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{{short description|American televangelist
{{for|people named James
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox clergy
| name = Jim Bakker
| image = Jim Bakker
| caption = Bakker in
| birth_name = James Orsen Bakker
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1940|1|2}}
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| church = [[Assemblies of God USA|Assemblies of God]] (1960–1988)<br>[[Charismatic movement|Charismatic]] (2003–present)
| congregations = ''[[The PTL Club]]''<br>[[Heritage USA]]<br>Heritage Village Church<br>Morningside Church
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Tammy Faye Messner|Tammy Faye LaValley]]<br>|1961|1992|reason=divorced}} * {{marriage|Lori Beth Graham<br>|1998}} }}
| children = 7, including [[Jay Bakker]]
}}
'''James Orsen Bakker''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|eɪ|k|ər}};<ref name=Time06-2001>{{cite magazine|last=Ostling|first=Richard N.|author-link=Richard N. Ostling|title=Power, Glory – and Politics|date=June 24, 2001|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time magazine]]|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101860217-143137,00.html|access-date=November 9, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090308110631/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101860217-143137,00.html|archive-date=March 8, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> born January 2, 1940) is an American [[televangelist]] and convicted
In the late 1980s, Bakker resigned from the PTL ministry over a cover-up of hush money to church secretary [[Jessica Hahn]] for an alleged [[rape]]. Subsequent revelations of [[accounting fraud]] brought about felony charges, conviction, imprisonment, and divorce. Bakker later remarried and returned to televangelism, founding Morningside Church in [[Blue Eye, Missouri|Blue Eye]], [[Missouri]], and reestablishing the PTL ministry. He currently hosts ''The Jim Bakker Show'', which focuses on the [[Eschatology|end times]] and the [[Second Coming]] of Christ while promoting [[survivalism|emergency survival]] products. Bakker has written several books, including ''I Was Wrong'' and ''Time Has Come: How to Prepare Now for Epic Events Ahead''.
==Personal life==
James Orsen Bakker was born in [[Muskegon, Michigan|Muskegon]], [[Michigan]], the son of Raleigh Bakker and Furnia Lynette "Furn" Irwin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=doYfAAAAIBAJ&pg=6009,3137616&dq=finding-refuge-in-a-doting-grandmother&hl=en|title=Herald-Journal - Google News Archive Search|work=google.ca|access-date=September 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213143115/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=doYfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nM4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6009,3137616&dq=finding-refuge-in-a-doting-grandmother&hl=en|archive-date=February 13, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Bakker attended [[North Central University]], a [[Minneapolis]] [[bible college]] affiliated with the [[Assemblies of God USA|Assemblies of God]], where he met fellow student [[Tammy Faye Messner|Tammy Faye LaValley]] in 1960.<ref>{{cite news|last=Welch|first=William M.|title=Ex-wife of evangelist Jim Bakker dies|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=July 21, 2007|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-07-21-tammy-faye_N.htm|access-date=November 29, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523233146/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-07-21-tammy-faye_N.htm|archive-date=May 23, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Bakker worked at a restaurant in the [[Young–Quinlan Building|Young-Quinlan]] department store in Minneapolis; Tammy Faye worked at the Three Sisters, a nearby boutique.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sturdevant|first1=Andy|url=https://www.minnpost.com/stroll/2014/05/tammy-faye-bakkers-year-minneapolis-scoping-out-sites-college-marriage-and-ministry|title=Tammy Faye Bakker's year in Minneapolis: scoping out the sites, from college to marriage and ministry|newspaper=[[MinnPost]]|date=May 28, 2014|access-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203075601/https://www.minnpost.com/stroll/2014/05/tammy-faye-bakkers-year-minneapolis-scoping-out-sites-college-marriage-and-ministry|archive-date=February 3, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>▼
▲James Orsen Bakker was born in [[Muskegon, Michigan|Muskegon]], [[Michigan]], the son of Raleigh Bakker and Furnia Lynette "Furn" Irwin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=doYfAAAAIBAJ&pg=6009,3137616&dq=finding-refuge-in-a-doting-grandmother&hl=en|title=Herald-Journal - Google News Archive Search|work=google.ca|access-date=September 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213143115/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=doYfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nM4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6009,3137616&dq=finding-refuge-in-a-doting-grandmother&hl=en|archive-date=February 13, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Bakker attended [[North Central University]], a [[Minneapolis]] [[bible college]] affiliated with the [[Assemblies of God USA|Assemblies of God]], where he met fellow student [[Tammy Faye Messner|Tammy Faye LaValley]] in 1960.