Posted on 08/25/2005 5:40:10 AM PDT by .cnI redruM
Liberal reporters since 9-11 have frequently equated conservative Christians with Quran-thumping Muslims, but the differences between the two religions are huge. For example, Islam initially expanded through the slaughter of opponents, but Christianity grew through the martyrdom of believers -- and the apostle Paul taught Christians in Rome, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink."
Early this week, Pat Robertson, on his long-running TV show "The 700 Club," seemed more Muslim than Christian when he suggested that U.S. operatives assassinate Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. Yesterday, he said he was misinterpreted and was suggesting kidnapping, not necessarily assassination, but he already had caused an international furor by using the A-word.
The televangelist should have remembered Spiderman's message that "with great power comes great responsibility." By his blurting, Robertson aided Venezuelan autocrats such as Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel, who sarcastically said that assassination advocacy was "very Christian" and went on to argue that "religious fundamentalism is one of the great problems facing humanity."
National and international journalists also played up the story, often treating Robertson as if he were the Protestant pope, as did some Islamic groups. Under a press release heading, "Pat Robertson's Fatwa," the Muslim American Society screamed that "someone should remind the darling of the Christian Right about the Ten Commandments. About the one that says 'thou shall not kill.' If that had been a Muslim cleric talking about killing a head of state, you would have never heard the end of it."
(Actually, Muslim clerics have done more than talk -- their fatwa followers have murdered intellectuals such as Faraj Foda, Hussein Muruwwa, Mahmoud Taha and Al-Sadeq Al-Nayhoum, and U.S. reporters have largely ignored that.)
None of these prudential concerns would matter much if Pat Robertson were biblically correct in calling for assassination -- but it's hard to see either general or specific biblical warrant for his fatwa. In general, as Paul wrote to Timothy, Christians are to pray "for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions."
Hugo Chavez is an evil tyrant, but so were many Roman emperors -- and Paul told Romans to "bless those who persecute you. ... Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all." Last time I looked, "assassin" was not on the general list of honorable callings. Wartime is different, but last time I looked, we weren't at war with Venezuela.
Applying Old Testament history to current politics is sometimes exegetically tricky, but the wartime assassinations in Judges 3 and 4 -- Jael hammering a tent peg into Sisera's brain, Ehud the left-handed man thrusting his sword into the fat belly of the king of Moab -- also do not provide warrant for taking out Hugo Chavez. Nor do any of Christ's words or deeds suggest a WWJA (Who Would Jesus Assassinate?) list.
The people most affected by last week's tempest, of course, were Venezuelans, one of whom wrote on www.worldmagblog.com of Chavez's demagoguery and election-rigging, but noted that "after decades of corruption and ignoring the needs of the poor, our country may deserve a leader like Chavez. The fact is that Venezuela needs revival; corruption ... is a way of life there. All potential leaders are corrupt, and we could end up with someone worse than Chavez. Pray for my people!" Prayer should also be for missionaries who now face greater danger.
God is the God of history. He raises up leaders and strikes them down. The Christian goal is to follow biblical principles, including "just war" ones, and not to create new orders. Christians who are careless bring dishonor to God's name by making many believe there is no difference between the pre-eminent religion of peace and the many religions of violence.
No. However, were America to be subject to a second Clinton Administration, it is likely that, barring a terrorist planted atomic bomb taking out Lower Manhattan or the Federal Triangle, no effective action would be taken against extremist Muslim terrorism and its supporters.
As you point out, the United States is not a Christian government. The admonition in Romans 13 against rebelling against civil authority apply to private individuals and does not address the relations of one nation with another.
That is why I purposely used the clear word 'sniper'. I hope your accidently confused hit-man for 'sniper'. There are times when a sniper can save many innocent people's lives.
Yes the founders tried to setup a machine that could have enough checks and balances to prevent abuse. However they also very, very clearly understood in many of their correspondence that there was no set of rules that would long give freedom to an unrighteous people. Ultimately our leaders have to make very difficult decisions and wicked men make very costly and dangerous decisions that pay bad dividends for generations.
Robertson has gone bonkers. I think Cal Thomas is next.
The Soviet-style reaction of 24-7 denunciation by the MSM is as predictable as hot weather in Texas in August. Their audience has been shrinking for 20 years and they largely are now preaching to the converted: liberal Baby Boomers and Silent Generation members who believe the worst about Robertson, evangelical Christians, and conservatives anyway.
In truth, most conservatives have been asleep regarding the alliance between Muslim extremism and the international Left. They have also not been paying attention to Marxist gains in our own hemisphere. Not only Venezuela, but Brazil, the second largest nation in this hemisphere in population, has a Marxist as its leader. Columbia is threatened by narco-terrorist guerrillas supported by Chavez. The Sandinista movement is still a threat to Nicaragua. A company controlled by the Chinese military has major operations on either side of the Panama Canal. Even Mexico is not immune from Marxist politics or guerrilla movements.
Robertson's statements have alerted many millions of Americans to the dangers in Latin America. The MSM, with their over the top reaction to his statements, spread his message far more effectively than The 700 Club TV show could have done on its own.
This is a dreary statement contradicted by the Bible. First of all, there is a difference made in the Bible between what the individual can do and what the government can do. For instance, while: It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them Deuteronomy 32:35 and Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath Romans 12:19a. The same rules do not apply to the government. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. Romans 13:3-5. On top of that, there was at least one example of the Lord sanctioning and even ordering assasination: when Jehu killed all in Ahab's family. So the issue isn't one of whether it is ever justified, it is a matter of when. As it is further written: a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, Ecclesiastes 3:3.
My own opinion is that assassinating leaders with whom we are at declared war is not only just, but often an excellent strategy to end a war with minimum bloodshed. I do not, however, think that we have the right to just assassinate any leader we don't like, or even is hostile to us.
>>>>I do not, however, think that we have the right to just assassinate any leader we don't like, or even is hostile to us.
Which is exactly what Pat Robertson suggested. I'd hate to see who a President Howard Dean would put on the whack list.
What "rights" do you hold over your "own" property? IMO, to deny God's sovereign right over ALL of His creation is equal to denying God's sovereignty in one's personal life. IIRC, He is proclaimed "Lord of heaven and earth."
Man's revenge is easy when compared to that of the Sovereign.
Pat Robertson had to know that his comments would stir up a hornet's nest...The government said that Pat's remarks were "not their policy"..but we would all hope that the govt is, well, hell,....how would you put it?.... lying?, and they have Chavez in the crosshairs.
God exercises the power of life or death all the time. I can't say he's violating our rights in doing so.
Some tweedledee on a radio show (O'Reilly I believe) tried to say that Karl Rove made a secret call to Pat Robertson and had him drop the statement in his show as part of a nefarious scheme. O'Reilly basically told the guy to join reality some day, and that he (the caller) was an extremist.
"Abandon all hope, ye that enter here." Inferno, Canto III
Hasn't anybody ever notices that as people age they sometimes tend to disconnect their brain from their emotions and say things that make their friends and relatives cringe?
Robertson is like the senile Uncle or Grandma that you hide from guests who don't know them and make allowances.
Yeah, but CNN keeps him on speed dial.
Hmm, no - God's "rights" are absolute, not like man's which are relative. His are totally independent from man's perceived "dos" and "don'ts". It's called being "Sovereign".
"That which is has already been, and that which is to be has already been, and God requires an account of the past."
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