Scale and Limits of Televangelist Reach

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Christians were involved with many forms of media from their inception. They were there at the dawn of radio, with the first commercial broadcast of music being played around Christmas in 1906, and the gospel of Luke was read.

A similar story is true for television. Evangelists loved the new medium, with preachers like Oral Roberts using it to spread their brand of Pentecostalism. Pentecostalism was made for television. Where many denominations featured calm worship services, it seemed like anything could happen with Oral Roberts' brand of Pentecostalism. He healed, he made big claims, and he made a lot of money. Roberts' format was followed by people like Jim Bakker and Pat Robertson.

Pat Robertson created the Christian Broadcasting Network, which later functioned as his platform for launching the political careers of politicians and, eventually, himself. Robertson's influence is all over evangelicalism, from the ubiquity of consumerism and prosperity ideology to our involvement in political movements. He formed the Christian Coalition and was a leader in the Council for National Policy. Robertson attended many of the seminal meetings of the Religious Right. And his message was amplified by his powerful television platform.

Sources:

• Pat Robertson: A Life and Legacy by David Edwin Harrell Jr.
• PTL: The Rise and Fall of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s Evangelical Empire by John Wigger
• Oral Roberts and the Rise of the Prosperity Gospel by Jonathan Root
• The US Census
• Farnsworth TV and Pioneer Museum in Rigby, ID
• The Surprising Work of God: Harold Ockenga, Billy Graham, and the Rebirth of Evangelicals by Garth Rosell
• The Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald
• Prime Time Preachers by Jeffrey K Hadden and Charles E Swann
• "Oral Roberts Dead at 91" from CBS News
• Report on Strom Thurmond's role in the Southern Manifesto
• The Miracle of Seed Faith by Oral Roberts. I used the revised August 2012 version
• Reaganland by Rick Perlstein
• “Remarks in Support of Senate Joint Resolution 199” Aug 18, 1982. (for Robertson's testimony)
• Christian Reconstruction: RJ Rushdoony and American Religious Conservatism by Michael McVicar
• Newsweek article about Joe Rogan stats
• Video of Oral Roberts healing

Discussion Questions:

• What is the prosperity gospel?
• How has it impacted you? Your church? The Church in general?
• Why is it important to note that the Religious Right guys controlled Christian media outlets? How does that kind of thing shape our theology?
• How was Robertson impacted by Roberts?
• What is "seed faith"? Does the Bible provide ground for it?
• How has consumerism shaped American evangelicalism? How does it tie into prosperity theology?

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