Word: evangelistic
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None of Randi's exploits better illustrates his ingenuity than his 1986 exposure of Peter Popoff, the TV evangelist who claimed to be guided by God's voice. Popoff would race around an auditorium, striding up to dozens of people he had never met, greeting them by name, reciting their addresses, diagnosing their illnesses and then pretending to heal them with a laying on of hands. With the help of several volunteers, a video camera and a radio frequency scanner, Randi discovered that Popoff's wife Elizabeth toured the audience before the service began and engaged in seemingly casual chitchat...
When the Rev. Jimmy Swaggart wrote those sentiments in articles over the past 15 months in his magazine the Evangelist, he obviously believed them. But when the Assemblies last week prescribed precisely that punishment for him, Swaggart defied the decision and declared his intention to renew preaching next month. He thus not only raised questions about his own future but once again trained an unwanted spotlight on the church group that, before the scandals involving Swaggart and Jim Bakker, had become the fastest-growing denomination...
...None of us could have dreamed that [Bush] could be so strong," said Pat Robertson. He said the vice president had run a "fabulous race," and added, "The mantle of Ronald Reagan has passed to George Bush." The former television evangelist said he would remain in the race, but talked in terms of expanding his support for a campaign rerun...
Further afield, many Swaggart fans appeared eager to forgive, if not to forget. Said Mavis Peterson, a retiree in Springfield who has watched the evangelist's shows for a decade: "Brother Swaggart is an imperfect human being, but the Bible says those who love the Lord and seek the truth shall have their sins forgiven if they repent." Still, there is doubt whether Swaggart will ever again have the same level of revival stardom or draw such big TV and in-person audiences in the U.S. and overseas...
...that contain obscene pictures in their centerfolds. Jimmy cries out in protest but is ignored. He bows to weep, and when he looks up again, the auditorium is empty. The floor is littered with debris, which Jimmy starts to collect. When someone asks him what he is doing, the evangelist responds, "I am trying to clean up the church. I am trying to clean up the church." Perhaps, at last, cleanup time has really come around...