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'''Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson''' (born ], ]) is a ] ] in the ], and founder of the ]. He is the host of the popular TV show ''],'' which airs on many religious cable channels. His strongly ] views have made him the subject of much controversy, especially his statements in favor of the dissolution of the ]. He is an ordained ] minister, but holds to a ] theology, a position which puts him at odds with many of his fellow Southern Baptists. '''Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson''' (born ], ]) is a ] ] in the ], and founder of the ]. He is the host of the multiple award-winning popular TV show ''],'' which airs on ABC Family which is not a religious channel but features family programs many religious cable channels. His strongly ] and ] and ] views have made him the subject of much controversy with non-believers, especially his statements in favor of the dissolution of the ]. He is an ordained ] minister, but holds to a ] theology, a position which puts him at odds with many of his fellow Southern Baptists, while many respect his work for the Lord.


==Life and Career== ==Life and Career==
Pat Robertson was born into a wealthy ] family. His father, ], was a conservative ] ] with close ties to ] interests. Pat Robertson enrolled at ] in 1946, where he was elected to ]. In 1948 he enlisted in the ] Reserve. After graduating ] with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1950, Robertson served in the ]. Pat Robertson was born into a not particularly wealthy but political ] family. His father, ], was a progressive conservative ] ] who regulated bank interests as Chairman of the Senate committee with oversight of banking with critics of Pat's saying he had with close ties to ] interests. Pat Robertson enrolled at ] in 1946, where he was elected to ]. In 1948 he enlisted in the ] Reserve. After graduating ] with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1950, Robertson served in the ].


Robertson was promoted to first lieutenant in 1952 upon his return to the United States. Robertson then went on to receive a ] degree from ] Law School in ] and a master of divinity degree from ] in ]. Robertson was promoted to first lieutenant in 1952 upon his return to the United States. Robertson then went on to receive a ] degree from ] Law School in ] and a master of divinity degree from ] in ].


In ], Robertson established the ]. It is now seen in 180 countries and broadcast in 71 languages. Robertson also founded ] in ], with its main business as the ], which was sold to the ] in ] and is now owned by ]. A condition of the sale was that the station would continue airing Robertson's television program ''The ]'' twice a day. In ], Robertson established what became incredibly successful ]. It is now seen in 180 countries and broadcast in 71 languages. Robertson also founded ] in ], with its main business as the ], which was sold to the ] in ] and is now owned by ]. A condition of the sale was that the station would continue airing Robertson's television program ''The ]'' twice a day.


Robertson founded ] in ] in ] and serves as its chancellor. Robertson is also founder and president of the ], a public interest law firm and education group that defends the ] rights of people of faith, holding the view that ] is superseded by an individual's right to worship as he or she chooses. The law firm, headquartered in the same building that houses Regent's ], focuses on what it calls "], pro-liberty and ]" cases nationwide. Robertson founded ] in ] in ] and serves as its Chancellor. Robertson is also founder and president of the ], a public interest law firm and education group that defends the ] rights of people of faith, holding the view that ] is superseded by an individual's right to worship as he or she chooses. The law firm, headquartered in the same building that houses Regent's ], focuses on what it calls and with God's grace believes are "], pro-liberty and ]" cases nationwide.


Robertson was a candidate for the ] for ] in ]. His campaign did not last beyond the ]s, as ] was nominated instead. Robertson's best showing in the primaries was winning the ] Republican primary. Robertson was a candidate for the ] for ] in ]. His campaign did not last beyond the ]s, as ] was nominated instead. Robertson's best showing in the primaries was winning the ] Republican primary.
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== A Controversial Public Figure == == A Controversial Public Figure ==


Outspoken in both his faith and his politics, Robertson has made plenty of headlines and enemies. The major controversies surrounding him include: Outspoken in both his faith and his politics, Robertson has made plenty of headlines and enemies. The major controversies presented by non-believers or supporters of ]that they say are surrounding him include:


*Robertson's claims of the power of his prayers. For example, Robertson claims to have used the power of ] to steer ]s away from his companies' ] headquarters. He took credit for steering the course in ] of ], which caused millions of dollars of destruction in many states along the east coast. He made a similar claim about another destructive storm, ], in ]. *Robertson's claims of the power of his prayers to the Lord. For example, Robertson claims to have used the power of ] to God to have Him steer ]s away from his companies' ] headquarters. He took no credit for steering the course in ] of ], which caused millions of dollars of destruction in many states along the east coast. He made a similar claim about the power of prayer and God's power over another destructive storm, ], in ].


