Just when you think Christians might be gaining a little respect in the world, Pat Robertson opens his mouth. Apparently, he feels it is time for the U.S. to assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in a preemptive strike. Robertson views Chavez as a “terrific danger.”
My favorite argument is that assassinating Chavez would save us money, because it would avoid a war. I love it that Robertson believes the sixth commandment “Thou shalt not kill,” is rendered null and void by his own view that “Thou shalt always think with thy bank account.” When did economics become a higher motivation than human life?
I know Robertson’s insane. He’ll retire to Pensacola with Jerry Falwell and James Dobson where they’ll plot ways to fire bomb San Francisco in an attempt to rid the earth of gay people. No one takes him seriously.
Or do they? I suppose that’s my issue. Robertson is so far off the deep end that only crazy people within Christianity believe him. (By crazy people, I mean anyone who believes Left Behind is a prophetic vision of how the world will end.) But he makes good television.
Why would the news stations have a theologian giving a thoughtful, intelligent Christian critique of the world when they could have Pat Robertson come on and threaten people? With Robertson you have a man with just enough sanity left to seem legitimate, but with enough dementia to make you think “I bet he spends his weekends dancing around a fire in a loincloth eating dead rats he caught with his bare hands.”
The man is a ratings booster. And every time he is allowed to be the token Christian spokesperson, the world believes a little more that all Christians are this insane. No one takes the time to explore whether or not his views actually line up with biblical teaching.
Maybe I should just give up on the Evangelical world and become a Catholic. At least they know how to party.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
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