Robert H. Schuller, ‘Hour of Power’ televangelist, dies at 88

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Washington Post

National

By Emily Langer April 2 at 10:33 AM

The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, the televangelist who drew millions of followers with his “Hour of Power” broadcasts from the Crystal Cathedral, the glittering house of worship recognized around the world as the locus of his signature brand of motivational Christianity, died April 2 at a care facility in Artesia, Calif. He was 88.

A daughter, Carol Schuller Milner, confirmed his death to the Associated Press. His family announced in 2013 that he had esophageal cancer.

By the time of Rev. Schuller’s death, his ministry, based in Garden Grove, Calif., had filed for bankruptcy and largely crumbled. It was the victim, by most accounts, of overexpansion, declining popular interest and internal strife precipitated by his retirement in 2006.

At his height, he had been one of the most influential preachers in the United States, a feel-good outlier among the televangelists who, at times controversially, harnessed modern media technology to spread their messages and solicit donations.


Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/robert-h-schuller-hour-of-power-televangelist-dies-at-88/2015/04/02/f773fa3c-d943-11e4-b3f2-607bd612aeac_story.html?tid=trending_strip_2

[Newsjock]

1. My momma told me to never say bad things about the dead, so:

[MADem]

2. Last time I was out in CA, I went by that "Crystal Cathedral" to have a look at it.

Apparently the Roman Catholics bought it. It's the weirdest bit of architecture I've ever been in, frankly. It's a bit worn down and crappy in terms of the fittings and rugs and so forth, but it's a damn glass building, pretty much. Lots of schlocky names and "in memory of" carved/embossed in concrete walkways and little architectural chunks around the grounds.

It was less important looking in real life than it appeared on the television.

[sdfernando]

26. I agree with you.

And it certainly isn't a place I'd want to be around or in during an earthquake!

[MADem]

36. Fair point!!

I was in the Loma Prieta earthquake (the one that cancelled the World Series) and even some distance from the worst of it (though we felt it and lost power for days) I would not have liked to experience that from inside that building!

[kwassa]

27. It was designed by Phillip Johnson, a famous modern architect.

It was the largest glass building in the world.

Schuler's previous church was designed by Richard Neutra, another famous modern architect. It is interesting that Schuler had cutting edge modern architecture for an old-time religion.

[TlalocW]

31. Looks like a more modern version of the City of Faith

In Tulsa, OK.

When I still lived in T-Town, I had a job in one of the towers, and for the most part, it's like how another poster describes it - pretty crappy in fittings and rugs. It's never really been upgraded in a lot of spots since it was first created, and it shows. Also, Oral Roberts University is across the street from it, and I used to take visiting friends on the 6-room tour of Oral's life as a joke. Walking to the Prayer Tower where the tour is, we saw pieces of the sidewalk that looked like sinkholes had gobbled them up, or they had caved in. You can go up to the observation deck in the Prayer Tower, and get a 360 view of the surroundings. They tried to make it looks like any other kind of building that does that with little descriptions under the window that describe what you're looking at and buttons you can push for more information, but the writing is so washed out from the sun shining on it, and only about 1 in 4 buttons worked. Any money that could have gone toward upkeep of these places went instead to the Roberts and their mansions, cars, suits, jewelry, etc.



TlalocW

[MADem]

35. Ironically, Mr. Johnson was a gay atheist....!

And he admired the Nazis and was openly anti-semitic! It's only that last bit that I found somewhat off-putting...he did express remorse later in life for his "stupidity" but it's amazing what some people will say at times. He was on the watch list (justifiably, given his remarks) during WW2.

Not the guy you'd expect to be designing churches that ended up as Roman Catholic cathedrals--but hey, why not? A little irony goes with everything!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Johnson

[kwassa]

37. well, people who live in glass houses ....

Oh.

He invented that, too.

[MADem]

38. Heh, heh!!!

That's quite a remarkable residence he designed--I'd have to be DEEP in the woods to feel comfy in that fishbowl, but it is quite the work of art.