<ref>{{cite news|last=Welch|first=William M.|title=Ex-wife of evangelist Jim Bakker dies|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=July 21, 2007|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-07-21-tammy-faye_N.htm|access-date=November 29, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523233146/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-07-21-tammy-faye_N.htm|archive-date=May 23, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Bakker worked at a restaurant in the Young-Quinlan department store in Minneapolis; Tammy Faye worked at the Three Sisters, a nearby boutique.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sturdevant|first1=Andy|url=https://www.minnpost.com/stroll/2014/05/tammy-faye-bakkers-year-minneapolis-scoping-out-sites-college-marriage-and-ministry|title=Tammy Faye Bakker's year in Minneapolis: scoping out the sites, from college to marriage and ministry|newspaper=[[MinnPost]]|date=May 28, 2014|access-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203075601/https://www.minnpost.com/stroll/2014/05/tammy-faye-bakkers-year-minneapolis-scoping-out-sites-college-marriage-and-ministry|archive-date=February 3, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
The Bakkers married on April 1, 1961, and left college to become [[Itinerant minister|itinerant]] [[Evangelism|evangelists]]. They had two children, Tammy Sue "Sissy" Bakker Chapman (born March 2, 1970) and [[Jay Bakker|Jamie Charles "Jay" Bakker]] (born December 18, 1975). The couple divorced on March 13, 1992.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tammy Faye Bakker Gets Divorce, Custody of Son, 16|url=https://articles.latimes.com/1992-03-14/news/mn-3158_1_tammy-faye-bakker|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=March 14, 1992|access-date=February 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009180218/http://articles.latimes.com/1992-03-14/news/mn-3158_1_tammy-faye-bakker|archive-date=October 9, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> On September 4, 1998, Bakker married Lori Beth Graham, a former televangelist, fifty days after they met.<ref>{{cite news |last=Garfield |first=Ken |date=April 1, 2000 |title=The Preacher's Wife: Lori Beth Bakker says she is her own woman |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=20000401&id=YWQzAAAAIBAJ&pg=6682,207555 |newspaper=[[The Free Lance-Star]] |location=Fredericksburg, VA |access-date=September 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429094010/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=20000401&id=YWQzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cwgGAAAAIBAJ&pg=6682,207555 |archive-date=April 29, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2002, they [[adopted]] five children.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://jimbakkershow.com/about-us/about-jim/|title=About Pastor Jim Bakker {{!}} The Jim Bakker Show|work=The Jim Bakker Show|access-date=October 1, 2018|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001220448/https://jimbakkershow.com/about-us/about-jim/|archive-date=October 1, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/65297-jim-bakker-s-son-the-no-1-thing-to-remember-when-dealing-with-immigrants|title=Jim Bakker's Son: The No. 1 Thing to Remember When Dealing With Immigrants|last=Lancaster|first=Jessilyn|website=Charisma News|date=June 2, 2017 |language=en|access-date=January 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190124041816/https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/65297-jim-bakker-s-son-the-no-1-thing-to-remember-when-dealing-with-immigrants|archive-date=January 24, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.charismanews.com/culture/74716-exclusive-jim-bakker-s-son-ricky-believes-this-is-the-generation-that-will-see-christ-return|title=EXCLUSIVE: Jim Bakker's Son Ricky Believes This Is the Generation That Will See Christ Return|last=Staff|first=Charisma|website=Charisma News|date=January 9, 2019 |language=en|access-date=March 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203032906/https://www.charismanews.com/culture/74716-exclusive-jim-bakker-s-son-ricky-believes-this-is-the-generation-that-will-see-christ-return|archive-date=February 3, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{clear}}
==Career==
===Early career===
In 1966, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker began working at [[Pat Robertson]]'s [[Christian Broadcasting Network]] (CBN) in [[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Portsmouth]], [[Virginia]], which had an audience in the low thousands at the time.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker Lived Here - in a Kit Home!|url=http://www.searshomes.org/index.php/2011/11/23/jim-and-tammy-faye-bakker-lived-here-in-a-kit-home/|publisher=Sears Home|website=searshome.org|date=November 23, 2011|access-date=February 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215024019/http://www.searshomes.org/index.php/2011/11/23/jim-and-tammy-faye-bakker-lived-here-in-a-kit-home/|archive-date=February 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The Bakkers contributed to the network's growth, hosting a children's variety show called ''Come On Over'' that employed comic routines with [[puppet]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tammy Faye Bakker-Messner, "On her first television appearance and creating The Jim and Tammy Show |website=Television Academy Foundation Interviews |date=October 23, 2017 |url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/jim-and-tammy-show |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408085932/https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/jim-and-tammy-show |archive-date=April 8, 2019 }}</ref> Due to the success of ''Come On Over'', Robertson made Bakker the host of a new prime-time talk show, ''[[The 700 Club]]'', which gradually became CBN's flagship program.