Pat Robertson - Life and career, Global Warming, Political activism, Controversies and Criticisms

Religious broadcaster and politician, born in Lexington, Virginia, USA. He studied at Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA, Yale Law School, and the New York Theological Seminary. He founded the Christian Broadcast Network in 1960 and began his popular religious talk show, the ‘700 Club’, in 1968. He realized early the possibilities of cable television for reaching a targeted audience, and became one of the most watchable and influential ‘televangelists’ of the 1980s. His failed run for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988 showed the limits of his political appeal. Because of his business sense and media empire, Robertson remains one of the most important figures among evangelical Christians.

Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is a televangelist from the United States. Robertson is a supporter of the Republican Party and campaigned unsuccessfully to become the party's nominee in the 1988 presidential election.

Life and career

Family

Robertson was born in Lexington, Virginia, into a prominent political family. His parents were Absalom Willis Robertson, a conservative Democratic United States Senator, and his wife Gladys Churchill Robertson. Robertson, and at the time of writing (mid-2005) fourteen grandchildren.

At a young age, Robertson was given the nickname of Pat by his six-year-old brother, Willis Robertson, Jr., who enjoyed patting him on the cheeks when he was a baby while saying "pat, pat, pat". As he got older, Robertson thought about which first name he would like people to use.

Pat Robertson is a distant relative of the 9th US President, William Henry Harrison, as well as his grandson, the 23rd US President, Benjamin Harrison.

(According to Pat Robertson's website, his father, Absalom Willis Robertson, is 8-generation direct female line from Colonel Armisted Churchill, whose sister, Elizabeth Churchill, was William Henry Harrison's grandmother from his mother's side.)

Education and military service

When he was eleven, Robertson was enrolled in the military preparatory McDonogh School outside Baltimore, Maryland. Robertson has said, "Although I worked hard at my studies, my real major centered around lovely young ladies who attended the nearby girls schools."

In 1948 the draft was reinstated, and Robertson was given the option of joining the Marine Corps or being drafted into the army. In January 1951, Robertson served four months in Japan, "doing rehabilitation training for Marines wounded in Korea". In the same year he transferred to Korea, "I ended up at the headquarters command of the First Marine Division," says Robertson. "The Division was in combat in the hot and dusty, then bitterly cold portion of North Korea just above the 38th Parallel later identified as the 'Punchbowl' and 'Heartbreak Ridge.' For that service in the Korean War, the Marine Corps awarded me three battle stars for 'action against the enemy.'"

However, former Republican Congressman Paul "Pete" McCloskey, Jr., who served with Robertson in Korea, claimed that Robertson was actually spared combat duty when his powerful father, a U.S. Senator, intervened on his behalf, claiming that instead Robertson spent most of his time in an office in Japan.

Paul Brosman, Jr., another veteran who had served with Robertson, claimed in a deposition that Robertson had sexual relations with prostitutes and sexually harassed a cleaning girl. Robertson has described these allegations as "an attack by liberals to discredit me."

Robertson was promoted to First Lieutenant in 1952 upon his return to the United States. Instead Robertson went to the New York Theological Seminary, and was awarded a Master of Divinity degree in 1959.

Religious career

In 1956 Robertson found his faith through Dutch missionary Cornelius Vanderbreggen, who impressed Robertson both by his lifestyle and his message.

In 1960, Robertson established the Christian Broadcasting Network in Virginia Beach, Virginia. When the Family Channel became too profitable for Robertson to keep it under the CBN umbrella without endangering CBN's nonprofit status, he formed International Family Entertainment, Inc. Robertson sold the Family Channel to the News Corporation in 1997, which renamed it Fox Family. A condition of the sale was that the station would continue airing Robertson's television program, The 700 Club, twice a day in perpetuity, regardless of any changes of ownership.

Robertson founded CBN University in 1977 on CBN's Virginia Beach campus.

1988 presidential bid

In September, 1986, Robertson announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for President of the United States. Robertson said he would pursue the nomination only if three million people signed up to volunteer for his campaign by September, 1987. Three million responded, and by the time Robertson announced he'd be running in September 1987, he also had raised millions of dollars for his campaign fund.

Robertson ran on a very conservative platform.

During the presidential primary election season started in early 1988, Robertson's campaign was attacked because of a statement he had made about his military service. Other Marines in his battalion contradicted Robertson's version, claiming he had never spent a day in a combat environment. Instead of fighting in the war, Robertson's primary responsibility was supplying alcoholic beverages for his officers. (see Education and military service)

Robertson's campaign got off to a strong second-place finish in the Iowa caucus, ahead of Bush.

