• BC Christian News • JULY ISSUE 1999 • VOL. 19 #7 • Formerly "Christian Info News" •

Bob Larson Update: Comment
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By John Cody

Theological concerns, questionable financial practices and allegations of adultery were covered in last month's BCCN feature on Bob Larson, but a number of issues were omitted, due to space restrictions, time constraints (deadline), and a perhaps ill-advised tendency to follow the paper's mandate to foster unity among Christians rather than critique errant teachers. Moreover, several of Larson's responses to our questions went unchallenged, raising the misleading impression that the charges against him are as he claimed: lies, half-truths, and exaggerations. This update hopes to rectify any confusion.

Some of Larson's claims are so fantastic as to sound fictitious, including statements blaming the Columbine massacre on all those who have opposed him, that satanists are more to be trusted than Christians in the media, that he's been impersonated by demons on several occasions and that the Larson expose is part of a satanic plot that has already brought down Jim Bakker, Mike Warnke and Jimmy Swaggart. All these claims are verified through audio tapes.

Currently included on his rally schedule internet page is this statement: "For example, demons which manifested at recent rallies and workshops set off fire alarms and generated earthquakes."

Exorcisms?

Larson critics have long questioned whether the 'exorcisms' he performs are real, and suspected that 'marks'--persons set up to fake the whole thing -- were employed.

In late May, KCBD-TV, the NBC affiliate in Lubbock, Texas ran a report on Larson, which included interviews with a number of audience members who admitted to having been exorcised more than once by Larson, at different cities.

Locally, Burnaby resident Ken Hamer was able to correctly predict where the first 'demons' would manifest during the March rally. At Larson's workshop here in June, the same individual was the final exorcism of the day.

While these episodes do not prove a set-up, they suggest only two possibilities: either they were orchestrated by Larson, or they were not bona fide exorcisms, in which case Larson should have known he was being set up.

At a rally at the Comite Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana April 12, 1994, Larson claimed to have a demon-possessed woman restrained backstage who had driven from Missouri to attain BobĚs help.

BCCN spoke with Chad Kelly, who attended the event. "Not only did Bob and Otis play this story up to excite the crowd . . . [he] milked it for money the next day on Talk-Back! Bob told his listeners to reimburse him for the cost of the private hotel room that this exorcism had to take place in; and Otis was live via telephone to back him up. The only problem with the whole story was that I had been backstage with Bob and Otis and Patrick O'Shea for an hour prior to the show. Guess what? No woman! When I tried to call Talk-Back the next day to bring up this fact, I was told that Bob didn't want to talk to me."

Kelly has an interesting history with BLM. "It can honestly be said that I made Bob Larson a pile of money before I figured out I was being used . . . I called him under the auspices of a 'satanic teenager' [from 1990] until around late 1994 when I finally called it quits . . . I had become infamous in Talk Back circles for printing a 'Kill Bob Larson' tee shirt and writing a song of the same name . . . his ministry contacted me in late April 1994 asking me to make more! The story I was told was that Bob Larson was trying to take promotional photographs of the shirt and himself wearing it. He owned one already; but the red ink didnĚt show up on film as well as white would, so he suggested white." Arrangements were made for Kelly to make new shirts for Larson Ministries, but he backed out. "I was confused and a bit bewildered. I decided not to play along."

Larson critic Ken Smith observes that "Back in the early 1990s, 'demons' manifesting on the show used to have wonderfully evil names like Baphomet, Belial, and Abaddon; these days, it's more like 'Lies, Deceit, and Murder.'" This demonic downsizing continues: at his seminar in Vancouver last month, Larson dealt with the spirits of Sympathy, Crying, Sorrow and, perhaps the most insipid of all of Satan's minions, the demon of Heartburn.

Larson has written that the 'taunt' is a standard weapon in the demon's arsenal, yet recent demons come off almost milquetoast, spewing out nothing worst than the occasional 'I hate you.'" Smith notes "If a caller can torment him about his [alleged] adultery to the point where he has to hang up on them, why canĚt these demons?"

Reaction to original article

Before the article had even been posted on BCCN's website, there was a heated debate on our discussion forum regarding its contents. Early on, five incendiary posts apparently from the pro-Bob faction were found to be from the same person, using various pseudonyms, including two fictitious pastors.

Rather than argue the facts, each post attacked Ken Smith, a Denver resident who operates the Bob Larson Fan Club, an Internet site containing dozens of megabytes of documentation, including court documents, ministry tax returns, audited financial statements, deeds and other evidence which gives these charges credibility. Smith was not quoted in the original article, but a link was given to his site, and much of the information concerning Larson is included there. He suspects that the posts came from Larson, or someone acting at his behest: "Attacking the messenger is Larson's modus operandi."

