Religionists and politicians share this basic operating maxim:
Tell a Lie often enough, and it will become the Truth.
Both religionists and politicians also depend on this subset of that truth: When caught in a lie, deny it often enough and your slave-like followers won’t care.
When politicians lie, we end up with higher taxes, fewer freedoms, or at war. But they’re not my nemesis here; they’re everybody’s nemesis, all the time. My object d’scorn are the religious charlatans, those foul manipulators of spiritual seekers and blasphemous betrayers of the divine. And among the many scoundrels fighting to lead that pack of dogs is one-time radio star, now mere shadow of former sleazy self (but I don’t think he knows that!), Bob Larson.
Bob Larson Ministries’ web page, in all of it’s 1995-era glory, may be found here. The whole front page is, of course, a hustle, for Larson’s books which will tell you all about the dangers of Islam and feng shui, and for his Spiritual Freedom Conferences. No surprise there; every time Larson opens his mouth it’s a hustle. For which, amazingly, large numbers of devotees continue to fall.
What is fascinating to me is the disclaimer found at the bottom of the front page:
“SPECIAL NOTICE… In your effort to locate our web site, you may have encountered other sites devoted to attacking our ministry. Be aware that these sites contain misinformation, disinformation, twisted facts and outright lies. Many of these accusations are sinister distortions of reality and fabrications designed to look truthful. Our response is that of Nehemiah: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you (Nehemiah 6:3)?” To those who maliciously malign our efforts to reach the lost for Christ and see those in demonic bondage set free, we respond as our Savior commanded us. We “pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).”
Go ahead, try it and see what he is talking about. Google “Bob Larson” and you’ll find site after site of former employees, legitimate news organizations, and Christian organizations of all stripes who have experienced or investigated Larson, and found him (caught him!) lying about his background, his affairs, his finances, and his claims, again and again and again and again. Here are two, of many:
So what is the niche within the overcrowded Christian ministry industry that Larson has developed into a feed trough for both his ego and his finances?
Demons
You know, those “spiritual entities” that can’t be seen but can only be discerned by those specially trained to do so; those “angels of Satan” which provide a ready excuse for anyone caught in abysmal human behaviors; those modern day versions of State Fair midway geeks who bit the heads off chickens to the delight of countrified adolescent boys and their hardy-har-harring daddies who’d drunk way too many beers under the hot summer sun.
Those demons. The ones that some Christians believe they’re able to identify in everyone around them the day after the night they walked that center aisle and gave their lives to Jesus. The ones that reappear in the same persons at Spiritual Freedom Conference after Spiritual Freedom Conference. The ones that Bob Larson can talk about with an air of believable authority that rivals any presidential candidate’s claim that “If I’m elected, things are gonna change!”
Those demons. Those human conjured spirits that fueled the Inquisition as the Church lusted after and found a way to legitimately grab the property of countless Spanish, French, Italian, and German land-owners, accused and convicted of cavorting with Satan. Those demons, grabbed from preacher’s arsenals of fear, when words about God’s love will not suffice. Those demons, still being used as ushers when the collection plate is passed.
The pleasure I take is writing about Larson is, I discover, a perverse pleasure. He is too easy to make fun of. The sarcasm he inspires from me is masking the real sadness I feel for those whom he has brow beat and lied to in his quest for their money and adulation. So here, let these video clips do the talking. Then pass them on to anyone you may know whose pockets and hearts are being ransacked by spiritual parasites like Larson.
Case in point: The national media has followed him and found him wanting. Pretend otherwise, often and loudly. The lemmings will continue to come.
The Spirit of Jezebel, always the Spirit of Jezebel..the evil, conniving, seducing Woman Spirit..Oh, Please..!
The First Morning 
Bob Larson is well-known to me. While he had his radio show I called in upon occasion as ” Born Again Pagan” The web site he was refeering to is one set up by Ken Smith.
http://www.boblarsonfanclub.tk/
The guy is a sleazy self-promoter who has his ego for fame and money as his primary goals not Jesus Christ or actually ministering compassion and love of others. He’s posted in the alt.fan.bob-larson as ” kenmsithiscool” and in that usenet newsgroup I’m pretty much the only one left who keeps an eye on this adulterous, thieving, plagarizing, manipulative phony. He recently got blasted “Spiritually” in a CNN Healdine news piece when a Christian minister called what he was doing “unbiblical’ and BL in his panic sent off a letter to his donors asking for money.
I could say a LOT more about Bob Larson, but it’s sufficient to say his gods are money and fame, not Jesus.