Robertson did poorly in the subsequent New Hampshire primary, however, and was unable to be competitive once the multiple-state primaries began. Robertson ended his campaign before the primaries were finished;

Books

Robertson's books have been very successful and well-selling.

Business interests

He is the founder and chairman of The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) Inc., and founder of International Family Entertainment Inc., Regent University, Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation, American Center for Law and Justice, The Flying Hospital, Inc. Robertson was the founder and co-chairman of International Family Entertainment Inc.

In 1999, Robertson entered into a joint venture with the Bank of Scotland to provide financial services in the United States. However, the move was met with criticsm in the UK due to Robertson's views on homosexuality. After Robertson commented that Scotland was "a dark land overrun by homosexuals", the Bank of Scotland cancelled the venture .

Global Warming

In 2006 Robertson became a global warming "convert."

As recently as October of 2005, Robertson (then a disbeliever in global warming), accused the National Association of Evangelicals of teaming up with "far left environmentalists" in stating that global warming was caused by humans and needed to be mitigated.

Now, however, Robertson's current position on global warming puts him at odds with President George Bush who pulled out of the international Kyoto Protocol in 2001, which sets limits on emissions to curb global warming. Robertson is viewed by one million viewers and often sets the conservative political agenda on national issues.

Political activism

After his unsuccessful presidential campaign, Robertson used his campaign organization to start the Christian Coalition, a political organization which campaigned mostly for conservative candidates.

While Robertson is primarily popular among evangelical Christians, his support extends beyond the Christian community. In that year the Coalition for Jewish Concerns also expressed its gratitude to Robertson for "unwavering support for Israel" and "standing up to evil".

Controversies and Criticisms

Robertson is outspoken in both his faith and his politics and controversies surrounding him have often made headlines.

Claim that some denominations harbor the spirit of the Antichrist

On January 14, 1991, on The 700 Club, Pat Robertson attacked a number of Protestant denominations when he declared: "You say you're supposed to be nice to the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians and the Methodists and this, that, and the other thing.

Claims about the power of his prayers

Robertson claims to have used the power of prayer to steer hurricanes away from his companies' Virginia Beach, Virginia, headquarters.

In 2003, Robertson called on God to prevent Hurricane Isabel from hitting Virginia Beach. In 2005, Robertson launched Operation Supreme Court Freedom, a televised nationwide 21-day prayer campaign asking people to pray for vacancies on the Supreme Court, where "black-robed tyrants have pushed a radical agenda." Robertson declared that "God heard those prayers", after the announced resignation of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Remarks concerning feminism, homosexuality, and liberalism

Among his more controversial statements, Robertson has described feminism as a "socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians." Many of Robertson's views mirror those of the evangelical activist Jerry Falwell, who has made frequent appearances on The 700 Club.

After public outcry regarding the dialogue, which was conducted via television monitor and took place only days after the attacks, Robertson claimed that his earpiece was malfunctioning, and that he was unaware of what he was agreeing with at the time.

On the June 8, 1998 edition of his show, Robertson denounced Orlando, Florida and Disney World for allowing a privately sponsored "Gay Days" weekend. Robertson stated that the acceptance of homosexuality could result in hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, terrorist bombings and "possibly a meteor." The resulting outcry prompted Robertson to return to the topic on June 24, where he quoted the Book of Revelation to support his claims.

While discussing the Mark Foley scandal on the October 5, 2006 broadcast of the show, Robertson condemned Foley saying he "does what gay people do".

Support for Charles Taylor/Diamonds Controversy

Robertson repeatedly supported former President of Liberia Charles Taylor in various episodes of his 700 Club program during the United States' involvement in the Liberian Civil War in June and July of 2003. Robertson accuses the U.S. State Department of giving President Bush bad advice in supporting Taylor's ouster as president, and of trying "as hard as they can to destabilize Liberia."

Robertson was criticized for failing to mention in his broadcasts his $8,000,000 (USD) investment in a Liberian gold mine. Taylor had been indicted by the United Nations for war crimes at the time of Robertson's support. According to Robertson, the Liberian gold mine Freedom Gold was intended to help pay for humanitarian and evangelical efforts in Liberia, when in fact the company was allowed to fail leaving many debts both in Liberia and in the international mining service sector. Regarding this controversy, Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention's public policy said, "I would say that Pat Robertson is way out on his own, in a leaking life raft, on this one."