Smith describes himself as "a former believer who wants nothing to do with the church because of the way he has been mistreated by believers in connection with the Larson scandal."

Larson has chosen to focus on the fact that Smith is not a Christian, as though this mitigates the fact that the evidence speaks for itself. Larson claims Smith "has harassed other ministries such as CRI, Campus Crusade For Christ [and] Josh McDowell."

Cornerstone interviewed Kenneth Samples and Rob Bowmen of CRI, both of whom denied the accusation. Bowmen, who has since left CRI, responded: It is absolutely untrue than Ken harassed anyone at CRI, either myself or others. He is a very intelligent individual who has as complex set of questions concerning Christ's resurrection. I only wish there were more apologists willing to deal with people such as Ken Smith.

Larson accused Smith of being in cahoots with Christian talk show host Jon Stewart and Bob and Gretchen Passantino. Stewart has responded I only wish that Bob would deal with those things having to do with fact. Only then will the air be cleared. To fling about character assassination and unfounded allegations is untenable as a Christian minister.

The Passantinos were more forthright: "Bob Larson should be ashamed of himself for deceiving and exploiting his listeners. For him to slander us by associating us with some unprovable, outlandish conspiracy to destroy his ministry or cause him bodily harm is unchristian and unethical."

Regarding the site's veracity, both World Magazine (January 23, 1993, Vol. 7, # 23) and Cornerstone (Fall, 1993, Vol. 21, # 100) addressed the subject, each stating that all claims were corroborated independently. No fact presented on the website has ever been proven wrong.

"Larson would sue me in a heartbeat, if he could," Smith added. "He even sued me for threatening a boycott of Sears, Roebuck; they never prosecuted it because there wasn't any evidence to support such nonsense. Believe me, if I got something wrong on the website, I'd hear from his lawyer in a New York minute."

Tax receipts

Another concern voiced by Larson's critics is his long-standing practice of issuing "tax-deductible receipts" for the full amount of items purchased from his Canadian office. This procedure appears to be in violation of Canadian tax law (cited in Interpretation Bulletin IT-110R3 - Gifts and Official Donation Receipts).

When making a donation to a registered charity, it is generally not tax-deductible if you receive anything in exchange which is of more than 'nominal value' -- the lesser of $50 or 10 percent of the gift.

For instance, Burnaby resident Ken Hamer paid $55 for five books and a tape, and received a receipt for the same amount. The suggested retail price of the books received was more than $55. When challenged about this practice on the air recently, Larson claimed that charges of tax fraud were "the ruminations of psychos, who . . . don't know beans about the law or what's going on.."

Smith doesn't purport to be an expert in Canadian tax law, but his resume does include a law degree and a masters degree in American tax law. He discussed the case with BCCN: "Revenue Canada has an Information Bulletin on the Internet which states in plain English that what Larson is doing violates the law; I doubt they posted it there for their health."

Hamer filed a complaint with Revenue Canada in February.

At Larson's Vancouver rally March 26, tax-deductible receipts were noticeable by their absence.

Shortly after Hamer's complaint was filed, Larson announced that his ministry had suffered two 'break-ins' at his Calgary offices. According to the Ministry's 1996 Information Return, his ministry had no tangible assets in Canada.

Frank Luellau, of the Canadian Council of Christian Charity, a national accounting organization for Christian charities, spoke with BCCN regarding Larson. Bob Larson Ministries is not certified under the CCCC and does not carry the organization's seal for financial accountability.

Responding to the alleged practices Luellau surmised, "It doesn't add up . . . if that's true, we would advise such an organization that this is not within the law, [and would] clearly advise them to change their handling procedure." While Luellau could not recall Larson every applying for membership here, in 1993 Bob Larson Ministries resigned its membership in the U.S.-based National Religious Broadcasters rather than comply with the standards of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

Associates

The argument has been made that it's up to those who are in Larson's private circle to deal with any moral or ethical lapses rather than going public. A look at some of those in the inner circle shows that may not be possible.

One long-time Bob Larson Ministries board member, Terry Smith, is pastor of Canyon Creek Baptist Church in Texas. In 1988 D Magazine, a Dallas monthly, ran a feature article on Smith documenting numerous allegations of sexual and financial misconduct, as well as his conviction for shoplifting condoms. All the charges occurred while he was pastor, a position he retains today.

Craig Smith, a frequent guest on Talk Back, runs the Swiss America Trading Corp., which sells gold and rare coins. In July, 1995, the Arizona Republic carried a profile on Smith that documented a long history of bilking clients, and his arrest in 1986 on charges of racketeering and aiding in a money-laundering scheme. Smith was later convicted of attempting to defraud the IRS. The firm, according to the article, concentrates on "hard-sell religious tactics and high mark-ups on coins." In the past, Smith has been sharply rebuked by the North American Securities Administrators Association and the Council of Better Business Bureaus, which described him and others as false prophets of the investment world.

