Friendly Atheist News Roundup 10/8/2026: The Grifty Legacy of Jim Bakker (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podcast #656)

0:00 Intro
0:21 Jim Bakker, the godfather of scamvangelism, is dead at 86.
16:27 A Christian influencer says he went to Heaven and met a testosterone-fueled Jesus.
25:47 A restaurant stood up to Doug Wilson’s Christian Nationalists—and won.
40:22 Texas judge forces Galveston school district to display Ten Commandments posters.
48:48 Idaho’s attorney general gave churches a dark-money loophole to fight abortion rights.
58:23 The Mormon Church’s own lawyer just undermined its case against John Dehlin.

Interview: 

• Video, with Jessica: https://youtu.be/Bjt02R9vqw8?si=s4QzyJIGCFZOV-7Z
• Video without Jessica: https://www.youtube.com/live/1lfQP5gbsaM?si=qhf5HEINthIhFHEb
• Audio only, with Jessica: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/656-the-grifty-legacy-of-jim-bakker/id888637335?i=1000793748775. 

In memory of Jim Bakker, who died this week.

Church Chat: Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker - Saturday Night Live 

The Real Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker in the 1980s

Tammy Faye died years ago, after scenes in this clip were televised.

More recent Bakker: Buy Food Buckets and Silver Solution Before Really Bad Things Happen!

Here Jim appears with his new wife, Lori. (She excels at saying "Wow!")

https://youtu.be/sw3_5AaWBlY?si=MkcF9IFQVhJ9jWF2

Jim Bakker Is Gone. The Grift Lives On.

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kXewzr9p5yg

 

Televangelist Jim Bakker Believes ZOMBIES Will Cause The Apocalypse

https://youtu.be/exK0lMjlgLA

Churches Shouldn't Get Pandemic Stimulus Money Unless... (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Athiest podast #321)

— Televangelist Jim Bakker had a stroke. And his legal team had a bad reason to keep selling his Silver Solution. (1:35)
— Do churches deserve stimulus money during the pandemic? (8:50)
— A New Mexico sheriff “deputized” 20 church members… which not-so-coincidentally means they don’t have to follow lockdown orders. (16:44)
— An Illinois judge told a pastor the Bible says he doesn’t need to gather in person to have a church service. (25:54)
— Just because Jesus didn’t wear a face mask doesn’t mean you should avoid one. (29:27)
— Guess how much a lifetime pass to Ark Encounter costs? (31:49)
— Cardinal George Pell escaped conviction for child sex abuse but he still knew about child sex abuse. (35:18)
— Here’s what a major study of atheists found. (39:06)
Interview:
https://soundcloud.com/friendly-atheist-podcast/ep-321-churches-shouldnt-get-pandemic-stimulus-money-unless

Your Guide to the Coronavirus, Part 2 (Opening Arguments podcast OA368)

Today’s episode continues our discussion from Episode 366 on the political, criminal, and civil legal issues surrounding coronavirus and COVID-19 in the United States, including whether the CDC has the authority to waive the fees associated with testing for the virus (they do!) and how this is going to affect civil society (badly). You won’t want to miss it — and you’ll be stuck inside your house anyway, so you’ll have all the time in the world to listen!

We begin, however, with some nuance regarding An Andrew Was Right, the line of Presidential succession, the 12th and 22nd Amendments, and whether Barack Obama can be Joe Biden’s Vice-President. Learn that… apparently there’s an argument that he could?

After that, it’s time for the main segment, which covers COVID-19 and the coronavirus, specifically (a) Rep. Katie Porter’s amazing cross-examination of the CDC Director and the legal authority; (b) lawsuits against con artists like Jim Bakker and Alex Jones; (c) Congress’s response; (d) more on private lawsuits and the specific example of SXSW; and (e) a really interesting question about jury duty and the future of jury trials.

