Pat Robertson controversies

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pat Robertson is outspoken in both his faith and his politics and controversies surrounding him have sometimes made the headlines. Many of these comments were made on his daily talk show, The 700 Club.

Contents 1 Faith healer 2 Claim that some denominations harbor the spirit of the Antichrist 3 Claims about the power of his prayers 4 Views concerning feminism, homosexuality, abortion and liberalism 5 Charles Taylor, gold, diamonds and racehorse controversy 6 Political statements 7 Chinese abortions 8 Call for Hugo Chávez's assassination 9 Message to Dover, Pennsylvania 10 Remarks about Iraq War 11 Remarks concerning Ariel Sharon 12 Remarks against Islam and Muslims 13 Remarks about Asians 14 Remarks against Hindus 15 Liberal professors 16 Leg press claims 17 Global warming 18 Unflattering Facebook Photograph 19 Robertson overheard during commercial break 20 Claim China could nuke San Francisco 21 References

[edit] Faith healer

In the 1970s and 1980s Robertson was a faith healer, and James Randi devoted a chapter, "A World of Knowledge from Pat Robertson" on Robertson in Randi's book The Faith Healers.^[1] Randi commented that "in 1986, soon after the full importance of the AIDS epidemic began to become evident, Robertson was attempting to cure it" by proclaiming people cured after prayer.^[1] Randi commented, "Gerry Straub, a former associate of Pat Robertson and his television producer, pointed out in his book Salvation for Sale the astonishing fact that God seemed to time miracles to conform with standard television format," and "God would stop speaking to Pat and stop healing exactly in time with the theme music."^[1] Randi explained that "in 1979, it appeared to Robertson's staff that their boss had been taking lessons from Oral Roberts" and "proposed to film the Second Coming!".^[1] The project was eventually publicly dropped, but "budget allocations [CBN] are made for their development."^[1] Martin Gardner also criticized Robertson's faith healing in Gardner's work Beyond Reason.

[edit] Claim that some denominations harbor the spirit of the Antichrist

On January 14, 1991, on The 700 Club, Pat Robertson attacked a number of Protestant denominations when he declared: "You say you're supposed to be nice to the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians and the Methodists and this, that, and the other thing. Nonsense. I don't have to be nice to the spirit of the Antichrist."^[2] He has never recanted this statement, though he has supported the election of certain Episcopalians.

[edit] Claims about the power of his prayers

Robertson prayed to God to steer hurricanes away from his companies' Virginia Beach, Virginia, headquarters. He credited his prayers for steering the course of Hurricane Gloria in 1985, which caused billions of dollars of destruction in many states along the U.S. east coast. He made a similar claim about another destructive storm, Hurricane Felix, in 1995.^[3] Robertson later called on God to prevent Hurricane Isabel from hitting Virginia Beach in 2003, but the city was damaged by the storm surge regardless.

In 2005, Robertson launched "Operation Supreme Court Freedom", a televised nationwide 21-day prayer campaign asking people to pray for vacancies on the Supreme Court, where "black-robed tyrants have pushed a radical agenda." Robertson declared that "God heard those prayers",^[4] after the announced resignation of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

[edit] Views concerning feminism, homosexuality, abortion and liberalism

Robertson is opposed to abortion and same-sex marriage.^[5][6]

He has described feminism as a "socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."^[7] Many of Robertson's views mirror those of the evangelical activist Jerry Falwell, who made frequent appearances on The 700 Club. He agreed with Falwell when Falwell stated^[8] that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were caused by "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays, lesbians, the American Civil Liberties Union and the People For the American Way."

After public outcry regarding the dialogue, which was conducted via television monitor and took place only days after the attacks, Robertson claimed that his earpiece was malfunctioning, and that he was unaware of what he was agreeing with at the time.

On the June 8, 1998 edition of his show, Robertson denounced Orlando, Florida and Disney World for allowing a privately sponsored "Gay Days" weekend. Robertson stated that the acceptance of homosexuality could result in hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, terrorist bombings and "possibly a meteor."^[9] The resulting outcry prompted Robertson to return to the topic on June 24, where he quoted the Book of Revelation to support his claims.

While discussing the Mark Foley scandal on the October 5, 2006 broadcast of the show, Robertson condemned Foley saying he "does what gay people do".^[10]

[edit] Charles Taylor, gold, diamonds and racehorse controversy

Robertson repeatedly supported former President of Liberia Charles Taylor in various episodes of his 700 Club program during the United States' involvement in the Liberian Civil War in June and July of 2003. Robertson accuses the U.S. State Department of giving President Bush bad advice in supporting Taylor's ouster as president, and of trying "as hard as they can to destabilize Liberia."^[11]

Robertson was criticized for failing to mention in his broadcasts his $8,000,000 (USD) investment in a Liberian gold mine.^[12] Taylor had been indicted by the United Nations for war crimes at the time of Robertson's support.

