Marjoe Gortner – Self Confessed Lying Money Hungry Preacher
October 29, 2008 by A Watchman
Marjoe Gortner – Self Confessed Lying Money Hungry Preacher
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:3
‘Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit’. – Well PAUL WAS WRONG
Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner, generally known as Marjoe Gortner (born January 14, 1944 in Long Beach, California), is a former evangelical minister who first gained a certain fame in the late 1940s and early to mid 1950s when he became the youngest ordained preacher at the age of four, and then outright notoriety in the 1970s when he starred in an Oscar-winning, behind-the-scenes documentary about the lucrative business of Pentecostal preaching. The name “Marjoe” is a combination of the names “Mary” and “Joseph”.
When Marjoe was three, his father, a second generation evangelical minister, noticed his son’s talent for mimicry and overall fearlessness of strangers and public settings. His parents claimed Marjoe had received a vision from God during a bath and began training him to deliver sermons, complete with dramatic gestures and emphatic lunges. By the time Marjoe was four, his parents arranged for him to perform a marriage ceremony for a film crew from Paramount studios, referring to him as “the youngest ordained minister in history.” Like much in Marjoe’s early life it is hard to say for sure who exactly ordained him, if his father ordained him, or if he was even ordained at all.
Until the time he was a teenager, Marjoe and his parents traveled the rural United States, holding revival meetings. As well as teaching him scriptural passages, Marjoe’s parents also taught him several money-making tactics, involving the sale of supposedly “holy” articles at revivals which promised to heal the sick and dying. By the time Marjoe was sixteen, he later estimated, his family had amassed maybe three million dollars; shortly after his sixteenth birthday, Marjoe’s father absconded with the money, and a disillusioned Marjoe left his mother for San Francisco, where he was taken in by and became the lover of an older woman. Marjoe spent the remainder of his teenage years as an itinerant hippie until his early twenties, when, hard pressed for money, he decided to put his old skills to work and re-emerged on the evangelical circuit with a charismatic stage-show modeled after those of contemporary rockers, most notably Mick Jagger. Marjoe made enough to take six months off every year, during which he returned to California, surviving on the previous six months’ earnings.
In the late 1960s, Marjoe suffered a crisis of conscience — in particular about the threats of damnation he felt compelled to weave into his sermons — and resolved to make one final tour, this time on film. Under the pretense of making a documentary on the evangelical and non-denominational faiths, Marjoe assembled a documentary film crew to follow him around the Southern United States during 1971; unbeknownst to everyone else involved — including, at one point, his father — Marjoe gave “backstage” interviews to the filmmakers in between sermons and revivals, explaining intimate details of how he and other ministers operated. After sermons, the filmmakers were invited back to Marjoe’s hotel room to tape him counting the money he collected during the day. The resulting film, Marjoe, won the 1972 Academy Award for best documentary.
After leaving the revival circuit, Gortner then attempted to break into both Hollywood and the recording industry. He cut an LP with Columbia Records, entitled “Bad, but not Evil” (Gortner’s description of himself in the documentary), which met with poor sales and reviews. Gortner began his acting career with a featured role in The Marcus-Nelson Murders, the 1973 pilot for the Kojak tv-series. The following year saw him featured in the disaster film Earthquake as a psychotic National Guardsman, and in the television movie Pray for the Wildcats.
During the late 1970s, Marjoe attempted to self-finance another film, this time a pseudo-fictional drama about an evangelist con-man and based in part on his real-life experiences. The film started shooting in New Orleans, Louisiana, but went bankrupt less than 6-weeks into production. The film was never completed.
Gortner was married briefly to Candy Clark, from 1978-1979.
Gortner’s most memorable film performance was as the psychopathic, hostage-taking drug dealer in Milton Katselas’s 1979 screen adaptation of Mark Medoff’s play When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder?, also starring Peter Firth, Lee Grant, and Hal Linden.
Gortner reappeared a few years later, starring in several B-movies such as Starcrash and hosting an early-1980s reality TV series called Speak Up America before ending his movie career in 1995. Today he sponsors charity golf tournaments and other events.
