In the 1980s, the media gave them the name "televangelists." These were men (and a few women) who preached a "prosperity gospel," which claimed that God would reward donors who gave money to their "ministries."

Jim Bakker, who died Monday at age 86, was among the most successful of the group, if your standard for success is money and fame. Bakker spent four and a half years in prison after being convicted in 1989 of defrauding followers in a scheme involving holidays at his Heritage USA Christian theme park and resort.

I opposed his imprisonment, recommending the biblical standard of restitution. Putting him in prison, I said, did not help the people who had been defrauded. He wrote me a letter from his prison cell, thanking me.

When Bakker was released from prison, I invited him to my home. I had met him on a few occasions and appeared once on his "PTL" TV show. "PTL" stood for "Praise the Lord," or "People That Love," which he used interchangeably. Bakker "loved" in an........

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