- FOX News gave readers a forum to respond to Robertson’s comments and they did in droves. The most troubling reply? Here you go:
“These statements by Robertson only confirm what I’ve thought all along about these religious phonies and the Right-wing hypocrites. They all try to come off like they are “Christ-like,” and then turn around and are doing the exact opposite.” K. — (Manteca, CA)
*Sigh* Who didn’t see that one coming. On the positive side, there seems to have been a fair number of respondants who correctly disassociated Robertson’s comments from legitimate Christianity. I’m glad they can tell the difference.
- Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel saw the same hypocrisy I did when he called the comments “terrorist statements.” He gave a pretty accurate statement of the inherint contradiction between someone who denounces terrorism then makes statements about the strategic murder of a national leader in service to a political ideology. Rangel’s only problem is that he applies the issue to the country where Robertson made his comments rather than the man himself:
The ball is in the U.S. court, after this criminal statement by a citizen of that country,” Rangel said. ”It’s huge hypocrisy to maintain this discourse against terrorism and at the same time, in the heart of that country, there are entirely terrorist statements like those.
- Southern Baptist Convention President Bobby Welch took the right course in responding to Robertson’s comments.
The Southern Baptist Convention does not support or endorse public statements concerning assassinations of persons, even if they are despicable despots of foreign countries, and neither do I…The Christian’s responsibility is to pray for our leaders as well as the extremists around the world. Jesus Christ can save these people and change their lives.
Good for Pastor Welch. It’s the obvious stand to take but I’m glad he did so forcefully. I’m especially thankful considering the associatian made between the SBC and Robertson in this article.
Even representatives of groups allied with Robertson’s conservative social views distanced themselves from the assassination recommendation. Southern Baptist Convention President Bobby Welch, in a statement released through the denomination, said…
I don’t know about you but I don’t like my denomination being linked to Robertson. Accurate or erroneous as the article’s association is, I’m sure it is one made by a great many in the U.S and even abroad. Robertson’s foolishness drags all of our names through the mud. Not only that but this association will cast a shadow on the legitimate endeavors of the Southern Baptist Convention and it’s member churches.
Remember, this comes from a guy who once ran for President and declared that God had told him that he would win!!
I have never wanted him associated with my denomination and don’t know how people fall for his line of thinking.
I say that, of course, in love.
A lot of Christians go on about how the idea of separation of church and state has led to problems like no prayer in schools. But it’s times like this where I see a need for more separation. Political figures cannot throw around Jesus’ name to justify political actions. The Religious Right and the Rupublican party as a whole have presented themselves as the voice of Christianity in politics; because of this, they have a responsibility then to be sure their actions and statements do not falsely represent Christ. It’s good to see that organizations like the SBC have been quick to take a stand against Robertson’s comments.