Liberals have eagerly jumped onto the “no hate” bandwagon after the Orlando shooting. They’re blaming Christians, they’re blaming guns — doing everything they can to not call it what it was: an act of Islamic terrorism, perpetrated by an ISIS operative. It’s frustrating for countless conservatives to have to hear the endless parade liberals pointing the finger at Christians, most of whom were heartbroken over the shooting and not only denounced it, but organized blood drives, prayer vigils, and more. But then there are the idiots who have to open their mouths and make liberals think that every single one of their biases against Christians are not due to prejudice, but fact. Pat Robertson is the latest Christian to be that idiot.
For those not familiar with Robertson, he’s a former Southern Baptist minister who founded an array of organizations: Regent University, the Christian Broadcasting Network, ABC Family (now Freeform), and many more. He’s also the host of “the 700 Club”, a news magazine-style show, and is notable for his conservative views. So when he responded to the Orlando shooting by saying that we should just sit back and let the left’s two allies — the LGBT lobby and Muslims — kill themselves, well… liberals are understandably having a field day. Watch for yourself:
One more time, I want to mention that this is a religious belief, it is deeply ingrained in the people, and for our president refuses to acknowledge it, when the Secretary of State, now the Democratic nominee for, uh, president, refuses to acknowledge, and says that this is a slur against, quote, a great religion. This is nonsense. This is what this great religion teaches. And it’s right in the [unintelligible] of Islam. So, uh, whether you like it or not, that’s the way it is. The left is having a dilemma of major proportions and, uh, I think for those of us who, um, ah, you know, disagree with some of their policies, the best thing to do is to sit — sit on the sidelines and let them kill themselves.
What person in their right mind would ever think it was a good idea to respond to the deadliest shooting in American history by saying that we should just sit back and let the gays and Muslims kill themselves? And we wonder why it is that liberals are able to point the finger at Christians and say that we hate gay people. 99% of us may condemn the shooting and slam idiotic remarks like these, but then one moron comes forward and says something stupid, and we’re ten steps backwards again.
And unsurprisingly, the CBN immediately came forward to say oh no no, that’s not what he meant!
Please view The 700 Club's official statement regarding the context of Pat Robertson's comments on today's show. pic.twitter.com/qgL7AvwXaM
— The 700 Club (@700club) June 14, 2016
OK, so, after a mass shooting, the best metaphor Pat Robertson can come up with is one of gays and Muslims killing each other? Really?? That was a monumentally stupid decision, and the pathetic excuse they came up with — that people just took it out of context — only makes it worse.
Of course, Robertson wasn’t the only one to go and say something stupid. A Baptist pastor in California said something even worse:
Today, people say like, aren’t you sad that 50 sodomites died? Here’s the problem with that. It’s like, the equivalent of asking me, you know, when are you asking me, ‘Are you sad that 50 pedophiles were killed today?’ Um… no, I think that’s great. I, I, I think that helps society. You know? I think Orlando, Florida is a little safer tonight! Now that 50 — you know, the tragedy is that more of them didn’t die! I mean, the tragedy is — I’m, I’m, I’m kind of upset that he didn’t finish the job! … There’s no tragedy! I wish the gunman would round them all up, put them up against the firing wall, put a firing squad in front of them, and blow their brains out!
That little gem came from Pastor Roger Jimenez of Verity Baptist Church in Sacramento. The same sentiment was echoed by Pastor Steven Anderson of Faithful World Baptist Church in Phoenix.
And really, we have to wonder why people think Christians hate gay people? Really?
The tragic thing is, most Christians absolutely don’t hate gay people. True Christians, who actually have the love of Christ in their hearts, reacted much differently:
Christian, your gay or lesbian neighbor is probably really scared right now. Whatever our genuine disagreements, let's love and pray.
— Russell Moore (@drmoore) June 12, 2016
Most Christians aren’t filled with hatred and venom, even towards people we disagree with. Christians can disagree with gay marriage, and yet still love gay people. We’re called to be symbols of Christ in the world, to pray for them and to treat them — and everyone else — with kindness and love. That’s exactly what most Christians have done in the wake of the Orlando shooting, but all it takes is a few bad apples, like Robertson and Jimenez, to spoil it for all of us.
And this is where Christians have an opportunity. What should happen here is fairly obvious. Given how offensive and horrific these statements were, CBN should force Robertson to step down as host of the 700 Club, instead of making excuses for his abhorrent remarks. The same should happen for Jimenez and Anderson’s respective churches. And Christians should strongly condemn them as well. Because this is not who we are. This is not what Christ stood for, and as long as we allow these people to speak for us, then the left can continue to feel justified in saying that Christians spread hate.
