Religion: Heresy on The Airwaves

Avarice, arrogance, sleaze, fraud, carnal sin. Various American televangelists have already been accused of almost every imaginable transgression. What more could media-star ministers possibly be charged with? Answer: sloppy theology. That is precisely the theme of a new anthology, The Agony of Deceit, published by Chicago's fundamentalistic Moody Bible Institute (284 pages; $12.95). The book's twelve contributors (including former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, who criticizes faith healing) have scoured books and sermon tapes and found the TV preachers guilty of egregious doctrinal heresy.

Among the more prominent evangelists coming under attack are Robert Schuller (Hour of Power) and Pat...