pat robertson is NOT a christian
not even the most broad definition of "christian" can describe pat.
bit of history ... back in the mid-90's i was channel surfing and ended up on the 700 club ... something my parents watched all the time ... and still do, i suspect they are life-time members of the 700 club. well, i saw this report given by him on the 700 club, he was calling for a pre-emptive strike on north korea. he claimed that we had "intelligence" and showed an aerial photo of something claiming to be a "nuclear bomb plant" ... anyway, i was so mortified that i was hearing this from a "christian leader" that i had to write a letter and copy it to my parents. well, that was my first and last letter to pat robertson, founder of the 700 club and "christian" broadcast network. but, every now and then, i check in on pat and the 700 club, and cbn ... now i do it through their web site, because i cannot watch anything produced by that organization without getting really, really, really angry and/or depressed.
soooooooo .... on pat's blog this week ... his advice on "how to handle a bully" ...
"Q: My ten-year-old son saw a bully harassing a girl in his class. He was so upset that he came up behind the bully and tripped him. The principal called me and said even though my son did a brave thing, he still had to be suspended. I’ve taught my son to stick up for other people. Do you think my son did the right thing in helping the girl, and what’s the best way to handle a bully?
A: Your son did the right thing. The principal is wrong. I don’t want to encourage kids to beat up on each other, but in that one, let that bully know what it feels like to have somebody going after him. I know that sounds hard, but it’s true. We’re supposed to lift the yoke of oppression. Read Isaiah 58. That’s the yoke of oppression. This poor little girl was being oppressed by a bully, and your son did the right thing."
INTERESTING ... pat invokes a passage from the old testament to deal with the issues of bullies saying, 'yeah, do what the bully does back to him,' rather than what jesus taught in matthew 5:38-39, which is "stand up to the bully eye-to-eye and say, 'you want to hit me ... here, go ahead.'" and then, turn the other cheek to him so that you give him the cheek that resists him and his evil ways. i read an article in the early 90's and thanks to the internet, you can read it too ... it was in yes! magazine.
THIS IS WHAT CHRISTIANITY IS TO ME ... "can love save the world" by walter wink. The following is a passage from the article, and i encourage anyone who agrees with pat to read this entire article as linked above ... but this should have been, in my opinion, a "christian leaders" response to such a question ....
so, you can choose too ... what does it mean to you to be a christian ... can you be a violent person or support a violent policy and still claim you are following jesus and are a 'christian' ... or is there a new definition of christian that does not include the teachings of jesus? and if you are a christian based on that new definition, your faith is based on an idol.
i propose that TBN, trinity broadcast network -- the world's largest christian network -- and a network i can watch and sometimes actually be uplifted and encouraged ... remove pat robertson and the 700 club from the programming immediately. if you agree, give them your thoughts ... here ...
This is what I wrote to them ...
"PLEASE, remove The 700 Club from your programming. That show misleads people on what Christianity is and its values include war, violence and deception. Pat Robertson is not a "Christian" leader we should be listening too. Thank you."
peace & harmony,
elaine
'freedom must be exercised to stay in shape!'
bit of history ... back in the mid-90's i was channel surfing and ended up on the 700 club ... something my parents watched all the time ... and still do, i suspect they are life-time members of the 700 club. well, i saw this report given by him on the 700 club, he was calling for a pre-emptive strike on north korea. he claimed that we had "intelligence" and showed an aerial photo of something claiming to be a "nuclear bomb plant" ... anyway, i was so mortified that i was hearing this from a "christian leader" that i had to write a letter and copy it to my parents. well, that was my first and last letter to pat robertson, founder of the 700 club and "christian" broadcast network. but, every now and then, i check in on pat and the 700 club, and cbn ... now i do it through their web site, because i cannot watch anything produced by that organization without getting really, really, really angry and/or depressed.
soooooooo .... on pat's blog this week ... his advice on "how to handle a bully" ...
