A. A. Allen: Difference between revisions
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Few of his supposed miracles ever underwent "scrutiny of physicians" and at his revivals in small print his disclaimer read: "A. A. Allen Revivals, Inc. assumes no legal responsibility for the veracity of any such report."<ref name=TIME/> Furthermore according to ''The Encyclopedia of American Religions'', Allen did not like press coverage and "resulted in his hiring of 'goon squads' to punch out anyone who showed up for Allen's tent revivals with a notepad or camera."<ref>''The Encyclopedia of American Religions''. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books, 1991, Vol. 1, pp. 258 259.</ref> |
Few of his supposed miracles ever underwent "scrutiny of physicians" and at his revivals in small print his disclaimer read: "A. A. Allen Revivals, Inc. assumes no legal responsibility for the veracity of any such report."<ref name=TIME/> Furthermore according to ''The Encyclopedia of American Religions'', Allen did not like press coverage and "resulted in his hiring of 'goon squads' to punch out anyone who showed up for Allen's tent revivals with a notepad or camera."<ref>''The Encyclopedia of American Religions''. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books, 1991, Vol. 1, pp. 258 259.</ref> |
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According to Stewart trickery was common for faith healers: |
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<blockquote>Eventually, most of the evangelists had wheelchairs available for people who had bad backs and couldn't stand in a healing line for hours. But when the evangelist got to them and pulled them up out of the wheelchair, some in the audience thought they were walking for the first time or that they had come to the revival in that wheelchair.<ref>[[Don Stewart (preacher)]], ''Only believe: an eyewitness account of the great healing revivals of the 20th century'' (Shippensburg, PA: Revival Press, 1999) ISBN 156043340X page 115.</ref></blockquote> |
<blockquote>Eventually, most of the evangelists had wheelchairs available for people who had bad backs and couldn't stand in a healing line for hours. But when the evangelist got to them and pulled them up out of the wheelchair, some in the audience thought they were walking for the first time or that they had come to the revival in that wheelchair.<ref>[[Don Stewart (preacher)]], ''Only believe: an eyewitness account of the great healing revivals of the 20th century'' (Shippensburg, PA: Revival Press, 1999) ISBN 156043340X page 115.</ref></blockquote> |
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His teachings on prosperity were a major theme in his meetings during the 1960s. He began selling "prosperity cloths" for $100 and $1000 dollar donations.<ref name="Randi">{{cite book| last = Randi | first = James | authorlink = James Randi | year = 1989 | title = The Faith Healers | publisher = Prometheus Books | isbn = 0-87975-535-0 page 85}}</ref> Furthermore, he claimed to have "visions, divine voices, and prophecies."<ref name="Randi">{{cite book| last = Randi | first = James | authorlink = James Randi | year = 1989 | title = The Faith Healers | publisher = Prometheus Books | isbn = 0-87975-535-0 page 85}}</ref> |
His teachings on prosperity were a major theme in his meetings during the 1960s. He began selling "prosperity cloths" for $100 and $1000 dollar donations.<ref name="Randi">{{cite book| last = Randi | first = James | authorlink = James Randi | year = 1989 | title = The Faith Healers | publisher = Prometheus Books | isbn = 0-87975-535-0 page 85}}</ref> Furthermore, he claimed to have "visions, divine voices, and prophecies."<ref name="Randi">{{cite book| last = Randi | first = James | authorlink = James Randi | year = 1989 | title = The Faith Healers | publisher = Prometheus Books | isbn = 0-87975-535-0 page 85}}</ref> |
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In 1962 he separated from his wife Lexie with whom he had four children. |
In 1962, he separated from his wife Lexie with whom he had four children. |
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In 1963, A. A. Allen Revivals, Inc. successfully sued the [[Internal Revenue Service]]<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.fastcase.com/Google/Start.aspx?C=967fce6498f5f3d47977b5beca60a1a2a9905033e5bbc190&D=6b2d6fd01dba1a81f6244664d27e77f585b8d4b3b9d551ff | title=A. A. Allen Revivals, Inc. v. Commissioner | publisher=[[United States Tax Court]] |date=October 11, 1963 | first= | last= | accessdate =2007-05-17}}</ref> in an attempt to get the government to refund collections of the [[Federal Insurance Contributions Act]] taxes for 1958-59.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.fastcase.com/Google/Documents/ViewDocument.aspx?C=930d1f5edeb34458e4ef65941d770adc62c414be91dab28f&D=92dddf2dcca6d720dce5b956260f6525d6a1f69053d5609a | title=A. A. ALLEN REVIVALS, INC., Appellant, v. Ellis CAMPBELL, Jr., District Director of Internal Revenue, Appellee. | publisher=[[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]] |date=November 26, 1965 | first= | last= | accessdate =2007-05-17}}</ref><ref name="Revoked"> |
