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{{short description|American televangelist}}
{{Short description|American televangelist (born 1944)}}
{{BLP sources|date=January 2010}}
{{BLP sources|date=January 2010}}
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{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Bob Larson
| name = Bob Larson
Line 8: Line 7:
| caption =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1944|5|28}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1944|5|28}}
| birth_place = [[Westwood, Los Angeles, California]], US
| birth_place = [[Westwood, Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
| residence = [[Scottsdale, Arizona]], US
| occupation = [[Evangelism|Evangelist]], [[pastor]]
| occupation = [[Evangelism|Evangelist]], [[pastor]]
| spouse =
| spouse =
| salary =
| networth =
| website = [http://www.boblarson.org/ boblarson.org]
| website = [http://www.boblarson.org/ boblarson.org]
}}
}}


'''Bob Larson''' (born May 28, 1944) is an American radio and television evangelist, and a pastor of Spiritual Freedom Church in [[Phoenix, Arizona]]. Larson has authored numerous books critical of [[rock music]] and [[Satanism]].
'''Bob Larson''' (born May 28, 1944) is an American radio and [[Televangelism|television evangelist]], and a pastor of Spiritual Freedom Church in [[Phoenix, Arizona]]. Larson has authored numerous books critical of [[rock music]] and [[Satanism]].


==Life and career==
==Life and career==
Larson was born in [[Westwood, Los Angeles, California]], the son of Viola (née Baum) and Earl Larson.<ref name=hcr>{{Cite book|last=Melton|first=J. Gordon|authorlink=|title=Religious leaders of America: a biographical guide to founders and leaders of religious bodies, churches, and spiritual groups in North America|publisher=Gale Research|year=1999|location=|page=321|url=|isbn=0-8103-8878-2}}</ref><ref name=ett>{{Cite news|last=|first=|title=Personals|page=4|publisher=McCook Daily Gazette|date=1998-01-13|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=H6cgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6WgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2969,1083213&dq=native-former-mccook-resident&hl=en|accessdate=2010-09-20}}</ref> He was raised in [[McCook, Nebraska]].<ref name=hcr/>
Larson was born in [[Westwood, Los Angeles, California]], the son of Viola ([[née]] Baum) and Earl Larson.<ref name=hcr>{{Cite book|last=Melton|first=J. Gordon|title=Religious leaders of America: a biographical guide to founders and leaders of religious bodies, churches, and spiritual groups in North America|publisher=Gale Research|year=1999|page=321|isbn=0-8103-8878-2}}</ref><ref name=ett>{{Cite news|title=Personals|page=4|publisher=McCook Daily Gazette|date=1998-01-13|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=H6cgAAAAIBAJ&pg=2969,1083213&dq=native-former-mccook-resident&hl=en|access-date=2010-09-20}}</ref> He was raised in [[McCook, Nebraska]].<ref name=hcr/>


Larson plays guitar; he has claimed his early experiences as a musician led to his concerns about [[occult]] and destructive influences in rock music.<ref name="Cornerstone">{{cite journal |author=Jon Trott |year=1993 |title=Bob Larson's Ministry Under Scrutiny |journal=Cornerstone |volume=21 |issue=100 |pages=18, 37, 41–42 |issn=0275-2743 |url=http://www.cornerstonemag.com/features/iss100/larson.htm |accessdate=2006-06-08 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060610035955/http://cornerstonemag.com/features/iss100/larson.htm |archivedate=2006-06-10 }}</ref> He would later incorporate his guitar playing into some of his sermons. In the 1960s, the focus of Larson's preaching centered mainly on the leftist political ideology, sexually suggestive lyrics, Eastern religious mysticism, and antisocial behavior of many of the era's rock musicians.
Larson plays [[guitar]]; he has claimed his early experiences as a musician led to his concerns about [[occult]] and destructive influences in [[rock music]].<ref name="Cornerstone">{{cite journal |author=Jon Trott |year=1993 |title=Bob Larson's Ministry Under Scrutiny |journal=Cornerstone |volume=21 |issue=100 |pages=18, 37, 41–42 |issn=0275-2743 |url=http://www.cornerstonemag.com/features/iss100/larson.htm |access-date=2006-06-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060610035955/http://cornerstonemag.com/features/iss100/larson.htm |archive-date=2006-06-10 }}</ref> He would later incorporate his guitar playing into some of his [[sermon]]s. In the 1960s, the focus of Larson's preaching centered mainly on the [[Left-wing politics|leftist political ideology]], [[Sexual innuendo|sexually suggestive lyrics]], Eastern religious [[mysticism]], and [[Anti-social behaviour|anti-social behavior]] of many of the era's rock musicians.


