Pat Robertson says Halloween is the day when ‘millions of children…celebrate Satan’

Question for Semper: I saw you say that, by their very nature, opinions can't be right, or wrong.

So, if I have the opinion that the Earth is flat, when evidence proves otherwise, does that not make my opinion wrong?
If I have the opinion that I can survive in the Void of space, is that opinion not wrong?

Just curious.

Insofar as Samhain, I celebrate it. Not Christian.

a reply to: Gryphon66

Patricia Robertson is a tool. Who cares what he says?

It's the day when they celebrate getting to play dress-up and get lots of free candy.

It's innocent. I don't care what the holiday "means"--kids aren't thinking about that kind of stuff. So let them have fun and be innocent. Religious wackos give religion a bad name.

originally posted by: semperfortis
Is it the fact he has an opinion that you have a problem with?

Or is it that he had the audacity to express his opinion you have difficulty accepting?

We are all allowed our opinion, even Robertson last I checked.

It is my opinion that Pat Robertson is the devil.

Pat Robertson and those who share his views on Halloween and other things will not be happy until the whole of human society is under the rule of Christian Theocracy. Its the other end of the spectrum of those who call for Sharia Law to be the only rule of the world. Both types of groups will stoop to spreading their ignorance as truth and justice.
They are so intent on forcing some fracking prophecy that was only relevant hundreds of years ago. It's probably one of the most successful Meme's ever. And in a way sinister the way it imbeds deep in the human mind.

a reply to: jjsr420

The "Facts" that you believe to be true, may indeed be incorrect.

An opinion however is a personal postulation and therefor free from the restrictions attached to stating facts.

You can have an opinion that the Earth is flat. That does not make the Earth flat or spherical, it is simply your opinion.

originally posted by: Blaine91555
Robertson has maybe a million followers and there are 2.2 billion Christians.

No conspiracy, just his opinion on it. Nothing to talk about really and I doubt it has much at all to do with nearly all Christians.

I think Rev. Pat represents a lot more Christians than you think. They are just reluctant to admit it.

a reply to: Gryphon66

I'm pretty sure they are just having fun and enjoying candy.

I would be more inclined to say people worship materialism/satan on Christmas then Halloween.

You can't just put on a costume to worship satan, you actually have to know that you are worshipping satan to worship him, and I don't know any trick-or-treaters who are doing anything but satisfying a sweet tooth at the houses who are nice enough to pass out candy.

Why does their have to be so many people that make religion look ridiculous? How can a grown man not tell the difference between worshipping satan and having fun with friends, family and neighbors?

As someone who doesn't really get into Halloween, I always find it pretty amusing when the Ultra-religious criticize Halloween as a pagan holiday, but happily embrace Christmas which draws just as heavily (though somewhat more subtly) from Pagan roots.

I don't remember holding any black masses or blood sacrifices on Halloween as a child. Doubt many others do either.

It is what you make it.

a reply to: olaru12

I would not know. I attended many denominations in my young adult years and never once ran into anyone fearful of kids having fun on Halloween. It's hardly something you can label as wide spread in Christianity with a straight face.

Robertson and his followers are not bad for believing differently than me. I don't really see anything in this other than an interesting tidbit about a small percentage of Christians. Maybe he just needs to go to a really good Spook Ally and see it's just about having fun and a reason to socialize.

You fail to understand the title "Christian". You also fail to understand how "Cotholizm" (Rome) hijacked the title. So you fail in history. To understand how Rome, through "Christianity" incorporated, Pegan "holy days" to subjugate people. Don't blame Christians for their views. Blame them that hijacked, Jesus's teaching. "Deny ignorance"? Indeed.

a reply to: murphy22

Sounds like a very interesting thread...
Maybe you could enlighten us that don't know about what you are saying?

a reply to: olaru12

Who is Pat Robinson, anyway? Never heard of him. Sounds like a moron.

a reply to: murphy22

You're right.

But Christians aren't on a pedestal--they sin just as much as a non-Christian, if not more, even! Christians aren't Jesus. Plenty of stupid Christians exist. The church definitely screwed a ton of things up, but if you buy what they're selling--then you only have yourself to blame.

I just don't like lumping in all Christians together. There are the extremist wackos who are basically in cults and take scripture to the extreme (which is wrong, Bible even says so), there are the ego-boosters, and then there are the normal Christians who love Jesus and just try to live life. The normal ones are the majority of Christians. The only reason you hear about the minority is because they're the ones doing stupid stuff. Bad news travels fast.