<ref name=wapo>{{Cite news|title=Robertson's Bakker Connection|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/02/06/robertsons-bakker-connection/f558f67c-c4f5-489c-b733-e768d1daacdc/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=February 6, 1988|access-date=February 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311081305/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/02/06/robertsons-bakker-connection/f558f67c-c4f5-489c-b733-e768d1daacdc/|archive-date=March 11, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The Bakkers left CBN in
===PTL===
[[File:HeritageUSASign.jpg|thumb|Heritage USA sign in 2007. The site is now mostly demolished.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Remnants Of This Abandoned Theme Park In South Carolina Are Hauntingly Beautiful|last1=Jarvis|first1=Robin|url=http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/south-carolina/abandoned-theme-park-sc/|publisher=onlyinyourstate|website=onlyinyourstate.com|date=June 3, 2017|access-date=February 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213022309/http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/south-carolina/abandoned-theme-park-sc/|archive-date=February 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
Throughout the 1970s, Bakker built a headquarters for PTL in [[the Carolinas]] called Heritage Village.<ref name="buzzfeed"/> Over time, the Bakkers expanded the ministry to include the [[Heritage USA]] theme park in [[Fort Mill, South Carolina|Fort Mill]], [[South Carolina]], which became the third most successful theme park in the U.S. at the time. Viewer contributions were estimated to exceed $1 million a week, with proceeds to expand the theme park and ''The PTL Club''{{'s}} mission.<ref name=Time06-2001 /><ref>{{cite news|title=Televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's fall from grace|last=Connelly|first=Sherryl|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/televangelists-jim-tammy-faye-bakker-fall-grace-article-1.3387060|newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]|date=August 5, 2017|access-date=February 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213022105/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/televangelists-jim-tammy-faye-bakker-fall-grace-article-1.3387060|archive-date=February 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Bakker responded to inquiries about his use of mass media by saying: "I believe that if [[Jesus]] were alive today, he would be on TV".<ref>{{cite web|last=Shepherd|first=Steve|title=Submit Yourselves To God|url=https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/submit-yourselves-to-god-steve-shepherd-sermon-on-authority-166240|website=Sermon Central|quote=I believe that if Jesus were alive today, he would be on TV|date=April 17, 2012|access-date=February 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213195629/https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/submit-yourselves-to-god-steve-shepherd-sermon-on-authority-166240|archive-date=February 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
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Bakker believed that Falwell would temporarily lead the ministry until the scandal died down,<ref name="ATC"/> but on April 28, 1987, Falwell barred Bakker from returning to PTL upon hearing of allegations of illicit behavior which went beyond the Hahn allegations.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/15/AR2007051501365.html?noredirect=on|last=Harris|first=Art|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|title=Falwell Takes Control, Bars Bakker From PTL|date=April 29, 1987|access-date=January 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101145401/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/15/AR2007051501365.html?noredirect=on|archive-date=January 1, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that summer, as donations declined sharply in the wake of Bakker's resignation and the end of ''The PTL Club'', Falwell raised $20 million to keep Heritage USA solvent and took a promised [[water slide]] ride at the park.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,965543,00.html | title=American Notes: Fund Raising | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=September 21, 1987 | access-date=November 29, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050212141215/http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,965543,00.html | archive-date=February 12, 2005 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Falwell and the remaining members of the PTL board resigned in October 1987, stating that a ruling from a [[bankruptcy court]] judge made rebuilding the ministry impossible.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/09/us/falwell-quits-warning-ptl-ministry-may-end.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Falwell Quits, Warning PTL Ministry May End|date=October 9, 1987|access-date=January 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101145239/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/09/us/falwell-quits-warning-ptl-ministry-may-end.html|archive-date=January 1, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
