The real irony is that Bakker will be mourned the most by those he took advantage of. Would that they could become aware of the bamboozle they were subjected to.
Christians have had a rep for being easy marks since the get go. It is a significant part of their history. It was noted by Roman and Greek writers early on. Dante mentioned it but blamed the grifting popes and priests. Television and the Internet have really turned it loose… it seems the Christian right has too much disposable income and the Jim Bakkers of the world are there to rake it in.
They're ready, willing and easily able to believe anything anyone tells them. They're the perfect mark. They question nothing. Good riddance to this grifter.
Jerry Falwell calling Jim Bakker the biggest scab and cancer upon Christianity in 2000 years is irony at its best. It’s nothing more than the pro Bill pot calling the kettle black.
More than anything Bakker ever did or said, it was the people who flooded that slimy conman with cash that disgusted me more than anything. Those people do not fill me with hope for the future of the human race.
The remarkable fact that a substantial percentage of followers stuck with him after the scandal provides a clear example of the effects of belief on critical thinking. It's almost enough to make me feel bad for them.
I imagine it was quite disheartening to magician James Randi to see the gullible were not dissuaded by Randi’s thorough debunking of the ‘God told me’ aspect of Popoff’s faith-healing schtick. Randi ultimately learned the same sad lesson that Houdini had decades before: some portion of the public will always prefer irrational beliefs — and pay to have those fostered — if doing so gives them emotional comfort.
Good news, everyone. We've got a two-fer today. Dennis Hastert (Hastert the Bastard), the child molester who also did time in prison for crimes unrelated to child sexual abuse, has also done the world a favor and stopped breathing.
"Even though they could theoretically sell only 25,000 partnerships, they sold nearly 160,000—the money was rolling in even though the Bakkers knew they couldn’t uphold their end of the deal."
Everyone dies. Not everyone is mourned. Or deserves to be. Some people's deaths make the world a better place. This is one.
The real irony is that Bakker will be mourned the most by those he took advantage of. Would that they could become aware of the bamboozle they were subjected to.
Christians have had a rep for being easy marks since the get go. It is a significant part of their history. It was noted by Roman and Greek writers early on. Dante mentioned it but blamed the grifting popes and priests. Television and the Internet have really turned it loose… it seems the Christian right has too much disposable income and the Jim Bakkers of the world are there to rake it in.
They're ready, willing and easily able to believe anything anyone tells them. They're the perfect mark. They question nothing. Good riddance to this grifter.
𝐼𝑡 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛'𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 '𝐵𝑖𝑔 𝐵𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟,' 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛'𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠, 𝑤𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑑, 𝑤𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜𝑚 𝑤𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑟 – 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑚, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟-𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒏. 𝐼 𝑠𝑎𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑙... [emphasis mine]
-- Christopher Hitchens
If they didn't learn after PTL collapsed, they never will.
That's the power of forgiveness...
To grift again.
Say something good about the dead.
He's dead. Good.
😆
The good news is: that's one more Christian grifter gone. The bad news is: there are so many more out there who are as bad or worse than Bakker was.
Like Dumb Idiot Ken Ham for instance.
Jerry Falwell calling Jim Bakker the biggest scab and cancer upon Christianity in 2000 years is irony at its best. It’s nothing more than the pro Bill pot calling the kettle black.
Speaking of Jerry Falwell, I recall Hitchens saying something to the effect that "...too bad there is no hell to send him to". Same goes for Bakker.
Fraudfather, rather than godfather.
"Our family is grieving and we ask for your prayers and privacy during this time."
Oh, and send money. It's what Jayzuz would want.
Bakker. Missing the third "k".
Those who know, KNOW.
Aw, now that’s not fair. I’m sure he was not in any way biased against grifting from all races and ethnicities equally if he could.
More than anything Bakker ever did or said, it was the people who flooded that slimy conman with cash that disgusted me more than anything. Those people do not fill me with hope for the future of the human race.
The remarkable fact that a substantial percentage of followers stuck with him after the scandal provides a clear example of the effects of belief on critical thinking. It's almost enough to make me feel bad for them.
Not unlike the still-grifting Peter Popoff.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Popoff
I imagine it was quite disheartening to magician James Randi to see the gullible were not dissuaded by Randi’s thorough debunking of the ‘God told me’ aspect of Popoff’s faith-healing schtick. Randi ultimately learned the same sad lesson that Houdini had decades before: some portion of the public will always prefer irrational beliefs — and pay to have those fostered — if doing so gives them emotional comfort.
Good news, everyone. We've got a two-fer today. Dennis Hastert (Hastert the Bastard), the child molester who also did time in prison for crimes unrelated to child sexual abuse, has also done the world a favor and stopped breathing.
3fer – Don't forget Jeffrey Archer – although he is probably less relevant to the US.
"Even though they could theoretically sell only 25,000 partnerships, they sold nearly 160,000—the money was rolling in even though the Bakkers knew they couldn’t uphold their end of the deal."
He was the evilgelical Max Bialystock.
A religious Ponzi scheme.
Aren't all religions Ponzi schemes?
"𝐵𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑑, ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ𝑦. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑎 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑏𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑠, ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑚 ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑. 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑠. 𝐼𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑣𝑢𝑙𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒, ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑥𝑖𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠, 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑠ℎ, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑜𝑑."
Just like the late Pat Robertson did when he did that unfounded, made-up Y2K scare that I foolishly fell for for a very brief time.
Good news everyone...
In truth, I thought he had already passed away. I mean in reality, not just spiritually and morally.
OT - An oval
https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-6-a-complete-auroral-oval-from-smile/
🎵I fell into a burnin' ring of fire...🎵
OT: Back in a few, gang. Off to mow the lawn.
You're just using that as an excuse to drink beer.
I wish! At least I have a water bottle in a clamp-on cage on the mower. Sweaty work, that is! 😰
"Why isn't your dollar in my pocket?" Were Jim Bakker's last words
Not original but I wish it was.