Rebutting Richard Roberts about ORU
Thursday October 11, 2007
Categories: Faith
Earlier this week Richard and Lindsay Roberts made an appearance on Larry King Live to discuss allegations made against them by three former professors at Oral Roberts University. The evening the Roberts appeared on Larry King, a friend sent me...
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Sounds like the Prosperity Gospel run amok.
Another example of high-profile leaders that have ignored the spiritual warfare surrounding them, and tempting them into this course of action. I believe it's mentioned in the bible as the "Pride of Life"
Sins of the father being visited upon the son.
ds0490: no sounds like the sins of the son to me - even though the father may be similiarly sinful.
Amen Bill Weldon.
After watching pious thievery for many years, and the preaching of politics from the pulpit, I have been struggling with a crisis of faith. This type of "attack the accuser" when the proof is staring the "Christ filled" leader in the face...it makes it pathetically easy to separate from beliefs I once held so dear.
I have tried to tell myself that it has been a "crisis of religion," but no, it's of faith and now I doubt the actual existence of a God. I am tired of looking for the good in faith when it is used so much for the leadership's weaponry.
The more that things change, the more they stay the same..........
Christ spoke of the treasure stored up for us--in Heaven, where the last shall be first and the first last. The hypocrisy of those like the Roberts cannot touch His teachings or lessen His glory whatsoever. The pity is that so many valiant teachers and pastors out here are besmirched in the eys of some people. The Roberts will answer for it. If they are lucky, they will answer for it here, on this earth. If not, they will face a sterner justice, unles they have the insight and spiritual understanding to be even able to offer sincere repetance.
Mrs. Roberts has final say over what goes in the student newspaper?
That makes it an administrator's newspaper. People who respect their students are not afraid of a dissenting opinion. This is yet another symptom that some religions are more interested in indoctrination than education.
What is she afraid of?
ATX
This is an old problem, as old as the Church. Are you aware of an ancient book called the Didache? When it was written in the first Century, the leaders of the Church tells people that a prophet that asks for money is no prophet.
I do pray that you do not let the failure of some of the Evangelical Church's so called leaders destroy your faith in the One Who died for us all. May I leave you with an ancient Celtic Blessing, so out of tune with what the Roberts, et al portray as the faith?
Go in peace,
and May the Christ who walks on wounded feet
walk with you on the road,
May the Christ Who serves with wounded hands,
stretch out your hands to serve.
May the Christ Who loves with a wounded heart
open your hearts to love
May you see the face of Christ in everyone you meet
and may everyone you meet see the Face of Christ in you
This both now and forevermore.
In Mark 13, Jesus is asked directly, "When are you coming back," and he replies, directly: "In one generation." When I realized that Jesus only needs to be wrong once and he isn't God, my faith, which was already hanging by a thread, finally evaporated.
Yes, there is still something to live for. You learn that there are people you can trust, and people you can't trust. You learn that the monopoly of love you gave to Jesus needs to be parceled to friends, family, and humanity.
Pertinent to the charismatic movement: if Jesus doesn't exist, then neither does the Holy Spirit, and people who claim to be 'Spirit-filled' are calculating liars. Or worse. Maybe they actually do believe they're guided by the Holy Spirit, and that any whim that subconsciously pops into their minds, no matter how carnal and vile, must have been sent there by the Holy Spirit and therefore is the Will of God.
Bear these words in mind as a warning as this scandal unravels.
Larry King's "interview" of the Roberts couple was a farce. It was nothing more than one friend helping out another. King may have asked some of the right questions but it was simply to all Roberts to deny them. When an interviewee tells King that he has been a "true friend" at the end of an interview, you know it's been a complete waste of time. Larry King should be ashamed of himself.
