Pat Robertson

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Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is a Christian televangelist in the United States, and founder of the Christian Coalition. He is the host of the popular TV show The 700 Club, which airs on many religious cable channels. His strongly conservative views have made him the subject of much controversy, especially his statements in favor of the dissolution of the barrier between church and state. He is an ordained Southern Baptist minister, but holds to a Pentecostal theology, a position which puts him at odds with many of his fellow Southern Baptists.

Life and Career

Pat Robertson was born into a wealthy Virginia family. His father, Absalom Willis Robertson, was a conservative Democratic United States Senator with close ties to banking interests. Pat Robertson enrolled at Washington and Lee University in 1946, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In 1948 he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. After graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1950, Robertson served in the Korean War.

Robertson was promoted to first lieutenant in 1952 upon his return to the United States. Robertson then went on to receive a Juris Doctor degree from Yale University Law School in 1955 and a master of divinity degree from New York Theological Seminary in 1959.

In the late 1980s, Pat Robertson was involved in a libel lawsuit with Congressman Pete McCloskey, who served with Robertson in Korea; McCloskey and other veterans had accused Robertson of having had his father pull strings to keep him from the front lines, as well as carousing with prostitutes and hassling Korean women.

In 1960, Robertson established the Christian Broadcasting Network. It is now seen in 180 countries and broadcast in 71 languages. Robertson also founded International Family Entertainment, Inc. in 1990, with its main business as the Family Channel, which was sold to the Fox network in 1997.

Robertson founded Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia in 1977 and serves as its chancellor. Robertson is also founder and president of the American Center for Law and Justice, a public interest law firm and education group that defends the First Amendment rights of people of faith, while taking a dim view of separation of church and state. The law firm, headquartered in the same building that houses Regent's law school, focuses on "pro-family, pro-liberty and pro-life" cases nationwide.

Robertson was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 1988. His campaign did not last beyond the primary elections. However, he did win the Washington State Republican primary, though he failed to receive the party nomination.

Support for Robertson extends beyond the Christian community. In 2002, he received the State of Israel Friendship Award from the Zionist Organization of America for his consistent support for Greater Israel. In that year the Coalition for Jewish Concerns also expressed its gratitude to Robertson for "unwavering support for Israel" and "standing up to evil."

Robertson claims to have used the power of prayer to steer hurricanes away from his Virginia Beach, Virginia headquarters. He took credit for steering the course in 1985 of Hurricane Gloria, which caused millions of dollars of destruction in many states along the east coast. He made a similar claim about another destructive storm, Hurricane Felix, in 1995.

Among his more controversial statements, Robertson 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." Robertson's views mirror those of Jerry Falwell, who has made frequent appearances on The 700 Club. He agreed with Jerry Falwell that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were caused by "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays, lesbians, the ACLU and the People for the American Way." Robertson later stated that he had not understood what Falwell was saying during the interview, which was conducted via television monitor.

Robertson's personal net worth is between $200 million and $1 billion USD (as reported in the 2002 book called The Best Democracy Money Can Buy by Greg Palast). In Operation Blessing International, Robertson claims to have spent $1.2 million bringing aid to refugees in Rwanda. However, critics such as Greg Palast claim the money was actually spent to bring heavy equipment for Robertson's African Development Corporation, a diamond mining operation.

In various episodes of his 700 Club program during the months of June and July 2003, Robertson repeatedly supported Liberian President Charles Taylor. Robertson accuses the U.S. State Department of giving President Bush bad advice, and of trying "as hard as they can to destabilize Liberia." Robertson has also failed to mention in his broadcasts his $8 million investment in a Liberian gold mine. Taylor has been (and had been at the time of Robertson's support) indicted by the United Nations for war crimes. According to Robertson, Freedom Gold, the Liberian gold mine, was intended to help pay for humanitarian and evangelical efforts in Liberia.


Nuke the State Department

On his 700 Club, Pat Robertson has on two occasions suggested a nuclear attack against the United States government. In two 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.

"What we need is for somebody to place a small nuke at Foggy Bottom" Robertson said between prayers and advertisements on his nationwide television program. Foggy Bottom is 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.

Quotes

  • "There is no such thing as separation of church and state in the Constitution. It is a lie of the Left and we are not going to take it anymore." [1]
  • "I think 'one man, one vote,' just unrestricted democracy, would not be wise. There needs to be some kind of protection for the minority which the white people represent now, a minority, and they need and have a right to demand a protection of their rights." (talking about apartheid in South Africa) [3]
  • "If anybody understood what Hindus really believe, there would be no doubt that they have no business administering government policies in a country that favors freedom and equality." [4]
  • "We're importing Hinduism into America. The whole thought of your karma, of meditation, of the fact that there's no end of life and there's this endless wheel of life, this is all Hinduism. Chanting too. Many of those chants are to Hindu Gods -- Vishnu, Hare Krishna. The origin of it is all demonic. We can't let that stuff come into America. We've got the best defense, if you will -- a good offense." [5]
  • "The media challenged me. `You're not going to bring atheists into the government? How dare you maintain that those who believe the Judeo-Christian values are better qualified to govern America than Hindus and Muslims?' My simple answer is, `Yes, they are.'" [6]
  • "We're undermining a Christian, Baptist president to bring in Muslim rebels to take over the country. And how dare the president of the United States say to the duly elected president of another country, 'You've got to step down,'." (talking about Liberia)
  • "I have never met Taylor in my life. I don't know what he has done or hasn't done. I do know he was elected by the people, and he has maintained a relatively stable government in Liberia; and they observe the rule of law; they have a working legislature; they have courts. And though he may have certain dictatorial powers, so do most leaders in Africa." (talking about Liberia)

Quotes regarding Pat Robertson

  • Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy .
    • "I would say that Pat Robertson is way out on his own, in a leaking life raft, on this one." (In regards to Robertson's July 2003 support for Charles Taylor).

Writings by Pat Robertson

Honors given to Pat Robertson

  • 1975 The Distinguished Merit Citation from The National Conference of Christians and Jews.
  • 1976 Faith and Freedom Award in the field of broadcasting.
  • 1978 Department of Justice Award from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 25th FBI Vesper Service.
  • 1979 National Conference of Christians and Jews - Distinguished Merit Citation.
  • 1982 Humanitarian of the Year by Food for the Hungry.
  • 1984 Man of the Year Award from the Women's National Republican Club.
  • 1984 Citation from the National Organization for the Advancement of Hispanics.
  • 1985 National Association of United Methodist Evangelists.
  • 1988 Man of the Year by Students for America.
  • 1989 Christian Broadcaster of the Year by the National Religious Broadcasters.
  • 1992 One of America's 100 Cultural Elite by Newsweek Magazine.
  • 1994 Omega Fellowship Award by Food for the Hungry for Operation Blessing's fight against worldwide hunger.
  • 1994 Defender of Israel Award from the Christians' Israel Public Action Campaign for those who have made major contributions in strengthening U.S.-Israel relations.
  • 1994 John Connor Humanitarian Service Award from Operation Smile International.
  • 2000 Cross of Nails award for his vision, inspiration, and humanitarian work with The Flying Hospital.
  • 2000 Yale University Most Distinguished Alumnus.
  • 2002 State of Israel Friendship Award from the Zionist Organization of America.
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