Scandal at Oral Roberts U.
Televangelists and scandals seem to go together, and now some members of Oral Roberts' family may be about to rise a few ranks on the faith-based-and-disgraced list that includes Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart. This time, Roberts' son, Richard, and Richard's wife are apparently at the heart of the hullabaloo, and the wife's penchant for texting underage fellows in the wee hours isn't even the half of it.
Televangelists and scandals seem to go together, and now some members of Oral Roberts’ family may be about to rise a few ranks on the faith-based-and-disgraced list that includes Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart. This time, Roberts’ son, Richard, and Richard’s wife are apparently at the heart of the hullabaloo, and the wife’s penchant for texting underage fellows in the wee hours isn’t even the half of it.
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...AP via My Way News:
Richard Roberts is accused of illegal involvement in a local political campaign and lavish spending at donors’ expense, including numerous home remodeling projects, use of the university jet for his daughter’s senior trip to the Bahamas, and a red Mercedes convertible and a Lexus SUV for his wife, Lindsay.
She is accused of dropping tens of thousands of dollars on clothes, awarding nonacademic scholarships to friends of her children and sending scores of text messages on university-issued cell phones to people described in the lawsuit as “underage males.”
At a chapel service this week on the 5,300-student campus known for its 60-foot-tall bronze sculpture of praying hands, Roberts said God told him: “We live in a litigious society. Anyone can get mad and file a lawsuit against another person whether they have a legitimate case or not. This lawsuit … is about intimidation, blackmail and extortion.”
This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.
Prison Reform
The Supreme Court will put a spotlight on the planned execution of Richard Gosslip, one of 2,300 Americans on death row.
Courts & Law
Legislation in Oklahoma and remarks from the Alabama attorney general could foreshadow new efforts to punish people who induce their own abortions.
As bad as things may look, as despairing as we can feel, it's important to remember that our country's greatest strength is its resilience.
Tornadoes, thunderstorms and high winds cause severe damage and power outages. Deaths reported in Louisiana, Alabama and Texas.
The brash Texas corporate raider and billionaire had championed renewable energy late in his career.
In a case likely to affect others, the corporate giant is told to pay $572 million after state says it misstated drug's effects out of greed.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.