The letter posted above is one of many from ORU alums who have said the same thing over the past couple of weeks. Roberts runs the university as his own, private fiefdom, and is accountable to no one. It's such a joke that the person who announced the investigation is none other than John Hagee, another fundamentalist pastor who runs his own family business off the backs of donations from people far less well off than themselves (not to mention he is an unrepentant adulterer from the time he dumped his first wife for a much younger woman).
That Roberts will not step down temporarily comes as no surprise. If he did he would lose the leverage of his position to fight the allegations. He own skin is worth much more to him than the reputation of the institution he claims to have dedicated his career to protect. That much is obvious.
The Evangelical Church in America worships at the shrine of success, power, influence and the American Way. Roberts is simply a product of all of this. He is a poster boy. When is the Evangelical Church in the United States finally going to stand up and renounce entitlement, wealth, and all other idols it has come to hold so dear? You are increasingly becoming a joke to the rest of the world. Your big box churches, your entertainment driven worship services, your calls of, "I'm looking for a church where I can be fed" and your love of right wing politics are a sham. We can only wait and see who the next Richard Roberts will be.
A non-American outside of the United States.
"campus worship teams"
Worship is a competitive sport?
Quoting M.A. George, regarding lori's "crisis of faith":
"The hypocrisy of those like the Roberts cannot touch His teachings or lessen His glory whatsoever."
And you have every motivation to believe that, don't you? It's kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Simply hew to the premise that anything which fosters doubt "cannot touch" the core truths of your deep and abiding faith, and what do you know? NOTHING can touch the core truths of your deep and abiding faith.
If I understand where lori is coming from, I don't think she's saying that the actions of Richard and Lindsay Roberts---and the moral or metaphysical implications of those actions---make the Christ myth less compelling. I don't think that cascading reports of monsterous child abuse from religious quarters suddenly make the psalms less poetic, or the Gospels less sublime and compelling. As literature. I think she's more concerned with whether or not the stuff is TRUE, rather than old and pretty.
Having good reasons to believe in something and having good reasons to WANT to believe in something are two distinctly different things. Can you tell the difference? I don't mean to speak for lori, but I think it just becomes more and more difficult for an educated person in the 21st century to suspend disbelief when increasingly confronted by the gobsmackingly obvious fact that religion is man-made.
lori, I hope the best for you.
M.A., I respect your right to have whatever notions you like about the supernatural, and things to which you will submit to belief without evidence. Express your views however you like, but do not expect to be exempt from critical treatment of those views, and certainly do not be complicit in the application of your religious laws to govern my life.
M.A., let it be said that there are, at any given time, a population of human beings who, on level, simply cannot believe on faith. These people need evidence. Perhaps they are less adept at compartmentalizing than others. It would seem it's just they way that they are wired. Science is looking into this now. Google "Godspot" "MRI".
Can you blame these people for not believing? Did your God not make them this way? Did he not place in their path the randomness of human suffering, a history of graft and genocide from every religious enterprise (and there have been thousands)? Is a thinking person meant to overlook that science has one by one been exploding the myths of religious claims for centuries with no end in sight?
Now, I can imagine a million ways you could walk through that paragraph unscathed. So let us assume you are correct, and there are perfectly satisfying theological devices for digesting those problems. Given that, can you honestly and in all fairness hold them the least bit accountable for drawing the conclusion it's all make-believe? The deck is a bit stacked against them, wouldn't you say? Who is this God, some kind of practical joker? Hell of a thing to joke about.
lori, you don't have to believe in a specific god to be a whole person. You don't even have to believe there is a personal God or any god at all. You can settle happily into agnosticism and wait for the evidence. You may yet get it, but stop fretting that the deadline is brain death. I say any god worth believing in gives the benefit of the doubt, at least.
