Summary of JSM

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Summary of JSM

By Mark W. Swarbrick

Swaggartism, Jimmy Swaggart Prostitute, Jimmy Swaggart House, Swaggart false prophet, false teacher, Jimmy Swaggart Net WorthFor the complete story on Jimmy Swaggart, get my book, Swaggartism: The Strange Doctrines of Jimmy Swaggart Ministriesavailable now on Amazon for only $6.99. For information click HERE.

Available in Paperback and Kindle eBook – 266 pages of documented facts! 

 

 

Summary of JSM

Jimmy Swaggart Ministries (JSM) is an aberrant Christian ministry that is known for its propensity for maligning ministries other than its own. The ministry is not recommended by the cult watch ministry Christian Research Institute, siting its convoluted explanation of the trinity, wherein it is alleged that the Holy Spirit and God the Father have bodies.

There are three areas of concern: Doctrinal, Behavioral, and Moral.

DOCTRINAL

Summary of JSM. JSM teaches the following…

  1. The Apostle Paul as a Christian lived a defeated sinful life.
  2. The Apostle Paul did not understand the cross.
  3. None of the apostles understood the cross.
  4. Jimmy Swaggart claims he’s been given a new revelation about the cross.
  5. Jimmy Swaggart’s revelation goes beyond what the church has ever known.
  6. Most churches besides JSM are satanic and in error and rebellion.
  7. JSM is called and anointed of God to reform the Church.
  8. Jimmy Swaggart is the apostle of this reformation.
  9. Faith in “the cross alone” is emphasized over faith in Jesus Christ.
  10. Jimmy Swaggart is the only TV evangelist preaching the proper gospel.
  11. Unless you speak in tongues you are of little worth in the Kingdom of God.
  12. God the Father has a man-like body that is not omnipresent (everywhere at once).
  13. The Holy Spirit also has a body.
  14. God’s body lives on a planet somewhere in our universe.
  15. Planet heaven is in the direction “north.”
  16. Their own Bible commentary full of strange heretical teachings.
BEHAVIORAL

Those who have attended Swaggart’s Family Worship Center, or have worked for the ministry have reported immoral and cultic behavior in the ministry. Reports by these people allege…

  1. Immoral behaviors such as numerous affairs amongst church leaders.
  2. High percentage of divorces among church members & leaders.
  3. Unethical behaviors with the handling of money.
  4. Unethical real estate deals.
  5. Isolation, shunning, and coercive discipline used by leadership.
  6. Paranoia and secrecy about money, business dealings & ministry activities.
  7. Unchecked sexual indiscretions among leadership.
  8. Printing of satanic & gang material for money by the ministry print shop.
  9. Leadership implies that JSM is God’s only true ministry.
  10. Their TV ministry is replete with mean-spirited attacks against others.
  11. An unhealthy cultic group-think mentality amongst members.
  12. Encouragement to leave the local church and become an on-line tithing member of Jimmy Swaggart Ministries.
  13. An unhealthy reliance upon Jimmy Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible (see our page on the dangers of the Swaggart Bible).

MORAL

The ministry suffers from a stigma of…

  1. Viewing Pornography
  2. Visiting Prostitutes (whore mongering)
  3. Repeated Lies
  4. Arrogance
  5. Non Submission to Church Authority
  6. Divorce

Jimmy Swaggart was caught with a prostitute in 1988 and confessed to going to prostitutes and viewing pornography for over twenty years. He confessed and tearfully expressed his sorrow on public TV.

King James Only Controversy, King James Only, KJV Only

The author’s book, King James Onlyism, examines the cult of KJV  Onlyism. Available in both paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon for only $2.99. To purchase from Amazon, CLICK HERE or click the book image to the left.

However, he rejected his church’s discipline (Assemblies of God) and refused to step down from ministry for a year to receive special counseling from A/G ministers. In a meeting with the General Council of the Assemblies of God Swaggart told them they were “too dumb and too stupid” and that he heard from God himself and that he speaks for God and that the Assemblies of God does not. Swaggart has stated that the Assemblies of God is a cult and that some of its officials were “in league with pornographers.”

After Swaggart’s tearful apology on television in 1988, he was again caught with a prostitute in 1991. He was pulled over by police with a prostitute in his front seat and pornography was found under the seat. He told his congregation, “God told me it is flat none of your business.” He was caught again in 1995.

Donnie Swaggart (Jimmy’s son) divorced his wife to marry a lady in the church who was a 5-time divorcée. He then divorced her and remarried his first wife. He continued to minister during this time.

JSM is a multi-million dollar real estate empire that gets most of its income from property purchased with donations from Christians to support the Swaggart “ministry.” Swaggart’s real-estate partner was imprisoned for fraud. The number of allegations from people pointing out shady financial dealings and a lust for money in the ministry is legend.

The Swaggart’s are millionaires many times over and live in the lap of extravagant luxury. The ministry has a history of legal entanglements. Jimmy Swaggart was convicted in court of defamation and ordered to pay ten million dollars to another ministry which he had defamed. He was also sued by Dake Publishing for 2.5 million dollars, who alleged that Swaggart had “wrongfully taken and used plaintiff’s proprietary works for their own benefit and profit.”

The qualifications for Christian ministers is listed in Titus 1:5-9. There we read that ministers must be “above reproach, not arrogant, not greedy for gain, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 1Timothy 3:5 tells us, “If a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?”

Swaggart’s actions after his televised display of repentance, indicate that he did not truly repent and turn from his sin. He is not above reproach. He has been, and is still, arrogant. The ministry is greedy for gain. We have not seen self-control and discipline. Clearly a man who is unfaithful to his wife over a course of decades cannot be considered as one who is managing his own household well and therefore cannot be esteemed as one who can take care of the church of God. Jimmy Swaggart fails the Biblical qualifications required to be a minister of the gospel.

Below is our video that gives an in-depth analysis of Jimmy Swaggart Ministries and summary of JSM.

The Swaggart Seduction from Mark Swarbrick on Vimeo.

Thanks for reading. To leave a comment, please scroll down.

Swaggartism, Jimmy Swaggart Prostitute, Jimmy Swaggart House, Swaggart false prophet, false teacher, Jimmy Swaggart Net WorthFor more information on Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, get my book, Swaggartism: The Strange Doctrines of Jimmy Swaggart Ministriesavailable now on Amazon for only $6.99. For information click HERE.

Available in Paperback and Kindle eBook – 266 pages of documented facts! 

 

 

Other books by Pastor Mark Swarbrick, click the image below…

The Expositors Study Bible, Jimmy Swaggart Study Bibles, The Expositor's Study BibleThe Expositors Study Bible, Jimmy Swaggart Study Bibles, The Expositor's Study BibleThe Expositors Study Bible, Jimmy Swaggart Study Bibles, The Expositor's Study Bible

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84 Comments

  1. Jimmy Swaggart expositors 1 Tim 3: 2 says about the qualifications (these are qualities, and not qualifications
    as some claim). Jimmy rewrites the bible. All of my bibles
    in captions call them qualifications.

    Reply

    1. Thanks Hugo for the feedback and thanks for pointing out how the Swaggart Bible changes the heading from “qaulificatoins” to “qualities.” That is telling.

      Reply

      1. I might add the reason Jimmy calls them qualities
        and not qualifications is because Jimmy nor Donnie are qualified according Tim 3:2. For him it is best to change what the bible says.

        Reply

        1. Thank you Hugo for pointing out what the qualifications are for Pastors/Bishops as the bible clearly states. The Swaggerts are not qualified according to the bible. Someone called and ask them about being qualified as the scripture says. Donnie said the word ” must be” is just a suggestion. The word must be in the Greek is ” binding”. He said no one really qualifies. Really? If they repented they can be forgiven, but it doesn’t change the qualifications for the leadership. Although forgiven, they must step down from leadership. Anything less is clear disobedience. God does not waver on his word. Actually the believer is being disobedient if they ignore this requirement by the Lord. Simple, You follow the Lord, not men. You let the Holy Spirit teach you himself. You cannot put anyone between you and the Lord. Jesus is your only mediator. Thanks Hugo, if you start with the requirement as the Lord told us to, you can eliminate many of these teachers/pastors. Glad you said it!

          Reply

    2. You are using a bad translation of the Bible. Gen. 22:8 where you bible says: He will provide FOR himself a lamb…is soooo inaccurate that it null and voids the blood of Jesus. It should say as the KJV …Gen 22:8 He will provide HIMSELF(GOD) a lamb…I dare say you do not have any room to speak of Jimmy Swaggart in a negative way.
      Your real problem with him is that he would not bow to The Assemblies GOD church government.
      God is God not the evil denomination of the Assemblies of God.

      Reply

      1. Hi Doris – It is interesting that you consider it wrong to speak against a “brother” but you have no problem defaming the entire denomination of the Assemblies of God. I would encourage you to examine your own heart and see if Jimmy’s vicious attitude is not rubbing off on you. I say that in love. Please pray about it. Jimmy can see the specks in everyone else’s eyes, but not in his own.

        I see you come under the influence of the KJV only doctrine that the Swaggart’s hold to. It is an unscholarly opinion. I must do an article on that soon. I will let you know when it is up. The A/G asked Jimmy to step down for one year to receive counseling and help from other ministers in the Assemblies. Since he confessed to visiting prostitutes for over twenty years, this was a most gracious offer. Since he refused that, told them they were stupid and that he hears directly from God, they had no choice but to take his credentials.

        Pastor Mark

        Reply

        1. Hi, Just wanted to comment on your view that Swaggart is KJV only. First of I think many of your observations of the ministry are correct, so it is not my intention to argue, however Swaggart is not KJV only.
          It is true that he only seems to promote that version. Im sure this is because his study bible is KJV(or at least a revised version of it). However I have heard him and others in his ministry say that there are other good translations.

          Reply

          1. Hi Michael and thanks for your feedback. I stand corrected. I had thought he was KJV only. I know many of his followers are rabid KJV only adherants. But now that I think about it, I don’t have any documentation on my statement that he is KJV only. It does seem odd that many of his followers are KJV only. You may be correct, that Swaggart is only favorable to the KJV. Thanks for your input. If anybody else out there has info on Swaggart’s position on this, it is welcomed. I do know that he is dogmatic than many modern versions are bad. Of course there are some modern versions that aren’t the best, but he goes way beyond this and really hates on modern versions, especially if they were quoted in the book, The Purpose Driven Life, a book that Swaggart loves to hate on. Thanks again for your input.

            Pastor Mark

      2. Doris, you are sadly fooled by this pack of wolves. How dare you, when knowing you will some day stand before God the Holy Judge, follow a serial adulterer who is addicted to pornography and “filthy lucre”?

        Follow the Lord Jesus Christ – be true to Him. The Holy Spirit is to lead you and guide you into all truth. Dig deep into your Bible, seek your answers there, as did the Bereans in the early church.

        From 2 Peter 1:3,
        “…His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”

        God has given us everything we need pertaining to life and godliness! We do not need Jimmy Swaggart or any other self-appointed human vessel of “truth” to give us what we need for a godly life in Christ Jesus. We need to abide in Christ! (See the Book of John.)
        Test all the spirits to know if they are of the Lord.

        Do not believe Jimmy Swaggart or anyone in the Swaggart ministries, just because they “say so.” Jimmy has basically put himself in the place of the Holy Spirit, claiming it is only through him you can be a real Christian. That’s basically blasphemous. Blasphemy defined as, “the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God.”

        Jimmy Swaggart does NOT have a healthy fear of God.

        “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hand of the living God.” Hebrews 10:31

        I hope and pray God will lead you to the truth.

        And the truth will set you free!

        Be blessed, place your faith in Jesus Christ and Him alone (not the “cross.”) He is your Lord and King.

        May God richly bless you and lead you to a knowledge of the truth.

        By the way, I’d suggest a course on biblical hermeneutics (not in Swaggart’s church!) so that you can learn to study the Bible (NOT the Swaggart Bible!) and know the truth. It will teach you how to study and glean the truth from the Word of God itself.

        I pray God will preserve and protect you – and move you away from this horrible, dangerous ministry.

