among TV Evangelists . November 23, 2019 . The New York Times . October 6, 1989 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191217032132/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/06/us/bakker-is-convicted-on-all-counts-first-felon-among-tv-evangelists.html . December 17, 2019 . live.
    44. Web site: Applebome. Peter. Bakker Sentenced to 45 Years For Fraud in His TV Ministry. The New York Times. October 25, 1989. March 22, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180309054358/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/25/us/bakker-sentenced-to-45-years-for-fraud-in-his-tv-ministry.html. March 9, 2018. live.
    45. Web site: Peifer . Justice Paul E. . Jim Bakker's Federal Court Appeal . Supreme Court of Ohio website . April 12, 2000 . November 29, 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080430221259/http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/Justices/pfeifer/column/2000/jp041200.htm . April 30, 2008 . mdy-all.
    46. News: Witt . April . No Joke . The Washington Post. October 24, 2004. March 11, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180428093533/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/magazine/2004/10/24/no-joke/882986fd-53f1-4443-95f8-f4f265d38f61/. April 28, 2018. live.
    47. Web site: U.S. v. Bakker . 1991 . October 31, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170312135825/http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?q=%22James+O.+Bakker%22&hl=en&as_sdt=3,44&case=1832676487785187662&scilh=0 . March 12, 2017 . live.
    48. News: Jim Bakker's Startling Sentence . Opinion . . October 29, 1989 . June 9, 2018 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180613005011/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/29/opinion/jim-bakker-s-startling-sentence.html . June 13, 2018.
    49. News: Jim Bakker freed from jail to stay in a halfway house . . July 2, 1994 . March 11, 2018 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180311081429/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/02/us/jim-bakker-freed-from-jail-to-stay-in-a-halfway-house.html . March 11, 2018.
    50. Book: Bakker, Jay . Jay Bakker . Son of a Preacher Man: My Search for Grace in the Shadows . 2001 . Harper Collins . 006251699X.
    51. News: Judge cuts Bakker's prison term, making parole possible in 4 years . Applebome . Peter . 24 August 1991 . . 15 April 2020 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200515161918/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/24/us/judge-cuts-bakker-s-prison-term-making-parole-possible-in-4-years.html . May 15, 2020.
    52. News: Smothers . Ronald . Ex-television evangelist Bakker ends prison sentence for fraud . . December 2, 1994 . February 21, 2018 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180216030215/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/02/us/ex-television-evangelist-bakker-ends-prison-sentence-for-fraud.html . February 16, 2018.
    53. News: Krotz . Daniel . Jim Bakker and the counterfeit hell robbers . . December 20, 2010 . February 18, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170204062348/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-krotz/jim-bakker-and-other-coun_b_795822.html . February 4, 2017 . live.
    54. Web site: Televangelist Rebuilds His Life After Scandal. Kevin . Murphy. Daily Press. July 7, 2006. en-US. August 12, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190812193450/https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-20060708-2006-07-08-0607080152-story.html. August 12, 2019. live.
    55. 'New' Jim Bakker Returns to Christian Television. Charisma News Service. June 2, 2003.
    56. Web site: Broadcast Listings. The Jim Bakker Show. May 7, 2011 . en-US. April 7, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20180215143653/https://jimbakkershow.com/watch-us-live/broadcast-listings/. February 15, 2018. live.
    57. Web site: PTL Shop and The Jim Bakker Show now on ZLiving!. The Jim Bakker Show. July 25, 2019 . en-US. July 29, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190729211145/https://jimbakkershow.com/news/ptl-shop-and-the-jim-bakker-show-now-on-zliving/. July 29, 2019. live.
    58. Web site: Bakker . Jim . Broadcast Listings . The Jim Bakker Show . jimbakkershow.com. May 7, 2011 . February 15, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180215143653/https://jimbakkershow.com/watch-us-live/broadcast-listings/. February 15, 2018. live.
    59. News: McKinney . Kelsey . The Second Coming Of Televangelist Jim Bakker . live . . May 19, 2017 . January 28, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190129181320/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kelseymckinney/second-coming-of-televangelist-jim-bakker . January 29, 2019.
    60. Web site: Mohr . Kylie . December 3, 2015 . Apocalypse Chow: We Tried Televangelist Jim Bakker's "Survival Food" . .
    61. News: Mohr . Kylie . Apocalypse Chow: We Tried Televangelist Jim Bakker's 'Survival Food' . live . . December 3, 2015 . February 2, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170131201031/http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/03/456677535/apocalypse-chow-we-tried-televangelist-jim-bakkers-survival-food . January 31, 2017.