==Debates with Satanists==
===Debates with Satanists===
During the late 1980s and into the 1990s, Larson repeatedly debated, interviewed, and confronted Satanists, during the period known as the [[Satanic ritual abuse#As a moral panic|Satanic panic]]. On two separate occasions he hosted [[Nikolas Schreck]] (a gothic rock musician) and [[Zeena LaVey]] (once the spokesperson for the [[Church of Satan]] and later a priestess in the [[Temple of Set]]). During their first encounter the pair defended Satanism, while in 1997, during their second appearance, they defended [[Setianism]]. Larson debated the pair, and at times attempted to convert them without success.<ref>{{Cite episode
During the late 1980s and into the 1990s, Larson repeatedly debated, interviewed, and confronted [[Satanism|Satanists]], during the period known as the [[Satanic panic]]. On two occasions he hosted [[Nikolas Schreck]] (a [[gothic rock]] musician and lead singer of [[Radio Werewolf]]) and [[Zeena LaVey]] (once the spokesperson for the [[Church of Satan]] and later a priestess in the [[Temple of Set]]). During their first encounter the pair defended Satanism, while in 1997, during their second appearance, they defended [[Setianism]]. Larson debated the pair, and at times attempted to convert them without success.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bialik|first=Kristen|title=The Church of Satan Interviewed by Televangelist Bob Larson: Not the Conversation You Think It Is|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/network-awesome/church-of-satan-interviewed-by-televangelist-bob-larson_b_1543751.html|publisher=Huffington Post|access-date=26 July 2012|date=26 May 2012}}</ref>
| title = "The First Family of Satanism"
| location = Denver Colorado
| airdate = 1989
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Bialik|first=Kristen|title=The Church of Satan Interviewed by Televangelist Bob Larson: Not the Conversation You Think It Is|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/network-awesome/church-of-satan-interviewed-by-televangelist-bob-larson_b_1543751.html|publisher=Huffington Post|accessdate=26 July 2012|date=26 May 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Talk Back: First Family of Satanism|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WcKrdFHTds|publisher=YouTube|accessdate=26 July 2012|date=1989}}</ref><ref>{{Cite episode
| title = "Showdown with Satanism"
| location = Anchorage Alaska
| airdate = 1997
}}</ref>{{verify source|date=December 2011}}
Larson also debated, interviewed and challenged "[[Nazi]] [[Satanist]]" [[James Mason (neo-Nazi)|James Mason]] on his Talk-Back radio show <ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpG8SFT0N4A</ref>


== ''Talk Back'' ==
=== ''Talk Back'' ===
In 1982, Larson launched ''Talk Back'', a two-hour weekday call-in show geared mainly toward teenagers and frequently focused on teen-oriented topics such as [[role-playing game]]s and rock music. By this time Larson had come to embrace [[contemporary Christian music]], including styles such as [[Christian metal|heavy metal]] and [[Christian rap|rap]], and actively promoted the music and artists on his show.
In 1982, Larson launched ''Talk Back'', a two-hour weekday call-in show geared mainly toward [[teenagers]] and frequently focused on teen-oriented topics such as [[role-playing game]]s and [[rock music]]. By this time Larson had come to embrace [[contemporary Christian music]], including styles such as [[Christian metal|heavy metal]] and [[Christian rap|rap]], and actively promoted the music and artists on his show.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}


