This article may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. You can help. The discussion page may contain suggestions. (May 2012)

Islamic eschatology is concerned with the al-Qiyāmah (Last Judgement). Like the other Abrahamic religions, Islam teaches the bodily resurrection of the dead, the fulfillment of a divine plan for creation, and the judgement of the soul; the righteous are rewarded with the pleasures of Jannah (Heaven) while the unrighteous are punished in Jahannam (Hell). Eschatology relates to one of the six (seven according to Shī‘a traditions) articles of faith (aqīdah) of Islam according to the Sunni traditions.

A significant portion (about one third^{[citation needed]}) of the Qur'an deals with these beliefs, with many hadith elaborating on the themes and details. It also emphasizes the inevitability of resurrection, judgment, and the eternal division of the righteous and the wicked.^[1]. Islamic apocalyptic literature describing Armageddon is often known as fitna ("a test") or malahim (or ghayba to the Shī‘a).

Islamic eschatology[link]

The end of times is mentioned often in the Qur'an. In the Qur'an's description, the natural order of things becomes reversed, including the movement of the sun and the stability of the mountains and oceans. Following this apocalypse, humans will be bodily resurrected to stand in a grand assembly anxiously awaiting receipt of a script detailing their righteous and sinful deeds and with the appropriate divine judgment entered thereto. A favorable judgment permits entry into paradise where the saved ones will enjoy endless pleasure and bliss; but an unfavorable judgment condemns one to hell-fire to suffer all kinds of torments without respite. The Qur'an proclaims this eschatology with a pervading aura of certitude that makes it sheer folly to doubt the inevitability of the end-time.^[2]

Ya'juj and Ma'juj[link]

During the reign of Isa people will live an extremely peaceful life filled with prosperity and abundance. Then the wall which imprisons Ya'juj and Ma'juj will break and they will surge forth in large numbers. There is much debate about the time of release of Ya'juj and Ma'juj. Some Islamic scholars like Imran Nazar Hosein believe that the wall containing the Ya'juj and Ma'juj has been brought down during the lifetime of Muhammad. This is supported by evidence from the sayings of Muhammad where he mentions that "a hole has been made in the wall containing the Ya'juj and Ma'juj", indicating the size of the hole with his thumb and index finger.

"But when Ya'jooj and Ma'jooj are let loose and they rush headlong down every hill" (Quran 21:96)^[3][4]

The beast[link]

Qur'an tells about the beast of earth

" And when the Word is fulfilled against them (the unjust), We shall produce from the earth a Beast to (face) them: he will speak to them, for that
"mankind did not believe with assurance in our Signs."
(Quran 27:82)

Day of resurrection (Qiyamah)[link]

A fundamental tenet of Islam is belief in the day of resurrection, Qiyamah. The trials and tribulations of Qiyamah are explained in both the Qur'an and the Hadith, as well as in the commentaries of Islamic scholars such as al-Ghazali, Ibn Kathir, and Muhammad al-Bukhari.

Muslims believe that God will hold every human, Muslim and non-Muslim, accountable for his or her deeds at a preordained time unknown to man.^[5] The angel Israfil, is waiting for Allah to give him the command to sound the horn which will signal the beginning of day of judgment. Traditions say Muhammad will be the first to be brought back to life.^[6]

Muslims also believe in "the punishment of the grave," which supposedly takes place between death and the resurrection.^[7]

The punishments in hell includes adhab, "pain or torment inflicted by way of chastisement; punishment", a very painful punishment (see ^{[Quran 29:55]}, ^{[Quran 43:48]}); khizy, "shame, disgrace, ignominy" (^{[Quran 16:27]}, ^{[Quran 11:39]}).^[8] The descriptions in the Qur'an of hell are very descriptive (see ^{[Quran 4:56]}, ^{[Quran 47:15]} etc.).

