Godspeed, Sweet Lady ...

Sometimes the most surprising reaction to a tragic event is your own. You don’t realize how much impact someone had on your life until they are absent; you don’t realize how much you will miss someone until they are gone.

And so it was that upon hearing of the passing of Tammy-Faye Bakker-Messner, the depth of my own feelings for this woman took me totally unawares.

Back in the eighties, I used to tune-in to the PTL Club every night between eleven and eleven-thirty, anxious to enjoy thirty minutes of faux Christian entertainment before Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show”. I laughed at Tammy-Faye’s ridiculous outfits and outlandish makeup; I cringed as she warbled her latest Christian single; I yelled at Jim for shaking down pensioners for money to build yet another theme park, hotel, or Christian golf course – and wondered how a “Christian golf course” differed from an ordinary golf course, but figured that divine intervention on the 18th hole might have something to do with it.

Years after Jim went to prison and Tammy-Faye faded from the public eye, I read several books about the two, ever curious as to how they became the purse-snatching parasites I’d come to loathe over the years. These books were far from apologetic or complimentary; in fact, they were quite scathing in their assessment of the Bakkers.

And yet there was something between the lines that gave a glimpse of the young, idealistic couple who started out doing “the Lord’s work” and ended up being ensnared in the “Big Business” of TV evangelical work, a business aimed not at attracting souls but ratings, an enterprise more about emptying pockets than filling the soul with the spirit of the Lord. While Jim became obsessed with collecting pledges to fund an ever-growing number of ill-conceived projects that went over-budget and ended in half-completion, Tammy-Faye – his one time partner, advisor and confidante – was told to go shopping so as not to be ‘in the way’. The rest, as they say, is history.

In later years, as Tammy-Faye reappeared on TV talk shows and in cameo appearances on “The Drew Carey Show”, I began to reassess this feisty lil’ lady who seemed to know the punchline to every joke ever told at her expense. Not only did she delight in repeating them, she laughed at them more than anyone else ever could.

But what really set me straight about Tammy-Faye’s true Christian spirit was her response to a viewer on a call-in show. The caller was perplexed as to how to deal with her gay son, who she was about to disown due to his sinful lifestyle. Tammy-Faye’s answer: “I can’t think of a single sin that Jesus would find harder to forgive than a parent who chooses not to love and support their own child.”

It certainly wasn’t the popular answer among the holier-than-thou Christians who once worshiped at Tammy-Faye’s feet – but it was the comment that made me realize that in judging Tammy-Faye all those years ago, perhaps it was my own arrogant blindness that caused me not to see the lovely, self-deprecating woman whose true heart was more Christ-like than I had been able – or willing – to appreciate.

The last time I saw Jim Bakker, it was in one of those where-are-they-now interviews several years ago. He is remarried to a fellow preacher, and was working with drug addicts in a small church somewhere in Nowhere, USA. He was serene, and happy to be back doing “the Lord’s work” on a one-to-one basis, finally free of endless fundraising and PR appearances.

Asked about his ex-wife, Tammy-Faye, Jim lost no time in expressing his appreciation for the woman who shared his dreams, shared his prayers, and stood by his side when most women would have walked away.

Tammy-Faye, you were one in a million, and the world is a lonelier place for your having left it. I personally thank you for teaching me an invaluable lesson: never judge another until you have walked a mile in their shoes, and never judge another’s soul until you have seen how much they care for their fellow man as they walk that mile.

Godspeed, Tammy-Faye. May you rest in sweet dreams for eternity, wrapped in the warm embrace of the Lord whose message you shared with all of us.

Your grace and style will never be forgotten by those of us whose lives were touched by your own.

This is really the most beautiful, the most heartfelt, the most genuine tribute to Tammy-Faye that I will ever have the pleasure of reading...

All the folks who are busy pissing on her grave should be required to read this....

Thank you...

K&R

Safe passage to her.....

:hug:

However people like her and Jim Bakker, Falwell, Jimmy Swaggart, Oral Roberts and other avaricious hypocritical Christian users helped usher in the Reagan Bush error and for that they should end up in purgatory forced to eat ketchup and nothing else for eternity.

