Everything about Pat Robertson totally explained
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born
March 22 1930) is a
televangelist from the
United States. He is the founder of numerous organizations and corporations, including the
American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ),
Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), the
Christian Coalition, Flying Hospital, International Family Entertainment,
Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation, and
Regent University. He is the host of
The 700 Club, a Christian TV program airing on channels throughout the United States and on CBN affiliates worldwide. As a result of his seeking political office, he no longer serves in an official role for any church. His media and financial resources make him a recognized, influential, and controversial public voice for
conservative Christianity in the United States.
Life and career
Family
Robertson was born in
Lexington, Virginia, into a prominent political family. His parents were
Absalom Willis Robertson, a conservative
Democratic United States Senator, and his wife Gladys Churchill (
née Willis). He married Adelia "Dede" Elmer in 1954. His family includes four children, among them
Gordon P. Robertson, and at the time of writing (mid-2005) fourteen grandchildren.
At a young age, Robertson was given the nickname of
Pat by his six-year-old brother, Willis Robertson, Jr., who enjoyed patting him on the cheeks when he was a baby while saying "
pat, pat, pat". As he got older, Robertson thought about which first name he'd like people to use. He considered "Marion" to be effeminate, and "M. Gordon" to be affected, so he opted for his childhood nickname "Pat". His strong awareness for the importance of names in the creation of a public image showed itself again during his presidential run when he threatened to sue NBC news for calling him a "television evangelist", which later became "televangelist", at a time when
Jimmy Swaggart and
Jim Bakker were objects of scandal. He insisted upon being called a "religious broadcaster".
Education and military service
When he was eleven, Robertson was enrolled in the military preparatory
McDonogh School outside
Baltimore, Maryland. From 1940 until 1946 he attended
The McCallie School in
Chattanooga, Tennessee. He graduated with honors and enrolled at
Washington and Lee University, where he majored in history. The claim that he was elected to
Phi Beta Kappa, a prestigious national honor society, isn't substantiated by the Phi Beta Kappa membership directory. He also joined
Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Robertson has said, "Although I worked hard at my studies, my real major centered around lovely young ladies who attended the nearby girls schools."
In 1948, the
draft was reinstated and Robertson was given the option of joining the
Marine Corps or being drafted into the army. He opted for the former, which allowed him to finish college under the condition that he attend
Officer Candidates School (OCS) in
Quantico,
Virginia during the summer. He graduated
magna cum laude with a
Bachelor of Arts degree and was the first person to be
commissioned as a
Second Lieutenant at a graduation ceremony at Washington and Lee. In January 1951, Robertson served four months in Japan, "doing rehabilitation training for Marines wounded in
Korea".
In his words, "We did long, grueling marches to toughen the men, plus refresher training in firearms and bayonet combat." In the same year, he transferred to Korea, "I ended up at the headquarters command of the First Marine Division," says Robertson. "The Division was in combat in the hot and dusty, then bitterly cold portion of North Korea just above the 38th Parallel later identified as the 'Punchbowl' and 'Heartbreak Ridge.' For that service in the Korean War, the Marine Corps awarded me three battle stars for 'action against the enemy.'"
However, former Republican Congressman
Paul "Pete" McCloskey, Jr., who served with Robertson in Korea, claimed that Robertson was actually spared combat duty when his powerful father, a U.S. Senator, intervened on his behalf, claiming that instead Robertson spent most of his time in an office in
Japan. According to McCloskey, his time in the service wasn't in combat but as the "liquor officer" responsible for keeping the
officers' clubs supplied with liquor.
Robertson was promoted to First Lieutenant in 1952 upon his return to the United States. He then went on to receive a
Bachelor of Laws degree from
Yale University Law School in 1955. However, he failed to pass the bar exam, shortly thereafter underwent his religious conversion, and decided against pursuing a career in law. Instead, Robertson attended the
New York Theological Seminary, and was awarded a
Master of Divinity degree in
1959.
Religious career
In 1956 Robertson found his faith through
Dutch missionary Cornelius Vanderbreggen, who impressed Robertson both by his lifestyle and his message. Vanderbreggen quoted
Proverbs (3:5, 6), "
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths", which Robertson considers to be the "
guiding principle" of his life. Soon afterwards, he was
filled with the Holy Spirit and
spoke in tongues for the first time. He was ordained as a minister of the
Southern Baptist Convention in 1961.
In 1960, Robertson established the
Christian Broadcasting Network in
Virginia Beach, Virginia. He started it by buying a small UHF station in nearby
Portsmouth. Later in 1977 he purchased a local-access cable channel in the Hampton Roads area and called it CBN. Originally he went door-to-door in Virginia Beach, Hampton Roads, and other surrounding areas asking Christians to buy cable boxes so that they could receive his new channel. He also canvassed local churches in the Virginia Beach area to do the same, and solicited donations through public speaking engagements at local churches and on CBN. One of his friends, the pastor of Rock Church Virginia Beach- John Giminez was influential in helping Robertson establish CBN with donations, as well as offering the services of volunteers from his church.
