Bob Larson (born May 28, 1944) is an American radio and television evangelist, and a pastor of Spiritual Freedom Church in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. Larson has authored numerous books critical of

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

and

Satanism Satanism refers to a group of religious, ideological, or philosophical beliefs based on Satan—particularly his worship or veneration. Because of the ties to the historical Abrahamic religious figure, Satanism—as well as other religious ...

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 (Los Angeles County), Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCL ...

, the son of Viola (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Baum) and Earl Larson. He was raised in

McCook, Nebraska McCook is a city in and the county seat of Red Willow County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 7,446 at the 2020 census. History McCook was platted in 1882 when the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad was extended to that poin ...

. Larson plays

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

; he has claimed his early experiences as a musician led to his concerns about

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

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 context ...

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 (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...

, and

anti-social behavior Anti-social behaviours, sometimes called dissocial behaviours, are actions which are considered to violate the rights of or otherwise harm others by committing crime or nuisance, such as stealing and physical attack or noncriminal behaviours ...

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 refers to a group of Religion, religious, Ideology, ideological, or Philosophy, philosophical beliefs based on Satan—particularly his worship or veneration. Because of the ties to the historical Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic reli ...

, 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 North America in the 19 ...

. On two occasions he hosted

Nikolas Schreck Nikolas Schreck is an American singer-songwriter, author, and film-maker based in Berlin, Germany. Schreck founded the music and performance collective Radio Werewolf, which operated from 1984 to 1994. He collaborated musically with his forme ...

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

musician and lead singer of

Radio Werewolf Radio Werewolf was a musical collective active in Los Angeles, California, and Europe from 1984 to 1993. History Radio Werewolf was founded in Los Angeles in 1984, by Nikolas Schreck (vocals), Evil Wilhelm (percussion), James "Filth" Collord (b ...

) and Zeena LaVey (once the spokesperson for the

Church of Satan The Church of Satan (CoS) is a religious organization dedicated to the religion of LaVeyan Satanism, Satanism as defined by Anton Szandor LaVey. Founded in San Francisco in 1966, by Anton LaVey, LaVey, it is considered the "oldest satanic reli ...

and later a priestess in the

Temple of Set The Temple of Set (ToS) is an occult religious organization 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 sometime ...

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

Setianism The Temple of Set (ToS) is an Occultism, occult religious organization 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 ...

. Larson debated the pair, and at times attempted to convert them without success.

''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 human 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 ...

and frequently focused on teen-oriented topics such as

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

s and

. By this time Larson had come to embrace

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...

, including styles such as heavy metal and

rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

, 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 do ...

s of callers on the air. The subjects of

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 North America in the 19 ...

were frequent topics of discussion.

Death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

performer

Glen Benton Glen Michael Benton (born June 18, 1967) is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, lyricist and bassist for the Florida death metal band Deicide. In addition to his work with Deicide, Benton was also a member of the band Vital ...

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 ...

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 visual artist, photographer and publisher. He founded the adult magazine '' Penthouse'' in 1965. This was aimed at competing with ''Playbo ...

and founder of the music magazine ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

''. 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 metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

and write about it. Deicide frontman Glen Benton said of Larson:

Written works

Larson tried his hand at writing fiction. ''Dead Air'' (1991) was largely

ghost-written A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often hir ...

by Lori Boespflug and Muriel Olson, according to

Karen Stollznow Karen Stollznow (born 12 August 1976) is an Australian-American author, linguist, public speaker, and podcaster. Her books include ''Bitch: The Journey of a Word'', ''Missed Conceptions: How We Make Sense of Infertility'', ''On the Offensive: ...

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

political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influen ...

; 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.

Exorcism

In 2013 ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

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

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

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 friend group had asked Larson to train them in performing exorcisms. The Teenage Exorcists consequently published a reply to

Vice Media Vice Media Group LLC is a Canadian-American digital media and broadcasting company. Vice Media encompasses four main business areas: Vice Studios Group (film and TV production); Vice TV (a joint venture with A&E Networks, also known as Vicelan ...

's video stating that they "question the journalistic integrity of this Vice Media story and are disappointed by how we were falsely portrayed." The group, later renamed the All-American Exorcists, was also profiled by BBC and ''People'', among others. , Larson offered to perform exorcisms over

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

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

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

program ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...

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

Devil A devil is the mythical 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 conce ...

, to go after him and to kick him back to

hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

." Later in the same segment, however, he indicated that " tweeting an exorcism would be ridiculous."

Bibliography

*''Rock & Roll: The Devil's Diversion'' ( Creation House, 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 House, 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, 1989) *''Straight Answers on the New Age'' (Thomas Nelson (publisher), 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 Press, 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 Living people American television evangelists American television talk show hosts American male writers People of the Christian countercult movement American exorcists Writers from Phoenix, Arizona Spiritual warfare People from McCook, Nebraska Writers from Los Angeles Religious leaders from Phoenix, Arizona Television personalities from Phoenix, Arizona