The Uproar Among Television Preachers

The uproar among television preachers has exposed their stumblings--the addiction to prescription drugs, alcoholism, nervous breakdowns, sexual misconduct, hush money, cover-up, duplicity, lavish life styles, evasiveness, rhetorical extremes, mudslinging (among “brothers” who “love” each other), and hiding behind biblical language.

Mainstream society has never gone for the Religious Right’s forced happiness, simplistic approach, and tacky sanctimoniousness, and emotionalism, which gets people so worked up they make fools of themselves crying, jumping, and dancing about.

Such displays are pathetic, and show the unfortunate fact that many of the followers are immature. They want a simplistic world of: answers for everything, a literal reading of the Bible, black-and-white issues, less thinking, easy choices, safe catharsis, a happy future life (to compensate for their present unhappiness), and living through their leaders who tell them what and how to think and feel, and fight their battles for them.

When their leaders stumble over sex, money, or power, some followers continue to follow blindly (people believe what they want to believe), and others become disillusioned.

There is more hope for the latter because such disappointment and the deep thought it brings can lead toward realizing: We are all human; issues aren’t black and white; life can proceed without all the answers; the world is pluralistic instead of singular (one way, one truth); compromise is part of life; every coincidence is not the work of God, and one can and should believe in oneself and not put one’s leader on a pedestal.

AL GARNER

Midway City