I really appreciate Bob Larson’s ministry. If it had not been for Bob Larson, I would have never been free from demonic attack. Why is it so hard for Western Society to know, believe and understand that there are entities, life forms, invisible that wreak havoc? Natives, indigenous tribes across the world and across time have always had this knowledge and experience. Why does modern Western Society believe they have overcome natural laws, spiritual laws and the universe itself? You think your BLING, BLING and new cars, crazy lust for money makes you exempt from what is and what will always be? You think you can defy spirituality? You are spiritual, invisible and physical visible. You hate Bob Larson, because he scares you. You do not understand him. You have been hurt by some church, and now you hate them all.
I’ve been hurt by no church, and I lead one now. I follow Jesus in doing so. I do not use stage gimmicks, actors, or psychological ploys on people like Bob does, and which he seems to have been quite successful in using on you. If I had enough money for BLING, it too, like a lot of my income, would go to those really helping others- and that includes none of the BLING BLING loving shysters like Bob. Go ahead and keep following a man who has learned how to use Jesus language like the con he is. Jesus will be ready to pick you back up.. 🙂
I’ve watched a few of interviews with Larson, and in the videos where he performs exorcisms, he continually states that HE is the one confronting demons and releasing them. I’ve yet to hear him quote scripture, or speak of the Lord’s authority. May the Lord be with him when Satan is done utilizing him for his purpose. God Bless
I used to listen to Bob Larson daily. I attended one of his meetings. I have a friend who used to work for the man. Don’t trust him as far as I can throw him. He is a fraud and a liar.
For whatever freedom people get, they pay a heavy price. Even his spiritual freedom churches have to send all their money to him that those who attend donate (minus their expenses of renting the meeting place) – while they donate all their time free! He now puts his picture on all the CD’s he sells (and the cover jackets of the books), and he sells a lot and keeps putting more on for very high prices, and repeatedly insists and announces that he is the foremost expert on exorcism and that his tapes and books teach you everything there is to know about curses, ad infinitum.
He spends so much of his so called seminar time hawking his wares over and over and calling himself “The Exorcist” (many times over with great fanfare!) waving some metal cross now against the demonic as if this metal cross has some magical power! He claims he is going to set the people free there of their demons and only one gets any real attention as he wastes so much time continually hawking his wares at the table. He has camera crews following him around and taping him. He is so narcisstic!
He is into total idolatry of himself and his great knowledge (knowledge puffs up), much of which is very erroneous.
He is now calling himself reverend, yet God’s Word says “Holy and Reverend is HIS name” not any man’s name. He does exorcisms without leading the person to repentance and tells them they are good and none of this is their fault. That may be true about abuse victims, ect., but none of us are good and we all need to continually repent and to forgive and cry out for His mercy and to take our pain through the Grid of the Cross in order to be set free!
This man is among “churches and ministries that abuse.” And the way he divorced his first wife of 20 years was the epitome of treachery and wounding as well as women he used to write ghostbooks (Dead Air was one of them and from what I have heard that book is “christian pornography” (how can there be such a thing) with all kinds of lurid details of satanic ritualistic sexual abuse of a child (and it is a fictional work) — does God want us feasting our minds on that sort of thing? (Whatsoever things are lovely, pure and of good report His Word says, think on those things) and which women he promoted for “favors” whom he later lost interest in and demoted or fired. He was unfaithful to his first wife and felt she had no right to call him on his infidelity and he demanded she move out of the house. He must have been very threatening. (He is very controlling).
I pray God deals with him at some point in time very soon. Larson needs to repent deeply of the way he is misusing his gifts to bring glory and money and fame to himself. Larson like all of us needs to make repentance a way of life and his spirits of greed and manipulation and high pressure give me your money tactics while he and his latest wife live in a $1,000,000 mansion and lives a lifestyle of exorbitant excesses, need to be driven out of his life, heart, spirit and soul! (His latest is that he needs to raise $100,000 by October 30, 2008 for his big Reality TV 4 hour Exorcisim Sci-Fi Special)to be aired that evening. He is telling people to invite people over for popcorn and pizza and not even tell them what they will be doing and turn this program on. I don’t even have Cable TV and I don’t have that many friends and I cannot imagine forcing this 4 hour display of the demonic upon anyone this way! (What you sow you reap, how would I like someone to set me up that way??)
This he did repeatedly just recently in a swoop down visit evening meeting at one of his spiritual freedom (!!!) churches, and he will do this in his others as he is visiting these places to scoop up all the money he can get even telling people to get their billfolds out and that he was coming after them if they didn’t do what he said! (Thank God I didn’t have my billfold or a checkbook with me! or any money on me!)
This man has no shame does he? He needs a little more (a lot more) CONVICTION!
Anne..you’ve been able to see this charlatan at work from a much closer distance than most of us have! I hope you’ll find other places to continue speaking out about what you’ve seen!
Blessings!
I was actually ‘exorcised’ for the upcoming show “The Real Exorcist”. Whether or not my particular episode will be shown or not I do not know.
