Ask a Christian how he or she feels about televangelist Pat
Robertson, and you will probably get a variety of reactions. A few
might swear by the value of his television show, “The 700
Club,” and may watch it almost as religiously as they attend
church services.
But for other Christians, Robertson’s name might evoke a
nervous laugh or a smirk, the kind of response elicited upon seeing
one’s embarrassing uncle pick his nose at the dinner table
during Thanksgiving.
I don’t personally believe, like some on the left do, that
Robertson is the epitome of evil. Through his charity work, he has
probably improved the lives of many people. However, many of his
public statements and actions prove that he lacks tact and
sometimes decency.
This inability to employ tact has made him the unfortunate
whipping boy of the mainstream media. Sometimes he is unfairly
targeted, but more often than not, the criticism is deserved.
In a bizarrely out-of-character moment, Robertson rationalized
China’s one-child policy ““ which can result in
abortions ““ according to the Washington Post in April 2001.
“I think that right now they’re doing what they have to
do,” he said. “I don’t agree with the forced
abortion, but I don’t think the United States needs to
interfere with what they’re doing internally in this
regard.”
And then there was the fiasco that occurred just days after
Sept. 11. Ignoring the theme of “United We Stand,”
Robertson agreed with fellow televangelist Jerry Falwell’s
statement that abortion rights supporters, gay activists and other
liberals were responsible for the terrorist attacks. During a time
when mourning the victims should have taken precedent over arguing
the culture wars, Robertson wasted an opportunity to display
Christian compassion and instead exploited the tragedy in a petty
manner.
Currently, many media outlets are chastising Robertson for
launching a “prayer offensive” against the Supreme
Court that is aimed to divinely persuade three liberal justices to
retire due to health problems. But this non-event pales in
comparison to Robertson’s most appalling scandal.
Amid the recent attention paid toward Liberia, The Washington
Post reported that Robertson scolded the Bush administration for
asking Liberia’s president, Charles Taylor, to resign.
“So we’re undermining a Christian, Baptist president
to bring in Muslim rebels to take over the country,”
Robertson said on a July 7 run of his television program.
“And how dare the president of the United States say to the
duly elected president of another country, “˜You’ve got
to step down.'”
But there is more to the “Christian” Charles Taylor
than meets the eye. Taylor has been indicted for war crimes by a
U.N.-backed court. He has also been a prime supporter of an
insurgency group in Sierra Leone that drafts children into its
army. And, Amnesty International has accused his government of
imprisoning, torturing and raping peaceful protesters, according to
U.S. News & World Report’s Michael Barone.
So why would Robertson defend such a brutal leader? Perhaps it
is because the televangelist and the tyrant have a financial
history together. According to Barone, Robertson’s
gold-mining company, Freedom Gold, signed an agreement with the
Liberian government in 1999 to begin operations there. Although
Freedom Gold’s vice president said the company was
established to “alleviate the suffering of the Liberian
people,” the Liberian government has a 10 percent interest in
the company.
Robertson has shrouded his own financial interests by framing
the Liberia issue as a Crusades-like conflict between Christianity
and Islam. However, his interpretation is a “gross
oversimplification,” according to what the director of public
policy for the international Christian charity group World Vision
recently told the Washington Post.
Furthermore, far from fighting Islamic extremists and
terrorists, Taylor has appeared to be pretty cozy with them if the
price is right. The Post reported in December that investigators
from several European nations believe that Taylor harbored senior
al Qaida operatives for at least two months after Sept. 11 in
exchange for $1 million.
Thankfully, other Christians have criticized Robertson’s
statements. Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist
Convention’s public policy arm, is correct in telling the
Washington Post, “Pat Robertson is way out on his own, in a
leaking life raft, on this one.”
But the searing smoke of public criticism and media scorn may
have caused Robertson to already begin changing his tune. Two days
after he criticized Bush for demanding Taylor’s departure,
Robertson told the Post that he has “written off in my own
mind” his investment with Taylor. He also called the Liberian
president a “lightning rod” who should now step down,
provided American peacekeepers stabilize the area.
Despite Robertson’s many flaws, Christians (and hopefully
the media) should still forgive him if he repents and starts acting
in accordance to the principles that he preaches on his show.
But in order for him to take up his cross, he will first need to
drop the gold.
Czarnik is a student at Wayne State University.