In response to the scandal, Falwell called Bakker a liar, an [[embezzlement|embezzler]], a sexual deviant, and "the greatest scab and cancer on the face of Christianity in 2,000 years of church history".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W-vkVdJPN4wC&pg=PA126|title=The Cross and Reaganomics: Conservative Christians Defending Ronald Reagan|first=Eric R.|last=Crouse|year= 2013|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield#Imprints|Lexington Books]]|via=[[Google Books]]|isbn=9780739182222}}</ref> On [[CNN]], Swaggart stated that Bakker was a "cancer in the body of Christ".<ref name="ATC">{{cite news |title=Son of Jim and Tammy Faye Finds His Own 'Grace' |quote=Jim Bakker is a cancer in the body of Christ |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/01/15/132864466/jim-and-tammy-fayes-son-finds-his-own-grace |work=[[All Things Considered]] |publisher=[[NPR]] |date=January 15, 2011 |access-date=February 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213084653/https://www.npr.org/2011/01/15/132864466/jim-and-tammy-fayes-son-finds-his-own-grace |archive-date=February 13, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> In February 1988, Swaggart became involved in a sex scandal of his own after being caught visiting prostitutes in [[New Orleans]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/22/us/swaggart-says-he-has-sinned-will-step-down.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Swaggart Says He Has Sinned; Will Step Down|last=King|first=Wayne|date=February 22, 1988|access-date=January 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101145243/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/22/us/swaggart-says-he-has-sinned-will-step-down.html|archive-date=January 1, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The Bakker and Swaggart scandals had a profound effect on the world of televangelism, causing greater media scrutiny of TV ministers and their finances.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/crystal-cathedral-founder-robert-schuller-dies-at-88/2015/04/02/61b96702-d970-11e4-bf0b-f648b95a6488_story.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Crystal Cathedral founder Robert Schuller dies at 88|last1=Singh|first1=Lisa|last2=Banks|first2=Adelle M.|date=April 2, 2015|access-date=January 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412034441/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/crystal-cathedral-founder-robert-schuller-dies-at-88/2015/04/02/61b96702-d970-11e4-bf0b-f648b95a6488_story.html|archive-date=April 12, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Falwell said that the scandals had "strengthened broadcast evangelism and made Christianity stronger, more mature and more committed."<ref>{{cite news | title=Preacher Scandals Strengthen TV Evangelism, Falwell Says | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=March 19, 1988 | url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73577139.html?dids=73577139:73577139&FMT=ABS&FMTS | access-date=December 5, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103120420/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73577139.html?dids=73577139:73577139&FMT=ABS&FMTS | archive-date=November 3, 2012 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/10/09/The-Rev-Jerry-Falwell-returning-to-Heritage-USA-to/8017560750400/|title=The Rev. Jerry Falwell, returning to Heritage USA to ...|work=[[United Press International]]|date=October 9, 1987|access-date=December 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203153805/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/10/09/The-Rev-Jerry-Falwell-returning-to-Heritage-USA-to/8017560750400/|archive-date=December 3, 2017
====<span class="anchor" id="Fraud conviction and incarceration"></span>Fraud conviction and imprisonment====
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The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit]] upheld Bakker's conviction on the fraud and conspiracy charges, voided Bakker's 45-year sentence and $500,000 fine and ordered a new sentencing hearing in February 1991.<ref name="U.S. v. Bakker">{{cite web |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?q=%22James+O.+Bakker%22&hl=en&as_sdt=3,44&case=1832676487785187662&scilh=0 |title=U.S. v. Bakker |year=1991 |access-date=October 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312135825/http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?q=%22James+O.+Bakker%22&hl=en&as_sdt=3,44&case=1832676487785187662&scilh=0 |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The court ruled that Potter's sentencing statement about Bakker, that "those of us who do have a religion are sick of being saps for money-grubbing preachers and priests",<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/29/opinion/jim-bakker-s-startling-sentence.html |department=Opinion |title=Jim Bakker's Startling Sentence |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 29, 1989 |access-date=June 9, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613005011/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/29/opinion/jim-bakker-s-startling-sentence.html |archive-date=June 13, 2018}}</ref> was evidence that the judge had injected his religious beliefs into Bakker's sentence.<ref name="U.S. v. Bakker"/>
