The whole life of this putz was about selling a scam to the dumb .

by another group of hucksters.

Do the Google thing for more.

somehow managed to scrape together $57.5 million dollars of tax free money to accuire it.

One of my aunts is related to the Schullers. In fact, I drive through the town he grew up in when I go home to visit my parents.

Funny story. His name used to be pronounced with the Dutch sch (like the sound you make when you clear your throat).
So many years ago, just as he was building his Crystal Cathedral, she went home for a family reunion. When someone asked how Pastor Schuller was doing (using the old pronunciation), they were quickly corrected that his name was pronounced shooler now and not in that old world way. Apparently this new pronunciation sounded better on TV.

Back during Schuller-Gate, it was fun tuning in to the "Hour Of Power." Which, IIRC, became the "Half-Hour Of Power" when they started having money problems.

As I remember Schuller-Gate...

The old man planned to retire and the scam...er, ministry was supposed to go to Schuller's oldest son. But Sonny quit the whole thing and started filing lawsuits. It turned out that quite a few relatives held very well-paid positions without ever doing any actual work. Other relatives were unhappy about that.

Then Schuller tried to sell his daughter as his replacement, having her preach the Sunday sermons. But his congregation was mostly older Orange County conservatives, so that was a very hard sell.

When the cash flow got really dire, the daughter was still preaching. But they would bring out the old man every week for a brief "special message." That was always a Beg-A-Thon, for money to keep the ministry going.

It wasn't until I was an adult that I found out about the family connection - albeit distant. Not entirely sure how he was viewed by his immediate family though. Probably not very favorably. It's a very conservative area. He left the Reformed (Calvinist) church, went all "Hollywood" AND he supposedly became a Democrat.

Will be going up to see my parents (who are NOT crazy reformed - just Presbyterians) in a couple weeks. Will have to see if they have heard any gossip.

...there is another that will rise to take their place. There is a sucker born-again every minute.

IIRC, Schuller wasn't as repulsive as many others, but I find them all creepy.

for a minute

Shhh! Don't ruin it!

My first reaction: "Well, I was expecting that."

And your Alert was weirdly familiar. Very much like one I really got in The Other Group.. That happened when the awful Fundie "Painter of (B)light " Thomas Kink-ade died. I think my Subject line was: "Painter of Blight Croaks."

I was severely chastised for my "lack of respect." Also for Insulting The Dead or something. But as I explained, well, I DIDN'T have any respect for Kink-ade. Alive or dead.

He was not only a shitty artist, he was a shameless con artist who ripped off those people dumb enough to invest in his mall stores. IIRC, Kink-ade dumped his "art" on the market and competed directly with his own franchisees. And I believe he died with some major lawsuits pending against him because of that.

So what was I supposed to use for a Subject line? Maybe "Death of Greatest Artist Since Leonardo-Fucking-Da-Vinci" or something similar. Maybe that would have been respectful enough.

/grumpy-geezer

Compared to the grave dancing I've seen in GD your posts were practically reverential.

And how dare you have an opinion about something on DU?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

But he wasn't a scientologist, so it doesn't count.