# Would you expose this grieving televangelist's hypocrisy? (If hypocrisy it is.) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 27, 2015, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347 "2015-07-27T19:34:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/21 "2015-07-27T23:35:26Z")
I’d show her the recording. She may not even remember it. If she didn’t tell her flock about her lapse of faith in the love of God I’d think less about her, but unless I was a member of that church I don’t really see this as a reason by itself to expose her. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/22 "2015-07-28T00:37:40Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > 1. The breakdown video is not where Jacquie was being a hypocrite. Her hypocrisy was lying in the sermon, in claiming she never wavered in her faith. Right - some seem to miss this point. Her moral failure is not in having had her moment of weakness and despair, but in not owning it, and in having created and propagated a different version of her reaction, for the sake of staying in character and on message. That is what has ostensibly disgusted the “source” who now wants you to have the tape. OTOH those whi just want to punish her hard for being a televangelist to begin with, are not really advancing the debate. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/23 "2015-07-28T01:06:32Z")
I’m incredibly, intensely aware that my memory of my grieving process is utterly fucked up. I have no idea what I said, when, to whom. I might say something very confidently and it turns out that it didn’t happen that way at all. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/24 "2015-07-28T02:23:11Z")
I buy the video just to prevent anyone else from ever airing it. Jacqui is not condemning others for the sin of despair here, she is providing them with an anecdote that might give them strength to hold against despair. The anecdote is a lie? Well, everyone here says anecdotes are not data. Also, I’ve never lost a child of my own, so I hesitate to condemn anyone who has. (Of course, if she ever _ **does** _ condemn someone despair, bitch is going down.) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/25 "2015-07-28T02:48:21Z")
I checked: _I air the video, even if I have to buy it. Jacquie is a hypocrite and deserves to be exposed as such. Lemon for me. It’s “sherbet,” you nitwit._ If she had said all the things that were recorded and didn’t mention it later, or said something like, “After my daughter died, I was deeply troubled and I must admit my faith was tested,” I wouldn’t air it. But she flat-out lied to her parishioners. One of her books is _Why God Wants You to Tithe_, so presumably she’s still raising money under false pretenses. Hypocrisy by any public figure - politician, journalist, religious leader, etc. - is newsworthy and ought to be brought to the public’s attention. ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/26 "2015-07-28T16:34:21Z")
I voted not to show the video, and that she’s only human. On further reflection, she is kind of a hypocrite, saying that she never had a moment of doubt when she definitely did. But I voted “no” on airing the tape for several reasons (in order of importance): [ol] [li]It’s a rotten thing to kick a person when they’re down, especially if “down” means “just lost their daughter.”[/li][li]She’s only human, and I would expect most people to have their faith shaken by something like that. If anyone deserves the benefit of the doubt, it’s someone who just lost their daughter and three weeks later is absolutely still in the grieving process.[/li][li]Airing the tape may well accomplish the opposite goal (or have no effect). People who didn’t like her will see her hypocracy and continue not to like her. People who like her will see that even a “pillar of faith” like her has moments of doubt; she could become more relatable.[/li][li]IMO, airing the tape will just make my show look bad. This woman just lost her daughter, and I’m attacking her over the sermon she gave weeks later after grieving and possible soul-searching?[/li][/ol] I will say that she might have been more effective if she had been truthful about her breakdown, but went on to tell about how she came through it with stronger faith than before. But I suppose that’s fighting the hypothetical. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/27 "2015-07-28T16:42:06Z")
> [@oft\_wears\_hats](#): > > I voted not to show the video, and that she’s only human. On further reflection, she is kind of a hypocrite, saying that she never had a moment of doubt when she definitely did. But I voted “no” on airing the tape for several reasons (in order of importance): > > [ol] > [li]It’s a rotten thing to kick a person when they’re down, especially if “down” means “just lost their daughter.”[/li][li]She’s only human, and I would expect most people to have their faith shaken by something like that. If anyone deserves the benefit of the doubt, it’s someone who just lost their daughter and three weeks later is absolutely still in the grieving process.[/li][li]Airing the tape may well accomplish the opposite goal (or have no effect). People who didn’t like her will see her hypocracy and continue not to like her. People who like her will see that even a “pillar of faith” like her has moments of doubt; she could become more relatable.