REUTERS
Ultra orthodox Jews pray inside Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem yesterday. Chances are high that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will survive the stroke he suffered three days ago but the extent of damage to his brain is not yet known, doctors said yesterday.
UNITED STATES evangelical leaders said Friday they were embarrassed and incensed by televangelist Pat Robertson's assertion that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who suffered a massive stroke, was stricken by God as punishment for ceding the Gaza Jewish settlements to Palestinians.
Officials of conservative Christian churches and organisations suggested that Robertson is losing religious and political influence as a result of that statement and other recent controversial opinions.
"I'm appalled that Pat Robertson would make such statements. He ought to know better," said Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination. "The arrogance of the statement shocks me almost as much as the insensitivity of it," Land said in an interview.
Jamaican religious officials were also critical of Robertson's views.
JUST A PART OF LIFE
Said the pastor of Stella Maris Church, Father Michael Lewis, "The Catholic Church's position is that illness is just a part of life. Illness, death or suffering have no direct correlation to people's behaviour. However, there may be times, based on our behaviour, we do things that may cause illness such as smoking cigarettes which can contribute to lung cancer or [excessive] drinking which may cause cirrhosis."
Continued Father Lewis: "His (Robertson's) views speak to the age-old question about suffering in the world [but] illness is not a punishment from God. The Church does not believe in a God that would do that. He is gentle and loving with an understanding of human behaviour."
Lecturer at the Jamaica Theological Seminary, David Pearson, was more critical of Robertson, describing the evangelical's comments as being "unchristianlike" and clouded in misinterpretation of the scriptures.
He told Sunday Gleaner, "First of all, there are many persons who hold [Robertson's] views. It has to do with the notion of Israel in God's plan and the idea that Israel can do no wrong and if one does wrong to Israel, they will incur God's wrath. It is a misunderstanding of the Bible."
Pearson suggested that Robertson was appealing to populism. "This condemnation [of Sharon] comes from a man who has a history of saying controversial things. I think he's saying it to prop up his popularity and get media attention. I believe we should ignore him rather than devote time to his views."
The Rev. Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said that Robertson no more spoke for evangelicals than 'Dr. Phil,' the television show host, spoke for psychologists.
The concerns voiced by evangelical leaders Friday came as the White House also criticised the televangelist's remarks as "wholly inappropriate and offensive."
ISOLATION
The harsh criticism of Robertson pointed to what many see as his growing isolation from mainstream American evangelicalism.
Last August, Robertson called for the assassination of leftist Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. Then, last November, the televangelist warned the town of Dover, Pa.,. that it risked God's wrath because voters had recalled conservative school board members who favoured teaching intelligent design, a controversial explanation for how the universe came into existence that opponents charged was a stealth attempt to teach creation theology in public schools.
On Thursday, Robertson, in a reference to Sharon's decision last year to cede Gaza to the Palestinians, quoted the prophet Joel to his '700 Club' television audience and said that "God has enmity against those who divide my land."
DIVIDING GOD'S LAND
After calling Sharon "a delightful person" with whom he had prayed, Robertson added, "but here he's at the point of death. He was dividing God's land and I would say woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the European Union, the United Nations, or the United States of America. God says this land belongs to me. You'd better leave it alone," Robertson said.
Some conservative Christians have become strong supporters of Israel in part because they believe that a fully-restored Jewish nation in the Holy Land is a precursor to the second coming of Christ.
Jewish leaders and liberal Christians decried Robertson's remarks as outrageous and shocking. But while their comments were not unexpected, the searing criticism from evangelicals was unusual.
Land, who said he sat next to Robertson at a Washington event last year honouring Sharon, said that Robertson spoke for "an ever diminishing number of evangelicals, and with each episode like this, the rate of diminishment accelerates."
Land said Robertson may have isolated himself from anyone but yes men. "When you're the head of your own organisation, if you don't cultivate people telling you what you don't want to hear, sometimes you don't hear it," Land said.
The Rev. Kevin Mannoia, chaplain at Azusa Pacific University and past president of the National Association of Evangelicals, was among those who suggested that Robertson's comments could have been a misguided effort to restore his once-powerful standing as a religious and political voice in America by creating new controversy.
"I wonder whether, consciously or subconsciously, this is an effort on the part of an individual who has significant influence in the church and the country and recognised that influence is waning," Mannoia said. "He continues to try to maintain that influence by increasingly controversial statements -- perhaps statements out of desperation, perhaps statements out of (wanting) more attention."
Ashford Meikle, Gleaner Staff Reporter and Larry B. Stamme, Los Angeles Times.