Robertson has also been accused of using his tax-exempt, nonprofit organization, Operation Blessing, as a front for his own financial gain, and then using his influence in the Republican Party to cover his tracks. After making emotional pleas in 1994 on The 700 Club for cash donations to Operation Blessing to support airlifts of refugees from Rwanda to Zaire, it was later discovered, by a reporter from The Virginian-Pilot, that Operation Blessing's planes were transporting diamond-mining equipment for the Robertson-owned African Development Corporation, a venture Robertson had established in cooperation with Zaire's dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, whom Robertson had befriended earlier in 1993. According to Operation Blessing documents, Robertson personally owned the planes used for Operation Blessing airlifts.

In 1993, Mobutu was denied a visa by the U.S. State Department after he sought to visit Washington, D.C. Shortly after this, Robertson tried to get the State Department to lift its ban on the African leader.

An investigation by the Commonwealth of Virginia's Office of Consumer Affairs determined that Robertson "willfully induced contributions from the public through the use of misleading statements and other implications" and called for a criminal prosecution against Robertson in 1999. However, Virginia Attorney General Mark Earley, a Republican whose largest campaign contributor two years earlier was Robertson himself, intervened, accepting that Robertson had made deceptive appeals but overruling the recommendation for his prosecution. No charges were ever brought against Robertson.

Political statements

On his The 700 Club television program, Pat Robertson has sharply criticized elements of the United States government and "special interest" groups that don't share his views. In interviews with the author of a book critical of the United States Department of State, Robertson made suggestions that the explosion of a nuclear weapon at State Department Headquarters would be good for the country, and repeated those comments on the air. "What we need is for somebody to place a small nuke at Foggy Bottom," Robertson said during his television program, referring to the location of the State Department headquarters. State Department officials said they believed the comments to be in extremely bad taste, and have lodged official complaints against Robertson for his remarks.

Robertson has repeatedly claimed that Barry Lynn has stated that fire departments cannot put out fires in churches because it would be a violation of separation of church and state. Lynn, progressive organizations like Media Matters for America and conservative groups such as Focus on the Family have all contested Robertson's statements.

Chinese abortions

In a 2001 interview with Wolf Blitzer, he said that the Chinese were "doing what they have to do", regarding China's one child policy, sometimes enforced with compulsory abortions, though he said that he did not personally agree with the practice.

Hugo Chávez

Wikinews has News related to this article section: Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson calls for assassination of Venezuela's president US televangelist Pat Robertson apologizes for assassination remark

On the August 22, 2005 broadcast of The 700 Club, Robertson said of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, "I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. Robertson also said that Chávez was "going to make Venezuela a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent" and called the elected leader an "out-of-control dictator...

Assassinations of heads of state have been against U.S. policy since an executive order against them was issued in 1976;

On the August 24 edition of The 700 Club, Robertson asserted that he hadn't actually called for Chávez's assassination, but that there were other ways of "taking him out", such as having special forces carry out a kidnapping. Robertson explicitly denied having used the word "assassination", though the word "assassinate" was present in his initial statement.

On Sunday, August 28, 2005, Chávez called on the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the matter: "My government is going to take legal action in the United States," he said in a televised speech.

On February 2, 2006 edition of Hannity and Colmes, Pat Robertson once again called for Chavez's assassination. When Colmes asked Robertson "Do you want him taken out?", Robertson replied "Not now, but one day, one day, one day."

Message to Dover, Pennsylvania

Wikinews has news related to: Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson warns Pennsylvania town of disaster

On his November 10, 2005 broadcast of The 700 Club, Robertson told citizens of Dover, Pennsylvania that they had rejected God by voting out of office all seven members of the school board who support intelligent design.

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected him from your city", Robertson said on his broadcast.

In a written statement, Robertson later clarified his comments:

"God is tolerant and loving, but we can't keep sticking our finger in his eye forever.

Remarks About Iraq War

Pat Robertson claimed in 2004 that President Bush told him before he led the United States into war with Iraq, that he expected there to be no casualties. Kerry of Massachussets, who was Bush's opponent for the presidency in the 2004 election, said that Bush deserved the benefit of the doubt, but he should say whether or not Robertson was telling the truth or lying.

Robertson also claimed that he had "deep misgivings" on the war, adding, "The Lord told me it was going to be a:) a disaster and b:) messy." It should be noted that when the American invasion began in 2003, Robertson claimed on his show that the war was in fact "a righteous cause out of the Bible."

Remarks concerning Ariel Sharon

The lead story on the January 5, 2006, edition of The 700 Club was Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's hospitalization for a severe stroke. After the story, Robertson said that Sharon's illness was possibly retribution from God for his recent drive to give more land to the Palestinians. For instance, Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said that Robertson "ought to know better" than to say such things. The White House called Robertson's statement "wholly inappropriate and offensive". Robertson was also chastised by Israeli officials and members of the Anti-Defamation League.