The punishments in the Qur'an are contrasted not with release but with mercy (^{[Quran 29:21]}, ^{[Quran 2:284]}, ^{[Quran 3:129]}, etc.).^[8] Islam views paradise as a place of joy and bliss.^[9]

Salvation[link]

According to all the traditional schools of jurisprudence, faith (iman) ensures salvation. There are however differing views concerning the formal constituents of the act of faith. "For the Asharis it is centred on internal taṣdīḳ[internal judgment of veracity], for the Māturīdī-Ḥanafīs on the expressed profession of faith and the adherence of the heart, for the Muʿtazilīs on the performance of the 'prescribed duties', for the Ḥanbalīs and the Wahhābīs on the profession of faith and the performance of the basic duties."^[10] The common denominator of these various opinions is summed up in bearing witness that God is the Lord, L. Gardet states.^[10]

There are traditions in which Muhammad stated that "No one shall enter hell who has an atom of faith in his heart" or that "Hell will not welcome anyone who has in his heart an atom of faith" however these passages are interpreted in different ways. Those who consider performance as an integral part of faith such as Ḵh̲ārid̲j̲īs, consider anyone who does a grave sin to be out of faith, while the majority of Sunnis who view works as merely the perfecting the faith, hold that a believing sinner will be punished with a temporary stay in hell. Still there is disagreement over the possibility of a believing sinner being forgiven immediately (e.g. As̲h̲ʿarīs) and in full rather than undergoing temporary punishment. (e.g. Māturīdīs)^[10]

Rationalization[link]

Ibn al-Nafis dealt with Islamic eschatology in some depth in his Theologus Autodidactus, where he rationalized the Islamic view of eschatology using reason, science, and philosophy to explain the events that would occur according to Islamic eschatology. He presented his rational and scientific arguments in the form of Arabic fiction, hence his Theologus Autodidactus may be considered amongst the earliest science fiction work.^[11]

See also[link]

• Buddhist eschatology
• Christian eschatology
• Gog and Magog
• Heaven in Islam
• Iblis, Shaitan
• Islamic view of Jesus
• List of Islamic terms in Arabic
• Mahdi, Mahdaviat
• Messiah, Masih
• Nakir and Munkar
• Imran Nazar Hosein author of "Signs of the Last Day in the Modern Age"

References[link]

External links[link]

• Signs of the Last Hour

Ahmed Hoosen Deedat (Arabic: احمد حسين ديدات; 1 July 1918 – 8 August 2005) was a South African writer and public speaker of Indian descent.^[1] He was best known as a Muslim missionary who held numerous inter-religious public debates with evangelical Christians, as well as video lectures, most of which centred around Islam, Christianity and the Bible. He also established the IPCI, an international Islamic missionary organisation, and wrote several booklets on Islam and Christianity which were widely distributed by the organisation. He was awarded the prestigious King Faisal International Prize in 1986 for his 50 years of missionary work. One focus of his work was providing Muslims with theological tools for defending themselves against active proselytising by Christian missionaries.^{[citation needed]} He used English to get his message across to Muslims and non-Muslims in the western world.^[2]

Biography[link]

Early Years 1918–1942[link]

Ahmed Deedat was born in the town of Tadkeshwar, Surat, Bombay Presidency, British India in 1918.^[3] His father had emigrated to South Africa shortly after the birth of Ahmed Deedat. At the age of 9, Deedat left India to join his father in what is now known as Kwazulu-Natal. His mother died only a few months after his departure. Arriving in South Africa, Deedat applied himself with diligence to his studies, overcoming the language barrier and excelling in school, even getting promoted until he completed standard 6. However, due to financial circumstances, he had to quit school and start working by the time he was the age of 16.^[4]

In 1936, while working as a furniture salesman, he met a group of missionaries at a Christian seminary on the Natal South Coast who, during their efforts to convert people of Muslim faith, often accused the Islamic Prophet Muhammad of having "used the sword" to bring people to Islam. Such accusations offended Deedat and created his interest in comparative religion.^[5]

Deedat took a more active interest in religious debate after he came across a book entitled "Izhar ul-Huqq" (Truth Revealed), written by Rahmatullah Kairanawi, while Deedat was rummaging for reading material in his employer's basement.^[6] This book chronicled the efforts of Christian missionaries in India a century earlier. The book had a profound effect on Deedat, who bought a Bible and held debates and discussions with trainee missionaries, whose questions he had previously been unable to answer.^[5]

