If I were a Christian like Pat Robertson, I would advocate having him assassinated. After all, it's the new Christian doctrine. The Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt kill those that thou doth not liketh. Do I like Pat Robertson? Sure, I like him like I like ebola. But I'm not saying we should import those London bobbies who pumped nine bullets into an innocent subway taker's head to do their thing here. I'm not a Christian, so I'd settle for Mr. Robertson choking on a BLT with an extra splooge of mayo.
How can a country call itself Christian if it tolerates Christians who advocate assassination as a political solution? Why do we have these Christian Radicals in our midst? In any other country, the Christian Radicals would be regarded as nutcases. Fucktards. Idiots. An odd crowd of crazies to amuse the children when we run out of zoos. They'd be in the freak show at Coney's Island, next to the Bearded Lady.
But in the U.S., they're taken seriously. Their concerns — teaching creationism or "intelligent" design in our science classes, reducing women's rights by curtailing abortion, stopping gays from marrying, killing stem cell research — are on the national agenda, and widely debated in the media by serious people. They dominate news cycles more than shark attacks and Tom Cruise dancing on couches.
When did we as a nation check our brains at the door? Are we nuts? Are we terminally stupid? Aren't there enough celebrity trials to amuse us? How many Paris Hiltons would it take to keep our Christian Taliban off the airwaves?
More to the point, when did our moderate Christians decide to lie down and sleep and let the Christian Radicals speak for them?
There's an interesting analogy between the relative quiet from Islam about the radicals in their midst. It took the bombings in London for some moderate Islamic leaders to get on camera and become loud and vocal. Yet those are Islamic leaders from Western countries speaking. Elsewhere the silence from Islam is deafening.
The silence from our moderate religious leaders about the excesses of the Christian Radicals is as deafening as a rocket taking off in a baby's ear. What will it take before our Christians start denouncing the Christian Radicals who are giving Christianity a bad name? Where are the sane Methodists and Lutherans and Episcopalians? Why don't they say something? Why aren't there moderate Christians who are as famous and oft-quoted as Pat "let's-kill-for-Christ" Robertson? Or do they prefer to meekly bend over in sheep-like submission while Pat Robertson, James Dobson and others ream their religion from one Sunday to the next?
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Maurice
Their concerns -- teaching creationism or "intelligent" design in our science classes, reducing women's rights by curtailing abortion, stopping gays from marrying, killing stem cell research -- are on the national agenda, and widely debated in the media by serious people.
These are all debatable topics - unlike assassination. I don't think there are very many Christians that want to go down the assassination road with Pat.
2 - The Theory
yeah, abortion is definitely a moral grey area for everyone... not just extreme religious fanatics.
3 - Nancy
The unfortunate fact is that most Americans are somewhat religiously oriented, which means they have the mentality of sheep, & about as much intelligence, the same as religiously oriented populations in other countries who follow other religions. Christianity - or any religion, for that matter - does not tend to encourage either critical/original thinking or intelligence, but depends on the average human tendency to submissively follow when issued orders. Just like pre-WWII Germany.
4 - OneMonkey'sUncle
Wow, from God to Godwin in under five posts...
Someone tell Rev'rund Pat that the next time he's in London, the Christian way to gain entrance to the Tube is to jump over the turnstile. Ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom... problem solved. One more radical cleric collecting his six dozen virgins.
5 - Maurice
TT - is abortion okay after the baby is out of the womb?
Nancy - now you are not only racially intolerant but intolerant of religion too?
6 - adam
Abortion may be a gray area, but curtailing women's rights is not. The Supreme Court decided about abortion many years ago. So has the society at large. Nobody but the Christian Radicals want to criminalize abortion. So why is an argument the Christian Radicals have with themselves given credence by media exposure? I don't get it. I fear our nation may have gone terminally stupid, from our President on down.
7 - Nancy
Goddamned right I am.
8 - Maurice
Adam
All Catholics are against abortion. Most people are against late term abortion. The question is not womens rights - a women does not have the right to kill her 1 minute old child. The question is when does life begin. For some it is at conception. For others it is in one of the trimesters. Hence my question, is abortion okay after the baby is out of the womb?
9 - adam
Jeez, Maurice: I don't have to argue with you about your definition of a problem. You anti-women people always come up with these bizarre arguments. What are you saying -- that doctors go around aborting fetuses a minute before they're born? Grow up. This reminds me all too much of the arguments in the Terri Schiavo affair, or Bush's latest reason for why we have to continue the war in Iraq (more soldiers should die because many soldiers have already died). I already got myself involved in a discussion about Intelligent Design on another thread; I'm not picking up on somebody's else's stupid bait again. See if you can hook someone else with your foolish illogic.
10 - Maurice
Sorry to annoy you Adam. I was originally just trying to show that assassination was not a debatable topic like the other topics you listed.
Religious people (mainstream) will have varying opinions on the topics you listed but most will be against assassination.
11 - Kevin Scott
Gee and I wonder why non-Christians think Chrisitans are advocating the killing of abortion doctors? From Pat's perspective is there any difference?
12 - adam
Thanks, Maurice, and sorry I got so grumpy. My point is that I don't think abortion is debatable as to whether it should be legal or not.
We can talk about the fact that abortion is not a nice thing, and that women go through hell about it, and don't feel good about it afterwards, but that's not a debate, that's something most people agree on. That's a reality.
What IS being debated is whether abortion should be legal. That debate was decided by our legal system decades ago. It's over.
Same with "intelligent" design: it's an attempt to inject religion into science. Scientists don't insist preachers mention evolution in their sermons. Same with stem cell research: even Nancy Reagan wants it.
