Oral Roberts was a Pentecostal evangelist and televangelist in the United States. He was one of the earliest proponents of the “prosperity gospel,” a theology that teaches God desires temporal happiness and security for his faithful and rewards their devotion and generous tithing or donations with wealth and other benefits.
Roberts was born in Ada, Oklahoma, on January 24, 1918. As a teen, he endured a near-fatal case of tυberculosis and grew up in poverty. In 1935, he experienced a conversion that led him to believe he was miraculously healed. He married Evelyn Lutman Fahnestock, the daughter of a preacher, three years later.
In 1947, Roberts initiated radio broadcasts of his revivals. He began airing his revivals on television in 1954. His television ministry, “The Abundant Life,” became one of the most popular in the world very rapidly.
Roberts established Oral Roberts University (ORU) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1963. ORU is a well-known private Christian university that emphasizes the Holy Spirit and healing.
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Roberts was a figure of controversy throughout his career. His prosperity gospel teachings and fundraising techniques were criticized. He is also credited with assisting to popularize the charismatic movement in the United States as a popular and influential figure.
Roberts was married to Evelyn Lutman Fahnestock (1917-2005) for 66 years, from December 25, 1938, until her deἀth due to an accἰdent on May 4, 2005, at the age of 88. On February 11, 1977, their daughter Rebecca Nash and her spouse, businessman Marshall Nash, dἰed in a plane crἀsh.
Ronald Roberts, their eldest son, committed suἰcide on June 10, 1982, five months after receiving a court order to endure drug treatment center counseling and six months after coming out as gἀy. Son Richard, an evangelist and former chancellor of Oral Roberts University, and daughter Roberta Potts, an attorney, are the other two Roberts children.
Roberts pἀssed away on December 15, 2009, due to complications from pneumonia at the age of 91. He was “semi-retired” and resided in Newport Beach, California. It was the same cemetery where T. L. Osborn would be laid to rest nearly four years later.
The legacy of Oral Roberts is complex and controversial. He was well-known and influential, but also a controversial figure. Some have criticized his teachings on the prosperity gospel, while others have embraced them. His legacy will be discussed for many years to come.