*Robertson's attacks on feminists, homosexuals, and liberals. Among his more controversial statements, Robertson has described ] as a "], anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice ], destroy ] and become ]s." Robertson's views mirror those of the controversial evangelical activist ], who has made frequent appearances on ''The 700 Club''. He agreed with Falwell that the ] were caused by "]s, ]ists, ]s, ]s, ]s, the ] and the ]." After public outcry regarding the dialogue, which took place only days after the attacks, Robertson stated that he had not understood what Falwell was saying during the interview, which was conducted via television monitor. *Robertson's attacks on the ungodly ideas of some feminists, homosexuals, and liberals. Among his more controversial statements in the eyes of the Left, Robertson has described ] as a "], anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice ], destroy ] and become ]s." Robertson's views mirror those of the controversial evangelical activist ], who has made frequent appearances on ''The 700 Club''. He agreed with Falwell that the ] were caused by "]s, ]ists, ]s, ]s, ]s, the ] and the ]." After public outcry regarding the dialogue, which took place only days after the attacks, Robertson stated that he had not understood what Falwell was saying during the interview, which was conducted via television monitor.


*Robertson's great personal wealth and his uses of it. His net worth is between $200 million and $1 billion ] according to the ] book '']'' by ]. Through his ostensibly charitable organization, ], Robertson claims to have spent $1.2 million bringing aid to ]s in ]. His critics, such as Palast, claim the money was actually spent to bring heavy equipment for Robertson's African Development Corporation, a ] ] operation. Has purchased thoroughbred race horses, although has stated on many occasions he is opposed to gambling. Robertson claims he bought the horses because he is "amazed by their athleticism". *Robertson's great personal wealth and his uses of it. His net worth is between $200 million and $1 billion ] according to the ] book '']'' by ]. Through his ostensibly charitable organization, ], Robertson claims to have spent $1.2 million bringing aid to ]s in ]. His critics, such as Palast, claim the money was actually spent to bring heavy equipment for Robertson's African Development Corporation, a ] ] operation. Has purchased thoroughbred race horses, although has stated on many occasions he is opposed to gambling. Robertson claims he bought the horses because he is "amazed by their athleticism".
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* "We have allowed rampant ] and ], et cetera, to be broadcast on ]. We have permitted somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 to 40 million unborn babies to be slaughtered in our society. We have a Court that has essentially stuck its finger in ]'s eye and said, 'We're going to ] you out of the schools, we're going to take your ] from off the courthouse steps in various states, we're not going to let little children read the ] of ], we're not going to let the ] be read -- no ] in our ].' We have insulted ] at the highest levels of our ]. And, then we say 'why does this happen?' Well, why its happening is that ] Almighty is lifting His protection from us." (in response to the 9/11 attacks) * "We have allowed rampant ] and ], et cetera, to be broadcast on ]. We have permitted somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 to 40 million unborn babies to be slaughtered in our society. We have a Court that has essentially stuck its finger in ]'s eye and said, 'We're going to ] you out of the schools, we're going to take your ] from off the courthouse steps in various states, we're not going to let little children read the ] of ], we're not going to let the ] be read -- no ] in our ].' We have insulted ] at the highest levels of our ]. And, then we say 'why does this happen?' Well, why its happening is that ] Almighty is lifting His protection from us." (in response to the 9/11 attacks)


UNSOURCED QUOTE DELETED
* "Just like what ] did to the ]s, so ] America is now doing to the ]s. It's no different. It is the same thing. It is happening all over again. It is the ] ], the liberal-based ] and the ]s who want to destroy the Christians. Wholesale abuse and discrimination and the worst bigotry directed toward any group in America today. More terrible than anything suffered by any minority in ]." (Interview with ])


==Books by Pat Robertson== ==Books by Pat Robertson==
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==External Links== ==External Links==
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Revision as of 04:37, 16 April 2005

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 multiple award-winning popular TV show The 700 Club, which airs on ABC Family which is not a religious channel but features family programs many religious cable channels. His strongly conservative and Christian and progressive views have made him the subject of much controversy with non-believers, 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, while many respect his work for the Lord.

Life and Career

Pat Robertson was born into a not particularly wealthy but political Virginia family. His father, Absalom Willis Robertson, was a progressive conservative Democratic United States Senator who regulated bank interests as Chairman of the Senate committee with oversight of banking with critics of Pat's saying he had 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 1960, Robertson established what became incredibly successful 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 and is now owned by Disney. A condition of the sale was that the station would continue airing Robertson's television program The 700 Club twice a day.

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, holding the view that separation of church and state is superseded by an individual's right to worship as he or she chooses. The law firm, headquartered in the same building that houses Regent's law school, focuses on what it calls and with God's grace believes are "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, as George H. W. Bush was nominated instead. Robertson's best showing in the primaries was winning the Washington state Republican primary.

