This definition precisely fits Pat Robertson.  Just because his hatred is hidden in the veil of spiritual belief doesn't mean it's not terrorism.  Islamic terrorists also carry out their acts with religious justification.  Disagree with our opinions if you like, but the facts remain as evidenced by Robertson's quotes below. 

• Uses religion as justification for his actions

• Uses religion as justification for his actions

• Believed to use diamond smuggling out of Sierra Leone for the funding the al-Qaeda terrorist network.  Also, believed to have received help from Charles Taylor of Liberia to market these diamonds.  Taylor was trained in Libya was  responsible for the bloody invasion of Liberia on Christmas Eve 1989. 

• Also uses questionable methods and alliances to fund the his Christian Broadcast Network (CBN).  In 1998, Robertson formed Freedom Gold Limited, an offshore company registered in the Cayman Islands but based at CBN headquarters in Virginia Beach.  It's a gold-mining venture in Liberia in partnership with Charles Taylor (see left).  The U.S. and U.N. have condemned Taylor's ties with terrorism.  The U.S. imposed economic sanctions on Taylor's Liberian government.  The U.N. Security Council also imposed sanctions (no international sale of diamonds; an embargo on foreign travel by senior Taylor officials).

(Above according to "Pat Robertson's Gold" Washington Post, 9/21/2001)

• So, bin Laden and Robertson have both benefited from associations with Charles Taylor, a person the Washington Post calls "one of the most ruthless, greedy and terror-producing heads of state in all of sub-Saharan Africa"!

• Promotes intolerance towards many groups and generates hatred toward these groups through his followers.  Examples of these groups include: America, England, Europe, capitalists, infidels, infidel nations in the Middle East, gays, lesbians, women, etc..

• Promotes intolerance towards many groups and generates hatred toward these groups through his followers.  Examples of these groups include: ACLU, Planned Parenthood, abortion clinics, Americans for the Separation of Church and State, Atheist and all non-Christians, gays, lesbians, women, etc...

• Harsh religions teachings and intolerance have caused fanatics to murder innocent people in New York, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, Florida, Israel, Yemen, Sudan, etc...

• Harsh religions teachings and intolerance have caused fanatics to murder innocent abortion clinic doctors and staff using guns and bombs.

• According to National Abortion Federation statistics, there have been seven murders, 17 attempted murders, 165 arsons and 343 death  threats, among other violent acts, made against abortion providers since 1977. (reported by Planned Parenthood, 11/14/2001)

• Anthrax threats, deaths and infections have resulted from mail delivered across America, including the U.S. Congress, American news agencies, the U.S. Justice Dept, the U.S. Supreme Court, etc.  All targets of Osama bin Laden's fanatical preaching.

• Anthrax threats and hoax mail have appeared at Planned Parenthood facilities and abortion clinics across America, both targets of Robertson's fanatical preaching.  In October 2001, more than 170 hate letters and 132 Federal Express packages containing a powdery substance were mailed to 45 affiliates in 17 states and the District of Columbia.  Other pro-choice organizations and reproductive health providers received similar packages.(reported by Planned Parenthood,  11/15/2001)

• Has called on his followers to attack Americans and the U.S. government.

• "It is interesting, that termites don't build things, and the great builders of our nation almost to a man have been Christians, because Christians have the desire to build something. He is motivated by love of man and God, so he builds. The people who have come into (our) institutions (today) are primarily termites.  They are into destroying institutions that have been built by Christians, whether it is universities, governments, our own traditions, that we have.... The termites are in charge now, and that is not the way it ought to be, and the time has arrived for a godly fumigation."  (Pat Robertson, New York Magazine, August 18, 1986)

• America was attacked by terrorists "because God Almighty is lifting His protection from us."  Rampant secularism, the occult, abortion, the absence of prayer in schools and insults of God "at the highest level of our government" had sent the Almighty over the edge. (Statement posted on his Christian Broadcast Network, CBN, web site.)