        Reply

      3. We are commanded to judge a tree by its fruit…
        And Swaggerts fruit is rotten for all to see and his apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree…
        Refusal to obey the scripture by stepping down for sexual immorality over decades is rooted in the original sin…PRIDE……Pride cometh before a fall….it’s one thing to fall into sin one time and repent …… but over decades????? Really???? That is tad amount to demonic possession….
        Swaggerts did not want to step down because of FILTHY LUCRE…..

        Reply

        1. Hi Renata, Thanks for your comment. You are quite correct. Many people fail to recognize that Swaggart’s refusal to abide by his own denominations stipulations for recovery and restoration short-circuited any recovery he might have had.

          …Pastor Mark

          Reply

    3. I might add the reason he calls them quality’s and not qualifications is because Jimmy nor Donnie qualify according to Tim 3:1.

      Reply

  2. What great information!!! I grew up in the Assemblies of God church. Of course growing up pentecostal meant having to listen to Jimmy Swaggart every Sunday while getting ready for church. I even attended some of his gatherings with my parents. I remember how his “Fall” affected people, including my parents. It was a huge black eye for believers everywhere I believe. After Swaggart did what he did I would have never believed he would make a come back and boy has he. My mother is a huge fan again. She has his books, his music and of course his bible. She is even a member of his “Media Church” and sends her tithes faithfully. As for me I am no longer pentecostal. I attend a reformed baptist church. Faith alone in Christ alone by Grace alone, Scripture alone, glory to God alone. My mother and I are now polar opposites. I cannot tell you how many fights we have had over Jimmy Swaggart. I have been happy to just agree that we don’t agree, but that’s not what she wants. She wants to convince me she’s right and she wants my children to know Jimmy’s way, because according to her being exposed to this would not be harmful. Of course I disagree and have stood my ground. I know you said in the video this is not yet a cult, I think that’s the only thing I disagree with you on. I believe this is a cult. My mother has basically told me she knows I’ve made my decision and there is nothing she can do to change it. I think she truly believes I’m not a Christian. I have to be honest, she is so deluded by JSM that I question whether she’s a true Christian. By their fruit you shall know them. When someone cannot wake up from spiritual deception I have to seriously question. Any way thank you for the information, hopefully this open the eyes of some. JSM has a powerful hold. I wouldn’t believe it, but I’ve seen it with my own eyes. It’s truly sad.

    Reply

    1. Hi Shannon, Thank you for your comment. I am glad you appreciate the information. I am praying your mother can see the truth about Swaggartism someday. I have changed my mind on the cult status of Swaggart. I now believe it is a cult. It is only not a cult in the sense that you can be a fan of Swaggart and still be saved. We are saved by grace, not by being correct about everything we think. If a person believes in Christ and has surrendered their life to Him, they are saved, even though they may be wrong about many things. Of course, incorrect doctrine minimizes a person’s effectiveness in the Kingdom and stunts a person’s spiritual growth. And as you have found out, the fruit of Swagartism is hurt feelings and disrupted family relationships, as Swaggarites become, like Swaggart, argumentative and close minded and sometimes behave like rabid dogs, insisting vehemently that everyone become a follower of Swaggart. Swaggartism is spiritually dangerous because it gets a person’s focus off of Jesus and onto Swaggart and his perculiar teachings. I’m glad you are in a good local church. Just curious – has Swaggart got your mother to stop attending a local church?

      I’m working on a shorter version of my video, The Swaggart Seduction. The current one is over an hour long and is just too long for some people. Perhaps with the shorter one, you can get your mother to watch it.

      If I can be of any help I am here. Feel free to contact me anytime. God Bless…Pastor Mark

      Reply

      1. Thank you for responding. And yes my mother has been convinced NOT to attend a local church. She is a “media member” and sends her tithes to them. When she first mentioned this was what she was going to do I tried to in a nice way remind her of scripture telling us not to forsake coming together but the Swaggarts are apparently very convincing. So I don’t bring it up. It would just cause a fight. It’s sad and disturbs me by there is nothing I can do. Thank you again for the information. I look forward to reading further info you put out in the future.

        Reply

        1. Hi Shannon, That is sad that Jimmy Swaggart Ministries has convinced her to forsake the local church, but I am not surprised. Proselytizing is the name of their game. I have 14 articles on Swaggart on the website and we add more as we can. (The articles are under the heading Jimmy Swaggart Ministries from the main page at: http://www.ChristianAnswerMan.com ) I have a very short Youtube video about Swaggart. Perhaps you can get your mother to watch it. You can see that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeylL68rdro Also, I am wondering if you have seen my longer video (2 Hours), The Swaggert Seduction. The link to that is: https://christiananswerman.com/christian-answer-man-videos/ It is the video at the top of the page – The Swaggart Seduction.

          My prayers are with you as you try to help your mother. God bless…Pastor Mark

          Reply

          1. I do not believe Swaggart says he has a NEW REVELATION from God. I believe he says it is/was new to HIM. In 1997 he began to realize the sanctification of a believer is in the Cross of Christ and HIS FINISHED work thereon. I have listened to the teaching of the Message of the Cross.
            Also, I have never heard him say that the Apostle Paul lived a sinful,defeated life. I have heard him and the others on jsm.org quote the scripture where Paul says in Rom. 7 But what I hate I do…paraphrased…who will deliver me from this body of Flesh and then he remembers about Jesus. Paul knew that we are sinful beings even if we are saved there is a battle of the flesh and the Spirit and we must know the Bible in order to obey the LORD.

          2. Hi Doris and thank-you again for your honest reply. I know your feelings are genuinly held. Swaggart actually did say it was a new revelation and that the Apostle Paul could not live for God. Swaggart claims that he has been given more light than anyone in the church has every had. Read this article for the proof: https://christiananswerman.com/message-of-the-cross/

            Here is what Swaggart says in his Expositor’s Study Bible:

            “He (Paul) failed to obey no matter how hard he tried…the Apostle Paul couldn’t live for God…Paul thought, now that he had accepted Christ, by that mere fact alone he could certainly obey the Lord in every respect; but he found he couldn’t…he failed…having just been Saved, and not understanding the Cross of Christ, he tried to live for God by keeping the Commandments through his own strength and power; in his defense, no one else at that time understood the Cross…sin in his life which he doesn’t want to do, and in fact hates, but finds himself unable to stop; unfortunately, due to the fact of not understanding the Cross…” — The Expositor’s Study Bible, Commentary on Romans Chapter 7

            …Pastor Mark

        2. Hi Shannon,

          Thanks for your post! I was raised Pentecostal as well, and Swaggart was revered in our house. Thankfully, none of my family feels like your mom does now since the scandal broke.

          Over the last 20 years, I ran across an occasional broadcast of a service at Family Worship Center (always on some remote cable channel). The church was pretty empty, and Donnie would do most of the preaching. I was struck by how arrogant and angry they appear to be. Then, about 2 years ago, I was flipping through the higher cable channels, and ran across SBN quite accidently….it was on a channel with the name “shop zeal.” I started listening to some of their programming and frankly, I was stunned by the ignorance, anger, critical spirit and the virtual “reverence or worship” of Jimmy by everyone! His claim of being given a “revelation” of the cross, the crazy Expositor’s Study Bible, and his doctrine of “the cross” reminded me of what he was like in the past, and it is perfectly clear that he hasn’t changed a bit!

          Frances’ program, Frances and Friends (F&F) is absolutely embarrassing! I have written them several times, questioning many of their ignorant statements and misguided information. I’ve only received one response…from John Rosenstern…but it was like talking to a wall! The people who call into F&F are very uneducated people evidenced by the quality of the questions, command of the English language, etc. I have spoken to many of SBN’s followers on web pages like Facebook, etc. They are very cult-like! They are suspicious, non-critical thinkers.

          Over the last 2 years, they seemed to have peaked in terms of their fund-raising ability and their growth. Even during their bi-annual “camp meeting” they fail to fill FWC to capacity. I think there are only so many extreme fundamentalists around. The Swaggart’s are their own worst enemy. The more they expose themselves, the more they will be rejected by clear thinking people.

          Reply

          1. The Swaggarts finally got wise to the Assemblies of God false doctrine. I have listen to some of this man’s opinions and statements (false) about things Jimmy Swaggart has said and they are all lies. I heard him talk about the Holy Spirit MIGHT HAVE A BODY ..once we all get to heaven..He said,”I don’t know”. It’s possible. That is exactly what he said. This guy is doing just like T. Heim and going back 35 years and fishing out old trangressions. What Iniquity does this man have in his life that we can NOT see.

          2. Hi Doris – I see that you admit that Swaggart said the Holy Spirit might have a body. That is false teaching. Jesus said, “God is spirit, and we must worship him in Spirit and in truth.” and elsewere Jesus said, “a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” In the Swaggart Bible, Jimmy says – “The Holy Spirit has as body.” He doesn’t say maybe. Please see this article on the Swaggart Bible and scroll down to the section God Has a Body. What iniquity is in Jimmy’s life that we don’t see? Good question! He threatened to murder his brother-in-law and some prostitutes were threatened to keep silent and some dissapeared to never be seen again just before he was exposed. When sins of 35 years ago should be examined being that he continued in sin after repenting, and defied the church authorities and now teaches false doctrine. You say that the Assemblies of God teaches false doctrine. Specifically which doctrine of the Assemblies do you think is false and do you say that just because Swaggart teaches against the Assemblies or do you get that from the Bible?

            Pastor Mark

  3. I have been watching the ministry for more than an year and I have never heard any of the ministers tell listeners to not attend a local church or to not tithe to a local church. Please email me your proof on this. I am not a new Christian and I surely believe I can spot a false profit, but I am also willing to look into church leaders and their doctrine. Thank you for your help.

    Reply

    1. Hi Ron, and thanks for commenting. Your question is a good one. I plan on putting together an article that exposes and documents this anti local-church tendency of Jimmy Swaggart Ministries (JSM). In the meantime I will try to answer off the top of my head…

      Quitting your local church is not blatantly and openly stated by JSM. Like most cults, the true nature of their teachings are not revealed until one is sufficiently under their influence. Their peculiar doctrines — that God has a body like a man, that you are of little worth if you don’t speak in tongues, that none of the apostles understood the cross and that most Christian churches are satanic — are not emphasized in their broadcasts. Even their most prominent teaching, the so-called “Message of the Cross,” has as its foundational philosophy the idea that the churches are in error and that Swaggart is the apostle of a new reformation, yet this basic tenet of Swaggartism is almost exclusively found in their books and is not openly preached on their television show.

      Their television broadcasts are made as palatable as possible in order to proselytize the largest number of people. Once a person is hooked on Swaggart and is on their mailing list and have the Swaggart bible and books, then slowly a person is indoctrinated. Their multi-million dollar business is to sell books and get your tithes and donations so as to purchase more income-generating real estate for the Swaggart empire. To accomplish this they are careful to make themselves appealing to as large a television audience as possible.

      Being a member of a local church is essential and is commanded by scripture (Hebrews 10:25). Nevertheless, the importance of this is not stressed by JSM. Indeed, “forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,” is a practice indirectly fostered by their teaching that nearly all Christian churches are of the devil, apostate and idolatrous. (See locations 85996, 32178, and 41615 in the electronic version of Jimmy Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible.) Also see the article on my website, the Swaggart Bible and scroll down to the heading “Animosity Toward the Church.” I list 49 places where Swaggart denigrates the Church. Here is the link to the article:

      https://christiananswerman.com/the-dangers-of-the-swaggart-bible/

      Obviously if a person becomes convinced that their church is apostate they are likely to leave it.

      JSM promotes their online church wherein you send tithes to them. A responsible ministry, if offering some sort of online membership, would be sure to encourage the importance of membership and support of a local church. They do not do this, but instead encourage depriving the local church of tithes and encourage tithe to be paid to them instead. They leave the impression that online membership in their church is all that is necessary.

      In real world scenarios, countless people have left their local church because of Swaggart’s teaching. A case in point is found in the comments of the Summary of JSM page, and I quote…

      “Thank you for responding. And yes my mother has been convinced NOT to attend a local church. She is a “media member” and sends her tithes to them. When she first mentioned this was what she was going to do I tried to in a nice way remind her of scripture telling us not to forsake coming together but the Swaggarts are apparently very convincing.”

