ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, July 28, 1996 TAG: 9607270015
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: The Back Pew
SOURCE: CODY LOWE
My mother is a believer in the old adage ``forgive and forget."
From her point of view, "true" forgiveness must involve at least attempting to forget about the offending behavior. Reconciliation with an offending neighbor would be forever marred, she figures, if one "forgives" the offense, but continues to think about it.
We all have known people who said they forgave us for something, but then were always bringing up the fact that they'd done that favor for us. Very irritating.
On the other hand, I've come to believe that there are some offenses so gross, so harmful, that while the perpetrators might be forgiven, the offensive behavior should not be.
We might be able - nationally and individually - to forgive some of those who were participants in the crime and sin of the Holocaust. It would be a mistake, however, to forget that the Holocaust took place.
We might be able to forgive those who participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor, but we should not forget that event - or the lessons we learned from it. We might be able to forgive the Khmer Rouge, but we should not forget the near-genocide they perpetrated in Cambodia.
I suppose those crimes and sins of a grand scale are the ones in which it is easiest to understand the tension between forgiving and forgetting. Last week I was reminded of how the problem can burrow under the skin even in less momentous circumstances.
A federal jury in North Carolina decided last week that former televangelist Jim Bakker is not financially liable for refunds to people who sent in money for "partnerships" sold by his TV ministry.
The class action suit sought $120 million on behalf of more than 160,000 former supporters of Bakker's PTL ministry. Some of those supporters had paid as much as $7,000 for ``lifetime partnerships" that were supposed to entitle them to timeshare lodging at Heritage USA, Bakker's Christian resort in South Carolina.
It appears the jury decided that federal securities laws didn't apply to this case because Bakker and his ex-wife, Tammy Faye, had made clear in broadcasts that the "partnerships" were not transferrable.
Hard as it is for me to say it, it is time to let Jim Bakker and his PTL legacy disappear into history's dustbin.
We should not forget the lessons we learned from that, but isn't it about time to stop prosecuting and persecuting Bakker?
I had absolutely no sympathy for this guy when he was convicted in 1989 of 24 counts of wire and mail fraud. Actually, I thought Tammy Faye should have been held equally liable and should have gone to prison with him. (Although that might have been ruled cruel and unusual punishment for Jim.)
The Bakkers had lost pretty much everything that seemed to matter to them. They were broke - stripped of the money and houses and trappings of wealth they had obtained under false pretenses in the name of God. They were the subject of ridicule by most of the country. People who once swore they loved them now hated them. Their fame evaporated into a cloud of infamy. Their 30-year marriage was falling apart.
And Jim Bakker was facing a sentence of 45 years in prison.
Like much of the country, I was so outraged by Bakker's cold-hearted swindling of trusting believers' pensions and life savings and hard-earned paychecks that I initially believed the sentence was justified.
Later, in the cooler illumination of reason and rationality, I realized - as did the courts - that the punishment did not fit the crime. His sentence was reduced to eight years and he actually served almost five of them.
The Bakkers certainly swindled their followers, but probably most of those were being taken willingly.
It was no secret that the Bakkers lived a lavish lifestyle and that their only source of income was from people who sent cash and checks to the TV ministry. Many of those who sent their savings to the Bakkers believed that by doing so God would bless them with Bakker-like riches - enough to afford air-conditioned dog houses and gold-plated bathroom fixtures.
But God has never worked that way. People who sent money to Jim Bakker just lost their money. Unless you consider - as the Bakkers apparently did - that donors were getting what they deserved: a good show and a good feeling inside.
It was demonstrated in court seven years ago that the Bakkers had no money left and the "partnerships" were worthless. Heritage USA has since been sold to a group of Malaysian investors who have never had the kind of success attracting visitors that the Bakkers did. They were not compelled to honor the "partnership" agreements for timeshares.
To continue to try to squeeze blood out of Bakker's turnip is ludicrous. It doesn't help the presumed 160,000 defrauded donors - many of whom don't care anymore and none of whom stands any chance of getting anything out of it.
A vengeful person who was hurt by Bakker might want to continue inflicting some emotional and financial torture on the preacher. But that motivation isn't good enough to keep dragging this out.
Let's let Jim Bakker slide into obscurity and oblivion. We've all been punished enough.
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