A sentence-reduction hearing was held on November 16, 1992, and Bakker's sentence was reduced to eight years. In August 1993, he was transferred to a minimum-security federal prison in [[Jesup, Georgia]]. Bakker was [[parole]]d in July 1994, after serving almost five years of his sentence.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jim Bakker freed from jail to stay in a halfway house |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/02/us/jim-bakker-freed-from-jail-to-stay-in-a-halfway-house.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 2, 1994 |access-date=March 11, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311081429/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/02/us/jim-bakker-freed-from-jail-to-stay-in-a-halfway-house.html |archive-date=March 11, 2018}}</ref> His son, Jay, spearheaded a letter-writing campaign to the parole board advocating leniency.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bakker |first=Jay |author-link=Jay Bakker |title=Son of a Preacher Man: My Search for Grace in the Shadows |year=2001 |publisher=Harper Collins |isbn=006251699X}}</ref> Celebrity lawyer [[Alan Dershowitz]] acted as Bakker's parole attorney, having said that he "would guarantee that Mr. Bakker would never again engage in the blend of religion and commerce that led to his conviction."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/24/us/judge-cuts-bakker-s-prison-term-making-parole-possible-in-4-years.html |title=Judge cuts Bakker's prison term, making parole possible in 4 years |last=Applebome |first=Peter |date=24 August 1991 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=15 April 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515161918/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/24/us/judge-cuts-bakker-s-prison-term-making-parole-possible-in-4-years.html |archive-date=May 15, 2020}}</ref> Bakker was released from [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]] custody on December 1, 1994,<ref>{{cite news |last=Smothers |first=Ronald |title=Ex-television evangelist Bakker ends prison sentence for fraud |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/02/us/ex-television-evangelist-bakker-ends-prison-sentence-for-fraud.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 2, 1994 |access-date=February 21, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216030215/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/02/us/ex-television-evangelist-bakker-ends-prison-sentence-for-fraud.html |archive-date=February 16, 2018}}</ref> owing $6 million to the IRS.<ref>{{cite news | last=Krotz | first=Daniel | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-krotz/jim-bakker-and-other-coun_b_795822.html | work=[[Huffington Post]] | title=Jim Bakker and the counterfeit hell robbers | date=December 20, 2010 | access-date=February 18, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204062348/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-krotz/jim-bakker-and-other-coun_b_795822.html | archive-date=February 4, 2017 | url-status=live}}</ref>
<!--The reporting is problematic. First is the claim of parole. Parole at the Federal level was eliminated by the Sentencing Act of 1984 <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/98th-congress/house-bill/5773 |title=H.R.5773 - Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 |publisher=United States Congress |access-date=January 21, 2021
In addition the federal sentencing method was based on a system of points, where points were added or subtracted depending on various factors including the particular crimes. Using a chart prepared by the US Sentencing Commission the total of the points indicated the sentencing range. A change of eight years to 45 years is way outside the range of any one total of points.<ref>[https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/guidelines-manual/2016/Sentencing_Table.pdf ussc.gov]</ref> For the 4th Circuit to require a resentencing, that required that the District Court to modify the convictions.
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===Return to televangelism===
[[File:Thorvaldsen's Christ in Grace Street Studio Building.jpg|thumb|The set of ''The Jim Bakker Show'' in [[Blue Eye, Missouri]]]]
In 2003, Bakker began broadcasting ''The Jim Bakker Show'' daily at Studio City Café in [[Branson, Missouri]], with his second wife Lori;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-20060708-2006-07-08-0607080152-story.html|title=Televangelist Rebuilds His Life After Scandal|first=Kevin |last=Murphy|newspaper=[[Daily Press (Virginia)|Daily Press]]|date=July 7, 2006|language=en-US|access-date=August 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812193450/https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-20060708-2006-07-08-0607080152-story.html|archive-date=August 12, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> it has been carried on [[Christian Television Network|CTN]], [[Daystar (TV network)|Daystar]], Folk TV, Grace Network (Canada), [[
