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This article is about Oral Roberts, the Christian televangelist. For the university bearing his name, see Oral Roberts University. Oral Roberts University or ORU, based in Tulsa Oklahoma, is a charismatic Christian Liberal arts University with an enrollment
Oral Roberts
Born January 24, 1918 (1918-01-24) (age 90)
Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Residence Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Occupation Televangelist
Spouse Evelyn Roberts (Lutman) (April 22, 1917 - May 4, 2005) (widowed) (December 25, 1938), Stilwell, Oklahoma
Children Richard Roberts, Rebecca Nash (deceased), Ronald Roberts (deceased), and Roberta Potts

Granville Oral Roberts (born January 24, 1918, in Tulsa, OK) is an American neo-Pentecostal televangelist. Events 41 - Gaius Caesar (Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel Despotism, is Assassinated by his disgruntled Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Broken Arrow is a city located in the northeastern part of the U Televangelism is the use of Television to communicate the Christian faith Granville Oral Roberts (born January 24, 1918, in Ada OK) is an American neo-Pentecostal Televangelist and is also a Events 1500 - Portuguese Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil. Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 1256 - The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 274 - Roman Emperor Aurelian Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Stilwell is a city in Adair County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3276 at the 2000 census. Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. Richard Roberts (born November 12, 1948, Tulsa Oklahoma) is an American Televangelist and a former president of Oral Roberts Events 41 - Gaius Caesar (Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel Despotism, is Assassinated by his disgruntled Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Pentecostalism is a renewalist religious movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the Baptism Televangelism is the use of Television to communicate the Christian faith He is also a leader in the charismatic movement and a powerful orator. The term charismatic movement describes the adoption from the early twentieth century onwards of certain beliefs typical of those held by Pentecostal Christians — specifically

Contents

Early life

Roberts was born in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, as Granville Oral Roberts, the fifth and youngest child of the Rev. Pontotoc County is a County located in the US state of Oklahoma. Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. Ellis Melvin Roberts and Claudia Priscilla Irwin. [1]

After leaving high school, Roberts furthered his education, and studied for two years at both Oklahoma Baptist University, and Phillips University. Oklahoma Baptist University is a Christian Liberal arts university located in Shawnee Oklahoma, and owned by the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma Phillips University was a private coeducational institution of Higher education located in Enid Oklahoma, United States from 1906 to 1998 In 1938, he married a preacher's daughter, Evelyn Lutman Fahnestock. Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. [2] Their marriage lasted 66 years until her death on May 4, 2005. Events 1256 - The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. During their life together, they expanded his ministry from preaching in tents to preaching on the radio. In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform clergy functions such as teaching of beliefs Roberts became one of the forerunners on television and attracted a vast viewership. Furthermore, he has written several books, such as Miracle of Seed-Faith and three autobiographies:, Expect a Miracle, Oral Roberts: Life Story, and The Call.

Roberts originally made a name for himself with a mobile big tent "that sat 3,000 on metal folding chairs" where "he shouted at petitioners who did not respond to his healing. "[3] Roberts became a traveling faith healer after dropping out of college. [3]

Ministry and university

In 1947, Roberts resigned his pastoral ministry with the Pentecostal Holiness Church to found Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association. He began conducting evangelistic and faith healing crusades, mainly in the U. Faith healing is the attempt to use Religious or spiritual means such as Prayer, mental practices spiritual insights or other techniques to prevent S. and appeared as a guest speaker for hundreds of national and international meetings and conventions. In the healing line, thousands of sick people would wait to stand before Oral Roberts so he could pray for them and lay his right hand on their afflicted body. According to his autobiography, there were many people healed in this manner.

The Praying Hands, on the ORU campus in Tulsa, OK.
The Praying Hands, on the ORU campus in Tulsa, OK.

He founded Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1963, stating he was obeying a command from God. Oral Roberts University or ORU, based in Tulsa Oklahoma, is a charismatic Christian Liberal arts University with an enrollment God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. The university was chartered in 1963 and received its first students in 1965. Students were required to sign an honor code pledging not to drink, smoke, dance, party, or engage in premarital sex. Another part of the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association is the Abundant Life Prayer Group, which operates day and night.