She lived an opulent life while many that sent money went without. She was just as guilty as her ex was when it came to duping people and just because she was likable doesn't make that go away.

... to someone who spent a lifetime praying for the safe passage of others.

Thanks, CalPeg, for your kind words.

:hug:

I meant every word............every one!

:hug:

she was an attention seeking fraud who ripped people off (and apparently is still doing so)

was a kid in the 80s and didn't pay much attention to all that stuff or the scandal. but i would watch her in recent years on tv shows and she always come off as the sweet lady you say she is. something about her that showed she had a soft spot in her heart for everyone.

i'm going to miss her also.

You give me hope in humanity.
BHN

Tammy-Faye deserved your kind words. Thank you.

I, too, had much loathing for her back in the PTL days. I am glad that I was able to get over that.

And hopefully Tammy Faye glimpsed that kind of largeheartedness -- in her own imperfect way (caveat: we are all imperfect), I think she might've...

I am okay with Tammy Faye because I saw a change in her. Honestly, I danced on Falwell's grave and will probably do it again when Robertson goes. I don't think I will have a single nice thing to say when GWB shuffles his stupid ass off this mortal coil. I honor this woman because she did change and I honor that rarely used human ability to change.

I asked for a link on my questions since I didn't follow her
and I think you summed it up what I was missing.

I feel humbled.

I'm grateful she's not suffering anymore.

Namaste, Blessed Be, RIP, Tammy Faye.

I'm not a follower of Jesus myself, but I hope Tammy Faye is getting a "welcome home" hug from him right now.

... but I appreciate his message and example, and those who actually walk the walk.

Tammy-Faye was a talker, but that didn't stop her from being a walker all the same.

I know this is really off topic, but your post just gave me one of those oh my god moments. I also watched that 700 Club, or whatever it was called with the Bakers. For the same entertainment value. I would get up and get ready for another day of roofing, and sit down and watch while eating breakfast. I swear my stomach hurt after laughing so much. And not at them, but more at the absurdity of it all. Not the least of which was a chubby Micky Rooney in tears. Now that was sad. But still quite amusing in it's abstract way. And then I would get in my truck and go roofing for the day.

You know, and getting more to the point of your post, there is evil in the world. There are false prophets. There are those who start wars. But, and this is probably the single most important thing Jesus ever said, there is forgiveness. When people see their wrongs and change to become better, they have become a new person. I think our society and judicial system are faulty in that respect. There is no forgiveness. But the power of forgiveness is the power to begin again. To have a new world. Nobody said it would be easy. But it just might be easier than the alternative.

We know evil. We're looking at it every day on this forum. We're fighting it. I think what you felt was the emotion that comes from seeing someone pass on who had become a different person. A good person.

"The power of forgiveness is the power to begin again."

:hi:

A Story of Forgiveness

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him.

After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone:

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?" The other friend replied "When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget
them.

I will remember this one.

It is so true.

Thanks for sharing this.

:hi:

I just reread your post this morning. I had already forgotten it. And I especially needed it. I come from a family that must have genes for disposing of friends. One mistake, it's over.

Stone. Sand. I must remember this. Thanks so much for the thought.

I never really saw him as a "bad" person, just someone seduced by fortune and fame.

He never had the hateful, mean streak like Falwell or Robertson.

... he just didn't have that "go for the throat" mentality that catapulted Falwell and Robertson to the Christian Big Time.

I forget the details. But he really ripped them off somehow.

After Jim was indicted, Tammy-Faye and Jim asked Falwell to 'watch over their flock' as they dealt with their legal problems.

Falwell graciously agreed, and then set about disparaging the Bakkers as sinful crooks (ha, ha, ha).

Years ago, Tammy-Faye said she'd forgiven Falwell for what he'd done - she said it was the most difficult task Jesus had ever set out for her to do, but she did it.

Jessica, anyone?