      So the result of JSM influence is frequently that a Swaggarite loses the vital contacts with other believers in a local church, misses out on working together with others and the resultant growth that comes from rubbing elbows with other Christians. The local church is God’s plan for the believer and Swaggartism may, in some cases, ultimately lead one out of the church.

      I appreciate your willingness to examine leaders and their doctrine. I also watched Swaggart frequently on television. Although I detected an underlying arrogance in the ministry, I detected very little false teaching from the broadcasts. They are very careful. It is when you read their materials that you find the really bad stuff. Much of this is carefully documented in other articles on Swaggart on this website.

      That said, if you watch Donnie Swaggart carefully on the Frances and Friends show, he is the one most likely to let false teaching slip by. I have no doubt he has been called on the carpet more than once for his carelessness. One time, on that program, he stated that if you don’t speak in tongues you are not saved, and then the very next program he retracted that statement and explained that he misspoke or was misunderstood. I have also heard Donnie Swaggart say on television, and he said it emphatically, that if you live in Baton Rouge you should be attending their church. This implies of course that all other Christian churches in Baton Rogue are not to be attended.

      And then there is the account of the widows that wrote Jimmy Swaggart and asked if it would be good and acceptable if they commit suicide to so that JSM would get their insurance money…but I digress – its in the video. Suffice it to say that a ministry that fosters such fanaticism and disregard for the ethics of standard Christian behavior and doesn’t make statements to counter and inhibit such extremism, and does not give verbal support to the importance of the local church, is a ministry that is far off-base.

      If you have not watched it yet, I would encourage you to watch my video, The Swaggart Seduction. You can find it here:

      https://christiananswerman.com/christian-answer-man-videos/

      Thank you for providing me the opportunity to serve you. I pray this is of help to you. May God bless you as you walk with Christ.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

      1. Many of the things you are saying about the jsm.org teaching about the message of the Cross and Jesus’ Finished Work thereon is just not true.
        I was raised by born again children of God …I knew the Word of God before I was saved in 1991. I and my husband were saved and delivered from drugs and alcohol.
        I never heard my dad or mother speak ill of Jimmy Swaggart even though they raised us in the Southern Bapt. Denomination. The revelation of the message of sanctification being in the cross is what Jimmy Swaggart says he didn’t realize until 97. It was a revelation to HIM. In listening to his old crusades it is obvious he was a poster boy for the assemblies of God. He was a prophetic preacher and spoke back in the 80’s about things that are taking place today. It is overly obvious to me that the devil had to bring him down. The devil did for awhile, but the Lord has restored the ministry and him.

        Reply

        1. Hi Doris – I appreciate your sincere reply, though I do not agree with some of it. I would encourage you to read the articles on this site and state specifically which statements you believe are untrue, or are not substantiated with proof. I have been very careful to provide evidence, not just an opinion. As far as the “the devil had to bring him down,” the Bible teaches, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” Jimmy did not have to look at pornography and visit prostitutes for twenty years. To say that it had to happen is to deny what Holy Scripture teaches. Also bear in mind that a large ministry is not evidence of God’s approval. The Mormons have a “large ministry,” yet it is a cult, so the fact that JSM has a large real-estate empire does not establish any verasity to his teaching. I would encourage you, if you really want to consider things with an open mind, to begin with this video which will give you a good overview of the Swaggart empire: https://christiananswerman.com/the-swaggart-seduction-video/

          …Pastor Mark

          Reply

    2. Hi Ron,
      I have been watching this ministry for a couple of years now. While they don’t come out and say not to attend a local church, they DO SAY “if you don’t have a local church that “preaches the cross”(meaning preaches Jimmy Swaggart’s doctrine), then join their “media church.” I think the growth in their media church suggests (Thankfully) that there aren’t many churches preaching this heretical doctrine!

      Reply

    3. I don’t have a video clip, I only have the word of my mother, who is a faithful watcher of their network. Daily watches Frances and Friends and daily watches the message of the cross.

      She told me that one of the shows she listened to, they said if you could not find a local church to preach the cross (basically their message) then it’s o.k. to become a media member. My mother went on to say that they made sure to tell them that if they were media member it was just like being a member in person, so they should treat it like they would any church they were a member of and pay their tithes to them.

      As Pastor Mark stated the Bible is clear, we are to come together as believers in a local church. Jimmy Swaggart is a heretic. He mixes a little truth with a lot of false information. I pray that God give you wisdom. Compare EVERYTHING with scripture.

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    4. They say …GET OUT OF THAT DEAD ,DRY CHURCH. That’s what they say.
      This guy is just jealous . They go back 35 years on a mistake and a sin that Jimmy Swaggart did…My Lord I wouldn’t want my life story broadcast all over the world .
      The Lord only chastises (corrects) his children. JSwaggart got corrected.

      Reply

      1. Hi Doris – Take a look at the article https://christiananswerman.com/the-dangers-of-the-swaggart-bible/ and scroll down to the heading Animosity Toward The Church. They teach that all churches (except for their ministry) are of the devil. Also look at this article just posted: Is it a Cult? You can read it here: https://christiananswerman.com/is-it-a-cult/ Watch the short imbedded video in the article and hear with your own ears Jimmy say that they alone have the truth. If Jimmy Swaggart repented of his sins, then of course he is forgiven. However there are standards for ministry. An elder must be “above reproach.” Read 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. Furthermore, he was caught twice with prostitues AFTER he did his public repentance. Watch the video, the proof is there. You can view it here: https://christiananswerman.com/the-swaggart-seduction-video/ Furthermore he rejected the counsel and help from the Assemblies of God and showed himself to be in rebellion against church authority. If all that was not bad enough, he know comes out claiming to be an end-time apostle, being the only one that has the full gospel truth. When someone does something that audacious, then it is time to take a look at the fruit in their life, just as Jesus told us to: “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15) To fail to do that, to take an honest look, then one is disobedience to the Lord’s warning.

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    1. Hi Rissell and thank you for your comment. Please bear in mind that the Word of God commands us to defend the faith and to expose false teachers. If we do not, then we are walking in disobedience. Since Jimmy Swaggart is teaching many false doctrines that harm the body of Christ, then we must look closely at his teaching, and also at his walk, for Jesus said concerning false teachers that we would know them by their fruit. Jimmy Swaggart’s teachings don’t hold up to Scripture and examination of his life shows lots of bad fruit for many years, and even now he is a divisive element in the body of Christ. So you see, “He who is without sin cast the first stone,” is a saying of Christ that does not apply to this situation. We are not condemning Jimmy Swaggart, we are not stoning him, we are giving Biblical correction. The Bible says let the prophets speak and “let the others pass judgment.” (1 Co 14:29). We are passing judgment as the Bible tells us to. I recommend that you read the article found here: https://christiananswerman.com/judging-exposing-error-and-naming-names/

      …Pastor Mark

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  4. Hi Pastor Mark,

    My comment is regarding Jimmy Swaggart and the KJV bible. I have to firmly disagree with the gentleman who said that JS does not only use the KJV bible. I have recorded some of his preaching messages at FWC and multiple times JS says the KJV bible is the only accurate translation out there, he said that people can use whatever bible they want, but for him it will always be the KJV bible. A few months ago I started watching JS as well as the other shows he has on SBN, including, The Message Of The Cross, Study In The Word and Francis & Friends, I even became a Media Member. But as I continued watching I became frustrated and concerned about what I was hearing. On all the shows I just mentioned I began to see some real problems. The biggest one for me was how Jimmy, Donnie and all of the associate pastors would tear down all other ministers as well as all other denominations. Multiple times I heard that JSM was the only ones out there preaching the true word of God and how all these other ministers and denominations were stupid, asinign, demon possessed and a bunch of false teachers leading people to hell. When I would watch The Message Of The Cross or Study In The Word, JS and another associate pastor would read a couple of scriptures and then they would begin their verbal assault on who ever was chosen that day. I heard them attack Joel Osteen and Jentzen Franklin, Joyce Meyer as well as others, and I would find myself talking to my TV set saying, stop the attacks and please just teach and minister the word of God. I stopped watching Donnie because he was the worst of the entire bunch. The last time I watched Donnie preaching, I found him to be extremely arrogant, I asked the Lord, “why does Donnie act the way he does” and the Lord said that Donnie has a spirit of pride. When Jimmy was talking about the revelation he received from the Lord regarding the Cross of Christ and how most all Christians do not know or understand about the Cross and Christ crucified as well as most denominations, including AG, I wrote a letter to JS letting him know that I gave my life to the Lord in 1991 at a AG church and how my pastor taught on Christ and Him crucified and what the cross meant. I also shared that a year after giving my life to the Lord, how Jesus taught me, in depth, that everything we will ever need was already paid for and provided to every Christian by the way of the cross. For me it was a very simple message, including the sin nature. From the beginning of my walk with the Lord I always said that our flesh has a mind and will of its own and that Jesus taught me that with every temptation, He will always give us a way out and that its a choice to sin, that when the temptation comes, not in our own strength, but through Christ, we can overcome that temptation. Have I always succeeded, no, but over time some things became easier. It’s a daily walk, every day has its own set of challenges, but through Christ I can overcome, and the times I do fail, I thank the Lord for His Grace. I don’t watch JS as much as I use to, but there are times I do watch because there are some messages that JS preaches that do minister to my heart. I try not to be influenced by others when it comes to JS or other TV ministers. There are a few of them them I do watch, and when something is said that doesn’t sit well in my spirit I just change the channel. The Holy Spirit that lives in me will always give me discernment on what’s right and what’s wrong. I do have one more comment to make towards the people who say in defense of JS and his fall from grace, you without sin cast the first stone. The Lord blessed JS with a worldwide ministry and that same Lord holds JS accountable different then how He holds us accountable. To whom much is given, much is required. When I fall I don’t affect the multitudes like JS does. When he fell, millions upon millions of people were affected. When the leadership (pastors and associate pastors) tear down specific ministers and denominations, and its done with a mean spirit, do you not think that it has an affect on the people watching and listening, especially the young baby Christians? Do you not think that the devil is waiting for the right opportunity to whisper into the ears of the listener when these verbal attacks take place? Like I said, when I do things out of my flesh I don’t have millions upon millions of people around the world watching and listening to me like J S does, just food for thought.

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    1. All I read on this page is bad mouthing JSM, if you hate him & the ministry that much than change the channel.
      Just like God would probably change the channel if he heard all of you.

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      1. Hi Lou: Critical analysis of a minister’s doctrine and lifestyle is commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ. To fail to do so is disobedience to our Lord and Savior. You can call it “bad-mouthing” if you want, but discretion is ordered by Holy Scripture. “To the law and to the testimony? If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:20). To suggest that perhaps I “hate him” is a surreptitious insinuation that borders upon bearing false witness. I have nowhere on my website claimed that I hate him. On the contrary I have stated things such as this: “I told my congregation that if Swaggart has repented then we must forgive him and pray for him. And by the way, I still pray for him that he will repent and come to his senses. I am saddened he has gotten so far off base. But he is a danger and the Church must be warned. To do less is to disobey Scripture.” That statement can be found on this site in the article, The Swaggart Bible. Thus it is abundantly clear that I do not hate Jimmy Swaggart. I will repeat it again here: I have only love for Jimmy Swaggart, mixed with saddness over his current aberations. I hope Jimmy Swaggart makes it to heaven. I care about him and want only the best for him. I pray for him regularly and will continue to do so. I have love and concern also for those he has led astray. If Jimmy Swaggart can see the error of his ways and publically recant his false teachings it would be a spiritual blessing to all those he has deceived.

        …Pastor Mark

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  5. Pastor Mark,

    Thank you for your insight. I was a fan of Swaggart and have his bible. I’m done with that and I’m going back to my NIV bible. I got sick of the arrogance, mainly from Donnie, and the stupid stuff they say on their shows and at the pulpit. Also, unlike other evangelists, they NEVER go out into the secular world to share the gospel. They hide behind the cozy comforts of their Baton Rouge empire and claim that their TV network reaches millions across the globe. However, they never tell you who’s watching, which is probably not many. Most Americans under 30 probably have no clue who they even are.

    Thank you for the proper discernment. I’m 28 and got saved last year., so I’m always looking to build on my faith. God bless you pastor.

