Roberston

FoxNews.com is currently running an article about Pat Roberston's comments concerning Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Roberston declared the time had come for American operatives to "take [Chavez] out."

Chavez has thought for some time that the United States is behind plots to assassinate him, and according to Roberston, the time has come to make those dreams a reality.

Frankly, I'm ashamed of Robertson, and am thankful that virtually no one watches his show apart from news reporters looking for a story. Aside from the fact that Robertson regularly puts his foot in his mouth, and makes nearly as many recantation speeches as regular speeches, he has taken a platform that could be used to reach millions with the Gospel and turned it into a hate-spewing circus act that rates right up in my book with Jerry Springer. And I mean that.

Democracy is a privelege, and a blessing from God. As such, Americans should see it as a stewardship entrusted to them, and should be involved in the workings of government to ensure that the government provides us and our children with a safe, secure, free place to live.
However, I don't see a command for political activism anywhere in Scripture. In fact, the vast majority of times that political activists are pictured in Scripture, it's in a negative light (see the Zealots, Pharisees, Sadducees, etc...). Instead, I see commands to "submit to governing authorities" (Romans 13:1), and promises that God holds the hearts of kings in the palm of his hand (Proverbs 21:1).

Christians have another citizenship above and beyond their citizenship in the United States. Our status as people who are "in Christ," (Ephesians 1) is a higher calling than our status as American citizens. Thus when then two conflict, we should defer to our higher calling. In Robertson's case, the two conflict. Calling for the assassination of world leaders from such a public platform is an embarrassment. Claiming that feminism "causes women to kill their children" is unbelievable.

It's time for Robertson to retire and begin working on his memoirs. Out of the public eye. His regular lapses in coherent thought have cast shame on the church in America, and has caused great damage to the ministries of legitimate spokespersons of Christianity who are attempting to make a genuine difference for Jesus Christ in the world.

I'm as patriotic as the next guy. I get chills every time the Air Force does a flyover at a baseball game. I bawl like a baby when I'm at a concert where a band plays the military hymns and asks the veterans to stand up. But I'm prouder to be a Christian. And every time someone like Pat Robertson stands up under the name of Christ, and spews complete polemic nonsense about something totally unrelated to the Gospel, I feel like I'm watching someone burn my flag. And it's time for that to stop.