Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson arrives for the funeral of the Rev. Speaking on The 700 Club in support of Ros Montts counterinsurgency program, Robertson intoned, He who wields the sword does not wield it in vain. This is only slightly more elegant than Ros Montts blunt statement of faith: If you are with us, well feed you. After 60 years at the helm of his Christian Broadcasting Network, and 55 hosting its signature news magazine broadcast, The 700 Club, the 91-year-old Southern Baptist minister and Christian media mogul Pat Robertson is retiring. Marion G. "Pat" Robertson (born 1930) was a television evangelist who founded and led the Christian Broadcasting Network. God, Robertson kept insisting, was punishing Americans for engaging in abortion, divorce, gay sex, and secular humanismamong other smite-worthy offenses to the Almighty.3 Ron Edmonds/Associated Press. But we used as evidence [for Gods presence] every self-centered trick in the book. in the same ideology via homeschoolingRobertsons notion that entire nations can be blessed or punished based on their degree of obedience to or rebellion against God is standard fare. "And all of that area is going to be mobilized against Israel in the latter days. newsletter. Many religion journalists and commentators are writing about the news in ways that normalize Robertson, a right-wing Christian extremist whose legacy shouldnt be soft-pedaled. Islam is a violentI was going to say religionbut its not a religion. magazine_button_url_447301 = 'https://www.thenation.com/email-signup-module-donate/'; He also waged what he saw as a religious war against the LGBTQ community, which sparked backlash. Pat Robertson, a Baptist minister with a passion for politics who marshaled Christian conservatives into a powerful constituency . tn_subject: ['election-2', 'election-2', 'election-2', 'election-2', 'election-2', 'election-2', 'feminism', 'foreign-po', 'gender-and', 'genocide-a', 'higher-edu', 'hiv-and-ai', 'journalist', 'latin-amer', 'lgbtq-acti', 'lobbying', 'political-', 'religion', 'reproducti', 'republican', 'social-jus', 'television', 'the-right', 'transgende'], if( is_user_logged_in != null ){ Reader support helps keep our explainers free for all. There is such fear on the right about the Supreme Court. Youre not going to bring atheists into the government? The pulpit is going to have to give way to [conversations between] human beings: how theyre living life as a Christian, as a believer, whatever, and not marching in lockstep with certain beliefs, with those who would choose to manipulate the mass market. Pat Robertson, who helped make religion key to GOP, dies at age 93 July 10, 2023 In the 1970s, he predicted a 1982 ending. While Pat himself will be less of a fixture in the American public sphere going forward, his pernicious influence will be long-lasting. Former televangelist Pat Robertson came out of retirement to comment on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying Vladimir Putin is being "compelled by God" to bring about the "End of Times," prophesied in the Bible. Retired televangelist Pat Robertson resurfaced this week to make another in a long line of his doomsday predictions. The 700 Club talk show can be seen in the vast majority of U.S. television markets. tn_ptype: 'article', Pat Robertson, broadcaster who helped make religion central to GOP It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians. Pat Robertson. In 2020, he predicted Donald Trump would win reelection "without question" and it would lead to the end. if( inline_cta_2_text_447301 !='' ){ } We have permitted somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 to 40 million unborn babies to be slaughtered in our society. jQuery("#magazine_button_447301 a").attr("href",magazine_button_url_447301); }else{ As The New York Times noted in its obituary for the dictator, Ros Montt was determined to crush the Guatemalan insurgency and5, intensified the scorched-earth campaign that had been waged by his predecessor, Gen. Romeo Lucas Garca. Instead, they and the Reagan administration backed Ros Montt, aiding and abetting genocidal state violence in the process.10, Robertsons embrace of a genocidal dictator in Guatemala was no accident or outlier but rather an organic outgrowth of his authoritarian worldview. But Robertson and his fellow evangelicals, with their constant warnings against secular humanism, have only made godlessness much more attractive. Its in his blood, but more than that, its in his environment. As Nikolas Kozloff noted in Counterpunch in 2005, Since the 1970s Robertson has loyally served hawkish U.S. foreign policy objectives in Latin America and played a particularly pernicious role in the region.11 Persia, of course, is Iran. A year later, I got a call from Pat to help him while he was running for president. What do you mean? Its a political system. "It is a monstrous evil.". Robertsons mistake was doing it on TV in front of an audience of millions. from parody news sites occasionally go viral. } tn_keyword: ['corporate-', 'culture-wa', 'religious-'], Now, that's Critical Race Theory. Robertsons fictive history is an allegory of the sin of disobedience. if( is_user_logged_in != null ){ if( inline_cta_font_color_447301 !