[/li][li]IMO, airing the tape will just make my show look bad. This woman just lost her daughter, and I’m attacking her over the sermon she gave weeks later after grieving and possible soul-searching?[/li][/ol] > > I will say that she might have been more effective if she had been truthful about her breakdown, but went on to tell about how she came through it with stronger faith than before. But I suppose that’s fighting the hypothetical. It’s completely fighting the hypothetical, since the dilemma comes from her having lied. It would be as if the last Bob X thread were changed to “Superhero Daddy shows mercy to daughter’s kidnappers, does not murder them. Should he be prosecuted?” ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/28 "2015-07-28T16:46:51Z")
To expand somewhat on one of the points I made in my first post: her sermon was a mere three weeks after her daughter’s death, right? If that’s the case, she is almost certainly still grieving. She could very well _think_ that she’s in a good enough state to go back to work, while she actually isn’t. Whether that’s true or not, if the video airs, she could easily hide behind that idea, and as a grieving mother, she would probably get more public support than not. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/29 "2015-07-28T16:51:43Z")
> [@oft\_wears\_hats](#): > > To expand somewhat on one of the points I made in my first post: her sermon was a mere three weeks after her daughter’s death, right? > > If that’s the case, she is almost certainly still grieving. She could very well _think_ that she’s in a good enough state to go back to work, while she actually isn’t. Whether that’s true or not, if the video airs, she could easily hide behind that idea, and as a grieving mother, she would probably get more public support than not. The main reason not to air it, to me, is that it’ll destroy the show. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/30 "2015-07-28T16:52:48Z")
Since we’re revisiting the hypocrisy angle: I’m still not convinced it is necessarily hypocritical. As an example, it’s not uncommon for children (or even adults) to get mad and say “I hate you!” to their parents, siblings, friends, lovers, etc. Yet we don’t call them liars when they say “I have always loved you.” We recognize that the verbal expression of hate is not necessarily a true statement about the relationship. Maybe it was a temporary feeling, but we don’t see it negating the underlying love that defines the relationship. Since we only know what was said - we don’t know how she felt about this expression, and we don’t know what she remembers - I’m still inclined to say this is human nature and not necessarily hypocrisy. Even if it was hypocrisy, it’s the type I’d be inclined to shrug off and not hold someone accountable for. ---
**Author:** ![jayrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/47e85d/32.png) [@jayrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayrey)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/31 "2015-07-28T16:54:33Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Would you feel the same if she’d never given the sermon about her loss, or if she’d given such sermons before Jennifer died but not since? > > ETA: That is not a rhetorical question. The Rhymer Rules require e to punch myself in the nads if I ask rhetorical questions. In original hypothetical, the problem is Jacquie’s hypocrisy in lying to her flock about her loss of faith in the face of an agonizing loss. If she’d never given the sermon since her loss, there’s no hypocrisy, so I’d give her a pass. No need to kick her when she’s down, Life has done that to her with Jennifer’s death. If she’d given the sermon before the loss, I’d still (strongly) suggest that she use the video as a “teaching moment.” But I must be getting soft in my old age, because, if she decline to do, I’d probably still give her pass. I can’t say I’d lose respect for her; I wouldn’t have any anyway. By the way, did you eat all the rainbow sherbet yourself, you greedy pig? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/32 "2015-07-28T16:59:52Z")
> [@jayrey](#): > > In original hypothetical, the problem is Jacquie’s hypocrisy in lying to her flock about her loss of faith in the face of an agonizing loss. If she’d never given the sermon since her loss, there’s no hypocrisy, so I’d give her a pass. No need to kick her when she’s down, Life has done that to her with Jennifer’s death. > > If she’d given the sermon before the loss, I’d still (strongly) suggest that she use the video as a “teaching moment.” But I must be getting soft in my old age, because, if she decline to do, I’d probably still give her pass. I can’t say I’d lose respect for her; I wouldn’t have any anyway. > > By the way, did you eat all the rainbow sherbet yourself, you greedy pig? :dubious: No, you just need to clean out your teleport pad buffers again. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/33 "2015-07-28T17:09:27Z")
Jacquie is a TV preacher, much like Joel Osteen. They, as a group, are among the leaders in the “I lie to everybody and get filthy rich doing it” game. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/34 "2015-07-28T18:14:43Z")