By the late 1980s, in what would come to define his later ministry, Larson was often heard performing [[exorcism]]s of callers on the air. The subjects of Satanism and [[Satanic ritual abuse]] were frequent topics of discussion. [[Death metal]] performer [[Glen Benton]] of [[Deicide (band)|Deicide]] became a regular caller, as did [[Bob Guccione Jr.]], eldest son of ''[[Penthouse (magazine)|Penthouse]]'' founder [[Bob Guccione]] and founder of the music magazine ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''. At one point during the 1980s, Guccione Jr. paid Larson to go on tour with American thrash metal band [[Slayer]] and write about it.<ref>{{cite web|title=Record Deal with the Devil|url=https://www.thisamericanlife.org/666/the-theme-that-shall-not-be-named/act-one-4|last=[https://www.thisamericanlife.org/archive?contributor=9155 Kelefa, Sanneh]|date=18 Jan 2019|website=[[This American Life]] podcast|accessdate=29 Jan 2019|language=en}}</ref>
By the late 1980s, in what would come to define his later ministry, Larson was often heard performing [[exorcism]]s of callers on the air. The subjects of [[Satanism]] and [[Satanic ritual abuse]] were frequent topics of discussion. [[Death metal]] performer [[Glen Benton]] of [[Deicide (band)|Deicide]] became a regular caller, as did [[Bob Guccione Jr.]], eldest son of ''[[Penthouse (magazine)|Penthouse]]'' founder [[Bob Guccione]] and founder of the music magazine ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''. At one point during the 1980s, Guccione Jr. paid Larson to go on tour with American [[thrash metal]] band [[Slayer]] and write about it.<ref>{{cite web|title=Record Deal with the Devil|url=https://www.thisamericanlife.org/666/the-theme-that-shall-not-be-named/act-one-4|last=Kelefa, Sanneh|date=18 Jan 2019|website=[[This American Life]] podcast|access-date=29 Jan 2019|language=en}}</ref>


Deicide frontman Glen Benton said of Larson: {{quote|Bob Larson is a fucking [[carny]]. He's a [[showman]], like myself. He does what he does for ratings and to sell his fucking [[Cult|cult-shit]] videotapes and his cassettes to you, the [[Consumerism|weak-minded fuck]]. Okay? [...] Bob Larson has actually admitted this shit it to me. Bob Larson and me are actually kind of friends [...] Bob Larson does what he does to make fucking money to support his prostitute habits.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzpBxFsZAjI | title=Glen Benton answers crowd questions at Deicide show 11 February 2009 at Jaxx in Springfield, VA | website=[[YouTube]] | date=12 February 2009 }}</ref>}}
⚫
Larson tried his hand at writing fiction: ''Dead Air'' (1991) was largely ghost-written by Lori Boespflug and Muriel Olson.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stollznow |first=Karen|authorlink=Karen Stollznow|date=2013 |title=God Bless America |publisher=[[Pitchstone Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-939578-00-6 |page=131}}</ref> His later novels ''Abaddon'' (1993) and ''The Senator's Agenda'' both linked Satanic ritual abuse to political corruption; the latter was largely written by Larson and his second wife. However, a former vice president of Bob Larson Ministries, Lori Boespflug, said that much of ''Dead Air'', though presented as Larson's work, is actually her own. Supporting these claims is a letter from Larson's lawyer that warns Larson of his "potential liability to Lori", anticipating that "the role Lori has played" would lead her to "demand recognition and/or profit participation" in respect to ''Dead Air'' and its sequels.<ref name="Cornerstone"/>