[bemildred]

3. Another religious huckster goes to his just reward. nt

[yellowcanine]

4. There should be a "Fleecing the Flock" Hall of Fame.

Robert H. Schuller would make it in on the first try. Might even get the Oral Roberts chutzpah award for creativity.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

5. Praise the Lord!!

[RKP5637]

6. And to think, years ago I thought he was a good guy, so much for my judgment. n/t

[dixiegrrrrl]

14. Do you remember when he asked for food donations for him and his wife

and arranged for his limo to pick up the food?
AND dictated what kinds of food he would accept! meats and fruit high on the list.

HUGE blowback on that.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/04/crystal-cathedral-meal-limo-request_n_1076087.html

[RKP5637]

18. Yep, I recall hearing about it at the time. Amazing, and even more amazing what

people get suckered into. I was also just reading the other post on Clearwater, FL and Scientology. Yep, all tax free again.

[workinclasszero]

7. One snake oil salesman down

a million more to go

[Wellstone ruled]

8. Yes!!!!

[yallerdawg]

9. The square-jawed telegenic Schullers were a Sunday morning icon...

when there were only 3 channels on TV.

The show featured a remarkable array of celebrity guests. The message was close to UU 'feel good' without all that biblical baggage, similar to today's Osteens, the late father and son Joel.

Always reminded me of Heinlien's "Stranger in a Strange Land" vision of the future of religious pomp. The Crystal Cathedral and all - made me wonder if Robert Schuller grokked! If only he had 'flying angels'!

Rest in peace, Rev. Schuller.

[valerief]

10. Good riddance! nt

[yeoman6987]

13. Not good

One day a beloved liberal will died and conservatives may be gleeful and we will have an OP about how awful they are. Not a good practice to criticize the dead.

[840high]

17. I don't grave dance.

[LovingA2andMI]

21. Seconding....

The "No Grave Dancing" and we will all meet this calling (death) one day. If one does not have anything good to say about the dead, best not to say anything at all.

[Arugula Latte]

40. This place is going to be one big party when Cheney finally bites it.

[yeoman6987]

42. Conservatives are going to be estatic when Jimmy Carter goez

The whole idea of celebrating death is weird to me.

[LiberalArkie]

11. They are the ones who started the mega-church prosperity theology

(along with the PTL Club and 700 Club) back then. They all led people away from Jesus to the money side. As much an anti-christian viewpoint as there ever was.

[workinclasszero]

39. Sad but true.

A feel good about yourself gospel, flashy surroundings and give your money to Jesus. (SNORT)

Olsteen learned the scam well it seems.

[GoCubsGo]

12. My mom dragged me to his big Christmas production many years ago.

It was a Nativity play at the Crystal Cathedral, complete with live animals, including a camel. I was still a Catholic at that point, but on my way out the door. Being there reminded me of the Vatican. Lots of money spent on buildings and entertainment, rather than on taking care of sick and poor people. It's really not surprising that the Catholic Church bought the building when his business, and that's what it was, went under. Kind of fitting, actually.

And, come to think of it, I had a housemate in grad school for a couple of months who was a Schuller groupie. She was from Indiana, and had a photo of herself taken with Mr. Potatoe Head Quayle, who she thought was just brilliant. I'm glad I graduated and moved on when I did.

[Amishman]

15. He fleeced my elderly relatives out of a lot of money

Money that they really couldn't spare

[sinkingfeeling]

16. Let's see if there is judgment after death.

[yallerdawg]

22. Obviously.

But it won't be in any afterlife.

"I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones." 

[SpankMe]

19. I'm not really down on Schuller, Sr.

When I was a kid, his evangelism was moderate, completely non-negative, non-confrontational and non-political. It was a truly uplifting message. He wasn't a bad guy. It was only recently that the elder Schuller made public comments on political matters that pissed me off.

His son - who preaches today - is another story. Schuller, Jr. is an activist, right-wing crackpot who's abandoned his father's moderate ways.

Also, when the Schuller ministries got their non-profit status revoked, they didn't fight it much. They know where they stood and paid their taxes willingly.

In today's environment, any political organization masquerading as a church would fight hard to keep their non-profit status and would whine on Fox News about being attacked by the liberal elite.

Whatever you thought of Schuller, Sr., he acted a lot more honorably than his whack-job descendents.

