To: Pat Robertson/CBN
Demand Pat Robertson apologize for using Christianity to promote abuse of women
Pat Robertson: your sexist, demeaning rhetoric toward women is not of the Christian gospel, is not accepted as representative of people who follow Christ, nor is it acceptable, period. Christians call on you to apologize publicly for your most recent deplorable statement that blames victims, teaches that women have no autonomy or agency, and puts forth that women are supposed to quietly accept and overlook things that may cause them trauma or harm.
See: Pat Robertson shrugs off adultery, CBN regrets the misunderstanding
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/17/pat-robertson-shrugs-off-adultery-cbn-regrets-the-misunderstanding/
See: Pat Robertson shrugs off adultery, CBN regrets the misunderstanding
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/17/pat-robertson-shrugs-off-adultery-cbn-regrets-the-misunderstanding/
Why is this important?
CBN.com says that CBN and its partners "help proclaim the gospel in 139 countries and 62 languages to more than 265 million people." This is signifigicant reach and influence over the minds and hearts - and actions - of women and men. Not to mention the crony relationships Robertson has with men in positions of wealth and power around the world. The false "gospel" espoused by Robertson and CBN includes statements, teachings and advice that portray women 1) as second-class citizens, 2) as helpless slaves to the whims of dominant men, and 3) as responsible not only for causing their own abuse, but for 'fixing' the bad behavior of those who (falsely) have power and dominion over them by increasingly submitting to them.
--Robertson's misogynistic worldview as taught to his followers is putting women and girls around the world in grave danger by promoting the inequality, oppression and degredation of women as (falsely) ordained by God and upheld by Christianity. It keeps the cycle of abuse in motion in homes and in communities, and gives it the (false) blessing of God.
--Furthermore, his teachings propagate domestic and sexual violence against women and girls around the world by teaching that women should be silent and submissive and that men have the right to treat them in whatever ways they please, because they are supposedly ordained by God with hierarchical power over females.
--To assert that a woman's submission to a man or male-dominated culture in any way is indicative of her "obedience to God" is ultimately equivalent not just to heresy, but an accomplice to the abuse and assault of women who are intimidated or indoctrinated into these lies.
The recent United Nations 57th Commission on the Status of Women recognized that antiquated and oppressive teachings of patriarchal religions were the primary cause of violence against women and girls, lack of education and economic opportunities for women and girls, and their status of poverty and vulnerability. Advocating discrimination against females as attributed to the ordained plan of a "higher power" is the oldest trick in the book and it costs women their lives, costs our planet its peace and prosperity.
At this gathering, Rev. Dr. Marie M. Fortune responded to this dire situation perfectly: "Especially to women, we must teach a theology of empowerment, instead of a faith based on passive endurance."
To let a "Christian figurehead" like Pat Robertson pull this trick in the United States is to endanger and fail American women, to send a wrong and dangerous message from a country that is supposed to be looked up to for its freedom and equality, and also to make a mockery of the terrible conditions in which women barely survive - and die daily - around the globe. Robertson must be held accountable for his statements and teachings that encourage goverrnments, societies, religious groups and individuals to view and treat women as less than men, less than capable of autonomy, less than worthy of dignity, and less than human.
--Robertson's misogynistic worldview as taught to his followers is putting women and girls around the world in grave danger by promoting the inequality, oppression and degredation of women as (falsely) ordained by God and upheld by Christianity. It keeps the cycle of abuse in motion in homes and in communities, and gives it the (false) blessing of God.
--Furthermore, his teachings propagate domestic and sexual violence against women and girls around the world by teaching that women should be silent and submissive and that men have the right to treat them in whatever ways they please, because they are supposedly ordained by God with hierarchical power over females.
--To assert that a woman's submission to a man or male-dominated culture in any way is indicative of her "obedience to God" is ultimately equivalent not just to heresy, but an accomplice to the abuse and assault of women who are intimidated or indoctrinated into these lies.
The recent United Nations 57th Commission on the Status of Women recognized that antiquated and oppressive teachings of patriarchal religions were the primary cause of violence against women and girls, lack of education and economic opportunities for women and girls, and their status of poverty and vulnerability. Advocating discrimination against females as attributed to the ordained plan of a "higher power" is the oldest trick in the book and it costs women their lives, costs our planet its peace and prosperity.
At this gathering, Rev. Dr. Marie M. Fortune responded to this dire situation perfectly: "Especially to women, we must teach a theology of empowerment, instead of a faith based on passive endurance."
To let a "Christian figurehead" like Pat Robertson pull this trick in the United States is to endanger and fail American women, to send a wrong and dangerous message from a country that is supposed to be looked up to for its freedom and equality, and also to make a mockery of the terrible conditions in which women barely survive - and die daily - around the globe. Robertson must be held accountable for his statements and teachings that encourage goverrnments, societies, religious groups and individuals to view and treat women as less than men, less than capable of autonomy, less than worthy of dignity, and less than human.
How it will be delivered
Email and/or possibly in person if I can arrange it.