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Jimmy Swaggart
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Rev. Jimmy Swaggart |
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| Born: | March 15, 1935 (age 72) Ferriday, Louisiana, USA |
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| Occupation: | Pentecostal Preacher |
| Website: | www.jsm.org |
Jimmy Lee Swaggart (born March 15, 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana) is a Pentecostal preacher and pioneer of televangelism who reached the height of his popularity in the 1980s. During the 1970s, Swaggart established a ministry under the Assemblies of God.
Swaggart is the cousin of rock legend Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl McVoy, and country musician Mickey Gilley. All four of them played the piano.
In 1952 he married Frances Anderson, and he has one son, Donnie Swaggart, also a minister.
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Jimmy Swaggart is currently leader of the Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the stated goals of which are
- To see souls saved
- The sick healed
- Bondages broken
- Believers baptized with the Holy Spirit
- The exposition of Bible doctrine
- To teach and preach the revelation of the cross[1]
Morning and evening services are held on Sundays, and a bible study on Wednesday evenings. Services are broadcast live on the SonLife Radio Network, a network of over 70 radio stations throughout the United States, as well as streamed over the internet.[1]
The World Evangelism Bible College and Seminary (WEBC&S) is also a part of Jimmy Swaggart Ministries. Its purpose is to "prepare young men and women for an in-depth, spirit-filled ministry."[2] The bible college opened in 1984 and seminary in 1988. Loren Larson is currently serving as president. The following degrees are currently offered:
- Th.C (Certificate of Theology)
- Th.A (Associate of Theology)
- B.Div (Bachelor of Divinity)
- Th.B (Bachelor of Theology)[3]
Jimmy Swaggart appears weekly in the Jimmy Swaggart Telecast.[4] He also participates in a daily radio program, A Study in the Word which is broadcast on SonLife Radio.[5]
He is the author of many works including an autobiography[6] and an account of the 1988 scandal,[7] he has also recorded several dozen gospel albums.
In 1988 Swaggart resigned from his ministry after pictures were taken of him with prostitute Debra Murphree. He issued a lengthy on-air apology for his actions.[8]
The photographs had been taken as a result of a rivalry with fellow TV Evangelist Marvin Gorman, who had been defrocked shortly after being accused of "immoral dalliances" by Swaggart.[9]
In 1991 he faced controversy again when it was alleged that he was stopped by police in a car with prostitute Rosemary Garcia.[10]
In September of 2004 during a sermon, Swaggart threatened to kill homosexuals... "I'm trying to find the correct name for it ... this utter absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men. ... I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm gonna be blunt and plain; if one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died."[11] A short video of the event can be seen here
- In 1988 rock musician Frank Zappa wrote a number of parodies about Swaggart's then–current sex scandal. On the album The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life, "Lonesome Cowboy Burt" became "Lonesome Cowboy Jim", and "Penguin in Bondage" and "Trouble Every Day" were also rewritten. Also, the first track of Zappa's Make A Jazz Noise Here album includes a snippet from a show in Boston, on February 20th, 1988, where Zappa informs the audience of "the good news today" that "Jimmy Swaggart is under investigation". Zappa's 1988 live recording Broadway The Hard Way includes a version of The Police song "Murder By Numbers", sung by Sting, and "dedicated" by him to Swaggart, who criticized the song several years earlier.
- During the same tour, Zappa also rewrote three Beatles songs to satirize Swaggart. Norwegian Wood became "Norwegian Jim",[12] Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds became "Louisana Hooker With Herpes",[13] and Strawberry Fields Forever was rewritten as "Texas Motel".[14] Due to problems securing the rights to the original Beatles songs (at the time when Zappa was releasing albums recorded on the 1988 tour, the Beatles copyrights were owned in part by Michael Jackson, who himself was satirized by Zappa in the song "Why Don't You Like Me"), these songs are not available on the regular Zappa catalogue, but audience recordings can be found on the Internet, usually labelled as "Texas Motel Medley". The lyrics to the suite can be found through the references provided.
- Skinny Puppy sample his "I am clean" speech on their song "Hexonxonx" from their Rabies album.
- Ozzy Osbourne's song "Miracle Man" is about the Swaggart prostitution controversy. The song appears on the No Rest for the Wicked album, released at the height of the scandal in 1988.[15]
- The Iron Maiden song Holy Smoke, the first single from their 1990 album No Prayer for the Dying, makes reference to Jimmy Swaggart and his 1987/1988 scandal.
- Lou Reed's song "Strawman" from his 1989 album "New York" includes the lines: "Does anyone need another President or the sins of Swaggart parts 6, 7, 8, and 9"
- In the Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire! (1989), Jimmy Swaggart is portrayed by Alec Baldwin.
- The Pop Will Eat Itself song The Incredible PWEI vs. the Moral Majority from their 1990 album Cure for Sanity and the James song God Only Knows from their 1990 album Gold Mother both include a quote of Jimmy Swaggart saying things about Satan and his presence in Rock Music.
- ^ a b Jimmy Swaggart Ministries. Retrieved on 2007-01-28.
- ^ Jimmy Swaggart Ministries - WEBC&S. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
- ^ Jimmy Swaggart Ministries - Degree Programs. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
- ^ Jimmy Swaggart Ministries - TV Programming. Retrieved on 2007-01-28.
- ^ Jimmy Swaggart Ministries - SonLife Radio. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
- ^ To Cross a River (Paperback). Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-27.
- ^ The Cup Which My Father Hath Given Me: A Biblical Revelation of Personal Spiritual Warfare (Paperback). Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-27.
- ^ Swaggart, Jimmy. Reverend Jimmy Swaggart: Apology Sermon. americanrhetoric.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
- ^ "On this day: 21st February 1998 TV evangelist quits over sex scandal", BBC World News. Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
- ^ "Swaggart Plans to Step Down", The New York Times, October 15, 1991. Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
- ^ Prout, Jan. "Evangelist Jimmy Swaggart Threatens To Kill Gays", Connexion, September 19, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
- ^ Frank Zappa: Norwegian Wood.
- ^ Frank Zappa: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.
- ^ Frank Zappa: Strawberry Fields Forever.
- ^ Ozzy Osbourne Miracle Man Lyrics.