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Topic: Gene Scott: "Annointed" or "A Nut Case?"
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HisGrace
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While many are doubtful about televangelists, it doesn't take long to discern true heresy.
"While other pastors denounce homosexuality, abortion, adultery, profanity and drinking, Scott refuses to condemn such behavior. He leaves worshipers free to make their own choice without coercion. "I don't ask you to change when you come here," he instructs the congregation. "I take you as you are, as God takes me as I am."
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HisGrace
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One example of his bizarre attitude is he said he knew of one couple who called PTL to ask for prayer for their marriage. He said "You should never ask for prayer for your marriage, or pray about your marriage - just fix it. Christians pray about stupid things sometimes." 
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Caretaker
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Member # 36
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That is the one Sis. I watched him a few times and just did not like his attitude. It was like, "we are saved so anything goes", type of teaching. I think he had a Doctorate in philosophy from Stanford, but no theological degrees.
I think he had gotten the historic, "Jesus Saves", sign that was famous in that area. A million dollars a month gave him alot of resources back then. I think he had ties to the "Jesus People" that came out of the 60's.
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A Servant of Christ,
Drew
1 Tim. 3:
16: And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh..
Posts: 3978 | From: Council Grove, KS USA | Registered: Jun 2002
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TEXASGRANDMA
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Member # 847
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Back in the 80's I saw this preacher a couple of times that would "teach" from a lawn chair in a studio. He would drink beer and smoke cigars though out his "Bible study" I wonder if it is the same person?
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Luk 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
http://www.indieheaven.com/artists/mm (son-in-law)http://www.myspace.com/mireles
Posts: 4985 | From: Washington State | Registered: Jan 2003
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HisGrace
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My personal conclusion - a nut case 
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mohawk
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Member # 2898
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Dr. Scott was, if anything, a hoot. Again, I only saw him on TV a handful of times--I think he was most prolific in the southern California area--but he was all over the place in terms of short wave, radio, internet--you name it. One show I recall, he preached an entire sermon sitting in a recliner, smoking a cigar! I am going to paste a couple of articles here about Dr. Scott. I could have easily just pasted the links... but since he is now dead, the articles might not be there much longer.
I have wiped out all the really adult language I could find. The articles only scratch the surface--and I think you'll see what I mean by "Annointed or A nut case."
P.S. I'm posting these for reference only--I apologize for any rough language contained in the second article, that I may have missed. Again--I was not one of his congregation, just an ocassional viewer/listener, like most people.
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Televangelist Gene Scott Dies at Age 75
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Gene Scott, the shaggy-haired, cigar-smoking televangelist whose eccentric religious broadcasts were beamed around the world, has died, a family spokesman said. He was 75.
Scott died Monday after suffering a stroke, said the spokesman, Robert Emmers.
The longtime pastor of Los Angeles University Cathedral began hosting a nightly television broadcast of Bible teaching in the mid-1970s. His University Network eventually aired a nightly talk show and Sunday morning church services on radio and television stations in about 180 countries.
Scott's church, a Protestant congregation of more than 15,000 members, raised millions of dollars through round-the-clock Internet and satellite TV broadcasts, where he would demand of viewers: ``Get on the telephone!'' to donate.
In some of his speeches, Scott would deliver complex lectures on Biblical languages to make points about the meaning of faith. But he also spoke on current events, sometimes lacing his sermons with profanity.
He supported the war in Iraq. ``Iraq is a threat to the world,'' he said in a 2003 speech posted on his Web site. ``So kick the hell out of 'em, George.''
Recognizable by his mane of white hair and scruffy beard, Scott never stuck to a conventional format in his talk show. He sometimes smoked on the show and once wore glasses with eyes pasted on them.
Unlike other televangelists, Scott's sermons did not condemn homosexuality, abortion or other hot-topic sexual issues. He argued such issues were a personal choice.
Scott, the son of a traveling preacher, had a lavish lifestyle that included a chauffeured limousine, contact with political bigwigs and, he claimed, 300 horses.
But he also spent lavishly on charity. After a fire badly damaged the Los Angeles Central Library, he organized a telethon that raised $2 million. In 2002, Scott gave $20,000 to save the Museum in Black from eviction. The museum has some 5,000 items from the slave and civil rights eras.
Scott came under scrutiny by authorities on several occasions, including by the state attorney general's office in 1977, which suspected him of fraud. The investigation was dropped, however, after the Legislature passed a law barring prosecution of civil fraud against tax-exempt religious organizations.
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You're watching Dr. Gene Scott!
