PAT ROBERTSON EXCHANGING THE KINGDOM OF GOD FOR AMERICAN NATIONALISM

Keith Augustus Burton, Ph.D.

On Monday, August 22, 2005, Pat Robertson said on the Christian Broadcast Network's ''The 700 Club": ''We have the ability to take [Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela] out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability.

''We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator," he continued. ''It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with."

As you might expect, such blatant advocacy of assassination by a supposedly Christian leader on an ostensibly Christian TV program, has drawn sharp reaction from many sources. We present here a response by Dr Keith Augustus Burton President of Life Heritage ministry. Adventist Today invites your response via letters to the editor. —Editors.

I believe that the devil is happier now than he has been in a long time. Why? Some very high-profile people who profess to be agents of Christ have turned out to be his staunchest ambassadors. Those who have had occasion to watch TBN [Trinity Broadcasting Network] have been bombarded with sermons extolling President Bush as the vengeful hand of God against Moslem infidels. It is no secret that many of the celebrity preachers have replaced prophetic preaching with political platitudes as they spread patriotic propaganda from their predatory pulpits. Beguiled by the noose of nationalistic narcissism, some TV evangelists have exchanged the vision of the Kingdom for the American dream. The most recent assault against the gospel was launched by Pat Robertson who called on the government to arrange the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. In response to this deadly fatwa issued by such an influential Christian cleric, Venezuelan Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel has requested that the United States government take action to prosecute Robertson for inciting terror. After all, Moslem imams who make similar statements about western leaders are denounced as terrorists and placed on notice. However, the official government spokesperson afforded him first amendment protection, denouncing his venomous words but claiming that he had a right to voice his opinion. Sadly, most of his audience–which numbers in the millions–have been so brainwashed by his rhetoric, that they probably believe he is speaking for God.

American Supremacy

Whether consciously or not, Robertson belongs to a school of religious ideologues who believe that America is God’s chosen nation. This ideology is by no means new, but has its roots in the first Europeans who stepped foot on American soil. Dubbed the “Pilgrims,” they saw themselves as the spiritual heirs of the pilgrim Abraham whose descendants inherited the land of Canaan. In the same spirit of the Dutch Boers who staked a claim on Azania (South Africa), they set out to displace the inhabitants of the land as they built a New Jerusalem that would attract the exclusive favor of an all powerful God.

The notion of America as a land of promise and Anglo-Americans as the new Israel has been endorsed in the past by Herbert Armstrong’s Worldwide Church of God and is entrenched in the Book of Mormon. Armstrong went as far as to suggest that the word “British” is derived from the Hebrew words “berit” and “ish,” meaning “man (ish) of the covenant (berit).” I find it intriguing that the same warmongering evangelical leaders who have denounced these religions as cults unabashedly embrace the notion that God has highly exalted America and Americans above every other nation and people.

The City of God

The tendency to confuse nominally Christian nations with God’s kingdom is nothing new. As Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, many of the clergy saw themselves as government ministers and the emperors assumed the role of Pontifex Maximus as they dictated doctrine and polity to the church. Recognizing the mass apostasy from the clear gospel message, North African theologian Augustine of Hippo wrote his “City of God” in which he reminded Christians that their true allegiance was to the celestial heavenly Kingdom as he warned them about the spiritual allure of Satan’s terrestrial throne. I believe that Christians in America need to be alerted to this. While we champion the cause for human rights in all of its facets, we must never forget that we are all God’s children and Iraqi or Venezuelan life is just as precious as American or British life. While we denounce acts of terror, we must never forget that God has not called us to vindicate violence but to promote peace (Eph 2:11-18). While we show respect to our governments and participate in the political process, we must never forget that our true citizenship is in heaven. While we are tempted to board the nationalistic bandwagon, we must not forget that God loves the entire world and has made all nations one through the blood of Christ (John 3:16; Gal 3:28). While we utilize the word of God to analyze the ranting of TV evangelists, we must never forget that “a tree is known by its fruit.”

Peace!

In addition to his presidency of Life Heritage Ministries, Dr. Burton is currently teaching at Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences and is a member of the General Conference Biblical Research Institute Committee. He has a B.A. in Theology from Oakwood College and a Ph.D. From Northwestern University. This article appeared in his Life Heritage Perspectives Newsletter of August 26, 2005 under the title of “Pat Robertson’s Kingdom” and is used with permission.