Televangelist Jim Bakker is taking time off from his show to recuperate from what his wife (and co-host) Lori says was a stroke.
The news comes just days after his legal team told a court that his show’s hawking of a false COVID-19 cure is merely an example of Bakker exercising his religious freedom, therefore any attempt to stop him is a form of Christian persecution.
Lori Bakker posted this message on the show’s Facebook page:
… I wanted to share with you, our loving and caring partners, that Jim recently experienced a stroke. We are thankful that Jim is okay, and that he is now at home with our family. Under the guidance of medical professionals and our Board of Directors, Jim will be taking a sabbatical from the show. Jim will be back! He is still dreaming and hearing from the Lord, and he already has a powerful word to deliver when he returns to the air.
… and that word is “Buy.” His Silver Solution, his giant buckets of apocalyptic food, his inevitable new pacemakers, etc.
It’s not clear when the stroke occurred. It’s also worth noting how there’s literally no mention of his Silver Solution, even though Bakker and his guests said that it cured everything from venereal diseases to HIV. It’ll do everything except fix a stroke, apparently.
While I wish him well for the sake of his family, here’s hoping prosecutors don’t take any sympathy on him. He’s done plenty of harm by peddling garbage to poor elderly people — that’s not even taking into account how he sold people a warped sense of faith — and he should be held accountable for it.