Let Us Prey: The Public Trial of Jimmy Swaggart [Hardcover]

Hunter Lundy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1885478704 | ISBN-13: 978-1885478702 | Publication Date: January 1, 1999 | Edition: 1st

The shocking true story of the downfall of Jimmy Swaggart.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

In retrospect, it was inevitable that two men such as Jimmy Swaggart and Marvin Gorman could not coexist in such close proximity to one another. They were both evangelists within the same denomination who commanded the loyalty and admiration of their respective followers. They both had burgeoning ministries, one already spanning the globe, the other with aspirations of a world-wide ministry. The only question was which of these men of God would initiate the battle for dominance and reveal himself not as a minister of grace, but as a prophet of prey.

LET US PREY will take you behind the scenes of the battle that began in the ecclesiastical courts of one of the largest Protestant denominations in America, moved to the civil courts of the State of Louisiana, and culminated in one of the most publicized and controversial episodes in the history of the modern Church. From a scripted "exorcism" which revealed Marvin Gorman as a demon from hell, to Swaggarts's systematic campaign within the Assemblies of God to portray Gorman as a habitual adulterer, and finally to Gorman's $90,000,000 defamation suit against Swaggart, the truth about Jimmy Swaggart's lust for power and wealth, his penchant for prostitutes and strippers, his voyeurism and pedophilic tendencies, are all revealed for the first time.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 294 pages
• Publisher: Genesis Press; 1st edition (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885478704
• ISBN-13: 978-1885478702
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,189,826 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a necessary book., March 3, 1999

By 

Trisha E. Lisk (Hemet, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Let Us Prey: The Public Trial of Jimmy Swaggart (Hardcover)

All over America it is primarily the poor, the elderly, and the female of the species who fall prey to the abuses of spiritual power, so this is a story, ugly and sorrowful as it is (and it is a great deal of both those things) that desperately needs telling, and I can't imagine anyone able to tell it better than Hunter Lundy has. In ordinary-people narrative, Lundy has stripped the volumes of legalese of this lawsuit of their ability to confuse and bore, and made this a story for the people, the same masses for whom Swaggart's sermons were intended. It is as necessary to expose abuses of power in high places as Christianity says it is to forgive and love the perpetrators of those abuses. Forgiving and loving them, however, does not happen overnight, nor does it mean that they should continue to be in trusted positions of power and leadership. This book will bring light and truth to many a person who thought more highly of Jimmy Swaggart than they had ought to have, hopefully including Jimmy Swaggart. To see Jimmy with more light means that we must also see ourselves with more light. God calls us to worship Him, not our pastors. I recommend this book without reservation to every person who ever believed what Swaggart said, and sent him their hard-earned dollars.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning, February 7, 2003

By 

Lyn G Wilson (Dallas, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Let Us Prey: The Public Trial of Jimmy Swaggart (Hardcover)

I read a lot of books over long periods of time. This book, though, was so good that I ignored my other responsibilities so I could finish it.

Boy, what an incredible story. As a 46-year-old man raised in the Assemblies of God (and still loves it), I can verify that his description of A/G churches is often true. The book is funny, compelling, and very easy to read. I've read perhaps 100 books in the last five years, and this one would go in my top 10.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening, except..., January 1, 2006

By 

Gayle - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Let Us Prey: The Public Trial of Jimmy Swaggart (Hardcover)

Really a super book that sheds light on not only the Swaggart/Gorman issue but on the ongoing danger of idolizing ministers. My "except" refers to some misinformation Lundy gives, misinformation that could have been avoided by better research (or even by talking with someone knowledgeable about the Bakker debacle). For instance, Lundy says Bakker was Hahn's employer. Not so. There are other inaccuracies in his account of that day (pages 74...) Later, writing about Jim Jones, Lundy says the mass "suicide" happened in Georgetown. Nope. Anyway... still a good book, but one wonders if there are other inaccuracies.