===Written works===
In 2004, Larson returned to the radio airwaves after a two-year absence with a daily talk show heard on a network of radio stations and simulcast and archived on the Internet.
⚫
Larson tried his hand at writing fiction. ''Dead Air'' (1991) was largely [[Ghostwriter|ghost-written]] by Lori Boespflug and Muriel Olson, according to [[Karen Stollznow]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Stollznow |first=Karen|author-link=Karen Stollznow|date=2013 |title=God Bless America |publisher=[[Pitchstone Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-939578-00-6 |page=131}}</ref> His later novels ''Abaddon'' (1993) and ''The Senator's Agenda'' (1995) both linked [[Satanic Ritual Abuse|Satanic ritual abuse]] to [[political corruption]]; the latter was largely written by Larson and his second wife. However, a former vice president of Bob Larson Ministries, Lori Boespflug, said that much of ''Dead Air'', though presented as Larson's work, is allegedly her own. Supporting these claims is a letter from Larson's lawyer that warns Larson of his "potential liability to Lori", anticipating that "the role Lori has played" would lead her to "demand recognition and/or profit participation" in respect to ''Dead Air'' and its sequels.<ref name="Cornerstone"/>

Today, Larson remains active. His ministry professes to offer an alternative counseling outlet to people who have problems with violence, self-mutilation, multiple personality disorders, Satanic ritual abuse, or molestation.


==Exorcism==
==Exorcism==
⚫
In 2013 ''[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]'' magazine taped a video of Larson's visit in several small towns in [[Ukraine]] where he performed [[exorcism]]s together with three young women – his 18-year-old daughter Brynne Larson and her friends Tess and Savannah Sherkenback (18 and 21 respectively, collectively known as "The Teenage Exorcists").<ref>{{cite web|author=Charlet Duboc|title=Teenage Exorcists|url=https://www.vice.com/en_uk/Fringes/teenage-exorcists-full-length|work=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]|access-date=3 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130803183855/http://www.vice.com/en_uk/Fringes/teenage-exorcists-full-length|archive-date=3 August 2013|url-status=dead|author-link=Charlet Duboc}}</ref> The Teenage Exorcists consequently published a reply to [[Vice Media]]'s video stating that they "question the journalistic integrity of this Vice Media story and are disappointed by how we were falsely portrayed."<ref>{{cite web|title=Teenage Exorcists Respond to Vice Media Report|url=http://myemail.constantcontact.com/TEENAGE-EXORCISTS-respond-to-VICE-MEDIA-report.html?soid=1101641219446&aid=TjPe54s5R9c|access-date=3 August 2013}}</ref>


⚫
{{Asof|2014}}, Larson offered to perform exorcisms over [[Skype]] (for a donation of $295).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gupta|first1=Prachi|title="The Daily Show's" Jessica Williams gets an exorcism via Skype|url=http://www.salon.com/2014/10/14/must_see_morning_clip_jessica_williams_gets_an_exorcism_via_skype/|website=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]|date=14 October 2014|access-date=14 October 2014}}</ref> His Skype exorcisms were featured in a segment on the [[Satire|satirical]] program ''[[The Daily Show]]'' in 2014, in which he told correspondent [[Jessica Williams (actress)|Jessica Williams]], "Skype is a great technology to stare down the [[Devil]], to go after him and to kick him back to [[hell]]." Later in the same segment, however, he indicated that "[[Twitter|tweet]]ing an exorcism would be ridiculous."<ref>{{cite web|title="The Daily Show's" Jessica Williams gets an exorcism via Skype|url=http://www.cc.com/shows/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart/cast/jessica-williams/pfgsc0/the-exorcist---skype-edition/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327144956/http://www.cc.com/shows/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart/cast/jessica-williams/pfgsc0/the-exorcist---skype-edition|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 27, 2018|publisher=[[Comedy Central]]|access-date=26 March 2018}}</ref>
⚫
In 2013 ''[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]'' magazine taped a video of Larson's visit in several small towns in [[Ukraine]] where he performed exorcisms together with three young women - his 18-year-old daughter Brynne Larson and her friends Tess and Savannah Sherkenback (18 and 21 respectively, collectively known as The Teenage Exorcists).<ref>{{cite web|author=Charlet Duboc|title=Teenage Exorcists|url=https://www.vice.com/en_uk/Fringes/teenage-exorcists-full-length|publisher=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]|accessdate=3 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130803183855/http://www.vice.com/en_uk/Fringes/teenage-exorcists-full-length|archive-date=3 August 2013|url-status=dead|author-link=Charlet Duboc}}</ref> The Teenage Exorcists consequently published a reply to Vice Media's video stating that they "question the journalistic integrity of this Vice Media story and are disappointed by how we were falsely portrayed."<ref>{{cite web|title=Teenage Exorcists Respond to Vice Media Report|url=http://myemail.constantcontact.com/TEENAGE-EXORCISTS-respond-to-VICE-MEDIA-report.html?soid=1101641219446&aid=TjPe54s5R9c|accessdate=3 August 2013}}</ref>

