6th Commandment — Revised
We should probably shout “Praise the Lord” that Pat Robertson does not speak for or represent all Christians … does he? No, not all, because I know one that thinks Robertson is a loud-mouthed egotistical asshole jerk. But he, his Christian Coalition, and the “high company” he keeps are certainly enough to scare the bejesus out of anyone with any capacity to think and understand. So, what got me on this rant? Glad you asked…
Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition, speaking on The 700 Club, a Christian broadcast, has called for the killing of another human being , according to this AP news story. He even has an economic justification for assassinating Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, which he states this way:
It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war … and I don’t think any oil shipments will stop.
Damned oil again! Wonder who Robertson has gotten in bed with…
So, will the new Robertson Standard Version Bible (or does he even acknowledge the Old Testament?) rewrite the Sixth Commandment from “Thou shall not kill.” to read:
Thou shall not kill unless there is economic justification or oil involved.
And of course he will also revise the Golden Rule known, used, and taught by various religions over the centuries. While worded in slightly varying ways, it usually comes down to: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The Robertson version might go something like:
Kill others before they have a chance to kill you.
No…come to think of it, Bush has already rewritten that one with his unprovoked, unilateral, pre-emptive strike that put us squarely into the middle of the intractable mess he called “Iraqi Freedom”.
Many thanks to PaulaO at Thought Patterns for the lead on this!
5 Comments so far
I’ll just leave you an “amen” to this.
This is at least somewhat different from the “God is Love” theme I learned back in vacation bible school.
We mocked Bill Clinton for quibbling about the definition of “is,” and yet we see ambiguity in “Thou Shalt Not Kill.”
Go figure.
Amen. That’s a pretty sarcastic but extremely accurate summation of things.
Thanks for the sensible commentary!
I saw the clip last evening of Robertson calling for the murder of Chavez - in as ordinary a manner as if he were asking for donations to the 700 Club. There was also a short statement from someone in the State Department mildly objecting but not denouncing Robertson.
I haven’t paid any attention to him since his run for president, but - call me paranoid - I have trouble believing Robertson thought this up on his own. I wonder how Venezuelan oil came to his attention?
Oh, one of Robertson’s reasons for advocating assassination of Chavez is to “prevent the spread of Communism.” Huh? Wasn’t that a cold war issue, eons ago?
Actually, Chavez has as much as thrown his hat into the “Central American Dictator” ring. I predicted as much back in January and I still think it’s coming. He’s sided with Castro and they are now best buddies.
Whether this is of any concern to you or not is moot. I mention it because to some the “Evil Empire” speech that Ronald Reagan made still echoes and they want to squash all vestiges of communism wherever they may be.
What makes for a dictator is the lack of free and fair elections. When you are freely elected, you can side with anyone you want as long as you keep having free and fair elections.
George W. Bush fits the definition of dictator better…..