Jessica Hahn------> Jimmy Swaggart

I'm not so sure he has re-found is vision or is back to his old tricks on a smaller scale:

http://jimbakkershow.com/store/


"At the end of his hourlong program, Bakker asks for $1,000 “Builders' Club” donations to help make the down payment on Grace Chapel and promises a Builders Bible sent as “a love gift.” A $5,000 gift will get a donor's name placed on an “Amazing Grace” plaque. He also asks people to send in donations to help keep the program on the air."

http://religion.beloblog.com/archives/2007/05/whatever_happened_to_jim_bakke.html

There were many times I watched PTL Club just to feel calm after a hectic day raising my children and my husband. I did laugh at her makeup, but I did believe she was sincere, and still do. I sincerely hope she is happy now whatever space she occupies. Rest in peace, Tammy-Faye.

BTW, I never liked Jim. I tuned in to see Tammy-Faye.

I came out of the same denomination as Tammy Faye. Her grace, her humility and her humanity endeared anyone who had the compassion to realize she was truly repentant for what happened at PTL. I just posted this at my blog. I don't consider myself religious anymore, but truly, if anyone understood the words of Christ and acted on them, it was Tammy Faye Bakker Messner.

The Beatitudes
Matthew 5:2-10 (New International Version)

2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Surely she's making the angels smile.
Julie

"Blessed are the overly-mascaraed, for they shall see the joys of Heaven."

Just wanted to throw that in, in case Tammy-Faye had time to read this thread before moving on. I hope I made her laugh ...

I love it. :hug:

I only knew her as a televangelist with lousy makeup. When I heard that she had cancer and was down to 60 pounds, I was shocked. When I saw her on LKL, looking as if she were already dead, I was horrified. I cried for her, and also cried for my aunt--thanking God at least she was spared that kind of slow death, because she died so suddenly in her sleep.

Cancer is a horrible thing, and we need a government that will allot funds to fight it, instead of fighting an illegal war.

on one of the few occasions I turned into a reality show that WASN'T Rockstar. She struck me as a genuinely nice woman.

This was a great eulogy, Nance, and a heartfelt one.

Great Post.

...was her close friendship that developed with Ron Jeremy.

I bet he is really taking this hard. :(

One of your best.

I, too, came to respect and admire Tammy Faye after all the turmoil. I join in wishing her a joyous eternity.

I never paid attention to her when I was in high school and the PTL club was on. I just thought that she, as many of the major television religious figures, was bigoted against gays and Lesbians. I recall her, as you did, with the sort of curious interest one does many eccentrics; look on because you can't look away.

Because I had religion forced down my throat by my father, I had come to reject it, and thought religion was what one used when you didn't have enough inner strength. I hated spirituality. I did not related to the church at all. For me, Tammy Faye was a living illustration of what blind belief in God did to you. Being rejected by my religious father for being gay made me hate the church and hate God. I could not believe a loving God would bring Tammy, bigotry, and rejecting one's own child into the world.

As I continued to watch the PTL Club, Tammy Faye appeared to be in anger and pain. She had a vacant, miserable stare. I started to realize that I was witnessing someone who was trapped. It was ugly to watch, so I stopped. It wasn't entertaining to witness someone's misery, and I didn't know why I had done it in the first place. It wasn't a triumph over my own bad experiences to see it. Not long after that the whole thing imploded. Prison for Jim Bakker. Humiliation for Tammy and her children. Then, for years, nothing.

It was many years later, when the documentary about her came out, and I began to hear things about her that I looked into who Tammy Fate really was. I heard about what she was really like and how she embraced the gay community, reached out to others with AIDS, and how much of a sense of humor combined with a confidence and dignity she had. She happily accepted and cherished those around her who were happy with who they were. She had the sort of spirit that I, in my hopes and wishes, wanted so much to be. Nonjudgemental and forgiving of others. A friend had on the reality show she was in, so when I was visiting, I watched it. It seemed strange to watch a show that was set up to make everyone appear ridiculous and clownish only to see that Tammy came out of it looking like the lady she was. I felt such remose that I had judged her, as many had me, without the benefit of finding out what she'd really been like.

Her son, Jay Bakker, in his television show refined and shined her image further with how he clearly adored his mother. Whatever sins she had committed in this lifetime were forgiven. Who she was and who she had become is, to me, and example of the power of redemption. So often, we never get a chance to take the life we have and make it renewed. She did.