    62. Web site: Reeve . Elspeth . Jim Bakker's Doomsday Survival Gear Is Way Overpriced . The Atlantic. May 17, 2012. March 5, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180306023057/https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/05/jim-bakkers-doomsday-survival-gear-way-overpriced/327958/. March 6, 2018. live.
    63. Web site: Time Has Come. www.goodreads.com. August 12, 2019.
    64. Web site: Prosperity Gospel Apocalypse: Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's PTL Empire. Patheos. July 26, 2017. February 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180224112850/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2017/07/sex-money-fame-and-the-evangelical-empire-of-jim-and-tammy-faye-bakker/. February 24, 2018. live.
    65. Book: Wigger, John. PTL: The Rise and Fall of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's Evangelical Empire. 7. John H. Wigger. 2017. 9780199379729.
    66. Web site: Eight Keys To Success. www.goodreads.com. August 12, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20180523231351/https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9447990-eight-keys-to-success. May 23, 2018. live.
    67. Web site: Bakker. Jim. I Was Wrong: Excerpt From Jim Bakker's Autobiographical Book. Bakker admits to study the Bible. The more I studied the Bible. Spiritwatch Ministries. 1996. February 21, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180224005909/http://spiritwatch.org/firejbwrong.htm. February 24, 2018. live.
    68. Web site: The 5 Principles of Faith. Jim. Bakker. June 22, 2016. July 2, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190703005054/https://jimbakkershow.com/news/the-5-principles-of-faith/. July 3, 2019. live.
    69. Web site: Mazza. Ed. Jim Bakker Says God Will Punish You For Making Fun Of Him. Jim Bakker: One day, you're going to shake your fist in God's face. And you're going to say, 'God, why didn't you warn me?' He's gonna say, 'You sat there and you made fun of Jim Bakker all those years. I warned you, but you didn't listen.. HuffPost. October 17, 2017. February 11, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180107145213/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jim-bakker-stop-making-fun-of-me_us_59e593f3e4b0a2324d1d2f54. January 7, 2018. live.
    70. Web site: Disgraced pastor Jim Bakker says Hurricane Harvey was 'judgment' from God while selling his Tasty Pantry bucket for $175. Daily News. New York. September 5, 2017. February 11, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180212083505/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/disgraced-pastor-jim-bakker-calls-hurricane-harvey-judgement-article-1.3473935. February 12, 2018. live.
    71. Web site: Tashman. Brian. Jim Bakker Blames Hurricane Matthew On Obama. Right Wing Watch. October 17, 2016. February 11, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180212083601/http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/jim-bakker-blames-hurricane-matthew-on-obama/. February 12, 2018. live.
    72. Web site: Televangelist Jim Bakker: Christians will start a civil war if Trump is impeached. The Hill. Jim Bakker: If it happens, there will be a civil war in the United States of America. . Delk . Josh . August 29, 2017. February 13, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180214014707/http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/348418-televangelist-jim-bakker-christians-will-start-new-civil-war-if. February 14, 2018. live.
    73. Web site: Mantlya. Kyle. Jim Bakker: Washington Train Derailment Was A Warning From God. Right Wing Watch. Jim Bakker: The great preachers of all times have said the Titanic is God's warning. January 3, 2018. February 25, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180226032207/http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/jim-bakker-washington-train-derailment-was-a-warning-from-god/. February 26, 2018. live.
    74. Web site: Televangelist Jim Bakker claims he predicted 9/11 disaster. Jim Bakker: I saw 9/11 in 1999 before New Year's Eve ... I said there's going to be terrorism; there's going to be a bombing in New York and Washington DC. I said it would be at a high defense location in DC .... Jolt Left. August 23, 2011. February 25, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180226032244/https://joltleft.com/televangelist-jim-bakker-claims-he-predicted-911-disaster/. February 26, 2018. live.
    75. Web site: Jim Bakker Supports Arming Some Teachers: 'Jesus Loves AR-15'. To me, that is a sign that he is against gun control. God ordained Donald Trump and he supports his plan to arm teachers.. nova-magazine.net. February 22, 2018. March 5, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180306142257/https://www.nova-magazine.net/jim-bakker-supports-arming-some-teachers-jesus-loves-ar-15/. March 6, 2018. dead.