In 1963, A. A. Allen Revivals, Inc. successfully sued the [[Internal Revenue Service]]<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.fastcase.com/Google/Start.aspx?C=967fce6498f5f3d47977b5beca60a1a2a9905033e5bbc190&D=6b2d6fd01dba1a81f6244664d27e77f585b8d4b3b9d551ff | title=A. A. Allen Revivals, Inc. v. Commissioner | publisher=[[United States Tax Court]] |date=October 11, 1963 | first= | last= | accessdate =2007-05-17}}</ref> in an attempt to get the government to refund collections of the [[Federal Insurance Contributions Act]] taxes for 1958-59.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.fastcase.com/Google/Documents/ViewDocument.aspx?C=930d1f5edeb34458e4ef65941d770adc62c414be91dab28f&D=92dddf2dcca6d720dce5b956260f6525d6a1f69053d5609a | title=A. A. ALLEN REVIVALS, INC., Appellant, v. Ellis CAMPBELL, Jr., District Director of Internal Revenue, Appellee. | publisher=[[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]] |date=November 26, 1965 | first= | last= | accessdate =2007-05-17}}</ref><ref name="Revoked"> |
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==Death== |
==Death== |
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Allen died at the [[Jack Tar Hotel]] in San Francisco, California on June 11, 1970 at the age of 59.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.newspaperarchive.com/newspapers1/na0015/1590677/10023891_clean.html | title=Alcoholism Took Life of Evangelist Allen | publisher=[[Daily Report]] |date= June 25, 1970 | first= | last= | accessdate =2007-05-17}}</ref> Allen died after a heavy drinking binge and Don Stewart, his successor, "attempted to clean up evidence of his mentor's alcoholic binge in a San Francisco hotel before the police arrived."<ref name="DonStewartReward">{{cite news | url=http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/05/04/20090504charities-stewart0504.html | title=Don Stewart: A life in pursuit of God's reward |publisher=[[The Arizona Republic]] | date= May 4, 2009 | first=Robert | last=Anglen | accessdate = 2009-12-18}}</ref> Stewart says he wasn't trying to cover up anything, but was trying to protect Allen.<ref name="DonStewartReward"/> |
Allen died at the [[Jack Tar Hotel]] in San Francisco, California on June 11, 1970 at the age of 59.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.newspaperarchive.com/newspapers1/na0015/1590677/10023891_clean.html | title=Alcoholism Took Life of Evangelist Allen | publisher=[[Daily Report]] |date= June 25, 1970 | first= | last= | accessdate =2007-05-17}}</ref> Allen died after a heavy drinking binge and Don Stewart, his successor, "attempted to clean up evidence of his mentor's alcoholic binge in a San Francisco hotel before the police arrived."<ref name="DonStewartReward">{{cite news | url=http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/05/04/20090504charities-stewart0504.html | title=Don Stewart: A life in pursuit of God's reward |publisher=[[The Arizona Republic]] | date= May 4, 2009 | first=Robert | last=Anglen | accessdate = 2009-12-18}}</ref> Stewart says he wasn't trying to cover up anything, but was trying to protect Allen.<ref name="DonStewartReward"/> Nonetheless, police found his body in a "room strewn with pills and empty liquor bottles."<ref name="Randi">{{cite book| last = Randi | first = James | authorlink = James Randi | year = 1989 | title = The Faith Healers | publisher = Prometheus Books | isbn = 0-87975-535-0 page 88}}</ref> Following a 12-day investigation and an autopsy, the coroner's report concluded Allen died from [[liver failure]] brought on by [[Acute (medical)|acute]] [[alcoholism]].<ref name=Obit/><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1999-07-29/culture/well-healed/| title=Well-Healed: All revved over evangelist Leroy Jenkins' pyramid schemes | publisher=[[Phoenix New Times]] |date=1999-07-29 | first= | last= | accessdate =2007-05-17}}</ref> The coroner reported that when Allen died he had a [[blood alcohol content]] of .36, which was "enough to insure a deep coma".<ref name="Deathalcohol">{{cite news | url=http://www.newspaperarchive.com/newspapers1/na0007/448495/4926471_clean.html | title=Evangelist death laid to alcohol | publisher=[[Chronicle-Telegram]] |date=June 25, 1970 | first= | last= | accessdate =2007-05-17}}</ref> Allen was buried at Miracle Valley, Arizona on June 15, 1970.<ref name="Deathalcohol"/> |
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==After death== |
==After death== |
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Revision as of 01:24, 23 May 2009