I think she’s a hypocrite, but wouldn’t air tape. Captializing on someone’s loss of a child and ensuing grief to score cheap points is morally bankrupt even if it is for the right reasons. The fact that she is using her own child’s death to promote herself is reprehensible, but I won’t stoop to her level. Let the guy with the tape get some other muck raking outfit to do their dirty work for them. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/35 "2015-07-28T22:07:40Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Would you feel the same if she’d never given the sermon about her loss, or if she’d given such sermons before Jennifer died but not since? > > ETA: That is not a rhetorical question. The Rhymer Rules require e to punch myself in the nads if I ask rhetorical questions. I would air the shit out of it, because of the dishonesty of her sermon afterwards. Had she had the humility to NOT bullshit about the way her grief affected her, I would not feel the same way- her grief should remain private. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/36 "2015-07-28T22:45:33Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > I think she’s a hypocrite, but wouldn’t air tape. Captializing on someone’s loss of a child and ensuing grief to score cheap points is morally bankrupt even if it is for the right reasons. The fact that she is using her own child’s death to promote herself is reprehensible, but I won’t stoop to her level. > > **Let the guy with the tape get some other muck raking outfit to do their dirty work for them.** Are you sure? If it is morally reprehensible (and it is), do we have any responsibility to stop anyone from airing the footage? Help me buy the tape, so no-one airs it; it’s expensive. (And if Jacqui knows we both have access to it, she’s less likely to send some of her Holy Warriors after me to suppress it.) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/37 "2015-07-29T00:07:26Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > The function of journalists in a free society is to report news of public import. If Jamison were engaged in some form of policy advocacy, and someone offered to sell me footage of her acting at odds with her stated policy position, I’d seriously consider buying it. (Say, Jamison preaches in favor of mandatory drug minimums, but smokes weed; Jamison preaches against gay rights, but has a same-sex lover; etc, etc.) > > I can’t see any public interest in the story as described. People deal with grief as they see fit. Jamison may be bending the truth of her own experience in her sermon, but I can’t see any terribly malicious intent to it; she may profit from folks tithing to her specific ministry, but she doesn’t make money from folks privately framing their grief in religious terms. I have no love of any religion, and I expect I’d find this mega-church distasteful - but there’s just nothing going on here. Heck, it’s even possible that Jamison believes she’s relating her experience accurately - memory is a funny thing. You have expressed my feelings perfectly. Private grief is just that–private. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/38 "2015-07-29T01:34:04Z")
I would not air the tape. For one thing, it would make me a despicable human being if I did it. Short of admitting to a felony, there’s nothing that could be contained in that tape that would justify that sort of invasion of someone’s privacy at a moment like that. Also, I don’t think the tape proves that she’s intentionally lying. I don’t think it’s fair to hold people to things they do during periods of intense grief, nor do I think it’s fair to expect them to remember what happened with perfect clarity. Hell, maybe she needs to remember it like this to work through the grieving process. I don’t know. And, and this is the important part, _I don’t care_. Even if she’s just straight up lying, so what? It’s not my job to police people’s descriptions of their personal faith. It’s not _anyone’s_ job to do that. People who do that sort of thing are shitty people. I might contact the hospital and drop a dime on the asshole trying to shop the tape around, though. That sort of disregard for people’s privacy is scary as fuck in someone working in the medical industry. They need to be looking for a new job, like, yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/39 "2015-07-29T04:29:52Z")
Chances are, this hypothetical televangelist may genuinely not remember her rant. Physical or emotional pain can blur memories. Imagine that a 3rd-degree burn survivor shouts the F word repeatedly in the hospital room, while in delirious pain. You talk to him days later, “Hey, remember shouting the F word?” He may not recall. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347/40 "2015-07-29T09:27:23Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Do you air it? Yes > [@](#): > > Does it matter whether you have to pay for the video? No > [@](#): > > Do you consider Jacquie a hypocrite? Hell yes. Note that if she hadn’t said what she said in the sermon, I would not air the video and certainly wouldn’t buy it. It’s the public hypocrisy that makes it both newsworthy and in the public interest. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-expose-this-grieving-televangelists-hypocrisy-if-hypocrisy-it-is/726347.md?page=3)