The only one of the points I mentioned that I think is still debatable is gay marriage, because the movement for it is new. All those other debates are about things that are done with, but kept artificially alive by the Christian Radicals.
13 - adam
Nancy, have you read The End of Faith?
14 - Maurice
I get your points about the legal aspects of these topics. I was about to abandon the abortion thing and move on to gay marriage but you beat me to it. Thanks for coming back.
Coolness to all and don't forget dietdoc.
15 - Geoff Tunnicliffe
Sylvia
The World Evangelical Alliance Condemns Statement by Pat Robertson
For Immediate Release
August 24, 2005
It is with great regret and deep concern that the World Evangelical Alliance totally condemns the recent speech by Dr. Pat Robertson calling for the U.S. government to assassinate President Chavez of Venezuela.
“This kind of statement, by this well known American Christian leader, is in complete contradiction to the teachings of Jesus Christ who evangelical Christians believe and seek to demonstrate,” says Geoff Tunnicliffe, WEA International Director. He goes on to add, “Robertson does not speak for evangelical Christians. We believe in justice and the protection of human rights of all people, including the life of President Chavez.”
Rev. Sam Olson, veteran pastor of Las Acacias church in Caracas and president of the Venezuelan Evangelical Alliance (associated with WEA) has expressed deep concern for how this statement will negatively impact evangelical Christians in Latin America. He writes, “Robertson has placed our lives in jeopardy as he has completely misrepresented us and has given our government every reason to believe we would support such an action.
The World Evangelical Alliance calls on Dr. Robertson to withdraw his statement and reconcile his views with the orthodox Christian faith. The WEA calls on all people, in particularly those of Venezuela, to show restraint in how they react to such a statement, knowing that it represents the opinion of one individual and not that of the hundreds of millions of evangelical Christians around the world.
For more information or for an interview contact:
Sylvia Soon, Communications Coordinator
Website: http://worldevangelicalalliance.com
E-mail: ssoon@worldevangelical.org
World Evangelical Alliance is a global network of 123 nations who each have formed an evangelical church alliance. Nearly 3,000,000 local churches and 380 million Christians identify with these alliances.
16 - mel
If you read the bible, which is a good story, in Genesis it states Adam was not a living being until God breathed the breath of life into his lungs. Hence bringing him to life. Christians for some reason don't like that passage because it states quite clearly when life begins - and I have heard the rhetoric of well its in the old testament, or, it was a one time thing with starting the human race --- but hmmmm isn't coming to life a one time thing for everyone?
The whole point is the majority of X'tians follow hypocritically blindly to these kinds of goofballs. Very few X'tians actually try and follow the teachings of Jesus himself, and try and lead a good life.
There is also the many versions of the bible out there, and which one do certain people subscribe to. One old version has Jesus walking by the water, but in the newer versions it has him walking on water.... And with the latest stupidity of 666 not being the devil's number but it actually being 616 because someone translated it wrong - who knows what is the truth?!
If true X'tianity comprised living a good life, trying to help your fellow man, etc the majority of X'tians out there would be struck down as heretics, leaving that handful of true X'tians out there. Maybe God has a sense of humour after all and is showing us pat pat the water rat for our amusement?
17 - mel
One last comment for fun
Keep your Jesus off my Penis by Eric Schwartz
18 - Maurice
Mel
another thing to consider is most likely Adam did not have a belly button.
19 - Brendan
So now all catholics are against abortion thats news to me I happen to have many catholic friends who believe other wise
"Religion is the opiate of the masses"
20 - Mark the Sane and Sensible
you are probably wrong, Brendan. What you have are friends that believe that it is a woman's right to choose to have an abortion. That doesn't imply that they actually themselves approve of it.
21 - mel
Maurice you have proven my point. X'tians love to draw their own inferences and conclusions from the Bible when in fact I'd like to see where it is written in the Bible that Adam doesn't have a belly button and why God didn't give him one.... I go on what is written down not the two bit inferences drawn from a story. Really someone reading that same passage could take it to mean that you are becomming one with God by breathing into a person called Adam ... its stupid to sit and rave about the what ifs - start concentrating on the written word at face value.
http://www.godlessgeeks.com/LINKS/JP_Full2.wmv
22 - mel
Mark you have hit the nail on the head. Just because you believe in someone's rights to make a choice, doesn't mean you believe in both choices. It's like a whole kaffufle in Canada over gay marriage. Just because you believe in the right to choose, doesn't mean you agree with it or would go out and get one yourself.
There has been much stupidity of long friendships breaking up because someone says they believe those who want it should be able to have a same-sex marriage if they want (why they want is no financial gain anyways in Canada as my husband and I as an opposite sex couple get dinged more for being married when it comes to taxes and even to the point where I cannot get disability because I am married and it is assumed the spouse should be supporting me instead of getting me financial help from the government).
Choice is a beautiful right. But it always has seemed in historical terms that every supposedly moral opposition to something where its touted that the world will come to an end if such and such happens, has always come and gone without the world ending. (Women getting the right to vote, women working outside the homes, etc etc etc)
23 - Joey
My mom is old too, and she is always saying stupid shit.
Pat Robertson is probably starting down the road of mental unsteadyness.
Some of the traits he exhibits are character to mild parkenson's, alzheimers, and dementia.
It's plaque related.
So quite smoking and fix your cholesteral, or you will fall victim yourselves.
24 - splat
Comment 5 posted by Maurice on August 24, 2005 01:00 PM:
TT - is abortion okay after the baby is out of the womb?
Ask Mr Robertson. Hes living proof that an abortion can live.
25 - Posh
If El Presidente de Venezualea has any connection to the drug cartel. Fuckin shoot. Who cares, just another drug lord gonna bite the dust.