A. A. Allen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Asa A. Allen March 27, 1911 |
| Died | June 11, 1970 (aged 59) |
| Cause of death | Liver failure caused by acute alcoholism[1] |
| Occupation | Evangelist/faith healer |
| Title | Head of A.A. Allen Revivals, Inc. |
| Successor | Don Stewart |
| Spouse(s) | Lexie (married September 19, 1936 and separated in 1962) |
| Children | Four |
Asa A. Allen (March 27, 1911 in Sulphur Rock, Arkansas - June 11, 1970 in San Francisco), better known as A.A. Allen, was a controversial Pentecostal evangelist and faith healer of Voice of Healing. At age 59 he died from liver failure brought on by acute alcoholism in San Francisco, and was buried at his evangelistic headquarters in Miracle Valley, Arizona.[1]
Early life
His middle name, given only as "A." on his birth certificate, was changed to "Alonso" around age four. Asa A. Allen's father was an alcoholic and his mother was a full-blooded Cherokee.[citation needed]. At age 23, Allen became a pentecostal at the Onward Methodist Church in Miller, Missouri.[2] Later, he learned of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost from a Pentecostal preacher who was conducting meetings in his home. He soon felt the call to preach and affiliated himself with the Assemblies of God (A/G) and subsequently obtained ordination from them in 1936. By 1947, Allen was pastoring a large A/G church in Corpus Christi, Texas.
After attending an Oral Roberts tent meeting in Dallas (1949), Allen testified that as he left that meeting he hoped to spread God's "miracles" and asked his church board to allow him to start a radio program. They refused. Allen soon resigned from his church and started A.A.Allen Revivals, Inc. holding his Healing Revival Campaigns.[citation needed]
Revivalist
Stemming from purported healings, he established a large following. Allen became one of the first to develop a national television ministry and broadcasting prophecies, unverified healings, and "claimed to communicate with the demon world"[3] over the airwaves.
In 1955 Allen purchased a tent for $8,700 that would seat over ten thousand people, and Allen was soon one of the major healing evangelists on the revival circuit. Allen’s revival meetings were similar to the other leading evangelists of the time (such as Jack Coe, Oral Roberts, Thomas Burdett, and William Branham) where there would be an extended time for music and testifying, then a sermon, then an appeal for those in need to come forward and be prayed for.[citation needed]
Allen was arrested in 1955 for suspicion of drunk driving in Knoxville, Tennessee and was defrocked by the Assemblies of God.[4] After he "jumped bail," Allen re-ordained himself and set up the "Miracle Revival Fellowship".[2] Allen kept drinking and according to Don Stewart Allen would be too drunk to preach and his staff cover for him as Allen was put to bed.[5]
Allen continued on the revival circuit, and in 1958 he purchased a tent that could seat over 22,000 (the tent was the one used by evangelist Jack Coe up until his death in 1956). Allen became one of the first evangelists to call poverty a spirit and believed in God's ability to perform miracles financially. At his peak, he appeared on fifty-eight radio stations daily, forty-three TV stations, and even owned an airfield with 150 aircraft.[2] At the time of his death, his Arizona headquarters was 2,400 acres (9.7 km2) with 55 million pieces of literature published a year and a circulation of "Miracle Magazine," a monthly magazine, at 350,000.[6] The magazine retold stories sent in by admirers claiming Allen cured the sick, but gave a disclaimer that the magazine does not "assume legal responsibility" of its accuracy.[2]
Few of his supposed miracles ever underwent "scrutiny of physicians" and at his revivals in small print his disclaimer read: "A. A. Allen Revivals, Inc. assumes no legal responsibility for the veracity of any such report."[4] Furthermore according to The Encyclopedia of American Religions, Allen did not like press coverage and "resulted in his hiring of 'goon squads' to punch out anyone who showed up for Allen's tent revivals with a notepad or camera."[7]
According to Stewart trickery was common for faith healers:
Eventually, most of the evangelists had wheelchairs available for people who had bad backs and couldn't stand in a healing line for hours. But when the evangelist got to them and pulled them up out of the wheelchair, some in the audience thought they were walking for the first time or that they had come to the revival in that wheelchair.[8]
At a revival meeting on January 1, 1958, at Phoenix, Arizona, Urbane Leiendecker, a recent convert, approached Allen and offered him 1280 acres (5.2 km²) of land in Arizona.[2] Within days a deed was recorded in the name of A.A.Allen Revivals, Inc. at the Cochise County Courthouse. Using this property, Allen founded a Bible school in Miracle Valley.
