Evangelical Christianity has had a firm, unhealthy grip on a substantial proportion of Americans, going back to our early colonial beginnings in the 18th century. An influential and powerful branch of this evangelism is the “charismatic” movement best known in the late 20th century in the person of Tammy Faye Baker. The disgraced PTL ministry (1974-1989) founded with her husband Jim Baker collapsed under the weight of numerous, highly publicized financial and sexual misconduct scandals.
The disrepute and infamy of the PTL (Praise The Lord) television ministry was the most notorious of the many religious controversies which dominated headlines of both the mainstream media and the tabloids during the late 1980s and early 90s. Long before the downfall of the PTL ministry however, was the notorious case of Aimee Semple McPherson during the 1920s. As an flamboyant, evangelist/charismatic minister she was a driving force of “tent revival” religion beguiling thousands of followers with her self-proclaimed, radiant infusion of the Holy Spirit.
McPherson was also the pioneer of what is now commonly known as a mega church, establishing the Angelus Temple during 1923 in Los Angeles with backing from wealthy supporters. The facility (which still exists) was most impressive for its time, with the largest dome of its kind in the United States and capable of seating 5,300 per service. McPherson believed that the location for the church in the Echo Park neighborhood of L.A. came to her through divine inspiration. In fact, the Angelus Temple was the ideal setting for a public preacher of such magnetic personality.
The use of cinematic flair in her sermons to spread the gospel of Christ, such as performing “miraculous” healings, and the use of elaborate sets became a trademark of her style and proved to be very popular with audiences. It is also fitting that Los Angeles was the focal point of McPherson’s ministry since she embodied show business itself, and was so adept at incorporating it into her services. Whether McPherson admitted it or not, her schtick was an added dimension to the carnival-like, make-believe atmosphere of Los Angeles where reality was (and still is) rather hazy.
Although old-time religion with show biz dazzle-dazzle was McPherson’s specialty – – it was the new age media of the 1920s which allowed it to flourish in a manner unknown to evangelists and charismatics of the past. That new age of media was the invention of radio – a revolutionary event much like the internet of our era. Radio proved to be a great asset to tremendously expand her message of sin and salvation to a nationwide audience by the middle 1920s. It made her more popular than any previous evangelist in American history.
Ultimately, though, McPherson’s ministry and reputation was marred by scandal. This negative turn for her occurred on May 18, 1926 when she suddenly disappeared while swimming at Venice Beach, California. Naturally, there was a furor when she turned up alive in Mexico five weeks later. This media circus event is documented in the NBC-TV movie The Disappearance Of Aimee which probes into the controversy which engulfed McPherson and attempts to set the record straight.
McPherson’s claim that she had been kidnapped, drugged, tormented – and then managed to escape from her kidnappers in a remote area of Mexico was instantly viewed with suspicion as an elaborate hoax. McPherson had many detractors who believed that she was carrying on an illicit affair with a married, former employee and that McPherson had concocted this whole escapade as a cover-up in collaboration which her overbearing stage mother Mildred Kennedy.
McPherson’s return to the living resulted in highly-publicized Grand Jury inquiries that dragged on for months, but McPherson never wavered from her account of the abduction and subsequent escape from Mexico into Arizona. In any event, none of her enemies were ever able to disprove her story and McPherson was acquitted of any wrongdoing in early 1927. However, suspicion always followed her in the aftermath of the scandal and the press continued to hound her, looking to uncover more scandal. The outcome of her case created more hostility against the Evangelist/Pentecostal style of religion as embarrassing, radical, and outside the mainstream.
What may be most disturbing about the entire affair, though, is that McPherson and her undeniable flair for self-promotion and self-glorification fully launched the Christian gospel into a show business spectacle which then accelerated into the mockery of Christianity which is so apparent today. The showy display of the Charismatics-Evangelicals-Pentecostals (or whatever else they call themselves) definitely grabs attention to reach hearts and minds of adherents – right along with their purses and wallets.
While religion as corporate enterprise with all of it’s gimmicks is not exactly a new or particularly shocking occurrence at this point, the beguiling performances of such legendary and tour-de-force actresses as Faye Dunaway and Bette Davis demonstrate quite well how the unwary were and continue to be manipulated by charismatic/evangelical personalities to support religious movements such as Praise The Lord and Hillsong Ministries and many other lesser-known churches that promise much but ultimately deliver disillusionment.
Note: For those who like to watch the full movie of The Disappearance Of Aimee, it can be found on YouTube.
