Pat Robertson made a surprising statement about creationism, science denial, and faith yesterday on his 700 Club in response to a viewer’s question about how to explain away science to her inquisitive children.
And while Pat Robertson often embraces a conservatively Christian view of certain politicized issues, Young Earth creationism isn’t one of them.
Robertson spoke plainly to a concerned viewer who feared that learning the truth about scientific discoveries would prevent her children from being accepted into heaven, as she admitted her “biggest fear is to not have my children and husband next to me in God’s Kingdom.”
And breaking from many Evangelicals and even American politicians nowadays, Pat Robertson quite reasonably assured the woman that the gains made by science did not threaten her faith — and that folks who preach such a viewpoint are willfully ignoring the truth and deliberately deceiving their followers.
Robertson implored the viewer and anyone watching to please stop fighting with science to dispute fact, admitting at the start that his view would be considered unpalatable to some.
The televangelist explained :
“Look, I know that people will probably try to lynch me when I say this, but Bishop [James] Ussher wasn’t inspired by the Lord when he said that it all took 6,000 years… It just didn’t. You go back in time, you’ve got radiocarbon dating. You got all these things and you’ve got the [carcasses] of dinosaurs frozen in time out in the Dakotas.”
Robertson continued, chiding creationists for lying to the faithful about science and how it relates to faith:
“They’re out there… So, there was a time when these giant reptiles were on the Earth and it was before the time of the Bible. So, don’t try and cover it up and make like everything was 6,000 years. That’s not the Bible.”
He added:
“If you fight science, you’re going to lose your children, and I believe in telling it the way it was.”
Are you surprised that Pat Robertson has called out those who deny science on their claims?
Pat Robertson says the Earth is not 6,000 years old. And he should know because he is 7,000 years old. on.cc.com/Qq9FgP
— Indecision (@indecision) November 28, 2012
