Bob Larson
| Bob Larson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 28, 1944 Westwood, Los Angeles, California, US |
| Residence | Scottsdale, Arizona, US |
| Occupation | Evangelical Christian pastor |
| Website | http://www.boblarson.org/ |
Bob Larson (born May 28, 1944) is an American radio and television evangelist, and a pastor of Spiritual Freedom Church in Phoenix, Arizona. Larson has authored numerous books on the subjects of rock music and Satanism, written from a Christian perspective.
Larson was born in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, the son of Viola (née Baum) and Earl Larson. He was raised in McCook, Nebraska.
Larson plays guitar; he has claimed his early experiences as a musician led to his concerns about occult and destructive influences in rock music. He would later incorporate his guitar playing into some of his sermons. In the 1960s, the focus of Larson's preaching centered mainly on the leftist political ideology, sexually suggestive lyrics, Eastern religious mysticism, and antisocial behavior of many of the era's rock musicians.
During the late 1980s and into the 1990s, Bob Larson repeatedly debated, interviewed, and confronted Satanists, during the period known as the Satanic panic. On two separate occasions he hosted Nikolas Schreck (a gothic rock musician) and Zeena LaVey (once the spokesperson for the Church of Satan and later a priestess in the Temple of Set). During their first encounter the pair defended Satanism, while in 1997, during their second appearance, they defended Setianism. Larson debated the pair, and at times attempted to convert them without success.
In 1982, Larson launched "Talk Back", a two-hour weekday call-in show geared mainly toward teenagers and frequently focused on teen-oriented topics such as role-playing games and rock music. By this time Larson had come to embrace contemporary Christian music, including styles such as heavy metal and rap, and actively promoted the music and artists on his show.
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