    76. Web site: Marusak . Joe . Funk . Tim . Fallen evangelist Jim Bakker and wife pay their respects to Billy Graham in Charlotte . The Charlotte Observer. February 27, 2018. March 5, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180228091355/http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/special-reports/billy-graham-life/article202470224.html. February 28, 2018. live.
    77. Web site: Dyches. Chris. Fallen PTL pastor Jim Bakker recalls prison visit from Rev. Billy Graham. WBTV. Charlotte, N.C.. February 27, 2018. March 5, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180306023215/http://m.wbtv.com/story/37607004/fallen-ptl-pastor-jim-bakker-recalls-prison-visit-from-rev-billy-graham. March 6, 2018. live.
    78. Web site: Gryboski. Michael. Pastors Network Pres: Jim Bakker Is Wrong, Christians Won't Start 'Civil War' Over Trump Impeachment. The Christian Post. August 31, 2017. February 13, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180214073339/https://www.christianpost.com/news/pastors-network-president-jim-bakker-wrong-christians-wont-start-civil-war-over-trump-impeachment-197355/. February 14, 2018. live.
    79. Web site: Saunders. Martin. Jim Bakker's TV show amounts to spiritual abuse – so why is he still broadcasting?. Christian Today. May 1, 2018. May 1, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180502064231/https://www.christiantoday.com/uk/jim-bakkers-tv-show-amounts-to-spiritual-abuse-so-why-is-he-still-broadcasting/128881.htm. May 2, 2018. live.
    80. News: NY AG Letitia James orders televangelist Jim Bakker to quit advertising coronavirus cure . March 6, 2020 . . live . March 6, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200306142558/https://nypost.com/2020/03/06/ny-ag-letitia-james-orders-televangelist-jim-bakker-to-quit-advertising-coronavirus-cures/ . March 6, 2020.
    81. Web site: FDA, FTC sends warning letter to Jim Bakker Show . March 9, 2020 . Ozarks Independent . March 9, 2020 . April 6, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200406135333/http://ozarksindependent.com/2020/03/09/fda-ftc-sends-warning-letter-to-jim-bakker-show/ . dead .
    82. News: Federal government, Missouri AG tell area pastor to stop claiming coronavirus cure . Branson tri-lakes News . March 11, 2020 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200311153024/http://www.bransontrilakesnews.com/news_free/article_d2e39562-62fd-11ea-a417-1b9ee625bd44.html . March 11, 2020.
    83. News: Jim Bakker sued by second state for selling fake coronavirus cure . . June 17, 2020 . July 16, 2020 . live . July 17, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200717181336/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jim-bakker-sued-by-second-state-for-selling-fake-coronavirus-cure/.
    84. News: Jim Bakker seeks dismissal of suit claiming he touted false virus cure . Salter . John . May 5, 2020 . . May 6, 2020 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200507124231/https://www.startribune.com/jim-bakker-seeks-suit-dismissal-ex-governor-is-his-lawyer/570207402/ . May 7, 2020.
    85. News: Televangelist asks viewers to send checks after credit card companies cut him off for selling fake coronavirus cure . Slisco . Aila . April 22, 2020 . . en . April 23, 2020 . live . April 26, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200426214105/https://www.newsweek.com/televangelist-asks-viewers-send-checks-after-credit-card-companies-cut-him-off-selling-fake-1499636.
    86. News: Holman . Gregory J. . May 6, 2020 . Liberal Christian group says TV network tied to Oral Roberts University drops Bakker show . . May 8, 2020.
    87. Web site: Marusak . Joe . May 8, 2020 . TV pastor Jim Bakker suffers stroke, wife and son confirm. 'Jim will be back!' . . May 8, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200510232623/https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article242596441.html. live . May 10, 2020.
    88. News: Marusak . Joe . July 8, 2020 . TV pastor Jim Bakker returns to his show for the first time since suffering a stroke . . July 16, 2020 . live . July 10, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200710173315/https://www.charlotteobserver.com/entertainment/tv/article244094697.html.
    89. News: Wert . Jason . June 23, 2021 . Attorney General settles suit with Jim Bakker . . June 23, 2021 . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210623161425/https://933kwto.com/attorney-general-schmitt-settles-suit-with-jim-bakker/ . June 23, 2021.

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