October 6, 2007
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“REDEFINING TACKY EXCESSIVNESS FOR THE 21st CENTURY”
A fabulous publication called The Wittenburg Door* once asked the poignant question; “is Oral Roberts ok between consenting adults?”
This remains a hotly debated topic among theologians, and leads us into today’s topic: ORU, what the f*%k are you thinking?
Since 1965, ORU has stood proudly on the south Tulsa skyline; serving as a beacon to students from across the globe and as the nation’s premier example of the George Jetson school of architecture.
Those of us who are not part of the ORU collective have always affectionately referred to ORU as “Six Flags Over Jesus” while scheming to someday put a giant cigarette between the fingers of the Praying Hands sculpture which sits at the entrance to the campus.
ORU has a history of being embroiled in controversy. The most famous examples came in 1977 when Oral said a 900 ft. tall Jesus told him to build the City of Faith Medical Complex and again in 1987 when Oral said that God had told him that unless his followers donated eight million dollars immediately, God would kill him.
I’ve always assumed this meant that God was actually a loan shark working for the mob.
If you’re a Tulsan that travels a lot like I do, you prefer it when ORU keeps a low profile and stays out of the news. This is because when people learn you are from Tulsa you typically get comments like, “bumped into a 900 ft. tall Jesus lately?” or “Tulsa huh? I saw the movie they filmed there: Godzilla vs. the 900 ft. tall Jesus.” These jokes cease to be funny after the first couple of hundred times you hear them, so many Tulsans are little sensitive to ORU being linked to Tulsa in the national consciousness.
Mercifully, ORU has been keeping a relatively low profile since they shipped Oral off to the home for crazy televangelists in Newport Beach, California and Oral’s son Richard has been President of the University. That all changed this week when three former professors from ORU sued the University for wrongful termination. The lawsuit contained a huge laundry list of allegations such as students being forced to work in the campaign of a local Republican Mayoral candidate, full ride scholarships being given to 13 friends of the President’s daughter who did not even qualify academically to attend the University, University professors being forced to do the homework of the President’s children, and huge misappropriations of University funds including: the Robert’s home being remodeled 11 times in 14 years (including a 2000 sq ft. walk in closet for Robert’s wife), the University plane being used to take the Robert’s daughter and her friends on a senior trip to the Bahamas, and a $39,000.00 bill for clothing at one Tulsa store charged by Robert’s wife.
I realize that religious personalities having extravagant lifestyles and misusing donated money is old news. After all, ORU doesn’t have a Christian waterslide like Jim and Tammy Faye did, but it still bugs me.
My diabetic and cancer ridden grandmother who lived on a tiny fixed income routinely sent what little money she had to ORU because they hounded her relentlessly for a “seed faith gift.” My grandmother’s tiny rented house would have fit quite easily inside Lindsay Robert’s walk-in closet.
(Also, once when I was in seminary, I went to the ORU library to do some research and got thrown out because I wasn’t wearing a tie. That always pissed me off too, but the example I gave above is much nobler sounding)
The three professors aren’t suing for millions of dollars as one might expect. They are each suing for $10,000.00 in actual damages and $10,000.00 in punitive damages. Their primary goal is to shed a little light on a University administration whose stated purpose is to “shine the light of Christ around the world.”
It seems they are already successful.
* for those of you who are religious historians and feel compelled to point out that I spelled “Wittenberg” wrong, the magazine misspells it on purpose.
Comments (20)
::looking over my shoulder to make sure the lightning bolt isn’t coming down::
This is another reason why I absolutely abhor organized religion. Nobody is going to tell me I don’t have my faith. But I cannot stand to hear these stories of how MEN (ok, and women too – I’m just making a point that organized religion and its rules are made up by PEOPLE, not GOD) badger people into giving up life savings and MEN dictate actions (and not just right and wrong…).
I give what I can to the church I attend, but I also cannot give ’til it hurts. I have to think of and take care of my family.
OMG! Is that ever garish!
Am I the only one who sees the joke of Oral and his son Dick?
My paternal grandmother was pretty much housebound for years and would always give money to those organizations too. I agree with Emjay…one of the many reasons I detest organized religion.
I sure have missed your posts. Glad you’re back. Don’t go leaving us again!