GWB says: A couple of points of pushback……
First, I have trouble with a “christian” church tolling its bells in mourning for those who explicitly reject its teachings and proclaim themselves more righteous than those in the church. If they do so in mourning for those people going to hell instead of being redeemed, then I’m fine with it.
Second, when you speak of the attitude of Christ, I think you neglect the point of Christ’s incarnation and the distinction he frequently made between sinners who recognized their sin and those who denied their need for forgiveness.
I pity those who died, since almost all of them certainly died while in flagrant celebration of their sinfulness. I feel sorrow for the survivors and those families left behind by the deceased. I won’t make a distinction between any of those folks when I provide my support for the wounded and the grieving.
Biblically speaking, I don’t have a problem with Robertson’s statement. Let the enemies of Christ destroy each other. They each want to destroy Christ’s Church. Let them destroy each other, instead.
Note, he didn’t say “let the muslims kill the gays” he said that we should sit out the fight between islam and the left. I agree. Except insofar as letting islam attack Americans puts the rest of us at risk, I find it really difficult to care much if they take over the portions of the world that lack a desire to defend the very thing that made their expression possible: Western Civ and Christianity.
unapecora says: I’m sorry, GWB, where does Christ ever say that showing His Love and being of Him was to say “let them destroy each other”.? Sit out the fight? Christ was never one to sit out the fight. He died for people’s souls, He sat out no fight.
GWB says: Really? I think he sat out a lot of fights – like the one between Israel and Rome.
If what you mean by “His Love” is that you step in and tell both sides how they are sinning and offer them the redemption found in Christ, fine. I’m all for that. When they cast you out (or throw you in prison or behead you) you can stand as a martyr. I am all for evangelism among ALL the unsaved.
I don’t hate gays. If I did, I wouldn’t bother to point out their sin and the path to redemption. I don’t hate muslims, I hate islam. (I might succumb to hatred as it pertains to individual leftists. God help me.)
But, why is it wrong to point out that both (the left and islam) are enemies of Christ and they deserve each other? Where does Scripture tell us that we are to hide the truth or cover up sin? Did Jesus step in between Herod and the Pharisees? Did he make peace between the Sadducees and the Pharisees? No. He stood firm in righteousness and pointed out their sins in no uncertain terms.
(BTW, one of the reasons Christianity could grow rapidly in the first century is because Rome and Israel were *not* co-equal. One oppressing the other helped spread the old-yet-new faith over the known world.)
Robertson’s real fault was saying something that hurt people’s feelings while the tragedy is still raw. He was impolitic, not wrong. And, again, he didn’t say anything about homosexuals (at least in the quote), except insofar as they self-identify (at least the activists do) with the progressive cause.
GWB says: On the Scripture front, he specifically told his disciples when sending them out to “shake the dust off your feet” against any town that would not hear their message about the Messiah. That was NOT merely a “move on” gesture, it was a mild curse against them (the gesture itself was a curse in that time), implying that Messiah would not be redeeming them because of their unbelief.
GWB says: As to Christians “hating gays”, one important point: except for some old history, there’s no real trend of American Christians ever hurting gays. Oh yes, there’s plenty of not wanting them in certain positions – particularly as it relates to children – but, despite the bs whingeing, no actual persecution.
Most all of the “persecution” has been centered on the fact that they are doing something perverted. It’s not about who they are (despite the attempted, and mostly successful, identity shaping), but what they do. Would you let Dahmer be the cook in a homeless shelter? How about Manson running a house-sitting service? Yes, homosexuality is not directly killing anyone, but it is still a perversion.
The “hatred” from Christians (and LOTS of non-Christians who had their conscience built by Western Civ) has come about because of the normalizing of a perversion. And that has been due to the aggression of the homosexual activists, not the other way around. They are the aggressors in the culture war.
If they want to be left alone, they’ve achieved that. But they want to force us to care. They want to force us to condone their choice of lifestyle. They want us to applaud their perversion.
Sorry, but, Lan Astaslem.
Much of what the media claims is persecution of homosexuals is actually criticism of the homosexual lifestyle.
If the media seriously believes “criticism equals persecution”, then Christians are arguably the #1 persecuted group in America today. The mockery and scorn of Christians and Christian beliefs by Hollywood is is almost universal (no other group – homosexuals, Muslims, blacks, etc. – receives even a tiny fraction of the hate that is routinely directed at Christians). Christians are routinely blamed by journalists for crimes which they did not commit (the Orlando shootings, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Sandy Hook school shootings). Social media such as Twitter is an open sewer of Christophobic bigotry. The list goes on.
OC says: GWB, as always spot on and well said.
I wish I could talk as Purdy as you do.
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