"They're already gone" says Televangelist Pat Robertson, referring to people, particularly spouses who suffer from Alzheimer's. Pat Robertson, founder of the 700 Club, a Christian television station, told a caller to the show, that a husband who is tempted to cheat on his Alzheimer's-stricken wife ought to leave her for someone new. "I know it sounds cruel," Robertson said, "but if he's going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again, but, you know, to make sure she has custodial care, somebody looking after her." Whoah! This coming from a renowned Christian television preacher. A man who thinks marriage is a sacred covenant? That is until they become sick.
In response to his co-hosts question, of how he reconciled this unorthodox advice with Christian marriage vows - which traditionally promise fidelity "for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, til death do us part" - Robertson simply dismissed those marital promises as inapplicable to the demented. Quote: "Alzheimer's disease", said Robertson, "is a kind of death" since the spouse one loved for decades no longer exists. "That person," he stated, "is gone; they're gone; they are gone." Wow! What does this leave Christian believers, especially those who tune in to the 700 Club, to surmise?
Well, it certainly seem to me, that Mr. Robertson needs to go back to Bible School. I think he is the one who is gone! He has gone far away from his Christian roots, and instead, seems to have adopted a more secular viewpoint.
Quite understandably, and not surprisingly, Robertson's statement sparked a firestorm of criticism and condemnation from Christian pastors, who denounced his words as a repudiation of Jesus" teaching on the indissolubility of marriage and the dignity of every human person. Alzheimer's specialists and patient advocate groups sternly criticized Robertson for perpetuating ignorant stereotypes about the demented.
Where is Robertson's Christian belief in the dignity of every human person, in his callous words concerning those unfortunate souls who suffer the heartbreaking fate of Alzheimer's, and other forms of dementia? Apparently he draws a line in the sand, when it comes to these humans. They are "gone" anyway, in his erudite opinion. He has conveniently written them off, especially when it concerns any vows of marital fidelity. As long as a husband provides some form of care for his demented wife, he can go off and marry again. Gee, how kind to at least provide care for the corpse that is left behind, since the person is "gone".
My question here is this: Christians believe, that a person is only "gone" when their immortal soul leaves their body. Is Mr. Robertson inferring that these are soulless bodies, such as the zombies we see in horror films? Is he inferring that your husband or wife, is simply a zombie?
Colleen Carroll Campbell, a St. Louis-based, former presidential speech-writer and television and radio host of "Fatih & Culture" on EWTN, states it perfectly when she says, "Alzheimer's is an awful disease, one I would not wish on any individual or family. Like the loved ones of the 5.4 million Americans afflicted with this condition, I look forward to the day when a cure will be found. In the meantime, though, I hope for a more modest miracle: a gradual recognition in our culture that the demented deserve the same love, loyalty and respect we accord to the most powerful among us - the same we would want for ourselves, if the frailty we lament in them someday became our own."
I think I prefer Colleen's perception and judgment of the demented, over Mr. Pat Robertson's cold and callous one, which relegates these suffering souls to the fate of zombies, who need no more consideration than the care of a living corpse. Colleen's words should be far more comforting to the spouses and families of these special souls.
In response to his co-hosts question, of how he reconciled this unorthodox advice with Christian marriage vows - which traditionally promise fidelity "for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, til death do us part" - Robertson simply dismissed those marital promises as inapplicable to the demented. Quote: "Alzheimer's disease", said Robertson, "is a kind of death" since the spouse one loved for decades no longer exists. "That person," he stated, "is gone; they're gone; they are gone." Wow! What does this leave Christian believers, especially those who tune in to the 700 Club, to surmise?
Well, it certainly seem to me, that Mr. Robertson needs to go back to Bible School. I think he is the one who is gone! He has gone far away from his Christian roots, and instead, seems to have adopted a more secular viewpoint.
Quite understandably, and not surprisingly, Robertson's statement sparked a firestorm of criticism and condemnation from Christian pastors, who denounced his words as a repudiation of Jesus" teaching on the indissolubility of marriage and the dignity of every human person. Alzheimer's specialists and patient advocate groups sternly criticized Robertson for perpetuating ignorant stereotypes about the demented.
Where is Robertson's Christian belief in the dignity of every human person, in his callous words concerning those unfortunate souls who suffer the heartbreaking fate of Alzheimer's, and other forms of dementia? Apparently he draws a line in the sand, when it comes to these humans. They are "gone" anyway, in his erudite opinion. He has conveniently written them off, especially when it concerns any vows of marital fidelity. As long as a husband provides some form of care for his demented wife, he can go off and marry again. Gee, how kind to at least provide care for the corpse that is left behind, since the person is "gone".
My question here is this: Christians believe, that a person is only "gone" when their immortal soul leaves their body. Is Mr. Robertson inferring that these are soulless bodies, such as the zombies we see in horror films? Is he inferring that your husband or wife, is simply a zombie?
Colleen Carroll Campbell, a St. Louis-based, former presidential speech-writer and television and radio host of "Fatih & Culture" on EWTN, states it perfectly when she says, "Alzheimer's is an awful disease, one I would not wish on any individual or family. Like the loved ones of the 5.4 million Americans afflicted with this condition, I look forward to the day when a cure will be found. In the meantime, though, I hope for a more modest miracle: a gradual recognition in our culture that the demented deserve the same love, loyalty and respect we accord to the most powerful among us - the same we would want for ourselves, if the frailty we lament in them someday became our own."
I think I prefer Colleen's perception and judgment of the demented, over Mr. Pat Robertson's cold and callous one, which relegates these suffering souls to the fate of zombies, who need no more consideration than the care of a living corpse. Colleen's words should be far more comforting to the spouses and families of these special souls.
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