Pat Robertson - Anti-Catholic or Not?

[LP4H]

So, for the longest time I believed this guy was anti-Catholic, and I avoided the 700 Club like the plague - why be exposed to that sort of thing? But lately, I’ve heard that he’s referred to us as brothers in Christ, and a comment in the TBN thread about him sticking up for us got me thinking- is Pat Robertson anti-Catholic or not?

Certainly, the theology won’t match up, at least not completely, but I’m curious, in what favor does Pat Robertson speak of Catholocism?

 

[ChadS]

I’m not entirely sure how he views the Catholic church but he had this to say about some of his fellow Protestants: “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, The 700 Club, January 14, 1991.

Given that I’m sure he doesn’t hold the Church in high esteem either.

ChadS

 

[Ahimsa]

Is he still alive?

Anyway, one can think of Catholics as ‘brothers in Christ’, and still be ‘anti-Catholic’.

 

[DJgang]

. 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, The 700 Club, January 14, 1991.

Aaawww…man, that’s where that Baptist preacher got that from…last weekend, watching a sermon, this preacher said that the “Pope, Bishops and Priests are the spirit of the Anit-Christ”

 

[Brian_C]

I agree that he probably admires the devotion of faithful Catholics but thinks we’re woefully misguided. Billy Graham, on the other hand, has been much more open to Catholicism in the past. Look up any fundamentalist website and they think Graham is an ecumenical anti-Christ.

 

[LP4H]

Hmm, I see. Can anyone remember an instance of him specifically bashing Catholocism? I agree, the example given up above about him being ‘nice’ doesn’t inspire a whole lot of confidence in him being friendly towards the Church, though.

 

[Hellisreal]

Is he still alive?

Anyway, one can think of Catholics as ‘brothers in Christ’, and still be ‘anti-Catholic’.

I think he is still alive.

How can one be anti-catholic and think of catholics as brothers in christ?

Oh, you mean Some Catholics, that are born again?

I am confused.?

all catholics are in Christ

What is the problem?

 

[Syele]

He is still alive.

wayoflife.org/fbns/patrobertson.htm

 

[DJgang]

How can one be anti-catholic and think of catholics as brothers in christ?

Oh, you mean Some Catholics, that are born again?

I am confused.?

all catholics are in Christ

What is the problem?

People can think Catholics are Christian and in the same breathe, be Anti-Catholic, meaning against Church teachings…does that help?

 

[Contarini]

People can think Catholics are Christian and in the same breathe, be Anti-Catholic, meaning against Church teachings…does that help?

But that makes the term meaningless. When you say someone is “anti-Catholic,” it sounds as if you are saying more than that they disagree with some Catholic teaching or other. Given the rhetorical way “anti-Catholic” is used by Catholic apologists, and the way some Catholics try to invoke the canons of political correctness to stigmatize “anti-Catholicism,” I think your definition is irresponsible. It amounts to saying “I am offended that you insult my religion by not believing everything it teaches”! Of course, you may not agree with the PC use of “anti-Catholicism,” but your use of the word can easily feed into that approach, so I urge you to re-examine it.

Edwin

 

[Contarini]

I’m not entirely sure how he views the Catholic church but he had this to say about some of his fellow Protestants: “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, The 700 Club, January 14, 1991.

It’s quite likely that he’s referring to liberalism, in which case he may see [official] Catholicism in a rosier light.

I do know that CBN ran into trouble in Romania because of a program they produced that was unflattering to the Orthodox Church (they found a young woman who said on camera that she liked her religion because she could do anything she liked and the priest would get her into heaven when she died). The Orthodox protested and the state-run TV canceled the program.

Edwin

 

[DJgang]

But that makes the term meaningless. When you say someone is “anti-Catholic,” it sounds as if you are saying more than that they disagree with some Catholic teaching or other. Given the rhetorical way “anti-Catholic” is used by Catholic apologists, and the way some Catholics try to invoke the canons of political correctness to stigmatize “anti-Catholicism,” I think your definition is irresponsible. It amounts to saying “I am offended that you insult my religion by not believing everything it teaches”! Of course, you may not agree with the PC use of “anti-Catholicism,” but your use of the word can easily feed into that approach, so I urge you to re-examine it.

Edwin

Hum? I admit, I’m comfused. The people that I know who are Anti-Catholic are against they way Catholics worship, the way the believe in the Pope, etc. yet, they do believe them to be Christians as in believe in Jesus as savior…

now, that’s what I meant!

Edwin…I’m a mom of many, business owner, etc…I sometimes think that I have ADD, ha…I really don’t have time to re-examine because that’s what I meant.

 

[ChadS]

It’s quite likely that he’s referring to liberalism, in which case he may see [official] Catholicism in a rosier light.

I do know that CBN ran into trouble in Romania because of a program they produced that was unflattering to the Orthodox Church (they found a young woman who said on camera that she liked her religion because she could do anything she liked and the priest would get her into heaven when she died). The Orthodox protested and the state-run TV canceled the program.

Edwin

He may indeed be referring to liberalism. Unfortunately I don’t have his entire quote in context, but on the surface it’s not flattering. So it doesn’t really shed any light on his views of Catholics.

I did read somewhere else that Robertson is on some sort of Evangelical-Roman Catholic ecumenical council and actually had a Catholic bishop give a mass at Regent University. At that event though the bishop received a lot of flak from the Regent crowd when he said that homosexuality seemed to have a biological determinant.

ChadS

 

[Contarini]

Hum? I admit, I’m comfused. The people that I know who are Anti-Catholic are against they way Catholics worship, the way the believe in the Pope, etc. yet, they do believe them to be Christians as in believe in Jesus as savior…

One can define “anti-Catholic” many ways. I’m simply saying that just disagreeing shouldn’t be enough, or all non-Catholics (at least all who act in good faith) will be anti-Catholic, and that cheapens the term. One way to define it is to say that an anti-Catholic is someone who thinks Catholicism is not Christian (I assure you that these people are out there and you are lucky not to have run into them–at one time this was the dominant view in Protestantism, but fortunately it is now held only by a very loud minority). Another would be to say that an anti-Catholic is someone who devotes a lot of energy to attacking the perceived evils of Catholicism. Another is to say that an anti-Catholic is someone who misrepresents Catholicism in some way–which is a good definition if misrepresentation is defined as “being incapable of describing Catholic doctrine in a form recognizable by Catholics as accurate”.

Edwin

 

[ChadS]

One can define “anti-Catholic” many ways. I’m simply saying that just disagreeing shouldn’t be enough, or all non-Catholics (at least all who act in good faith) will be anti-Catholic, and that cheapens the term. One way to define it is to say that an anti-Catholic is someone who thinks Catholicism is not Christian (I assure you that these people are out there and you are lucky not to have run into them–at one time this was the dominant view in Protestantism, but fortunately it is now held only by a very loud minority). Another would be to say that an anti-Catholic is someone who devotes a lot of energy to attacking the perceived evils of Catholicism. Another is to say that an anti-Catholic is someone who misrepresents Catholicism in some way–which is a good definition if misrepresentation is defined as “being incapable of describing Catholic doctrine in a form recognizable by Catholics as accurate”.

Edwin

I’d just like to add that if you define anti-Catholic as someone that merely has a disagreement with Church teaching on something, and thereby broadening the definition it makes the term meaningless and in a way provides a cover for the more vitriolic, hateful and real “anti-Catholics.”

ChadS