Ole Anthony
{{Short description|American minister and religious investigator (1938–2021)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
Ole Edward Anthony (October 3, 1938{{spnd}}April 16, 2021) was an American minister, religious investigator and satirist. Anthony was the editor of The Wittenburg Door, a magazine of Christian satire. He was head of the Trinity Foundation, and in that capacity was involved in investigating the financial activities and alleged misappropriations of televangelists.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-47675301|title=The preachers getting rich from poor Americans|first=Vicky|last=Baker|work=BBC News|date=29 May 2019}}
Biography
Anthony was born on October 3, 1938, in St. Peter, Minnesota.{{Cite news|last=Risen|first=Clay|date=2021-04-27|title=Ole Anthony, Scourge of Televangelists, Dies at 82|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/27/us/ole-anthony-dead.html|access-date=2021-04-27|issn=0362-4331}} He was reared in the Lutheran faith.{{Cite web|url=https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/milton-quintanilla/ole-anthony-prominent-critic-of-televangelists-passes-away-at-82.html|title = Ole Anthony, Prominent Critic of Televangelists, Passes Away at 82}} He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1956 until December 1959, as a "special weapons maintenance technician" and had top-secret clearance, receiving the Good Conduct Medal and two "outstanding unit" awards.{{cite news |last1=Whitley |first1=Glenna |title=The Cult of Ole |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314104723/http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/the-cult-of-ole-6406297 |access-date=1 September 2021 |publisher=Dallas Observer |date=August 3, 2006 |url=http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/the-cult-of-ole-6406297 |archive-date=March 14, 2018}}
Anthony's investigative work into the fundraising tactics of big-money televangelists first came to national attention in 1991 following a Primetime Live hidden-camera investigation of televangelists. Anthony portrayed himself—a Dallas minister of a small church trying to learn how big-money ministries work—in the segment on fellow East Dallas minister Robert Tilton. Anthony and the Trinity Foundation were instrumental in providing evidence for the many state and Federal investigations of Tilton in the years that followed, and he was often interviewed by reporters in preparations for stories on other televangelists.{{cite news | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6679593 | title='Scarborough Country' for Dec. 7 | publisher=NBC News |date=December 8, 2004| access-date =2007-05-17}} He was also the subject of a lengthy profile in the December 6, 2004, issue of The New Yorker.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/12/06/god-doesnt-need-ole-anthony |title=God Doesn't Need Ole Anthony |magazine=The New Yorker |last1=Bilger |first1=Burkhard |date=December 6, 2004 |access-date=February 6, 2018}}
He was a close friend of writer and comedian Joe Bob Briggs, who is also a member of the Trinity Foundation.
Former members of the group have been critical of the foundation and Anthony.{{cite news |last1=Whitley |first1=Glenna |title=The Cult of Ole |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314104723/http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/the-cult-of-ole-6406297 |access-date=1 September 2021 |publisher=Dallas Observer |date=August 3, 2006 |url=http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/the-cult-of-ole-6406297 |archive-date=March 14, 2018}}
Ole Anthony died on April 16, 2021, after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2017.{{Cite web|date=2021-04-17|title=Obituary: Ole Anthony, our president, pastor, friend, and longtime nemesis of televangelists, dead at 82 {{!}} Trinity Foundation|url=https://trinityfi.org/investigations/obituary-ole-anthony-our-president-pastor-friend-and-longtime-nemesis-of-televangelists-dead-at-82/|access-date=2021-04-17|website=trinityfi.org|language=en-US}}{{cite news |last1=Smietana |first1=Bob |title=Ole Anthony, longtime critic of prosperity gospel televangelists and head of Trinity Foundation, dies at 82 |url=https://religionnews.com/2021/04/18/ole-anthony-longtime-critic-investigate0televangelists-prosperity-gospel-robert-tilton-jan-paul-crouc-tbn-primie-time-dies-trinity-founation/ |access-date=8 June 2023 |work=Religion News Service |date=18 April 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Risen |first1=Clay |title=Ole Anthony, Scourge of Televangelists, Dies at 82 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/27/us/ole-anthony-dead.html |access-date=8 June 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=27 April 2021}}
References
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Category:Christians from Minnesota
Category:Military personnel from Minnesota
Category:20th-century American journalists