"Q: My ten-year-old son saw a bully harassing a girl in his class. He was so upset that he came up behind the bully and tripped him. The principal called me and said even though my son did a brave thing, he still had to be suspended. I’ve taught my son to stick up for other people. Do you think my son did the right thing in helping the girl, and what’s the best way to handle a bully?
A: Your son did the right thing. The principal is wrong. I don’t want to encourage kids to beat up on each other, but in that one, let that bully know what it feels like to have somebody going after him. I know that sounds hard, but it’s true. We’re supposed to lift the yoke of oppression. Read Isaiah 58. That’s the yoke of oppression. This poor little girl was being oppressed by a bully, and your son did the right thing."
INTERESTING ... pat invokes a passage from the old testament to deal with the issues of bullies saying, 'yeah, do what the bully does back to him,' rather than what jesus taught in matthew 5:38-39, which is "stand up to the bully eye-to-eye and say, 'you want to hit me ... here, go ahead.'" and then, turn the other cheek to him so that you give him the cheek that resists him and his evil ways. i read an article in the early 90's and thanks to the internet, you can read it too ... it was in yes! magazine.
THIS IS WHAT CHRISTIANITY IS TO ME ... "can love save the world" by walter wink. The following is a passage from the article, and i encourage anyone who agrees with pat to read this entire article as linked above ... but this should have been, in my opinion, a "christian leaders" response to such a question ....
"Nevertheless, I agree with Mr. Kelly that pacifism must go. It is endlessly confused with passivity. In the nations in which Christianity has predominated, Jesus’ teaching on nonviolence has been perverted into injunctions to passive nonresistance, which, as we shall see, is the very opposite of active nonviolence. Jesus had said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your outer garment, give your undergarment as well; and if one of the occupation troops forces you to carry his pack one mile, go two” (Matthew 5:38-41). As it stands, this saying seems to counsel supine surrender. If you are a woman and you are struck by your spouse on one cheek, turn the other; let him pulverize you. If you are sued for a piece of clothing, give all your clothes voluntarily, as an act of pious renunciation. And if a Roman soldier forces you to carry his pack one mile, be a chump: carry it two. And the crowning blow: don’t resist evil at all.
For centuries, readers of this advice have instinctively known something was wrong with this picture. Jesus always resisted evil. Why would he tell us to behave in ways he himself refused? And that’s where the trouble starts. The Greek word translated as “resist” (antistenai), is literally “to stand (stenai) against (anti).” The term is taken from warfare. When two armies collide, they were said to “stand against” each other. The correct translation is given in the new Scholars Bible: “Don’t react violently against the one who is evil.” The meaning is clear: don’t react in kind, don’t mirror your enemy, don’t turn into the very thing you hate. Jesus is not telling us not to resist evil, but only not to resist it violently."
so, you can choose too ... what does it mean to you to be a christian ... can you be a violent person or support a violent policy and still claim you are following jesus and are a 'christian' ... or is there a new definition of christian that does not include the teachings of jesus? and if you are a christian based on that new definition, your faith is based on an idol.
i propose that TBN, trinity broadcast network -- the world's largest christian network -- and a network i can watch and sometimes actually be uplifted and encouraged ... remove pat robertson and the 700 club from the programming immediately. if you agree, give them your thoughts ... here ...
This is what I wrote to them ...
"PLEASE, remove The 700 Club from your programming. That show misleads people on what Christianity is and its values include war, violence and deception. Pat Robertson is not a "Christian" leader we should be listening too. Thank you."
peace & harmony,
elaine
'freedom must be exercised to stay in shape!'
posted by elaine x at 8:57 PM
2 Comments:
"PAT ROBERTSON
Founder and Chairman, The Christian Broadcasting Network. broadcaster, statesman, author, humanitarian, businessman and Christian. Follow the latest from Pat about the social, political and spiritual issues that define American culture and the world today." http://www.patrobertson.com/index.asp, I see dollar signs everywhere, It is all about power. In this high speed information age, it is sad to still see these dinosaurs.
If Pat Robertson is a Xtian, I'm a virgin princess.
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