(NAME-MCE) Pat Robertson and the Status Quo

[Blumenfeld, Warren [C I]]

Pat Robertson and the Status Quo

Warren J. Blumenfeld

Televangelist, Pat Robertson, of the Christian Broadcasting Network's "The 700 Club," has made it a habit of employing his interpretation of scripture to justify oppression. He directed his latest diatribe on January 13 against the people of Haiti by blaming them for the recent devastating earthquake. 

"It may be a blessing in disguise. ... Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. Haitians were originally under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon the third, or whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, we will serve you if you will get us free from the French. True story. And so, the devil said, okay it's a deal. Ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other."

 

I believe the best response to Robertson comes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his "Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963: "In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churches stand on the sideline and merely mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities...a religious community largely adjusted to the status quo, standing as a tail light behind other community agencies rather than a headlight leading men to higher levels of justice." 

 

 
Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-3192
Office Phone: (515) 294-5931
Office Fax:     (515) 294-6206
Home Phone: (515) 232-8230