When the Rev. Pat Robertson advocated the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the Defense Department was quick to disavow his remarks. The United States, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, does not kill world leaders. One could be forgiven, however, for wondering if Rumsfeld might make an exception in the case of Robertson.
Another thought: If the media outrage over Robertson’s stupid remark lasts for the rest of the week, it will officially eclipse coverage of Islamic extremists beheading innocent victims on videotape.
Let’s face it: Robertson is an old man who has forgotten (if he ever knew) how to control his tongue. The main consequence of this latest loony utterance is to make fellow evangelicals look bad.
Robertson, who has done a great deal of good with his life and ministry, and Cindy Sheehan have something in common. They talk too much, and they don’t have someone in their inner circle with the guts to tell them to be quiet.
About Stan Guthrie
Stan Guthrie is an editor at large for Christianity Today magazine and for the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview. His latest book is God's Story in 66 Verses. He also is author of All that Jesus Asks: How His Questions Can Teach and Transform Us, Missions in the Third Millennium: 21 Key Trends for the 21st Century, and A Concise Guide to Bible Prophecy. He is co-author of The Sacrament of Evangelism. Besides authoring, writing, and editing books, Stan is a literary agent, bringing together good authors, good books, and good publishers.
Stan writes the monthly Priorities colum for BreakPoint.org. He has appeared on National Public Radio's Tell Me More, WGN's Milt Rosenberg program, and many Christian shows, including The Eric Metaxas Show and Moody Radio's New Day Florida. A licensed minister and an inspirational speaker, he served as moderator for the Christian Book Expo panel discussion, Does the God of Christianity Exist, and What Difference Does It Make?