    Reply

    1. Hi Mike, Thanks for the encouraging comment. Its refreshing to hear from Christians with common sense! God bless!

      …Pastor Mark

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  6. Just found this site..I have question…it may not be important but here it is..I have watched JSM and F&F……when they have their telethon they have to raise millions each month..they say their network can go to Millons of homes, if so then they shouldn’t have to have 4 days to raise it…also I’n never seen Frances and others wear the same clothes…as I said these questions are not important…I just can’t figure out their message of the cross…

    Reply

    1. Hi Shelia, Thank you for your comment and questions. The Swaggarts raise millions of dollars so they can support their lavish lifestyle. This video will give you some idea of the luxurious way they live on the money they seduce people into giving: https://christiananswerman.com/the-swaggart-seduction-video/

      Their message of the cross is hard to follow. I had to read it a few times and read lots of his writings to see what he was getting at. Basically it is this: 1. All churches are bad except his, or only churches that follow him. 2. He alone has the true gospel, or only those who follow him 3. If you do mental imaging of the cross and trust the cross to free you from sin, then you will not be overcome by any sins. 4. His is the only ministry that has this true message which he says he received by divine revelation.

      All of this, of course, detracts from Jesus and elevates Jimmy Swaggart. The Biblical preaching of the cross focuses on the person and work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and what he did for us on the cross and by his resurrection and continued intercession. The scriptural emphasis is on Christ’s love, proven by his past actions – his sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection, and by his continued actions for us – sending the Holy Spirit into our hearts and His continued intercession on our behalf. Biblical faith is placed in a person; Jesus Christ, as opposed to Swaggartism, which places its faith in a thing or event they call “the Cross.”

      Swaggart’s teaching is more of a metaphysical belief system centered on a non-physical, non-personal action or event. The cross is a piece of wood, a thing and Christ’s going to the cross was an event, also merely a thing. We are not saved by a thing, we are saved by a person, Jesus Christ. As Christians our faith is to be primarily in the person of our Lord Jesus. Although “faith in the cross” as Swaggart promotes, sounds religious, it is a subtle twisting of the truth. Although Christ used the act of his going to the cross for our redemption, the proper focus of our faith should be on the person of Jesus Christ and his character and love which is revealed by what he has done for us, by his resurrection and intercession for us, and by what he continues to do for us in our daily lives.

      Swaggart further conflates the issue by claiming that “the Cross,” as he puts it, can somehow deliver Christians from living a sinful life. He never really explains exactly how that works or how one impliments this magical “Cross” in one’s life, but in practicallity it works out that Swaggart means for people to become fanatical followers of his ministry and his ministry only. As they do so, they are brainwashed into believing their life is now free from sin, not realizing that the Swaggart’s contentious influence is affecting their behavior, causing them to be more arrogant, arumentative and divisive than ever before as they become increasingly repugnant to those around them.

      God bless you Shelia and thank you again for taking the time to comment.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  7. We used to give to this ministry tithes. The last time, (litterally the last time) I gave, I asked the person on the other line who was taking the donation if he would’nt mind praying over my tithe. I was appaulled by what he told me. He said we are not allowed to pray over your tithe, and if you want prayer, you need to call the prayer line.. My mouth droped. I feel that anyone who answers the phone at any ministry should have the right to pray over that person or a tithe. That was just wrong. We no longer support this ministry, nor look at any of the programs. We also got rid of all their magazines, their bibles, and I called them to take us off of their mailing list. We can’t support a ministry with this much drama. Nobodys perfect in the Lord, but Jimmys so called ministry is indeed a joke. I was also appauled by them saying that it is actually a sin not to vote. Im sorry.

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  8. ……my computer died so I couldnt finish my last statement. There is no where in the Bible that says I MUST vote. I realize I must pray for those in authority. I get that. Another disturbing thing about this man is he has no outside ministries that he gives to. We are starting a prison ministry from our home, and upon doing some intensive research on his ministry, I found that he does not give to any outside ministries. Im not sure if they help the homeless, or if they do any other thing to help inmates. I have a problem with that. Not to mention, the statements made on The Message of the cross about losing your salvation if you listen to another minister who is not preaching the cross….Now correct me if Im wrong but My faith is in Jesus and Him alone. I get the feeling they are replacing Christ with the cross. Which is wrong

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    1. Hi Lisa and thank you for your comment. Yes, it does seem as if they elevate Swaggart’s Message of the Cross above our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus is the object of our faith, not the cross.

      God Bless,
      …Pastor Mark

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  9. Pastor Mark, Did you happen to see the August 31, or 19th (forgot which one 🙁 ) Message of the Cross with the young guest preacher, where he (Jimmy)was talking about how he has tithed on every dollar he ever received, then went on how now his family doesn’t get a dime from the books and tapes, it all goes to God, every dime of it? That hit me so wrong. I’ve never fully embraced his teachings. My precious mom, has bought almost everything he sells, most all the commentarys, books, bibles, etc. For me, for study. Anyway, after getting the bible, I couldn’t read it with all the notes in it. It only creates confusion. The commentaries pretty much just repeat themselves. Some things in there, were exactly what the Lord has shown me, while some in there is so off its mind boggling. Other things are just filler it seems. I was an daily watcher of the channel, since they appeared on Dish. Sometimes it would be just the thing I needed, other times it was aggravating at the attitude of both Frances and Donnie, as well as Jimmy. The sharathons, same as any other ministry which he rails against. SMH! All along there have been things that didn’t add up, or coincide with what they had said other times. You know, we all know there’s preachers out there preaching the ridiculous, as well as some truthfully speaking the word. I came to a place that I just started praying hard about discernment, show me Truth Lord, that is what I want. That is when I started noticing more and more, lies, money issues, word of faith similarities, there was never enough money. They had received over the amount requested a couple months ago, but behold, there was Jimmy, saying we got our amount but we need this much more for something else. Probably those new knees or something, eh? That fairly well sealed it for me. What is so hard, is that they preach the blood, the cross, salvation by grace through faith. And this cross thing has changed some from the first. Now they are emphasizing more it’s all about Jesus, and what He did on the cross, but still the cross message. One thing that gets me, he rails about the NIV and newer translations, yet the very motto, “the message of the cross”, comes from these translations, whereas the KJV says, preaching. Ugh. It’s like a dagwood sandwich with just a few tiny bits of pickle in the center that change the taste. As we get nearer the return of our Lord, the false doctrines are going to get both easier to spot, and harder to spot, harder to “if possible”, deceive the very elect. God bless you Pastor Mark. Thank you for the information you’ve shared. It was pure confirmation to me, as I prayed to know what exactly was the problem with them. He hasn’t changed. And he changes things so as not to be detected as they are confronted. They take down any reference on the internet, even attempt threats by their lawyers, according to some. Hey, if youre honest, you have NOTHING to hide, correct? Correct. There’s a huge shaking coming. Lots are going to be hurt, amazed, and hopefully snatched out of the fire when it happens. It’s only a matter of time. God bless you and yours.

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  10. I started watching Frances & Friends a few weeks ago. During one of the programs, Donnie Swaggart was speaking about the presidential elections. He stated that if he ever saw an illegal immigrant trying to vote at the polls, that he would have to get physical and go to jail. I was livid by his statement. I changed the channel and never watched the program again. The irony of this is that they are able to broadcast these programs because of the donations, offerings and tithes that people give to this ministry for the purpose of preaching the “true” gospel. I pondered on the bible verse that states “they will know we are Christians by our love.” I guess this verse is missing from the expository Bible. Many are called but few are chosen! There will be many surprises in Heaven…

    Reply

    1. HI Abel, Thankyou for your comment. Yes, it is ironic that good Christian people give money to support a ministry that would condone reckless violence. God bless,

      …Pastor Mark

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  11. Hello Pastor Mark,

    I appreciate your information on JSM. I work the control room at a TV station near Chicago where we broadcast their network on one of our stations. It was while working here when I got saved and I really got into their programming for the first few months afterward. A lot of their doctrine is correct with Orthodox Christianity but there’s a good portion of it where they’re way off. Over time as my discernment grew, I started to not watch them as much. I still watch occasionally but with a grain of salt. Among other things, one of their biggest flaws is their arrogance. Not only do they attack other Pentecostals, but Baptists and Catholics also. Those are the two largest churches in their area, so that may have something to do with it. I wanted to ask what you think of Catholicism? Are they still Christians? I personally don’t agree with their doctrines but I do think there are many Catholics who are saved. I try to view them as another denomination. All denominations have differences over doctrines, although the Catholics have vast differences. The Swaggarts point this out but go too far, calling them a cult, etc. I was curious what you thought. Again, thank you for your videos and info. Have a happy holidays and God bless you and your ministry.

    Reply

    1. Hi Mike and thanks for writing. I pretty much agree with everything you said. Concerning Catholics: Needless to say they have many false doctrines and unbiblical practices. I do believe that many Catholics are saved. In fact the lady that led me to Jesus, years later became a Catholic. I can’t get my head around why a born again Christian would do that, but I believe she is going to heaven because I know she put her faith in Christ. We are saved by grace, not by being right about everything. However I believe that a very very high percentage of Catholics are not saved. Perhaps even most are not saved. And I don’t say that they are not saved because they are Catholic. I say it because most Catholics I have met are obviously not born again.

      I know many Catholics that do not have a relationship with Jesus and do not really care much for the things of God and live a sinful life, but they adamantly declare they are Catholic and all is well with them because of that. Most if not all Catholic churches do NOT encourage people to make a decision to follow Christ. Anyone who trusts a church to save them is not putting their trust in Jesus. I could go on an on about the idolatry of Catholicism. I know some Catholics that worship Mary more than God. My wife was a Catholic before she got saved and she didn’t know God in that church. She is convinced that Catholicism is a false religion. But there is enough right in the Catholic Church for one to hear enough of the Gospel to be saved. Same with Swaggartism. But one’s spiritual growth is stunted when attending a defective church. Concerning whether they are a cult…Well, there are good arguments on both sides of that and I at this point don’t think I could be dogmatic about it. On the one hand they hold to the cardinal doctrines of Christianity, but on the other hand they are riddled with false teaching and idolatry and they claim to be “The One True Church,” and that last one is a definite mark of cultism. I actually believe if the Catholic church was a small sect without a long history and a huge following, every Christian scholar would label them as a cult. No one wants to do that with a church with a huge following and centuries of history. The problem with Swaggart’s arrogant “they are a cult” approach is that they are not likely to save many Catholics if they start out by insulting them. Thanks for your comments. God Bless,

      …Pastor Mark

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  12. I was a Bible student at Swaggart’s college at the time of the first scandal. I was a new Christian, didn’t know what I wanted in my life, and my cult like church idolized the living daylights out Swaggart. It was such an intensely ugly scene there even before the scandal. Talk about legalism(classical music was wrong because its focus wasn’t on glorifying God), and harsh judgementalism(Mother Theresa wasn’t saved because she relied on works and not faith in Christ). Out of 1500 students, of course many were loving and sincere and would give you the shirt of their backs in a second. But a huge number were critical, arrogant, and completely self-righteous. Virtually everyone was highly legalistic. So on my first semester break, I tell my older brother who was like a father figure to me that the place stunk and I wanted out. He said God called you there for four years, and blah blah blah. So I went back. And the scandal soon erupted. My shattered faith never fully recovered, although I struggled to hold onto charismatic Christianity for years, I eventually gave it up. I still have faith in Christ and know without Him I would be a dead duck.

    It wasn’t the prostitution that turned me angry at Swaggart. I worked a job a few days after the “confession”(acknowledgement) and I gave the entire day’s earnings to the ministry even though I didn’t have two nickles to rub together and couldn’t go out with friends for a meal or whatever. Anyway, what got to me was the absolute, unbelievable, incomprehensible HYPOCRISY. That is a pet peeve of mine for sure.

    Swaggart’s yes men and ministry officials of course went into crisis control. They tried to say it wasn’t quite as bad as everyone claimed because Swaggart only watched, and that it was a one and only time transgression. That was an absolute blatant lie. Jimmy had seen many prostitutes for many years before someone finally recognized him and word started to get around, and Marvin Gorman had him followed for photographic proof. It turned out that Swaggart also had affairs with married women, asking more than one woman if he could perform sex acts on their underage daughters.

