Richard Roberts, the president of Oral Roberts University, whose father founded the Christian institution
in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has temporarily stepped down in the wake of a major scandal.
An Oct. 2 lawsuit filed by three former ORU professors says they were wrongfully dismissed and accuses Roberts of misspending at donors' expense, including numerous home remodels and a senior trip to the Bahamas for one daughter on the ministry's dime. [Link]
You have to give him a break. He has read the Ten Commandments and not one of them says: "Thou shalt not use other people's money to send your daughter to the Bahamas."
The more detailed account alleges Richard Roberts' wife, Lindsay, spent the night in the ORU guest house with an underage male "on nine separate occasions," and was photographed 29 times with an underage male in her sports car, among other allegations. [Link]
Oh, come on. She was just giving him a ride to class, as any kindhearted woman would. The nights in the guest house were also signs of her kindness: she was helping him with some cramming.
The elder Roberts founded the school, known for its 60-foot-tall bronze sculpture of praying hands, in 1963. He famously told viewers in 1987 that God told him to raise $8 million for the university or he would be "called home."
The week the lawsuit was filed, Richard Roberts said at a chapel service that God told him to deny the allegations. He said God told him: "We live in a litigious society. Anyone can get mad and file a lawsuit against another person whether they have a legitimate case or not. This lawsuit ... is about intimidation, blackmail and extortion." [Link]
If God speaks to them, who are we to judge? God knows best, after all. If he tells you to build a luxurious home with other people's money, would you say, "No, God, I can't do it." No, you would say: "Thank you so much, God. Do you mind if I also send my daughter to the Bahamas?"
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