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{"id":3048,"date":"2007-07-30T22:01:00","date_gmt":"2007-07-30T22:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/standingonmyhead\/2007\/07\/american-religious-shysters\/"},"modified":"2007-07-30T22:01:00","modified_gmt":"2007-07-30T22:01:00","slug":"american-religious-shysters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/standingonmyhead\/2007\/07\/american-religious-shysters.html","title":{"rendered":"American Religious Shysters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

You may have heard the names and adventures of Charles Taze Russell<\/a>, Judge Rutherford<\/a> , Mary Baker Eddy<\/a>, Joseph Smith <\/a>etc. etc.<\/p>\n

You can add famous dispensationalist Bible \u2018scholar\u2019 C.I. Scofield to the list of religious renegades and ne-er do wells. In a long line of American religious entrepreneurs, Scofield had a reputation as a fraud and shyster. You can read it here. <\/a><\/p>\n

The amazing thing is how some of these shysters eventually get a following. They were either totally looped or else frauds and snake oil salesmen the lot of them. Think Jim and Tammy Baaker if you like.<\/p>\n

But look how successful the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses have been, (not to mention the Mormons). The American Evangelicals who promote wacky dispensationalist Biblical interpretation are in the same boat with the rest of them I reckon.<\/p>\n

No wonder Europeans look askance at the religious life of America and conclude that the lot of us are dangerous lunatics.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"