People like Roberts clearly do not believe in an after life where they are judged by what they said and did in this life. I don't know if they have simply convinced themselves that when they die Jesus will overlook all their transgressions because they have "let Jesus into their hearts" or whatever the code is in their version of evangelicism. But the fact of the matter is this: when you do you are confronted with all the lies you told, and this includes the ones you told yourself. We have an absolute duty to the truth. All of us. So you should never be completely certain you have been honest with yourself. It is the lies that we tell ourselves to allow our egos to win, to triumph, that are simply the most dangerous forms of falsehood in human existence. There is no need for a real devil because we do those things to ourselves. And the story of the devil is merely, now, a convenient scapegoat that can be pointed at. I was tempted and I have fallen. But I will be forgiven. Well, I've got news for you, "forgiven" is entirely based on becoming honest with yourself.
So we know people like Roberts and even George Bush do not really believe in a judged afterlife. They have convinced themselves they are right, even in the face of actions and words they clearly know are lies. If they really believed there was a judgement day they would be shaking in their boots. Nothing more cruel than facing your own evil. I know.
To be frank, the professors in some of the departments are NOT top-notch. The History/Humanities/Government includes many subpar profs. Dr. Swails, one of the plaintiffs, is one of the few exceptions to this rule, and, LO AND BEHOLD, Dick Roberts fired him.
I would like to briefly address some of the issues in William's post. First and foremost, the idea that there is no "evidence" of the supernatural. What type of evidence would you look for? A big footprint? a measurement? What? Science is based on the observable, measureable, and quantifiable. If the supernatural could be quantified it would cease to be supernatural. God is outside the realm of weight and measure.
As for genocides and wars based on religion. You fail utterly to remember that the atheistic 20th century was the bloodiest and most brutal century in the history of the world. The athiestic communism, fascism, totalitarianism of Russia, China, Vietnam, Germany, Italy etc. killed more people than all the religious wars in the history of the world. Add into the fact that it was Science that gave these groups the power to obliterate their fellow human beings with the push of a button, makes a person wonder if we leave God, what is the alternative?
I'll ’fess up: when I was a very, very young fogey my parents stopped going to church for a few years (but remembered to have me baptised Anglican - I rediscovered church when I was 12 and thanks be to God it was a conservative Prayer Book shack!) and followed their own religious brew of self-help books and... this. So like 'Star Trek' (a sister was an original Trekkie as well as a ’70s Jesus-movement person) I know the saga of the Robertses (the Marcoses of Oklahoma as Rod Dreher has dubbed them) more than I usually care to admit.
Both Methodism (Oral Roberts is a born and current Methodist) and this Pentecostal offshoot have much good to say and I feel for the sincere Christians who are hurt by these people.
I know now that most people have known almost from the beginning that Roberts was a fraud making dangerous claims of faith healing (people have died) to make mucho bucks. Both he and his wife came from dirt-poor Pentecostal preacher's families and by the late 1940s decided poverty sucks. They were holy high rollers for decades as he and his son are now.
Still, wow. Who knew the extent of the corruption? Which seems to attract Pentecostals like trailer parks do tornadoes.
About a decade before the fall of Jim Bakker (thank God my parents were never keen on him but they did send money to Roberts) the Pentecostal faithful had a revelation (har) when this outfit decided remarriage after divorce wasn't a sin after all when Richard got hot for an ORU student, Lindsay, and dumped wife Patti (who wrote a tell-all book about these rich charlatans). Looks like he'll reap what he's sowed. Or let's hope so anyway.
A friend who once lived in Tulsa told me Roberts has long been on the wane there. His hospital, a big waste of money, closed years ago and ORU's naff Space Agey buildings are literally falling apart. Rather like sometime Assemblies of God minister Jimmy Swaggart - he's still around but who cares?
(BTW another Oklahoman told me there's also a big sub-rosa gay sub-culture in the Pentecostal scene there.)
Sounds like the makings of a good book - how about "Gold to Ashes" for a title?
Did I hear Richard correctly on Larry King - did he say that if he did not raise $85 million, then God would strike him dead?
