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Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart Dead at Age 90
Jimmy Swaggart
Dead at Age 90
Jul 1, 2025 10:49 AM CDT

Jimmy Swaggart Dead at Age 90

Controversial televangelist's ministry was toppled by prostitution scandals

(Newser) - Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, whose multimillion-dollar ministry and huge audience dwindled following his prostitution scandals, has died. He was 90. Swaggart's death was announced Tuesday on his public Facebook page. A cause wasn't immediately given, though Swaggart had been in ill health , reports the AP . The Louisiana native was...

Jimmy Swaggart Son: 'Without a Miracle, His Time Will Be Short'

Family says televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, 90, is unconscious in ICU after suffering cardiac arrest

(Newser) - Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, 90, is in critical condition after suffering cardiac arrest at his Louisiana home on Sunday, according to his ministry. Son Donnie Swaggart said that he and his own son Gabriel rushed "to mother's house" in Baton Rouge after finding out the family patriarch was...

Televangelist's Jail Sentence Is Jaw-Dropping

Turkish cult leader Adnan Oktar gets 8,658 years behind bars

(Newser) - It doesn't look like Adnan Oktar is getting out of prison anytime soon. The 66-year-old Turkish televangelist—notorious for his rants against evolution and the "British deep state," and for surrounding himself with young women he called "kittens"—found out his fate Wednesday in an...

'Longest-Running TV Host' Hands Reins to Son

Televangelist Pat Robertson, 91, is stepping down from role on 'The 700 Club'

(Newser) - Pat Robertson kicked off the summer with a diatribe against critical race theory. He's entering the autumn season with a different, more subdued message: goodbye. WAVY reports that the 91-year-old televangelist, who for more than a half-century hosted The 700 Club for the Christian Broadcasting Network he founded, is...

The Eyes of Tammy Faye Worth Watching Just for Chastain

Star generates Oscar buzz with her turn as televangelist 'with a heart of gold'

(Newser) - Jessica Chastain transforms into Tammy Faye Bakker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye , an intimate look at the late televangelist's life, based on the 2000 documentary of the same name. Directed by Michael Showalter, the film—also starring Andrew Garfield as Tammy Faye's preacher husband Jim Bakker —...

Jim Bakker's Wife Reveals Why He's Taking Break From Show

Televangelist had a stroke, but is 'okay,' Lori Bakker announced Friday

(Newser) - More bad news for Jim Bakker, just two months after he was sued for offering a supposed coronavirus cure. On Friday, the 80-year-old televangelist's wife, Lori Bakker, announced he'd had a stroke and would be on hiatus from his Christian program The Jim Bakker Show, CNN reports. "...

Jim Bakker Sued Over Coronavirus 'Cure'

Stop selling 'silver solution,' Missouri attorney general warns televangelist

(Newser) - If you've been watching the Jim Bakker Show and got taken in by promises of a coronavirus cure hawked by the televangelist, we have bad news for you. The Missouri attorney general is suing the show over what it says is a "fake" cure. "Anyone who has...

Televangelist to Followers: Donate So I Can Buy $54M Jet
Televangelist to Followers: 
Send Money, I Need $54M Jet
in case you missed it
Jun 2, 2018 11:30 AM CDT

Televangelist to Followers: Send Money, I Need $54M Jet

Jesse Duplantis needs to be able to go anywhere in the world with no stops, he explains

(Newser) - Jesse Duplantis Ministries has three private jets, but Duplantis needs one more: After all, as the televangelist who preaches the controversial " prosperity gospel " explained to his followers in a video last week, if Jesus Christ walked the earth today, "he wouldn't be riding a donkey."...

Why John Oliver Has Started His Own Church

He's skewering profit-seeking televangelists

(Newser) - There's a new church in town, courtesy of John Oliver. On his HBO show, Oliver created the awesomely named Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption, reports the Wall Street Journal . As the name suggests, Oliver is using it to skewer mega-churches that exploit their followers for money in exchange for...

Manning Injury Would Be Sweet Justice: Pat Robertson

Televangelist is angry about Tim Tebow's departure

(Newser) - Pat Robertson doesn't like the way the Denver Broncos unceremoniously kicked Bible-thumping quarterback Tim Tebow to the curb in favor of Peyton Manning, and he wouldn't exactly be upset if Manning got hurt. "The Denver Broncos treated him shabbily," the televangelist declared on The 700 Club,...

Man Kills Self in SoCal Televangelist's Cathedral

Fired gun while tour guide discussed anti-suicide program

(Newser) - A man shot and killed himself in front of a cross inside televangelist Robert H. Schuller's Crystal Cathedral yesterday as a nearby volunteer told a group of visitors about the church's suicide-prevention program, police and church officials said. The man handed a note and his driver's license to two ushers,...

Jury Clears Evangelist's Wife
 Jury Clears Evangelist's Wife 
Aug 14, 2008 4:07 PM CDT

Jury Clears Evangelist's Wife

(Newser) - The wife of televangelist Joel Osteen did not assault a flight attendant during an angry tirade over a stain on her first-class seat, a jury ruled today. Jurors rejected Continental Airlines flight attendant Sharon Brown's claims that Victoria Osteen threw her against a bathroom door and elbowed her while attempting...

Mac's Pastor: Make War on Islam
 Mac's Pastor: Make War on Islam 
Mar 13, 2008 2:30 PM CDT

Mac's Pastor: Make War on Islam

Televangelist calls Allah 'a demon spirit'

(Newser) - The popular televangelist described by John McCain as a "spiritual guide" has called on Christians to "wage war" to destroy the "false religion" of Islam, reports Mother Jones. Apparently, McCain could lead those Christian soldiers, with powerful Ohio megachurch leader Rod Parsley endorsing the candidate as a...

Televangelist's Husband Admits Attacking Her

Founder of Global Destiny churches pleads guilty to assault

(Newser) - The husband of Pentecostal televangelist Juanita Bynum pleaded guilty yesterday to assaulting her and was sentenced to three years probation. Thomas W. Weeks III, the founder of Global Destiny churches, admitted grabbing Bynum, throwing her down and kicking her in the parking lot of an Atlanta hotel in August, the...

Pat's Nod Gives License to Pull Rudy Lever

But press overstates endorsement power, Salon scribe says

(Newser) - Pat Robertson’s endorsement will undoubtedly help Rudy Giuliani snag conservative votes, but the televangelist's nod can only do so much to help the pro-choice divorcé, writes Salon’s Walter Shapiro—and Rudy may be satisfied with that. The aging evangelical has granted permission for those already attracted to Rudy...

Tammy Faye Messner Dies at 65
Tammy Faye Messner Dies at 65
Jul 22, 2007 7:48 AM CDT

Tammy Faye Messner Dies at 65

Famed evangelist and media figure struggled with drugs, scandal

(Newser) - Televangelist and Christian entertainer Tammy Faye Messner died Friday morning, CNN reports. She had struggled with drug addiction throughout her life and finally died of cancer. Messner had recently been a guest on Larry King Live, appearing precariously ill, claiming she could no longer swallow food and weighed only 65...

Televangelist Falwell Dead at 73
Televangelist Falwell Dead
at 73
May 15, 2007 1:09 PM CDT

Televangelist Falwell Dead at 73

Controversial conservative mixed religion, politics

(Newser) - The Rev. Jerry Falwell, who founded the Moral Majority and mixed evangelism with conservative social criticism, died today after collapsing in his office at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. He was 73. A lightning rod for controversy, Falwell once called AIDS "the wrath of a just God against homosexuals"...

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