The "rogues gallery" is dedicated to exposing some of the more prolific expanders of false doctrine and error in the Body of Christ today. I am not saying that any people who appear here are not genuine Christians, nor am I saying that they do not love Jesus Christ. Only God knows what their inner motivation is. But we are told that we will know the tree by its fruits (Luke 6:44) and we also know the false teachers will arise among us (2 Peter 2:1). What I am assured of it that much of what the people represented here teach is false and leads the people of God away from the truth of the Bible. As such it, and they, are to be exposed and rebuked openly.
Past Rogue Link: February - Kenneth Hagin
Prior Rogue Link: March - Marilyn Hickey
Preceding Rogue Link: April - William Branham
Fake Healer Link: May - Benny Hinn
Oral Roberts
Rogue of the Month
Oral Roberts is the granddaddy of all televangelists, as well as being their patron saint. Everybody who has ever asked for a "seed-faith" financial donation MUST tip their hat to brother Roberts.
HIS CRIMES:
(1) Claiming to heal people by the power of God.
(2) Bilking untold thousands of
Christians out of their God-given finances.
(3) Telling many lies.
(4) Setting a terrible example for other
"evangelists" to follow.
(5) Originating the
"Pentecostal/charismatic" trinket & amulet business.
HIS HISTORY:
Oral Granville Roberts was born in 1918 in Pontotoc
County Oklahoma. He was the son of a Pentecostal Holiness preacher. At age 17 he
claims to have been diagnosed with tuberculosis (and he stuttered as well). In
1935 he claims to have been healed under the healing ministry of George W. Moncey.
Well, folks can claim anything, but what can they prove? Oral
Roberts has NEVER given any proof that he was sick with tuberculosis, no medical records,
no doctors reports, no medical charts.
He was ordained in to full-time ministry in 1936 by the Pentecostal Holiness church. Between 1941 and 1947 he served 4 pastorates (ah...that works out to a new church every other year why couldn't he stay put?).
He branched out into the
healing ministry in 1947. This was the year he published his first book If You
Need Healing Do These Things! After 50 years of ministry he claims to have laid hands
on 1.3 million people (see his
50 Year Anniversary Issue). During the healing revival of the 1940's and early 50's
Oral at one point had the largest tent in the fake-healing business, he was later
"beat out" by A.A. Allen {I guess size does matter}.
What I finding utterly amazing is that out of these 1.3 million
people who had his "anointed" hands laid on them there are NO MEDICALLY
DOCUMENTED HEALING(s) or CREATIVE MIRACLES in the bunch! One would think that after 50 years of praying for the sick the evangelist
would have a stack of medically verified testimonies. . .but he does not.
Oral does have a stack of stories he relates in his magazine, on television, and in person
of alleged miracles and astounding healing(s). When pressed for exact details this
is what he has said:
"I don't try to prove [that]
multiplied thousands [are being healed]. I just say, "there's a person.
Let him tell you." [This is enough] to me and the person. . .I can't prove
that any person who ever came to me was healed, that is I can't prove
it to the satisfaction of everyone." The Faith Healers, p. 193
Oral admits that he cannot prove that any
person who came to him was ever healed! Well, Jesus could. When the
Master healed someone it was EVIDENT to everyone that the individual was healed or that a
miracle had taken place. Oral cannot do that. Why? Because
he has NEVER healed anyone!
Ponder this fact - Oral Roberts, Mr. healing anointing receives a
personal visit from the Lord Jesus Christ. . .and what does Oral's Jesus tell
him? Build the City of Faith and I will give you a medical cure for cancer! Why would Jesus need to give Oral Roberts (and his medical staff) the cure
for cancer . . . when He (Jesus) has already empowered Oral's
hands to do the job? After all, divine healing is (1) faster, (2) cheaper, (3) never
fails, and (4) covers every form of sickness and disease.
So what does Oral do? First he LIES
about this divine revelation - In the 1977 issue of Abundant Life
Oral relates his August '77 vision: "Suddenly God gave me a new name for the
Health Care and Research Center I am to build in His name. You shall call it the
City of Faith." Where is the lie? Coronet magazine in 1955 wrote
about Oral's purchase of 175 acres of land in Tulsa for the purpose of erecting "The
City of Faith." In May, 1956, an article in American magazine
revealed that Oral had purchased a 175 acre site for $250,000 and there he intended to
erect a whole City of Faith (from Give Me That Prime Time Religion by Jerry
Sholes, p. 194).
Oral Roberts simply LIED to people and claimed God had
given him a revelation and the name of the project in 1977 but the FACT is he
was using that name 21 years earlier!
What is more Oral did not build the "City of Faith" in the
name of the Lord - EVERYTHING he touches is named after himself! His ministry is the
Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association, the university is the Oral Roberts University and
so on.
Why lie? Why not tell the truth?
When the Lord God tells you something is going to happen IT WILL HAPPEN.
Which means if Jesus told Oral He would give him the medical breakthrough cure for
cancer . . . then Oral would get it. Did Oral/City of Faith doctors get the cure for
cancer?
NO! In fact, the hospital is now CLOSED, its beds EMPTY. The medical school and research facility is CLOSED.
Sounds like either Jesus failed to fulfill His Word
or Oral failed Jesus - - either scenario is a bad one.
Bottom Line: Oral Roberts
LIED (or was mistaken at the
cost of millions of dollars) about the divine revelation. His grand vision was an
utter failure.
ORAL & MONEY :
From his early tent healing days Oral began to get rich. He
amassed a huge mailing list from those early days and when he was on television he was
receiving over 20,000 pieces of mail per day! Most of those letters contained the
all important seed-faith financial gift. It is estimated that Oral Roberts'
non-profit corporation takes in around 23,400,000 per year due to direct mail alone (p. 8
of Give Me That Prime Time Religion). This does not account for the sale of
books, tapes, personal appearances, healing revival meeting offerings, or ministry
investments.
Oral had another word from the Lord a while back (1987). This time unless
Oral ponied up 8 million dollars he was going to be killed and taken to face his day in
the divine court. In the end Oral raised 6 million (Richard & Oral both sold one
of their many homes) dollars and a Dog Track owner, i.e. professional gambler, donated the
other 2 million.
Oral is a millionaire many times over in his own right. He
even set up a dummy corporation called Pinaok Publishing which fed an estimated 3 million
bucks into a trust fund for himself and family in the 1970's. It was disolved when
it was discovered.
ORAL AS ROGUE:
Oral has earned his place in the Rogues Gallery due to:
1) His being a fake healer, even though he admits to not being able
to prove he ever healed anybody people still look to him as a mighty healer!
2) His becoming extremely wealthly off of the money donated to his non-profit
organization. He has lived a lifestyle of the rich and famous since 1950.
3) He has been caught in several lies, I cited only 2. Not too good for a "man
of God."
4) He failed Jesus in not being able to keep the divinely revealed City of Faith
going long enough to locate the medical cure for cancer.
Oral Roberts has MUCH to answer for before the Throne of God. It is not wonder he was in a total panic when he felt the "call" to raise the 8 million or face the music. He wants to put that date off as long as possible!
READ - Give Me That Prime-Time Religion by Jerry Sholes. NOT available in Christian bookstores (I wonder why?). Search for it at http://www.abebooks.com - this is a used book store and they can get just about anything through their group.