I'm not born again, nor do I care much for the evangelist style of the Roberts clan. But, I am a native of Tulsa (now residing outside the US) and I grew up in the shadow of ORU. I actually went to school with one of the Roberts' - Danny.
I cannot help but feel a large sense of redemption here. The Roberts' have strung along the faithful for years. People gave their life savings to this family. So much did I revile the undercurrent of their message that money = salvation, I went the other way and rejected western religion altogether. It was then - as it is now - all about the cash. And nobody can tell me different. I was there. I've been to ORU; I saw the TV shows, I listened to the preachers. Jesus was on sale in Tulsa through the '70s, '80s and '90s. To see that family in this scandal now does, quite honestly, put a smile on my face. I was told persistently that I was a sinner and that I needed to be cleansed. I was told that I was not worthy and I would have to earn my way to redemption ($$$$). I was told this by these holier-than-thou arrogant people pretending to do the Lord's work. Of course, in the '80s, there was a whole slew of these frauds, right? Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggert, etc. And each and every one of them were caught with either their pants down, their hands in the cookie jar - or both. I find it interesting that a mortal man can say, "God spoke to me and I am his messenger..." then go on to judge others. Then, when his basic "sinful" humanity catches up with him, he tearfully says, "God forgave me," then goes on to act like nothing happened. What a crock. Some folks like the evangelistic Christian thing, and that's fine. That's their thing. But it never resonated with me and I feel pity on those who rely on it.
On a more personal note...Danny was a total punk in school and acted as if nobody could or would touch him. If there is justice in the world, Danny is doing time right now in a Mexican jail, but, chances are, he's actually somewhere in the ministry, siphoning off his portion of the treasury.
The sooner ORU is put out of its misery, the better.
Dave,
You have stated very clearly a plain truth: God cannot be quantified. Surely you will understand how this strikes me as a weak ploy to hold up this thing that you ABSOLUTELY MUST believe in, while maintaining that it is also the one thing of which one can never have testable evidence. My post was meant simply to demonstrate that it is REASONABLE for a person not to believe, given the evidence available.
We can get into semantics about whether or not there is an all-knowing super-being or a Christian or Jewish or Muslim god, or simply a oneness about the universe or whatever you wish to imagine. We will get nowhere quibbling over those constructs. My point is that when the physical evidence is built entirely upon a book (have you READ this book) which bears all the marks of a backward, pre-literate, and ignorant authorship, can a person of skeptical nature be blamed for taking it with a grain of salt? Many will dive into scripture to find the answer, something I should think ought to illustrate fallacy that much better.
John, great post. I'm sure you're aware the Jim Bakker is back in the act. He's got a program on satellite TV. He's televangelizing with a Tammy Faye clone, calling for more donations he says God has commanded him to collect. The audience nods and claps and stomps and shouts, and you can see that many of them old enough to remember his last ministry. These are the people on the other end of the spectrum. They can't HELP but believe.
There is a word for this and it is GULLIBLE.
ORU & Richard Roberts' Hypocrisy is nothing new! Richard Roberts older brother Ron committed suicide in 1982. Ron Roberts was a self-proclaimed gay American. ORU does not allow gay students. Does something smell rotten? For verification, see YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AFRAID ANYMORE, Rev. Troy Perry, pages 317-323.
"staff cutbacks".....It figures that the Robert's would take the low road and cut their staff instead of controlling their rock star lifestyle, and their lavish spending. I am in the aviation business and at 9/11 the work at my company really slowed down. We have 4 offices throughout the US and Canada and the owner did not even lay one person off. We sat here for a year with nothing to do and not one person lost their job and he still managed to give us a Christmas bonus. Now that is the American way.....and my company is not representing God. This is so shameful but I'm glad people are waking up to see the truth and what these pimps are doing to people.