Prosecutors also said that Taylor had harbored members of Al Qaeda responsible for the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. According to Robertson, the Liberian gold mine Freedom Gold was intended to help pay for humanitarian and evangelical efforts in Liberia, when in fact the company was allowed to fail leaving many debts both in Liberia and in the international mining service sector. Regarding this controversy, Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention's public policy said, "I would say that Pat Robertson is way out on his own, in a leaking life raft, on this one."^[13]

Robertson has also been accused of using his tax-exempt, nonprofit organization, Operation Blessing, as a front for his own financial gain, and then using his influence in the Republican Party to cover his tracks. After making emotional pleas in 1994 on The 700 Club for cash donations to Operation Blessing to support airlifts of refugees from Rwanda to Zaire, it was later discovered, by a reporter from The Virginian-Pilot, that Operation Blessing's planes were transporting diamond-mining equipment for the Robertson-owned African Development Corporation, a venture Robertson had established in cooperation with Zaire's dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, whom Robertson had befriended earlier in 1993. According to Operation Blessing documents, Robertson personally owned the planes used for Operation Blessing airlifts.

In 1993, Mobutu was denied a visa by the U.S. State Department after he sought to visit Washington, D.C. Shortly after this, Robertson tried to get the State Department to lift its ban on the African leader.

An investigation by the Commonwealth of Virginia's Office of Consumer Affairs determined that Robertson "willfully induced contributions from the public through the use of misleading statements and other implications" and called for a criminal prosecution against Robertson in 1999. However, Virginia Attorney General Mark Earley, a Republican whose largest campaign contributor two years earlier was Robertson himself, intervened, accepting that Robertson had made deceptive appeals but overruling the recommendation for his prosecution.^[14] No charges were ever brought against Robertson. "Two years earlier, while Virginia's investigation was gathering steam, Robertson donated $35,000 to Earley's campaign — Earley's largest contribution."

In April 2002, Robertson acknowledged owning a race horse, named "Mr. Pat." He told a New York Times reporter that his interest in the horse was based purely on its aesthetics. "I don't bet and I don't gamble. I just enjoy watching horses running and performing." Harder to explain was why he spent $520,000 on the horse and intended the beast to compete at the track. But the resulting furor over Robertson's direct participation in a gambling racket eventually caused him to sell the horse a month after the Times story broke."^[15]

[edit] Political statements

On his The 700 Club television program, Pat Robertson has sharply criticized elements of the United States government and "special interest" groups that don't share his views. In interviews with the author of a book critical of the United States Department of State, Robertson made suggestions that the explosion of a nuclear weapon at State Department Headquarters would be good for the country, and repeated those comments on the air. "What we need is for somebody to place a small nuke at Foggy Bottom,"^[16] Robertson said during his television program, referring to the location of the State Department headquarters. State Department officials said they believed the comments to be in extremely bad taste, and have lodged official complaints against Robertson for his remarks.

Robertson has repeatedly claimed that Barry Lynn has stated that fire departments cannot put out fires in churches because it would be a violation of separation of church and state. Lynn, progressive organizations like Media Matters for America^[17] and conservative groups such as Focus on the Family have all contested Robertson's statements.

[edit] Chinese abortions

In a 2001 interview with Wolf Blitzer, he said that the Chinese were "doing what they have to do," regarding China's one-child policy, sometimes enforced with compulsory abortions, though he said that he did not personally agree with the practice. His comments drew criticism from both sides of the political spectrum.^[18]

[edit] Call for Hugo Chávez's assassination

On the August 22, 2005 broadcast of The 700 Club, Robertson said of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez:

“

I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war, and I don’t think any oil shipments will stop.

”

Robertson also said that Chávez was "going to make Venezuela a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent" and called the leader an "out-of-control dictator... a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil that could hurt us very badly."^[19]

Assassinations of heads of state have been against U.S. policy since an executive order against them was issued in 1976; in response, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that "our department doesn't do that kind of thing." Bernardo Álvarez, Venezuela's ambassador to the U.S., demanded a stronger condemnation from the White House and that the United States "respect our country and its president."