='' ){ And I was always excited about creating good TV. Trump's campaign touts grassroots support in Iowa. Founded by abolitionists in 1865, The Nation has long believed that independent journalism has the capacity to bring about a more democratic and equitable world. In your book, you seem deeply admiring of Robertsons accomplishments and charisma even as youre critical of his methods. Christianity Today reported in 2022, Among 18- to 25-year-olds, 49 percent of women are nones, compared to just 46 percent of men. With Robertson as the public face of religion, more and more Americans are deciding that theyd rather stay the hell away from houses of worship.19, In his book Miltons God (1961), the contrarian poet and critic William Empson described the Christian deity, as depicted in John Miltons Paradise Lost, as the wickedest thing yet invented by the black heart of man.20 Robertson, who turns 92 this month, is a serial doomsday cheerleader. View the Program Calendar. July 7, 2023, Less attention is given to Robertsons foreign policy views, although he always had a global vision. Thats why, even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. Per Falwell, they included Throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools. He added, The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this, because God will not be mocked, before rattling off a list of sinners to blame: the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays, and the lesbians, who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Wayall of them, who tried to secularize AmericaI point the finger in their face and say, You helped this happen., When the Supreme Court overturned the federal Defense of Marriage Act in 2013, Robertson said the following to Christian Right lobbyist Jay Sekulow, who would later attain infamy as one of Donald Trumps lawyers: Jay, let me ask you about Anthony Kennedy, does he have some clerks who happen to be gays?. Its not true that Robertson blamed hurricane Katrina on the selection of an out lesbian, Ellen Degeneres, as the host of the 2005 Primetime Emmy Awards. The interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. The evangelical leader Pat Robertson said on Friday that he was stepping down as host of the "The 700 Club" after more than 50 years at the helm of a program that channeled . inline_cta_url_447301 = 'https://www.thenation.com/donate-website?utm_medium=website&utm_source=Website&utm_campaign=june-appeal&sourceid=1066666&ms=post-inline&utm_content=post-inline'; Well, that didnt go down very well with me. Robertson's death Thursday was confirmed in an email by his broadcasting network. He also pens the monthly column Morbid Symptoms. The author of In Love with Art: Francoise Moulys Adventures in Comics with Art Spiegelman(2013) andSweet Lechery: Reviews, Essays and Profiles(2014), Heer has written for numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, The American Prospect, The Guardian,The New Republic,and The Boston Globe. magazine_button_url_447301 = 'https://subscriptions.thenation.com/Nation_index?pk=G2A1CLT'; Robertson remained chairman of the network and continued to appear on The 700 Club. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. } After all, Robertson at his worst is so cartoonish that he seems capable of saying anything, so long as its offensive right-wing nonsense. Pat Robertson's son, Gordon Robertson, appointed chancellor of Regent [Plus], Ive always believed in point-of-view journalism. Robertson made a special appearance on The 700 Club Monday to weigh in on Russia's attack on Ukraine, saying Putin is simply following God's wishes to spark an End of Times battle against Israel. Your IP: Reparations Is How We End It, By Dedrick Asante-Muhammad and Chuck Collins, For the Sake of the Nation, the Reparations Movement Needs to End Now, Used Car Market Forecast As Prices Suffer Biggest Fall in Years, Tuberville's Blockade on Military Promotions Helps China, Lawmakers Warn, U.S. States Urged To Block Donald Trump From 2024 Run, Ron DeSantis' Problems Keep Getting Worse and Worse. Well, for a man who used to, and publicly lobbied on Mobutus behalf, calling for the assassination of a, dictator is pretty standard. In the early days of satellite two of the 10 transponders on the first satellite were owned by Christian organizations. Pat Robertson must've forgotten the story of the good Samaritan is also about expanding the narrative to include those deliberately excluded," Carroll tweeted. var inline_cta_bg_color_447301 = ''; magazine_text_447301 = '

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'; I dont know that I had that concern. In 2010, an earthquake struck Haiti and killed between 100,000 and 160,000 people. And you dont get any higher in my book than by reaching out to someone whos suffering and praying with them. Desperately poor. var inline_cta_url_447301 = ''; Theres a strong sense among people that they wanted to do something about it. After Robertsons death was announced, he was lauded by AIPAC, which tweeted: AIPAC mourns the passing of Pat Robertson, who was a great friend of Israel and a pioneer in the modern Christian Zionist movement. Robertson was indeed a friend of Israel in the special sense that he was aligned with right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but Robertson was no friend to Jews at large. Pat Robertson Is Dead. His Dystopian Legacy Lives On }else{ jQuery("#inline_cta_2_btn_447301").html(inline_cta_2_button_text_447301); For more than a half-century, Robertson was a familiar presence in American living rooms, known for his 700 Club television show, and in later years, his televised pronouncements of Gods judgment, blaming natural disasters on everything from homosexuality to the teaching of evolution. Pat Robertson hands '700 Club' to son, steps away from show (For more information, check out my 2018, , or watch the 2013 documentary Mission Congo.) Along the way, hes developed such a reputation for saying outrageous things that. jQuery("#inline_cta_btn_447301 a input").css("color",inline_cta_font_color_447301); Share. The pilot was a guy who was constantly losing money because he was trying to give his way out of debt. inline_cta_bg_color_447301 = '#ffcf0d'; Once a Week. cta_1_check_447301 = true; Pat Robertson and the Rise of the Christian Coalition. But Pat hated it because it wasnt prosperity! and everythings going to work out just fine!. But his roots were in the white evangelical Christian church, as an ordained pastor. View our current issue "But at the same time, he's being compelled by God. The clear subtext is that people of African descent couldnt possibly have fought for and gained their independence without some help from Satan himself. "Like I keep telling people.. Critical Race Theory