Son of Evangelical Royalty Turns His Back, and Tells the Tale

[SecularMotion]

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — In every line of work, there are family businesses. But no business is more defined by dynasties and nepotism than evangelical preaching. Lyman Beecher, Bob Jones, Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, Robert H. Schuller, Jim Bakker: all had sons who became ministers.

It is never easy stepping into Dad’s shoes, of course. But when the family business is religion, it is especially perilous. That is one of the central laments, anyway, of “Sex, Mom, & God,” a new memoir by Frank Schaeffer. To secular Americans, the name Frank Schaeffer means nothing. But to millions of evangelical Christians, the Schaeffer name is royal, and Frank is the reluctant, wayward, traitorous prince. His crime is not financial profligacy, like some pastors’ sons, but turning his back on Christian conservatives

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/20/us/20beliefs.html

[madrchsod]

1. they build their castle on shifting sands.....

"..cannibal christians they suffer so.."

[Lunabelle]

2. I'm not evangelical royalty or anything, but I grew up in this crap.

And it is really just a big old frightening cult. My dad was deacon at a huge mega church and my mom served the church and was always holding prayer meetings and shit like that. Thank god, my sisters and I turned out all to be lefties.

[onager]

5. Welcome to DU, and thanks for the post.

:hi:

Sounds like you have some interesting personal insights about this stuff. Looking forward to hearing more!

About the post - it's interesting to me that so few of these sons of bi...ble royalty ever add to the old man's legacy. And income. They mostly end up just like the offspring of many wealthy people - Dad or Granddad sets up the corporation and the descendants squander the profits.

A few examples off the top of my alleged head - Franklin Graham hasn't exactly filled Billy's shoes. I think even many Xians see Franklin the same way us non-believers do - as a wanna-be and a sleazy snake-oil salesman. Jerry Falwell's son took over the Liberty Baptist franchise, but hasn't generated much enthusiasm. Maybe he'll starting mouthing off about gay Teletubbies or godly hurricanes yet, though.

Garner Ted Armstrong was every bit as fraudulent and greasy as his Daddy, old Herbert W. Until Garner Ted got nailed in the crack cocaine of Fundie preachers, a big ol' juicy sex scandal.

I'm watching a dynastical Xian shitstorm play out in my own backyard - with the Schullers of Crystal Cathedral fame in Orange County, CA. The son was supposed to take over Bob Schuller's (fancy purple) mantle, but they had a falling-out and Bob Jr. quit. Then the church went bankrupt, partly because of all the spouses and kids on the payroll drawing big salaries.

Old Bob is currently pushing his daughter as the heir apparent. But many of the Crystal Cathedral flock are right-wing geezers, and don't seem to much like getting flocked by "Pastor Sheila."

[xchrom]

3. recommend

[Kolesar]

4. they are like warlords in tribal Afghanistan, where leadership depends on relationships and force...

“But they are like warlords in tribal Afghanistan, where leadership depends on relationships and force of personality rather than building institutions that can survive after the strongman passes the mantle to his son. Only those evangelical sons who have turned their effort to institution building, rather than trying to recreate their fathers’ charisma, have managed to make the dynasty prosper.”

...says Molly Worthen, who teaches religious history at the University of Toronto
...
I feel sorry for Frank Schaeffer. They home schooled him and didn't even teach him anything useful, like how to write a balance sheet.

[struggle4progress]

6. Frank's pa Francis was very popular when I was coming up. I read his "Escape from Reason"

many years ago. I didn't like it much back then: it seemed to me a rightwing fundamentalist had written an irritating book claiming everybody else was irrational. Maybe someday I'll borrow a copy again and see if I can creatively misunderstand his fundamentalist pov in a way more to my liking. Or maybe not ...

[ZAROVE]

7. Just A Note.

Of course, many may read this thread or the article and come away thinking Mr. Schaeffer is an Atheist now. He after all left Evangelical Christianity.

This seems to not mention that he actually converted to Eastern Orthodoxy in 1990 and was formally inducted into the Holy Orthodox Faith in 1992.