He started attending Islamic study classes held by a local Muslim convert named Mr. Fairfax. Seeing the popularity of the classes, Mr. Fairfax offered to teach an extra session on the Bible and how to preach to Christians about Islam.^[5] Deedat and a few others were delighted at the opportunity. Shortly thereafter, Fairfax had to pull out and Deedat, by this point quite knowledgeable about the Bible, took over teaching the class, which he did for three years. He later crediting this experience for expanding his horizons significantly towards missionary work.^{[citation needed]}

Early missionary work 1942–1956[link]

Deedat's first lecture, entitled "Muhammad: Messenger of Peace", was delivered in 1942 to an audience of fifteen people at a Durban cinema named Avalon Cinema.^[7] Over time Deedat's popularity as a public speaker grew in Durban, to the point that he was invited to speak in other cities in South Africa. A decade later he was filling City halls with audiences numbering in the thousands in cities such as Johannesburg and Cape Town.

A major vehicle of Deedat's early missionary activity was the 'Guided Tours' of the Jumma Mosque in Durban. The vast ornamental Jumma Mosque was a landmark site in the tourist-friendly city of Durban. A program of luncheons, speeches and free hand-outs was created to give an increasingly large number of international tourists what was often their first look at Islam. Deedat himself was one of the guides, hosting tourists and giving introductions to Islam and its relationship with Christianity.^[8]

IPCI and as-Salaam 1956–1986[link]

By 1956, after frequent public speaking engagements and the popular guided tours of the Jumma Masjid, enquiries about Islam from the general public in South Africa were increasing. Deedat realised that working from the mosque office was inadequate for handling the demand for literature and the number of people with an interest in Islam.^{[citation needed]}

Among Deedat's close friends were Goolam Hoosein Vanker and Taahir Rasool, whom many refer to as 'the unsung heroes of Deedat's career'.^[4]

In 1957, these three men founded the Islamic Propagation Centre International (IPCI) with the aim of printing a variety of books on Islam and offering classes to new Muslims converts.^[9]

In 1958, Deedat established an Islamic seminary called As-Salaam Educational Institute on a donated 75-acre (300,000 m²) piece of land located in Braemar in the south of Natal province.^[10] The experiment was not a success, however, because of the IPC’s lack of manpower and paucity of funds, and was taken over by the Muslim Youth Movement in 1973. Deedat then returned to Durban and expanded the IPC’s activities.^[5]

Deedat engaged in a broader range of activities over the next three decades. He conducted classes on Biblical theology and conducted numerous lectures.^{[citation needed]} Da`wah (inviting people towards Islam) became the dominant factor of his life, with audiences at his lectures often reaching in excess of forty thousand.^{[citation needed]} He also wrote many booklets, distributing millions of copies of these and other free literature across the world.^{[citation needed]}

International efforts 1985–1995[link]

By the early 1980s Ahmed Deedat's work was beginning to be known outside his native South Africa. In 1985, for instance, he twice rented the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London to debate with Christian contemporaries in front of a packed audience.^{[citation needed]} His international profile grew in 1986, when he received the King Faisal Award for his services to Islam in the field of Dawah (Islamic missionary activity).^[5] As a result, at age of 66, Deedat began a decade of international speaking tours around the world. His tours included:

• Saudi Arabia and Egypt (on several occasions)
• United Kingdom (on several occasions between 1985 and 1988, as well as Switzerland in 1987)
• Pakistan, where Deedat met Zia al-Haq
• UAE and Maldives Islands (Nov–Dec 1987), where Deedat was honoured by President Gayhoom^[5]
• The US (late 1986 featuring debates with Swaggart, Robert Douglas and several lectures including two in Arizona)
• Sweden and Denmark (late 1991, featuring three debates)
• US and Canada (1994, tour featuring debates in Canada and lectures in Chicago)
• Australia (his last tour in early 1996, just before his stroke)

Illness and death 1996–2005[link]

On 3 May 1996, Ahmed Deedat suffered a stroke which left him paralysed from the neck down because of a cerebral vascular accident affecting the brain stem, leaving him unable to speak or swallow.^[11] He was flown to King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, where he was reported to be fully alert. He learned to communicate through a series of eye-movements via a chart whereby he would form words and sentences by acknowledging letters read to him.^[11]