    I didn’t know all that immediately. What I did know for sure was Swaggart had gone on national tv and called Jim Baker “a cancer that needs to be cut out from the body of Christ”. At this exact time, he himself had been visiting prostitutes. The college students were expressly forbidden from attending any movie at all, even a Disney cartoon. Swaggart told the assembled students one day that if the rapture were to occur, Jesus wouldn’t be walking up and down the theater aisles looking for you. But I guess Jesus would look for you if you were in a hotel room with a prostitute.

    The final outrage for me was when Swaggart refused the discipline meted out by the AOG of a one year suspension from preaching. I had an Evangelist magazine published by the ministry only a few months before. Swaggart himself wrote an article praising the AOG discipline policy as being Biblical, just, and nothing less than common sense. I sent that article to my pastor thinking surely they would quit financially supporting the ministry, and it had no effect whatsoever. They announced they would keep on sending in money, which amounted to many thousands of dollars a year. Then Swaggart was caught red handed again a few years later. And even again. People still support this individual? If he freaking confessed to murdering someone, his supporters would say, “everyone sins, and he is forgiven now”. And send him more money.

    So if you watch the “confession” closely, Swaggart says if God calls me to sweep floors in a mission, I would be more than honored to do that, and I mean that from my heart. So Swaggart lies to everyone from his very heart. He by no means had any intention of sweeping floors even if an angel appeared directly and told him to do so. He was asked to accept a very modest discipline, and said screw you to the AOG.

    Thanks for letting me rant. I still shake my head and wonder how people could still drink the kool aid, but Jimmy to this day has many fierce supporters who comment on Youtube, or this very forum, or anywhere. I won’t even go into the opulent living, the abuse of ministry employees, the fear they have of Frances. She falsely accused her own brother of financial improprieties, and they are totally alienated from each other. Forget finding Christ like character or the Fruits of the Spirit(love, joy, peace) from the Swaggart family.

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    1. Hi Will, Thanks for sharing what you went through. Wow. You were right in the middle of it when all this went down. That must have been difficult for you. I can only imagine. I was pastoring an Assembly of God church when it happened. Yes, I shake my head in wonder also at the rabid Swaggart supporters that are out there. I am barraged with hate mail from them. They fail to consider Christ’s words, “Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”

      Too many Christians make light of sin and minimize the importance and sanctity of Church authority and discipline. God is not pleased when unrepentant false teachers deceive the body of Christ. You are absolutely correct, Swaggart’s rejection of the A/G’s merciful discipline shows that his heart had not changed, not to mention his getting caught with a prostitute again in 1995.

      I am all for mercy and forgiveness for Swaggart, but a changed heart and repentance needs to come first. His rejection of the discipline and getting caught again repeatedly proves there was not repentance. I pray he has repented of those things now, but until he makes that change of heart public, and stops teaching false doctrine, he should not be looked up to as a minister of the Gospel.

      Thanks again for sharing your experience. You saw the corruption first hand. I pray that people will take your words to heart and take heed about the dangers of Swaggartism. God bless,

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  13. I will try to make this simple you say swaggart is mean spirited and judging others but is that not what you are doing?

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    1. Hi Christine, Jesus said to “Judge with right judgement,” and that is what we do with Swaggart. He condemns nearly all other churches but his own, saying that they are of the devil and he alone, or nearly alone, has the truth. We are pointing out that these are cultic attitudes and are exercising Biblical correction in order to warn and help the body of Christ. Please read this article below. It will help you to understand the Biblical necessity of what is being done here. Here is the link: https://christiananswerman.com/judging-exposing-error-and-naming-names/
      May God bless you as you walk with our Lord,

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  14. Hi folks just read all comments and it’s refreshing to see there’s still some God fearing people out in the world. My wife and I were saved over 20 years ago, l was saved after listening to a ray beven tape and for those who know this ” minister” wouldn’t give him the time of day God can use many vessels to get His message out. Shortly after being saved we began to watch the god-less channel, you know Kenneth copeland Jesse duplantis Joyce Meyer the list goes on now we were at a church that was a little boring and ridged and whenever you mentioned tv evangelists you were met with faces that pretty much said poor babies really don’t know much yet. But there was never any spiritual guidance quick to point your faults out we later left that church and moved on to an elim church it was brilliant really lively who seemed to love the Lord they also had a bible college the teacher of the college was an Australian really funny and very knowledgeable who took us aside and showed us though scripture all the evils of these people and I believe we really grew in the Lord. Anyhow to the point I watched a 1 hour video in which donnie swaggart was interviewing some women on the dangers of Islam in just 1 hour he try to peddle his bible over a dozen times this was the first and last time I’ll watch this man I’ve also read little of what Jimmy says he may slag off all the other whacked pastors but he’s worse. We know in the last days there will be lots of decievers and it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been saved sometimes it ain’t that easy to spot a deciever there good at what they do and that’s why they do it listen no one ever made a £9 note because you wouldn’t be fooled but a good forged £10 note ain’t easy to spot it’s just the same thing with these people. We no longer attend any church but our relationship with God is at the best it’s ever been the bible is all the information I need on God for now. He will guide us when the time is right I’m not suggesting that people leave the church but sometimes there is no choice regrettably. These web sites should be compulsory for all Christians people need to know the truth. Thank you pastor I will continue to visit this site God bless and may your life be blessed with good things.

    Reply

  15. I have to agree with a lot of things that Pastor Mark has said. My parents are one of those people that started watching the live service online and stopped going to a physical church. They became online members and started to buy their books, receive their magazine, etc. They started talking to me and to my brother and sister-in-law about this church. My brother and sister-in-law got caught up in this “ministry” as well… Fast forward about 2 years, and my brother and his wife decided to move their 4 children to Baton Rouge to attend the church there and to have my nieces and nephews attend their school. At first I didn’t think anything of it. I was glad that they had found a church where they felt that they were growing. I watched many services with my parents and didn’t feel anything was amiss… until my parents bought us several copies of the Swaggart Bible and a devotional book that they also put out. It is as Pastor Mark says, they’re very careful with what they say on TV; it is in their literature where you start finding the errors. The first thing that bothered us is the fact that Swaggart’s comments are written in red… We are used to reading JESUS’ words in red!!! Then there are the interpretations themselves… some are right on and some are mind boggling. We know that not all Bible scholars agree on everything; however, Swaggart’s tone is always as if he is the final authority…as he is always right, like some people have commented: arrogant. I also started reading some of the magazines they print out, and it bothered me how every other church is supposedly influenced by demons. What’s the matter with them? Don’t they have enough trust in God to believe that God Himself protects His people??? It was because of these issues that my husband started researching this ministry and found this site. Now I am eagerly praying for my parents and my brother and his family so that the Lord give them discernment and they can see the light. And I am taking my son’s Swaggart Bible away before he becomes all confused. This is tough and sad. He has gotten into many people’s heads and it will be hard to convince those people of the truth. Thank God for the Holy Spirit. He will be the One doing the convicting 🙂

    Reply

    1. Hi Laura, Thanks for your comment. Stories like yours remind me of how cult-like the Swaggart movement is. Once someone gets sucked in they start trying to convert every Christian they know to become a Swaggarite. May God bless you as give you guidance from the Holy Spirit as you try to share discernment with your loved ones. God Bless,

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  16. Just found this sight so my apologies for being late to post. I just wanted to throw out my personal experience with JSM. This was many years ago,right before the “fall”.
    I was on strike from work so I was home when my phone rang. It was JSM calling,and to this day I have no idea how they got my number. Anyways, they were asking for money. It just so happened that when the phone rang a city utility truck pulled into my driveway and shut my water off.
    I mentioned this to the lady from JSM and her response was to tell me she would be praying for me. That told me when the real heart of their “ministry” was. Nothing I’ve seen since has changed my mind. They are a reproach on the body of Christ.

    Reply

  17. Pastor Mark, I just found your site. I have been watching SBN off & on for about 3 years. I became very suspicious @ all the hand signs that Donnie & Gabe are always mAking including members in the choir. If you look @ their magazine the Evangelist you will see them everywhere. They are devil worship hand signs. Also what do the black braclets represent that Gabe and Donnie wear. Donnie is very arrogant and mean . What I wonder what is the deal with people like John rosenstern & Mike musseral. Why do they stay @ SBN. They seem so intelligent when they speak. John talks right over your head. Thank you for the information.

    Reply

    1. Hi Lynn, thanks for your comment. Yes, the hand signs are strange. I have heard about, and seen them. I don’t know about the black bracelets, that too is odd. What we do know for sure is that they Swaggarts are arrogant, prideful and viscous and condescending towards many good ministries. God bless,
      …Pastor Mark

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  18. Pastor Mark, I have listened to many of Francis and friends programs. Her panel of professionals seem to be on the up and up. They talk about being saved by the shed blood of JESUS and so on. They say they don’t worship the cross but Jesus Christ crucified. There have been several emails from different viewers that tell Francis that there are lots of websites on the internet that condemn their ministery. Francis Donnie Jimmy always say when they here those comnents that it is Satan trying to ruin them because they are preaching the truth of Christ. They call the people that have these websites as very evil and of Satan. I was raised in the Catholic Church which I no longer attend. I do believe the Catholic C. Is a true cult. I know that first hand. I never knew anything about Jesus and what he did for me. When I started watching SBN I was green to the word of God. So naturally I wanted to hear the truth from someone that I thought was sincere in their teachings. I will admit I did believe their teachings bcause I didn’t know any better. But, I have been praying and asking God to show me the way to the truth. It is so hard to trust any so called evangelist . To me all the ones on TV are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They are all so sly in their teachings. I m done with SBN for good. There were signs there but @ the time I guess I ignored them. Thank you for your information. God bless you

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  19. I have been supporting the Swaggart’s since 2012, but I was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit before. I thought this Ministry was breath of fresh air. I was 12 when the scandal broke the first time. I thought he has changed his ways. After watching the videos, I was surprised. When I watch F and F, I noticed that they were very short with the callers. I noticed it last night when I watched. Also, I was feeling things were not right about one of the platform singers, but I brushed it off. Here is my question, the upper leadership, like Loren Larson, Bob Cornell, and Jim Woolsey, and now there is a new pastor, Dr. Grey, they don’t know what is going on or are they ignoring it?

    Reply

    1. Hi C., You ask an interesting question. Unfortunately, I don’t really know the answer to it. I am not familiar with the ministries of Larson, Cornell, or Woolsey. It is possible they know what is going on and choose to ignore it. It could also be they are only partially aware of it, or perhaps not aware of it at all, though I don’t see how that could be. We must remember that Jimmy Swaggart is a very charismatic mesmerizing personality and also that some of what he teaches is the truth. It is possible for people to be helped by his ministry, simply because he does preach the gospel. Of course, the problem is that he mixes in lots of error with the truth, which results in his followers getting an unbalanced spiritual diet. Once a person becomes completely convinced of Swaggart’s claims – that he is an end-time apostle appointed by God to reform the church and that he has more light than anyone else in the church or even that the apostles ever had – then they are a full fledged Swaggarite and that seems to totally blind a person to seeing the error of Swaggart’s ways. It may be that the three men you mention have fallen under his spell. Also it may be that the allure of being on television has clouded their judgment. If they dared to disagree with anything they would find themselves shut out of the ministry. God bless,

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  20. I am curios about the biblethon that the Swaggarts hold once a month. Do you know if they print their bibles or have them printed. I think they may be swindling folks out of a lot of money and leading them to believe that they are helping with missionary work when in reality they are feathering the Swaggart nest. I am just trying to find out the cost of printing and profit ratio for them. Thank you.

    Reply

    1. Hi Virginia, They do have their own print shop. There was a big scandal about that a while back as they were using their tax-exempt church print shop to make money by printing ungodly and vile posters for hard rock bands. Whether or not their bible’s are printed there, I do not know. You are correct in suspecting the Swaggarts are “swindling folks” as that is the name of their game. Feathering their own nest is what they do best.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  21. Jealousy will keep you or anyone else from really growing in The Lord. I’m glad you have no sin and can cast the first stone but I’m quiet sure The Lord Jesus Christ is not so happy with you.

    Reply

    1. Hi Neil, thank you for visiting this site and making a comment. I do understand the irritation you express. It is never enjoyable to find out that the person you are following is a false teacher. Anyone might feel that their ego is under attack to learn they have been deceived. I have no desire to make you feel personally attacked, but only to help you in your walk with Christ by advising you of things you may not be aware of.

