Pat Robertson

Scot McKnight's blog contains a good discussion on Pat Robertson's suggestion that the US government "take out" Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Particularly worthwhile was this nugget from poster Bob Robinson:

Pat Robertson represents the syncretism in American Christianity that has allowed the politics of the Right to blend into our Christian faith. Most Christians I know cannot differentiate between the politics of Rush Limbaugh and the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The Christian Scriptures are constantly warning us against syncretism, when aspects of one religion are assimilated into another thus changing the purity of the original faith.

Robertson’s syncretistic Christianity is not the pure religion of Jesus Christ—it is a syncretism of Christianity with American capitalism (because of the oil interests in Venezuela) and extreme right-wing politics (because of Chavez’ leftist agenda). This syncretism has taken Robertson “captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition” (Colossians 2:8) so much that he is no longer following Jesus Christ—it is no longer Christianity.

What’s sad is that he does not even know it. What’s sadder is that many of his viewers don’t know it either.