⚫
{{Asof|2014}} Larson offered to perform exorcisms over [[Skype]] (for a donation of $295).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gupta|first1=Prachi|title="The Daily Show's" Jessica Williams gets an exorcism via Skype|url=http://www.salon.com/2014/10/14/must_see_morning_clip_jessica_williams_gets_an_exorcism_via_skype/|website=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]|accessdate=14 October 2014}}</ref> His Skype exorcisms were featured in a segment on the satirical program ''[[The Daily Show]]'' in 2014, in which he told correspondent Jessica Williams, “Skype is a great technology to stare down the Devil, to go after him and to kick him back to hell.” Later in the same segment, however, he indicated that "[[Twitter|tweet]]ing an exorcism would be ridiculous."<ref>{{cite web|title="The Daily Show's" Jessica Williams gets an exorcism via Skype|url=http://www.cc.com/shows/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart/cast/jessica-williams/pfgsc0/the-exorcist---skype-edition/|website=[[Comedy Central]]|accessdate=26 March 2018}}</ref>


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==
*''Rock & Roll: The Devil's Diversion'' (Creation House, 1967)
*''Rock & Roll: The Devil's Diversion'' ([[Creation House]], 1967)
*''Hippies, Hindus, and Rock & Roll'' (Creation House, 1969)
*''Hippies, Hindus, and Rock & Roll'' (Creation House, 1969)
*''Rock & the Church'' (Creation House, 1971)
*''Rock & the Church'' (Creation House, 1971)
Line 60: Line 45:
*''Hell on Earth'' (Creation House, 1974) {{ISBN|0-88419-072-2}}
*''Hell on Earth'' (Creation House, 1974) {{ISBN|0-88419-072-2}}
*''Babylon Reborn'' (Creation House, 1976) {{ISBN|0-88419-006-4}}
*''Babylon Reborn'' (Creation House, 1976) {{ISBN|0-88419-006-4}}
*''Rock, Practical Help for Those Who Listen to the Words and Don't like What They Hear'' (Tyndale, 1980) {{ISBN|0-8423-5685-1}}
*''Rock, Practical Help for Those Who Listen to the Words and Don't like What They Hear'' ([[Tyndale House|Tyndale]], 1980) {{ISBN|0-8423-5685-1}}
*''Larson's Book of Cults'' (Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Ill, 1982) {{ISBN|0-8423-2104-7}}
*''Larson's Book of Cults'' (Tyndale, 1982) {{ISBN|0-8423-2104-7}}
*''Larson's Book of Family Issues'' (Tyndale, 1986) {{ISBN|0-8423-2459-3}}
*''Larson's Book of Family Issues'' (Tyndale, 1986) {{ISBN|0-8423-2459-3}}
*''Strange Cults in America'' (Tyndale, 1986) {{ISBN|0-8423-6675-X}}
*''Strange Cults in America'' (Tyndale, 1986) {{ISBN|0-8423-6675-X}}
*''Larson's Book of Rock'' (Tyndale, 1987) {{ISBN|0-8423-5687-8}}
*''Larson's Book of Rock'' (Tyndale, 1987) {{ISBN|0-8423-5687-8}}
*''Your Kids and Rock'' (Tyndale, 1988) {{ISBN|0-8423-8611-4}}
*''Your Kids and Rock'' (Tyndale, 1988) {{ISBN|0-8423-8611-4}}
