I wonder what Pat Robertson is thinking. He truly shoved his foot in his mouth when he commented that Ariel Sharon’s stroke was God’s punishment on the Israeli Prime Minister for diving the land by pulling our of Gaza. He shoved his foot far enough that the White House criticized him for it. Ok, yeah, sure he apologized, but he never should have made the comment on international media in the first place.
I also wonder whether he apologized because he truly felt remorse, and believed his comment to be wrong; or if it was to restore the good will of Israel so he could go ahead with his proposed theme park near the Sea of Galilee. Either way, it worked. The Jerusalem Post reports that the Israeli Tourism Ministry is reconsidering its decision to cancel its contract with Robertson after he apologized to Sharon’s son.
And while I’m wondering, I wonder what Jesus thinks of Robertson commercializing the Holy Land by building a theme park. I know that tourism is Israel’s biggest industry, and the proposed theme park will bring in a good amount of revenue, but so did the money changers in the temple court.
Having visited Israel a few months ago, I have a problem with there being a theme park in the Galilee region. A church on a holy site is one thing, but a theme park is something else all together. Even so, there were places that we visited that I would have preferred to see without the churches built on them – for example, the Mount of the Beatitudes. While the church is beautiful and has a great view of the Sea of Galilee, I would have liked to see the site as it was when Jesus taught there. I wasn’t the only one in our group who felt this way.
I believe that Robertson’s sees the theme park as being for the benefit of those who would travel to the Holy Land on a pilgrimage, and for the nation of Israel. And I’m sure it will to some degree, and to a large dollar amount. However, I can’t help comparing the proposed theme park with the booths of the moneychangers in the temple courtyard of Jesus’ day.
Finally, I wonder whose idea it was to stop referring to the project as a theme park and start calling it a ‘Christian Heritage Center’. Call it what you will, it’s still commercializing holy sites, and I still have a problem with it.
This brings us back to my original statement. I wonder what Pat Robertson is thinking.
4 comments:
I think Pat is getting senile. Hopefully all his official statemts will be filtered thru a glad-handler or a PR flak. He doesnt at all represent Christianity anymore than do the Amish.
I think I recall you or someone like you when I attended a Baptist church near UT.
Wow! Do you or your current church have a biblical position on the issue of homosexualists in the church??
For the record, I grew up in Marshall Tx and attended conventional baptist churches intermittently when I had the chance. Does you current church have an "accepting ministry" towards gays??
I just came from the ubcaustin.org website and they really take a view of homosexuality thoroughly at odds with church and biblical teaching.
Glad to see you were spiritually mature enough to leave such a place. I pity that Dr Bethune
Your musings about Robertson brought to mind yet another wacky churchman from bygone days. Did you ever attend the University Baptist Church?? I earned a PhD back in the early 90s and went to UBC at the invite of gal I was dating at that time. She has since moved onto a full profship at some school up in Kansas..ever heard of William Jewel college??
Anywho..
I'm glad you are no longer doing your churching at that horrific church. Given the unmitigated unScriptural bent of that church, how did you bring yourself to stay there as long as you did??? I recently visited the http://www.ubcaustin.org website. It is saddening.
Have you analyzed the Bible enough to reconcile homosexuality with basic JudeoChristian belief?? (If so, do share!!) I know here in Austin we have so many lezbigay transgendered that its risky to broach a Christian view of the issue, no??? For Central Texas Christians its our equiv of publishing cartoons of Mohammed: poor taste and sure to draw the ire of fanatics.
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