Pat Robertson: Encyclopedia II - Pat Robertson - Controversies

Pat Robertson - Controversies

Robertson is outspoken in both his faith and his politics and controversies surrounding him have often made headlines:

Pat Robertson - Claim that some denominations contain the spirit of the Antichrist

On January 14, 1991, on "The 700 Club", Pat Robertson attacked a number of Protestant denominations when he declared: "You say you're supposed to be nice to the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians and the Methodists and this, that, and the other thing. Nonsense. I don't have to be nice to the spirit of the Antichrist."

Pat Robertson - Claims about the power of his prayers

Robertson claims to have used the power of prayer to steer hurricanes away from his companies' Virginia Beach, Virginia, headquarters. He took credit for steering the course in 1985 of Hurricane Gloria, which caused millions of dollars of destruction in many states along the U.S. east coast. He made a similar claim about another destructive storm, Hurricane Felix, in 1995. In 2003, Robertson called on God to prevent Hurricane Isabel from hitting Virginia Beach. In 2005, Robertson launched Operation Supreme Court Freedom, a televised nationwide 21-day prayer campaign asking people to pray for vacancies on the Supreme Court, where "black-robed tyrants have pushed a radical agenda". Robertson declared that "God heard those prayers"[5], after the announced resignation of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Pat Robertson - Opposition to feminism homosexuality and liberalism

Among his more controversial statements, Robertson has described feminism as a "socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians." Many of Robertson's views mirror those of the evangelical activist Jerry Falwell, who has made frequent appearances on The 700 Club. He agreed with Falwell that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were caused by "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays, lesbians, the ACLU and the People for the American Way." After public outcry regarding the dialogue, which took place only days after the attacks, Robertson stated that he had not understood what Falwell was saying during the interview, which was conducted via television monitor.

On the June 8, 1998 edition of his show, Robertson denounced Orlando and Disney World for allowing a privately sponsored "Gay Days" weekend. Robertson stated that the acceptance of homosexuality could result in hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, terrorist bombs and "possibly a meteor." The resulting outcry prompted Robertson to return to the topic on June 24, where he quoted Revelation in an attempt to support his claims.

Pat Robertson - Support for Charles Taylor

Robertson repeatedly supported former President of Liberia Charles Taylor in various episodes of his 700 Club program during the United States' involvement in the Liberian Civil War in June and July 2003. Robertson accuses the U.S. State Department of giving President Bush bad advice in supporting Taylor's ouster as president, and of trying "as hard as they can to destabilize Liberia." Robertson has been criticized for failing to mention in his broadcasts his $8 million investment in a Liberian gold mine. Taylor had been at the time of Robertson's support indicted by the United Nations for war crimes, and prosecutors also said he had harbored members of Al Qaeda responsible for the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings. According to Robertson, the Liberian gold mine Freedom Gold was intended to help pay for humanitarian and evangelical efforts in Liberia, when in fact the company was allowed to fail leaving many debts both in Liberia and in the international mining service sector. Regarding this controversy, Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention's public policy said, "I would say that Pat Robertson is way out on his own, in a leaking life raft, on this one."

Robertson has also been accused of using his tax-exempt, nonprofit organization, Operation Blessing, as a front for his own financial gain, and then using his influence in the Republican Party to cover his tracks. After making emotional pleas in 1994 on The 700 Club for cash donations to Operation Blessing to support airlifts of refugees from Rwanda to Zaire, it was later discovered, by a reporter from The Virginian Pilot, that Operation Blessing's planes were transporting diamond-mining equipment for the Robertson-owned African Development Corporation, a venture Robertson had established in cooperation of Zaire's dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.

An investigation by Virginia's Office of Consumer Affairs determined that Robertson "willfully induced contributions from the public through the use of misleading statements and other implications" and called for a criminal prosecution against Robertson in 1999. However, the Virginia Attorney General Mark Earley, a Republican, (whose largest campaign contributor two years earlier was Robertson himself) intervened, accepting that Robertson had made deceptive appeals but overruling the recommendation for his prosecution.

Pat Robertson - Political statements

On his The 700 Club television program, Pat Robertson has sharply criticized elements of the United States government and "special interest" groups that don't share his views. In interviews with the author of a book critical of the United States Department of State, Robertson made suggestions that the explosion of a nuclear weapon at State Department Headquarters would be good for the country, and repeated those comments on the air. "What we need is for somebody to place a small nuke at Foggy Bottom," [6] Robertson said during his television program, referring to the location of the State Department headquarters. State Department officials said they believed the comments to be in extremely bad taste, and have lodged official complaints against Robertson for his remarks.

Robertson has repeatedly claimed that Barry Lynn has stated that fire departments cannot put out fires in churches because it would be a violation of separation of church and state. Lynn, progressive organizations like Media Matters for America [7] and conservative groups such as Focus on the Family have all contested Robertson's statements.

