In It For The Entertainment
A Geezer’s Notebook, By Jim Foster
A while back I quoted the evangelical nutcase, Pat Robertson, when he said,
“I know this is painful for the ladies to hear, but if you get married, you have accepted the headship of a man, your husband. Christ is the head of the household and the husband is the head of the wife, and that’s the way it is, period.”
Now I would never try to question a biblical scholar like the Reverend Pat and his interpretation of the scriptures no matter how asinine the interpretation appears to be, but I do have a bit of a problem with this one. Oh, not whether he was right or wrong, a man who once threw his name in the hat to run for the presidency of the United States on the Republican ticket, certainly not. What I am wondering is, was any man dumb enough to try and rule his wife after listening to him? And if there was, how long did he last and was his death painful?
On the other hand we can’t forget most, if not all, of Pat’s flock are now Trump fans, so it is quite possible. We are not talking Rhodes scholars here.
A Canadian husband, even the more religious ones, would not be that stupid. At least I hope not.
A minister yes, but a marriage counsellor Pat was not. Here is his sage advice to a woman on his 700 Club whose husband cheated on her:
“Like it or not, males have a tendency to wander a little bit. What you want to do is make a home so wonderful that he doesn’t want to wander.”
Pat also said other boneheaded things, especially about feminism and the gay communities. In 2005, New Orleans was catastrophically flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Good old Pat was reported to have blamed the hurricane on a lesbian comedienne who happens to live there.
You’d think God would adopt a slightly more targeted approach to bumping off Ellen Degeneres, like striking her down with a heart attack, or have her run over by a truckload of bibles, rather than wiping out half a city. But the lord works in mysterious ways, or so they say.
Pat went to his reward last June so let’s let him rest in peace. He had his own problems. We know he was struggling financially having to eke out a meager existence with a net worth of only 100 Million bucks. With that paltry amount, he wouldn’t be eating out a lot.
The preacher who really grabbed me a few years ago was Jimmy Swaggart. If he hadn’t been caught in a motel room with a hooker, Jimmy would have been president of the United States by now. When he played the piano or cried (oh lord that man could cry) the believers poured down to the stage. It was fascinating to watch his services and crusades, whatever he called them, because there was always hundreds of people out there crying or staring up at heaven like they just got lucky.
I was sorry to see Jimmy go. I watched him all the time, not for his message, but to hear him play the piano. He was Jerry Lee Lewis and Mickey Gilley’s cousin and he was damned… sorry, I mean darned good. Jimmy Swaggart still has a following even today, not quite like it used to be, he’s only worth $10 Million, but they are out there. In an article I read on the internet aptly named Religious Fundamentalism as a Mental Illness, there is a paragraph about Jimmy that sort of tells it all.
An honest atheist or agnostic is eyed with contempt by the Christian right, while hypocrites like Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker are forgiven for their many transgressions and maintain a loyal, and no doubt, contributing following.
Surely you remember Jimmy Bakker and Tammy Fay, big guns in the PTL (Praise the Lord) Club. Jim finally went to jail for misuse of ministerial funds and a small matter of, as the Reverend Pat would say, wandering. Tammy was accused of overdoing the make-up business but was never charged.
I’m sure I am already in trouble for even suggesting that TV evangelists could bear watching, but of this I am sure. When the roll is called up yonder they won’t be there.
(Image Supplied)