He spent the last nine years of his life in a bed in his home in South Africa, looked after by his wife, Hawa Deedat, encouraging people to engage in Da'wah (Islam propagation).^[11] He received hundreds of letters of support from around the world, and local and international visitors continued to visit him and thank him for his work.^[5]

On 8 August 2005, Ahmed Deedat died at his home on Trevennen Road in Verulam in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. He is buried at the Verulam cemetery.^[12] Hawa Deedat died on Monday 28 August 2006 at the age of 85, one year after her husband, at Deedat’s home.^[13]

Debates[link]

Deedat's first well-known debate took place in August 1981, when he debated well-known Christian preacher Josh McDowell in Durban, South Africa.^[14] Many of his debates have later been broadcast online on Youtube, among other sites.

Debates with Anis Shorrosh[link]

Deedat's disagreements with Palestinian-American Christian missionary Anis Shorrosh first came to public attention when Shorrosh appeared among the audience during the questions and answers sessions^[15] on two separate occasions during Deedat's summer 1985 tour of the UK (where he debated Floyd E. Clark in what is now considered another one of his early international works).^[5] Deedat and Shorrosh later held two highly contentious debates. The first, entitled Is Jesus God?^[5] took place in December 1985 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The second debate was organised with much fanfare and held in Birmingham, UK on 7 August 1988, entitled The Quran or the Bible: Which is God's Word.^[5] This debate lasted four hours, including the questions and answers session.

Debate with Jimmy Swaggart[link]

Deedat's best-known moment^{[citation needed]} came when he debated with televangelist Jimmy Swaggart at a time when Swaggart was one of the leading faces of Evangelical Christianity. Entitled Is The Bible the Word of God?,^[5], the debate occurred in Swaggart's hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in November 1986 at the University of Louisiana, where it was attended by about 8,000 people.

Other notable debates[link]

In October and November 1991 Deedat toured Scandinavia, where he held three debates and several speeches. Two of these debates were held on successive nights against Pastor Stanley Sjöberg in Stockholm, Sweden. The first of these was entitled Is the Bible the True Word of God?^[5][16] and the second debate was Is Jesus God?. Deedat then travelled to Denmark, where he held a debate with Pastor Eric Bock in Copenhagen, entitled Is Jesus God?^{[citation needed]}

Deedat and the Pope[link]

In 1984 he challenged John Paul II to a public dialogue in the Vatican Square, but the Pope did not accept.^[5] When the Pope stopped answering, Deedat distributed a pamphlet in January 1985 headlined His Holiness Plays Hide and Seek With Muslims.^[17]

Writings and speeches[link]

Deedat published and mass-produced over one dozen palm-sized booklets focusing on the following major themes.^[18] Most of Deedat's numerous lectures, as well as most of his debates in fact, focus on and around these same themes. Often the same theme has several video lectures to its credit, having been delivered at different times and different places.

• Is the Bible God's Word?^[19]
• What The Bible Says About Muhammad
• Crucifixion or Cruci-Fiction?^[20]
  • several smaller spin-off titles on specific aspects of Crucifixion
• Muhammad: The Natural Successor to Christ
• Christ in Islam^[21]
• Muhammad The Greatest
• Al-Qur'an the Miracle of Miracles^[22]

Capitalizing on his popularity in the Middle East following his receipt of the King Faisal Award, Deedat secured a grant to print a collated volume of four of his popular booklets. 10,000 copies of this book titled The Choice: Islam and Christianity were initially printed on April 1993;^[23] this book was very popular in the 1990s, available for free at many missionary outlets across North America. Subsequently, several printing houses offered to print more, and within two years another 250,000 copies had been printed in several print runs across the Middle East.

Later, a second paperback volume entitled The Choice: Volume Two containing six more of Deedat's booklets was published. Deedat also widely promoted a South African printing of The Holy Qur'an translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali with commentary and detailed index. This was widely sold at subsidised cost to the general public, and is often mentioned in Deedat's speeches.