His teachings on prosperity were a major theme in his meetings during the 1960s. He began selling "prosperity cloths" for $100 and $1000 dollar donations.[2] Furthermore, he claimed to have "visions, divine voices, and prophecies."[2]
In 1962, he separated from his wife Lexie with whom he had four children.
In 1963, A. A. Allen Revivals, Inc. successfully sued the Internal Revenue Service[9] in an attempt to get the government to refund collections of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes for 1958-59.[10][11]
Death
Allen died at the Jack Tar Hotel in San Francisco, California on June 11, 1970 at the age of 59.[12] Allen died after a heavy drinking binge and Don Stewart, his successor, "attempted to clean up evidence of his mentor's alcoholic binge in a San Francisco hotel before the police arrived."[13] Stewart says he wasn't trying to cover up anything, but was trying to protect Allen.[13] Nonetheless, police found his body in a "room strewn with pills and empty liquor bottles."[2] Following a 12-day investigation and an autopsy, the coroner's report concluded Allen died from liver failure brought on by acute alcoholism.[1][14] The coroner reported that when Allen died he had a blood alcohol content of .36, which was "enough to insure a deep coma".[15] Allen was buried at Miracle Valley, Arizona on June 15, 1970.[15]
After death
In 1970, after A.A. Allen died Reverend Don Stewart gained possession of Allen's organization, including his Miracle Valley property, and renamed Allen's Miracle Life Fellowship International the Don Stewart Evangelistic Association (and later the Don Stewart Association).[16][17][18] Stewart "went from pounding tent stakes at Allen's revivals to driving a truck to preaching".[13] In addition, Stewart "was hit with allegations of embezzlement by Allen's brother-in-law, of pocketing offerings from the revivals" in the wake of Allen's death.[13] Nonetheless, The activities of the association were then moved to Phoenix and the Bible college continued to operate in Miracle Valley until 1975. Stewart had been trying to sell the school since 1970, but seemed to have no success. Later he was approached by the Hispanic Assemblies of God who obtained the campus by a 20-year lease agreement for one dollar a year, in which they opened a Spanish-speaking Bible college known as the Southern Arizona Bible College.
In 1979 Miracle Valley came to a close after bankruptcy hearings.[2] For the next three years, nearly 300 members of a group led by Frances Thomas isolated themselves professing what locals said was an "anti-white doctrine."[19][20] Immigrants from Chicago and Mississippi rioted, which resulted in the death of Therial Davis, a six year old.[2] In 1982, the group had several confrontations with utility workers, neighbors and eventually law enforcement resulting in an October shoot out, during which two members of the church and a deputy were killed.[19][21] That same year Miracle Valley's main administration building and vast warehouse were set fire by arson, which resulted in the total destruction of the facilities.[22] The main building was valued at $2 million dollars.[23] Stewart sent multiple donation requests to some people on his 100,000 person mailing list "even though his ministry is not associated with the college and the fire damage was insured."[24] According to the press, one of his letters "gave the impression ... the fire had crippled Stewart's ministry" and another purported to include the building's ashes with a request for $200 donations.[24] His church had issues over Stewart's financing and "questioned Stewart's fundraising techniques" before.[24][25] In addition, Stewart was accused by his church or arson, something Stewart denies.[13]
The insurance company paid 1.5 million dollars for the reconstruction of the large building, or one million dollars for a "cash-out." Stewart was not interested in rebuilding[24] and intended to take the cash-out; however, the Spanish Assemblies of God (Central Latin American District Council of the Assemblies of God) wanted the facilities to be rebuilt. Subsequently, Stewart accepted the insurance money of one million dollars for Miracle Valley, and the Assemblies of God would receive the Miracle Valley campus consisting of 15 buildings and nearly 80 acres (320,000 m2) of land for six dollars, which equated into the one dollar per year for the previous six years.[citation needed]
However, Don Stewart forced the Assemblies of God to maintain a Bible College for a minimum of twenty years, or the property would revert back to his ministry. In 1995, exactly twenty years later, the Assemblies of God closed Southern Arizona Bible College and put the campus up for sale.[26]
In 1998, a group of ten people from the Melvin Harter Ministries, Inc. came from Ohio to view the campus. The next year, Miracle Valley Bible College was purchased by Harter Ministries in August 1999 and the school continued under the administration of Melvin Harter as the Miracle Valley Bible College & Seminary where students were taught in classical Pentecostal theology.[27] However, in January 2009 the mortage firm foreclosed on the property, which currently contains several dilapidated buildings.[28] Jeff Allen, A.A. Allen's grandson, is planning to help a Canadian couple buy and restore the property.[28]
References
- ^ a b c "Evangelist's Death Due to 'Alcoholism'". Washington Post. 1970-06-27. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Randi, James (1989). The Faith Healers. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-535-0 page 85.
