Bob Larson (born May 28, 1944) is an American radio and

television evangelist Televangelism ( tele- "distance" and " evangelism," meaning " ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are ministers, whether official or self-p ...

, and a pastor of Spiritual Freedom Church in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

. Larson has authored numerous books critical of

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

and Satanism.

Life and career

Larson was born in

Westwood, Los Angeles, California Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside region of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Bordering the campus on the south ...

, the son of Viola ( née Baum) and Earl Larson. He was raised in McCook, Nebraska. Larson plays

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

; he has claimed his early experiences as a musician led to his concerns about occult and destructive influences in

. He would later incorporate his guitar playing into some of his

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. ...

s. In the 1960s, the focus of Larson's preaching centered mainly on the leftist political ideology, sexually suggestive lyrics, Eastern religious

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...

, and

anti-social behavior Antisocial behavior is a behavior that is defined as the violation of the rights of others by committing crime, such as stealing and physical attack in addition to other behaviors such as lying and manipulation. It is considered to be disrupti ...

of many of the era's rock musicians.

Debates with Satanists

During the late 1980s and into the 1990s, Larson repeatedly debated, interviewed, and confronted

Satanists Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966, although a few h ...

, during the period known as the

Satanic panic The Satanic panic is a moral panic consisting of over 12,000 unsubstantiated cases of Satanic ritual abuse (SRA, sometimes known as ritual abuse, ritualistic abuse, organized abuse, or sadistic ritual abuse) starting in the United States in th ...

. On two occasions he hosted

Nikolas Schreck Nikolas Schreck is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, film-maker and Tantric Buddhist religious teacher based in Berlin, Germany. Now a solo artist, Schreck founded the musical magical recording and performance collective Radio ...

(a gothic rock musician and lead singer of Radio Werewolf) and

Zeena LaVey Zeena Galatea Schreck (née LaVey), known professionally by her mononymous artist name ZEENA, is a Berlin-based American visual and musical artist, author and the spiritual leader of the Sethian Liberation Movement (SLM), which she founded in 200 ...

(once the spokesperson for the

Church of Satan The Church of Satan is a religious organization dedicated to the religion of LaVeyan Satanism as codified in '' The Satanic Bible''. The Church of Satan was established at the Black House in San Francisco, California, on Walpurgisnacht, A ...

and later a priestess in the

Temple of Set The Temple of Set is an occult initiatory order founded in 1975. A new religious movement and form of Western esotericism, the Temple espouses a religion known as Setianism, whose practitioners are called Setians. This is sometimes identified ...

). During their first encounter the pair defended Satanism, while in 1997, during their second appearance, they defended

Setianism The Temple of Set is an occult initiatory order founded in 1975. A new religious movement and form of Western esotericism, the Temple espouses a religion known as Setianism, whose practitioners are called Setians. This is sometimes identified ...

. Larson debated the pair, and at times attempted to convert them without success. Larson also debated, interviewed and challenged "

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

Satanist" James Mason on his ''Talk-Back'' radio show.

''Talk Back''

In 1982, Larson launched ''Talk Back'', a two-hour weekday call-in show geared mainly toward

teenagers Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the t ...

and frequently focused on teen-oriented topics such as role-playing games and

. By this time Larson had come to embrace contemporary Christian music, including styles such as heavy metal and

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, and actively promoted the music and artists on his show. By the late 1980s, in what would come to define his later ministry, Larson was often heard performing

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

s of callers on the air. The subjects of Satanism and

Satanic ritual abuse The Satanic panic is a moral panic consisting of over 12,000 unsubstantiated cases of Satanic ritual abuse (SRA, sometimes known as ritual abuse, ritualistic abuse, organized abuse, or sadistic ritual abuse) starting in the United States in th ...

were frequent topics of discussion. Death metal performer

Glen Benton Glen Benton (born June 18, 1967) is an American death metal musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist and bassist for the death metal band Deicide and was also a part of the band Vital Remains, where he has performed in recording sessions a ...

Deicide Deicide is the killing (or the killer) of a god. The concept may be used for any act of killing a god, including a life-death-rebirth deity who is killed and then resurrected. Etymology The term deicide was coined in the 17th century from m ...

became a regular caller, as did Bob Guccione Jr., eldest son of '' Penthouse'' founder

Bob Guccione Robert Charles Joseph Edward Sabatini Guccione ( ; December 17, 1930 – October 20, 2010) was an American photographer and publisher. He founded the adult magazine '' Penthouse'' in 1965. This was aimed at competing with Hugh Hefner's ''Playboy' ...

and founder of the music magazine '' Spin''. At one point during the 1980s, Guccione Jr. paid Larson to go on tour with American

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band Slayer and write about it. Larson tried his hand at writing fiction. ''Dead Air'' (1991) was largely ghost-written by Lori Boespflug and Muriel Olson, according to

Karen Stollznow Karen Stollznow (born 12 August 1976) is an Australian-American writer, linguist, and skeptic. Her books include ''The Language of Discrimination'', ''God Bless America: Strange and Unusual Religious Beliefs and Practices in the United State ...

. His later novels ''Abaddon'' (1993) and ''The Senator's Agenda'' (1995) both linked

to political corruption; the latter was largely written by Larson and his second wife. However, a former vice president of Bob Larson Ministries, Lori Boespflug, said that much of ''Dead Air'', though presented as Larson's work, is allegedly her own. Supporting these claims is a letter from Larson's lawyer that warns Larson of his "potential liability to Lori", anticipating that "the role Lori has played" would lead her to "demand recognition and/or profit participation" in respect to ''Dead Air'' and its sequels. In 2004, Larson returned to the radio airwaves after a two-year absence with a daily talk show heard on a network of radio stations and simulcast and archived on the internet. Larson's ministry professes to offer an alternative counseling outlet to people who have problems with

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...

self-mutilation Self-harm is intentional behavior that is considered harmful to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues usually without a suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-injury and self-mutilatio ...

, multiple personality disorders,

, or

molestation Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...

Exorcism

In 2013 ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

'' magazine taped a video of Larson's visit in several small towns in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

where he performed

s together with three young women – his 18-year-old daughter Brynne Larson and her friends Tess and Savannah Sherkenback (18 and 21 respectively, collectively known as "The Teenage Exorcists"). The Teenage Exorcists consequently published a reply to

Vice Media Vice Media Group LLC is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. , the Vice Media Group included five main business areas: VICE.com (digital content); VICE STUDIOS (film and TV production) VICE TV (also known as VICELAND); ...

's video stating that they "question the journalistic integrity of this Vice Media story and are disappointed by how we were falsely portrayed." , Larson offered to perform exorcisms over

Skype Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, deb ...

(for a donation of $295). His Skype exorcisms were featured in a segment on the satirical program ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...

'' in 2014, in which he told correspondent Jessica Williams, "Skype is a great technology to stare down the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

, to go after him and to kick him back to hell." Later in the same segment, however, he indicated that " tweeting an exorcism would be ridiculous."

Bibliography

*''Rock & Roll: The Devil's Diversion'' (

Creation House Charisma House is a Christian publishing firm based in Lake Mary, Florida. The CEO is Steve Strang. Charisma House has published books, including fourteen ''New York Times'' best sellers: The Faith of George W. Bush by Stephen Mansfield, Shadow ...

, 1967) *''Hippies, Hindus, and Rock & Roll'' (Creation House, 1969) *''Rock & the Church'' (Creation House, 1971) *''The Day Music Died'' (Creation House, 1972) *''Hell on Earth'' (Creation House, 1974) *''Babylon Reborn'' (Creation House, 1976) *''Rock, Practical Help for Those Who Listen to the Words and Don't like What They Hear'' ( Tyndale, 1980) *''Larson's Book of Cults'' (Tyndale, 1982) *''Larson's Book of Family Issues'' (Tyndale, 1986) *''Strange Cults in America'' (Tyndale, 1986) *''Larson's Book of Rock'' (Tyndale, 1987) *''Your Kids and Rock'' (Tyndale, 1988) *''Satanism: the Seduction of America's Youth'' (

Lightning Source Lightning Source is a printer and distributor of print-on-demand books. The company is a business unit of Ingram Content Group. Originally incorporated in 1996 as Lightning Print Inc., the company is headquartered in La Vergne, Tennessee. Its UK ...

, 1989) *''Straight Answers on the New Age'' ( Thomas Nelson, 1989) *''Tough Talk About Tough Issues'' (Tyndale, 1989) *''Larson's New Book of Cults'' (Tyndale, 1989) *''Dead Air: A Novel'' (Thomas Nelson, 1991) *''Abaddon: A Novel'' (Thomas Nelson, 1993) *''The Senator's Agenda'' (Thomas Nelson, 1995) *''In The Name of Satan: How the Forces of Evil Work and What You Can Do to Defeat Them'' (Thomas Nelson, 1996) *''UFO's and the Alien Agenda'' (Thomas Nelson, 1997) *''Extreme Evil: Kids Killing Kids'' (Nelson Reference, 1999) *''Larson's Book of Spiritual Warfare'' (Nelson, 1999) *''Shock Talk: The Exorcist Files'' ( WestBow, 2001)

References

External links

Bob Larson's official website
*
The Devil is in the Details: An Examination of the Teachings of Bob Larson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Bob 1944 births American television evangelists American television talk show hosts American male writers People of the Christian countercult movement American exorcists Living people Writers from Phoenix, Arizona Spiritual warfare People from McCook, Nebraska Writers from Los Angeles Religious leaders from Phoenix, Arizona