Barry Duke, the Angry Atheist

VIEWERS of The John Ankerberg Show, run by Ankerberg, above, and his wife Darlene, were exhorted to donate $500 to provide a doohickey called the Proclaimer, “inspired by God” to take its message in multiple languages around the world.

The Ankerbergs, according to a whistleblower, regarded the device as “a huge cash cow” and became ministry’s “largest revenue stream.”

Andrew Jaeger, a former director of donor relations at the Ankerberg Theological Research Institute, told The Chattanooga Times Free Press the Ankerbergs’ show was misleading well-meaning Christians, many of whom were older adults.

In one fundraising segment, John Ankerberg asked viewers to give $500 for one audio Bible device, which they were told would bring 90 people to Christ.

Viewers were not told that the device was being being sold by Faith Comes By Hearing at a cost of just $75 per unit. Some outlets sell it for as little as $33.98.

Jaeger said since summer 2019, more than $15 million has been donated to the institute as part of its audio Bible campaign. He estimated about 15 percent of this went to Faith Comes By Hearing and the ministry kept millions for itself.

The money, he said, was mostly diverted to other, often luxurious purposes for the prominent Chattanooga-based ministry, including unnecessary private jet rides that went unreported to the IRS.

Christianity Today reported earlier this month that the Ankerberg’s ministry has now been ejected from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) for insufficient oversight and dishonest fundraising.

It failed to meet three ECFA standards, according to an ECFA investigation. The ministry reportedly did not have an independent board, did not have adequate internal controls, and did not truthfully represent the intended use of the funds it raised.

Prayer and fasting brought the Proclaimer into the world

According to Faith Comes By Hearing’s website:

In 2000, we found that cassette tapes were not practical for the millions of people around the world without electricity. Faith Comes By Hearing saw a need for a new, solar-powered player restricting no one from God’s Word in audio.

This new machine would have to be a dedicated playback unit—it would play God’s Word and nothing else. But while this new gadget seemed incredible on paper, the ministry struggled with how to produce such a complex device.

A local pastor the contacted the outfit’s President, Jerry Jackson, and suggested three days of fasting and prayer.

God responded by inspiring an employee named Mike Jayne, a former electrical engineer.

After much experimenting, Mike walked into Jerry’s office with a prototype of the Proclaimer. Jerry cried tears of joy as he listened to the Proclaimer speak God’s Word. The ministry’s prayers had been answered!

God, of course, had bugger all to do with this gizmo. It came to fruition through human ingenuity which could easily have been created for something actually worthwhile.

The invention of something that “would play God’s Word and nothing else” reveals that its sole purpose is to fill people’s heads with superstitious claptrap. I sure hope that secular groups latch on to devices such as these to further people’s education and teach them the value of critical thinking.

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