Thank you for the compliment, kind sir. The element that especially bothered me while writing this story is how our relatives, particularly the elder ones, are easily hoodwinked into these religious schemes. So, I concur that people will certainly do almost anything that masquerades as being connected to God.

– DJ

I originally wanted to include a paragraph or 2 on The Bakker’s. However, once I got going and noticed that the article was a bit long, I opted to only focus on current day televangelists. With Tammy Bakker now deceased and Jim Bakker long out of the religious scam game, there were enough other active “ministers” to speak of for this story.

– DJ

Another important topic of discussion. DJ, you are on it my friend!

But unless i missed it? You didn’t mention 2 of the biggest “jacklegs” to ever walk this earth – the husband and wife team, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. Those two religious hucksters took “jack-legging” to a whole NEW level back in the day. .

An older Black lady introduced me to the “PTL Club” circa 1981-82. She watched the “show” faithfully. And though I still had some growing to do even back then I knew something STANK to high Heaven when it came to televangelism. “PTL” was Jim and Tammy’s own personal cash-cow. And IMO they were in a league all their own when it came to “selling” their BS to the gullible and weak-minded. In fact, if I recall correctly, nobody else’s game came close to paying off as Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s game. They had “PTL” and other-RELATED lucrative ventures.

Wikipedia:
The Bakkers built Heritage USA in Fort Mill, South Carolina (south of Charlotte), the third-most-successful theme park in the U.S. at the time, and a satellite system to distribute their network 24 hours a day nationwide by the early 1980s. Viewer contributions were estimated to exceed $1 million a week, with proceeds to expand the theme park and The PTL Club’s mission. Bakker responded to inquiries about his use of mass media by comparing his use of television to Jesus: “I believe that if Jesus were alive today, he would be on TV.” […]

There has GOT to be “sumpin” in the water in America because there are a lot of really dumb people in this country….smh!

* “Jackleg” -the name my beloved grandfather called corrupt, crooked and dishonest preachers.