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: invalid character (help) Cite error: The named reference "Randi" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ "PLAYLIST; On Speaking Terms With The Devil". New York Times. 2004-01-25. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
- ^ a b "Getting Back Double from God". TIME. March 7, 1969. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
- ^ Don Stewart (preacher), Only believe: an eyewitness account of the great healing revivals of the 20th century (Shippensburg, PA: Revival Press, 1999) ISBN 156043340X page 131.
- ^ "Coroner: Evangelist Allen Died of Acute Alcoholism". Fresno Bee. June 24, 1970.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ The Encyclopedia of American Religions. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books, 1991, Vol. 1, pp. 258 259.
- ^ Don Stewart (preacher), Only believe: an eyewitness account of the great healing revivals of the 20th century (Shippensburg, PA: Revival Press, 1999) ISBN 156043340X page 115.
- ^ "A. A. Allen Revivals, Inc. v. Commissioner". United States Tax Court. October 11, 1963. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
- ^ "A. A. ALLEN REVIVALS, INC., Appellant, v. Ellis CAMPBELL, Jr., District Director of Internal Revenue, Appellee". United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. November 26, 1965. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
- ^ "This refers back to 1960 when the IRS denied tax exemption for the association's predecessor, A. A. Allen Revivals Inc. But in 1963 the Tax Court, after a trial, ruled that the IRS had been wrong. In 1965, the IRS granted the exemption. The IRS says the association "has completely mischaracterized" the court's opinion in that case and that it is not barred from "challenging the association's entitlement to exemption or its status as a church." William M. Ringle Jr., "Church loses tax exempt status," The Business Journal, Sept. 22, 1997.
- ^ "Alcoholism Took Life of Evangelist Allen". Daily Report. June 25, 1970. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
- ^ a b c d e Anglen, Robert (May 4, 2009). "Don Stewart: A life in pursuit of God's reward". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
- ^ "Well-Healed: All revved over evangelist Leroy Jenkins' pyramid schemes". Phoenix New Times. 1999-07-29. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
- ^ a b "Evangelist death laid to alcohol". Chronicle-Telegram. June 25, 1970. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
- ^ "Finances, Fraud and False Teaching - The Troubled History of Don Stewart". Trinity Foundation. 2002. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
- ^ Stanley M. Burgess, Eduard M. van der Maas, and Ed van der Maas. New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Jun 1, 2002), page 312
- ^ Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing Co., 1988), pg. 832.
- ^ a b "Deputies relive shootout at Miracle Valley". KOLD-TV. February 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
- ^ "Black Church Vs. White Pentecostals". Los Angeles Times. Oct 1, 1981. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
- ^ "Miracle Valley 10 freed pending trial". Chicago Tribune. Nov 30, 1982. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
- ^ "Arson Could Be Cause". Kingman Daily Miner. September 22, 1982. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
- ^ "Lack of water hurt firefighting". Kingman Daily Miner. September 13, 1982. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
- ^ a b c d "Prescott native hopes ashes will help rebuild his ministry". The Daily Courier. November 5, 1982. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
- ^ "Don Stewart, a former Bible student from Clarkdale, Arizona, began running the operation. Stewart eventually established his own following in Phoenix, and is currently accused of arson and embezzlement by his church."Randi, James (1989). The Faith Healers. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-535-0 page 88.
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: invalid character (help) - ^ "Former S. Arizona Bible College gets a new mission". Deseret News. November 6, 1999. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
- ^ "Religion Briefs". Dallas Morning News. October 16, 1999. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
- ^ a b "'New season' for Miracle Valley". Arizona Daily Star. 02.08.2009. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)