You fail utterly to remember that the atheistic 20th century was the bloodiest and most brutal century in the history of the world. The athiestic communism, fascism, totalitarianism of Russia, China, Vietnam, Germany, Italy etc. killed more people than all the religious wars in the history of the world. Add into the fact that it was Science that gave these groups the power to obliterate their fellow human beings with the push of a button, makes a person wonder if we leave God, what is the alternative?
Actually Hitler was a good Christian who promoted school prayer and the power of faith.
Also the bllodiest war in history was the Great Tai Ping Rebellion, which was led by Hong Xiuquan, a convert to Baptism who want to create a Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.
To extend Barney's point a little, those regimes you mentioned, Dave, were virtually interchangeable with any theocratic dictatorship in terms of cult of personality, or totalitarian ideology. There is no good reason to believe atheism leads to depravation. Sociopaths are sociopaths, my friend.
All the good ideas religion takes credit for are are obvious to anyone with a decent bone in their body. Do not steal? Did we really need stone tablets to tell us this? I already know the theology about how Jehovah needed to get the law spelled out, as it were, as part of his five-point plan to get to heaven---a plan which hinges on bloody human sacrifice. Yes, folks, this is the best the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE could come up with. He is all-knowing and omnipotent, but he can't let you into heaven without throwing his son's blood on you.
I really don't mean to ridicule, but it is pretty ridiculous when you think about it.
So as to your question, "What's the alternative?" Well, DUH, love one another, appreciate and enjoy the life you have. Human solidarity, reciprocity. This is all we need. When the God of myth presents himself to me in the afterlife, if there is one, then I will be the first to shake his hand. What a marvel of creation. Thanks for showing up.
Last word, I win!
Basing judgments on accusations that are yet to be proven shows bias. The proofs quoted in this article as facts are taken from the lawsuit itself...which is itself unproven.
Graduating or attending ORU does not make one an expert on how the personal lives and finances of the Roberts family are conducted.
The bible states that a fool judges a case before he has heard it. This case has yet to have any hard evidence given...only insinuation....and even the accusers in this case have stated that they do not know just what the facts are...whether any of these additional accusations are true or not. That would make anyone who passed a guilty verdict at this point a fool . When the proof is out in court...make your judgment...until then...don't be a fool.
Hello to all. I have been reading some of the things being said about all of this current lawsuit, the Roberts, etc. Unfortunately, when those who do not believe in Jesus Christ see and hear these things, they question what God(Yahweh) is all about or decide they want nothing to do with Him if this is an indication of His character. That part saddens me because I know God is not about robbing people or suing one another. I think I would probably feel some of the same ways if I did not already know Jesus. It sure wouldn't make me want to get to know Him more. So if you don't know Christ, please don't judge what He is like by all of this current mess. - He is actually very VERY Wonderful! Unlike other gods, He doesn't ask you to get yourself fixed up just right to approach Him. He did that part for us when He gave Himself as a sacrifice. It was a loving act. He did it because
we could NEVER fix ourselves up enough to approach His holiness..so He did it FOR us by becoming a sinless man and taking all of our penalty for sin on Himself. How much more selfless and loving can anything be? Contrary to the post above, God isn't "throwing His Son's blood on us" but He does offer it to us.
To those who do know the Lord, bringing suit against a brother or sister in a court of law is very clearly WRONG according to New Testament scripture. Whether or not the Roberts are innocent or at fault, the professsors are going about this incorrectly. I am not taking up or defending any wrong doing. However, these things paint an inacurate picture of Jesus.
On the ORU / Roberts scandal:
I'm an ORU grad, and none of this surprises me. I was there in the '80s during then-president Oral Roberts' "$8 Million or God will take me home" uproar, and then again in the '90s for some of then-president Richard Roberts issues. The students have seen it all. Calls to holiness and righteousness from chapel pulpets and rigid enforcement of the Honor Code, and the apparant contradictory hypocrisy from the university administration. We witnessed the nepotism in the hiring of Roberts' relatives and cronies to positions of power (Vice Presidents and Regents), and the degrading firing of professors who dared speak a word that was offensive to those powers. All the while they demanded sacrifice and loyalty from the students and faculty.
