Grandstanding

Pat Robertson, the host of the television series “The 700 Club,” is maintaining that same-sex marriage is still illegal despite the Supreme Court’s ruling back in June. Many Christians have had a hard time with absorbing this information, but this is the first we’ve heard of anyone thinking it is still illegal. He said this in response to a reader who pointed out that Romans 13:1-4 shows the Bible actually approves of same-sex marriage.

The verses read: “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same.”

Some are interpreting the Biblical scripture to mean Christians are to obey the law of the land even if they don’t agree with it. However, Robertson was quick to shut them down.

Robertson’s Reasoning

Robertson points out it is important for Christians to not misinterpret the Bible. He disagrees with those who interpret Romans 13:1-4 the way they do. He feels the Supreme Court did not make same-sex marriage the law of the land, even though it clearly did. By his reasoning, the court ruling was only about a couple of people. The court told those people they could get married to people of the same sex, but that doesn’t mean everyone else needs to get married to people of the same sex. His thoughts are similar to those of Mike Huckabee and Kim Davis. These two also believe same-sex marriage is wrong, and they feel it violates their religious beliefs.

Similar to Racism?

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee feels Christians will have to overcome this ruling in the same way Martin Luther King Jr. overcame racism. He is worried about the pressure pastors are going to be put under in the future when they do not want to officiate same-sex weddings.

• He’s concerned about Christians having to choose between fighting for what they believe in and following the law.
• He thinks an unjust law is not a law at all.
• Huckabee thinks Christians will need to be like Martin Luther King Jr, referring to the letters King wrote while he spent time in prison.

Robertson’s Critics

Pat Robertson has many critics, many of whom are fellow Christians. Some of his comments in the past have been controversial at best. There are times when Christians disagree with what Pat Robertson says. Here are some of his most controversial comments:

• He believes when children dress up for Halloween, they are celebrating Satan.
• He stated a woman needs to make a wonderful home so her husband doesn’t feel tempted to “wander.”
• He also believes the man should be in charge of all financial decisions.
• He told a man whose wife had Alzheimer’s he should divorce her and find another woman.
• He believes women are under the leadership of a man when they get married.
• He thinks the Haiti earthquake in 2010 was due to a deal with the devil.
• He thinks if more people had prayed during the tornadoes that destroyed much of the Midwest in 2012, the tornadoes would have been stopped.

As you can see, there are several beliefs he has that others may have a hard time with. It’s not terribly surprising Robertson made these comments, but it doesn’t mean that many people will take him seriously. His comments in the past have made him less than credible to many people.