American Evangelists

[Ed]

Just wondering if the name Ravi Zacharias is a household name in America? I want the name of a famous preacher/priest/evangelist who is pious and very well known in the US/Appalachian region. It's only for use in a simile that I'm trying to incorporate in my latest story, but any help would be appreciated, thanks.

I could use the name Billy Graham, but I'd prefer one that begins with 'R' or sounds a bit like 'Rasputin'. Hardly worth the bother, really, but you never know.

[Pharosian]

I've never heard of the guy. There are several others who have been in the news for various reasons, but I had to look RZ up.

[Ed]

Thanks, Pharo. Is Billy Graham a household name, though? He'll do, at a push. Better than nothing, but not as amusing as a similar name

[Bec]

Reinhard Bonnke is very well known to Christians. He's German, though, and his ministry is spread throughout the world, especially Africa. I don't know how much he does in the US, but most Christians there would have heard of him. His name was mentioned a lot when I used to go to church.

Oral Roberts is more of a household name - even amongst non-Christians. A very famous American evangelist, although he's dead now, so I'm not sure if that's any good to you. His death (2009) was announced on the TV news even here in the UK. And his surname begins with R, not his first name.

Sorry I can't be more help than that.

[delboy]

Wasn't there quite a well known one who ended up in disgrace and going to jail? Or were there loads? I think Jim Bakker was one. I bet he was pretty pious when kneeling at the alter of Bubba in the shower block.

Derek

[Rook]

I would say Ravi Zacharias is not a household name, here in the US. Billy Graham definately is, though.

Reinhard Bonnke means absolutely nothing to me, I am afraid. And I can't think of another beginning with R.

Jim Bakker went to prison for fraud, I believe- after a woman accused him of rape.

Ted Haggard, on the other hand, was accused by a male prostitute of buying and using meth with him, while ah... availing himself of this man's services.

The list goes on...

Hope that helps, Ed.

[Pharosian]

I agree Billy Graham is a household name here, and has been for, what? half a century or more. Depending on your purpose, he's probably too old.

But a couple of younger "big name" evangelists have received a lot of press: Joel Osteen and Rick Warren. Each has written a bestselling book in the past few years.

From Wikipedia:

Joel Osteen (born March 5, 1963) is an American best-selling author and the senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. His ministry reaches over seven million broadcast media viewers weekly in over 100 nations around the world... Osteen released his second book, titled Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day in October 2007.

Richard Duane "Rick" Warren (born January 28, 1954) is an American evangelical Christian minister and author. He is the founder and senior pastor of Saddleback Church, an evangelical megachurch located in Lake Forest, California, currently the eighth-largest church in the United States... He is also a bestselling author of many Christian books, including his guide to church ministry and evangelism, The Purpose Driven Church, which has spawned a series of conferences on Christian ministry and evangelism. He is perhaps best known for the subsequent devotional, The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold over 30 million copies, making Warren a New York Times bestselling author.

Warren got a lot of press in 2008 when he got involved in the U.S. Presidential race, holding Q&A sessions with John McCain and Barack Obama.

[Ed]

Hmm, thanks for the help. It's hardly worth the bother for what's essentially a character building shortcut/off the cuff remark. The story features a lay preacher who's more of a Rasputin than >insert name of pious Christian<

One of those things that would be easier to write if I lived in the place I was writing about

[elay2433]

The story features a lay preacher who's more of a Rasputin than >insert name of pious Christian<

One of those things that would be easier to write if I lived in the place I was writing about

Depending on how you're writing it and how you introduce this evangelist, it probably doesn't matter the name so much. If, in the world you're creating, he's a caricature of Rasputin with the anonymity (in our current age) of a Billy Graham, then we'll buy it if you sell it that way. Just make it seem real to the other characters in the story, and so it will be for those of us that read it.

[fnord33]

Oh, you're looking for the name of a pious televangelist that everyone has heard of. I thought the joke was going the other way. There's no such thing. As in politics, you know that you can't trust them if you've heard the name before. Every televangelist that I have ever head of has been outed as something or another. Of course, televangelism isn't really my thing. My mother is into that stuff. I was going to say that the closest thing to what you're looking for is Benny Hinn, but then I searched for him and found this: http://www.corporatenarc.com/bennyhinnfraud.php. Granted, this is what every televangelist does. He hasn't been  caught with his penis in any proverbial cookie jars and he keeps his drugs of choice under wraps (aside from the whole getting all tweaked out on "God" and bitch-slapping them healthy). So, in retrospect, maybe he is the cream of the crap after all. I don't mean to sound as if I'm against snorting coke off a prostitute's penis. I think that the clergy have every right to do that if that's what makes them happy. I just wish that they would admit it before they get caught every once in a while. I do hate to think of how much money that has been donated by sick, poor, little, old ladies (should hyphens have been incorporated in that? I'm still a bit confused as to when a hyphen is necessary. I'm a little drunk if you cant tell) has gone towards the drug orgies of liars and thieves.

Has anybody else heard of that religious leader that told his followers that God had told him to buy a fleet of Cadillacs (it could have been some other kind of expensive car. I have a bad memory). People sent him the money to buy them. I think he made a lot of other ridiculous demands that they met as well. I guess the thing that bothers me most about organized religion is that the faithful think that everyone who says they have a direct line to God is telling the truth. Faith seems to require that you deny common sense and believe what the religious leaders tell you. No wonder every douche-bag opportunist in the world looks at these people as idiotic and feels justified in ripping them off. That's the terminal flaw in mainstream religion. The people in charge are mostly atheists who want to use the teachings (which were originally meant to empower the masses) to reduce their listeners to cattle. Intelligent people are sickened by this institutionalized con and develop a knee-jerk hatred of spirituality and metaphysics. The only reasonable explanation of how this could happen is that the anti-humanists are right. We deserve it. Luckily, I've never been much of a fan of reality. Lately I've decided that I should take up the approach to life that I learned from my ex-wife. Now I just make things up and believe them without requiring scientific proof that I'm right. It's much easier to be happy this way. (My ex went the other direction with it). The technical term is meta-programming and it sounds a lot less silly if you study brain function extensively. I'll shut up now.