# Oral Roberts dies **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 15, 2009, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406 "2009-12-15T21:36:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/41 "2009-12-16T01:48:56Z")
> [@tacoloco](#): > > Here’s an idea. How about you let the moderators do the moderating. And if you have a beef with it, you know the right place to express that. Don’t you just love the lack of introspection here? To make it perfectly obvious: by telling someone not to junior moderate, you are attempting to moderate them. Pot, meet Kettle. As for the subject of this thread: If you are going to accuse a dead man of being evil, I’d like to at least see some citations. Prove that this guy’s religious beliefs actually hurt people. Prove that he didn’t believe what he preached. Proof of something besides telling people God can heal them being inherently evil. All the people I know that believed in his message either got better, or nothing happened at all. I am unaware of any case where he actually made people worse; that one crappy _House_ episode notwithstanding. You see, this was the one thing that made the Ted Kennedy thing more tolerable was that the desecraters brought up actual facts to explain why they felt the need to desecrate his corpse. Finally the fairness thing: All social contracts are based on the idea that those in charge will at least try to be fair. America itself exists because the Founding Fathers thought the British system was unfair. Even though this message board is as much a business as a community, it behooves the moderators to try make this place as fair as possible. In fact, the business part makes it worse: you can’t make money off of dissatisfied customers. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/42 "2009-12-16T02:54:30Z")
I hope everything he believed in turned out to be true. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/43 "2009-12-16T03:22:40Z")
Moms Mabley sums up my feelings: “They say you mustn’t say nothing but good about the dead. He’s dead—good.” ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/44 "2009-12-16T03:44:41Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Not gonna. I think Oral Roberts was an asshole. Just want to be sure conservatives have a level playing field. That’s a fair request. What kind of affirmative action would you like to see to ensure this? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/45 "2009-12-16T04:14:33Z")
Actually, I believe he received even more than God require for him not to be “called home.” So I guess God didn’t want Oral then. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/46 "2009-12-16T04:39:46Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > That’s a fair request. What kind of affirmative action would you like to see to ensure this? Depends. If by “affirmative action” you mean gesture of good will, I like food, booze, cash, etc. If by “affirmative action” you mean “Affirmative Action”, I’d riposte that would violate the “Equal Protection” clause of the 14th Amendment. (cheerfully handwaving away any lack of state action or other inconvenient technicality) Twicks’ explanation was enough. I misremembered whether such things were allowed in MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/47 "2009-12-16T07:50:19Z")
Oral Roberts? Wasn’t that the guy who performed as a rapper under the stage name **MC 900 Ft. Jesus**? Or maybe I’m just mixed-up… it’s hard for me to keep all these Christ-fellators straight. (Seems kinda difficult for some of _them_ to keep themselves straight, too.) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/48 "2009-12-16T10:53:33Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I note with interest that here we have an MPSIMS thread about a recent celebrity death, most of the comments appear to be negative, and there is no mod-smacking in evidence. > > Yet when Ted Kennedy died, there was mod smacking for negativity. Ted Kennedy was a liberal. Oral Roberts was a religious conservative. Hmmmmmm. Because Ted Kennedy wasn’t a noxious pimple on the ass of humanity. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/49 "2009-12-16T14:32:57Z")
> [@Cumberdale](#): > > Moms Mabley sums up my feelings: “They say you mustn’t say nothing but good about the dead. He’s dead—good.” That just about says it all, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/50 "2009-12-16T15:49:19Z")
> [@MoodIndigo1](#): > > Ted Kennedy wasn’t a con artist. He _was_ a con artist but he was our duly elected and appointed con artist. Roberts did it on his own. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/51 "2009-12-16T15:56:10Z")
Originally Posted by Oakminster View Post Not gonna. I think Oral Roberts was an asshole. Just want to be sure conservatives have a level playing field. > [@Miller](#): > > That’s a fair request. What kind of affirmative action would you like to see to ensure this? Al Sharpton? Look, any person who hides behind “Reverend” for their own benefit is a waste of perfectly good transplant organs. I don’t wish them dead but I’m glad when they are gone - no matter what politics they follow. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/52 "2009-12-16T15:57:51Z")
> [@yanceylebeef](#): > > This xkcd [cartoon](http://xkcd.com/386/) seems fitting… I’ve long thought that that cartoon should be the Official Cartoon of the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/53 "2009-12-16T16:22:10Z")
I wonder if people who bought him Christmas presents will return them or keep them for themselves? Seriously. My mum died Dec 4, 1980 and she had bought everyone a Christmas present EXCEPT ME… 😃 And to make matters worse she charged them, so the bill came in January and I had to pay it. Not only didn’t I get a Christmas present but I had to pay for everyone else’s from her. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/54 "2009-12-16T16:24:13Z")
Married to one person for 66 years! Wow! ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/55 "2009-12-16T22:37:31Z")
I met Oral Roberts a couple of times. My father taught at his university for close to 30 years and he knew my dad by name. I didn’t like him but my dad did. When offered the chance to go to ORU for free, I declined and paid for most of my own college. I couldn’t handle wearing a tie to class and attending chapel 2 or 3 times per week. Plus they had hair codes. My dad didn’t like my decision but he respected it. I just didn’t want to support Oral or anything he did. We often argued about Oral’s sincerity but never agreed. I can understand my dad’s opinion but I think he was at least partially blinded by a paycheck. That said, Oral did a great deal for Tulsa; probably more than any other single person with the possible exception of Jean Paul Getty. That he did it while standing on the backs of the elderly is distasteful in the extreme. Richard is and always has been a prick. ---
**Author:** ![PeskiPiksi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/56 "2009-12-16T23:06:55Z")
I’m watching this thread just to see all the former and current fellow Tulsans come out of the woodwork. We should have a Tuldope! ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/57 "2009-12-17T00:51:23Z")
If Oral Roberts was a con artist (I personally don’t buy into the Pentecoastal/Charismatic theology and faith healing myself) than Ted Kennedy was a mass-murderer as he supported abortion. But I want some civility and respect after a person has passed away-liberal or conservative. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/58 "2009-12-17T01:34:17Z")
> [@MoodIndigo1](#): > > Ted Kennedy wasn’t a con artist. I have never actually done a “Spit on my keyboard” until I read this. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Understander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3da27b/32.png) [@The\_Understander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Understander)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/59 "2009-12-17T02:28:37Z")
Civility? The republic lies in ruins. The monied interests rule in all but name. Compassion is weak, branding is the Holy Grail, nice guy is an epithet. There is no civility here. And whither [del]Rome[/del] America goest… Another person has met the fate we all will. I believe that Oral Roberts was a product of his time, as are we all. I believe that at some level he believed what he was saying. I believe that he was greedy for money and influence… and was notably ineffective in resisting that greed. He’s likely done good, intentional or unintentional, and evil, intentional and unintentional. Now he is dead. For someone outside the monkeysphere, I’m particularly not too busted up about it. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406/60 "2009-12-17T03:32:58Z")
> [@](#): > > That said, Oral did a great deal for Tulsa; probably more than any other single person with the possible exception of Jean Paul Getty. That he did it while standing on the backs of the elderly is distasteful in the extreme. This is very well put and I plan on using this line when my BIL, who went to Oral Roberts brings up this discussion at the Xmas Eve dinner. How come charges are never brought up against these …what was the charming term used above?..oh yes…Christ Fellators? Oral, btw, is latin for _speaking_. I wonder if his middle name was Fellatio. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-roberts-dies/521406.md?page=4)