CBN is now seen in 180 countries and broadcast in 71 languages. he founded the CBN Cable Network, which was renamed the CBN Family Channel in 1988 and later simply the Family Channel. When the Family Channel became too profitable for Robertson to keep it under the CBN umbrella without endangering CBN's nonprofit status, he formed
International Family Entertainment Inc. in 1990 with the Family Channel as its main subsidiary. Robertson sold the Family Channel to the
News Corporation in 1997, which renamed it Fox Family. A condition of the sale was that the station would continue airing Robertson's television program,
The 700 Club, twice a day in perpetuity, regardless of any changes of ownership. The channel is now owned by
Disney and run as "
ABC Family". On
December 3,
2007, Robertson resigned as chief executive of CBN; he was succeeded by his son, Gordon.
Robertson founded CBN University in 1977 on CBN's Virginia Beach campus. It was renamed
Regent University in 1989. Robertson serves as its
chancellor. He is also founder and president of the
American Center for Law and Justice, a public interest law firm that defends Christians whose
First Amendment rights have allegedly been violated. The law firm, headquartered in the same building that houses Regent's
law school, focuses on "
pro-family, pro-liberty and
pro-life" cases nationwide.
1988 presidential bid
In September, 1986, Robertson announced his intention to seek the
Republican nomination for
President of the United States. Robertson said he'd pursue the nomination only if three million people signed up to volunteer for his campaign by September, 1987. Three million responded, and by the time Robertson announced he'd be running in September 1987, he also had raised millions of dollars for his campaign fund. He surrendered his ministerial credentials and turned leadership of CBN over to his son, Tim. His campaign, however, against incumbent
Vice President George H. W. Bush, was seen as a long shot.
Robertson ran on a very
conservative platform. Among his policies, he wanted to ban
pornography, reform the education system, and eliminate departments such as the
Department of Education and the
Department of Energy. He also supported a
constitutional amendment requiring a
balanced federal budget.
During the start of the presidential
primary election season in early 1988, Robertson's campaign was attacked because of a statement he'd made about his military service. In his campaign literature, he stated he was a combat Marine who served in the
Korean War. Other Marines in his battalion contradicted Robertson's version, claiming he'd never spent a day in a combat environment. They asserted that instead of fighting in the war, Robertson's primary responsibility was supplying alcoholic beverages for his officers. (see Education and military service)
Robertson's campaign got off to a strong second-place finish in the
Iowa caucus, ahead of Bush.
Robertson did poorly in the subsequent
New Hampshire primary, however, and was unable to be competitive once the multiple-state primaries began. Robertson ended his campaign before the primaries were finished. His best finish was in
Washington, winning the majority of caucus delegates. However, his controversial win has been credited to procedural manipulation by Robertson supporters who delayed final voting until late into the evening when other supporters had gone home. He later spoke at the
1988 Republican National Convention in
New Orleans and told his remaining supporters to cast their votes for Bush, who ended up winning the nomination and the election. He then returned to CBN and has remained there as a religious broadcaster.
Books
Robertson's books have been both successful and controversial.
The Secret Kingdom, Answers to 100 of Life's Most Probing Questions, and
The New World Order were each in their respective year of publication the number one religious book in America.
Robertson's tome
The New World Order was described as a 'catch all for conspiracy theories' by Christian academic Don Wilkey:
Pat Robertson’s work, NEW WORLD ORDER, is a catch all for conspiracy theories. It combines the paranoia of the Old Right with modern versions. A summary of Robertson’s book is found on page 177 in which Pat says a conspiracy has existed in the world working through Freemasonry and a secret Order of the Illuminati, a group combining Masons and Jewish Bankers.
Ephraim Radner also accuses Robertson of espousing anti-semitic beliefs in the same book:
In his published writings, especially his 1991 book The New World Order, Pat Robertson has propagated theories about a worldwide Jewish conspiracy. Michael Land raised the issue in February in the New York Times Book Review, and in April Jacob Heilbrun, writing in the New York Review of Books, cited chapter and verse of Robertson's borrowings from well-known anti-Semitic works.
Business interests
He is the founder and chairman of
The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) Inc., and founder of
International Family Entertainment Inc., Regent University, Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation, American Center for Law and Justice, The Flying Hospital, Inc. and several other organizations and broadcast entities. Robertson was the founder and co-chairman of
International Family Entertainment Inc. (IFE).
Formed in 1990, IFE produced and distributed family entertainment and information programming worldwide. IFE's principal business was The Family Channel, a satellite delivered cable-television network with 63 million U.S. subscribers. IFE, a publicly held company listed on the
New York Stock Exchange, was sold in
1997 to
Fox Kids Worldwide, Inc. for $1.9 billion, whereupon it was renamed
Fox Family Channel.
Disney acquired FFC in 2001 and its name was changed again, to
ABC Family.
Robertson is a global businessman with media holdings in Asia, the United Kingdom, and Africa. He is the nation's number three cable operator, behind
Ted Turner and
HBO . He struck a deal with Pittsburgh, PA-based
General Nutrition Center to produce and market a weight-loss shake he created and promoted on the 700 Club TV show.