In 1977 Roberts claimed to have a vision from a 900-foot-tall Jesus who told him to build City of Faith Medical and Research Center and the hospital would be a success. CityPlex Towers is a large office space complex located at 81st Street and Lewis Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma. [4][5]

In 1980, Roberts said he had a vision which encouraged him to continue the construction of his City of Faith Medical and Research Center, which opened in 1981. At the time, it was among the largest health facilities of its kind in the world and sought to merge prayer and medicine in the healing process. The City of Faith was in operation for only eight years before closing in late 1989. The Orthopedic Hospital of Oklahoma still operates on its premises. In 1983 Roberts said Jesus had appeared to him in person and commissioned him to find a cure for cancer. Cancer (medical term Malignant Neoplasm) is a class of Diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled [6][7]

In 1987, during a fundraising drive, Roberts announced to a television audience that unless he raised $8 million by that March, God would "call him home" (a euphemism for death). [8][9] Some were fearful that he was referring to suicide given the passionate pleas and tear that accompanied his statement. He raised $9. 1 million. [10] Later that year, he announced that God had raised the dead through Roberts' ministry. [11]

the City of Faith Medical and Research Center complex in Tulsa, OK.
the City of Faith Medical and Research Center complex in Tulsa, OK. CityPlex Towers is a large office space complex located at 81st Street and Lewis Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

He stirred controversy when Time reported in 1987 that he and his son, Richard Roberts as witness, claimed that he had seen his father raise a child from the dead. Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and Richard Roberts (born November 12, 1948, Tulsa Oklahoma) is an American Televangelist and a former president of Oral Roberts [12] That year, the Bloom County comic strip recast its character Bill the Cat as a satirized televangelist, "Fundamentally Oral Bill". Bloom County was an American Comic strip by Berkeley Breathed which ran from December 8, 1980 until August 6, 1989 Bill the Cat, or Bill D Cat, according to the final Outland strip is a fictional Cat appearing in the works of Cartoonist Berkeley Breathed Also in 1987 "TIME stated that he was "re-emphasizing faith healing and [is] reaching for his old-time constituency. Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and "[12] However, his income continued to slide (from $88 million in 1980 to $55 million in 1986, according to the Tulsa Tribune) and his largely vacant City of Faith Medical Center continued to lose money ($10. 7 million in 1986 alone). [12]

Harry McNevin said that in 1988 the ORU Board of Regents "rubber-stamped" the "use of millions in endowment money to buy a Beverly Hills property so that Oral Roberts could have a West Coast office and house. "[13] In addition he said a country club membership was purchased for the Roberts's home. The lavish expenses led to McNevin's resignation from the Board.

In a 2004, television broadcast of Kenneth Copeland's Believer's Voice of Victory, the elder Roberts claimed to have experienced a vision in which "Smoke, and vapor, and blood" appeared "in the clouds in the skies above New York City and the east part of the United States, and which hung there for quite some time and then spread out across America, without touching the ground, and then God diffused it away from America and sent it out to the nations of the earth. Kenneth Copeland (born December 6, 1936 in Lubbock, Texas) is a Christian Author, Speaker, television Believer's Voice of Victory is an evangelical Television series hosted by Kenneth Copeland. The City of New York . . " This was purportedly a "wake up call" to tell people that Christ's return is soon and to prepare for it. Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed " A transcript of this meeting is available online. [14]

Currently Roberts, 90, is "semi retired" living in Newport Beach, California,[15] and according to Charity Navigator Roberts earns $83,505 a year. Charity Navigator is an independent non-profit organization that evaluates American charities. [16] The Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association has an overall efficiency rating of 1 out of 4 stars. [16]

When his son, Richard Roberts, took a leave of absence from his position as President of Oral Roberts University on October 17, 2007 following allegations of misappropriation of school funds, Oral announced he would return to help fulfill this administrative role along with Billy Joe Daugherty, who was named as the executive regent to assume administrative responsibilities of the Office of the President by the ORU Board of Regents. Richard Roberts (born November 12, 1948, Tulsa Oklahoma) is an American Televangelist and a former president of Oral Roberts Events 539 BC - King Cyrus The Great of Persia marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Billy Joe Daugherty is founder and Pastor of Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. [17] Richard resigned his position on November 24, 2007. [18]

Personal life

Roberts' daughter, Rebecca Nash, died in a plane crash on February 11, 1977, with her husband, businessman Marshall Nash. [19] Roberts' eldest son, Ronald, committed suicide in June 1982 at the age of 37, five months after receiving a court order to get counseling at a drug treatment center. [20] Two other children of Roberts are living: son Richard, a well-known evangelist and former president of Oral Roberts University (ORU), and daughter Roberta Potts, a lawyer. Richard Roberts (born November 12, 1948, Tulsa Oklahoma) is an American Televangelist and a former president of Oral Roberts Richard Roberts resigned from the presidency of ORU on November 23, 2007 after being named as a defendant in a lawsuit alleging improper use of university funds for political and personal purposes and improper use of university resources. Although the lawsuit is still in process, the university has submitted to an outside audit, and with a clear report was then given a $70 million dollar donation.

From the late 1980's to 1992 Roberts maintained a residence in the exclusive St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida. Roberts would commute via private jet from his base in Oklahoma to Boca Raton airport for weekend visits to his golf club retreat. Most of the other residents of St. Andrews were Jewish, and since Roberts was identified by his first name of Granville when he was visiting Florida his presence went mostly unrecognized.