In spite of a very dramatic exorcism and a tremendous fondess and interest in possession/opression and exorcism; Im not quite sure how I feel about Bob Larson himself. I knew of him previously, but after agreeing to do the show I did a lot of studying about him, his beliefs and really felt like I was prepared for him and all of this. He made mention that I was very guarded and kept telling me I would have to put my guards down if he was going to help me. I still remained on guard trying to be aware of any tricks of hypnotism or mind controlling gestures or words. I wasnt there as much for the exorcism as much as to get to know Larson and to have this experience. Spending time with him, I felt as if somewhere in him he really genuinly cares about (me) and the people he ‘helps’. I also could tell from the way he acted and dressed that he is a very business minded man. Dressed very sharp and on the phone a lot and eager to hop at any opportunity to either spread his name around or ‘in his terms’ to expose the works of the devil. I can not judge his motives. I can only tell you what I percieved of him. The exorcism was dramatic and eventful. I did feel a change afterwards. I felf lighter and had a joy that I hadnt had in an exceptionally long time. I know the devil does like to lie to people; especially those whom God has set free and try and get them to deny or mistrust what happened. What better way for him (satan) to get back in control. On the other hand I prefer to remain objective. So while I cant say for sure that I believe Larson to be a fraud, a sham and a thief; I can say that he is business minded (VERY), he does care (or did at some point), he knows exactly what he is doing in his trade. He knows exactly how to get results. I can not say conclusively if it is tricks and tactics or if for some reason God is choosing this man to do this ministry. I know this is a pretty neutral opinion of him. And I would like to keep it that way, but the show should be very interesting and I am really looking foward to it. I would be glad to post more and answer any other questions I may not have addressed in the course of this post.
Bob Larson is Authentic indeed!!! He has a Heart for the hurting…
May God bless him and his ministry.
Matthew 10:8-9 “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep.”
If Bob Larson comes to your town, hide your wallets! Would you give money to a college drop-out who isn’t an ordained minister? Got divorced from his wife and has had years of allegations of adultery and inappropriate conduct with his ministry’s own women? And this man makes SIX figures EVERY year, and still can’t stop asking for more.
For only $500 Bob Larson will become your best friend and exorcise you over the phone. Enough said? When will it stop, when will he stop going from town to town begging for money and using the same lines? Here’s a recent blog entry where he said he had a “difficult night wondering if he had to sleep in [his] rental car”:
“When I finally got to my room, I read my emails and discovered that we couldn’t meet payroll this week and that the threat of bankruptcy was looming again… Donations have dropped drastically. Last week we received less than 10% of what came in the first weeks after my heart attack. Many bills are unpaid”
A former personal secretary of Bob’s, Pam Roczman, sued him for sexual harassment.
Lori Boespflug, his ex-personal assistant, admitted having an affair with Larson while both of them were married to other people. She also claimed that Larson had inappropriate relations with her teen daughter Brenna. When Larson’s second wife, Laura, had a daughter Lori told Ken Smith “If it’s a boy he’ll be screwed, but if it’s a girl HEAVEN HELP HER!” Lori’s young teen daughter Brenna told Smith, “Now he’ll have a girl of his own to molest.”
Larson was even photographed exiting a strip club, and then later said that it wasn’t him, it was a demon who impersonated him.
All of this info is online for everyone to see for themselves. Just google, Bob Larson divorce and you will see that he’s a millionaire with several vacation homes. He got his pastor certification from a mail in diploma mill. He’s never worked with the Vatican as he claimed. People in his own ministry admit that he uses staged hypnosis and they also get angry that he’ll exorcise the same people at different seminars. No wonder they are all alike. The same voices, nothing supernatural ever happens. When will people stop thinking that’s entertainment and get bored of his targets saying they were abused when they were two? No credible evidence for anything, standard classic hypnosis techniques. He gets people wiled up for two hours then asks them to think of trauma. When people are in that state of mind they become vulnerable and any charlatan can take advantage of that.
He’s extremely prejudiced against African-Americans, Latins, and especially Native Americans because he claims that they are cursed for their ancestors’ religions. He told a Native American woman that she should apologize for killing white babies hundreds of years ago. WTF? And then there’s the list of his made up demons – Dustly, Anger, Murder, and Jezebel.
Just go to his seminar yourself and you’ll see. He’ll ask for donations and pass around the collection plate. He’ll upsell his overpriced DVD’s and books. He’ll talk about himself, his girls, and brag about being on TV, then he’ll talk trash about public figures, then pretend to exorcise people he had already met before, followed by more begging. How can you be that stupid? See for yourself, but leave your wallet or purse in your car.
“Bob ordered his assistants to hand out envelopes to everybody. ‘Make sure EVERYBODY has an envelope!’ ‘If you have an envelope, don’t just pretend to put money in it!’ ‘If you don’t have your credit cards, rush up to your hotel room right now and get them’ “