Deedat also produced a booklet entitled "Al-Qur'an: the Ultimate Miracle" featuring the theory of 'the Number 19' that was popularised by Arizona-based Egyptian computer analyst Dr. Rashad Khalifa. However, this booklet was withdrawn after Dr. Khalifa disclosed some controversial beliefs, including his rejection of the entire Hadith literature of Islam.^[24]

Criticism[link]

Deedat's debates and writings have been labelled a form of apologetics^[2] by Lloyd V. J. Ridgeon, professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Glasgow.

Muslim scholar Farid Esack has criticised Deedat, comparing him to such fundamentalists as Rabbi Meir Kahane and Jerry Falwell, and writing:^[25]

Deedat's multitude of anti-Christian, anti-Jewish and anti-Hindu videotapes have told us all that there is to be told about the other, and we are comfortable with that. There are times, of course, when questions surface about the importance of correct dogma, about the importance of labels to a God whom we believe sees beyond labels and looks at the hearts of people. Instead of pursuing these questions, we hasten back and seek refuge in "the known." We order another of those Deedat tapes.^[25]

The Stephen Roth institute for the study of contemporary antisemitism and racism calls Deedat "anti-Jewish" but does not elaborate.^[26] In France sale and distribution of his books has been forbidden since 1994 as they are said to be violently anti-western, antisemitic and inciting to racial hate. ^[27]

Following his 1981 debate with Deedat, Josh McDowell released a book which included criticism of a number of Deedat's arguments from a Christian perspective.^[28] Deedat responded to of McDowell's book in chapters 17 and 19 of "Crucifixion or Cruci-fiction".^[29]

In his last tour to Australia, the publicity resulting from the presence of Deedat caused Franca Arena, member of the Legislative Council of the government of New South Wales to comment in her speech concerning racism:

External sources[link]

• Full set of Ahmad Deedat DVDs
• Collection of Books by Ahmed Deedat in PDF-format

See also[link]

• Dawah
• Islamic view of Jesus' death
• Swoon hypothesis
• Yusuf Estes
• Zakir Naik

References[link]

Declaration

Jimmy Swaggart
Jimmy Swaggart, 2009
Born	Jimmy Lee Swaggart (1935-03-15) March 15, 1935 (age 77) Ferriday, Louisiana, U.S.
Occupation	Televangelist, preacher, singer, musician, writer
Religion	Pentecostalism
Website
www.jsm.org

Jimmy Lee Swaggart (born March 15, 1935) is a Pentecostal American pastor, teacher, musician, author, television host, and televangelist. He has preached to crowds around the world through his weekly telecast. According to the official website for Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, his 1980s telecast was transmitted to over 3,000 stations and cable systems each week.^[1]

Swaggart's television ministry, which began in 1975, continues airing nationally and internationally. The weekly Jimmy Swaggart Telecast and A Study in the Word programs are seen nationwide and abroad on 78 channels in 104 countries as well as live over the Internet.^{[citation needed]}

Swaggart is also known as the cousin of controversial rock'n'roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis and country music star Mickey Gilley.

Early life[link]

Swaggart was born in Ferriday, Louisiana, to Willie Leon (a.k.a., "Son") and Minnie Belle (née Herron) Swaggart. He is the cousin of rock'n'roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis and country music star Mickey Gilley. With his parents, Swaggart attended a small, 25-member Assemblies of God congregation in Ferriday. At the age of nine, he began to preach on street corners and lead congregations in singing.^{[citation needed]} On October 10, 1952, Swaggart married Frances Anderson. Their son, Donnie, was born in 1954. Swaggart worked several part-time odd jobs in order to support his young family and also began singing Southern Gospel music at various Baptist and Pentecostal churches.