Wait, Tulsa has a store where you can buy 39K worth of clothes? That’s a LOT of belt buckles.
That is one thing that I totally and whole hearted approve of at our local fellowship, which by the way is doing very, very well… and they have never begged or even asked for money. Their little saying is that “where God guides He provides” and God, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills never NEEDS our money. He is perfectly able to turn poop into cash if He wants to! He is so awesome, and well now you got me going… I am totally and absolutely in love with HIM!!! YEP!
If all this is true, it is very sad, very, very sad indeed…
I visited ORU in the early 90′s and felt I was visiting the “Holy Land”.
I think those gigantic hands are just begging for a giant beer bottle to hold. Or maybe a bottle of ripple, to be class appropriate to the institution.
And you know, in the level of society that the Roberts would imagine themselves to be, 39k worth of clothes isn’t really all that much. I’ll bet the hired help carried them into the house in one trip. All that money collected from people like your grandmother… it’s disgusting.
I hope they win their lawsuit, but the cynic in me can’t help wondering if they’d be objecting to the system if they were still working there.
And a fabulous student from Wittenberg once asked the poinant question, “To be or not to be.”
Really, no one else wanted to jump on that one?
I was out loud laughing (not about your grandmother) Sooo glad you are back.
LOL How I’ve missed you! I’ve always made fun of OR. My dad was similar to your grandmother. He’d send his paltry little $10 donations, which he could ill afford, to any of those shouting of needing his bit in furthering the kingdom. I didn’t try to change him. I felt that he was blessed because the Almighty knew his heart.
What color tie did Jesus wear? And how many did his walk-in closet hold? And where did he find a 900 foot mirror so he could tie it?
You may laugh at the architecture, but it’ll make perfect sense after you buy your first flying car that folds up into a briefcase.
I did not realize that was going on. Not surprising, but distressing and irritating all at the same time!
Maybe they need to focus themselves on their true mission with a little chanting. I have a suggestion: Siahamb’ ekukhanyeni kween kos’. That ought to settle EVERYTHING.
Emjay, God provides for our needs.
I understand what you’re saying, just felt I should say that.
I had no idea until recently that Roberts was like this. In fact, I really hadn’t known he existed, only feeling faintly that his name was familiar. I didn’t know this, and I don’t live all that far from your state, so take heart, Mark. We don’t all of us know about Tulsa’s little secret. Or..er…rather large one.
Biting post. You pack a lot of heat in your keyboard. I wish that it didn’t frequently direct itself toward Christianity (after all, the majority of us aren’t like Roberts), but in this case, I can understand why.
Angel
RYC: I did know some of the background… Don’t worry, I keep the salt shaker around, reading your posts. For that big grain I may have to take with it. lol
And having just come off of worshipping at home with only my then-husband and two boys for around the past 14 years, I know there are issues surrounding organized religion. And… some characters.
Actually, I’m looking forward to you ever having a rip at Pat Robertson. heh heh
Angel
- by saying that I just “came off of” worshipping at home, I still do, but I’m back in a church fellowship too, now.
Well, I’ve heard of Oral Roberts—only from the lame attempt he made at running for president long ago. I think I was still in high school, so forgive me if I have my facts wrong.
The whole idea of naming a college after yourself is awfully arrogant. I’d say that it’s ungodly since God tells us to be humble.
Oral must have wanted God to do another “Tower of Babel” with him and his structures……
As I read through the allegations at ORU, I worry for my home institution. We recently fired two very successful cheer coaches for literally no reason relating to personality or performance and…SURPRISE! their replacement is the wife of the former coaches’ boss.
Tulsa’s got ORU, for sure. But we still have the Branch Davidians.
Hey, just heard that in Tulsa they are deporting illegal immigants from Puerto Rico.
If you are born in Puerto Rico you are legally an America citizen. OOPS
Hi-Lar-I-Ous! BYU is another fun school. I’m just waiting for Mitt to get elected and revemp all colleges to be just like it. Where anyone can get thrown out for violating the honor code, which includes smoking, drinking (The official sport of some universities) and *GASP* fornicating. I think if they actually enforced the rules there would be 3 students left.
RYC- Thanks for doing your part, a true patriot.