Billy James Hargis (August 3, 1925, Texarkana, Texas - November 29, 2004, Tulsa, Oklahoma) was a far-right-wing Protestant Christian evangelist who, it could be argued, was one of the founding fathers of the Christian Right. At the height of his popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, his Christian Crusade ministry had shows on more than 500 radio stations and 250 television stations. He was disgraced after accusations of sexual misconduct by young adults in his organization. August 3 is the 215th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (216th in leap years), with 150 days remaining. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The famous post office on state line in Texarkana TX/AR Texarkana is a city located in Bowie County, Texas and is situated in East Texas. ... November 29 is the 333rd (in leap years the 334th) day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Oil Capital of the World, Americas Most Beautiful City Location in the state of Oklahoma Coordinates: Country United States State Oklahoma Counties Tulsa, Osage, Wagoner, Rogers Mayor Kathy Taylor (D) Area    - City 483. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Evangelism is the proclaiming of the Christian Gospel. ... The Christian right is a term collectively referring to a spectrum of right-wing Christian political and social movements and organizations characterized by their strong support of social values they deem in line with traditional Christian values in western countries. ... The 1950s was the decade spanning from the 1st of January, 1950 to the 31st December, 1959. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ...

Hargis preached continually on the evils of sex education, Communism and liberalism, and urged the return of prayer and Bible reading to public schools long before the modern Religious Right. He often accused the government, media and pop culture figures---among whom he included the Beatles---of promoting Communism. (A subordinate, Rev. David Noebel, was the author of the 1965 work Communism, Hypnotism and the Beatles, which he expanded into Rhythym, Riots and Revolution the following year. Both books were published by Christian Crusade.) Sex education is a broad term used to describe education about human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, and other aspects of human sexual behavior. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. ... Mary Magdalene in prayer. ... For other uses, see Bible (disambiguation). ... The term public school has different (and in some cases contradictory) meanings due to regional differences. ... The Beatles were a highly influential English rock n roll band from Liverpool. ...

He publicly alleged that John F. Kennedy was killed by a Communist conspiracy, which brought him a good deal of notoriety in the immediate post-assassination media furor. Hargis was also a member of the John Birch Society, and made his pro-segregation stance clear, once accusing Martin Luther King Jr. of being a Communist-educated traitor and publishing James D. Bales's anti-King book The Martin Luther King Story. He often urged his listeners to take action by writing their Congressmen and Senators, and was one of the first fundamentalist Christian personalities to urge his audiences to become politically involved - a tactic that was not lost on his successors. For other persons named John Kennedy, see John Kennedy (disambiguation). ... The John Birch Society is an Americanist organization founded in 1958 to fight what it saw as growing threats to the Constitution of the United States especially a perceived communist infiltration and to support free enterprise. ... The Rex Theatre for Colored People, Leland, Mississippi, June 1937 Racial segregation is creamy jizz of different races in daily life when both are doing equal tasks, such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a rest room, attending school, going to the movies, or in... Martin Luther King, Jr. ... Fundamentalist Christianity is a fundamentalist movement, especially within American Protestantism. ...

Hargis targeted rural audiences with his pulpit-pounding, thunderous messages, and was not averse to engaging in publicity stunts such as his 1953 scheme to release 100,000 balloons, with Biblical quotations attached to them, across the Iron Curtain into Communist countries. He was the author of at least 100 books, including The Far Left, and Why I Fight for a Christian America. In addition, his organization published an extremely influential pamphlet on sex education entitled Is the Classroom the Proper Place to Teach Raw Sex? by Gordon V. Drake, who worked very closely with him on his educational mission. 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Balloons, like greeting cards or flowers, are given for special occasions. ... Countries to the east of the Iron Curtain are shaded red; those to the west of it — blue. ...

Hargis founded Christian Crusade in 1950, an interdenominational movement designed as a "Christian weapon against Communism and its godless allies." As a result, Hargis ran into trouble with the Internal Revenue Service, who removed his tax-exempt status, citing Hargis' involvement in political matters. 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the United States government agency that collects taxes and enforces the internal revenue laws. ...

He also founded the David Livingstone Missionary Foundation, which operated hospitals, orphanages, leprosy villages, medical vans and mission services in South Korea, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines and Africa. Direct mail entrepreneur Richard Viguerie began his career working for Hargis. David Livingstone (19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish medical missionary and explorer in central Africa. ... A physician visiting the sick in a hospital. ... An orphanage (historically an orphans asylum before the latter word took on its modern insane asylum connotation) is an institution dedicated to caring for orphans (children who have lost their parents) and abused, abandoned, and neglected children. ... Leprosy, also known as Hansens disease,[1] is an infectious disease caused by a DNA plasmid (transposon, or ultravirus, a small circle of DNA) carried in Hansens bacillus (the Mycobacterium leprae bacterium) which is thus the vector. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

Hargis was unintentionally also partly responsible for the existence of the Fairness Doctrine. In 1964, Hargis, who was a staunch supporter of Barry Goldwater in that year's presidential race, made false statements about a journalist who was critical of Goldwater. The journalist asked for air time in order to give his rebuttal to Hargis' statements, and the broadcaster refused. The journalist took his case to court, and eventually the case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. The high court upheld the equal-time allowance in Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC (1969), codifying what became known as the Fairness Doctrine in American broadcasting. The Fairness Doctrine is a former policy of the United Statess Federal Communications Commission. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Barry Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–87) and the Republican Partys nominee for President in the 1964 election. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... Holding The First Amendment permits federal agency to formulate rules to allow persons defamed or potentially defamed access to equal time to respond and fairness standard for editorial speech by broadcast radio stations. ... The Fairness Doctrine is a former policy of the United Statess Federal Communications Commission. ...

Hargis formed American Christian College in 1971 in order to teach fundamentalist Christian principles. However, a sex scandal involving claims by two of his students (who, on their honeymoon, confessed to each other that they were not virgins, and then found they had lost their virginity to the same person - Billy James Hargis.) That more or less ended his career. Hargis was forced out of American Christian College's presidency as a result. Further scandals erupted when members of Hargis' youth choir, the "All American Kids," accused Hargis of sexual misconduct as well. The college eventually closed down in the mid-1970s. 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... In Roman times, Vestal Virgins were strictly celibate or they were punished by death. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ...

Hargis always denied the allegations.

Hargis retreated to Neosho, Missouri, where he continued to work, issuing daily and weekly radio broadcasts and a monthly newspaper, The Christian Crusade Newspaper, as well as authoring a number of books. He suffered from Alzheimer's Disease in his final years, and died at age 79 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His son, Billy James Hargis II, continues his ministry. Neosho is a city located in Newton County, Missouri. ... Alzheimers disease (AD) or senile dementia of Alzheimers type is a neurodegenerative disease which results in a loss of mental functions due to the deterioration of brain tissue. ...

External links

• Economist obituary
• http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKhargis.htm