*''Satanism: the Seduction of America's Youth'' (Lightning Source, 1989) {{ISBN|0-8407-3034-9}}
*''Satanism: the Seduction of America's Youth'' ([[Lightning Source]], 1989) {{ISBN|0-8407-3034-9}}
*''Straight Answers on the New Age'' (Thomas Nelson, 1989) {{ISBN|0-8407-3032-2}}
*''Straight Answers on the New Age'' ([[Thomas Nelson (publisher)|Thomas Nelson]], 1989) {{ISBN|0-8407-3032-2}}
*''Tough Talk About Tough Issues'' (Tyndale, 1989) {{ISBN|0-8423-7297-0}}
*''Tough Talk About Tough Issues'' (Tyndale, 1989) {{ISBN|0-8423-7297-0}}
*''Larson's New Book of Cults'' (Tyndale, 1989) {{ISBN|0-8423-2860-2}}
*''Larson's New Book of Cults'' (Tyndale, 1989) {{ISBN|0-8423-2860-2}}
Line 77: Line 62:
*''Extreme Evil: Kids Killing Kids'' (Nelson Reference, 1999) {{ISBN|0-7852-6870-7}}
*''Extreme Evil: Kids Killing Kids'' (Nelson Reference, 1999) {{ISBN|0-7852-6870-7}}
*''Larson's Book of Spiritual Warfare'' (Nelson, 1999) {{ISBN|0-7852-6985-1}}
*''Larson's Book of Spiritual Warfare'' (Nelson, 1999) {{ISBN|0-7852-6985-1}}
*''Shock Talk: The Exorcist Files'' (WestBow, 2001) {{ISBN|0-7852-7009-4}}
*''Shock Talk: The Exorcist Files'' ([[WestBow Press|WestBow]], 2001) {{ISBN|0-7852-7009-4}}


==References==
==References==
Line 89: Line 74:
*[http://www.equip.org/PDF/DD806.pdf The Devil is in the Details: An Examination of the Teachings of Bob Larson]
*[http://www.equip.org/PDF/DD806.pdf The Devil is in the Details: An Examination of the Teachings of Bob Larson]


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}{{Opposition to new religious movements}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Bob}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Bob}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:1944 births]]
⚫
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American television evangelists]]
[[Category:American television evangelists]]
[[Category:American television talk show hosts]]
[[Category:American television talk show hosts]]
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[[Category:People of the Christian countercult movement]]
[[Category:People of the Christian countercult movement]]
[[Category:American exorcists]]
[[Category:American exorcists]]
⚫
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Writers from Phoenix, Arizona]]
[[Category:Writers from Phoenix, Arizona]]
[[Category:Spiritual warfare]]
[[Category:Spiritual warfare]]

Latest revision as of 03:54, 7 September 2024

Bob Larson
Born (1944-05-28) May 28, 1944 (age 80)
Westwood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Evangelist, pastor
Websiteboblarson.org

Bob Larson (born May 28, 1944) is an American radio and television evangelist, and a pastor of Spiritual Freedom Church in Phoenix, Arizona. Larson has authored numerous books critical of rock music and Satanism.