has NO real definition," Nasheed said. } But thats precisely because I take them seriously as a threat to democracy and human rights. He went into Ukraine, but that wasn't his goal. In 2005, Robertson offhandedly remarked of then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, If he thinks were trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. I dont know how he found out. Its a violent political system bent on the overthrow of governments of the world and world domination, adding, I think you should treat it as such and treat its adherents as such. }); American evangelicals were naturally excited that so prominent a born-again believer was now in power. Current Issue The money poured in as he solicited donations, his influence soared, and he brought a huge following with him when he moved directly into politics by seeking the GOP presidential nomination in 1988. And guiding them becomes an easy task what we gave them was Republican Party politics. [The anarchic nature of the web] is a perfect vessel for the holy spirit. For example, if you believe that God rewards good Christians by making them prosperous, and youre not prosperous, you have to ask yourself why. Pat Robertson Ends His Long Run as Host of 'The 700 Club' After that, he became a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. So the fact that he got to be a minister and was able to manipulate a substantial audience into becoming political is actually quite an accomplishment, whether you believe its a good accomplishment or a bad accomplishment. Apr 9, 2023 By Emmy Wallin What is Pat Robertson's net worth? As we would members of the Communist party and members of some Fascist group., to ask what he could do about his wife having no respect for me as head of the house. Without missing a beat, Robertson. In 1988 he ran for president, doing well in several primaries and caucuses and succeeding at getting his religious agenda into the arena of public discussion. You know, Napoleon III [sic] and whatever. In addition, his call for the US to assassinate Chavez is one of the remarks that public pressure eventually forced Robertson to walk back and apologize for. Robertson was one of the most prominent and influential Christian broadcasters in the U.S. While Robertson lost the presidential nomination to George H.W. Often, Heaton writes, the desire to put on a convincing show for their audience meant eliding the truth in favor of a more marketable approach: casting only conventionally attractive and successful-looking Christians in their segments, exclusively focusing on the positive aspects of Christianity, and hinting that faith could bring temporal as well as spiritual rewards. A senior correspondent for Religion Dispatches, her work has appeared in Dame Magazine, Foreign Policy, Playboy, Political Research Associates, and other outlets, including peer-reviewed academic journals. var magazine_button_url_447301 = ''; Its a violent political system bent on the overthrow of governments of the world and world domination, adding, I think you should treat it as such and treat its adherents as such. } My simple answer is, Yes, they are., Its telling that Robertson failed to add the faux-inclusive prefix Judeo to his call for Christian values in government. That island of Hispaniola is one island. In that way, Trump plays him like a piano. cta_1_check_447301 = true; Robertson, the 91-year-old host of the Christian Broadcasting Network's flagship program The 700 Club, told viewers on Friday that CRT aimed to give people of color "the whip handle" over white people, according to a report from Right Wing Watch. What Does Pat Robertson Do With His Money? - Vim Buzz By Alex Ben Block - October 7, 2021 Now based in Virginia Beach, CBN says its outreach extends to more than 100 countries and territories in dozens of languages through TV and video evangelism, online ministry and prayer centers. Robertson, the 91-year-old . sinning and the other is that somebody out there is taking what rightfully belongs to you and youve got to do something about that. cta_2_check_447301 = true; So, for what heinous sins did the United States deserve 9/11? https://t.co/Qum8HzeS96 pic.twitter.com/fgeOEVzrfj. The price of used cars jumped up 40 percent to an average of nearly $29,000 between early 2020 and May 2023. The Christian Broadcasting Network says Robertson is stepping down as host of the long-running daily television show The 700 Club." Youre not going to bring atheists into the government? We believe thats an important part of building a more equal society. The founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network claimed that Ukraine is simply a "staging area" for one of the great biblical armies that will gather for Armageddon. And I think we need to recognize that., In 2009, he brought back Cold War-era domino theory, replacing Communists with Muslims. } In 1960,. Famous televangelist Pat Robertson was married to Dede Robertson for more than six decades. In 2020, he predicted Donald Trump would win reelection without question and it would lead to the end. How dare you maintain that those who believe in Christian values are better qualified to govern America than Hindus and Muslims? Preacher Pat Robertson Dies at 93, a Year after His Wife Dede's Death - He Is Survived by 4 Children. Election 2024 Meet the 2024 presidential election candidates: These Democrats and Republicans are running, Pat Robertson, religious broadcaster, dies at 93. Contrary to his claim, Turkey has not backed Russia's invasion and has stated its support for Ukraine. The 700 Club with Pat Robertson - Christian Broadcasting Network if( magazine_button_bg_color_447301 !='' ){ He also has a long history of hateful, divisive, racist and intolerant comments. [But] he was one of the first people to contact me when my wife passed away in 2006. Robertson urged The 700 Club viewers to read their Bibles, saying God will make firm on his promise and that prophesies will be fulfilled. 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