From the Salmon

Dear Rev. Robertson,

I’ve wrestled in the past with how I should feel when prominent Christians say, advocate, or do things that clearly violate the teachings and example of Jesus. Earlier this week, when you used your television broadcast to advocate the assassination of another human being, I once again felt the sadly all-too-familiar mix of frustration, anger and sadness.

Look, Pat, we all make mistakes. We all say things we probably shouldn’t. We all fall short of the glory of God. And when we do, the Bible calls us to something — something I know you are familiar with, because you keep claiming it’s what our country needs.

Repentance.

I’ll admit, I’ve watched with interest to see how you would respond to the controversy caused by your statements. As destructive as they were to the image of the Church, particularly in South America, they gave you an opportunity to demonstrate to the world what genuine Christian repentance looks like. It wasn’t an opportunity that in any way redeemed your original statements, but it was an opportunity nonetheless.

Actually, let’s make that a missed opportunity.

You started out by claiming that you had been misinterpreted:

I didn’t say “assassination.” I said our special forces should “take him out.” And “take him out” can be a number of things, including kidnapping; there are a number of ways to take out a dictator from power besides killing him. I was misinterpreted by the AP [Associated Press], but that happens all the time.

Then, when someone no doubt pointed out that you actually did say “assassination,” you issued an apology on your website:

Is it right to call for assassination? No, and I apologize for that statement.

That was certainly a good start, but if your goal was to model Biblical repentance, the rest of your statement was a profound failure.

You first turned to rationalization. But Hugo Chavez is really, really bad, you said. You reasserted your bizarre claim that the US should “wage war against one person” because it’s cheaper than war against a nation, a claim that sounds remarkably similar to advocating assassination.

Then you shifted to a “but Dietrich Bonhoeffer said...” defense. Which sounds good, except for the part where it’s an insult to Bonhoeffer. For one thing, Chavez is not Hitler. And Bonhoeffer wrestled profoundly with what his Christian duty might be, a struggle that followed him to jail and to his execution. Your proclamation was a self-described ad-lib from the comfort of your own television studio.

But you saved the best for last:

There are many who disagree with my comments, and I respect their opinions. There are others who think that stopping a dictator is the appropriate course of action. In any event, the incredible publicity surrounding my remarks has focused our government���s attention on a growing problem which has been largely ignored.

If you’re truly sorry, you don’t just “respect” the opinions of those who disagree with what you said. Those are the words of a man who still thinks he’s right. You don’t point out that other people think that your words were “appropriate,” unless you are admonishing them to join you in repentance. And you certainly don’t get to finish by claiming that some sort of good has come out of your actions, as if that somehow redeems them.

True Biblical repentance requires a deep humility: Have mercy on me, a sinner. And that’s it. There’s no Have mercy on me, but... There are no excuses, no rationalizations.

I know this is hard. Honestly, I’m not very good at repentance either. In fact, I pretty much suck at it. But I also know it’s essential. And I want to get better at it. I hope that, even after 75 years of life, you do too.

That’s why I urge you, while the world is still watching, to give it another shot.

P.S. One more thing, Pat. greg makes a good point: do you think it was appropriate that your apology, flawed though it may have been, only appeared on your website? Shouldn’t you apologize on your television broadcast to the people who first viewed your offensive statements? Maybe this could be your chance to get it right.