Pat Robertson & Celebrity FitClub Update

This week, people of every stripe and creed joyously pounced on Pat Robertson following his poorly thought out speculation about "taking out" the dictator of Venezuela, which was considered to be an appeal for an assasination attempt. Despite his prompt apology, many people have continued to pinwheel this over and over again. This is to be expected but I'm disappointed that some of the most vehement voicing has come from other self-proclaimed Christians. Unfortunately but predictably, it happened big time on the Sojourners' email list, headed by Jim Wallis (God's Politics: God is not a Republican or a Democrat).

Mr. Wallis in his email this week was rather vocal about Mr. Robertson's comments, and subjected me to a lengthy tirade of his own, which emphasized the hypocrisy and fundamentalist opinions of Robertson. Trouble is, vilified as he may be, Robertson and his 700 Club are surprisingly down to earth and I happen to share its viewpoint way more than the views Mr. Wallis sends me. This amazes me because I have been trying to be liberal for most of my life now, as a means of rebelling against my religious upbringing. Unfortunately, I am unable to interpret the Bible in a manner beyond what might generously be labeled moderate.

I am concerned for the Sojourners. I subscribed to it since I want to be open to 2 viewpoints on everything, and awhile back there were a few articles about being concerned for the "Burger King Moms" and a surprisingly appropriate condemnation of the Superbowl Wardrobe Malfunction". But it's been some time ago. They emphasize the biblical mandate to care for the poor and the widow, and I want to always be concerned about that.

But there is a thin line between being "prophetic" as Mr. Wallis' organization strives to be, and being an accuser. A more proper response might be to ask his newsgroup members to pray for Pat Robertson and the words he uses, rather than to cast doubt, division, and accusation his way. I think a lot of Wallis' views are worth considering, particularly on social concern, but this brand of accusation is dangerous in its own way.

It is a bit easier to don a social justice cause without challenging hot buttons like abortion, defining marraige, and defending Israel's right to the land God gave them. Robertson is not afraid to do this, while Wallis hasn't taken much of a stand, other than statistics about how there are more abortions due to Bush's fiscal policies and their effect on the poor, and a host of articles that emphasize the Palestinian suffering while not defending Israel. Wallis is right that there are many other issues of faith than abortion and defining marraige, but he has not convinced me to demote them to a lower priority. Wallis is commendable for his concern for the poor, which I believe is genuine, but Robertson's ministry gives away far more funds for food and other needs both here and abroad under the "Operation Blessing" umbrella. No one talks about that.

Celebrity Fit Club Update

Nothing much to report here, except that the teams were forced to vote off one player to trade to the other team, and Mr Busey got the shaft from his teammates. Now he is no longer the captain and must obey the leadership of Jackee, whom he has had personality conflicts with in the past. He seemed to handle it in a peaceful manner. Willie Aames has missed another exercise appointment with the trainer but apologized and admitted the trainer was right about insisting that Willie keep his work schedule under control.