Jimmy Swaggart (born March 15, 1935) was a popular televangelist in the 1980s and a pioneer in that medium.

He was born in Ferriday, Louisiana, cousin of rock and roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis and country musician Mickey Gilley , all three of which played the piano.

On February 21, 1988, on his television show taped in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Swaggart confessed that he was guilty of an unspecified sin and would be temporarily leaving the pulpit. The "unspecified sin" was an affair with a prostitute.

Some time later, he was stopped for speeding. In the car with him was another prostitute. Soon after, he was told to leave the church he pastored, but he did not do so. Swaggart kept his church and began preaching again years later.

Now he has "made his life right with God" and preaches a message called "the Cross" which says that the only way to Heaven is through the death of Jesus. He opposes such movements as "G12 Vision" and "Purpose Driven Life ."

Controversal comments

In mid-September 2004, Swaggart, in a politically charged sermon, said that he would kill gay men:

"I'm trying to find the correct name for it … this utter absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men. … I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm gonna be blunt and plain; if one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died." [1]

Gay rights groups quickly demanded that other right-wing religious leaders at the service, including James Dobson and Tony Perkins , repudiate his comment.

http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/religion/televangelists/jimmy-swaggart/ (Rotten.com's take on Jimmy Swaggart's controversial career)