Pat Robertson: An embarrassment to the church by Jim Wallis

[Douglas Carpenter]

Pat Robertson is an embarrassment to the church and a danger to American politics.

link to full article:

http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=sojomail.display&issue=050825#3

(snip)

On Monday, Robertson called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Robertson is worried about Chavez's critiques of American power and behavior in the world, especially because Venezuela is sitting on all that oil. We simply can't have an anti-American political leader who could raise the price of gas. So let's just kill him, the famous television preacher seriously suggested. After all, having some of our "covert operatives" take out the troublesome Venezuelan leader would be cheaper than another $200 billion war, he said.

(snip)

Robertson's political and theological reasoning is simply unbelievable. Chavez, a democratically elected leader in no less than three internationally certified votes, has been an irritant to the Bush administration, but has yet to commit any holocausts. Nor does his human rights record even approach that of the Latin American dictators who have been responsible for massive violations of human rights and the deaths of tens of thousands of people (think of the military regimes of Chile, Argentina, El Salvador, and Guatemala). Robertson never criticized them, perhaps because many of them were supported by U.S. military aid and training.

(snip)

Robertson's American fundamentalist ideology gives a lot of good people a bad name. World evangelical leaders have already responded with alarm and disbelief. Robertson's words will taint and smear other evangelical Christians and put some in actual jeopardy, such as Venezuelan evangelicals. Most conservative evangelical Christians are appalled by Robertson's hateful and literally murderous words, and it's time for them to say so. To their credit, the World Evangelical Alliance and the National Association of Evangelicals have already denounced Robertson's words. When will we hear from some of the groups from the "Religious Right," such as the Family Research Council, Southern Baptists, and other leaders like James Dobson, Tony Perkins, and Chuck Colson?

link to full article:

http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=sojomail.display&issue=050825#3

[flakey_foont]

1. an embarassment to the human race

[Cha]

2. Yeah, when will we hear from

these fire breathing death to anyone who doesn't think like them..:grr:

"When will we hear from some of the groups from the "Religious Right," such as the Family Research Council, Southern Baptists, and other leaders like James Dobson, Tony Perkins, and Chuck Colson?"

This is a great article..I'm don't want to fill out any forms right now, though.

[wli]

3. soft-pedaled...

It fails to mention that all these dictators and death squads in Latin America were US-sponsored.

[Douglas Carpenter]

4. here is a direct quote for Jim Wallis's article

" Nor does his (Chavez) human rights record even approach that of the Latin American dictators who have been responsible for massive violations of human rights and the deaths of tens of thousands of people (think of the military regimes of Chile, Argentina, El Salvador, and Guatemala). Robertson never criticized them, perhaps because many of them were supported by U.S. military aid and training."

the link again:

http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=sojomail.display&issue=050825#3

[wli]

5. I read it but missed that quote.

It was easy to miss, one mention and rather brief at that.

[Douglas Carpenter]

6. .

/