On the August 24 edition of The 700 Club, Robertson asserted that he hadn't actually called for Chávez's assassination, but that there were other ways of "taking him out", such as having special forces carry out a kidnapping. Robertson explicitly denied having used the word "assassination", though the word "assassinate" was present in his initial statement.^[20][19] Later that day, he issued a written statement in which he said, "Is it right to call for assassination? No, and I apologize for that statement. I spoke in frustration that we should accommodate the man who thinks the U.S. is out to kill him". However, he continued to justify his original stance on the potential threat Chávez posed to U.S. interests.^[21]

On Sunday, August 28, 2005, Chávez called on the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the matter: "My government is going to take legal action in the United States," he said in a televised speech. "If the U.S. government does not take the necessary steps, we will denounce the U.S. government at the United Nations and the Organization of American States".^[22]

On February 2, 2006 edition of Hannity and Colmes, Pat Robertson once again called for Chávez's assassination. When Colmes asked Robertson "Do you want him taken out?", Robertson replied "Not now, but one day, one day, one day."^[23]

[edit] Message to Dover, Pennsylvania

On his November 10, 2005 broadcast of The 700 Club, Robertson told citizens of Dover, Pennsylvania that they had rejected God by voting out of office all seven members of the school board who support intelligent design.

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city", Robertson said on his broadcast.

"And don't wonder why he hasn't helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I'm not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that's the case, don't ask for His help because He might not be there."^[24]

In a written statement, Robertson later clarified his comments:

"God is tolerant and loving, but we can't keep sticking our finger in His eye forever. If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them."^[25]

[edit] Remarks about Iraq War

Pat Robertson claimed in 2004 that President Bush told him before he led the United States into war with Iraq, that he expected there to be no casualties. He made this claim in an interview with CNN, on October 19th, 2004. President Bush's then-press secretary Scott McClellan denied the allegation. Mike McCurry, press secretary for Democratic USA Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, who was Bush's opponent for the presidency in the 2004 election, said that Bush deserved the benefit of the doubt, but he should say whether or not Robertson was telling the truth or lying.^[26]

Robertson also claimed numerous times on air that he had "deep misgivings" on the war, adding, "The Lord told me it was going to be a) a disaster and b) messy." However, it should be noted that when the American invasion began in 2003, Robertson said on his show that the war was in fact "a righteous cause out of the Bible." His statements were supported on-air by fellow televangelist Paul Crouch on the March 21, 2003 edition his Trinity Broadcasting Network show Behind the Scenes.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Remarks concerning Ariel Sharon

The lead story on the January 5, 2006, edition of The 700 Club was Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's hospitalization for a severe stroke. After the story, Robertson said that Sharon's illness was possibly retribution from God for his recent drive to give more land to the Palestinians. He also claimed former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin's 1995 assassination may have occurred for the same reason.^[27]

The remarks drew criticism from all sides, even from among other evangelicals. For instance, Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said that Robertson "ought to know better" than to say such things. He added, "... the arrogance of the statement shocks me almost as much as the insensitivity of it."^[28] Ted Haggard, then president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said that "any doctor could have predicted (Sharon's) going to have health problems" and that his illness was medical, not divine retribution.^[29] The White House called Robertson's statement "wholly inappropriate and offensive".^[30] Robertson was also chastised by Israeli officials and members of the Anti-Defamation League.^[31]

On January 11, Israel responded by announcing that Robertson would be banned from involvement in a project to build a Christian tourist attraction and pilgrimage site near the Sea of Galilee known as the Christian Heritage Center. The plan had called for Israel leasing 35 acres of land to a group of evangelicals (including Robertson) for free to create several tourist attractions and pilgrimage sites in exchange for the evangelicals raising 50 million dollars in funding. A spokesman for the Tourism Ministry commented, "We cannot accept these statements, and we will not sign any contracts with Mr. Robertson."^[32]

He added that the decision would not apply to all members of the evangelical community: "We want to see who in the group supports his (Robertson's) statements. Those who support the statements cannot do business with us. Those that publicly support Ariel Sharon's recovery ... are welcome to do business with us."^[33]

On January 12, Robertson sent a letter to Sharon's son Omri, apologizing for his comments. In the letter, Robertson called Ariel Sharon a "kind, gracious and gentle man" who was "carrying an almost insurmountable burden of making decisions for his nation." He added that his "concern for the future safety of your nation led me to make remarks which I can now view in retrospect as inappropriate and insensitive in light of a national grief experienced because of your father's illness...I ask your forgiveness and the forgiveness of the people of Israel."^[34] Omri and the Israeli government accepted the apology, though it remained unclear whether the deal with Robertson would be rehabilitated.^[35][36][37]

While some observers were satisfied by the gesture, some reporters also accused Robertson of using the apology as a tactic allowing him to make such statements while promoting a public image among evangelicals as a leader who does not compromise on his values. Surprisingly, some of the harsher criticism of Robertson did not come from American or Israeli Jews, but from his fellow evangelicals and conservative Christians, who charged that Robertson's behavior did serious harm to evangelicals' image, and led to unfair generalizations and criticism of them.^[38]

The fallout from Robertson's comments was still visible over a month after the event; after speaking with organizers of the National Religious Broadcasters February 2006 convention, Robertson wound up cancelling his planned keynote speech.