It's "not a lot of hooey - just straight talk" from a man everybody's encountered at one time or another while flipping from channel to channel. His face looms large against the Ultimatte blue background, and he radiates forth a righteous indignation. He's the richest television star in world history, and he could easily hold a Guinness record for spending the most time live on the air in front of millions of people.
"You ever meet Christians? You wish you could shove a pipe in their mouth. Anything to shut them up."
He's unpredictable, entertaining, ridiculous and brilliantly inspired. There he is again: puffing a cigar, harassing a visibly shaken staff, delivering hateful missives against the FCC. He's the Bill Hicks of adult preachers, cracking jokes with impeccable timing and delivery. Everything about him is immaculately watchable, and there's no denying he's smart and... funny. His tight, thin-lipped sneer and shocking blue eyes make you wonder if you personally aren't his next target. Few can turn themselves away from this man's power. The Dr. Gene Scott suite of programs is broadcast in eight languages, in 180 countries, over radio and television stations twenty four hours a day throughout the world. There's even a live Internet video stream.
While other pastors denounce homosexuality, abortion, adultery, profanity and drinking, Scott refuses to condemn such behavior. He leaves worshipers free to make their own choice without coercion. "I don't ask you to change when you come here," he instructs the congregation. "I take you as you are, as God takes me as I am."
His personal enterprises run the gamut, across the Bishop Dr. Gene Scott Corporation, Dr. Gene Scott Incorporated., Dr. Gene Scott Consultants Incorporated, Gene Scott Travel Incorporated, W. Eugene Scott, Ph.D. Incorporated, the Gene Scott Evangelistic Association, the Wescott Christian Center, the Los Angeles University Cathedral, Faith Center, the Faith Broadcasting Network, and the University Network - among others.
When he was younger, Doctor William Eugene Scott kinda-sorta resembled actor Michael Moriarty. Over time, his appearance changed before our eyes. His hair grew longer, his beard fluffed out, his voice developed an insistent gravel. These days, with a Costa Rican cigar wedged in his mouth and a necktie bandana wrapped 'round his head, Dr, Scott looks a bit more like Kenny Rogers. Only instead of singing about knowing when to fold, he plays the saxophone, taking time out to call lesser musicians like Bill Clinton "honkers."
Dr. Scott wants you to get on the telephone and hand over ten percent of your weekly income. The average member's contribution is reportedly $350.00 a month. "I want 300 people to give $1,000 by June 30 to humiliate Satan's efforts to destroy us," Dr. Scott commanded in a Web site missive. "I also want 700 to commit to $10,000 by Christmas. I've been trying to lighten the staff load for five years! I won't take responsibility for things I have no assurance I'll ever see!"
The price of membership is steep, and measured in what he calls first fruits: returns on any form of income (an investment, a pay raise, a second job, a tax refund, Lotto winnings). If you're out of work, you give the first week's unemployment check. For non-givers, Dr. Scott warns: "If you get too smart with God, he might let you live this next year without him so you can see the difference."
People listen and obey, to the tune of uncounted millions each year. "Closet" watchers of The Festival of Faith at one point included Johnny Carson, Art Carney, Gene Hackman, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Burt Reynolds. They'd sit around in a group watching Dr. Scott, and then call the number on the screen. Celebrities were enthused: this was unlike anything they'd ever seen on television program, and the host was charismatic.
"In every way possible within the boundaries of God's word," Dr. Scott says, "I have tried to separate from the television evangelists' image. Television evangelism has become a phrase that can only become analogized to n....., k..., b...... and other epithets designed to demean and create a perceptual set of a lesser-quality being."
Dr. Scott enjoys chauffeured limousines, Lear jet travel, a mansion in Pasadena, a fleet of racing-horse ranches, and round-the-clock bodyguard protection. Dr. Scott is - without question - the greatest living minister and religious instructor on television, but nothing infuriates him more than to be lumped alongside the likes of Jerry Falwell, Jim Bakker or Jimmy Swaggart. In fact, he sued Time magazine for referring to him as a televangelist.
In 1980, celebrated German director Werner Herzog was so taken with Dr. Scott that he made him the subject of a TV documentary. God's Angry Man showcases Scott's ability to collect several hundred thousand dollars in less than half an hour. It was a film slanted toward monomania and American malaise, and largely a piece about greed and currency. Talking quietly about his personal and professional life, Scott seems a genuine and even vulnerable person. But on television, Dr. Scott becomes Mr. Hyde - coaxing, cajoling, exhorting, pleading and even whining. When he reads off the dollar amounts phoned into the Festival of Faith, not one contribution is less than three figures. During a particularly slow night, Scott will become so angry he chooses to punish his audience by refusing to say another word. The tension among the pledge-break phone volunteers in the blue-hued broadcast studio is palpable.