Life and career

Larson was born in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, the son of Viola (née Baum) and Earl Larson.[1][2] He was raised in McCook, Nebraska.[1]

Larson plays guitar; he has claimed his early experiences as a musician led to his concerns about occult and destructive influences in rock music.[3] He would later incorporate his guitar playing into some of his sermons. In the 1960s, the focus of Larson's preaching centered mainly on the leftist political ideology, sexually suggestive lyrics, Eastern religious mysticism, and anti-social behavior of many of the era's rock musicians.

Debates with Satanists

During the late 1980s and into the 1990s, Larson repeatedly debated, interviewed, and confronted Satanists, during the period known as the Satanic panic. On two occasions he hosted Nikolas Schreck (a gothic rock musician and lead singer of Radio Werewolf) and Zeena LaVey (once the spokesperson for the Church of Satan and later a priestess in the Temple of Set). During their first encounter the pair defended Satanism, while in 1997, during their second appearance, they defended Setianism. Larson debated the pair, and at times attempted to convert them without success.[4]

Talk Back

In 1982, Larson launched Talk Back, a two-hour weekday call-in show geared mainly toward teenagers and frequently focused on teen-oriented topics such as role-playing games and rock music. By this time Larson had come to embrace contemporary Christian music, including styles such as heavy metal and rap, and actively promoted the music and artists on his show.[citation needed]

By the late 1980s, in what would come to define his later ministry, Larson was often heard performing exorcisms of callers on the air. The subjects of Satanism and Satanic ritual abuse were frequent topics of discussion. Death metal performer Glen Benton of Deicide became a regular caller, as did Bob Guccione Jr., eldest son of Penthouse founder Bob Guccione and founder of the music magazine Spin. At one point during the 1980s, Guccione Jr. paid Larson to go on tour with American thrash metal band Slayer and write about it.[5]

Deicide frontman Glen Benton said of Larson:

Bob Larson is a fucking carny. He's a showman, like myself. He does what he does for ratings and to sell his fucking cult-shit videotapes and his cassettes to you, the weak-minded fuck. Okay? [...] Bob Larson has actually admitted this shit it to me. Bob Larson and me are actually kind of friends [...] Bob Larson does what he does to make fucking money to support his prostitute habits.[6]

Written works

Larson tried his hand at writing fiction. Dead Air (1991) was largely ghost-written by Lori Boespflug and Muriel Olson, according to Karen Stollznow.[7] His later novels Abaddon (1993) and The Senator's Agenda (1995) both linked Satanic ritual abuse to political corruption; the latter was largely written by Larson and his second wife. However, a former vice president of Bob Larson Ministries, Lori Boespflug, said that much of Dead Air, though presented as Larson's work, is allegedly her own. Supporting these claims is a letter from Larson's lawyer that warns Larson of his "potential liability to Lori", anticipating that "the role Lori has played" would lead her to "demand recognition and/or profit participation" in respect to Dead Air and its sequels.[3]

Exorcism

In 2013 Vice magazine taped a video of Larson's visit in several small towns in Ukraine where he performed exorcisms together with three young women – his 18-year-old daughter Brynne Larson and her friends Tess and Savannah Sherkenback (18 and 21 respectively, collectively known as "The Teenage Exorcists").[8] The Teenage Exorcists consequently published a reply to Vice Media's video stating that they "question the journalistic integrity of this Vice Media story and are disappointed by how we were falsely portrayed."[9]

As of 2014, Larson offered to perform exorcisms over Skype (for a donation of $295).[10] His Skype exorcisms were featured in a segment on the satirical program The Daily Show in 2014, in which he told correspondent Jessica Williams, "Skype is a great technology to stare down the Devil, to go after him and to kick him back to hell." Later in the same segment, however, he indicated that "tweeting an exorcism would be ridiculous."[11]

