This Week in Christian History: Saladin, Jim Bakker, and a Martyred Bible Translator

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Twitter

Jim Bakker Arrested – Oct. 4, 1988

Televangelist Jim Bakker on an episode of 'The Jim Bakker Show' that aired in November of 2015.
Televangelist Jim Bakker on an episode of "The Jim Bakker Show" that aired in November of 2015. | (Photo: Screengrab/YouTube/RWW Blog)

This week marks the anniversary of when televangelist and head of Praise the Lord Ministries Jim Bakker was arrested on various fraud charges.

In the 1980s, Bakker and his first wife, Tammy Faye, created a major televangelist empire that included not only his television ministry but also a popular Christian theme park called Heritage USA.

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"Although the evidence was not particularly strong, Jim Bakker was convicted in 1989 and sentenced to 45 years in prison," noted History.com.

"The sentence was later reduced to eight years, and he was released in 1994. Tammy Faye divorced Bakker while he was in prison; she died in 2007."

Following his prison sentence, Bakker released a book titled I Was Wrong, which documented his experiences and eventual recognition of his errors.

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