A representative from Israel's Tourism Ministry diplomatically commented, "Pat Robertson has been a long-term friend of the state of Israel, and continues to be so."^[39]

In March 2006, Robertson lost a bid for re-election to the board of directors of the National Religious Broadcasters.^[40]

[edit] Remarks against Islam and Muslims

Robertson has frequently denounced the religion of Islam and Muslim people. During a 1995 taping of The 700 Club, he called the religion a "Christian heresy".^[41] During a September 19, 2002 episode of FOX News Channel's Hannity & Colmes, Robertson claimed that the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, was "an absolute wild-eyed fanatic … a robber and a brigand."^[42] He claimed on the September 14, 2004 episode of The 700 Club that "Islam is by the gun, by the fire, by the bayonet, by the torch."^{[citation needed]} On the July 14, 2005 broadcast of the The 700 Club, he claimed that "Islam, at its core, teaches violence."^[43]

On the March 13, 2006 broadcast of The 700 Club Robertson stated that Muslims want global domination and that the outpouring of rage elicited by cartoon drawings of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad "just shows the kind of people we're dealing with. These people are crazed fanatics, and I want to say it now: I believe it's motivated by demonic power. It is Satanic and it's time we recognize what we're dealing with." He finished by stating "by the way, Islam is not a religion of peace."^[44]

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, called Robertson's new comments "grossly irresponsible". He went on to say, "At a time when inter-religious tensions around the world are at an all-time high, Robertson seems determined to throw gasoline on the fire."^[45]

On the September 25, 2006 broadcast of The 700 Club Robertson stated "It's amazing how the Muslims deal with history and the truth with violence. They don't understand what reasoned dialogue is...."^[46]

[edit] Remarks about Asians

On the February 7, 2007 edition of The 700 Club, Robertson stated that people who have too much plastic surgery "got the eyes like they're Oriental" and stretched his eyelids in a manner stereotypical of Asians.^[47]

[edit] Remarks against Hindus

Pat Robertson has been criticized by some for his insensitive remarks towards the religion of Hinduism.

In his book The New World Order he wrote: "When I said during my presidential bid that I would bring only Christians and Jews into the government, I hit a firestorm. 'What do you mean?' the media challenged me. 'You're not going to bring atheists into the government? How dare you maintain that those who believe in Christian values are better qualified to govern America than Hindus and Muslims?' My simple answer is, 'Yes, they are.'"^[48]

These and other remarks have been repudiated by some Hindus.^[49][50]

[edit] Liberal professors

On the March 21, 2006 broadcast of The 700 Club, while reviewing The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America by David Horowitz, the subject of which is radical academics in American universities, Robertson went on to say that the 101 professors named in the book are only but a few of "thirty to forty thousand" left-wing professors in the United States, all of whom he accused of being "racists, murderers, sexual deviants and supporters of Al-Qaeda", further labeling them as "termites that have worked into the woodwork of our academic society".

Later in the broadcast, he went on to say, "these guys are out and out communists, they are radicals, they are, you know, some of them killers, and they are propagandists of the first order... you don’t want your child to be brainwashed by these radicals, you just don’t want it to happen. Not only brainwashed but also beat up, they beat these people up, cower them into submission."^[51]

[edit] Leg press claims

Robertson claims on his web site that through training and his "Age-Defying energy shake", he is able to leg press 2,000 pounds while others claim he is a liar, pushing a common energy formula.^[52] Two-thousand pounds would be an exceptional accomplishment for a world-class athlete, to say nothing of a septuagenarian like Robertson. For comparative purposes, when Dan Kendra set the Florida State University record of 1,335 pounds, the leg press machine required extensive modifications to hold the proper amount of weight, and the capillaries in both of Kendra's eyes burst during his successful attempt.^[53] Thus, Robertson's claimed achievement would add 665 pounds to the best-ever total of Kendra, a top athlete in his physical prime, who later played in the National Football League and tried to become a Navy SEAL.^[54][55]