[RKP5637]

25. I liked him in the early years. I was not a constant watcher or anything and

I'm not religions at all, but I thought he seemed kind and not controversial. I used to occasionally come across a channel with him and would watch a few minutes. Now, everything is filled with insane crazies with loud megaphones and sadly brainwashed flocks.

[Frank Cannon]

29. I agree.

My wife and I attended the services at the Crystal Cathedral when we lived in the area, precisely because it avoided the fire and brimstone approach and steered away from the overt larceny and intolerance of the Jerry Falwells, Robert Tiltons, etc., who were also very popular at the time. We never felt any pressure to give the organization any money (we didn't have it, anyway), and the positive messages Schuller delivered were helpful to us in a tough time.

I think he actually experienced some dementia as he got older. He began behaving very differentlly from what I remembered. His children, unfortunately, appear to be idiots and never had the right stuff to carry on.

So I, for one, am sad about this. Dr. Schuller is dead, while the real enemies of our society continue to live, breathe, play golf on exclusive courses, and appear every Sunday on Meet the Press to promote their evil to the world.

[nichomachus]

33. The guy was a con artist

He started out in a drive-in theater. Then, he got a bunch of well-heeled, lonely old ladies to follow him. He had a doctor friend of his keep them supplied with "mother's little helpers," and the drugged-out old ladies kept writing him checks. That's how he started amassing money.

As his ministry became more prosperous and he needed office help, he had an abundance of young, handsome, single men working in the office. Tongues wagged. Once the group reached critical mass, Mrs. Schuller couldn't stand it any more, and she would storm in and start handing out pink slips. Then, it would start all over again. And again.

It was an inside joke to anyone who knew what was going on.

[spiderpig]

20. Remember when he throttled a flight attendant

over hanging up his robes behind his seat, he didn't like his low-fat meal, & worst of all they served him a plate of grapes that had cheese on it.

Need I say more? Hypocrite.

[Frank Cannon]

30. I suspect that he had dementia issues as he got older.

Please don't judge him by his more recent actions. If you've ever dealt with a loved one with Alzheimer's or other dementia disorders, you will know that they act very differently from the person that you once knew. They are paranoid and petty, because they are scared by everything.

[Arugula Latte]

41. Judging by his actions from his more distant past...

He was a con man, a snake oil salesman, a grifter, like so many who profit from religious mythology.

[spiderpig]

43. Thank you for that

He was everything you said. Plus, assaulting crew inflight is a criminal offense.

Jerk.

[olegramps]

23. Death solves many problems.

[Turbineguy]

24. You'd recognize me at his funeral

I'd be wearing the festive shirt, sipping champagne and looking for an attractive tango partner.

But dancing on his grave is out.

[kwassa]

28. Schuller pioneered the drive-in church.

Literally preaching at a drive-in movie theater in 1955.

As the size of the congregations grew, Schuller purchased 10 acres (40,000 m2) at 12141 Lewis Street in Garden Grove for a "walk-in, drive-in" church serving both congregations. Ground was broken September 10, 1958, for construction of the new church designed by international architect Richard Neutra. The church was completed in 1961 at a cost of $3,000,000.[9][10] The dedication service was held November 5, 1961.[11]

The design of the new church building enabled Schuller to preach his sermons to worshipers in 500 cars as well as to members of the congregation inside the church.[12]

A "Tower of Hope" building was added on the north side of the drive-in church building in 1968; The Tower of Hope rose 13 stories (approximately 130 to 150 feet in the air, the highest structure in Orange County at that time, and was topped by a cross. The illuminated cross that stood atop the Tower of Hope was 90 feet tall. That same year, Schuller purchased the 10-acre (40,000 m2) walnut grove that bordered the north side of the Garden Grove Community Church for the construction of the much larger "Crystal Cathedral" designed by architect Philip Johnson. The church, which has glass walls and ceiling, was dedicated on September 14, 1980.

[OrwellwasRight]

32. As a kid,

I once mistakenly tuned into the Hour of Power thinking it was the Price is Right's "Power Hour" (when the show switched from the early half hour to a full hour format, it touted its new length with a snazzy new name of the "Power Hour&quot . In any case, I was deeply disappointed.

[LiberalLovinLug]

34. I remember watching him on TV growing up

Later after all the plastic surgery and botox I thought he looked creepy. He reminded me of the Grinch.