Christian Jihad?

Pat Robertson is certain. That is why he issued his fatwa earlier this week.

He evidently believes that the United States is somehow "God's nation" and that anything the nation does to protect its self-interest is acceptable. His recent statement about Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez was startling.

Robertson told his 700 Club audience, speaking of Chavez, "If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don't think any oil shipments will stop."

Nice one, Pat.

So, let's see. A Christian minister and founder of the powerful Christian Coalition, the ultra-right wing and amazingly influential political action organization, advising murder as a viable diplomatic remedy for handling a neighbor with a different political and economic theory, while expressing what appears to be a higher concern for oil than human life.

Robertson claims that his concern is prompted by Chavez's leftist political and economic posture that would transform Venezuela into "a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism. We have the ability to take him out and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another 200 billion dollar war to get ride of one, you know, strong arm dictator."

Hmmm.

What is he after here, Christian jihad?

Is this his suggested response in a day when we are trying to combat and neutralize terrorism? Wonder why so many other nations consider the U. S. a nation of hypocrites? Talk about playing into the hands of Al Queda!

Has this guy ever read a word Jesus ever said?

The 700 Club boasts an audience of one million viewers or more. Why on earth would anyone tune in again?

But, be assured, many will. Scary fact.

Many Christian organizations quickly denounced Robertson.

But, you know what is frightening? Many did not, including the Traditional Values Coalition, the Family Research Council and the Christian Coalition.

Headlines in Wednesday's national newspapers could have read, "Fundatmentalist, Terror-Prone Cleric Calls for Jihad-Like Assassination."

How is Robertson different from a Muslim extremist set on "taking out" one of our highly placed leaders?

So, what has this to do with the cities of our nation?

Just this: an extremely influential and well-organized subset of our culture views life and faith through the same lens as Robertson. The view is not only extreme, it is thoroughly un-Christian.

This viewpoint finds charity relatively easy to perform. Robertson's television ministry has touted its various works of compassion in order to raise millions.

But people who think like this usually want nothing to do with justice, the establishment of comprehensive civil rights and liberties, systemic social change or class uplift. No wonder such "thinkers" applaud every cut back in public initiatives designed to accomplish just these things among our urban poor.

There is a connection here.

For Christian people life should be all about values and how we understand Jesus.

Pat Robertson doesn't get it.

But be sure of this, as hard as it may be to fathom and in spite of his forced apology, he knows exactly what he is doing and saying.