Bibliography

  • Rock & Roll: The Devil's Diversion (Creation House, 1967)
  • Hippies, Hindus, and Rock & Roll (Creation House, 1969)
  • Rock & the Church (Creation House, 1971)
  • The Day Music Died (Creation House, 1972) ISBN 0-88419-030-7
  • Hell on Earth (Creation House, 1974) ISBN 0-88419-072-2
  • Babylon Reborn (Creation House, 1976) ISBN 0-88419-006-4
  • Rock, Practical Help for Those Who Listen to the Words and Don't like What They Hear (Tyndale, 1980) ISBN 0-8423-5685-1
  • Larson's Book of Cults (Tyndale, 1982) ISBN 0-8423-2104-7
  • Larson's Book of Family Issues (Tyndale, 1986) ISBN 0-8423-2459-3
  • Strange Cults in America (Tyndale, 1986) ISBN 0-8423-6675-X
  • Larson's Book of Rock (Tyndale, 1987) ISBN 0-8423-5687-8
  • Your Kids and Rock (Tyndale, 1988) ISBN 0-8423-8611-4
  • Satanism: the Seduction of America's Youth (Lightning Source, 1989) ISBN 0-8407-3034-9
  • Straight Answers on the New Age (Thomas Nelson, 1989) ISBN 0-8407-3032-2
  • Tough Talk About Tough Issues (Tyndale, 1989) ISBN 0-8423-7297-0
  • Larson's New Book of Cults (Tyndale, 1989) ISBN 0-8423-2860-2
  • Dead Air: A Novel (Thomas Nelson, 1991) ISBN 0-8407-7638-1
  • Abaddon: A Novel (Thomas Nelson, 1993) ISBN 0-8407-7796-5
  • The Senator's Agenda (Thomas Nelson, 1995) ISBN 0-7852-7879-6
  • In The Name of Satan: How the Forces of Evil Work and What You Can Do to Defeat Them (Thomas Nelson, 1996) ISBN 0-7852-7881-8
  • UFO's and the Alien Agenda (Thomas Nelson, 1997) ISBN 0-7852-7182-1
  • Extreme Evil: Kids Killing Kids (Nelson Reference, 1999) ISBN 0-7852-6870-7
  • Larson's Book of Spiritual Warfare (Nelson, 1999) ISBN 0-7852-6985-1
  • Shock Talk: The Exorcist Files (WestBow, 2001) ISBN 0-7852-7009-4

References

  1. ^ a b Melton, J. Gordon (1999). Religious leaders of America: a biographical guide to founders and leaders of religious bodies, churches, and spiritual groups in North America. Gale Research. p. 321. ISBN 0-8103-8878-2.
  2. ^ "Personals". McCook Daily Gazette. 1998-01-13. p. 4. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  3. ^ a b Jon Trott (1993). "Bob Larson's Ministry Under Scrutiny". Cornerstone. 21 (100): 18, 37, 41–42. ISSN 0275-2743. Archived from the original on 2006-06-10. Retrieved 2006-06-08.
  4. ^ Bialik, Kristen (26 May 2012). "The Church of Satan Interviewed by Televangelist Bob Larson: Not the Conversation You Think It Is". Huffington Post. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  5. ^ Kelefa, Sanneh (18 Jan 2019). "Record Deal with the Devil". This American Life podcast. Retrieved 29 Jan 2019.
  6. ^ "Glen Benton answers crowd questions at Deicide show 11 February 2009 at Jaxx in Springfield, VA". YouTube. 12 February 2009.
  7. ^ Stollznow, Karen (2013). God Bless America. Pitchstone Publishing. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-939578-00-6.
  8. ^ Charlet Duboc. "Teenage Exorcists". Vice. Archived from the original on 3 August 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  9. ^ "Teenage Exorcists Respond to Vice Media Report". Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  10. ^ Gupta, Prachi (14 October 2014). ""The Daily Show's" Jessica Williams gets an exorcism via Skype". Salon. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  11. ^ ""The Daily Show's" Jessica Williams gets an exorcism via Skype". Comedy Central. Archived from the original on March 27, 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
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