Someone on Jay Bakker's Sundance channel show, "One Punk Under God" said something which resonates to me today. Jay was moving his church from Atlanta, GA to New York City, and when he was greeting people afterwards, one woman tearfully told him, "I was giving God one last chance." I gave God one last chance as well. While I don't consider myself very spiritual, I know that redemption and second chances in life are what I had expected the church to offer. Jay and Tammy did that. I shall forever thank them for allowing me to renew the faith that in recent years and many religious leaders, been distorted and destroyed. I am a much better, more forgiving person through their influence.

You're at peace now, Tammy. You're home. Jay, Tammy, I thank you.

as Tammy-Faye will get from anyone.

I don't think I could have said it better myself. :cry:

RIP Tammy Faye. I hope you are enjoying your hamburger and French fries with lots of ketchup at a picnic in a quiet meadow by a gentle stream right about now.

Wonderful advice...I hope the mother of that gay child took it to heart.

K/R

No photoshop needed on that one.

Rhiannon:hi:

I was never a real TV watcher (it took away time I'd rather spend reading), so I never really saw Tammy Faye as anything more than a caricature Televangelist. And I'd rather have slit my own throat than watch "Christian" TV, which I felt represented the worst that organized religion had to offer.

Reading about her later years gives me an appreciation that appearances can be deceptive, and that the most unlikely people can be likable. I'd been judgmental about a woman I'd dismissed because I felt that she was shallow and judgmental.

I'm glad I was wrong.

RIP Tammy-Faye. I hope you find joy with your God.

her life is great example of we can change -- and she did it beautifully.

and that's the pont, isn't it?

we all fall -- it's how we get up and dust ourselves off and go on.

:)

I've always liked her, wish there were more Christians like her in this world.

Thanks for eloquently expressing what so many of us feel about this uniquely wonderful lady.

There's probably a lot of sniggering going on right now at Tammy-Faye's expense. Thanks for pointing out that she wasn't in the same company as the Robertsons, Fartwells, et al. I'm not a Christian apologist, or even a Christian, but it bothers me nonetheless that we here at DU are often too comfortable painting all Christians with the same broad brush.

RIP Tammy.

I pray that cancer will some day no longer devastate families.

She didn't deserve this.

:hug:

:loveya:

This is a lovely tribute.

Thank-you :hug:

What a wonderful tribute to a lady who was misunderstood by many,
including myself.

I had an auto-response loathing for televangelists, who I believed
were besmirching the name of Jesus and his work.
I just knew that karma would come full circle to even out their transgressions.

Tammy Faye was not one of them.
She was a true Christian is the purest form of the word.
Yes, she had "sinned" and repented, but most importantly,
she lead by example and embraced the gay community.
IMHO, this is something her teacher would have done.
This also set her apart from her contemporaries as someone who
practiced what she preached.

Rest in Peace, dear lady.

You were one in a million.


Thanks Nance, for sharing this.
;-)

Tammy Faye could have written a better eulogy - grace and style - yep, that's you, Nance.

deeply loved Lady...tears....gratitude for Tammy Faye's 65 years of wisdom, humour and LOVE in our midst.

I loved Everything about her, and know that her radiance impresses the choirs of Angels singing love songs to her....

Thank you for writing it.

RIP Tammy Faye

I have never had anything but contempt for the TV evangelist wolves and the weak-minded sheep they preyed on. Jim Bakker was near the top of the pack, and Tammy Faye went along for the ride, in my mind, because she never disowned his values.

This summer my partner and I attended a conference called IdeaCity in Toronto, as we have for the last five years. One flight of speakers consisted of Richard Dawkins, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach of "Shalom in the Home", Ingrid Mattson, the new president of the Islamic Society of North America, and Jay Bakker. I had great expectations for fireworks in this session, and it didn't disappoint.

Dawkins was dry, detached and academic. He recited a 20 minute pro-forma precis of the main points in his book and then left to catch a plane. Ingrid Mattson was calm, moderate, conciliatory and altogether reasonable. Boteach launched into a vicious personal diatribe against Dawkins (with whom he had attended Oxford) that left me hissing and booing.