In response to the skepticism of this claim, Robertson's website has claimed that his doctor is able to leg press 2,700 pounds, and that "It is not nearly as hard as the authors of these reports make it out to be."^[56] A video has also been provided supposedly demonstrating Robertson doing several reps with a weight of 1,000 lbs (453 kg). In the video Pat Robertson is seen using a 45 degree sled type leg press machine, which reduces the effective weight to 707 lbs (sin(45°) x 1,000 lbs). He keeps the safety locks in place at the second step, which severely limits the range of possible motion. The seat is positioned to allow approximately six inches of travel after the lock. This setup gives Pat Robertson the maximum mechanical advantage at the last few inches of travel. In contrast, actual leg press technique is allowing the weight to slide down until the hip and knee joints are at significant flexion.^[57] The video of Roberson’s lift has also been criticized because it does not appear to verify his claim that he’s lifting 1,000 pounds. Mike DeBonis of Slate noted “It appears as if 16 plates are loaded on the machine. Four of them look like 100-pound plates, and the rest are 45s. That adds up to 940 pounds.” DeBonis also noted that Robertson is using incorrect form as he “helps his legs by pushing on his knees with his arms. That's a no-no. He also achieves nowhere near the recommended full range of motion, which is to bring the knees to at least a 90-degree angle.” DeBonis saw the claims made by Robertson and similar claims by Madeline Albright (that she can press 400 lbs) as yet another proof of the inferiority of that particular machine in comparison to the barbell squat, “Most leg press machines are constructed as either a sled angled at 45 degrees or a lever. (There are some that use cables, too.) In all cases, some of the weight gets borne by the machine. You may be loading 400 pounds, but your muscles are feeling only 200.”^[58]

Robertson responded to questions concerning the lift in an interview with CBS. He maintained his claim to have done it but admitted "I didn't do it with the same form that these professional bodybuilders do, which is a full squat, and it's very difficult. But I did do it. I regularly can do 1,000 pounds and 1,200 pounds."^[59] He said he used an incline leg press and did "the full extension on that particular machine. They have a brake on it. I was told put the brake on. When the professionals do it, they take the brake off and let the weight come all the way down on them. And if you don't have a lot of help, you've got a Volkswagen sitting on your hips. I didn't do that."^[59]

In June 2006, General Nutrition Center, a nutritional supplement retailer, announced without explanation that it would stop carrying Robertson's energy drink.^[60]

[edit] Global warming

In 2006 Robertson aligned himself with other evangelicals to become a global warming "convert." One source attributes this conversion to the 2006 North American heat wave.^[61] On August 3, 2006, he said on his 700 Club show:

But I tell you stay in doors ladies and gentleman. Stay cool. Get fans or whatever. And the poor, they need emergency fans and ice to cool down — the number of people dead. I have not been one who believed in the global warming. But I tell you, they are making a convert out of me as these blistering summers. They have broken heat records in a number of cities already this year and broken all-time records and it is getting hotter and the ice caps are melting and there is a build up of carbon dioxide in the air. We really need to address the burning of fossil fuels. If we are contributing to the destruction of the planet we need to do [something] about it.

As recently as October of 2005, Robertson (then a disbeliever in global warming), accused the National Association of Evangelicals of teaming up with "far left environmentalists" in stating that global warming was caused by humans and needed to be mitigated.^[62]

And in February of 2007, as a cold front blasted most of the United States, Pat wondered aloud whatever "happened to global warming", mentioning that we should "ask Al Gore."^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Unflattering Facebook Photograph

In mid-to-late 2007, Adam Key, a second-year law student at Regent University posted an unflattering photo of Pat Robertson on Facebook. School officials asked Key to publicly apologize and withhold public comment; however, Key chose to attempt to defend his actions under the First Amendment.^[63] On November 29, 2007, Key sued Regent University after he was suspended.^[64][65]

[edit] Robertson overheard during commercial break

On October 14, 2006 a video was posted on YouTube showing a segment of the television show Larry King Live during coverage of the 1992 presidential election. The video shows a small portion of Pat Robertson's speech at the Republican Convention, and later goes on to show him responding to a caller (who referred to himself as a Republican) that called the convention "hateful". In the proceeding footage, which was shot during a commercial break, Robertson refers to the caller as a homosexual even though he had not identified himself as such.

The video can currently be found on YouTube by searching for "Pat Robertson overheard during commercial".

[edit] Claim China could nuke San Francisco

On April 10th 2008, Pat Robertson warned the population of San Francisco, not to protest against the human rights situation in Tibet. This could lead to a chinese nuclear attack on San Francisco.

[edit] References