2 of 12

In the same press release, Venezuelan Evangelical Alliance president Sam Olson worries that the real danger is to believers, not to Chavez. "Robertson has placed our lives in jeopardy as he has completely misrepresented us and has given our government every reason to believe we would support such an action," he said.

"Jesus called for nothing like this, and Pat Robertson sounded more like one of the radical imams," Os Guinness said on ABC's World News Tonight.

"The Southern Baptist Convention does not support or endorse public statements concerning assassinations of persons, even if they are despicable despots of foreign countries, and neither do I," Southern Baptist Convention president Bobby Welch says in a Baptist Press story. "Everyone is aware that the United Stares has a military and government agencies to deal with our foreign threats in a forceful combative way. The Christian's responsibility is to pray for our leaders as well as the extremists around the world. Jesus Christ can save these people and change their lives."

"He has brought embarrassment upon us all," Al Mohler, dean of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said on his blog, "With so much at stake, Pat Robertson bears responsibility to retract, rethink, repent, and restate his position on this issue. Otherwise, what could have been a temporary lapse of judgment can become an enduring obstacle to the Gospel."

"I have always held Pat Robertson in the highest esteem, but his remarks today about Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez were at best indiscreet and probably crossed a serious moral and ethical line," National Clergy Council president Rob Schenck said in a press release. "Reverend Robertson must immediately apologize, retract his statement, and clarify what the Bible and Christianity teaches about the permissibility of taking human life outside of law."

World magazine senior editor Marvin Olasky told MSNBC:

Well Pat's 75, he's had a live television show for decades, and sometimes he blurts things out. He doesn't represent evangelicals, and I hope that people in Venezuela don't think that he represents the United States. …

Biblically, assassination may be used in times of war, last time I looked we were not at war with Venezuela. We're supposed to pray for those in government and those around the world in positions of leadership, not assassinate them. So he doesn't represent a Christian view as far as his interpretation of Scripture, and I'm not sure he represents how many people he represents in the evangelical community. He ran for President 17 years ago, and at the peak of his popularity he didn't get a whole lot of votes, so I'm not sure what clout he really these days either. …

Oh sure there's concern about Chavez, from everything I've read, he's a dictator, he probably rigged the last election, and so should really not be in office. But that still doesn't give you a rationale for going and assassinating him. … There are particular ways to act, pray for those in that situation, hope God will change that situation, but not take the law into our own hands in a vigilante style like that. Or, asking our government to do things when we're not at war with a country.

(It's interesting to read the comments by World blog readers, some of whom say Robertson is right.)

next page... |  2 of 12

share this page

August (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49