Then Jay Bakker got up. This skinny punk kid, tats from top to bottom, piercings in places you wouldn't think people had places, ratty jeans, battered running shoes and a baseball cap pulled low and shadowing his eyes. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and fidgeted through an apologetic intro about not having prepared anything because he'd been told not to but everyone else had these fancy Powerpoints. He said he'd read Dawkin's book and had really liked it. He told us about the various atheists he knew and respected. Then he seemed to figure out what he wanted to tell us. You could see him take a deep breath and screw up his courage. He talked about the need for people to find their path in their own way and their own place, which is why his church is now in a New York City bar. He told us about his thirst for knowledge, and the reading that consumed him. He talked about his understanding of God and how it was utterly inclusive, extending to gays, winos and atheists because after all we're all here, aren't we? He talked about forgiveness. He talked about watching the people who would do literally anything to be invited to sit on his parents' couch. He told us about his love for his mother and the hard, hard times she was going through. Then he said, "There is really only one thing you need to know about life, people. Love each other. For God's sake, please just love each other."

By the end of it I was in tears. I've never seen someone rip his beating heart out of his own chest and stick it on his sleeve in front of 500 skeptical people before. I've never been as impressed with someone's humanity and humility. Jay was, for me, the most impressive of the 50 speakers we heard at that conference. I met him afterwards and told him how much his words had affected me, and we shared a big hug there in the packed foyer of the auditorium - the hard-assed atheist and the punk preacher.

Despite anything else that she might have done in her life, if Tammy Faye can raise up a kid like that she was a credit to the human race.

Thank you so much for sharing this story. You wrote about it well.

:cry:

I too had judged Tammy Faye harshly over the years.
Then I saw her ravaged body on the Larry King interview the other night and was stunned at the light that shone from her eyes even as she spoke about being at deaths door. she was not afraid of dying and she praised her Lord even though the cancer was not removed by Him. It was evident that although the cancer was devouring her body, it could not touch her soul or bend he belief.

If there is a heaven, surely Tammy is there.

Back in the eighties, I used to tune-in to the PTL Club every night between eleven and eleven-thirty, anxious to enjoy thirty minutes of faux Christian entertainment before Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show”.

Every night??!!!

Wow and to think I and most people I knew got their 'camp' injection if they happened to remember 'Ernie' and his 'Ba-Bee' schtick on Sunday. I can even understand that idiot Coat Jockey attracting an eyeball or too outside of the targeted demographic...

But every night???!!!

I'm pretty much of an atheist, hardly "born again," and post on that forum, as well, but I used to watch the PTL Club, with her and Jim and their two kids, and I always liked her, especially. Her makeup used to run all over, LOL.:-)

I used to work, back in the '80s, until the wee hours of the morning, and when I came home, at 5am, they were the only thing on... So I turned on the TV and did my typing that I needed to do for my job, alternately throwing toys for my dog, LOL. But I respect that the stances that she took in her later years, and I lament her passing, as well. She was one brave lady, and one who I will miss... I am not ashamed to say that I really liked Tammy Faye.;(

I liked her, too, my friend, and thank you for your post.:hug:

My fundie mom had tears in her eyes when I told her about Tammy Faye's passing last night. She still loved her. Tammy bared her soul for all to see as well as her physical just before she departed to show how humble she was. I consider myself as a free thinker, not a Christian or anything, but I did think she was a very interesting human being and loving. She came out as an angel at the end.

She was a woman who, although sometimes misguided, always tried to do the right thing.

Very nice post. I remember turning on their program a long time ago--I think it was the '70s--to laugh at them, and ended up being quite impressed with their kindness and what seemed to be sincerity. I got no sense of the kind of hate that you would later get from this poisonous demon Falwell and some of the others. Later, when Jim Bakker had become so corrupt, cheating on Tammy Faye and stealing money, etc., it was like just another phony, but as you mentioned, Tammy Faye herself became very impressive a totally new way, treating gay people as equals, friendly and accepting, telling everyone that they all had a place in Heaven, just be your good, moral, truthful self; and with all of her goofiness, you never got any sense of hate or exclusion.

I was also very moved at the end, as the cancer progressed, and you knew it would soon take her. The prospect of imminent death is very scary, for us all, and she was a true example of grace and hope. It kind of reminded me of when Mickey Mantle died, and was suddenly so wonderful and gracious; we can all be redeemed, or shown as the goodness we maybe always were. I even liked the kind and sincerely friendly way Larry King always treated her; King seemed really broken up at her death. She did her best, and she was a real Christian, not one of these hateful devils pretending to be a Christian, for the power and the money.

