I originally planned to blog about the correlation between televangelist ratings and the showmanship of the preacher. Un/Fortunately, I was distracted in my research when I came across a robust list of Brazilian televangelists and started looking around. It turns out we’ve had some memorable controversies in the history of American televangelism, but our friends to the south have gone above and beyond. Though my lack of Portuguese limited my research, here’s a sampling:

Eliseo Fernando Soriano: Originally from the Philippines, but currently an international fugitive believed to be hiding in the US, Singapore or Brazil where he has notable followings. He claims to be the man prophesied in Daniel 12:9-10 who would interpret the scriptures correctly. He fled the country after being barred from pursuing elected office because of his status as a national “nuisance”, and charges of libel, document falsification and homosexual rape.

Anthony Garotinho: Politician turned believer after a car wreck. He has been connected with corruption in his campaign financing and law enforcement. Though he built good will through social programs focusing on the impoverished, but lost much of it in a hunger-strike fiasco in protest of what he deemed mistreatment by the media.

Edir Macedo Bezerra: Media mogul with an estimated net worth of $2 billion (yes, that’s American dollars). There have been multiple exposes on the training techniques he uses when teaching his clergy how to teach doctrines about tithing, and the bishops themselves have made headlines for antics such as kicking a statue of a Catholic saint for ten minutes on TV. Macedo has been charged with fraudulent importing and use of false documents in court proceedings. He is the holder of various post-graduate degrees from unaccredited Brazilian universities.

A friend who served his mission in Brazil had a few extra flavorful rumors to share about his experiences in Goiania. He said that a surprising number of the preachers in that area were “reformed” drug dealers who he claimed reformed because they could make more money preaching tithing. This highlights the underlying problem that most of the televangelistic organizations I was able to research focused heavily on “prosperity theology”, the belief that by giving abundantly to the church, members will receive blessings from God in the form of raising them out of poverty. There are evidently a select number of churches that don’t exist in the United States because they’re considered businesses, instead.

Question: How do legitimate evangelists using broadcast media to reach a wider audience protect themselves against this corrupt stereotype?