Just like 'Alice in Wonderland,' Hope Carpenter seems to have fallen down a rabbit hole! I LIVE in Greenville SC, and the local news remains silent. I searched 'The Greenville News' website and all I could find was a 2012 obit for RC's father, Ron Sr. He came across as a very religious and well-respected man. Like his son, he was a lifelong Pentacostal, but he also taught college and steadily moved up the ranks in his church, serving on multi-state boards and finally becoming a bishop.
But I highly doubt he was a 'megachurch'-type preacher. Born in 1948, I'm certain he probably went to country churches where the women don't cut their hair or wear pants. There are still people who abide by these 'Pentacostal rules.' A friend of mine was raised in that church in the 50s, and his mother doesn't cut her hair even now.
I have lived in the Deep South since I was three, and though I was raised Catholic (before escaping, lol), almost all of the people I knew were Protestants. Well there are about a zillion different types of Protestant churches/beliefs/congregations. Episcopalians to some were rich and snooty, but most I knew were at least not obsessed with condemning others to hell, and they didn't pretend not to know you if you saw them at the liquor store! Educated, mannered. A lot like Catholics in that their services are predictable and quiet.
When I was a kid, a neighborhood friend asked me to come to church with her family. It was a Pentacostal church. I had NEVER seen nor conceived of anything like that service- people 'shouting,' crying, speaking in tongues, running- in a church! It made me want to laugh and run screaming at the same time. I'm not judging- everyone was kind to me and I wasn't pushed to participate. I just couldn't 'feel the spirit' because I was raised with a mom who pinched me for even fidgeting in mass, much less taking a jog down the center aisle.
At 51, I now am sure the nuns who terrified me so as a kid did not actually hate me, although I know a couple were truly sadistic. I dimly remember a few nuns who were kind souls, but the truth is that I heard many cruel words spoken (and faces slapped) in classrooms and it affected my faith in God. I wonder if I would attend church now if I had gone to public school...not learned to associate religion with misuse of power and manipulation of the gospel.
By grade 4, I lost all respect for religious authority in any form, and accepted the fact that most people compelled to 'preach' are so ignorant they refuse to even listen to what a rabbi or iman believes. They are not 'bad people' on the whole, but to those who like to think and discuss and learn from others, your basic preacher is worse than bad- he's boring.
Billy Graham himself met with Jews (and even preached that 'non-believers' could get into heaven!) He also revealed past racist beliefs and said he was wrong and asked for forgiveness. He was either wise or moral enough to openly refuse to join the 'Religious Right,' openly dismissing Falwell while stating that 'Jesus had no political party.' Every election year, many Republican tears are surely shed over the fact that the most revered and the most powerful preacher in the country remains a registered Democrat. From the 4th grade on, I have only loved and respected the words of Jesus.
Going back to Ron, if he grew up with the strict rules/beliefs of his extremely devout father, I'd bet he had more than a few resentments and unfulfilled dreams darkening his childhood. Many non-southerners have zero knowledge of just how one's church/religion defines a person, especially his social standing. MOST especially if he is the type who wants to have wealth, who sees rich people as the only people worth knowing. And among professional/educated 'society' people, Pentacostal Holiness is usually snickered at, seen as backward and 'hillbilly'... and lower income.
It's fine to tell tales of your grandma going to her country church barefoot, and how she still thinks dancing is a sin because she's family and you love her. But if you're still shouting in the pews in 2013, you probably need to marry and socialize with other fundies. Unless you can be both Pentacostal AND hip. Thus, the megachurch, World Redemption Outreach Center, most noticably NOT using the words 'Pentacostal' or 'Holiness' in its name. Make it sound generic, worldly and grand enough, with an insanely huge building. Get a bright marquee and a big sound system. Encourage electric guitars and keyboards on the stage-I-mean-altar, and some will attend just to perform or be entertained.
I can understand the whole 'anything to bring people to God' approach; it's the television cameras and the need for mass audiences that bother me. And of course the tons of cash raked in every Sunday. Maybe RC found a way to be as powerful as his father while remaining (his version of) 'Pentacostal,' but unlike his dad, he could get rich and have all the toys he wanted. I wonder if he ever had the respect of his father or, for that matter, his faith. Probably best that Ron Sr. died before this scandal erupted, as his only son has obviously lost control of his own family. (Sr. was married 46 years!)
I think a lot of posters are right that there is some dirt being covered up or used for ammo between Ron and Hope. If he wasn't so power- and money-hungry (imo), no one would even know. Family problems should be private and the way he publicly shamed his wife would not be tolerated in most churches here. First Baptist and probably Second Methodist (I know a lot of these people) would die of shock to hear a preacher/minister speak that way- publicly!- about his own wife.
Of course their leaders aren't perfect and the sudden 'resignation' of one does occur now and then, but even if the entire congregation knows the cause, it is not announced from the pulpit like it's a topic on 'Maury Povich.' No one I know is talking about this (I don't know any RWOC members), probably because 1) the local news is silent and 2) people mostly associate 'megachurches' with scams and blue-collar (if not poor) people. I'm not being 100% fair, and decidedly unchristian, but I'm leaving Jesus out of this.
There are always people with criminal records, people who want to change but know they are always going to be snubbed because of their past. A lot of young people can feel more 'themselves' if the music isn't some droning hymn like at the mass of my childhood. Especially if they can wear jeans and go on group activities, with a church bus to give them a ride home.
