Nuke ‘em in the name of Jesus!

So I heard that Dr. Gene Scott died yesterday. I’m sure this was not the case for most of you but Dr. Scott was one of those odd background images of my childhood.

In the late 70’s, when my dad was home, you could easily find the television tuned to channel 5’s “Family Film Festival” (featuring classic films – if my dad was rolling with laughter on the floor then the film probably featured Red Skelton), a Laker game, or various televangelists. (I guess that explains summers at our swimming pool, pushing my sister and neighbor off the diving board by slapping each other’s foreheads as we screamed, “ Saved!” or “JE-sus!”)

Of these televised, religious figures, Dr. Scott was probably the weirdest. His set was bare, save for a blackboard. For a preacher, he didn’t seem that pious. Slouching in his chair, he was usually dressed sloppily with a wild head of hair that was, at times, covered by a hat. His scruffy beard framed a set of teeth that often clenched a cigar. On his nose were perched a pair of reading glasses…sometimes he wore two pairs at the same time. I believe I even recall a show where he was bookended by a pair of bikini-clad women.

For the most part, though, all I really took in was this odd visual. As a kid, the preaching seemed…well, boring. Hey...if I wanted to have someone talk to me about religion I always had my dad, who would gladly chime on and on about any religious topic for hours. (Then again, maybe we were too busy "saving souls" as we dunked eached other into the pool.)

I’m not surprised to hear now that, in order to avoid government scrutiny of his church, Dr. Scott had people donate money directly to him, not his church. What is surprising is that people gladly obliged, sending him millions. I mean, this is the same guy who said, "If you just want an ordinary church, pick up the Yellow Pages and find the closest one to you." Or, regarding the Gulf War, “Nuke ‘em in the name of Jesus!”

Go figure.