Shame on Pat Robertson

I have been frustrated and baffled for years now to know that so many people on all parts of the American political spectrum, and around the world, think that the words "Christian" and "Republican" (or "fundamentalist") are synonyms. Christians who lean to the left have an obligation to speak up when right-wing nut cases, like Pat Robertson, who claim to be leaders of the Christian faith, stand in the temple (so to speak) and encourage people to break one of the ten commandments.

I know it may sound obvious to some, even most, readers of this blog, but let's just be clear: Pat Robertson is an embarrassment to the Christian faith. Too many times, I think we liberal Christians are either a) awkward and insecure about speaking from a faith perspective, for many reasons; or b) so aware of the absurdness of people like Robertson that we say nothing, assuming everyone else understands how completely off base he is. But that needs to stop. It needs to stop, because he should have to face other Christians telling him he's wrong. And it needs to stop because if it doesn't, then the multitude of both Christians and non-Christians who don't pay much attention will hear only his voice, and think that's what you must believe if you're a follower of Jesus.

I'm no biblical scholar, but I know it well enough to say with confidence that Jesus was not pro-assassination. I neither know nor care a whit about Chavez--he strikes me as a total thug. But I care a lot about people who claim to speak for God while saying things that are a poke in the eye to the teachings of Jesus. Pat Robertson is a disgrace and a fraud. Pass it on.

(and, yes, I feel a tinge of awkwardness about linking to biblegateway dot com. but I did it anyway.)