"If you want
'pie-in-the-sky when you die' then Rev. Ike is not your man. If you
want your pie now, with ice cream on top, then see and hear Rev. Ike
on TV." So reads the copy from newspaper ads touting
The Joy
of Living with Rev. Ike
Millions of mostly
poor people tuned in each week to hear the pleaful sermon from the flamboyant
Reverend Ike, who drove flashy Cadillacs and stood at the pulpit dripping
in gold chains and diamond rings.
No, this wasn't
a sitcom, this show was a 'serious' Sunday morning religious show from
the early Seventies.
Reverend Ike (real
name Frederick Eikerenkoetter) was one of the first television evangelists
who shamelessly pandered for cash and was openly proud of what he spent
it on - sparkling jewelry, new cars and beautiful women.
The good reverend
toned it down a bit in the late-seventies amid criticism that he was
too much of a show-off - but he always defended himself by saying there
was nothing wrong with a prosperous man of God.
After all, as Reverend
Ike himself was quick to say, "The LACK of money is the root of all
evil."
Amen, brother!
