Willie "Bibleman" Aames would sell his past, but not his soul. Would he?

November 6, 2:54 AMReligion in the News ExaminerShawn Paul Wood

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Aames' personal fight for faith. Indeed.
Courtesy: BibleMan.com

First, we met a young Tommy bradford when "Eight was Enough". Then Buddy Lembeck entered our lives with "Charles in Charge."

Such was life for the curly-qued, acne-ridden Willie Aames - teen fame, good looks, cavalier personality and all that cash.

Then, God showed up in Willie's life and introduced us all to "Bibleman" where Aames preached the word with a fury and thought children the difference right and wrong, God and Satan, heaven and hell. 

Regretfully, that was the last we saw of young Willie.

Today, sans fame, hot tights and that schoolboy charm, young Willie is now 49 years old, filed bankruptcy twice (how do you do that anyway) and having yard sales on the front lawn of his foreclosed home.

Check the video, the chicanerie and the misery:

Eight dollars is enough to buy that treasure
 

However, according to this story in the Kansas City Star, at least Aames has direction again.

Aames, who has filed for bankruptcy twice since 1997 and was selling his possessions in March just to make ends meet, has stabilized his finances and is well on his way toward learning this new profession [as a financial adviser]. He hopes his story will inspire others who find themselves in similar straits.

Now, before you fall too sorry for the young child star who has had his bank account "Zapped" (Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?), that clip was filmed in March at Aames' Olathe, Kan. home for his new show on VH1, "Broke & Famous" (airs Thursdays, 10 p.m.)

Now, that we have a little reality (pun not inended... well, maybe a little), let's get back to the story. It seems Willie is trying to redeem himself from his financial woes:

“As of Dec. 12, I had no wife, no family, no car, no computer, no home, no electricity, no gas and no way to obtain any of it,” Aames said this week. “How do you start over from scratch? I didn’t know. But I thought that if I made it, maybe, just maybe, it would be helpful to some people.”

Aames is serious about this too, as he has a mentor outside of the author of that Bible for which he fought; it's Thomas Butch, president of Waddell & Reed financial advisers, et al.

“He will still have to do what all of our advisers do — become adept at financial planning, at knowing our products and understanding how to ascertain products that are best for clients, marketing himself and acquiring a client base,” Butch said in an interview. “I think he will have the capacity to do that very, very well.”

Surely this was out of the kindness of Butch's heart. Can't you see it? [Harp music, anyone]

He's there, Butch - in all his glory - on his lush recliner crushing some quiche and puffing a stogie. Suddenly, he turns on VH1 and sees the former Bibleman in this financial ruin (probably on Scott Baio's VH1 show... woof!) and then he has the epiphany that Aames would so rock as a financial guru.

Probably not. It's called a media push and quick oub for the firm, but meh? Can you blame the guy? At least he's there to give Aames the hand he needs, because apparently he needed more than one.

On the show, Aames is seen taking a woodworking job with Brown Midwest, an Olathe-based home builder. Mike Brown of Brown Midwest said Aames worked “three or four days” before leaving to concentrate on a financial advisory career.

Let's hope he sticks to advising more than those paltry three-to-four days because back when he was draped in a cape and rocking the "Sword of the Spirit," he was great at it.

Seriously. Watch the DVDs. The boy had passion, vigor, sincerity, a love for the Word of God and kids loved it. I know mine still do.

We can only pray that when Willie was sharing the stories of falling in faith, needing God for a miracle and learning about our mistakes in Jesus' name, it wasn't just acting. Even though he isn't talking about it like he used to, Willie knows he needs a touch from God and a visit from his old acting partner.

Because when you are haggling over prices for a lion's head (not a good omen for a Christian in case you need it), you need a little faith. Well, a lot.

As always, keep in touch with Religion in the News examinations by subscribing and have it delivered to your inbox or follow me on Twitter. Peace.