The faculty there are blessed saints. They've endured all kinds of hardship and humiliation, all true to their calling and devotion to God and the students. I have nothing but the highest love and esteem for them. And the students called there, they too have put up with so much. And unfortunately, they will be the victims of this latest scandal, just as we had to hang our heads in embarrassment in the '80s whenever someone asked which university we attended.
But as we've seen recently with the scandals in the Church, and the exposing of religious hypocrisy in the pulpet (and Congress), God is cleaning his house. I am confident that every opportunity was offered for repentence and changed behavior. And God has tolerated so much because of the good that IS being done. But his indulgence has its limits.
Despite the re-opening of old wounds, I am genuinely grieved again for the university. And I pray it will survive and continue to be a light-house for coming generations. But the house MUST be cleaned, once and for all. The corruption must be exposed, and the corruptors removed. I pray that those Regents who still honor loyalty to God above allegiance to the Robertses will have the strength to do what is necessary. And I pray for those professors who've been harrassed and slandered, that they will be vindicated and restored.
God bless that university, its faculty and its students.
That's right, folks. We're dirty filthy sinners, not fit to stand in the presence of the Almighty. We're excrement, scum.
But not to worry: The universe was created with YOU in mind!
I have had both professional and personal experience with the Roberts and from my own experience I agree with the posted letter and from the posting by Steve Schmidt. I personally believe the Regents are each undergoing a heavenly test as to whether or not they have allegiance with the Lord Jesus Christ or with Oral and Richard Roberts. It is my prayer they have greater allegiance with the Lord and will set the house in order.
I believe the Catholic Church had chances to correct their internal sexual issues and because they did not correct it internally, it became public and order is being set. I hope and pray the ORU Regents have the fortitude and faith to follow the Lord because once it becomes public it is merciless.
Why does anyone have trouble believing this is true? It sounds to me like when everything is researched, it will come out just like the Ted Haggard situation. Why do these people deny everything? Whatever happened to "Be sure your sins will find you out?"
I have a brother who is a minister. I know what he lives like - high on the hog, and he doesn't care who he mows over to get it.
Fortunately, just because a person calls themselves a Christian, a minister, or any other religious title, that doesn't mean they truly live as Jesus did. Please, anyone who is or isn't a Christian, don't judge Christ by the way his "so-called" followers act.
There are truly Christians out there, (you just may have to look hard to find them!) Darlene
I agree with Steve Schmidt. God is a very merciful and loving God and it is in His love and mercy that He deals with His children in a public way when they have turned from Him when He has tried to deal with them in private. Speaking from my own experience with God, I have found Him to love His children so much that He will do whatever is necessary to bring them to their knees in repentance. He will give a person every opportunity to turn from their sin and come back to Him until they have made their final choice in the matter. I have no idea if the allegations are true. My prayer is that anything hidden in darkness will come to the light and the truth will then set the people free.
I would also caution my fellow brothers and sisters to think twice before running the Roberts into the ground if there are allegations to be proved true. Just as with recent scandals in the Christian circles, there is not one of us that is above being led into deception through our pride. But for the grace of God, there go I. These things coming out should bring us to our knees in our own lives, regarding our own hearts causing us to cry out to God as King David, "Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10
I too am a former employee of ORU. I will not go into details as to which dept. I worked or when but as with other bloggers, I loved the university, the people there, and my job. I can attest by conversations with the security staff and close friends at the time, the home improvements, the lavish wardrobe billing, are more than likely true. the Robert's kids too were considred VIP's along with some other high profile teleevangilist's kids who attended ORU. Yes, these students did get into some incidents from time to time that might raise a eyebrow but nothing that other teenagers would probably do who are are away from home for the first time and looking to have some fun. Security as usual are asked to bury the reports and let the kids go. Also as far as the Roberts seen smoking or lighting up from time to time again although I have never personally seen that, it again is common knowledge that smoking or the smell of cigarettes has been observed by security in the personal make-up rooms throughout the years after a taping or broadcast. Yes it is heresay and undocumented but these are guys who have been on the job for some time. They blow it off as human nature and stress. I do not judge anyone as I have no proof and even if they did or do now smoke ocassionaly it is their business. I have heard swearing or cursing from some staff people under stress, I have caught kids making out in secluded areas but does that make everyone bad? No. Human beings attened and work at ORU. These are not angels, but people. Are the Roberts to held to a higher standard? Yes they should be. I beleive the board will do the right thing if and when that time comes. the bottom line the university needs to survive. It employs a lot of Tulsa residents and it is a major landmark and a glorious campus.