On January 11, Israel responded by announcing that Robertson would be banned from involvement in a project to build a Christian tourist attraction and pilgrimage site near the Sea of Galilee known as the Christian Heritage Center. The plan had called for Israel leasing 35 acres of land to a group of evangelicals (including Robertson) for free to create several tourist attractions and pilgrimage sites in exchange for the evangelicals raising 50 million dollars in funding. A spokesman for the Tourism Ministry commented, "We cannot accept these statements, and we will not sign any contracts with Mr. Robertson."

He added that the decision would not apply to all members of the evangelical community: "We want to see who in the group supports his (Robertson's) statements.

On January 12, Robertson sent a letter to Sharon's son Omri, apologizing for his comments. In the letter, Robertson called Ariel Sharon a "kind, gracious and gentle man" who was "carrying an almost insurmountable burden of making decisions for his nation." Omri and the Israeli government accepted the apology, though it remained unclear whether the deal with Robertson would be rehabilitated.

While some observers were satisfied by the gesture, some reporters also accused Robertson of using the apology as a tactic allowing him to make such statements while promoting a public image among evangelicals as a leader who does not compromise on his values. Surprisingly, some of the harsher criticism of Robertson did not come from American or Israeli Jews, but from his fellow evangelicals and conservative Christians, who charged that Robertson's behavior did serious harm to evangelicals' image, and led to unfair generalizations and criticism of them.

The fallout from Robertson's comments was still visible over a month after the event; after speaking with organizers of the National Religious Broadcasters February 2006 convention, Robertson wound up cancelling his planned keynote speech.

A representative from Israel's Tourism Ministry diplomatically commented, "Pat Robertson has been a long-term friend of the state of Israel, and continues to be so."

In March 2006, Robertson lost a bid for re-election to the board of directors of the National Religious Broadcasters.

Remarks against Islam and Muslims

Robertson has frequently denounced the religion of Islam and Muslim people. Colmes, Robertson claimed that the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, was "an absolute wild-eyed fanatic … a robber and a brigand."

On the March 13, 2006 broadcast of The 700 Club Robertson stated that Muslims want global domination and that the outpouring of rage elicited by cartoon drawings of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad "just shows the kind of people we're dealing with. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, called Robertson's new comments "grossly irresponsible". He went on to say, "At a time when inter-religious tensions around the world are at an all-time high, Robertson seems determined to throw gasoline on the fire."

On the September 25, 2006 broadcast of The 700 Club Robertson stated "It's amazing how the Muslims deal with history and the truth with violence.

Remarks Against Hindus

Pat Robertson has been harshly criticized for his numerous insensitive and brash remarks towards the religion of Hinduism.

On March 23, 1995, Pat Robertson led a television programme in which he attacked the religion of Hinduism.

Later in his book The New World Order he wrote: "When I said during my presidential bid that I would bring only Christians and Jews into the government, I hit a firestorm.

Liberal professors

On the March 21, 2006 broadcast of The 700 Club, while reviewing The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America by David Horowitz, the subject of which is radical academics in American universities, Robertson went on to say that the 101 professors named in the book are only but a few of "thirty to forty thousand" left-wing professors in the United States, all of whom he accused of being "racists, murderers, sexual deviants and supporters of Al-Qaeda", further labeling them as "termites that have worked into the woodwork of our academic society".

Predictions of 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.

On May 8, 2006 Robertson said, "If I heard the Lord right about 2006, the coasts of America will be lashed by storms." It should also be noted that the History Channel's initial airing of its new series, Mega Disasters: West Coast Tsunami, was broadcast the first week of May.

Leg press claims

Robertson claims on his web site that through training and his "Age-Defying energy shake", he is able to leg press 2,000 pounds while others claim he is a liar, pushing a common energy formula. 2,000 pounds would be an exceptional accomplishment for a world-class athlete, to say nothing of a 76-year-old man like Robertson. Thus, Robertson's claimed achievement would add 665 pounds to the best-ever total of Kendra, a top athlete in his physical prime, who would go on to play professional football in the National Football League and become a Navy SEAL.

In response to the skepticism of this claim, Robertson's website has claimed that his doctor is able to leg press 2,700 pounds, and that "It is not nearly as hard as the authors of these reports make it out to be."

A video has also been provided supposedly demonstrating Robertson doing several reps with a weight of 1,000. In the video Pat Robertson is seen using a 45 degree sled type leg press machine, which reduces the effective weight to 707 lbs (sin(45°) x 1000 lbs). This setup gives Pat Robertson the maximum mechanical advantage at the last few inches of travel.

In June 2006, General Nutrition Center, a nutritional supplement retailer, announced without explanation that it would stop carrying Robertson's energy drink.