Evangelist calls for Chavez’s Assassination…

Another Christian spreading the good word, right? Wrong again…

Just recently, the Bush Administration made an official name change to the “War on Terror”, which is now the “Global Struggle against Violent Extremism”. This term is not only a little long winded, but also extremely broad in definition. What exactly qualifies as violent extremism? One wouldn’t be off the mark to assume that the violence in the Middle East against US Troops and the recent bombings in Europe are examples of the extremism that the Whitehouse wishes to combat.

Let’s go a little further with an example: What if a religious leader, one very popular with the public made a stunning declaration that he believes a leader of a specific nation should be assassinated? What if the same public religious figure mentioned a specific world leader by name and made it his wish for this person to be killed? Would this public declaration and advance approval of death qualify as violent extremism? I think it should, and if you do as well then we should all call on the United States to arrest and prosecute Pat Robertson under the grounds that he’s inciting violence and hatred.

Robertson, the founder of the ‘Christian Coalition of America’ made such a statement when he declared on Monday that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez should be assassinated, saying he’s a ‘danger’ to the United States. He made this statement during a broadcast of ‘The 700 Club’ stating that it was the duty of the United States to stop Chavez from making his nation a “launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism”. Is just me, or is this the last thing we should be hearing from any good Christian? Robertson is supposed to be a ‘man of God’, yet he makes statements that are in support of organized violence, calling on nations to kill people merely because they ‘could’ be a problem in the near future.

This ladies and gentlemen is religious extremism, a term that is not reserved just for Islamic followers. What, you don’t think there are Christian extremists? Try saying that to Dr. Morganteller and every other doctor who has spent the last thirty years cleaning up and repairing clinics that have been bombed by Christians that disapprove of their existence. Robertson is supposed to be a member of a Church that claims to be one of peace and love, yet instead of preaching that message, he calls for Chavez’s death like a mafia don.

Let’s put that shoe on the other foot for a moment. What if someone of a different religion made the same declaration about President Bush? It’s safe to assume that Americans would react with horror and the outcry would be deafening. If Robertson had made those same statements about his own leader, he’d be in jail right now under a charge of treason. Yet does that make his comments all right just because he was talking about a leader of a South American nation? I don’t think so. If the Bush Administration is truly serious about their newly found fight to eliminate ‘violent extremism’, then perhaps they should start this fight at home.

It should be made perfectly clear to Mr. Robertson that such behavior, especially when made during public broadcasts are not going to be tolerated. Had a high figure of any other religion made the same statement, he would be labeled an ‘extremist’ that was spreading hate. The fact is there are many forms of extremism, and this week we saw a clear example of a little homegrown Christian hatred. Let’s hope that the outcry of disapproval will prevent this kind of talk from reaching the airwaves again. The viewing (and voting) public needs to make if absolutely clear that no one should talk like that, regardless of what pew they are speaking from.

Peter