Fodder for the atheists! Yes, indeed, folks,the non believers read about this mess and distance themselves further from anything pertaining to spiritual law. And, that's a shame. The Roberts' behavior is a true reflection of their hypocrisy and greed. They are about as far removed from the teachings of Jesus Christ as one can possibility get. It is insane to believe that God speaks to them, and it is beyond insane to donate to their "cause." I believe that there exists within each of us an innate trait to search for clues concerning the existence of God. If you find those clues in a particular church, good for you. But, if you're looking for shortcuts, via TV tune in to L. & R. Roberts, and be assured that you will not be receiving anything remotely resembling the teachings of Jesus Christ. My heart bleeds for those good folks who have been brain-washed into believing in these two. I hope that they all fold up their wallets and silently steal away into the light of a new and glorious day!
If we could simply pray this thing out of existance....The most deeply troubling issues are the sexual allegations against Lindsay Roberts. Either this is an innocent woman being viciously crucified in the media; or this is a seductress and pedophile of the first order. If she indeed has engaged in sexual acts with teenage boys, literally in the presence of her own children...her life will only find joy in Hollywood (or a misfit reality show) from hereforward. The damage that would cause to a young man is so easily overlooked and downplayed, it is tragic. And the shattered trust borne by hypocracy would be a cancer only God could cure. If true, it simply cannot be unknown to the Roberts family. (What family orders a report of rumors of their own wrong-doing to be researched and developed?) Further, if known and true, then it casts even greater questions over Richard Roberts. Why would he hide or ignore something of this magnitude, unless he too were hiding something of equal or greater transgress? Then deny it to the entire world on national tv? The perpetuation of rumors are in and of themselves sin. Moreso the necessity for this board, if it can find God's virtue within, to act honestly, openly and with deliberation. Christendom will survive...but above all, To God Be The Glory.
Sounds like a lot of ministries started off humbly but morphed into money machines; that's sad because it gives one more excuse for people to reject Jesus, the only one who truly loves people with a never ending love.
People who have been hurt then post bitter remarks and make sarcastic statements, and will remain lost and undone unless they give their hearts to God the Son. "90 minutes in Heaven" is a good book; hope all of the skeptics will give it a try. Bob Wise's "23
minutes in Hell" is a good one also. May the love of God become a revelation to you all. May the grace of our Lord be with you.
I am saddened by all this,but theres been so much gloifying of ORU and Jesus does not get equal time. Also if these allegations can be bought to lite, The Board of regents must do something to glorify the Lord and get back to God instead of worshiping at the alter of ORU.
It is a shame that the president of other secular corporations can wear nice clothes, drive luxury cars, and live in nice homes. However, the president of a Christian University and his family are expected to live beneath the standards of his peers. It is unfortunate that the Roberts who suffered to build the University are being subjected to public spectacles. My question is this, why "muzzle the working ox?"
Joko Williams
Richard is not half the man his dad is today. He was never trustowrthy from day one. You could look at this man and see he was afraid of falling down and breaking his hair. He had this air about him that put him above anyone else. Many felt this from the start and it has taken all these years and who knows how much money taken by him for people to finally see he has never been what he wanted people to believe about him. He is not real and he needs to go home and fine a secret place and give his heart to the Lord.
