During my time in congregational ministry there were members in different congregations who has secret addictions...to TV evangelists. They attended church and were often involved in other ways but they had a hankering for some of the slick folks on TV and even sent them money which they didn't really have to spare. For the most part they were intelligent people but somehow they didn't see past the slick messages which were often not so subtle solicitations for funds which created wealth for the evangelists through the gullibility of those who were living on limited means.
One dear soul has been a medical missionary for the United Church, serving as a nurse in Africa in the 1960's. She had a remarkable faith and as she aged and became frail her local congregation provided spiritual and practical support. She lived in a bed-sit apartment and barely afford to be there. Yet she sent money to a Texas televangelist who preached the imminent return of Christ while taking a salary of a million dollars a year and living in a gated community.
HBO has a new comedy series called The Righteous Gemstones which follows "the world famous Gemstone televangelist family, which has a long tradition of deviance, greed, and charitable work, all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ."
I suppose it's better to laugh than to cry about some of these people, but the exploitation will always bother me and the gullibility of people will always perplex me. Perhaps it is the creation of a religious fantasy world which is not at all like the lives we actually live which is a big part of the attraction. I'll likely watch at least one episode -- John Goodman is worth watching in just about anything -- but I may cringe while I do so.
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