After all that, it’s time for a dreaded REAL PROPERTY #T3BE. Can you get it right? Just share out this episode on social media, include the hashtag #T3BE, your guess, and your reasons therefor and we will shower the winner with… well, you know.
Interview:
https://openargs.com/oa368-your-guide-to-the-coronavirus-part-2/

Televangelist Sells $125 'Silver Solution' as Cure for Coronavirus

A guest on televangelist Jim Bakker's show suggested on Wednesday that a product sold on Bakker's website might be effective at protecting against and killing the novel coronavirus. ....
https://www.newsweek.com/televangelist-show-guest-promotes-silver-solution-cure-coronavirus-1487069

Jim Bakker: Talk of Climate Change Is an Effort to Pretend the End Times Aren't Upon Us

Right Wing Watch reports on the extreme rhetoric and activities of key right-wing figures and organizations by showing their views in their own words. In this clip, Jim Bakker declares that talk of climate change is just an effort by the world to pretend that storms and natural disasters aren't God unleashing his judgment on the earth as the End Times begin....
https://youtu.be/tgYbYc261vo

THE ABSOLUTE VERY BEST OF REV. JIM BAKKER

https://youtu.be/sw3_5AaWBlY

Trump critics are ‘fighting against God’: Pastor claims the almighty ‘set him as the president’ - Raw Story

On Tuesday, Pastor Robert Henderson declared that anyone who opposes President Donald Trump is fighting against God. In an interview with televangelist Jim Bakker, Henderson said that no matter what people do, Trump will remain in office because that is God's rightfully place for him. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/05/trump-critics-are-fighting-against-god-pastor-claims-the-almighty-set-him-as-the-president/

Jim Bakker Warns That 'Civil War Is Coming to America' - RWW News

Jim Bakker says he got a prophecy from God in 2007 about a "great wounding" coming to America, which he's concluded means we are headed for civil war...
https://youtu.be/n8GXc30uNFo

Jim Bakker Says Trump Has Been Spiritually 'Saved So Many Times' Since Becoming President - YouTube - RWW News

Jim Bakker says that he personally knows for a fact that Trump has been spiritually "saved so many times" since becoming president, which is why "there's miracles coming out of the White House."....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXyag7ejH28

Jim Bakker Says 'All Hell Is Going To Break Loose' If Democrats Regain Power - RWW News

Jim Bakker warns that all hell will break loose if Democrats regain power because Christianity will be destroyed....
https://youtu.be/PX1ZIc7jcrM

Christian Lunatics Reveal God's Message About Donald Trump -- MUST SEE

Mary Colbert and Mark Taylor appeared on the Jim Bakker show and revealed prophetic messages about Donald Trump that they had received from God...
https://youtu.be/WhIlWEjYRtM

Pastor Jim Bakker Helps You Prepare For Trump's America

https://youtu.be/WnaSvvSqY-8

Vic Berger Presents Jim Bakker's Buckets

Jim Bakker wants you to be prepared for when the world starts to fall apart....
https://youtu.be/rOH37W0jPpA

What's That Lord? Start Selling Buckets Of Apocalypse Gruel?

In this Majority Report clip, the Lord taught Jim Bakker a valuable lesson about fraud while he was in prison: just do it legally!...
https://youtu.be/q5Vj-FVpsaQ

Jim Bakker Warns 'They're Going To Begin To Kill The Christian Leaders In This Country' - RWW News

Jim Bakker says that God told him that "they're going to begin to kill the Christian leaders in this country" very soon....
https://youtu.be/QD24dYm5lT8

Lori Bakker Says Liberals Want To Lock Christians 'Away In Mental Illness Centers' - YouTube - RWW News:

Lori Bakker warns that liberals want to declare Christians to be mentally ill and lock them all up in "mental illness centers."....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQoGHWWotTI

RWW News: Jim Bakker Says Attacks On Trump Are A Sign Of The Apocalypse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ynBPlpv1O4&feature=youtu.be\