According to his biography, Swaggart, along with his wife and son, lived in poverty during the 1950s as he preached throughout rural Louisiana, struggling to survive on US$30 a week. Being too poor to own a home, the Swaggarts lived in church basements, pastors' homes, and small motels. Sun Records producer Sam Phillips wanted Swaggart to take part in a gospel line of music for Sun as the label's first gospel artist. Swaggart's cousin Jerry Lee Lewis, who had previously signed with Sun, was reportedly making $20,000 per week at the time. Although the offer meant a promise for significant income for him and his family, Swaggart turned him down, stating that he was called to preach the gospel.^[2]

Ordination and early career[link]

Preaching from a flatbed trailer donated to him, Swaggart began full-time evangelistic work in 1955. It was then that Swaggart began developing a revival-meeting following throughout the American South. Swaggart began attending Bible college in 1957. In 1960, he began recording gospel music record albums while building up another audience via Christian radio stations. In 1961, after graduating from Bible college, Swaggart was ordained by the Assemblies of God; one year later, Swaggart began his radio ministry. By 1969, Swaggart's radio program, “The Camp Meeting Hour,” was being aired over numerous radio stations throughout the American Bible Belt.^{[citation needed]} In the late 1960s, Swaggart founded what was then a small church named the Family Worship Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; the church eventually became district-affiliated with the Assemblies of God. The Family Worship Center grew from barely 40 members in 1970 to over 500 by 1975 and over 1000 by 1980.^{[citation needed]} During the 1970s the church grew from a one room church to a more modern building with new additions being built every couple years.

In the late 1960s, Swaggart began airing a weekly 30-minute telecast over various local television stations in that city and also purchased a local AM radio station WLUX in Baton Rouge (now WPFC). The station broadcast Christian features stories, preaching and teaching from various fundamentalist and Pentecostal denominations and played a blend of black gospel, Southern gospel, and inspirational music. As Contemporary Christian music became more prevalent, the station avoided playing it. Swaggart would ultimately sell his radio stations gradually throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.

Shifting to television[link]

By 1975, Swaggart's television ministry had expanded to more stations around the US; it was at this time that he decided to use television as his primary preaching venue. In 1978, Swaggart's weekly telecast was expanded to an hour.

In 1980, Swaggart began a daily weekday telecast featuring Bible study and music while the weekend, hour-long telecast would feature a sermon from either the Family Worship Center or an on-location crusade. In the early 1980s, Swaggart's crusades expanded to major cities nationwide. By 1983, more than 250 television stations featured Swaggart's telecast. Multitudes of people around the world were converted to Christianity, 'receiving Jesus Christ as their Lord.'

Controversies, scandals and criticisms[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2009)

In 1988, Swaggart was implicated in a sex scandal involving a prostitute that resulted initially in his suspension and ultimately Swaggart was defrocked and removed from the ministry by the Assemblies of God. Three years later, Swaggart was again implicated in a sex scandal involving a prostitute. As a result, Swaggart's current ministry is non-affiliated, non-denominational and considerably smaller than before the scandals were revealed.^[3]

1988 scandal[link]

Background[link]

Swaggart's exposure came as retaliation for an incident in 1986 when Swaggart exposed fellow Assemblies of God minister Marvin Gorman, who had been accused of having several affairs. Once exposed, Gorman was defrocked from the Assemblies of God, with his ministry all but ended. As a retaliatory move, Gorman hired his son Randy and son-in-law Garland Bilbo to stake out the Travel Inn on Airline Highway in New Orleans. A camera with a telephoto lens was placed in the window of the motel's Room 12 and draped with a black cloth. When Swaggart arrived, he reportedly went into Room 7. Randy Gorman and Garland Bilbo proceeded to let the air out of Swaggart's tires and called Marvin Gorman, whose church was located nearby. The two had taken photos of Swaggart outside of Room 7 with Debra Murphree, a local prostitute. Gorman showed up at the Travel Inn a short while later and asked Swaggart what he was doing there.

According to, Swaggart: The Unauthorized Biography of an American Evangelist by Ann Rowe Seaman, Gorman secured a promise from Swaggart that he would publicly apologize to Gorman and start the process of Gorman's reinstatement to the Assemblies of God. Gorman offered to remain silent if Swaggart would state publicly that he lied about Gorman's affairs. Gorman waited almost a year, then hand delivered a note to Swaggart informing him his time was up, but Swaggart did not respond. On February 16, 1988, Gorman contacted James Hamil, one of the 13-man Executive Presbytery of the Assemblies of God. Hamill in turn called Raymond Carlson, the Assemblies Superintendent. He summoned Hamill and Gorman to fly to Springfield and arranged for an emergency meeting of the presbyters. Carlson was shown photos of several men coming in and going out of Room 7 at the Travel Inn Motel in New Orleans. This was done in order to establish the fact that the room was being used for prostitution. One of the men seen leaving Room 7 was Jimmy Swaggart. The presbytery leadership of the Assemblies of God decided that Swaggart should be suspended from broadcasting his television program for three months.