Larson wrote a letter of recommendation that helped Otis Ray Hope secure the position of pastor at Montrose Baptist Church in Rockville, Maryland. Once installed, he brought Larson to speak at the church. Hope's history with the church has been racked with controversy, including a 1991 Securities and Exchange Commission complaint that he was involved in a fraudulent scheme in Louisiana to sell unregistered debt securities worth $20 million. The fallout was considerable, including a former church security guard committing suicide at Hope's desk, and a number church members leaving after being rebuked and told to 'repent' for questioning Hope's leadership.

Demons of color?

At his June 19 seminar held at the Bayshore Inn, Larson commented on the case of a B.C. teenager who was declared a dangerous offender for committing sexual assault on a three month old boy and admitting that he had killed another child when he was 11 years old.

Explaining that the boy will never get better "because he's not suffering from some psychological disorder -- this kid's got a demon," Larson went on to list the reasons . . . the parents never wed, the father had abandoned the family and "surprise, surprise, we find out that the mother was of Cree Indian origin."

This was not Larson's only slam at Native culture that afternoon.

Dealing with an individual who claimed to be of Native Indian background, Larson surmised the demons have authority because of his Indian forefather's treatment of the white race. Larson then led the man in a prayer that would be comical if not so blatantly racist: "You need to say I, Joe, (Joe repeats the following phrase by phrase) I, Joe . . . on behalf of my ancestors . . . ask forgiveness . . . for our slaughter . . . of the innocent white men . . . especially the babies . . . whose heads we dashed against rocks."

Perhaps the most telling phrase from Larson, which was echoed with a resounding shout, was "I renounce my native blood!"

Larson's response to charges

Ken Smith has a web page containing specific responses to Larson's statements in the June issue of BCCN. In the interest of space, these issues will not be dealt with here. Suffice it to say, Smith makes some very convincing arguments. The page is located at: http://www.freespeech.org/boblarson/vancouver.htm

Why have so few responded?

Gretchen Passantino, of Answers In Action, compares Larson to a big fish in a small pond: "Although he is very popular in his own sphere of influence, he is only marginally significant in the wider evangelical world. I have talked to numerous Christian leaders who have never heard of him, or who have heard of him but have little idea of what he is teaching. Many Christian leaders are also not very well informed about occultism, and so they might hesitate to criticize someone regarding an issue about which they know they don't know very much."

Finally, I know that our criticisms of Larson's methodology, research, and conclusions has attracted strong criticism from those who trust what he says. Many people might be intimidated by the thought of such criticisms, or might have a hard time maintaining their position in the light of such adverse and emotional criticism.

David Barnett, former adjunct professor at Criswell College in Dallas concurs "Most legitimate denominational leaders probably have never heard of Bob Larson and if they have, merely assign him to the lunatic fringe with countless others who regard Christianity as a programming format more than a discipline of life. Christian 'personalities' are into the same scam. They maintain their own infomercial 'ministries' by immunizing supporters against criticism, telling them anyone who criticizes our ministry is an agent of Satan attempting to subvert God's work. Well, they can't turn around and become critical themselves of another brother, can they?"

Smith has strong words on the subject: "I have seen widely respected magazines like Christianity Today [and others] tank the Larson story. I have received vindictive hate mail and even threats. But far more disturbing to me is the culture of hypocrisy pervading the Christian community. When a Bill Clinton or a Svend Robinson does something outrageous, you leap into action, but whenever a Bob Larson runs amuck, you wring your hands and piously declare that "God will take care of it." It leaves a sour taste in your mouth."

Cornerstone editor Jon Trott: "I don't want to insult Bob by believing someone as smart as he obviously is actually believes what he says. In my opinion, that leaves only the option that he is using his listeners to make money, which of course is his right under American law."

Trott continues "It should be noted that Larson may actually cause some kids to turn to Christ. I say this because any time the gospel is preached, no matter the purpose, the word does not return void. But I am very concerned that BobĚs 'shock jock' approach provides most thinking listeners who are unbelievers with a convenient real-life example of the sort of 'screaming fundamentalist' they fear.

Barnett concurs: "My greatest concern is that people who are angry at God will find and use Larson and his ilk as justification for their alienation." This appears to be the case with many on the AFBL newsgroup, whose unofficial motto is 'Money Talks, Jesus Walks.'

Passantino stresses that her concerns are not personal: "I bear no animosity toward Mr. Larson. My criticisms have to do with his methodology and his research."

Larson will return to the Vancouver area November 18 - 20, at the Massey Theatre, in New Westminster.