Word: robertson
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Scour the Bible all you like for an apologetic prophet-one who publicly regrets having been "insensitive" to his audience-but you'll come up empty. Not so in today's world. Take Pat Robertson, Christian Right pioneer and host of the 700 Club. Last week, within a day of Sharon's massive stroke, the televangelist asserted that it had been God's punishment for leader's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip: "Here he's at the point of death. He was dividing God's land," said Robertson. "For any prime minister of Israel who decides he's going...
...unlike Robertson, Joel never followed up a week later by saying, "My zeal, my love of Israel, and my concern for the future safety of your nation led me to make remarks which I can now view in retrospect as inappropriate and insensitive in light of a national grief." Those were Robertson's words in a letter delivered to Sharon's son Omri yesterday evening, Israeli time. The letter, marked for hand delivery yet also posted on Robertson's website, also asked "the forgiveness of the people of Israel" and pleaded that "when I speak, it is always...
...There are plenty of possible reasons for what Robertson's spokeswoman referred to as his "apology". Belated civility, humility and public-relations savvy come to mind. Robertson may also have been heeding criticism back in the States, some of the most scathing from fellow evangelical leaders who suggested that he is now a marginal figure-despite a television audience reported to be 825,000 strong. Richard Land, a key figure in the powerful and conservative Southern Baptist Convention, pronounced himself "appalled...
...equally crucial in jump-starting the preacher's path to apology may have been a sharp response by the Israeli government and the attendant threat to his leadership in a project he has worked hard to realize. Robertson, a leader in the evangelical branch that supports Israel's existence as the fulfillment of biblical prophecies anticipating Christ's return-hence his dismay at its "division"-has many interests there. Most notably, he is collaborating with the Israeli government and a group of evangelicals to build a $50 million Evangelical "heritage center" on the Sea of Galilee. Israel was to provide...
...dividing God's land. And I would say: Woe unto any Prime Minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the E.U., the United Nations or the United States of America. God says: This land belongs to me. You better leave it alone." PAT ROBERTSON, American televangelist, suggesting that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's massive stroke last week was divine punishment...