According to the Associated Press, Murphree, who claimed to have posed nude for Swaggart, failed a polygraph test administered by a New York City Police Department polygraph expert.^[4] The test administrator concluded that Murphree had failed to tell the truth on all key questions concerning her statement. The test was administered after Murphree offered to sell the story to the National Enquirer for $100,000. Paul Levy, senior editor for the Enquirer, stated that the polygraph examiner had concluded Murphree was not truthful on six key questions, including one in which she was reportedly asked if she had fabricated the story. Levy stated that the Enquirer decided not to print her story due to the test results, her drug use, and the fact that she had arrest warrants in three states. Murphree failed questions about whether she was paid or promised money to "set up" Swaggart, and whether she made up the story in order to make money from it.^[5] Both times she answered no; this was determined by the polygraph examiner to be a lie.

Swaggart's confession and fallout[link]

On February 21, 1988, without giving any details regarding his transgressions, Swaggart gave his now infamous "I Have Sinned" speech as he tearfully spoke to his family, congregation, and TV audience, saying, "I have sinned against You, my Lord, and I would ask that Your Precious Blood would wash and cleanse every stain until it is in the seas of God's forgiveness."^[6] On a New Orleans morning news show four days later, Murphree stated that while Swaggart was a regular customer, they had never engaged in sexual intercourse.^[7] The clip of Swaggart's confession was played repeatedly on news and tabloid television programs.

The Louisiana presbytery of the Assemblies of God initially suspended Jimmy Swaggart from the ministry for three months. The national presbytery of the Assemblies of God soon extended the suspension to their standard two-year suspension for sexual immorality. His return to the pulpit coincided with the end of a three-month suspension originally ordered by the Assemblies. Believing that Swaggart was not genuinely repentant in not submitting to their authority, the hierarchy of the Assemblies of God immediately defrocked him, removing his credentials and ministerial license. It was then that Swaggart decided he would be an independent, non-denominational Pentecostal minister and the Family Worship Center would become non-denominational. The Jimmy Swaggart Bible College (now World Evangelism Bible College) would lose many of its students by the end of May 1988.

1991 scandal[link]

On October 11, 1991, Swaggart for a second time was found in the company of a prostitute, Rosemary Garcia,^[8] when he was pulled over by the California Highway Patrol in Indio, California, for driving on the wrong side of the road. According to Garcia, Swaggart stopped to proposition her on the side of the road. When the patrolman asked Garcia why she was with Swaggart, she replied, "He asked me for sex. I mean, that's why he stopped me. That's what I do. I'm a prostitute."^[9][10] Rather than confessing to his congregation, Swaggart told those at Family Worship Center that "The Lord told me it's flat none of your business."^[11][12][13] Swaggart's son then announced to the stunned audience that his father would be temporarily stepping down as head of Jimmy Swaggart Ministries for "a time of healing and counseling."

Criticism of Christian rock and metal music[link]

Swaggart wrote a book criticizing the Christian rock and metal movements titled Religious Rock n' Roll – A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing in 1987. The book criticized the scene for using heavy metal music to preach the gospel of Christianity, calling rock music the music of the devil.^[14][15] Swaggart also criticized Larry Norman (the "father of Christian rock"), Petra, Mylon LeFevre, Steve Taylor and other notable Christian rock and metal bands.^[16]

In 1986, Swaggart called rock music "the new pornography."^[17]

Ministries[link]

Jimmy Swaggart Ministries mainly comprises the Family Worship Center, The Jimmy Swaggart Telecast,^[18] radio and television programs called A Study in the Word, (SonLife Radio Network),^[19] and a website, JSM.org.