He is still coming over better than anyone else.
Its what he is made up. Self centerness and being a phony is still with him today, even after being found out by those who are close to him.
God home Richard Roberts.
Dear All,
Pls continue to pray for Roberts ! We dont know the truth let's not cast a stone on our "own Christian brother".I beleieve in justice ! If he the accusation is ture ..let the law judge him ...But it will be a great lost to the Christian world ! STOP casting stones @ one of us ...UNLESS you have never sin before ! Just pray ! Pray for the truth ! Even if it is the truth ...Why cant we pray that God will restore him ....Isnt what Christianity is all about ...Giving others a second chance ! JUDGE NOT LEST YOU BE JUDGE !!!I am no perfect ..if i fail ...i think i would want ppl to help not to stabb me !
In a Bible study God taught me and helped me share with our fellowship brethren, he showed me that it is always dangerous to talk negative things about spiritual leaders, even if it might be true...Hem Noah's son was cursed for talking of his father's nakedness, Miriam was cursed for pointing finger to Moses' marriage "with an ethiopian", etc, etc...on the other hand..David continue to call Saul "The Lord's anointed" and had to grieve and sing a song of honor to him when he died...I believe this is what our attitude should always be as Christians...If Men of God fail, Let's pray for them and God will deal with them in His wisdom...Our Calling is to pray and encourage and speak positive things only...Love that surpasses knowledge and understanding...
Albert, I totaly agree with you.
To begin with I do not understand how a graduate student knows so much about the Richard Roberts family and how ORU is run. It seems he or she knows more than the Regents. I love Richard and Lindsay and the whole Roberts family. I would love to attend ORU. There are some people that are not Christians that attend ORU because it is an excellent school, but they will attack true Christians with every opportunity. Give them an inch and they will take a mile. I know what it is like to be attacked by non-Christian and so called Christians (wolves in sheeps clothing). I give Richard and Lindsay credit for standing their ground and I think it is wise of Richard to listen to the Lord and step down untill all of this is settled. If people would read their Bible they would find that Job, Abraham, Moses, Arron, Miriam, Elijah, King David, King Soloman, Peter, and many others sinned and made mistakes,(two different things). But, we have a forgiving God, He forgave when He was ask for forgiveness. He forgave then and He forgives now. Read Jeremiah 3:12-15. Then go to First John 1:5-10.& First John 2:1-6. Some people will read these Scriptures, but most won't because they THINK that if they don't know what the Word of God says, they will not be held accountable. THINK AGAIN. I think that the true Christians of the world should unite in prayer for the Roberts family and ORU. Lift them up in prayer. I heard someone say one time that the Christians are the only army that kills their wounded. This is so true. The Roberts family have a right to live a lavish lifestyle, they have been serving God for a long time, and God is a God of blessings not cursings. Richard and Lindsay have to intertain people from all over the world, do you want them to invite people into there tent? Get real people! Richard is part American Indian but he is a modern Indian. I am not trying to be judgemental of those they dissagree with me, I just want them to realize what they are doing to a good christian family. Oral Roberts was attacked when was Presdent of ORU so I guess Richard and Lindsay are in good company. if the allegations are true don't kill them and bury them, pray for restoration. In Christ's Love. Pat
I can't believe what I'm hearing from so-called Christians. Richard Roberts perported to be a Man-of-God. Do you remember the hateful things that he accused those filing the lawsuit of? Everyone (almost) has known for years that the Robert's live the life of the Rich and Famous. Where in Jesus' teachings does it state that men of the cloth should become wealthy from their work? I recall that Christ told the rich man to give his wealth to the poor and to "come and follow Me." Do you recall how disappointed the rich man was? Richard Roberts appears to have that same feeling.
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