Bakker condemned the [[prosperity theology]] in which he took part earlier in his career, and has embraced [[apocalypticism]].<ref name="buzzfeed">{{cite news |last=McKinney |first=Kelsey |title=The Second Coming Of Televangelist Jim Bakker |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kelseymckinney/second-coming-of-televangelist-jim-bakker |url-status=live |work=[[Buzzfeed News]] |date=May 19, 2017 |access-date=January 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129181320/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kelseymckinney/second-coming-of-televangelist-jim-bakker |archive-date=January 29, 2019}}</ref> His show has a [[Millennialism|millennial]], [[survivalist]] focus and sells buckets of [[freeze-dried]] food, such as beans on toast,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mohr |first=Kylie |date=December 3, 2015 |title=Apocalypse Chow: We Tried Televangelist Jim Bakker's "Survival Food" |website=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/03/456677535/apocalypse-chow-we-tried-televangelist-jim-bakkers-survival-food }}</ref> to his audience in preparation for the [[Eschatology|end of days]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Mohr |first=Kylie |title=Apocalypse Chow: We Tried Televangelist Jim Bakker's 'Survival Food' |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/03/456677535/apocalypse-chow-we-tried-televangelist-jim-bakkers-survival-food |url-status=live |publisher=[[NPR]] |date=December 3, 2015 |access-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131201031/http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/03/456677535/apocalypse-chow-we-tried-televangelist-jim-bakkers-survival-food |archive-date=January 31, 2017}}</ref> Elspeth Reeve wrote in ''[[The Atlantic]]'' that Bakker's "doomsday survival gear" is overpriced.<ref>{{cite web |last=Reeve |first=Elspeth |title=Jim Bakker's Doomsday Survival Gear Is Way Overpriced |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/05/jim-bakkers-doomsday-survival-gear-way-overpriced/327958/|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=May 17, 2012|access-date=March 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306023057/https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/05/jim-bakkers-doomsday-survival-gear-way-overpriced/327958/|archive-date=March 6, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> A man named Jerry Crawford, who credits Bakker with saving his marriage, invested $25 million in a new ministry for Bakker in [[Blue Eye, Missouri]], named Morningside USA. Production for ''The Jim Bakker Show'' moved to Morningside in 2008.<ref name="buzzfeed"/> ====Prophecies and statements====
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Bakker's revived show features a number of ministers who bill themselves as "prophets". He now says that "PTL" stands for "Prophets Talking Loud".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jimbakkershow.com/news/the-5-principles-of-faith/|title=The 5 Principles of Faith|first=Jim|last=Bakker|date=June 22, 2016|access-date=July 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703005054/https://jimbakkershow.com/news/the-5-principles-of-faith/|archive-date=July 3, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
In an October 2017 video, Bakker said that "God will punish those" who ridicule him;<ref>{{cite web|last=Mazza|first=Ed|title=Jim Bakker Says God Will Punish You For Making Fun Of Him|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jim-bakker-stop-making-fun-of-me_us_59e593f3e4b0a2324d1d2f54|quote=Jim Bakker: One day, you're going to shake your fist in God's face. And you're going to say, 'God, why didn't you warn me?' He's gonna say, 'You sat there and you made fun of Jim Bakker all those years. I warned you, but you didn't listen.|work=[[HuffPost]]|date=October 17, 2017|access-date=February 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107145213/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jim-bakker-stop-making-fun-of-me_us_59e593f3e4b0a2324d1d2f54|archive-date=January 7, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> he has said that [[Hurricane Harvey]] was a judgment of God, and he blamed [[Hurricane Matthew]] on then-President [[Barack Obama]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Disgraced pastor Jim Bakker says Hurricane Harvey was 'judgment' from God while selling his Tasty Pantry bucket for $175|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/disgraced-pastor-jim-bakker-calls-hurricane-harvey-judgement-article-1.3473935|work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|location=New York|date=September 5, 2017|access-date=February 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212083505/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/disgraced-pastor-jim-bakker-calls-hurricane-harvey-judgement-article-1.3473935|archive-date=February 12, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Tashman|first=Brian|title=Jim Bakker Blames Hurricane Matthew On Obama|url=http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/jim-bakker-blames-hurricane-matthew-on-obama/ |publisher=Right Wing Watch|date=October 17, 2016|access-date=February 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212083601/http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/jim-bakker-blames-hurricane-matthew-on-obama/|archive-date=February 12, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Bakker predicted that if then-President [[Donald Trump]] was [[Efforts to impeach Donald Trump|impeached]], Christians would begin a
