Somebody put a muzzle on Pat!

I don't think Pat Robertson is a bad man. Most of the time I agree with him. In fact, I agree that Hugo Chavez is a nut job and the sooner his presidency ends in Venezuela the better.

But why in the world would Pat Robertson suggest that the United States government should assassinate Chavez? As a very public representative of Christ, Pat should have chosen his words more carefully. But, this current controversy isn't the first time that Pat's mouth has gotten him in trouble. I mean just try to take Pat's commentaries on CBN and imagine the words coming out of Jesus' mouth and you'll instantly see the problem.

Pat's personal politics don't really conflict with the teachings of the Bible but they aren't always based in those teachings either. But the general public doesn't usually see the difference. They equate televangelists like Robertson with Christianity in general and don't examine either close enough to know when Robertson is speaking from his religious principals or from his political convictions.

The teachings of Jesus and His disciples don't establish democracy or capitalism as "Christian" ideologies. In fact, they are pretty indifferent towards the role of government in general. So why is it that conservative politics are so closely associated with Christianity? Many Christians are also conservative in the political thinking but the two rarely cross. Social issues like abortion, religious expression and sex education have faith based under-pinnings but how do tax policy, free trade and the assassination of foreign leaders become "Christian" issues?

I think Christians should be informed and have opinions on such issues but you'd probably be hard pressed to validate those opinions with scripture. I think sometimes Pat Robertson needs to make a clearer distinction between his political opinions and the teachings of the Bible. He blurs the line between preacher and politician and every time he puts his foot in his mouth he hurts the witness of rest of us that call ourselves Christians.

New York Times: Robertson Is Pilloried for Assassination Call
CBN: Hugo Chavez vs. America
UPDATE: Robertson spins
UPDATED AGAIN: Pat apologizes