A Fatwa from the 700 Club
Can the religious right be stopped? Can they even be censured for their actions? Pat Robertson obviously doesn't think so. This Christian scam artist and professional shithead now feels entitled to call for the assassination of an international leader. Where does his temerity come from? Has he no fear of reprisal? Of course not. Mr. Robertson performed a valuable service to the Bush clan during the primaries of 2000 by pitching in with a bucket of tar for Senator John McCain, helping to slander McCain and paint a picture of him as a dangerously unbalanced freak. Much like Karl Rove, Robertson is now untouchable. His public plea for the death of Hugo Chavez is despicable but it may serve one important function--that of ripping the mask of decency off of the face of the evangelical Christian movement.
Pat Robertson has long been an embarrassment to this nation. His 700 Club requires its members to donate $700 before they can consider themselves truly nestled in the bosom of Christ, despite the fact that the early Christians never charged anyone to join their Church. As if such actions are not contradictory to the precepts he allegedly practices, Mr. Robertson now feels comfortable enough in his self-appointed position as political mover and shaker to call for the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Oddly enough, my copy of the bible doesn't include the gospel where Jesus Christ begins sanctioning hits on other countries' democratically elected presidents, but perhaps I haven't read the text as literally as I should have.
The US attempted to depose Chavez shortly after his election in 2002. When they failed to do so after the Venezuelan people took to the streets to defend the integrity of their political processes, he became a marked man in the eyes of the Bush administration. The combination of Chavez' daring and his country's massive oil supplies makes his defiance towards the US even more admirable. Now, mysteriously, a man who once was the public face of a smear campaign orchestrated by Karl Rove suddenly appears in the middle of this international dustup, making inflammatory statements about a White House enemy. Coincidence? I don't think so....
Robertson appears to have taken a page from the Bush playbook on absurd political linkage. He claims that Chavez' regime in Venezuela is turning the country into "a launching pad for Communist infiltration and Muslim extremism". If this statement is analyzed for even one second its absurdity is revealed--how many atheistic Communists are likely to throw in with Islamic fundamentalists, whose anthropomorphic Allah haunts their every step? How many Jihadists would be willing to work with those who reject the Koran in favor of Marx and Engels? There is not a nation in the world that could withstand the pressures of ideologies that conflict so severely, let alone export this particular brand of revolution beyond their own national borders. The level of absurdity almost matches that created by the braintrust at the Bush White House when they linked secular powermonger Saddam Hussein with ascetic millionaire Islamic fundamentalist Osama Bin Laden.
Calling for someone's murder is not something that a religious leader should ever do. It's that simple. It does not matter whether the offender is Muslim, Christian, or Jewish. It is a moral disgrace for a purportedly religious leader to behave like this. But Pat Robertson is no ordinary Christian soldier. This is a man who has unceasingly fought a war of ignorance by demeaning the achievements of science and technology; a man who equates feminism with baby-killing; a man who has called for the abolition of Halloween due to its hidden Satanic subtext. In short, Pat Robertson is a lunatic--but a well-funded and well-organized one. His money and his organization should not be able to insulate him from a massive fine. The FCC should hit him, and hit him hard. But like Karl Rove and Kenneth Lay before him, Robertson will probably escape with no more than a slap on the wrist for his foolishness.
How is it that the teachings of a 2000-year old peaceful and semi-nomadic carpenter from the Middle East can be twisted into such horrible shapes? Are Christian values really given full expression with the execution of criminals? the starting of wars? or by calling for assassinations? And if this is an example of religion in action, why the fuck does anyone believe in it?
Pat Robertson has long been an embarrassment to this nation. His 700 Club requires its members to donate $700 before they can consider themselves truly nestled in the bosom of Christ, despite the fact that the early Christians never charged anyone to join their Church. As if such actions are not contradictory to the precepts he allegedly practices, Mr. Robertson now feels comfortable enough in his self-appointed position as political mover and shaker to call for the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Oddly enough, my copy of the bible doesn't include the gospel where Jesus Christ begins sanctioning hits on other countries' democratically elected presidents, but perhaps I haven't read the text as literally as I should have.
The US attempted to depose Chavez shortly after his election in 2002. When they failed to do so after the Venezuelan people took to the streets to defend the integrity of their political processes, he became a marked man in the eyes of the Bush administration. The combination of Chavez' daring and his country's massive oil supplies makes his defiance towards the US even more admirable. Now, mysteriously, a man who once was the public face of a smear campaign orchestrated by Karl Rove suddenly appears in the middle of this international dustup, making inflammatory statements about a White House enemy. Coincidence? I don't think so....
Robertson appears to have taken a page from the Bush playbook on absurd political linkage. He claims that Chavez' regime in Venezuela is turning the country into "a launching pad for Communist infiltration and Muslim extremism". If this statement is analyzed for even one second its absurdity is revealed--how many atheistic Communists are likely to throw in with Islamic fundamentalists, whose anthropomorphic Allah haunts their every step? How many Jihadists would be willing to work with those who reject the Koran in favor of Marx and Engels? There is not a nation in the world that could withstand the pressures of ideologies that conflict so severely, let alone export this particular brand of revolution beyond their own national borders. The level of absurdity almost matches that created by the braintrust at the Bush White House when they linked secular powermonger Saddam Hussein with ascetic millionaire Islamic fundamentalist Osama Bin Laden.
Calling for someone's murder is not something that a religious leader should ever do. It's that simple. It does not matter whether the offender is Muslim, Christian, or Jewish. It is a moral disgrace for a purportedly religious leader to behave like this. But Pat Robertson is no ordinary Christian soldier. This is a man who has unceasingly fought a war of ignorance by demeaning the achievements of science and technology; a man who equates feminism with baby-killing; a man who has called for the abolition of Halloween due to its hidden Satanic subtext. In short, Pat Robertson is a lunatic--but a well-funded and well-organized one. His money and his organization should not be able to insulate him from a massive fine. The FCC should hit him, and hit him hard. But like Karl Rove and Kenneth Lay before him, Robertson will probably escape with no more than a slap on the wrist for his foolishness.
How is it that the teachings of a 2000-year old peaceful and semi-nomadic carpenter from the Middle East can be twisted into such horrible shapes? Are Christian values really given full expression with the execution of criminals? the starting of wars? or by calling for assassinations? And if this is an example of religion in action, why the fuck does anyone believe in it?
posted by alyosha mcbain at 2:05 PM
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