"A skinflint may get to Heaven, but what awaits him are a rusty old halo, a skinny old cloud, and a robe so worn it scratches. First-class salvation costs money."
Herzog sketches an intelligent, exhausting, intense man who harangues his listeners to send in their money. Off camera, Dr. Scott seems convincingly lonely and vulnerable, but ever driven toward the Lord's work. One minute he's quoting scriptures, the next he's blasting the Russians. "Nuke 'em in the name of Jesus!" he bellowed at viewers during the Gulf War.
During Sunday sermons, Scott admonishes his congregation not to seek God's blessing from a priest, the Pope or a place of worship. "And you're sure not going to get it from a motel with Jimmy Swaggart," he cracks.
"I'm not selling forty-pound Bibles, or water from Jordan, or 4,000 plastic crosses made by the Japanese and sold to Arabs. I don't send out 'healing cloths' or tear up my shirt. I say: what's what I've done worth? Whatever the meal I've fed you is worth, pay up. I'm not trying to save anybody. I think if you reject Christianity, you should do it intelligently."
Dr. Scott insists that he has no property, investments, stocks or bonds - and that everything he owns is in the name of the church. His contract calls for a $1.00 annual salary, plus unlimited expenses. He refuses to open the church's books to the scrutiny of independent auditors or follow accounting safeguards. He's defeated repeated attempts by the federal government to examine his church's operations simply by directing contributors to sign pledge slips which specifically state Dr. Scott can spend the money however he likes.
Sometimes, he'll preach about his cigar recommendations. "Not the least of the reasons I like Costa Rican cigars is the ease with which you can remove its label. How many times have you removed a label in order to smoke the last part of the cigar (the best part) and had it tear the cigar wrapper? Try one with the Maduro wrapper for a rich mellow taste. And remember: never inhale cigar smoke."
Wanna go to his church and watch him do his thing in person? Sorry, members only. Glenn F. Buntin, from his Times essay on what it's like to be there:
The 2,000-seat theater is filled with people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. Dressed in casual attire, the churchgoers look as if they could just as easily be going to Dodger Stadium or a Sunday matinee. No one under age 12 is in attendance; children of churchgoers ride air-conditioned buses every Sunday to one of 43 museums within a half-hour of the cathedral. No expense has been spared in restoring the historic theater. The lobby, with gold-backed mirrors and a vaulted ceiling finished in fresco murals, is half a block long.
When the curtain begins to rise, congregation members leap to their feet and cheer wildly. After several seconds of enthusiastic applause, a rock band belts out praise to Jesus as Scott sits impassively on a blue-cushioned stool until the singing ends.
He writes in red, blue, green and black felt pens, using the different colors to strike previous markings instead of using an eraser. Within an hour, his whiteboard is streaked with arrows, circles, lines and indecipherable words that become nearly impossible to follow. The lecture suddenly is reduced to a mind-numbing blur which virtually forces the audience to accept his ecclesiastical monopoly.
The donation plates come out. Dr. Scott doesn't have to remind them what to do. They'll tithe, or they can all look forward to "sliding down the slimy chute straight to Hell."
Posts: 223 | From: california | Registered: Feb 2004
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HisGrace
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I have never heard of Dr Gene Scott before. The fact that one had to pay for a membership to his church makes you kind of wonder though.
Can you give any examples as to why you thought he might have been a "nut case"?
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mohawk
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Dr. Gene Scott died just this past week. I am interested in what people think of him. I have no real hardcore opinion of him one way or another... he could have possibly been a great messenger of the Lord, but he was very abrasive, and also dabbled in non-biblical topics, while "preaching." I think his favorite topic was himself, and when he preached, I think he felt obligated to adopt a style that intentionally rattled cages and that was unlike any other "correct" method used by other televangelists. I do think he was at least the most entertaining "media preacher," if that is to be given any value. I saw him on TV a few times (and he seemed to be on live 24/7 on his own station, especially in L.A.), but most of my exposure to him was on radio.
One needed a paid membership to belong to his church congregation--and I think he treated church volunteers like cattle. That didn't strike me as very godly, but does anyone know if he was a great soul-winner for The Lord? I have no info there. Thoughts? Opinions?
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Posts: 223 | From: california | Registered: Feb 2004
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