Posted on 08/24/2005 2:37:39 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Pat Robertson's suggestion that the United States assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez left some Texas Christian leaders speechless Tuesday.
"I was kind of shocked, like a lot of people were shocked," said the Rev. Sonny Foraker, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Pearland.
"I don't know why he said it," he added. "I wouldn't have said it, and I don't support it."
Robertson, who resigned his ordination as a Southern Baptist minister in 1986 before his presidential bid, made the comments Monday on his television show, The 700 Club , on the Christian Broadcast Network.
Leaders of the Baptist General Convention of Texas issued statements calling Robertson's comments inappropriate and detrimental to the church's message.
"Pat Robertson does not advance the Christian faith by announcing on television his own preferences about who around the world he wants killed," said Phil Strickland, director of the convention's Christian Life Commission.
"Those of us who call for Muslims to condemn terrorism by their brethren cannot be silent when one of ours advocates this kind of violence," said convention Executive Director Charles Wade.
Christian theology does not eschew war, said Craig Mitchell, instructor of Christian ethics at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.
Indeed, there is a long tradition of just-war theory that allows countries to engage their militaries to punish and prevent acts of aggression, he said.
"Clearly Scripture gives governments authority to go to war, but assassination is another thing all together," Mitchell said. "Assassination is always a criminal act."
The Rev. Gary Moore, senior associate pastor of Second Baptist Church, said that he did not want "to sit in judgment" and of Robertson and that the broadcaster had a right to speak his mind. But Moore did caution that it was important for Christian leaders to be careful of how they use their influence.
"When people look up to you, you have to be careful of what they look up and see."
tara.dooley@chron.com
Bugs.
SW
Hitler WAS Catholic...as a child, anyway.
He was baptized, and apparently was an altar boy, too. (That's not a smear, just a fact. I'm Catholic, too)
He certainly was NOT a practicing Catholic, and was not in good standing with the Church at any time when he was in power. (Saying that would be a smear.)
I don't think he ever explicitly renounced the Church, or formally worshipped in a pagan religion, but he was obviously caught up in pagan symbolism and ideology. He made statements about the German peasantry having a "true religion rooted in nature and blood" which would "destroy Christianity" He also said: "One is either a Christian or a German. You can't be both."
On the other hand, it's probably fair to say that most rank-and-file Nazis remained members of the Protestant or Catholic churches.
Yeah, I do agree with him, and that's damned well my right. You can rest assured one heck of a lot of people agree with him.
Let's not talk about how this idiot was "democratically elected", shall we? Whole different topic, that.
Let's also stop being so smug in tossing around phrases like "using your religion selectively". The man is a threat to our country, and if you don't understand that, then just go back to sleep and let the rest of the grown ups deal with such people as they should be dealt with.
From what I can read .. Robertson didn't say the word "assassinate" in his statement .. he said we should "take him out".
Well .. we just did another "take out" in Iraq - and Saddam is still sitting in jail; we didn't "assassinate" him.
And .. it's the left who made all the statements and the posters showing Bush with a rifle target on his face; or a TV person who held up a picture of Bush with the words: "Snipers wanted"; or wrote plays about a person who wanted to "assassinate" the president.
Ordo Templi Orientis. Adolph Hitler was one of Aleister Crowley's contemporaries. (As was L. Ron Hubbard. Ever wonder about the NAZI like symbolism if the Scientotlogists? - http://www.bu.edu/arion/paglia_cults00.htm)
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He made statements about the German peasantry having a "true religion rooted in nature and blood" which would "destroy Christianity"
There you have it.
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...it's probably fair to say that most rank-and-file Nazis remained members of the Protestant or Catholic churches.
Members? Like participants of the Black Mass remained members of a church in the Middle Ages?
Begging your pardon but....that's perfectly true. Please don't be so quick to grab quotes from lefty anti-Robertson sites.
"Begging your pardon but....that's perfectly true."
Uh huh..and sold them to who? Yep, that's right..Christians. Our founding fathers owned slaves...
"Yeah, I do agree with him, and that's damned well my right. You can rest assured one heck of a lot of people agree with him."
Yeah, what a scary thought.
So again, can you tell me what's so different about Muslim extremists and Christian extremists? Or is it just how you preceive yourselves?
Whatever.
"And what one of these statements is not true?????????????"
Almost all of them (there may be a bit of truth in some part of those lunatic rants but I don't think any are completely true)
"The only one who would think he is a moron for using his Constitutional right to freely speak would be those who don't want everyone to have Constitutional rights."
Do you really mean this? You mean that if a moron says a moronic thing and I call him a moron I don't want everyone to have Constitutional rights? And how does my calling someone a moron implicate Constitutional rights at all? I'm not the government?
"What do you not agree with in his quotes you placed here?"
There's almost nothing in those quotes that's literally true, it's just overblown hyperbole, the sort we usuall tear apart when uttered by the left.
"The correct spelling is MORON, maroon is a color akin to purple and brown."
Do you really think he didn't mean to say maroon? Never seen Bugs Bunny I take it?
He's a nut. Fortunately, most people know he doesn't speak for Christianity.
Well perhaps because Kennedy, Roosevelt, Churchill, and heads of the CIA didn't pass themselves off as 'men of God'. Robertson was out of line on this one. Way out of line
Did you mean to say: MORON?...
The difference is that we Christians worship the true God, Jesus Christ, and Mohammedans worship the devil in the form of a black meteor.
DEATH TO CHAVEZ AND ALL OTHER COMMIE SCUM!
"In most pictures I have seen of Chavez, he is in a military uniform. This makes him a legitimate target."Even though we're not at war with Venezuela...? I guess we're lucky the Commies didn't invoke this principle in the 50s, and blow away President Ike ... Dont we have to face that Chavez is the elected president of a democratic (somewhat) country? He was elected twice, has a majority in the national assembly, and reportedly has a current approval rating around 70%, so it's hard to say it's all a fluke. Do elections not count if the guy we don't like wins? Getting chummy with Castro and verbally sparring with Condoleeza Rice are not really grounds enough for assassination or war, are they? Real evidence that he's destabilizing his neighbors might be a different story...
"Do you really think he didn't mean to say maroon? Never seen Bugs Bunny I take it?"
Yes, that's it! Bugs Bunny! It was driving me crazy...for some reason I was thinking "the Honeymooners"...
To the people getting bent out of shape - it's a pretty gentle rebuke...at least when you say it in a Bugs Bunny voice...
Every liberal Christian is jumping at the chance to denounce Pat Robertson for his intemperate remarks.
"I won't comment about whether Pat's statement is right or not. I will inform the readers here, not familiar with Southern Baptists, that the BGCT mentioned above are NOT conservative Southern Baptists. They are liberals disguised as "moderates" that have done great damage to Southern Baptist Convention in Texas. They shouldn't even call themselves Southern Baptist. They hijacked the name BGCT."
Will they do the same for the lefties calling Bush a terrorist? hmmmm.
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