On the ''Stand in the Gap Today'' radio program, Pennsylvania Pastors Network president Sam Rohrer criticized Bakker's civil-war prediction.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gryboski|first=Michael|title=Pastors Network Pres: Jim Bakker Is Wrong, Christians Won't Start 'Civil War' Over Trump Impeachment|url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/pastors-network-president-jim-bakker-wrong-christians-wont-start-civil-war-over-trump-impeachment-197355/|work=[[The Christian Post]]|date=August 31, 2017|access-date=February 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214073339/https://www.christianpost.com/news/pastors-network-president-jim-bakker-wrong-christians-wont-start-civil-war-over-trump-impeachment-197355/|archive-date=February 14, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Christian Today]]'' criticized Bakker's show for preying on "the most vulnerable kinds of people" and claimed that it had "no place on our TV screens."<ref>{{cite web|last=Saunders|first=Martin|title=Jim Bakker's TV show amounts to spiritual abuse – so why is he still broadcasting?|url=https://www.christiantoday.com/uk/jim-bakkers-tv-show-amounts-to-spiritual-abuse-so-why-is-he-still-broadcasting/128881.htm|work=[[Christian Today]]|date=May 1, 2018|access-date=May 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502064231/https://www.christiantoday.com/uk/jim-bakkers-tv-show-amounts-to-spiritual-abuse-so-why-is-he-still-broadcasting/128881.htm|archive-date=May 2, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
====COVID-19
{{see also|Misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic}}
Bakker sold [[colloidal silver]] supplements that he advertised as a [[panacea (medicine)|panacea]]. In March 2020, the office of the [[Attorney General of New York]] ordered Bakker to cease making false medicinal claims about his supplements' alleged ability to cure the [[Coronavirus disease 2019|2019–2020 strains of coronavirus]], and the [[Federal Trade Commission]] and the [[Food and Drug Administration]] also sent a warning letter to Bakker about his claims regarding the supplements and coronavirus.<ref>{{cite news |title=NY AG Letitia James orders televangelist Jim Bakker to quit advertising coronavirus cure |date=March 6, 2020 |newspaper=[[New York Post]] |url=https://nypost.com/2020/03/06/ny-ag-letitia-james-orders-televangelist-jim-bakker-to-quit-advertising-coronavirus-cures/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200306142558/https://nypost.com/2020/03/06/ny-ag-letitia-james-orders-televangelist-jim-bakker-to-quit-advertising-coronavirus-cures/ |archive-date=March 6, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=FDA, FTC sends warning letter to ''Jim Bakker Show'' |date=March 9, 2020 |newspaper=Ozarks Independent |url=http://ozarksindependent.com/2020/03/09/fda-ftc-sends-warning-letter-to-jim-bakker-show/ |access-date=March 9, 2020 |archive-date=April 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406135333/http://ozarksindependent.com/2020/03/09/fda-ftc-sends-warning-letter-to-jim-bakker-show/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[Missouri]] attorney general [[
In April 2020, prohibited from receiving credit card transactions, Bakker disclosed to his viewers that his ministry was on the brink of filing for bankruptcy and urgently petitioned them for donations.<ref>{{cite news |title=Televangelist asks viewers to send checks after credit card companies cut him off for selling fake coronavirus cure |last=Slisco |first=Aila |date=April 22, 2020 |magazine=[[Newsweek]] |language=en |url=https://www.newsweek.com/televangelist-asks-viewers-send-checks-after-credit-card-companies-cut-him-off-selling-fake-1499636 |access-date=April 23, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-date=April 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426214105/https://www.newsweek.com/televangelist-asks-viewers-send-checks-after-credit-card-companies-cut-him-off-selling-fake-1499636}}</ref>
The following month, GEB America and World Harvest Television dropped Bakker's program from their networks after [[DirecTV]] owner [[AT&T]] asked channels to reconsider airing the show. AT&T made the request of its channels in response to a [[deplatforming]] campaign from the liberal Christian group
On May 8, 2020, Lori Bakker announced that Jim Bakker had suffered a stroke that his son Jay described as “minor”. Lori stated that he would be taking a sabbatical from the program until he recovers. She blamed the stroke on Bakker's hard work on his show and wrote that he had described the criticism against him as “the most vicious attack that he has ever experienced”.<ref name="stroke"/> Bakker returned to his program for the first time following his stroke on July 8, 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last=Marusak |first=Joe |date=July 8, 2020 |title=TV pastor Jim Bakker returns to his show for the first time since suffering a stroke |newspaper=[[The Charlotte Observer]] |url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/entertainment/tv/article244094697.html |access-date=July 16, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-date=July 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710173315/https://www.charlotteobserver.com/entertainment/tv/article244094697.html}}</ref>
On June 23, 2021, Missouri Attorney General [[
==Works==
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==External links==
*[http://www.jimbakkershow.com Jim Bakker Show]
{{PTL scandal}}
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