Pat Robertson - Chinese abortions

In a 2001 interview with Wolf Blitzer, he said of that the Chinese were "doing what they have to do," with regards to China's one child policy, sometimes enforced with forced abortions, though he said that he did not personally agree with the practice. His comments drew criticism from both sides of the political spectrum. [8]

Pat Robertson - Judicial activism vs. 9/11 terrorists

During an interview on ABC's This Week, on April 30, 2005, Robertson was speaking about judicial activism when he said, "If you look over the course of a hundred years, I think the gradual erosion of the consensus that’s held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings." This statement prompted outcry from several September 11th support and survivor groups.

The statement was made as part of a discussion about the long term future of the United States. Robertson went on to say, "I think we're going to control al Qaeda. I think we're going to get Osama bin Laden. We won in Afghanistan. We won in Iraq, and we can contain that. But if there's an erosion at home, you know, Thomas Jefferson warned about a tyranny of an oligarchy and if we surrender our democracy to the tyranny of an oligarchy, we've made a terrible mistake."

Pat Robertson - Education background

• On different occasions, Robertson has claimed an IQ of 159, 139 and 137.
• In a book Robertson wrote, he described himself as a "Yale-educated tax lawyer," though he had not passed the bar.
• Robertson claimed he was on a board of directors of a bank, when he was only actually on an advisory board.
• Robertson's claims of overseas graduate study turned out to be a summer introductory course for Americans abroad.

Pat Robertson - Call for assassination of Hugo Chávez

On the day of August 22, 2005 broadcast of The 700 Club, Robertson said of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, "I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war, and I don’t think any oil shipments will stop." Robertson also said that Chávez was "going to make Venezuela a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent" and called him an "out-of-control dictator... a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil that could hurt us very badly." [9] Assassinations of heads of state have been against U.S. policy since an executive order against them was issued in 1976; in response, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that "our department doesn't do that kind of thing." Bernardo Álvarez, Venezuela's ambassador to the U.S., demanded a stronger condemnation from the White House and that the United States "respect our country and its president."

On the August 24 edition of The 700 Club, Robertson asserted that he hadn't actually called for Chávez's assassination, but that there were other ways of "taking him out", such as having special forces carry out a kidnapping. Robertson flatly denied using the word "assassinate" [10] despite video tape evidence that he did. [11] Later that day, he issued a written statement in which he said, "Is it right to call for assassination? No, and I apologize for that statement. I spoke in frustration that we should accommodate the man who thinks the U.S. is out to kill him." However, he continued to justify his original stance on the potential threat Chávez posed to U.S. interests. [12]

On Sunday, August 28, Chávez called on the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the matter: "My government is going to take legal action in the United States," he said in a televised speech. "If the U.S. government does not take the necessary steps, we will denounce the U.S. government at the United Nations and the Organization of American States."

Pat Robertson - Message to Dover Pennsylvania

On his November 10, 2005 broadcast of The 700 Club, Robertson told citizens of Dover, Pennsylvania that they had rejected God by voting out of office all seven members of the school board who support "intelligent design."

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city," Robertson said on his broadcast.

"And don't wonder why He hasn't helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I'm not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that's the case, don't ask for His help because he might not be there," he said [13].

In a written statement, Robertson later clarified his comments:

"God is tolerant and loving, but we can't keep sticking our finger in his eye forever. If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them."[14]

Pat Robertson - Robertson says impeding or criticism of the Iraq war is treason

On the December 7, 2005 edition of Christian Broadcasting Network's The 700 Club Robertson stated: "We've won the war already, and for the Democrats to say we can't win it -- what kind of a statement is that? And furthermore, one of the fundamental principles we have in America is that the president is the commander in chief of the armed forces and attempts to undermine the commander in chief during time of war amounts to treason. I know we have an opportunity to express our points of view, but there is a time when we're engaged in a combat situation that carping criticism against the commander in chief just doesn't cut it." [15]

Pat Robertson - Robertson on aliens

From a segment on the July 8, 1997 broadcast of The 700 Club.

"If such things (aliens) exist, they are simply demons trying to lead people away from Christ. According to "God's Word." The Bible says the earth belongs to man, but the heavens belong to the Lord. He has given us the earth. He also warned way back when Moses was writing down not only what is The Ten Commandments, but Deuteronomy, which is almost The Second Law." - Pat Robertson

Pat Robertson - Robertson on Ariel Sharon

The lead story on the January 5, 2006 edition of The 700 Club was Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's hospitalization for a severe stroke. After the story, Robertson said that Sharon's illness was possibly retribution from God for his recent drive to give more land to the Palestinians. He also claimed former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was possibly assassinated in 1995 for the same reason. [16]

The remarks drew criticism from all sides, even from among other evangelicals. For instance, Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said that Robertson "ought to know better" than to say such things. He added, "The arrogance of the statement shocks me almost as much as the insensitivity of it." Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said that "any doctor could have predicted (Sharon's) going to have health problems" and that his illness was medical, not divine retribution.[17] The White House called Robertson's statement "wholly inappropriate and offensive."

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Controversies", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki