Robertson Quotes

I have mixed feelings about Pat Robertson. On one hand, I'm not about to villainize him, because he has a track record that precious few televangelists can match: 30+ years in broadcasting without a major sexual or financial scandal! Let's give the boy a (muted) round of applause! Also, like 99% of the televangelists, Robertson was raised in a culture steeped in Old Time Religion and received little non-Christian formal education (if any...). He's basically a revival-tent preacher with sophisticated camera equipment. He's a product of his environment just like the rest of us, hence he does not deserve to become a scapegoat for everything that's wrong with North American evangelistic society.
On the other hand, the man is a dolt. And possibly he suffers from emotional and/or mental problems that none of his loved ones have been able or willing to confront for all these years. I don't need to prove this: It's crystal-clear if you watch The 700 Club regularly (and I used to do that)! Here are a few more choice quotes from the Godfather of Christian broadcasting:

• 1980: "If Christian people work together, they can succeed during this decade in winning back control of the institutions that have been taken from them over the past 70 years. Expect confrontations that will be not only unpleasant but at times physically bloody...."

Yikes! And we think terrorists in other countries are dangerous? This guy's home-grown, on national television!

But, hey, I staunchly defend freedom of speech! Robertson has the right to be an old fool. Unfortunately, he doesn't feel that way:

• 1990: "They scream, 'First Amendment.' Of course, the First Amendment, as you and I both know, is a restriction on Congress.... So it really doesn't have anything to do with what you say or what I say, one way or the other."