Some of these established churches are made up of people whose grandparents and parents also went there. If you are a nice young family who just moved to the area, you are welcomed with love. In fairness, an illegal alien or a closet homosexual or a secret alcoholic will be treated warmly by the few true Christians in any church. Just don't have bad manners, don't act like an idiot.
But folks gravitate to the comfortable and the known; we all seek our tribe. If some get a positive experience following 'APOSTLE' (huh?) Ron, that's fine and not my business. I don't see RC as an evil guru; he's not even Jimmy-Swaggart-level famous, plus JS got BJs from hookers. RC, to me, is in over his head with either a love affair or substance abuse or criminal acts. I don't mean murder; I think if he'd done away w/Hope, he'd have set up the finding of her body weeks ago. Who knows her deal, anyway? Maybe she wants to hide or needs to have some reason not to be at church.
The 'first lady' (heh) goes along with her husband, is expected to lead the women and look/live beyond reproach. Unless this duo is that rare, truly great union between two people ideally suited to one another, how old it must get sticking by someone you no longer love or even hate. Esp. when he's seen by thousands as a prophet, annointed as an apostle by God... he's stuck having to hide his human flaws while his wife won't shut up as she points them out in their bedroom.
These two have posssibly the WORST advisors/friends ever, if even one told RC his words about Hope were a good idea. I think they got into a huge fight, she left, he ran his mouth about her 'sins' because he wanted to hurt her back. Also he's not very smart, just a decent scammer in that he knew his audience had many people in it who lacked the insight to figure out he sees them as pliable and accepting of authority, at least in church.
Of course some were uncomfortable or outright disgusted, and some of them I bet left for good. But hell- there's an arena-full of bodies who feel good just because they are in a church. They were raised going every Sunday, then being young stopped going. Maybe had some problems, a divorce, got a lot older and tired of their own BS. And the RWOC is so big, no one's going to put you down if you go fishing instead once in a while, and no suits and ties forced on you.
You can look around and see people that look approachable, or pretty rough. It's OK as long as you aren't being snubbed or scorned. A few humans are born with unshakable self-confidence and self-worth; wealth and power protect a select number. The rest of us can be made to feel very small very easily. Church 'families' and fake 'christians' can do a lot of damage with poor leadership and manmade values.
In fairness, I agree that it is so hard to live thinking about being good all the time. I am in awe of the handful of people I know who refuse to say a bad word about anyone, who honestly pray for and care about people who treat them like *****. How can you truly love a sociopath or your abuser? But they do, or at least try.
Sadly most of us cannot let some hurts go and despite his extremely ill-advised blabbering, I wonder if Ron holds in a lot of unresolved hurt and anger. It must be so hard to follow the same career path as your esteemed father, esp. since it should be a real 'calling' from within. Did he think it would be easier since he grew up in it? He should've asked Franklin Graham, as respected as he is, he will never be revered as his father Billy. I think Billy himself probably never expected his son to be anything but what he was, as an individual.
But BG is also a quietly intelligent scholar who has admitted mistakes openly- more importantly, he is deeply empathetic. Too bad Rev.- bishop?!- T.D. Jakes is 'advising' Ron instead of a man like Graham, sr. Even Joel Osteen, who does the 'megachurch' thing so much classier, slicker and likable than RC, won't be seen anywhere near ole Ron. He would never do that to his (gorgeous) wife, I expect because he married someone he adores who worships money like he does. He's smart enough to be a successful 'motivational' author and cute enough for Oprah, and oh yeah- he heads the LARGEST CHURCH CONGREGATION in the U.S.
He's a marketing genius- most 'theologians' openly scorn his 'views.' They can't get why millions follow his 'message' because he refuses to accept the Bible as the absolute law of God. Osteen dropped out of Orel Roberts Univ., probably because he has a brain. His Baptist-preacher-daddy had left the sect and started Lakewood Church, now Joel's . So Joel had a role model who could think for himself, and felt free to preach whatever the hell he wanted, a huge SIN to many 'Christians.' He just said what most people feel anyway- why is it wrong to question the Bible if you don't believe in blindly accepting anything you read? Church is boring and hell isn't a fire, we all go through some hell on this earth.
Jesus could forgive a murderer on the cross and send him to Paradise but a Hindu or a gay person will burn eternally because the forgiving and merciful Jesus hates them forever? Seriously? JO doesn't talk about sin or hell, plus a rich man can get into heaven if a good person. A person with billions can admit, shame-free, how incredibly orgasmic life can be without money worries or debt (no *****)- he found a church (or TV channel) he actually likes, with a preacher who is always smiling and upbeat. JO is a Ferrari, Ronnie C. is a car leased by his church.
I want to like JO because he is a very happy and confident person who is pleasant to look at, which counts with women (me). Cute, not handsome but his charisma- his wardrobe- and of course the way he refuses to scold us every week about how bad and sinful and basically pathetic we all can be in life. No wonder he has a cult, he understands that people are experts at punishing themselves; why make them feel uncomfortable, like folks listening to their preacher's wife being publicly humiliated on a stage, for example.
That act alone shows his character, and told me everything I needed to know about him as a 'religious prophet.' And that his fawning FB followers are the kind of people I avoid knowing. I can't wait to see Ron C. in the news again someday, along with his highly suspicious 'megachurch.' He is lucky enough to have a congregation full of folks eager to forgive him, to believe him- for now. Give me Billy Graham's wisdom any day.
