Pat Robertson dead at 93

[drumdude]

It’s getting a ton of media coverage, I think mostly because of what ridiculously bigoted things he said on his show.

What struck me was how insignificant Mormonism is in comparison. I think at least 10 times, if not 100 times as many people know who Robertson is than who know who Rusty Nelson is. When Rusty dies it will be a 20 second blurb on the nightly news. When the Pope dies, it’s a week of coverage.

Definitely a strange way for God to run his true church on earth, in relative obscurity.

[Manetho]

As a non-Mormon, I agree.

I ended up on this board because I was looking up the dispute between Robert Ritner and John Gee regarding the Book of Abraham. I hung around because some of the conversations were pretty interesting, and in the process, I learned far more about Mormonism than I would have otherwise. If it weren't for my interest in Ancient Egypt and John Gee's frankly pathetic attempts at apologetics, I would probably know very little about the internal affairs of Mormonism. I might know a little about its hierarchy, and at most, I might know the current president's name, given that I saw Hinckley's name in the news occasionally when he was president.

By comparison, I've known who Robertson was almost as long as I've been able to follow current events. Evangelicalism is a movement rather than an organization, but Robertson was one of its most influential voices and did a great deal to shape it into a political force. He affected the entire country. Mormonism, with rare exceptions, does not.

[Some Schmo]

Ever since I was young, I wondered who watched religious shows on TV. Wasn't having to go to church bad enough?

So, if I've ever seen Robertson on TV, I didn't know it, because I didn't stay on the channel long enough to find out. I can smell the reek of those shows right away. Religious speak is as recognizable as it is nauseating.

[huckelberry]

I must not be familiar with drumdudes media connections. I have not been watching tv but one is on near enough I can glimpse. Cnn has been talking about some guy named Trump and another named Meadows. It is going on with whatif and might for the guys possible legal troubles. This Trump fellow has been the media obsession for so long now it is hard to remember when it started.

[Jersey Girl]

To be honest Pat Robertson was not my cup of tea. I do feel for his family and friends, and their grief.

[Nomomo]

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Pat_Robertson

Financial entanglement with dictators
Another example was his use of the the CBN propaganda wing to secure his financial entanglements with dictators. Robertson repeatedly supported former President of Liberia Charles Taylor in various episodes of his 700 Club program during the United States involvement in the Liberian Civil War in June and July of 2003. Robertson accused the U.S. State Department of giving Bush bad advice in supporting Taylor's ousting as president, and of trying "as hard as they can to destabilize Liberia."[41]

Robertson was criticized for failing to mention in his broadcasts his $8,000,000 (USD) investment in a Liberian gold mine, and falsely claimed — just as he had in Zaire — that the planes he sent over with supplies for the mines contained aid for victims of the Rwandan genocide.[42] Taylor had been indicted by the United Nations for war crimes at the time of Robertson's support, and in 2012, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison for “aiding and abetting the widespread and systematic commission of crimes against the civilian population of Sierra Leone”.[43]

[Kishkumen]

As a non-Mormon, I agree.

I ended up on this board because I was looking up the dispute between Robert Ritner and John Gee regarding the Book of Abraham. I hung around because some of the conversations were pretty interesting, and in the process, I learned far more about Mormonism than I would have otherwise. If it weren't for my interest in Ancient Egypt and John Gee's frankly pathetic attempts at apologetics, I would probably know very little about the internal affairs of Mormonism. I might know a little about its hierarchy, and at most, I might know the current president's name, given that I saw Hinckley's name in the news occasionally when he was president.

By comparison, I've known who Robertson was almost as long as I've been able to follow current events. Evangelicalism is a movement rather than an organization, but Robertson was one of its most influential voices and did a great deal to shape it into a political force. He affected the entire country. Mormonism, with rare exceptions, does not.

I forgot you are a non-Mo! It is great to have you here. You have one of the best names, too.

[Manetho]

I forgot you are a non-Mo! It is great to have you here. You have one of the best names, too.

Thank you very much!

[Gadianton]

Did he buy the farm before or after the news that his lord and savior had been indicted?

[Moksha]

By comparison, I've known who Robertson was almost as long as I've been able to follow current events.

Robertson had been rendering unto Mammon since the 1960s.