      The Bible tells us:

      Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them.” (Romans 16:17)
      In obedience to the command of scripture, this website informs the church of who these people are today who cause division and teach unbiblical doctrines. This site exposes the errors of a number of cults, such as Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witness, Swaggartism, and others. You don’t say which group you are affiliated with. Your comment was on the page about Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, so I will assume that Swaggart is who you are following.

      I assure you that I am not jealous of Jimmy Swaggart, as you claim. I do not covet his $30,000 Rolex watch, his Mercedes, his $30,000.00 per year country club membership or his 1.5-million-dollar home. I am quite content with what I have. At my age I am looking forward more to heaven than building anything here on earth. I don’t desire to be rich for Jesus warned, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24)

      You also suggest that I am casting the first stone because I think I have no sin. Not true. Judging with right judgment, as Jesus commanded and examining carefully what the prophets say is what scripture commands us to do. We are told to “contend earnestly for the faith.” (Jude 1:3). We are to “exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.” (Titus 1:9) Great deception is coming over the body of Christ today because many in the church fail to judge false doctrine as we are commanded.

      The Lord is not unhappy (as you suggest) with people that obey his command to hold on to “the faith that was once for all handed down to the saints.” Actually it saddens God when people don’t think that Biblical doctrine matters anymore. Truly it was predicted: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires…” (2 Timothy 4:3)

      None of this is meant as disparagement of you personally, but is intended to help you and any other fine Christians that have not been aware of the deception being propagated. I suggest you read the following article on my website that will explain these matters to you more fully. Click the link below to see the article, Forgiveness for the Fallen:

      https://christiananswerman.com/forgiveness-for-the-fallen/

      May God bless you as you walk with our Lord,

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  22. I was out of work for 4 months due to surgery and while I was recuperating, I found Swaggart on TV. I have been a Bible student all of my life and I just cannot get over his arrogance in rejecting the plain teaching of the scripture. His perverting of the scripture for his own gains is so obvious to those who would listen closely at his spiel. I feel sorry for those who have been taken in by this shyster. Thank you for the information posted on this website. Hopefully, it will forewarn many.

    Reply

    1. Hi Mark, Thanks for your comment. You are correct – Swaggart’s scripture twisting is so obvious. I am incredulous that so many fall for it and don’t see the errors. Fortunately, as evidenced by numerous insightful comments such as yours on this site, it is evident that many people do see through the trickery. God bless you. I’m glad you found the info on this site useful.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  23. Hi pastor Mark,

    I am a retired pastor from Italy. I too remember the scandal and the hurt caused by Jimmy Swaggart and his visits to prostitutes. It was in all the secular news on TV and we Italian Pentecostals just had to hide in shame. Then we heard about his other falls, and I learned of the 1995 fall today.
    I was therefore amazed at discovering SBN a while back on satellite. He was still there preaching and teaching. Let me be frank; I love the music. This man has been blessed with a great musical talent and very competent musicians. However

    1. He never refers to his past sins. In the Bible all four gospels refer to Peter’s denial. Surely Peter spoke about and used it to teach on forgiveness and the grace of God. Even Jim Bakker speaks openly about being in prison. Surely Swaggart’s sin, repentance and rehabilitation would be a great story of grace. But as you say, repentance is not there.
    2. Why are there no guest or extremely few guest speakers? Are all other preachers heretics? As a pastor I know that having visitors is a great blessing to the church. I also notice they are not invited to other churches very much either.
    3. I agree they are very arrogant. But surely Saaggart’s past should have a very humbling effect. But again that comes from true repentance.
    4. There is little evidence of social work, hospitals, prisons, third world, etc. I may be wrong here, but surely helping the poor is one of the signs of a Christian community?
    5. Everything is Jimmy Swaggart. The books, the music, his name is everywhere. The other very capable ministers all praise and lavish compliments on him. Are they really afraid of losing their ministry posts?

    Finally thank you for your graceful spirit. I usually shun critical sites as they usually judgemental, self righteous and totally lacking the Christian spirit. This was different. Good on you and keep up the good work.

    Reply

    1. Hi Tony, Thank you for insightful comments. You are right-on in your observations. I appreciate your encouragement very much. May God richly bless you!

      …Pastor Mark

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  24. Pastor Mark I have recently started watching Jimmy Swaggart on Sonlife TV. I find him engaging, charismatic, a wonderful singer and a talented pianist. The music is the best I have heard in any ministry. And the man has been preaching for 60 years and doing it with incredible style. I am aware of his different bible interpretations, his past wrongdoings and his wealth, but much of this could also be slung at the major denominations of the world, so, whilst I don’t believe some of his interpretations, I don’t see his ministry is more of a cult than the next guy’s. I also don’t understand why Americans think Communism and Socialism are the same thing. I have heard the Swaggarts talk about this and also yourself. I am British, living in Scotland and here we have difficulty seeing how any non-socialist could be called Christian. Socialism is a system designed to make all people equal and care about each other. The opposite is fascist and we all know where that leads. Different denominations interpret the Bible differently and the Christian thing to do is for us all to accept each other regardless of different beliefs. That is the only way forward, the alternative is persecution. I myself do not understand speaking in tongues in this day and age and think it very weird, but I don’t condemn anyone who wants to. No one is forced to watch Sonlife, no one is forced to give money to them, people have to make choices. Its called freedom of worship, which should be paramount in any civilised country. As for Jimmy, he’s got me reading the bible again – not the one he writes in and not KJV either. Why anyone should want to read the Bible in Elizabethan English I can’t imagine.

    Reply

    1. Hi Frances, you certainly ask some excellent questions. Its nice to hear from someone from Scotland. I am of Scottish decent. My grandfather immigrated to the U.S. from Scotland, so I have a number of relatives there in your country. I appreciate that you have given me the opportunity to clarify some points, as there are many Christians that are confused or misinformed in these areas. Let’s go through your thoughtful statements one at a time…

      You wrote, “I am aware of his different bible interpretations, his past wrongdoings and his wealth, but much of this could also be slung at the major denominations of the world…

      Ok here we go: You speak of Swaggart’s “different Bible interpretations.” Have you really thought through the list of heretical beliefs that he teaches? He claims his is the one true church, that all others (except those churches that follow him) don’t have the complete gospel and are of the devil?

      What church do you go to? According to Swaggart your church is the devil’s church, unless it is a satellite church of his. I have a number of links in this response that you can simply click on to go to the article or video. Here is the first one. Watch the video embedded in the following article and see him say that he alone has all the truth:

      https://christiananswerman.com/is-it-a-cult/

      Now let us consider “his past wrongdoings.” Are you aware that he married a 15-year-old child? In most of the United States you go to prison for such pedophilia. Then for over twenty years, while preaching the gospel, he visited prostitutes on a regular basis. When caught on camera with a prostitute, he made a dramatic tearful apology on television, but then refused the help of his denomination, who offered him counseling and support and required he take a year off so as to work on his marriage and his spiritual life before returning to ministry. He refused this, angrily told the leadership of his denomination that he heard directly from God and he didn’t need them.

      He was of course defrocked and he then began his own cultic ministry, blaming the denomination that defrocked him, while still continuing to visit prostitutes. He was caught two more times with prostitutes in the coming years. I point out in my article, Forgiveness for the Fallen, that all of Swaggart’s past sins can be forgiven and forgotten, if he has repented. The problem is that he continued in his sin and told his church, when caught yet again, “God told me it is none of your business.” That is not repentance. Scripture is clear that willful continued sin is not forgiven (Hebrews 10:26).

      And then there is Donnie Swaggart, who had an affair with a 5-time divorcee in their church, left his wife and married her, then divorced her and remarried his first wife, all the while as a pastor of their church. Do you think that is how things should be done in the house of God?

      I hope you will read my article, Forgiveness for the Fallen. It is here:

      https://christiananswerman.com/forgiveness-for-the-fallen/

      Now, as to “his wealth.” The majority of Swaggart’s wealth comes from donations from Christians to his ministry, which has been poured into real estate holdings which are rented out to provide yet even more income for the Swaggart empire. Those hired to manage the finances have more than once complained about misappropriation of funds and have ended up resigning over the irregularities that they considered to be both immoral and illegal. Even family members have resigned over such shenanigans, such as collecting money for starving children and then using the money for personal use.

      I suggest you watch the John Camp Investigation videos on YouTube for documentation of this. They are here:

      Part One:


      Part Two:

      We must ask ourselves if it is really proper for a minister to solicit donations for “ministry” and then use the money for a $30,000 a year country club membership and a fleet of Mercedes for his family.

      2 Peter 2:1-3 warns against Bible teachers that engage in “depraved conduct” and exploit you with “fabricated stories” to get your money, exactly what you have with Swaggart. Twenty plus years of consorting with prostitutes is certainly “depraved conduct” and saying that he has a revelation that no one else has, a secret revelation which he claims is “more light” than anyone else in church history, including the apostles, has ever had; that is certainly a “fabricated story.”

      Now that he is 83 years old, hopefully his licentiousness has come to an end…although fairly recently Mrs. Swaggart had to run off one of the young and pretty musicians from the worship team, because she didn’t care for the inappropriate rapport between Jimmy and the young lady.

      Consider the Word of God:

      But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies…Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.” (2 Peter 2:1-3 NIV)

      Verse 3 reads in the TLB:

      “These teachers in their greed will tell you anything to get hold of your money.” (2 Peter 2:3 TLB) Think about that as you watch Swaggart.

      Furthermore, by claiming that only he has the true Christian faith and labeling all other churches as demonic, he is creating dissension and division in the body of Christ. Read some of the comments on the Swaggart articles on this site and see how many people comment of the turmoil Swaggart has brought to their families. Swaggart is clearly a divisive person.

      The command of God’s Holy Scripture is to keep away from such people:

      I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.” (Romans 16:17 NIV)

      You wrote, “much of this could also be slung at the major denominations of the world…

      Seriously? You are going to disregard these serious issues and ignore the command of scripture with a dismissal such as that? What “major denominations” are you talking about? The underground church in Communist China, Vietnam, Iran and Iraq and numerous other countries? They are suffering intense persecution and many are being tortured to death, burned alive and crucified for their testimony to Jesus. Surely you don’t mean them.

      What of the many good fundamental denominations in America and elsewhere in the world, such as the Assemblies of God, the Baptists, Calvary Chapel, Community Alliance, and I could go on and on with that list, not to mention all the independent churches that are also doing a fine job. These are all churches that are preaching holiness and leading people to Jesus Christ by the tens of thousands. Are you saying that they are all telling lies, visiting prostitutes, and fattening their purses on the backs of poor widows also, as Swaggart has done?

      It sounds as if you are accusing the Church of Jesus Christ of being whoremongers and greedy liars. Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail against his church, yet if what you say is true, then the gates of hell have prevailed. Of course, that is impossible, for Jesus never misspoke.

      Yes, there are some mainline denominations that have gone into apostasy, just as the scripture prophesied would happen in the last days, but that in no way impugns the rest of the Body of Christ. It certainly does not excuse Jimmy Swaggart for his wayward teachings.

      You wrote, “I don’t see his ministry is more of a cult than the next guy’s…

      You don’t? Really? Do you see your church or any of the many decent churches out there making up their own revelations, branding all other churches as of the devil, and whitewashing sexual sin? Do you think all the other churches are claiming they are the one true church? None of the protestant churches make such a claim. They all recognize other protestant churches as a valuable part of the Body of Christ. It is only Catholicism and the cults that claim to be the one true church. You don’t find the cult watch ministries giving warning of all these good churches, but they do give warning about Swaggart’s cult. To see evidence that Swaggart is making these claims see:

      https://christiananswerman.com/the-dangers-of-the-swaggart-bible/

      If you still really believe no one should ever point out anything derogatory about another ministry, then I suggest you tell that to Swaggart, who regularly castigates other ministries. See this article where Swaggart’s antagonism to other ministries is delineated:

      https://christiananswerman.com/swaggart-attacks-christian-ministers/

      Now we switch gears to talk about socialism. You wrote:

      I also don’t understand why Americans think Communism and Socialism are the same thing.”