I was a teenager when at the height of their "popularity", and although I found their pleas for money and lavish lifestyles sickening, I have to say I don't recall them ever stirring up hate in the fashion of Falwell and Robertson.

I really don't give a shit about this woman. I have no respect for the evangelical community, for obvious reasons. Isn't there more important things going on to be discussing people?

That's simple enough.

What's the problem with discussing people?

According to your post, the only " valid" topics are events?

Hey- If you don't like this woman, stay out of her tribute thread.

It is that simple.

Yeah, you have a right to your vitriol as much as I have a right to counter it.

(As long as we don't break the DU rules.)

So, I guess there aren't more important things to be discussing.

Just asking....

Please feel free to use it on topics discussing people you "don't give a shit about."

Oh, and welcome to DU.

If it's not worth a shit discussing it, why are you discussing it?

Thank you.

Thank you for posting this.

And she was the more Christian of the two.

I came to love her self-deprecating humor, and she ended up rehabilitating herself IMHO.

Rest In Peace Tammy Faye.

K & R !!!

reflects your own beautiful soul.

(((((((((( ripples ))))))))))


Godspeed, Tammy.

Thank you, Nance

I just found out about her death logging on today - my partner says he told me yesterday, but I didn't hear him.

Truly sad.

The world is a less good place now that she is gone...

May she truly rest in peace...

This needed to be said. A wonderful tribute.

And this was the first thread I read and it echoes my own feelings.

A kick for you my friend.

to a beautiful lady that touched my heart and many many others.

Peace be with you, Tammy Faye Messner.

Thanks to DUer Left Is Write for this beautiful photo.

I am lighting the candle I promised to light. You can see it at this link (48 hour period expires Monday AM):

http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/message.cfm?l=eng&cid=3954685

www.gratefulness.org




Originally posted: Sat Jul-21-07 10:45 PM

Thanks for sharing it with us, RadioLady and Left Is Write.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1399913&mesg_id=1399913

Your writing is superb, as usual.

Hope you're feeling better now!

In peace,

Radio Lady

Thanks for sharing. :hug:

on Tammy Faye's life. However, I am truly glad her suffering is over. One of the cable programs this morning reminded me that both of her husbands spent time in jail. I can't imagine the pain she had to endure through her lifetime.

RIP, Tammy.

Thank you.

In a few words you have hit the corner stone of Christianity on the head. To forgive and not to judge are two teachings of Christ's that so many of us fall short in practicing. You wrote a beautiful tribute to a woman many of us didn't understand. I had lost track of her over the years but thanks to you I learned what a good person she was.

I just got home from a long weekend. I know someone who needs to read this part:
“I can’t think of a single sin that Jesus would find harder to forgive than a parent who chooses not to love and support their own child.”

It's all I can say.

Thanks for the memoriam, Nancy Greggs.

And start paying attention to what's happening RIGHT NOW in churches around this country. The church, as I have always known it, has always been somewhat of a "purse-snatching" enterprise. Jim and Tammy Faye just allowed us to see it on a grander scale. What is happening now is so far beyond anything that I have ever seen that it blows my mind. The money churches take in and the ventures that they pursue make Jim and Tammy look like amateurs. Churches are buying hotels, sports teams and arenas, restaurants, theme parks and even starting their own cities.

There was a story here in Baltimore about a church that was struck by lightning and burnt to the ground. Turns out that the church was getting ready to be foreclosed upon because of a water bill that they hadn't payed. Well, the same year that they didn't pay that bill, the church had purchased a Bentley worth $150,000 for their pastor. And I just wonder how they were able to afford that? Probably by begging the poor citizens of Baltimore out of their hard-earned money for the "work of the Lord".

There's so much I could say about this because it is an issue close to my heart, but I won't. I'm glad that Tammy Faye and Jim came around to understand the true meaning of ministry. I hope many more will begin to understand that purpose.

who was on the cross next to his....tonight you will be with me in Paradise. Or something like that. To forgive is the real Christian spirit.

