American Notes EVANGELISM

What do an $800 Gucci briefcase, cosmetic surgery and a water slide have to do with spreading the Gospel? Nothing, the Internal Revenue Service ruled in effect last week as it revoked the tax-exempt status of PTL, the television ministry that supported the high living of Jim and Tammy Bakker. The IRS declared that PTL's business activities, including an amusement park, shopping malls and hotels as well as excessive payments to the Bakkers, served no ministerial purpose.

If the IRS has its way, donations to PTL, which ran as high as $45 million in 1984, will no longer be tax deductible for the givers. That could make it impossible for the bankrupt organization to raise funds to pay off some $72 million that is owed to creditors. Beyond that, the IRS had earlier claimed that PTL owed $55 million in back taxes. Can PTL survive? Said U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Rufus Reynolds: "There's no chance whatsoever."