His most recent film appearance was in the 1995 feature Wild Bill, where he played, appropriately enough, a preacher.
Ezekiel 13:3 – “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits the false prophets who are following their own imaginations and have seen nothing at all.”
Matthew 7:21-23
21″Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
22″Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
23″And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
Do not forget: Marjoe did not only confess his insincerity and the use of preaching as a solely money-making venture, but he also demonstrated how this was common practice throughout the tent revival culture, and showed just how greedy, insincere, and fake the others were as well. Let this be a lesson to all that giving to these traveling hucksters is not giving to God, but lining the pockets of charlatans out to take advantage of innocent, sick, elderly, kind-hearted, and gullible people.
I am glad that Marjoe made this documentary…
I believe that it is the Greatest sermon he ever preached.
Marjoe says that he didn’t even believe in God, yet I like to think that perhaps our Heavenly Father did put put the making of this documentary into the heart of Marjoe so that He might deliver some of these innocent, sick, elderly, kind-hearted, and gullible people from the mouths of the wolves in sheeps clothing.
Marjoe (at that time) was merely a product of his brainwashed upbringing and it took great courage for him to turn his back on what was his entire life and sustenance.
If this video serves to deliver just one of the innocent from the unjust imposters I hope that it is accredited to Marjoes account as a righteous act.
By producing this video Marjoe spoke the truth and in so doing he preached a better sermon than most preachers that I know ever will.
The product that Marjoe became was not of his own making. He was cultivated by those around him for that particular money making purpose. The sad truth is that it was the innocent, sick, elderly, kind-hearted, and gullible people that helped to cultivate him… and they have helped to cultivate thousands of others just like him.
An observation: I watched the clip initially without sound, and the adoring crowds were like fans of a pop-star and the fainting responses were also similar to reactions of fans getting up close to their idol. Adoring fans of pop-stars don’t necessarily care if there are offensive concepts in the words of songs that star sings, or whether the star leads an offesive life, because clever marketing ensured adoration of the public ‘image’ which is promoted.
Religious people often flatter themselves that they are not like ‘other people’, but instead go to religious meetings rather than the pub or indecent rock concerts etc. When looking at the clip without sound, I wonder whether innocent gullibility alone is involved, or whether pride has gone before the fall of some? (especially when some who have even visited here have boasted how their worship efforts are more pleasing to God than those they despise who fail to follow their lead)
Luk 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Luk 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Amo 5:21 I hate, ****I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies*****.
Amo 5:22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.
Amo 5:23 *****Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols*****.
Amo 5:24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
Amo 5:25 Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
Amo 5:26 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun ****your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves*****.
Amo 5:27 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.
The spreading hands were noticeable as a form of worship in the clip
IS 1:15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
IS 59:3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
God uses false prophets and enemies and liars for His purpose
Eze 14:7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and ****setteth up his idols in his heart****, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:
Eze 14:8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Eze 14:9 And ****if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
Eze 14:10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;*****
Jer 20:6 And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into
captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, ***thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies***.
JOB 15:31 Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence.
DEUT 11:16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
PS 118:8 [It is] better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
JER 17:5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed [be] the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
The commands of God include to watch out for, and beware of, and don’t heed false prophets and liars! These are direct instructions and should not be ignored. Many religious people find God’s instructions undesirable and uncomfortable and they don’t heed these or many other instructions and they fall for lies as a result. I did the same thing and went along with traditional religion and embraced their favouite promoters of a lawless ‘unknown god’ until I repented … how truly sorry I am
LK 6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
ACTS 17:23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare ***I*** unto you.
God is merciful and pulled me up, may God do likewise to others.
peace to you
Paul was not wrong in 1 Corinthians 12:3 simply because is the Holy Spirit who says ‘Jesus is accursed’, which he is, and only through the Holy Spirit can you KNOW that Yeshua is Lord.
It is only through the Holy Spirit that you can ’see’ (with eyes that see and ears the hear) that these are two completely separate characters – Jesus is Christian deity, second person of the Trinity, worshipped on Sunday as God the Son and at Easter and Xmas.
