If you look on daytime television today, many channels, religiously aligned and secular, have slots for televangelists to preach their sermons. I find this endlessly fascinating: wherever a congregation may be found, someone will be there to preach the Word. Even on Charles Street in front of the Mattin Center, there is occasionally a man with a microphone delivering the word of God without a breath.
What contributes to this kind of zeal? During the height of his power, it seemed evident that Jerry Falwell had financial and political goals in mind. But to do this despite the contradictory nature of politics and preaching seems so strange to me. Below is a video from Jerry Falwell's Old Time Gospel Hour. Clearly the man is a master of charisma, able to grasp the audience's attention and swipe away anything in his way. Even while delivering news that is so boring and financially worrisome, he manages to insert God and make everything seem less harsh than it really is. I wonder what social and psychological factors play into the creation of this kind of economic faith-based empire creation? Clearly it isn't going away any time soon.
What contributes to this kind of zeal? During the height of his power, it seemed evident that Jerry Falwell had financial and political goals in mind. But to do this despite the contradictory nature of politics and preaching seems so strange to me. Below is a video from Jerry Falwell's Old Time Gospel Hour. Clearly the man is a master of charisma, able to grasp the audience's attention and swipe away anything in his way. Even while delivering news that is so boring and financially worrisome, he manages to insert God and make everything seem less harsh than it really is. I wonder what social and psychological factors play into the creation of this kind of economic faith-based empire creation? Clearly it isn't going away any time soon.
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