The PTL Club
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PTL (stands for "Praise The Lord" or "People that Love") was a conservative religious group and TV network. Formed in Charlotte, North Carolina and later moved to Fort Mill, South Carolina, a Charlotte suburb, the PTL Club was very successful throughout much of the 1970s and 1980s.
It was one of the first Christian broadcasts in the USA to deal with subjects such as AIDS/HIV and homosexuality.
Originally started by Jim Bakker and his wife at the time, Tammy Faye Bakker, by the 1980s when Bakker's popularity dropped due to his financial and personal scandals, Jerry Falwell took control when Bakker resigned on March 19, 1987.[1] It is noted that "Bakker arranged for Falwell to take over PTL in March in an effort to avoid what he called a 'hostile takeover' of the television ministry by people threatening to expose a sexual encounter he admitted to having seven years earlier with church secretary Jessica Hahn."[2] According to Hahn, on the afternoon of December 6, 1980, when she was a 21 year-old church secretary, she was drugged and raped by Bakker for "about 15 minutes" and another preacher, John Wesley Fletcher. Later, she claims she overheard Bakker comment to another PTL staffer "Did you get her too?"[3]
The September 21, 1987 issue of Time noted that Jerry Falwell "plunged" fully-clothed down the "Typhoon" waterslide, a 163 foot "hellish" water slide at Heritage Island, in fulfillment to "a promise made during a fund-raising drive that netted $20 million for the debt-ridden PTL."[4] Photos of the event were selected as "The Best of Photojournalism" in 1987 Pictures of the Year book presented by the National Press Photographers Association.[5] In September 1999, The Associated Press selected it as one of the top 100 national photos of the century.[5]
Ultimately, Bakker was indicted for directing millions of dollars of church funds for personal use. Much of the nation watched the court case to see the outcome of the 165 million dollar donations.[6]
On August 23, 1991, after the second and final day of his re-sentencing hearing, Bakker's original 45-year sentence was reduced to 18 years - 5 of which he actually served.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ [Scencyclopedia: PTL Club (dead link)]
- ^ Steve Baker. PTL-Falwell Associated Press. July 21, 1987
- ^ Transcript of interview with Larry King, CNN, July 14, 2005
- ^ American Notes Fundraising. Time Magazine September 21, 1987.
- ^ a b Jerry Falwell: A Photo of the Century!
- ^ Jim Bakker GospelGrace.com