Swaggart's wife Frances hosts a television program Frances and Friends which is seen daily on the SonLife Broadcasting Network.^[20] His son Donnie preaches at the Family Worship Center and also preaches in churches across the US and abroad.^[21] Donnie's son Gabriel is a youth pastor who leads Crossfire, Family Worship Center's youth ministry.^[22]

Music ministry[link]

Swaggart's first album, Some Golden Daybreak, was created to give people at his early revivals. Swaggart's wife began encouraging him to contact radio stations. Disc jockey Chuck Cossin is credited with playing the first Jimmy Swaggart recording on WMUZ in Detroit.^{[citation needed]}

In 1974 Swaggart was voted Favorite Gospel Music Artist by readers of the magazine Singing News. In 1977 Record World magazine honored him as Male Vocalist of the Year. In that same year Swaggart was a Dove Award finalist in three categories: Male Vocalist of the Year, TV Program of the Year, and Instrumentalist of the Year. Again in 1978 Swaggart became a Dove finalist as Instrumentalist of the Year. In 1980, Swaggart became a Dove Award finalist in four categories: Children's Album of the Year for Color Me a Story, Instrumentalist of the Year, Year's best Traditional Album for Homeward Bound, and Best Gospel Album of the Year for Worship. The secular Grammy Awards nominated Swaggart's album Live from Nashville for Best Gospel Album in 1976. And again in 1980, Swaggart's album, Worship, became a Grammy finalist.

Radio ministry[link]

Swaggart originated Sonlife Radio on the noncommercial FM band. Unlike his previous stations, Sonlife was commercial free and would not sell time to outside ministries and the preaching and teaching would all be produced "in house". The music played was primarily Southern Gospel. Sonlife Radio is heard in 22 states and streamed on the internet.^[23]

Television ministry[link]

In 1973, Swaggart wanted to create a television program which would include a fairly large music segment, a short sermon, and time for talking about current ministry projects. After two faltering attempts to tape the half-hour program in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana, Swaggart went to television producers in Nashville, Tennessee with his proposal. They accepted and within weeks the Jimmy Swaggart Telecast was being broadcast into television markets around the United States.

In 1981 Jimmy Swaggart launched a daily television program titled A Study in the Word. In the 1980s the program was aired on over 160 channels throughout the U.S., Canada and abroad and is still seen today on over 78 stations in 104 countries.^{[citation needed]} From the beginning, the primary cable channels the program was aired on were CBN Cable (now ABC Family), TBN, and the old PTL Network (later the Inspiration Network). Jimmy Swaggart Ministries now airs programming 24/7 over its own Sonlife Broadcasting Network (SBN), on DirecTV channel 344, Dish Network channel 257, Glorystar channel 125, IPTV Sky Angel channel 125, and various cable TV providers and broadcast stations.

World Evangelism Bible College[link]

In the fall of 1984, Swaggart opened Jimmy Swaggart Bible College - now known as World Evangelism Bible College, or WEBC. The college began as a means of preparing young men and women for Christian ministry, including education and communication degrees, and is still considered by Swaggart to be a vital extension of Jimmy Swaggart's World Wide Ministry. Many students never returned for the fall semester after the scandal in 1988. Currently, WEBC offers three levels of degrees: (1) Intensive short term certificate programs, (2) Associate of Arts degree programs, and (3) a four year Bachelor's Degree program.

Print[link]

Swaggart is the author of about 20 Christian books offered through his ministry.^[24] He is the author of the "Expositor's Study Bible,"^[25] 13 Study Guides and 30 Commentaries on the Bible.

Family[link]

Swaggart is married to Frances (née Anderson) Swaggart and has one son, Donnie Swaggart. Donnie was named for Swaggart's brother who died in infancy. He has three grandchildren, Jennifer, Gabriel and Matthew Swaggart, and five great-grandchildren, Samantha, Abby, Lola, and Ryder Swaggart.^[26]

See also[link]

• List of Christian evangelist scandals

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jimmy Swaggart

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jimmy Swaggart Ministries
• Jimmy Swaggart in Who2
• Jimmy Swaggart's A Letter To My Catholic Friends
• Jimmy Swaggart Podcast Information
• Jimmy Swaggart at the Internet Movie Database