Bob Larson

Bob Larson (born 1944 in McCook, Nebraska) is a radio and television evangelist, currently based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Larson has authored numerous books on the subjects of rock music, cults, and Satanism, written from a Christian perspective.
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. Less flamboyant than the Peters Brothers and less sensational than Jack Chick, Jeff Godwin, or Jacob Aranza, Larson is still remembered as one of the most vocal fundamentalist Christian critics of rock music.
By the 1970s, however, much of Larson's teachings concerned Satanism. Larson originally rejected Christian rock music based on its similarity in sound and image to secular rock music. Larson frequently appeared as a guest on secular and religious talk shows.
== "Talk Back" with Bob Larson ==
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. 
By the late 1980s, in what would come to define his later ministry, Larson was often heard performing exorcisms of callers on the air. The subjects of Satanism and Satanic ritual abuse were frequent topics of discussion. Death metal performers Glen Benton of Deicide and Trey Azagthoth of Morbid Angel became regular callers. 
Larson tried his hand at writing fiction: Dead Air (1991) was largely ghost-written by Lori Boespflug and Muriel Olson. His later novels Abaddon (1993) and The Senator's Agenda both linked Satanic ritual abuse to political corruption; the latter was largely written by Larson and his second wife. However, a former vice president of BLM (Bob Larson Ministries), Lori Boespflug, claimed that much of Dead Air, though presented as Larson's work, is actually 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.
Today, Larson remains active. His ministry professes to offer an alternative counseling outlet to people who have problems with violence, self-mutilation, multiple personality disorders, Satanic ritual abuse, or molestation.
==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) ISBN 0-88419-030-7
*Hell on Earth (Creation House, 1974) ISBN 0-88419-072-2 
*Babylon Reborn (Creation House, 1976) ISBN 0-88419-006-4 
*Rock, Practical Help for Those Who Listen to the Words and Don't like What They Hear (Tyndale, 1980) ISBN 0-8423-5685-1 
*Larson's Book of Cults (Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Ill, 1982) ISBN 0-8423-2104-7
*Larson's Book of Family Issues (Tyndale, 1986) ISBN 0-8423-2459-3
*Strange Cults in America (Tyndale, 1986) ISBN 0-8423-6675-X
*Larson's Book of Rock (Tyndale, 1987) ISBN 0-8423-5687-8
*Your Kids and Rock (Tyndale, 1988) ISBN 0-8423-8611-4
*Satanism: the Seduction of America's Youth (Lightning Source, 1989) ISBN 0-8407-3034-9
*Straight Answers on the New Age (Thomas Nelson, 1989) ISBN 0-8407-3032-2 
*Tough Talk About Tough Issues (Tyndale, 1989) ISBN 0-8423-7297-0
*Larson's New Book of Cults (Tyndale, 1989) ISBN 0-8423-2860-2
*Dead Air: A Novel (Thomas Nelson, 1991) ISBN 0-8407-7638-1
*Abaddon: A Novel (Thomas Nelson, 1993) ISBN 0-8407-7796-5
*The Senator's Agenda (Thomas Nelson, 1995) ISBN 0-7852-7879-6
*In The Name Of Satan: How the Forces of Evil Work and What You Can Do To Defeat Them (Thomas Nelson, 1996) ISBN 0-7852-7881-8
*UFO's and the Alien Agenda (Thomas Nelson, 1997) ISBN 0-7852-7182-1
*Extreme Evil: Kids Killing Kids (Nelson Reference, 1999) ISBN 0-7852-6870-7
*Larson's Book of Spiritual Warfare (Nelson, 1999) ISBN 0-7852-6985-1
*Shock Talk: the Exorcist Files (WestBow, 2001) ISBN 0-7852-7009-4
==Notes==
==See also==
*Larson's Book of World Religions and Alternative Spirituality
*John Safran vs God
*John Safran
*Jack Chick
==External links==
*Bob Larson's official website
*
*Cornerstone Magazine article critical of Larson
*Analysis of Larson's teachings and history
*Charity Navigator rating for Bob Larson Ministries
*Bob Larson critique
*The Devil is in the Details: An Examination of the Teachings of Bob Larson
Category:1944 births
Category:Living people
Category:American writers
Category:American television evangelists
Category:Christian fundamentalism
Category:Christian religious leaders
Category:Exorcism
Category:People from Denver, Colorado
Category:Spiritual warfare
Category:Television talk show hosts
Category:Anti-cult organizations and individuals