Dr. Eugene Scott

I'm curious as to what forum members of a a theological bent think about televangelist Dr. Eugene Scott of Los Angeles University Cathedral? I see his broadcasts occasionally and he spends much of his airtime writing in a strange language on a giant whiteboard. He certainly does not meet my image of a televangelist.

 

Gene Scott is a very strange man, I think. I watched him in the '80's when he told people to "go to hell," as he preached from a rooftop and smoked cigars.

 

Stanford's most illustrious graduate (PhD). I looked at his dissertation (on Reinhold Niebuhr) once.

A good guy. But crazy.

 

A few of us used to hang out in my dorm when I was an undergrad (long before I transferred to Excelsior) and watch him just for the comedic value. We used to love it when he'd refuse to preach until people donated enough money.

Very weird guy.

 

I've met him a few times.....

I dated a girl for 5 years whose family was a bigtime breeder of American Saddlebred horses in KY. Dr Scott was one of their clients, as it was his passion. I watched his show many times where he showed off all of his horses. To say the least he was bizarre.

The family said he started out as a fund raiser for a different televangilist, and wised up. He thought, i'm doing all the work, and he gets all the money. Soon thereafter he branched out on his own.

He spent a literal fortune on those horses, many costing half a million - 1 million on up. He would fly into town, wearing his full length mink coats and his cigars. His manager was his girlfriend, who always had a matching mink coat.

He was an expert at getting people to donate money. He would often just walk off stage after admonishing the audience to give x number of dollars or he wouldn't come back on. SO there you would see a empty chair, and nothing else. This would go on for minutes at a time, but it worked. He became very wealthy from his intimidated tactics on his viewing public.

 

Stomp a piss ant for Jesus!

I asked a similar question here a while back, though I can't seem to find the thread here right now.

The guy's a mean-spirited sonofabitch, though... make no mistake about that. There's just no other way to put it. And anyone who thinks he's not harmful is sadly mistaken.

You should read this.

And this.

This article is worthy reading, too.

• 
  Comedian Robin Williams as
  Dr. Gene Scott on Saturday
  Night Live in 1988.
  
  "On Easter Sunday, 1993, I watched and listened in disbelief, as live and in person, Dr Gene Scott, weirdo televangelist, talked about his horses, placement at Saratoga, made in-jokes about adultery with 2 members of his congregation who *knew* what he was talking about, bragged about how much money he had and then led his congregation in a rousing musical number called 'Step on Some Piss Ant for Jesus.' And then I watched the zombie throng give this demented dork their hard earned cash TWICE..."
  -- Source: The Disinformation Web Site

Not by my definition of "good." Not by a longshot. And in the aforementioned thread where I asked about him earlier, there seemed to be universal agreement among the bible scholars around here that he pretty much didn't know what the hell he was talking about theologically... and didn't know Biblical Hebrew or Greek anywhere near as well as he professed.

 

Update

Update:
Could not get to the original article but this is a short version

Preacher agrees to cancer surgery | Televangelist Gene Scott, who relied on faith healing, says his disease is now 'out of control' (Los Angeles Times)

It is apparently not good so this may not be an issue for long.

 

Update

Update:
Could not get to the original article but this is a short version

Preacher agrees to cancer surgery | Televangelist Gene Scott, who relied on faith healing, says his disease is now 'out of control' (Los Angeles Times)

It is apparently not good so this may not be an issue for long.

 

Update

Update:
Could not get to the original article but this is a short version

Preacher agrees to cancer surgery | Televangelist Gene Scott, who relied on faith healing, says his disease is now 'out of control' (Los Angeles Times)

It is apparently not good so this may not be an issue for long.

 

Re: Update

Hey, humbug101... remember to just click once on the "Submit Reply" button when you make a posting. As long as you know for sure that you clicked ONCE on it -- and that it was a good, solid click directly on the button -- then it should go... even if there's a painfully long delay. Just be patient. After clicking, if you move the mouse cursor off the button, it should change to an hourglass and, if not, then if you move the mouse cursor so it's hovering above the word "Address" in the browser's "Address:" field then it should turn to an hourglass. If it becomes an hourglass, then the click took and now it's just a matter of waiting for the posting to process. Just 'cause the posting screen doesn't clear and change to the "Thanks for your posting; you'll now be taken to it" (or whatever it actually says) message right away don' mean it ain't tryin'.

Well, if this is true, then that's too bad... and I'm not being sarcastic. There are alot of people I don't like in this world, and/or who are bonafide horse's patoots, but I certainly don't wish any of 'em death... especially a painful, cancer-caused one like what's described by the headline above. Of course, we're assuming it's not a publicity stunt, aren't we. What? Too cynical?

Well... for the moment... let's assume it's legit; and, if so, then... well... ha... imagine me, of all people here, being the one to suggest that a prayer for Dr. Gene Scott might be in order. Maybe now he'll find out what love really is.

 

I saw him briefly on TV during the mid-eighties and also thought him quite strange. There are many false teachers and preachers out there and he may be one. Perhaps this scripture applies to him as well as many others: II Peter 2:2-3 "And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." Maybe.........don't know for sure.

 

I have occasionally run across Gene Scott while channel surfing, and I must admit, I always stop and watch for a bit.

His exegetical performance is so W E I R D (an apt term many have used here) but at the same time compelling. Hard to follow. Always too glib (I suspect) with those felt-tip markers. His wife singing bad songs which she wrote herself (is that really his wife!?). Yet, the whole performance is fascinating to watch.

He's the only televangelist that makes me feel like a deer caught in the headlights. (Is that a character flaw?)

They flash "Gene Scott, Ph.D., Stanford University" on the screen every few minutes, and he's up there waxing hermeneutical in Greek, Hebrew, Coptic, Syriac, and Armenian, quoting biblical expositors left and right . . . . . . . what's a person supposed to do?

Hell, if I didn't know better, I'd send him money.

Seriously, though, I hope that he does not have terminal cancer. My sister died of it after a ten-year struggle. I can't think of a worse way to go.



marilynd

N.B.: Just for the record, I never have and nevery will send money to a televangelist. It doesn't mean I can't enjoy the show, though.

 

I saw him live once at a horse show in Lexington when I groomed for a Saddlebred stable. Had a little set of groupies with him. Didn't give a flip about the horses - only interested in winning. Heard nasty things about some of the "training" methods he approved of. Also heard he tipped his grooms well.

 

Heck, I'd send him a donation just to get the lyrics to "Step on Some Piss Ant for Jesus"!

 

Hey Nosborne: You know the thing in the Shemoneh Esreh about minim? This bizarro blasphemous jerk qualifies. Along with the religious right (which isn't), a.k.a. Chillul ha-Shem “R” Us.

 

I don't get the point of this thread. Watch :30 of his programs and you get the point.

SEND IN THEM DOLLARS


But I have to say, he's a hell of alot more entertaining that Jerry Falwell.

 

The Rev. Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvie's program, Let God Love You, was the best ministry program ever aired. I miss it tremendously!

 

A source of pride for a former professor of mine is that Gene Scott once talked about his book on the air. He had horrible, awful things to say about this book. Apparently, it was heretical, blasphemous, etc.

Wait for it, folks...

Sales of the book went up.



Tom Nixon

 

Pumdog hit the nail on the head!

I was around this guy and his entourage quite a bit, and I never got the feeling God or spirituality had anything to do with his life. It was all about the MONEY! he was very good at getting little old ladies across the country to send them their welfare checks!

 

He is now chaplain of the US Senate.

http://www.senate.gov/reference/common/person/ogilvie_john.htm