Another Open Apology
"I'd like to say to the good people of Dover, if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected him from your city..and don't wonder why he hasn't helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I'm saying..I'm not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city and if that's the case, then don't ask for his help because he might not be there" (Pat Robertson, 10 Nov 2005).
And I'd like to say to everyone who prior to this assumed that Christians were kind, loving people: Mr. Robertson doesn't speak for anyone but himself. This latest broadcast simply confirms that the controversial televangelist has lost touch with his Christian roots. God isn't about politics, but rather He is about a caring, personal relationship. Because of this, He can be called upon at anytime, disaster or not, just by accepting His love. That He gave us his only Son is proof that God has not rejected us and that He never will (John 3:16). Mr. Robertson, you have forgotten this by believing that you have the authority to mete out God's graces when this is reserved to the Lord alone. Your actions, sir, are a grand violation of the 2nd Commandment as you should well know.
Once a respected leader in the Christian community, Robertson has rapidly become a lightning rod for criticism for comments such as today's shaming of a town and a recent call to assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. But this is nothing new. When Jerry Falwell, another well-known televangelist, blamed the terrorist attacks of 9/11 on the moral decay of the United States, Robertson was quick to agree. Today's pronouncement is therefore not a shock, but is nonetheless regrettable.
So to all my friends and acquaintances that know me as a Christian, I am sorry for Robertson's remarks. Take a few moments to read the Bible and you'll see that in his zeal to be a bastion of right-wing conservatism he has forgotten 1 John 4:20 - "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen." True brotherly love means that one doesn't abandon others as Mr. Robertson's remarks indicate he has. And for that, too, I am sorry.
