In 1913, Charles Russell, a restorationist minister from Pittsburgh, was accused of bilking his followers on grain sales. Russell, it seemed, had been charging his flock exorbitant rates for a “Miracle Wheat” that, on further inspection, was not all that different from regular wheat. The scandal, according to a newspaper editorial at the time, proved “that ‘Pastor’ Russell’s religious cult is nothing more than a money-making scheme.”
Although Russell’s followers (now known as Jehovah’s Witnesses) still maintain his innocence, the scheme has become familiar, repeated countless times over the past century by a steady parade of religious hucksters, snake-oil salesmen, and bronzed televangelists looking to make a quick buck off of Bible Thumpers. The scams have gotten more sophisticated over the years—from the fake revelations of revivalist preacher Peter Popoff, to the 80s excess and false lashes of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, to Greater Ministries International’s antigovernment pyramid scheme—but the basic idea remains the same: Praise God, promise miracles, and when all eyes are turned up to Him, rob the whole flock blind.
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