Yeshua on the other hand, is kosher ‘Jewish’ High Priest, Word / Son / Lamb of God and he will lead others to worship his God and our God, his Father and our Father on all the Biblical festivals.
All of God’s promises were and are made only to Israel – and not even Christians claiming to be spiritual Israel can fulfill the criteria. (*L* Conditions apply!)
If this sounds demonic, don’t forget that if the head of the household was called Baalzebub, how much would those who followed him – and also this is how and why I would be thrown out of any Christian religious assemblies.
It is through my apostasy from the indoctrination of Christian traditions, doctrines and beliefs that the Man of Sin is revealed.
It is through the Holy Spirit that I know Jesus is the imposter/Antichrist – who stands in place of Yeshua the Messiah; so I will not marvel when I see the Beast who was [alive], is not [alive] yet who will be present coming out of the next Papal conclave.
It will be Judas Iscariot (the man of sin / perdition) posing as ‘Jesus Christ at his second coming’.
Satan mimics God in so many ways, including in resurrecting his son.
And all of this is pure prophecy…
We must heed the Messiah
MT 12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
MT 12:32 And ***whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him****: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
JN 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; ***the flesh profiteth nothing***: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
The WORDS which the Messiah spoke are what profits us ***if we obey them***. The ‘name’ which some call the Messiah is NOT the issue according to him! Some people call the Messiah ‘Lord’ and the Messiah only accused them of using the wrong word **IF*** they disobeyed. LK 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Messiah said those who love him obey him! Messiah did NOT say that those who love him will call him the correct Hebrew name!
Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Joh 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
Not even ONE of the teachings of Messiah was about his earthly name, yet some people promote that as a major issue, which is wrong. Messiah taught us how to live in a way pleasing to the true God he promoted. MT 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that ***doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven***.
God judges hearts and actions. God knows human limitations and frailties. God knows that people use wrong words in ignorance. God knows that different languages use different words for the same thing eg Deu 2:11 Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the ***Moabites call them Emims***.
God commanded against judging others and also warned that those who beat up fellow servants will suffer for doing so. It is wrong to judge people by what name they may call Messiah. We can discern if people actually love God and His Messiah by whether or not they OBEY his teachings, which are directly from YHVH. A tree is known by fruit so discern the fruit. If someone obeys all that was taught by Messiah then that person loves Messiah regardless of any language barrier and it is not for us to beat them up for what name they use in any non-Hebrew language. People can be saved by embracing the true teachings of Messiah in the gospels and rejecting corruptions introduced by Paul and scribes who corrupted the message.
If the teachings of ‘Yeshua’ in the gospels are exactly the same as those of ‘Jesus’ in the gospels, then it would be evil to claim that one is Christ while one is anti-Christ since both are sharing the exact same message from YHWH and it is the message from YHVH which saves, rather than the speaker!!!!!!
JN 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; ***the flesh profiteth nothing***: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Heed the words of YHVH from His chosen truth-speaker and discern fruit and don’t judge and condemn … these are direct teachings from YHVH and check any spirit which promotes doing otherwise!
“…Marjoe Gortner – Self Confessed Lying Money Hungry Preacher”
I think this title is incorrect. If Marjoe Gortner was a ‘Self Confessed Lying Money Hungry Preacher’, he would still be at it. He is actually quite an honest person, and not at all money hungry. Perhaps you should watch his film.
Hi Fritz,
“…Marjoe Gortner – Self Confessed Lying Money Hungry Preacher”
It is a sensationalist headline, designed to serve a purpose.
There are many preachers out there still doing what Marjoe used to do.
It is my hope that the video is fruit of Marjoe’s repentance. I appreciate the fact that he made the video for us to watch and I truly hope all the best for Marjoe.
As I said in my previous post:
“Marjoe (at that time) was merely a product of his brainwashed upbringing and it took great courage for him to turn his back on what was his entire life and sustenance.
If this video serves to deliver just one of the innocent from the unjust imposters I hope that it is accredited to Marjoes account as a righteous act.”