MY WIFE RESPONDS TO THE PAT ROBERTSON SITUATION
Well I wouldn't go so far as to say that I support Pat Robertson and I certainly would not defend him, although this has less to do with his comment about the assassination of Hugo Chavez. He says stupid things all the time, things that I believe are more inflammatory and hurtful then the Chavez comment. I was watching a segment from the 700 club the other day and he was talking about the homosexuals (can't you just hear the southern accent) and he characterised "them" using words such as depraved and narcissistic. I am wondering why no one is blogging about this. Yes, the assassination comment was ridiculous and ill timed but hardly worthy of all the time, energy, and publicity it is getting. I am more concerned with the way Pat Robertson and friends portray Christianity as indignant, self-righteous, and without compassion. Perhaps the flurry around the assassination comment is because many of us secretly think things such as this, he is just dumb enough to say it out loud on a national program. Also there is something delicious at catching a "holier than thou" saying something so obviously and delightfully sinful. As I see it, the only damage control that needs to be done is to make sure George W doesn't mistaken this comment as sound foreign policy advice. So what the heck, I say forgive Mr. Robertson, I mean WWJD?
Well I wouldn't go so far as to say that I support Pat Robertson and I certainly would not defend him, although this has less to do with his comment about the assassination of Hugo Chavez. He says stupid things all the time, things that I believe are more inflammatory and hurtful then the Chavez comment. I was watching a segment from the 700 club the other day and he was talking about the homosexuals (can't you just hear the southern accent) and he characterised "them" using words such as depraved and narcissistic. I am wondering why no one is blogging about this. Yes, the assassination comment was ridiculous and ill timed but hardly worthy of all the time, energy, and publicity it is getting. I am more concerned with the way Pat Robertson and friends portray Christianity as indignant, self-righteous, and without compassion. Perhaps the flurry around the assassination comment is because many of us secretly think things such as this, he is just dumb enough to say it out loud on a national program. Also there is something delicious at catching a "holier than thou" saying something so obviously and delightfully sinful. As I see it, the only damage control that needs to be done is to make sure George W doesn't mistaken this comment as sound foreign policy advice. So what the heck, I say forgive Mr. Robertson, I mean WWJD?
Comments
While I certainly disagree with Robertson's endorsement of violence (just as I deplore American interference in the affairs of sovereign foreign nations in general), I think that the hue and cry over his statements lends Robertson a legitimacy that he certainly does not deserve. After all, this is a "man of God" who renounced his ordination in 1988 in order to exploit a secular political opportunity for his own self-aggrandizement. If being a "man of God" were truly important to him, he would have realized, as would anyone else of his calling, that secular politics is not the venue in which to make an impact for the faith. (To paraphrase Jesus, we are to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's; however, earthly kingdoms are ephemeral we should not concern or tempt ourselves with temporal politics).
Furthermore, Robertson's comments on homosexuals clearly show that he is not "loving the sinner while hating the sin" and that he sees these people as less than worthy of God's love and redemption. Again, given this cynical and clearly un-Christlike attitude, coupled with Robertson's other questionable activities, does it really matter to the nation at large what he says?