Reverend Ike

One day years ago, I was tickled to pass by a Loew's cinema on Broadway at 176th Street which had been converted into a church, the Palace Cathedral of the United Christian Evangelistic Association, led by someone called 'Reverend Ike'.

Charmingly, the big sign above the gaudy, gold-leafed entrance stated:

I never did make it back for a service. Nor did I give much thought over the years to who Rev. Ike was, though I passed the same spot often (was I smiling? Of course).

And so, it has come to pass, that at the age of 74, Reverend Ike has passed. Who was Reverend Ike?

The Rev. Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II (left) was an early practitioner of the televangelistic arts, preaching what is now known as a prosperity Gospel*. He believed there was nothing wrong with earthly riches, and that to strive for material well-being was to fulfill God's will for true Christians, and that to be rich was proof of God's blessing: got it, flaunt it.

And he certainly flaunted it, with gold-trimmed Rolls Royces ("my garages runneth over"), outrageously expensive suits and jewelry, and all sorts of everybling. As he put it, quoting from a sermon in the 1970s:

Close your eyes and see green... money up to your armpits, a roomful of money, and there you are, just tossing around in it like a swimming pool.

And so Reverend Ike has gone to swim for all Eternity in that great big ocean of Benjamins in the sky. Though he had his critics, he reached a peak audience on television of 2.5 million in the 1970s.

The test of someones theory or belief, it is commonly said, is "to put your money where your mouth is." And it's comforting to think that Reverend Ike won't have had trouble seeking admission at the Pearly Gates:

"If it's that difficult for a rich man to get into heaven," he would often say, citing Matthew's Gospel, "think how terrible it must be for a poor man to get in. He doesn't even have a bribe for the gatekeeper."

Some of his most dedicated followers included some truly hardened souls, those people from the IRS.

* Note: though it sounds crass, there is more to Prosperity Theology than at first glance. Serious theological study and biblical exegesis underpins it -- if you believe that sort of thing.