Controversies and criticisms
Main article: Pat Robertson controversies
Robertson is outspoken in both his religion and his politics. His actions, business relations, and statements have often made headlines.
Controversies surrounding Robertson include his earlier work as a faith healer,[34] his claim that some Protestant denominations harbor the spirit of the Antichrist,[35] and his claims of having the power to deflect hurricanes through prayer;[36] he has also denounced Hinduism as "demonic"[37] and Islam as "Satanic."[38] Robertson has issued multiple condemnations of feminism,[39] homosexuality,[40] abortion[41] and liberal professors.[42] Robertson also had financial ties to former presidents Charles Taylor[43] (Liberia) and Mobutu Sese Seko[19] (Zaire), both internationally denounced for their systemic human rights violations. Robertson was criticized worldwide for his call for Hugo Chavez’s assassination[19] and for his remarks concerning Ariel Sharon's health as an act of God.[44]
In addition to sociopolitical controversies, Robertson was criticized for involvement in a racehorse scandal,[45] misleading claims about his leg pressing abilities[46] and his response to an unflattering Facebook photograph.[47]
The week of September 11th, 2001, Robertson discussed the terror attacks with Jerry Falwell, who said that "the ACLU has to take a lot of blame for this" in addition to "the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays, and the lesbians [who have] helped [the terror attacks of September 11th] happen." Robertson promptly replied, "I totally concur."[48] Both evangelists later issued apologies for their statements.[49]
Less than two weeks after the August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina that killed 1,836 people, Pat Robertson publicly alluded on the September 12th broadcast of the Christian Broadcasting Network's The 700 Club that Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment in response to America's abortion policy, stating, "But have we found we are unable somehow to defend ourselves against some of the attacks that are coming against us, either by terrorists or now by natural disaster? Could they be connected in some way? And he goes down the list of the things that God says will cause a nation to lose its possession, and to be vomited out."[50]
On November 9, 2009, Pat Robertson said that Islam is "a violent political system bent on the overthrow of the governments of the world and world domination." He went on to elaborate that "you're dealing with not a religion, you're dealing with a political system, and I think we should treat it as such, and treat its adherents as such as we would members of the communist party, members of some fascist group."[51]
Robertson's response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake also drew controversy.[52] Robertson claimed that Haiti's founders had sworn a "pact to the Devil" in order to liberate themselves from the French slave owners and indirectly attributed the earthquake to the consequences of the Haitian people being "cursed" for doing so.[53][54] CBN later issued a statement saying that Robertson's comments "were based on the widely-discussed 1791 slave rebellion led by Dutty Boukman at Bois Caiman, where the slaves allegedly made a famous pact with the devil in exchange for victory over the French."[55][56] Various prominent voices of mainline and evangelical[57] Christianity promptly denounced Robertson's remarks as untimely, insensitive, and not representative of Christian thought on the issue.[58][59][60][61][62]
Predictions
Several times near New Year Robertson has announced that God told him several truths or events that would happen in the following year. "I have a relatively good track record," he said. "Sometimes I miss."[63]
1982: Doomsday
In late 1976, Robertson predicted that the end of the world was coming in November or October 1982. In a May 1980 broadcast of The 700 Club he stated, "I guarantee you by the end of 1982 there is going to be a judgment on the world."[64]
2006: Pacific Northwestern tsunami
In May 2006, Robertson declared that storms and possibly a tsunami would hit America's coastline sometime in 2006. Robertson supposedly received this revelation from God during an annual personal prayer retreat in January. The claim was repeated four times on The 700 Club.
On May 8, 2006, Robertson said, "If I heard the Lord right about 2006, the coasts of America will be lashed by storms." On May 17, 2006, he elaborated, "There well may be something as bad as a tsunami in the Pacific Northwest." [65] While this claim didn't garner the same level of controversy as some of his other statements, it was generally received with mild amusement by the Pacific Northwest media. The History Channel's initial airing of its new series, Mega Disasters: West Coast Tsunami, was broadcast the first week of May.
2007: Terror attack
On the January 2, 2007, broadcast of The 700 Club, Robertson said that God spoke to him and told him that "mass killings" were to come during 2007, due to a terrorist attack on the United States. He added, "The Lord didn't say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that."[66] When a terrorist attack failed to happen in 2007, Robertson said, in January 2008, "All I can think is that somehow the people of God prayed and God in his mercy spared us."[67]
2008: Worldwide violence and American recession
On the January 2, 2008, episode of The 700 Club, Pat Robertson predicted that 2008 would be a year of worldwide violence. He also predicted that a recession would occur in the United States that would be followed by a stock market crash by 2010.[67]
2008: Mideast meltdown
In October 2008 Robertson posted a press release on the Georgian Conflict speculating that the conflict is a Russian ploy to enter the Middle East, and that instability caused by a predicted pre-emptive strike by Israel on Iran would result in Syria's and Iran's launching nuclear strikes on other targets. He also said that if the United States were to oppose Russia's expansion, nuclear strikes on American soil are also pending. "We will suffer grave economic damage, but will not engage in military action to stop the conflict. However, we may not be spared nuclear strikes against coastal cities. In conclusion, it is my opinion that we have between 75 and 120 days before the Middle East starts spinning out of control." [68]
2009: Economic chaos and recovery
On his New Years broadcast, 2009, Robertson said, "If I'm hearing [God] right, gold will go to about $1900 dollars an ounce and oil to $300 a barrel." He also suggested that Americans would broadly accept socialism. Despite these predictions, he also said that economically, "things are getting ready to turn around."[69]
Source:
Pat Robertson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
How stupid.
