Tammy Faye Baker

It was announced Sat that Tammy Faye Bakker Messner passed away Friday from lung cancer. She will always be remembered for her thick applications of make-up, her readily flowing tears & the entire PTL scandal. I will admit that I did watch the PTL show. I didn't always like how they handled things. But, I also knew that a lot of that was a result of their penticostal/charismatic background. & unlike a lot of others evangelicals, they were open & welcoming to Catholics without treating us like were were going to hell. Mother Angelica & Maria von Trapp were among the Catholics they openly welcomed. I was greatly disappointed when all the scandals broke.

What was shocking was to see the video of her last appearance on Larry King Live on 19 July 2007. She was still her joyful, upbeat self despite the ravages of cancer.

While not surprizing, what has amazed me is the vitriol that some people who claim to be Christian have spewed out at her after her death. Yes, her & her husband did much that was wrong & hurt a lot of people. Yes, they did a lot of spiritual damage to many of those who watched & supported their show. She has claimed to have made her peace with God for all the wrongs she was a part of. I cannot judge her. I prefer to leave her fate in God's hands & follow the Catholic tradition of not condemning her to Hell like so many others have. I leave her to God's mercy.

Here is a part of that final interview. I am posting it to let you make up your own mind. HOWEVER, I wish to make it clear that I WILL NOT post any comments that are hateful. As I already said, I leave her judgement where it belongs, in God's hands.

Someone did a short video entitled Cancer Sucks that captures the damage the cancer did to her. Like her or not, it captures the horror that cancer is by a simple comparison of her before & at the end.