• "The strategy against the American radical left should be the same as General Douglas MacArthur employed against the Japanese in the Pacific . . .  bypass their strongholds, then surround them, isolate them bombard them, then blast the individuals out of their power bunkers with hand-to-hand combat. The battle for Iwo Jima was not pleasant, but our troops won it. The battle to regain the soul of America won't be pleasant either, but we will win it."  ("Pat Robertson's Perspective," April - May, 1992)

• "We at the Christian Coalition are raising an army who cares. We are training people to be effective -- to be elected to school boards, to city councils, to state legislatures, and to key positions in political parties.... By the end of this decade, if we work and give and organize and train, THE CHRISTIAN COALITION WILL BE THE MOST POWERFUL POLITICAL ORGANIZATION IN AMERICA."  (Pat Robertson, fundraising letter, July 4, 1991)

• "We have enough votes to run the country. And when the people say, "We've had enough," we are going to take over."  (Pat Robertson, speech given to the April, 1980 "Washington for Jesus" rally, quoted from Robert Boston, The Most Dangerous Man in America, p. 29)

• "If Christian people work together, they can succeed during this decade in winning back control of the institutions that have been taken from them over the past 70 years. Expect confrontations that will be not only unpleasant but at times physically bloody.... This decade will not be for the faint of heart, but the resolute.  Institutions will be plunged into wrenching change. We will be living through one of the most tumultuous periods of human history. When it is over, I am convinced God's people will emerge victorious."  (Pat Robertson, Pat Robertson's Perspective octavo 1992)

• "The Constitution of the United States, for instance, is a marvelous document for self-government by the Christian people.  But the minute you turn the document into the hands of non-Christian people and atheistic people they can use it to destroy the very foundation of our society.  And that's what's been happening."  (Pat Robertson, The 700 Club television program, December 30, 1981)

• "Individual Christians are the only ones really -- and Jewish people, those who trust God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- are the only ones that are qualified to have the reign, because hopefully, they will be governed by God and submit to Him." (Pat Robertson, The 700 Club television program, January 11, 1985, defending his stance that only Christians and Jews are fit to hold public office)

• "When I said during my presidential bid that I would only bring Christians and Jews into the government, I hit a firestorm. "What do you mean?" the media challenged me. "You're not going to bring atheists into the government? How dare you maintain that those who believe in the Judeo-Christian values are better qualified to govern America than Hindus and Muslims?" My simple answer is, "Yes, they are."  (Pat Robertson, The New World Order, p. 218)

• "There will never be world peace until God's house and God's people are given their rightful place of leadership at the top of the world. How can there be peace when drunkards, drug dealers, communists, atheists, New Age worshipers of Satan, secular humanists, oppressive dictators, greedy moneychangers, revolutionary assassins, adulterers, and homosexuals are on top?" (Pat Robertson, The New World Order, p. 227, Word Publishing, 1991)

• "The public education movement has also been an anti-Christian movement... We can change education in America if you put Christian principles in and Christian pedagogy in.  In three years, you would totally revolutionize education in America."  (Pat Robertson, The 700 Club television program, September 27, 1993)

• "You say you're supposed to be nice to the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians and the Methodists and this, that, and the other thing. Nonsense. I don't have to be nice to the spirit of the Antichrist. I can love the people who hold false opinions but I don't have to be nice to them." (Pat Robertson)

 
Our question for Robertson is the same as for Falwell:  How are you different from a "terrorist"?  Why are we allowing Pat Robertson to promote intolerance and hatred towards our own citizens?  Why don't we take action to stop this?

"I recall an incident from my own life when I was staying in a motel near Seattle, Washington. One morning, when I was in that stage between sleep and waking, an awful depression seized me. I felt that everyone was against me, that people around me were failing, and that everything I was doing was falling to pieces.  Discouragement overwhelmed me like a dark cloud."