Was that she wore too much makeup for the MSM. She was a good person, even if her husband was a scumbag. She was a symbol of grace and surviving against a horrid disease up until the very end. She was on TV last week, I heard, talking about her cancer. Like Elizabeth Edwards, Melissa Etheridge, and other women with cancer, she fought it until the bitter end. May the love of your Lord and my Lady go with you, Tammie Faye.

and her statement “I can’t think of a single sin that Jesus would find harder to forgive than a parent who chooses not to love and support their own child.” elevated her to a status that few who go for the quick and dirty I'm sorry I sinned will ever attain. I met her at a benfit concert once. She was precious and lovely and really fun to talk with. Not a whiff or hint of the anti-gay, hateful Christianity that seems to get a lot of attention these days.

You are always on point, Nance. Glad you're around.

you were a real sweetheart and heaven is brighter with you there but the world is a little darker with you gone.O8)

Everyone deserves a shot at redemption, if they are sincere about it.
I am sorry to see that a few people couldn't resist the urge to come in and snark, though. :(

I am saddened that her family has to suffer, like all others, but she got very rich by scamming a lot of people. Sure she had grace and style, because she could afford it.

Also, Larry King is a scumbag. I understand the women wanted to go on the news, for whatever reason, before dying, but this was a bit too much. Showing her weighing all of 65 pounds was heartbreaking.

However, a little delving into the facts reveal that she and Jim weren't as wealthy as some have claimed. They were on a salary, which was determined by a board of directors who oversaw the financial aspects of their ministry.

Did Tammy and Jim live well? Damned straight they did. But not nearly as well as the average CEO, and not even close to the lifestyle enjoyed by Falwell or others of their ilk.

It's refreshing to read your writings. The hate filled people who have posted in here trashing Tammy Faye has been a nightmare. I have cried a lot these past few days. It broke my heart to see her on Larry King and made me sick to hear of her death,even though I know she is so much better off now and won't have to suffer anymore.

I never will forget her saying she wanted a hamburger and fries so bad....but she wasn't able to swallow solid food.I felt so bad for her....I just wanted to reach through the TV screen and hug her and try to comfort her. I have had quite a few relatives die from cancer and friends too. It's a horrible horrible disease.


I know she is with Jesus now and praying for the rest of us. RIP Tammy. We will never forget your kind heart and soul.You will be missed. :cry:

I made fun of her makeup too in the 80's.... thought she was a very silly woman...

When I saw her on The Surreal Life I realized she was as sweet as pie- a lovely non-judgmental, positive woman that laughed a lot and seemed filled with joy.

I was very sad to hear of her passing.

Thank you for the lovely words for a wonderful lady.

i had surgery 2 weeks ago for what was believed cancer..i have been singing hallaluja now for two weeks..it was not cancer..but it was at the severe stage..just before cancer..

i would not wish cancer upon anyone..in fact anyone with cancer has my utmost respect and my tears and pain for them..

it is insideous..it is a true evil on earth..

i saw first hand Andy suffer with a horrible cancer..

as i saw my mother suffer from cancer.

who could ever be so unkind to wish that horrible disease on anyone? that is beyond my understanding.

I will pray for Tammy Faye that she is healed in her afterlife..for all the pain she has suffered here on earth.
and that angels embrace her and relieve her for all her earthly pain.

I can hear her laugh..but in her laugh there was pain..

She has had enough judging..and i believe she spent the final years of her life deserving forgiveness.

There but for the grace of god go all of us..

I wish her nothing but peace now ...and that she is pain free and with her god ...the God she loved .

thank you Nance for a beautiful tribute to a lady who deserves our kindness ..and who suffered in so many ways.


Rest In Peace Tammy Faye ..and i have no doubt you are in the arms of your god, resting now..your fight is over now..go in peace.

fly

... and glad to hear you're okay.

who chooses not to love and support their own child.”

My son is gay, and although I love every inch of him - I still have trouble sometime reconciling with my religious beliefs. Tammy's answer is the absolute truth. Thanks for helping me to clarify my thoughts.

:hug:

And RIP, Tammy Faye. You were an amazing woman with a beautiful spirit, and you will be missed. :cry: