What is wrong with Pat Robertson? (I mean, besides being a bigot?)
Last year he shows his reptilian diplomacy skills by recommending that the U.S. assasinate Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
Now he’s announced that Ariel Sharon’s stroke was “divine punishment” for pulling out of Gaza:
“God considers this land to be his,” Robertson said on his TV program The 700 Club. “You read the Bible and he says ‘This is my land,’ and for any prime minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says, ‘No, this is mine.'”
Not only has Israel cut off ties with him (and at a price Robertson and evangelical cronies bring billions of dollars into the Israeli economy), but other hardcore Christians walking away from him like he set off a stinkbomb. And the ginormous Christian tourist center Robertson was helping plan in the northern Galilee has lost its lease.
Sure, he apologized today, but no one’s buying it. After all, he’ll be yodeling about some other ridiculous “divine” claim tomorrow…
And no one dares entertain the thought that the reverend might actually be RIGHT about this. No small number of Jews actually believe so, but their voices are drowned out by the hopelessly liberal masses.
I dare say that most people who were against the “disengagement,” while not actually wishing for the prime minister’s death, actually feel the same way that Pat Robertson does.
You can dare to say it, Muwardy, but it doesn’t make it true. I truly doubt that “most people who were against the disengagement” believe Sharon’s stroke was the result of a lightning bolt from God. Clogged arteries and bad eating habits, maybe.
Anyway, given his track record for making narrow-minded, racist, homophobic and generally idiotic comments, Pat Robertson’s “authority” on God’s will SHOULD be questioned.
Once again Pat Robertson has been given enough rope and has appropriately hung himself. Unfortunately, we probably haven’t heard the last of him.
he may be wrong that it was a sign from god, but it was definitly an act of god. Sharon deserved it 100% its not like the attacks even stopped
I don’t know about y’all but I don’t know of any conincidences in life, especially among us Jews. I believe that Muwardy is correct. In ’67, Ariel”Rosie”Sharon said we (Israel) would never give up the strip. While I’m not speaking for G-d, I’m more than sure Sharon will be restored to good health, but he will not return to lead Israel again not in this life time. Whether you agree or not with Sharon, we (Jews) should pray for him, because he is a HIGH-PROFILE Jew. Meaning that the whole world is watching and waiting to see how G-d deals with his people.
Many Christians, serious born-again Christians do not think much of Mr. Robertson, yes — maybe 20-25 years ago; But not now.
Myself, I can’t see how anyone can imagine that the G*d of the Bible leads this man to say some of the things he says!
For example, Christians believe Jesus — and he said that “He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword” — ie., we are not supposed to go around advocating the death of people so casually, (yes, I hope the President of Venezeula changes his mind about a few things, but we’re not supposed to kill him.) No matter what Robertson wants or says!
Some of his problems may be caused by age, but whatever the cause, it’s time for him to retire.
However Sharon did make a mistake, that no one can deny. I say this seeing the Arabs continue to demonstrate zero respect for Jews — of course, they do respect our strengths (such as our military.) But while we Jews want peace, the Muslim Arabs want us dead.
(This may not be a popular comment, but the Arabs who cause the vast majority of the trouble are Muslims. Whoever ‘Allah’ is, it’s not the G*d of the Bible. That much is clear!)
However, one party to a conflict can not have peace. It takes two. Still, we need to maintain good relationships with Egypt, Jordan — and believe this or not!, Isaiah writing more than 2700 years ago, described the Assyrian empire as one of two “countries” that would eventually be at peace with Israel. Today “Assyeria” includes several countries, diverse as India and Iran (see, believe this or not!)
And according to Isaiah, the other nations in the vicinity of Israel are not good real estate investments — for example, he describes a year when Saudia Arabia, after causing some trouble to Israel, is completely wiped out — devoid of all life (except some animal life.)
I myself am a Jew who became a born-again Christian 35 years ago. And the God of the Bible has made such a difference to me.
They guy is a wacko. End of story.
I definitely disagreed with the disengagement and feel that the bitter fruits are being borne of it (Kassams, Hamas victory, uprooting of still yet more Jews from property that most definitely belonged to Jews for about 200 years and in a holy city no less (not like it’s secular Elei Sinai)), but Pat Robertson is not just wrong, he’s dead wrong. Like too many Evangelical Christians (and probably in a tradition that stretches back to the writing of the Gospels), he quotes out of context. I’ll quote Joel 4:1-2 here:
1 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and divided My land.
So, as can be clearly seen, this divine judgment being metted out is toward the invaders and captors, not toward any sovereign of Judah. If Pat Robertson was looking for a source to justify his view on Divine Retribution (which I’m not exactly ruling out either. After all, I’ve seen too many coincidences with Katrina and what Sharon was about to do in Hebron to believe it’s all coincidence), he picked the wrong passage.