"As I struggled to wake up, I realized I was under demonic attack. I immediately took control over it and said, "Satan, in the name of Jesus, I cast you forth." The minute I said that, my mind was free and my despair was gone. I realized later that the Seattle-Tacoma area led the nation in suicides. The spirit that was coming upon me was a suicidal spirit, the sort of influence that would lead to such depression that a person would wish to kill himself. I was in an area where many had been gripped by this kind of demon."

- Pat Robertson, 2001

Do we need any more proof the Christian community is conducting a jihad against homosexuality and is using the Federal Marriage Amendment to get Our government to violate the first amendment?

Pat Robertson, with his call to pray for the resignation of three Supreme Court Justices who voted against the Texas "sodomy laws", is no better than Osama Bin Laden. One is attacking America from the outside, while the other is attacking from within. At least Bin Laden is honest about his position! 

In his letter calling Christians to prayer he states "One justice is 83 years old, another has cancer, and another has a heart condition." His call to God is a thinly veiled desire for their deaths. Bin Laden has the decency to publish his "hit list". It would be nice if our so called "friend" had that kind of honesty.

To follow the anti-liberty policies of Mr. Robertson will unleash a destructive force on our nation that would make 9/11 look like a firecracker.

In his letter he accuses the Supreme Court of doing damage to the Constitution. He presents a list of things the court has done which shows that his understanding of the Constitution and the rulings passed down are so terribly inaccurate it would be laughable if it weren't so pathetic.

He states - "In 1962 they ruled prayer out of the public schools." and "In 1963 they ruled the Bible out of the public schools." and "Subsequent federal courts have ruled...that it is illegal for little elementary school children to give thanks over their milk and cookies at snack time."

Come on, if Mr. R., is going to accuse people of things, at least he should have the decency to get the facts right.

The 1962 and 1963 rulings only apply to school sponsored prayer and his assertion that it is illegal for school kids to give thanks is an out and out LIE! The students first amendment right to free exercise of religion is strongly protected! Unless a student's religious activity "materially or substantially disrupts school discipline" the school MUST refrain from interfering!  In fact, school officials must allow students to perform any non-disruptive religious activity during free time, even if that free time occurs during class. These activities include, but aren't limited to, wearing clothing with religious messages, prayer, religious discussion, and reading Scripture. Furthermore, in February 2003, Federal guidelines were enacted whereby schools must provide certification that they are not in any way restricting the students constitutionally protected rights to religious activity before they can receive federal funding.

The rulings Mr. R. speaks so poorly of were passed down to protect the rights of non-Christian students. To be forced to participate in Christian activity is clearly "prohibiting the free exercise" of their own religion. Expert testimony cited in the opinion of Abington School Dist. v. Schemp (1963) states - "Dr. Solomon Grayzel testified that there were marked differences between the Jewish Holy Scriptures and the Christian Holy Bible, the most obvious of which was the absence of the New Testament in the Jewish Holy Scriptures. Dr. Grayzel testified that portions of the New Testament were offensive to Jewish tradition and that, from the standpoint of Jewish faith, the concept of Jesus Christ as the Son of God was 'practically blasphemous.'  He cited instances in the New Testament which, assertedly, were not only sectarian in nature but tended to bring the Jews into ridicule or scorn. Dr. Grayzel gave as his expert opinion that such material from the New Testament could be explained to Jewish children in such a way as to do no harm to them. But if portions of the New Testament were read without explanation, they could be, and in his specific experience with children Dr. Grayzel observed, had been, psychologically harmful to the child and had caused a divisive force within the social media of the school."

These rulings also serve to protect religion!  In one of the rulings it states - "(The) first and most immediate purpose (of the first amendment Establishment clause) rested on the belief that a union of government and religion tends to destroy government and to degrade religion. The history of governmentally established religion, both in England and in this country, showed that whenever government had allied itself with one particular form of religion, the inevitable result had been that it had incurred the hatred, disrespect and even contempt of those who held contrary beliefs. That same history showed that many people had lost their respect for any religion that had relied upon the support of government to spread its faith." (Supreme Court decision, Engle v. Vitale, 1962)

In his final accusation he states "Now, the Supreme Court has declared a constitutional right and, by the language in its decision, has opened the door to homosexual marriages, bigamy, legalized prostitution, and even incest." With this statement it is obvious Mr. Robertson has never actually read the decision! It states clearly that "The present case does not involve minors. It does not involve persons who might be injured or coerced or who are situated in relationships where consent might not be easily refused. It does not involve public conduct or prostitution. It does not involve whether the government must give formal recognition to any relationship that homosexual persons seek to enter." (Lawrence et al. v Texas, 2003). In other words, the ruling has NOTHING TO DO WITH MARRIAGE, BIGAMY, PROSTITUTION, OR INCEST! It only has to do with relationships between consenting adults which don't involve minors or predatory activity.

Finally, He concludes his false accusations by saying - "The framers of our Constitution never intended anything like this to take place in our land. Yet, we seem to be helpless to do anything about it. Why? Because we are under the tyranny of an unelected oligarchy. Just think, five unelected men and women who serve for life can change the moral fabric of our nation and take away the protections which our elected legislators have wisely put in place."

If Mr. Robertson had actually paid attention in history class he would know that this is exactly what the framers of the Constitution intended! With a fair viewing of history it becomes apparent that, instead of the Supreme Court being the guilty party, it is, in fact, the Christian extremists who are trying to change the moral fabric of our nation!

In my reading of the rulings Mr. "Bin-Robertson" heaps such vile contempt upon I found them all to be exhaustively researched and intensely scrutinized, each citing years, decades, in some cases centuries of precedent. Not at all the whimsical, morality crushing, media-driven oligarchy he describes.

How can we, as rational citizens, give any credence to accusations of an anti-moral agenda from a man who can't even follow the rules of his own religion? Mr. Robertson, in his call to prayer, repeatedly broke the 9th Commandment - "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor". - His false witness is so heinous as to make this author wonder why Mr. R.'s Deity has not already struck him down.

Mr. Robertson and the Christian extremists want to oppress an entire class of people simply because they don't behave according to Christian religious doctrine. 

We cannot allow the doctrine of oppression to take hold in America. To force Christian morality on those who are not Christian is as abhorrent an attack on humanity as the Holocaust! Let us show the Christian terrorists we will not stand idly by while they destroy the very foundation upon which our great nation is built. This is nothing more than a "holy war" against a significant segment of the American people! From the lips of those same so-called "patriots" who screamed so loud at the removal of the pledge of allegiance comes this abuse against that self-same pledge! While standing in so strong a defense of "under God" they have forgotten all about "with liberty, and justice, for ALL" They have ignored that Our Constitution was written to protect the rights of ALL Americans, not just those who do what the Christians tell them to.

These very "patriots" would have us violate Our Constitution by raping it with the FMA (federal marriage amendment). The ratification of the FMA would instantly wipe out years of progressive legislation. In fact, to support the FMA would open the door, not only to the oppression of homosexuals, but, also to the establishment of a state religion, and that, as we have already read, is a disastrous future! We must avoid this at all costs!

Stand up, Brothers and Sisters of Liberty! Remember - to allow any religion to dictate what government shall do will only serve to undermine the efficacy of both! The question of whether something is right or wrong, good or evil, moral or immoral is inappropriate. The only question Our government is Constitutionally allowed is whether or not that same something infringes on the life, liberty, or property of any individual.

Stand up, Brothers and Sisters of Liberty! Be you Christian or Atheist, Hindu or Buddhist, Islamic or Jew, stand up! Destroy all attempts to undermine Our great nation by imposing an arbitrary moral code. Let us walk forward into the future secure in the knowledge that Our liberties are safe!

Stand up, Brothers and Sisters of Liberty! Speak out with the voice of freedom...

...and let us never again hear the voice of terrorism come from the mouths of those we should trust.

Bhakta Krishnadas
loongdao@yahoo.com
bhakta@lunarlagoon.com