On May 4, 2005 Evelyn, Roberts' wife of 66 years, died in a Southern California hospital at the age of 88. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. [21]

According to a 1987 article in the New York Review of Books by Martin Gardner the "most accurate and best documented [biography] is Oral Roberts: An American Life (Indiana University Press, 1985), an objective impressive study by David Harrell Jr. The New York Review of Books (or NYREV or NYRB) is a semimonthly Magazine on Literature, Culture, and current Martin Gardner (b October 21, 1914, Tulsa Oklahoma) is a popular American mathematics and science writer specializing in Recreational mathematics , a historian at the University of Alabama. The strongest critical attacks are in two out-of-print books: James Morris' The Preachers (St Martin's, 1973) and Jerry Sholes's Give me that Prime-Time Religion (Hawthorn, 1979). James Morris may refer to James Morris III (1752&ndash1820 Revolutionary War officer coeducation pioneer namesake of Morris Connecticut "[22]

See also

Popular culture

Footnotes

  1. ^ Ancestry of Oral Roberts
  2. ^ Evelyn Lutman Roberts (1917 - 2005) - Find A Grave Memorial
  3. ^ a b "Oral's Progress", Time, Feb. Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and 07, 1972. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 46 BC - Titus Labienus defeats Julius Caesar in the Battle of Ruspina.  
  4. ^ Ideas and Trends: Oral Roberts's Word on Cancer," "New York Times" Jan 30, 1983
  5. ^ "Oral Roberts' Ministry Hits a 'Low Spot'," "Dallas Morning News" Jan 5, 1986
  6. ^ Time, July 4, 1983
  7. ^ "Oral Roberts Seeking Millions for Holy Mission Against Cancer," "Washington Post", Jan 22, 1983
  8. ^ Randi, James (1989), The Faith Healers, Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-369-2 and ISBN 0-87975-535-0 pages 186
  9. ^ Ostling, Richard. The Dallas Morning News is the major daily Newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas ( USA) area with a circulation of around a half-million The Washington Post is the largest and most circulated Newspaper in Washington D James Randi (born August 7 1928 (stage name The Amazing Randi) is a stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of Paranormal The Faith Healers is a 1987 book by magician and skeptic James Randi with a foreword by Carl Sagan, that documents Randi's exploration of the world Richard and Joan Ostling are United States Authors and Journalists living in Ridgewood New Jersey. Richard and Joan Ostling are United States Authors and Journalists living in Ridgewood New Jersey. "Raising Eyebrows and the Dead", Time, July 13, 1987. Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and Events 1174 - William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173-1174, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Retrieved on 2007-12-24. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 563 - The Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is dedicated for the second time after being destroyed by Earthquakes  
  10. ^ Oral Roberts
  11. ^ Randi, James (1989), The Faith Healers, Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-369-2 and ISBN 0-87975-535-0 pages 192
  12. ^ a b c Ostling, Richard. James Randi (born August 7 1928 (stage name The Amazing Randi) is a stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of Paranormal The Faith Healers is a 1987 book by magician and skeptic James Randi with a foreword by Carl Sagan, that documents Randi's exploration of the world "Raising Eyebrows and the Dead", Time, Feb. Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and 07, 1972. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 46 BC - Titus Labienus defeats Julius Caesar in the Battle of Ruspina.  
  13. ^ "Oral Roberts' Son Accused of Misspending", Associated Press, November 8, 2007. The Associated Press ( AP) is an American News agency. The AP is a Cooperative owned by its contributing Newspapers radio Retrieved on 2007-12-05. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations.  
  14. ^ Kenneth Copeland, Oral Roberts and Richard Roberts. Wake Up Call.
  15. ^ "Oral Roberts' son, his wife face scandal at university", Los Angeles Times, October 5, 2007. The Los Angeles Times (also known as the LA Times) is a daily Newspaper published in Los Angeles California and distributed Retrieved on 2007-10-05. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 869 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople is convened to decide about what to do about Patriarch Photius of Constantinople  
  16. ^ a b "Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association", Charity Navigator, October 2007. Charity Navigator is an independent non-profit organization that evaluates American charities. Retrieved on 2007-10-05. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 869 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople is convened to decide about what to do about Patriarch Photius of Constantinople  
  17. ^ Tulsa World, "[1]", 17 October 2007, retrieved 18 October 2007
  18. ^ Associated Press, "[2]", 24 November 2007, retrieved 24 November 2007
  19. ^ Check-Six.com - The Crash of Navajo #838
  20. ^ "Oral Roberts's Son, 37, Found Shot Dead in Car", New York Times, June 10, 1982. Retrieved on 2007-04-01. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne  
  21. ^ "Oral Roberts: Founder of ORU", Oral Roberts University, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-04. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas  
  22. ^ Gardener, Martin. "Giving God a Hand", New York Review of Books, August 13, 1987. The New York Review of Books (or NYREV or NYRB) is a semimonthly Magazine on Literature, Culture, and current Retrieved on 2007-10-18. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid  

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