As he has passed earlier today, I’ll once again revert to my custom of featuring posts I wrote while he was living.
Let’s start with Pat Robertson vs. the “Shepherding Movement”, where he took down this movement. Unfortunately, thanks to people such as Bill Gothard, the Shepherding Movement rolled on in other forms, as is evident from the problems the Duggars have experienced.
There was clear cut authority in the New Testament, yet it was never really used. In today’s church what is the authority? The Pope? The World Council? The National Council? The Assemblies of God? The Church of God? The Methodist or Episcopal Council of Bishops? The Archbishop of Canterbury? The Full Gospel Business Men’s Board of Directors? Oral Roberts? Billy Graham? CBN? Rex Humbard? Five teachers in Fort Lauderdale? Juan Ortiz? The Southern Baptists? Ten pastors in Louisville, Kentucky.
None of these? Every pastor? The Holy Spirit dealing with a priesthood of believers?
If the Jerusalem Council which included eleven men who lived personally with Jesus, was very cautious and reserved in dealing with their fellowmen, how can any little group of charismatics in our confused state be so terribly dogmatic in trying to dominate others?
Now we should turn to Pat Robertson States the Obvious on Marijuana Penalties:
Television evangelist Pat Robertson has made inflammatory remarks in recent years that offend gays, Muslims and others, but a recent comment he made on his Christian Broadcasting Network was more notable for whom it pleased: people who want to see marijuana legalized.
“We’re locking up people that take a couple of puffs of marijuana, and the next thing you know they’ve got 10 years,” the controversial pastor said on “The 700 Club” on Dec. 16, in a clip unearthed by bloggers this week. “I’m not exactly for the use of drugs – don’t get me wrong – but I just believe that criminalizing marijuana, criminalizing the possession of a few ounces of pot and that kind of thing, I mean, it’s just, it’s costing us a fortune and it’s ruining young people.”
And then from No Stems, No Seeds That You Don’t Need: Pat Robertson and Marijuana:
The liberals are picking themselves off of the floor at the realisation that Pat Robertson has come out in favour of the legalisation of marijuana. (He’s been working up to this for some time.) NORML, at this writing, hasn’t even gotten around to admitting it. Many others are in shock also.
Turning to another topic, Pat Robertson not a Creationist? That Depends Upon How You Define the Word:
Televangelist Pat Robertson challenged the idea that Earth is 6,000 years old this week, saying the man who many credit with conceiving the idea, former Archbishop of Ireland James Ussher, “wasn’t inspired by the Lord when he said that it all took 6,000 years.”
The statement was in response to a question Robertson fielded Tuesday from a viewer on his Christian Broadcasting Network show “The 700 Club.” In a submitted question, the viewer wrote that one of her biggest fears was that her children and husband would not go to heaven “because they question why the Bible could not explain the existence of dinosaurs.”
He was one of the few prominent old earthers left; it bothers me that my contemporaries have abandoned ship on this topic.
In one of his last Q&A sessions on The 700 Club, Pat stated that he had no problem with abortion in the case of rape, incest or the life of the mother. That is heresy (doctrinal and political) to many these days.
Harvey Cox, in Fire from Heaven, characterised Pat as a moderate compared to many of his colleagues in Christian leadership. For all of the angst that the left has exuded over him, they’re not going to like most of those who come after him any better.
Neither, for that matter, are the rest of us.
Positive Infinity 