Pat Robertson is the son of longtime US Senator Absalom Willis Robertson. The elder Robertson was in the US Congress from 1933-1966, serving in the House from 33-46 and the Senate from 46-66. Source

Pat has been a fundamental part of the development of the "Religious Right" political movement in the United States actively supporting President Reagan from 1980 and running for President himself in 1988. Source

Robertson was noted at #10 on Newsmax's "Top 100 Christian Leaders" as of, well, today (October 31, 2015). Source

Entry for Pat Robertson at Christianity Today:

Love him or hate him—the latter of which is now a trope among culturally savvy evangelicals—Pat Robertson is one of the most influential leaders in 20th-century evangelicalism, founding the Christian Broadcasting Network, Regent University, the American Center for Law and Justice, and, most controversially, the Christian Coalition in 1989. The coalition’s close alignment with the Republican Party made it the target of several Federal Election Commission lawsuits in the ’90s, and it has since lost influence among Christians suspicious of partisan politics. Meanwhile, Robertson continues to make headlines by pontificating on everything from marijuana to Israel to September 11 to the end of the world.

Why is Jeb Bush Courting Pat Robertson?

Like the late Jerry Falwell, Robertson was a pioneer in the use of television to build a Christian ministry, and Robertson joined Falwell and other televangelists who teamed up in the late 1970s to create the Religious Right political movement. Falwell was a fundamentalist Baptist and Robertson a charismatic Pentecostal, but they found common ground in promoting a sustained, religion-based attack on separation of church and state, feminism, gay rights, unions, and other enemies of the right-wing political strategists, like Paul Weyrich, who recruited them into politics.

Robertson actually ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988. He didn't get very far as a candidate, but he built a huge list of supporters. Political operative Ralph Reed turned that list into the Christian Coalition, which at the beginning of the 1990s set itself the goal of taking working control of the Republican Party.

I believe it is fair to say that Robertson's cultural influence vastly overshadows the million or so regular watchers of The 700 Club. Source

So did I celebrate some dude of evil because I dressed up in a Robin Hood costume and wielded a light saber and walk the streets of my town to make some kids' night?

I tried, in the OP to point to specific ways in which the "Halloween Message" given year after year might point the way to certain "conspiracy based" aspects of the work of Pat Robertson.

I did not and do not intend for this effort to be a indictment of "all Christians" or of Christianity per se. I am stating right now that my interest in the thread is to explore those political and cultural elements that are influenced by Robertson and his sphere.

HOWEVER, Robertson is and has been an important part of the Christian Dominionism movement in the US:

Before he died in 2001, the founder of Christian Reconstuctionism, R. J. Rushdoony, appeared several times on Christian Right televangelist programs such as Pat Robertson's 700 Club and the program hosted by D. James Kennedy, writes Martin.

"Pat Robertson makes frequent use of 'dominion' language" says Martin, "his book, The Secret Kingdom, has often been cited for its theonomy elements; and pluralists were made uncomfortable when, during his presidential campaign, he said he 'would only bring Christians and Jews into the government,' as well as when he later wrote, 'There will never be world peace until God's house and God's people are given their rightful place of leadership at the top of the world.' "

Source - Theocracy Watch

So ... yes. At the current moment, Robertson has a dual role in our culture ... on the one hand, he seems like a fringe religious nutjob, making ridiculous prophecies, saying wild crazy things (like the OP comment highlighted) ... but on the other, he is deeply influential and interwoven into the Republican political machine at large as well as extremists like the Dominionism movement.

I'm also interested what other ATS members know and have to say along these lines. I appreciate all who are choosing to participate productively!

a reply to: rukia

They, (your words) ,.."sin as much, if not more"? Not sure how you know that/this. But. .. So you agree? "Sin" is out there? Really? Then, why are "Christians" a target? Because they know what "sin" is? Don't argue with yourself. It sounds crazy.

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs
I heard recently from a "Christian" on ATS that if there is a war on Christmas there should be a war on Halloween...

And they had a few stars too.


It was in the Fox war on Christmas thread.
So obviously some people here agreed.

Exactly. This is what sent my thoughts in the direction of this thread. Thanks Charlie!

a reply to: Gryphon66

I always loved Halloween. However, there is something evil (or dangerous) on the spiritual side in decorating your house or dressing yourself up as something macabre. Just as a cross can bring positive energy to a room, or as feng shui can harmonize, so too can negative symbols have the opposite affect. It's largely down to maybes, however. Decorating your home with all sorts of spooky decorations should bring in negative energy, but then, if the cheer in the room due to the decorations overrides it than they could be argued as more positive than negative. Everything we do affects the spiritual side of things, so the Christian view that Halloween is an evil time is not wrong. I've had experiences in the dark side of the spiritual on Halloween different times. It's kind of a nervous yet exciting time for me, personally, when I love to go on a horror film marathon and read scary stories, but also try to avoid the dark forces of this day. Some people say that Halloween always was a day when the spirit world would come closest to ours and bad things would happen. If true, then provoking it would seem unwise. Also if true, people who deal in black magic would certainly make full use of this day.

But for most people, most times, I think it's just a time to celebrate