Meditation 285
Billy James Hargis
Another lying hypocrite evangelist dead
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Most of you haven't heard of Billy James Hargis,[1] but at his peak, he was heard on over 500 radio stations and seen on 250 TV stations. He founded his own personal Christian college (American Christian College, Tulsa) and his own newspaper, and got quite rich in the process.
As an evangelist, Billy James Hargis was against the usual things, sex, drugs, rock and roll, communism, and general permissiveness in society.
But poor Billy James was unlucky enough to get caught.
After officiating at the marriage of two students from his college (heterosexual marriage, of course,) he convinced them it would be a good thing if he went with them on their honeymoon. Then he practiced the ancient droit de seigneur with the bride. And then he practiced the ancient droit de seigneur with the groom.[2] Imagine the honeymoon memories that couple has.
Billy James was also in the habit of inviting lads from the college choir (The All-American Boys)[3] home to his farm for the weekend. After all, what's the point of having your own Christian educational establishment if you can't take your pick of the hot young choir boys? Apparently, he used the biblical friendship of David and Jonathan to convince these innocent young lads that his personal ministrations were in the true Christian spirit.
Eventually the honeymoon couple and the choir boys started to question what had happened to them and went public.
Billy James Hargis initially reacted by blaming "genes and chromosomes."
Then he remembered he was a preacher - and a fundamentalist preacher at that.
So he changed his story. His antics had been due to "the forces of Satan out to silence the voice of anti-communism." Of course, the Lord had told him that He had forgiven him.
Billy James Hargis may have preached that everyone else would be held to account for their sins at Judgement Day - but those rules did not apply to him for his own sins. They weren't his fault. They were dues to genes, chromosomes, or Satan, or anything other than Billy James Hargis's free will. And the good Lord had already forgiven him his sins.
While the board at the college he had founded regretfully let him go, and went on to declare bankruptcy, Billy James Hargis carried on with his Christian ministry for another quarter century, still preaching against sex, drugs, rock and roll, communism, and the general permissiveness of society.[4]
Billy James Hargis died November 27, 2004
Rejoice! Another lying hypocrite televangelist is dead.
He's probably roasting in hell right now, in the unlikely event there really is a hell.
Footnotes:
- I must admit, I had not heard of him until I saw his obituary in several papers.
- No wonder fundamentalist preachers are against sex education for kids. They would lose the fringe benefit of taking advantage of young people's naiveté.
- You can't make up stuff this good.
- I would agree in part. At least fundamentalist Christian society is far too permissive. They continued to fund this fraud's ministry.