In 1999, Robertson entered into a joint venture with the
Bank of Scotland to provide financial services in the United States. However, the move was met with criticism in the UK due to Robertson's views on homosexuality. After Robertson commented that Scotland was "a dark land overrun by homosexuals", the Bank of Scotland canceled the venture.
Robertson's extensive business interests have earned him a net worth estimated between $200 million and $1 billion.
Political activism
After his unsuccessful presidential campaign, Robertson started the
Christian Coalition, a 1.7 million member
Christian right organization that campaigned mostly for conservative candidates. It became, almost instantly, one of the most influential organizations in American politics and one of the largest and most powerful lobbying groups in the United States. However, the organization's popularity has faded somewhat. It was sued by the
Federal Election Commission "for coordinating its activities with Republican candidates for office in 1990, 1992 and 1994 and failing to report its expenditures"
In 1994, the Coalition was fined for "improperly [aiding] then Representative Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and
Oliver North, who was then the Republican Senate nominee in Virginia." Robertson left the Coalition in 2001.
While Robertson is primarily popular among evangelical Christians, his support extends beyond the Christian community. In 2002, he received the
State of Israel Friendship Award from the
Zionist Organization of America for his consistent support for a
Greater Israel. In that year the
Coalition for Jewish Concerns also expressed its gratitude to Robertson for "unwavering support for Israel" and "standing up to evil".
Robertson has also been a governing member of the
Council for National Policy (CNP). Seekgod.ca, which describes itself as "an independent Christian research and apologetics ministry" listed him on the CNP Board of Governors 1982, President Executive Committee 1985–86, member, 1984, 1988, 1998.
On November 7, 2007, Robertson announced that he was endorsing
Rudy Giuliani to be the Republican nominee in the 2008 Presidential election.
Controversies and criticisms
Robertson is outspoken in both his faith and his politics and controversies surrounding him have often made headlines.
Predictions
Several times near
New Year Robertson has announced that God told him several truths or events that would happen in the following year. “I have a relatively good track record,” he said. “Sometimes I miss.”
2008: worldwide violence and American recession
On the
January 2,
2008 episode of
The 700 Club, Pat Robertson predicted that 2008 would be a year of worldwide violence. He also predicted that a recession would occur in the United States that would be followed by a stock-market crash by
2010.
2007: terror attack
On the
January 2,
2007 broadcast of
The 700 Club, Robertson said that
God spoke to him and told him that "mass killings" were to come during 2007, due to a terrorist attack on the United States. He added "The Lord didn't say
nuclear. But I do believe it'll be something like that." No terrorist attacks against the United States in general, or its interests, ever occurred in 2007. When a terrorist attack failed to happen, Robertson responded by saying, “All I can think is that somehow the people of God prayed and God in his mercy spared us.” While this claim didn't garner the same level of controversy as some of his other statements, it was generally received with mild amusement by the Pacific Northwest media. It should also be noted that the
History Channel's initial airing of its new series,
Mega Disasters: West Coast Tsunami, was broadcast the first week of May.
It is worth noting that, while a tsunami obviously didn't affect the United States, no hurricanes reached United States soil that year, and the
2006 Hurricane Season was actually far tamer than the extremely active and dangerous
2005 Hurricane Season.
1982: Doomsday
In late 1976, Robertson predicted that the end of the world was coming in November or October of 1982. In a May 1980 broadcast of
The 700 Club he stated "I guarantee you by the end of 1982 there's going to be a judgment on the world."
Books
- The New Millennium
- Answers to 200 of Life's Most Probing Questions
- The Secret Kingdom (1982)
- America's Dates with Destiny
- The Plan
- Beyond Reason: How Miracles can Change your Life
- Turning Tide: The Fall of Liberalism and the Rise of Common Sense
- Shout it from the Housetops an autobiography
- The End of the Age (1995, fiction)
- The New World Order (1991)
- Bring It On
- The Ten Offenses
- Courting Disaster
Honors
1975 The Distinguished Merit Citation from The National Conference of Christians and Jews.
1976 Faith and Freedom Award in the field of broadcasting.
1978 Department of Justice Award from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 25th FBI Vesper Service.
1979 National Conference of Christians and Jews — Distinguished Merit Citation.
1982 Humanitarian of the Year by Food for the Hungry.
1984 Man of the Year Award from the Women's National Republican Club.
1984 Citation from the National Organization for the Advancement of Hispanics.
1985 National Association of United Methodist Evangelists.
1988 Man of the Year by Students for America.
1989 Christian Broadcaster of the Year by the National Religious Broadcasters.
1992 One of America's 100 Cultural Elite by Newsweek Magazine.
1994 Omega Fellowship Award by Food for the Hungry for Operation Blessing's fight against worldwide hunger.
1994 Defender of Israel Award from the Christians' Israel Public Action Campaign for those who have made major contributions in strengthening U.S.-Israel relations.
1994 John Connor Humanitarian Service Award from Operation Smile International.
2000 Cross of Nails award for his vision, inspiration, and humanitarian work with The Flying Hospital.
2002 State of Israel Friendship Award from the Zionist Organization of America.Further Information
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