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THE QUESTION
Oral Roberts 1918-2009
Your thoughts on Oral Roberts, the influential and controversial TV evangelist who died Tuesday at age 91.
Posted by
David Waters on December 15, 2009 4:43 PM
FROM THE PANEL
Oral Roberts, remembrance and reflections
Oral was "Mr. Pentecostal," the personal symbol of the fastest-spreading form of Christianity with the exception of the "indigenous church" movements. In addition to his televangelistic work, he led some 300 evangelistic campaigns on six continents, wrote scores of books, and founded a university which today has almost 3,800 students and is in good financial condition.
Posted by Willis E. Elliott, on December 17, 2009 8:34 PM
Oral Roberts's spiritual gifts and errors
I am thankful for every sinner who came to know the Gospel of Christ through the preaching of Oral Roberts, and I heard him preach about salvation in ways that were true and powerful. But I can only lament the prosperity theology that he leaves in his long shadow.
Posted by R. Albert Mohler Jr., on December 16, 2009 3:35 PM
A deeply spiritual man with a shallow theology
Roberts was a complex man who lived a long time and it would be unfortunate if he only receives hagiography or dismissal. Roberts did much that was good, but it came at a very high theological and intellectual price.
Posted by John Mark Reynolds, on December 16, 2009 2:53 PM
Oral Roberts at a bar mitzvah
Imagine the surprise of the Temple Israel congregation when Rita and Frank invited Oral Roberts to speak at their son's bar mitzvah in 1972.
Posted by Eboo Patel, on December 16, 2009 12:45 PM
Robertson's 'Honor Code'
The 'Honor Code' at Oral Roberts University says a lot about the man who founded it.
Posted by Rajan Zed, on December 16, 2009 7:55 AM
Oral Roberts took salvation to prime time
The creative use of the internet and other forms of new media by conservative Christians today has its roots in the early work of Oral Roberts; Roberts made it culturally acceptable for deeply devout Christian evangelicals to accept media innovation as part of the spread of their faith. The question remains, however, 'Can salvation be packaged and sold like toothpaste?' Probably not.
Posted by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, on December 15, 2009 7:26 PM
The questionable legacy of a prosperity preacher
I never listened to Oral Roberts intentionally; I heard snippets of his sermons from time to time, but I was always bothered by what I thought was manipulative Christianity, which involves this using God, or manipulating the Word of God, for selfish gain.
Posted by Susan K. Smith, on December 15, 2009 6:04 PM
My day with Oral Roberts
To watch Oral Roberts in action was to feel something of the charisma and power that built his empire. To hear him speak was to learn some of the bedrock beliefs that seemed to me wrong and at times possibly pernicious. But on that day I was welcomed as a rabbi and learned as much as I taught. I may not treasure the teachings, but I have affectionate and grateful memories of the man.
Posted by David Wolpe, on December 15, 2009 5:18 PM
Well-heeled, tax-exempt charlatan
What should concern the rest of us is that the scams pulled off by well-heeled charlatans like Oral Roberts are tax free.
Posted by Richard Dawkins, on December 15, 2009 5:01 PM
Roberts loved God and humanity
Though never without a certain wake of controversy behind him, Oral Roberts lived this principle in his Christian context. He offered a generation of faithful followers the opportunity to combine devotional studies with the training to make their way in this world.
Posted by Jack Moline, on December 15, 2009 4:47 PM
Man who put God on TV
I appreciated Roberts bold stand for God. His was not a milquetoast faith. It was strong and exciting and contagious and appealing. It made people want to know this God, to get close to this God, and to serve this God.
Posted by Susan K. Smith, on December 15, 2009 4:45 PM
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onestring: His actions painted him as an intolerant, hypocrite, fundamentalist confidence man of dubious ethics, and deeds. Preying upon the distraught...
VividHugh: I am dismayed by the bigoted and wrong comments attacking this man's character. I cannot say anything about his methods of financing. I neve...