      Americans, along with much of the free world, see them as the same because Karl Marx, the founder of socialism, saw them as the same thing and because Communist countries hold them to be equivalent. The most well-known of Communist countries was the Soviet Union. What were they called? The USSR, which stands for Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The key word there is socialist. Your argument, as you can see, is not so much with American opinion, but with the Soviet viewpoint.

      Karl Marx is the main founder of socialism. All the Communist countries have used as their basis the writings of Karl Marx, who wrote The Communist Manifesto. In the Manifesto, Marx uses the word “socialism” 30 times, “socialist” 18 times, “social” 81 times and “communist” 45 times. The context clearly shows that he uses socialism and communism as interchangeable terms.

      To be absolutely technical and split hairs one might correctly say that communism is the practical application of socialism through government control. Socialism is the underlying principle of Communism. Nevertheless, the terms are properly used interchangeably, even though, to be precise, there is a nuanced difference. Still, it should be understood, that socialism can never be implemented without government control, thus communism and socialism are always found hand in hand.

      You wrote, “I am British, living in Scotland and here we have difficulty seeing how any non-socialist could be called Christian.”

      Nowhere does the Bible teach socialism. Acts 4:32 is often misunderstood to support socialism but such is not the case. Let us examine the text:

      All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.”

      This is not communism. This is Christian charity. With communism or socialism, you have government control taking from one party to give to another. For this verse to support socialism it would have to read something like this:

      And the Church authorities ordered all Christians to surrender their possessions to the control of the Church hierarchy so they could ration it out to everyone as the elite saw fit.”

      Immediately after the verse on believers sharing, we have the story of Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5:1-11. In verse 4 we read where Peter said to Ananias:

      Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

      In other words, Peter was saying that Ananias had complete freedom to sell his house or not sell it, and if he sold it, how much money he gave was completely up to him. He was not under compulsion to do anything. But in order to gain notoriety he lied and said the money he gave was the total sale price of his house. The lie was the sin, not the holding back of some of the money. Peter make’s it clear that the amount was not the issue, it was the lie.

      So we see that in the New Testament Church, giving was not compulsory but voluntary. With socialism it is compulsory. It is ordered by the government, which takes from people that don’t want to give, so that the government officials can decide to give it to others, who may or may not deserve it. The policy of the New Testament Church was this: “If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.” Look it up in 2 Thess 3:10. That was the order of the apostles. Socialism leads to multitudes engaging in laziness, living off the government, or at the very least, being slack in their work. That is why socialist countries end up with shoddy products and shortages of goods. There is no incentive to excel.

      You wrote, “Socialism is a system designed to make all people equal and care about each other. The opposite is fascist and we all know where that leads.

      Socialism does not make all people equally wealthy and it has never done so where it has been tried. Socialism is not the equal distribution of wealth but the equal distribution of poverty. In the first place, the Bible does not teach that everyone is to be equal monetarily. Read the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. Jesus said, “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Clearly Jesus believed in people being rewarded in accordance with their efforts.

      You say that socialism makes people care about one another. How so? There is nothing in socialism that causes people to care about one another. Only a changed heart that is born again through a saving relationship with Jesus Christ can make people truly care for one another.

      Socialism has led to the death of millions throughout history and has failed in every country where it has been implemented. It has led to the murder of over 100 million people. Watch this video:



      Remember the boat people of Vietnam? They floated out to sea and died rather than submit to socialism. More people died in the year following the end of the Vietnam war, than all those who were killed during the war. Socialism kills. Where was all this caring for each other then which socialism is supposed to cause?

      Look at the recent experience of Venezuela. There experiment with socialism has led to starvation of the populace. In the most oil-rich country in the world, their economy is in shambles. 85 percent of Venezuelan companies have stopped production. Socialism failed in the USSR and it must always fail simply because at some point you come to the place where you run out of other people’s money. Even in Scotland it is failing. It is the English subsidies to Scotland that keep her going. Without that the country would go into receivership. If Scotland is ever to prosper again it will have to reject socialist economics and revert to policies to boost growth.

      Even here in America, if we don’t stop our flirtation with socialism it will be our ruin. It simply is not sustainable. We are spending money that we don’t have, running a deficit every year, and now we are 19.8 trillion in debt. All this to maintain our social programs. Sooner or later this house of cards will come tumbling down, mark my words. The resulting economic collapse of the American economy will trigger a world-wide depression, the likes of which the world has never seen. Fortunately with our new president we are seeing this turn around to some extent and I pray it continues.

      You wrote that the opposite of socialism is fascism. That is not the case. The opposite of socialism is capitalism. The dictionary definition of fascism is: “a political system headed by a dictator in which the government controls business and labor and opposition is not permitted.” Thats what socialism does. It controls business and labor and it certainly must control all opposition to the implementation of socialism. And there always is resistance, because informed people want freedom, not socialism. So socialism eventually ends up killing people to stop the opposition. Socialism led to its natural conclusion becomes fascism.

      A perfect example of fascism was Hitler’s Nazi Germany. NAZI was the acronym for the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. Again, note the keyword, “socialist.” Thus socialism is actually a bed fellow of fascism. It is not uncommon to find that socialism degenerates into despotism, exactly as we have seen happen in Venezuela and in countless other places around the globe.

      Please read my article on socialism where you will see why the philosophy of socialism is an antibiblical heresy. It is here:

      https://christiananswerman.com/socialism-satan/

      Shifting gears again, let us examine your statement:

      “Different denominations interpret the Bible differently and the Christian thing to do is for us all to accept each other regardless of different beliefs.”

      Yes, and amen, up to a point. We should accept each other, but we are not bound to accept each other’s beliefs, if those beliefs are in error. If a Christian church holds to the cardinal doctrines of Christianity and maintains orthodox teaching we should recognize one another as fellow believers in Christ. We don’t have to agree on everything to have fellowship. For the most part, the Protestant Christian churches do this wonderfully. When I was pastoring, our church often met together with other churches for fellowship and joint outreaches.

      However, the scripture tells us that if a group goes off into heterodox or heretical teachings, then we should take special note of them and avoid them.

      Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.” (Romans 16:17-18)

      We disregard such admonitions from scripture to our peril. Please read my article that shows the dangers of cults and the necessity of being alert to wolves in sheep’s clothing. It is here:

      https://christiananswerman.com/does-doctrine-matter/

      Also look at this article on the importance of judging with righteous judgment and using discernment:

      https://christiananswerman.com/judging-exposing-error-and-naming-names/

      You said, “That is the only way forward, the alternative is persecution.

      You confuse persecution with biblical correction. Scripture tells us:

      Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3)

      We read of Apollos that “he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate…” (Acts 18:28)

      In Acts 17:18 (NIV) we read that Paul debated with the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. Thus we see from scripture that Christians are not to just lay down and contentedly delude themselves that it is perfectly alright for Christians to believe anything they desire. We are to contend for the faith and debate with those who hold unbiblical teachings. Of course, we must do this in humility and love. Paul says the minister must be “able to teach…with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition.”

      When it comes to wolves in sheep’s clothing and those who would pervert the truth of God’s Word, let us remember how Jesus and the apostles responded to such. Jesus used such terms as “hypocrites”, “blind guides, ” “blind, ” “whited sepulchres, ” “serpents, ” and “ye generation of vipers.”

      Paul wrote Timothy and said, “Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have departed from the truth.” (2 Timothy 2:17)

      I hope you see that Jesus and the apostles do not agree that anything goes. Yes, we can disagree on non-essentials, but we are bound to defend the Gospel against false teachers who go off into heresy and mislead those within the Body of Christ. And even when we disagree with heresy, we are not persecuting them. We champion their legal right to be wrong and to espouse their fallacies. But we uphold our right to educate the Church as to their false teachings so that the innocent will not be led astray.

      You wrote, “As for Jimmy, he’s got me reading the bible again…

      I’m glad you are reading your Bible again. That is something all Christians should do at least once a day. However, is that the standard by which we discern good teachers from false teachers? The Jehovah Witnesses, the Mormons and other cults get people reading their Bibles also.

      You began by saying, “The music is the best I have heard in any ministry. And the man has been preaching for 60 years and doing it with incredible style.

      Consider the words of our Lord Jesus:

      Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves…”

      What is sheep’s clothing? It means they are dressed up like a sheep, like a Christian. They have impressive oratory and beautiful Christian music. If they are teaching heresy that is all just window dressing, sheep’s clothing. Do not be deceived. Do not forget:

      Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” (2 Co 11:14)

      I would encourage you to read all the articles on my site about Jimmy Swaggart Ministries and think critically and carefully about the things he teaches. Do keep reading your Bible, and I completely agree with you that a good modern translation is better than the KJV. I recommend the NASB, the ESV, or the NIV. These are all great translations to go with.
      Thank you for your thought provoking questions. God bless you as you continue in His Word.

      Most Sincerely,
      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  25. Hi Pastor Mark