While he is primarily popular among American evangelical Christians, 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."

A Controversial Public Figure

Outspoken in both his faith and his politics, Robertson has made plenty of headlines and enemies. The major controversies presented by non-believers or supporters of Satanthat they say are surrounding him include:

  • Robertson's claims of the power of his prayers to the Lord. For example, Robertson claims to have used the power of prayer to God to have Him steer hurricanes away from his companies' Virginia Beach, Virginia headquarters. He took no 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 the power of prayer and God's power over another destructive storm, Hurricane Felix, in 1995.
  • Robertson's attacks on the ungodly ideas of some feminists, homosexuals, and liberals. Among his more controversial statements in the eyes of the Left, 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 the controversial evangelical activist Jerry Falwell, who has made frequent appearances on The 700 Club. He agreed with 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." After public outcry regarding the dialogue, which took place only days after the attacks, Robertson stated that he had not understood what Falwell was saying during the interview, which was conducted via television monitor.
  • Robertson's great personal wealth and his uses of it. His net worth is between $200 million and $1 billion USD according to the 2002 book The Best Democracy Money Can Buy by Greg Palast. Through his ostensibly charitable organization, Operation Blessing International, Robertson claims to have spent $1.2 million bringing aid to refugees in Rwanda. His critics, such as Palast, claim the money was actually spent to bring heavy equipment for Robertson's African Development Corporation, a diamond mining operation. Has purchased thoroughbred race horses, although has stated on many occasions he is opposed to gambling. Robertson claims he bought the horses because he is "amazed by their athleticism".
  • Robertson's support of former Liberian president Charles Taylor. In various episodes of his 700 Club program during the United States' involvement in the Liberian Civil War in June and July of 2003, Robertson repeatedly supported Liberian President Charles Taylor. Robertson accuses the U.S. State Department of giving President Bush bad advice in supporting Taylor's ouster as president, and of trying "as hard as they can to destabilize Liberia." Robertson has been criticized for failing to mention in his broadcasts his $8 million investment in a Liberian gold mine. Taylor 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, when in fact the company was allowed to fail leaving many debts both in Liberia and in the international mining service sector. Regarding this controversy, Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention's public policy said, "I would say that Pat Robertson is way out on his own, in a leaking life raft, on this one."
  • Robertson's political statements. On his The 700 Club television program, Pat Robertson has sharply criticized elements of the United States government. In 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, and repeated those comments on the air. "What we need is for somebody to place a small nuke at Foggy Bottom," Robertson said during his television program, referring to 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.
  • Robertson's Korean War record. In the late 1980s, Pat Robertson sued Congressman Pete McCloskey and Representative Andy Jacobs for libel. McCloskey, who served with Robertson in Korea, made claims that Robertson was spared combat duty when his powerful father intervened on his behalf. Jacobs repeated these statements publicly. During pre-trial depositions, another veteran who had served with Robertson, Paul Brosman, Jr., spoke of rumors during the war that Robertson had been carousing with prostitutes and hassling Korean women. Brosman stated that Robertson himself talked about his exploits with prostitutes. In the end, Robertson dropped his lawsuit because of scheduling conflicts between court dates and his 1988 presidential campaign, and he was ordered to pay part of McCloskey's court costs.
  • Despite claiming to be pro-life, Robertson spoke out in favor of China's forced abortion policy. In a 2001 interview with Wolf Blitzer, he said of that the Chinese were "doing what they have to do," though he said that he did not personally agree with the practice. His comments drew criticism from both sides of the political spectrum.

Pat Robertson Quotations

  • "It is clear that God is saying, 'I gave man dominion over the earth, but he lost it. Now I desire mature sons and daughters who will in My name exercise dominion over the earth and subdue Satan, the unruly, the rebellious. Take back My world from those who would loot it and abuse it. Rule as I would rule.'"

The Secret Kingdom

  • "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."
  • "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)
  • "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."
  • "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."
  • "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.'"
  • "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)
  • "We have allowed rampant secularism and occult, et cetera, to be broadcast on television. We have permitted somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 to 40 million unborn babies to be slaughtered in our society. We have a Court that has essentially stuck its finger in God's eye and said, 'We're going to legislate you out of the schools, we're going to take your Commandments from off the courthouse steps in various states, we're not going to let little children read the Commandments of God, we're not going to let the Bible be read -- no prayer in our schools.' We have insulted God at the highest levels of our government. And, then we say 'why does this happen?' Well, why its happening is that God Almighty is lifting His protection from us." (in response to the 9/11 attacks)

UNSOURCED QUOTE DELETED

Books 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.
  • 2002 State of Israel Friendship Award from the Zionist Organization of America.

External Links

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