    Thank you for for your considered reply and for sending me the references which I will spend time reading later.
    Firstly, I would like to respond to your political comments.
    I see politics as a spectrum, not a circle and I am nowhere near fascism, but that doesn’t affect what I have to say.
    That you think Socialism and Communism as the same thing is the usual American belief, so does not surprise me. But it isn’t.
    What you are talking about is pure Marx. But everything evolves over time and our understanding of politics, science and the Bible itself is subject to this. If this were not so, we would still be burning mentally unwell people at the stake, believing them to be witches. Would you refuse a painkiller for a headache or life-saving surgery because these things were developed by scientists and they think the world is flat, don’t they? Do you see my point?
    So it is with philosophy, politics and religion. Of course the Bible does not teach socialism – this is a political concept from 2000 years later. It doesn’t teach us about computers either, yet we are using this technology to communicate with each other about faith.
    I did not state that socialism makes us all financially equal – the brain surgeon will always earn more than the window cleaner. What I mean by socialism is the end of inherited privilege and the establishment of equal opportunity for all. In order to understand what Brits mean by socialism, you have to fully comprehend the horrors of our class system.
    Under non-socialist governments, we have sold off most of our social housing and many thousands of people, young, old, disabled and infirm are living on the street. They cannot get work or Benefits without an address; our young people are leaving university with £30,000 worth of debt; a one-bedroom flat in London can cost a million £s; hard-working people, including nurses, are queuing at food banks because their pay is so low that they cannot feed their families; people, including the very old, are dying on hospital trolleys because they cannot have the treatment that would save their lives until a bed becomes available.
    Also, under a non-socialist government (not all Labour Leaders are socialist), we entered an illegal war because the PM of the day colluded with the President of the time in the belief that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq when in fact there were not. This PM should face justice, but he was appointed as a Peace Envoy!
    You state, “giving should not be compulsory”. Under that situation old people would donate their pensions to charities whilst many of the well-off contributed nothing. People are just not going to donate voluntarily their assessed levels of taxation. Also, it degrades the poor and disabled, the young and needy to make them the subjects of charity.
    You say that “socialists engage in laziness, living off the government and being slack” Whoa! Even our current right-wing PM would never say that. It is the rich and upper classes who do nothing to contribute, either living off their hereditary wealth or enjoying their business profits made from the poorly paid, over-worked employees. Socialists work hard in order to be of service to others, not because they want to excel themselves, which is a selfish motivation.
    I do not understand “from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away”. Jesus could not possibly be approving of the situations I have described above. As for people being rewarded for their efforts, I do not think he means financial wealth. Must be another context. Jesus speaks up for the poor and downtrodden, not the wealthy money lenders.
    You state that socialism “has led to the death of millions”. Wasn’t socialists who pressed the switch for Hiroshima and Nagasaki was it?
    Why is it that the country that concerns themselves the most with other countries having nuclear weapons, is the only country that has ever used them? Its beyond me.
    You state that socialism leads to a place where you run out of other people’s money. No, that’s imperialism that does that, to which I shall return shortly. You say, “informed people want freedom, not socialism”. But they will not have freedom without socialism.
    Now we come to Scotland. You have believed “fake news”. Scotland gives more to Westminster than it ever gets back. Of course Westminster spreads propaganda about subsidies keeping Scotland so they can turn people against us and keep us down. Do you know we have our own legal system and that the Scottish NHS and Education system are totally separate from the rest of the UK and are doing much better? Our policies are boosting our growth whenever they are allowed to.
    Remember the War of Independence? If America had lost, you would still be a colony and that would be awful wouldn’t it? Well Scotland is living as a colony of the larger country next door and we don’t like it either.
    Do you know that Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in Europe and we are being dragged out because of racist people who don’t like the look of the Eastern Europeans in their street and oppose the giving of help to the terrified refugees who arrive on our shores for protection? “No room” they say. I am all for bringing the Bible to inform the present. We have become a Nation of Innkeepers.
    I gather that you are a supporter of President Trump. This is a man who has publicly made fun of a disabled person, been very disrespectful about women, wants to build a wall between people (how divisive is that?) (Incidentally, we also manage to have a drug abuse problem without any Mexicans), is hateful to Moslems, demanded that the previous President (a very good man) show his birth certificate because of the colour of his skin, is ruling America as though it is his privately owned business…. I could go on forever, but I have respect for your time.
    People are very worried here. We are a small island and believe we are about to become collateral damage in the war that your President is intent on having with Russia. Is it a Christian response to the chemical abuse of Syrian children to drop a few bombs and kill the rest of them?
    You also state that due to the economic actions of others, America could “trigger a world-wide recession”. Is it right that any one country in the world should be in a position to do this?
    My prayers for your President are that he soon be impeached. As James Comey says “he is not morally fit to rule America”. I am afraid that we are much ashamed that President Trump is half Scottish. Sorry we gave you his mother.
    Now to deal more closely with the main subject. I certainly am not suggesting the things you think I am about other churches. I know nothing about the churches of which you speak. Not many people in the UK would have heard of them, except for the Baptists which are regarded as mainstream here.
    The Anglican Church is the second largest in the world. But show me the Bible which says that a hereditary monarch should be the head of a church and that it was acceptable for a King to establish it so that he could manage his wives as they were not giving him a son. And what about “the rich man entering the Kingdom of Heaven?” The UK is the sixth richest country in the world, but this is based on economic assessment. We would be much further up the list if the Crown Jewels, the several Palaces and other related criteria were to be included. But is it right for the Head of the Church of England to have these riches when there are so many starving and impoverished people elsewhere in the world?
    And lets not forget that the basis of our wealth is from the theft from other countries in the name of Empire. There is a passage somewhere in the Bible that says God made the countries so that all humankind would have a home, somewhere to belong to. Racist people believe this supports their anti-immigration policies. I believe it means no one has the right to take over the country of another to enslave its people and drain it of its resources.
    When a European, Hitler, tries to overtake other countries in Europe , it is suddenly seen as unacceptable. Of course it is horrendous, but the taking over of other countries in Africa and Asia by the UK was equally so.
    On the subject of Hitler, terms such as “socialist” and “national” are not the same as what we mean by them. Concepts can lose their meaning in translation or when an evil person re-interprets them.
    The other church to which I was referring was the Roman Catholic one. The Vatican is certainly not impoverished either, although the incumbent Pope does not benefit from this wealth.
    Tragically, both the above churches and many of the evangelical ones have had their share of child sexual abuse.
    So I was merely pointing out that all churches have something not right with them, not just that of JSM. In fact, in any organisation in which humankind are involved, there will always be something “ungodly”.
    I agree with you that some of Brother Swaggarts’ preaching is “off the wall” and I absolutely reject the defamatory comments he makes, not only about other churches, but worse still about other faiths. Our laws here about freedom of speech are very different from that of America and Jimmy could be charged with a hate crime if he behaved like this in the UK. So too with your President. If a white candidate asked a black candidate for his birth certificate, he would be made to leave politics and could be charged with an offence. Hate crimes here invoke a custodial sentence.
    I do not accept that Brother Swaggart is a paedophile. There was no forced marriage and both parties were underage in most of America, where I understand the age is 18. It is 16 in Scotland and Mrs S. was only a few months off of this. Two young teenagers falling in love and getting married in a State where no age limit is established is not paedophilia. In my view, they were too young to marry, but the shame is not theirs; it is America’s shame in allowing any States to have no age limits to protect the young.
    I feel unqualified to comment about Brother Swaggarts’ confession. I have seen it and I know he returned very prematurely to his preaching. His youthful marriage and the fact that he had only one child would suggest there is some sexual problem and this would be treated in the UK by appropriate psychological staff. I do not know if what he was offered was appropriate help or whether he found it to be unhelpful. Perhaps he deserves our sympathy rather than our condemnation.
    I also do not believe if someone returns to a previous sin, that it means they were not repentant the first time. I do not know what he feels about it now.
    I find the ongoing demands for money to be extraordinary, but all churches expect money from their congregations; they just don’t do it so full-on and openly. I have only heard JSM state that the money is for the purpose of “taking the message of the cross to the world”, i.e. using technology to reach the entire world and if that is what people want to give their money to, their choice must be respected. I won’t be giving him any.
    I certainly do not agree with his apparent re-writing of the Bible. However, I get the impression that he is genuinely trying to figure it all out and he gets it wrong, but not deliberately.
    I do not believe he is getting direct revelations from God and am not sure he means this in a literal sense. When people are doing something which they feel God expects of them, they may experience it this way, or express it in this way.
    I am not comfortable with the practice of speaking in tongues, spirits flying about, or God supposedly speaking directly to people; for me, it borders on the supernatural.
    The happenings in Brother Swaggart’s church are very outside my experience. His church sessions are like a very lively concert and I am amazed at all the dancing, jumping about, sudden bursting into song, crying, running round in circles, etc. the presentations are very compelling. We do not worship like that in the UK, not even in the evangelical churches. Brother Swaggart’s music and songs are beyond excellent and I think he has a right to sell it .He is also totally non-racist. We should not throw out the good things with the bad.
    When I talked about acceptance of others, I meant just that. I did not mean we should all accept each others’ beliefs. That would be both impossible and silly. We are now a very multi-cultural society in the UK and many of us have worked hard for years to establish equality and acceptance among our many communities. We have multi-faith events here and together celebrate difference.
    I want to respond to one final comment you made. Years ago I used to accompany friends to church and on every occasion, the Priest would begin by saying, “Welcome to everyone, all of you who are of our faith, of another faith or of none at all”. It was a Catholic Church. Everyone thinks their religion is the right one and I have never found Catholics to do so more than any other church.
    When I stated someone could not be a Christian unless they were a socialist, I put it clumsily and it was unfair. I think what I feel is that Christian and socialist values share many things in common, as I hope I have demonstrated here.
    It is important to realise that when Marx said “Religion is the opium of the people”, he was not talking about faith or Jesus. He was talking about the organisation of religion and how those in power used the beliefs of poor people to keep them down and divide and rule.
    I feel as if I have written so much that I have given you too much work to do in reading this and I am conscious that other people want to talk to you too and I am somewhat “hogging” your website. I look forward to reading what others have to say and to following up on your references. Thank you for your time and for this website.
    God be with you, especially in your work.
    Frances.

    Reply

  26. I had been watching France’s and friends and they got into this discussion about the gap theory in Genisis. It was so confusing and France’s was confused herself, what a mess, but they All jumped on the band wagon and was saying that the gap theory was true, and they believed what Jimmy believed, What? I’m still trying to figure out what they were talking about, If someone fast talks and confuses me by talking smarter than me additude, that’s not what the bible teaches. I see arrogance, quick temper, harsh. I don’t know how the other men on the show can sit there and let them talk to people they way they do. My God teaches me different patience, love, kindness and so on. Something just doesn’t feel right in my spirit, that’s my sign something is wrong.

    Reply

    1. Hi May, I’m so glad you can see it. Its surprising how many people are totally blind to their false teachings and their unloving condescending condemning attitude.

      Thanks for your post and God Bless,

      Pastor Mark

      Reply

  27. First of all, I would like to state that I am an Agnostic, so technically I suppose I don’t have “a dog in the fight,” – theologically, that is, ; however, I have nothing but loathing for the “Braggart” family (sorry for the pun, but it does suit the egotistical and braggadocio manner of the entire clan). My mother (who is 90) and I grow constantly farther and farther apart each day, and all because the Swaggart “ministry.” She constantly shows her version of “Christianity,” which parallels that of Donnie Swaggart: meaning, a judgmental, bigoted, loud (screaming most times like a Banshee) opinion of everything and everybody who doesn’t agree with them, whether politically, or religiously. The Swaggarts say they “love” everyone, but, if their form of “love” is that in the form of a religious bigotry, then I want no part of that!!! Now, we come to their bi-monthly “Beg-a-thons,” where they feel that they need several million dollars a month in order to broadcast and project their propaganda all throughout the world; where, instead of giving away Bibles (where, in the New Testament of those Bibles, Swaggart’s words are red instead of those of Christ’s – interesting don’t you think?) that will get the job done, they have to make them royal octavo sized, with full leather binding and gold leaf. An extravagant waste of money to me – for the cost of 1 of his Bibles, you could produce 5 to 10 normal Bibles. Then, you have the Swaggart organizations shows of extravagance – private jumbo jets, a corral of limos, and, a 9 foot long Steinway grand piano on their stage. A 9 foot Steinway, in a church? Who does he think he is, Sir Elton John, or perhaps Richard Clayderman? How many people could be helped or fed with the $200,000 that that grand piano is worth? Any church could do with a piano worth less than a 1/10 of what a Steinway Grand costs. I still find it absolutely amazing that these people are “tax-exempt?” I hear Donnie Boy, as well as his Mommy, ranting and raving about the Democrats in our US government, talking about how they make too much money, and how evil and bigoted people like Nancy Pelosi are (I am not a Democrat, by the way, but a Libertarian). Well, as far as I am concerned, that is “the pot calling the kettle black.” I used to profess a Christian attitude at one time, but I am absolutely fed up with the double standards of the loudest of those that I have found who “represent” the idea; people like the Swaggarts, Jim Bakker, Joel Osteen, Oral Roberts, Kenneth Copeland (“dance around an airplane to make it yours”) and, well, the list can go on and on and on; where their main god is the Almighty Dollar. Thank you, Mr. Answer Man, for allowing the right to exercise my First Amendment right to post this “rant” on your page. I do respect you and your opinion, because at least you deliver your message in a caring, non-judgmental way. I believe whole-heartedly in your right to believe and speak with you wish, and I will defend the same, just as I would hope that I am equally allowed the same right to believe, or not, and speak my opinions. To those “sheeple” that have drunk the Swaggart cool-aid, don’t even bother trying to tease me with a reply, because I will not respond. Yes, I have seen and heard their broadcasts. I have to listen to their sickening programs all Sunday long, so, I am unfortunately all too experienced with the words and doctrines of the Swaggarts, so please don’t tell me that I am not. Thank you again, Mr. Answer Man, and have a good day.

    Reply

    1. Hi Steven, Thank you for your comment. One of the biggest tragedies of Swaggartism is the devastation it wreaks upon families. I am sorry your relationship with your mother has been damaged by Swaggart’s insidious influence. I fear that untold numbers of people have turned away from Christ because of the terrible example of the Swaggart method of rabidly attacking anyone that disagrees with them. The other TV evengelists you mention (Jim Bakker, Joel Osteen, Oral Roberts, Kenneth Copeland) have all taught false doctrines. In fact, in regard to Kenneth Copeland, I would classify him as a cult. However, Jim Bakker, while in prison, wrote a book entitled “I was wrong.” He recanted his false doctrines and expressed sorrow and repentance. This is good. I pray he continues to walk on the right path.

      2 Peter 2:1-2 speaks of false teachers such as these: “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.”

      I hope that ultimately, you won’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. If I can be of any help to you, my friend, I am here for you. God bless you and thank you for your comment.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  28. I just saw a blurb from Donnie Swaggart stating that Venezuela’s infrastructure is crumbling and 75,000 people are starving to death. It is a great opportunity to send them Swaggarts Bibles. Seriously? Can Venezuelians or any other starving people eat a Bible even with lots of hot sauce?
    Any other organization would send them food first, but the Swaggarts haven’t figured out yet how to enrich themselves by sending food.
    Since they own their own publishing and CD recording studio, they can most likely print books at cost under $5.00 and CDs under $1.25, yet during their Biblethon sell the books from donators for $25.00-$100 and otherwise CDs from $15-$30.
    It never ceases to amaze me how certain Televangelists can figure out how to fleece their listeners.

    Reply

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