He says he doesn’t think we condone wife beating, but something’s got to be done. That’s about as far from explicitly saying we don’t condone it as you can get without outright endorsing it. It’s like telling teenagers that we don’t think we condone alcohol use, but you have to do something.
If you watch the video, the rest of the discussion, even outside the issue of beating your wife, is arguably as bad. He gets into a rambling speculation that this is a woman who was oppositional and argumentative as a child and has a problem submitting to authority. All of this is based on the assertion from the guy writing the letter.
Who knows what the relationship between these two people really is like, and how the wife, or an outside observer, might describe the situation. All Robertson knows is that this is a woman with problems submitting to authority who we probably shouldn’t say ought to be beaten, but heck what are you gonna do?
Yeah, no.. he sure as hell is condoning wife beating. He gives absolutely NO alternatives. That’s his way of saying BEAT HER. Of course he’s not evangelizing for Islam, he’s advocating their methods of keeping the little woman in line. ergo, Move to Saudi Arabia.
To call this woman a child is not only insulting it’s his way of “spare the rod” bullshit. Because women MUST OBEY… and divorce is not an option, unless your spouse has Alzeheimers, he says that’s one option open .
(Bolding mine) To me, this is endorsing moving to a culture that will allow wife beating because the viewer “can’t let her get away with [that] stuff.”
So, what would you say if the police are called to this man’s house next week for having beaten his wife? WHY is wife beating a part of a discussion about a communications problem between a man and wife? Especially when he only has the man’s side of the events. For all he knows, the man is demanding that his wife drive a get away car for bank robberies or bombings. Would he then condone beating her?
Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”
Roberts is a walking-talking sphincter. The Church needs to stand up and denounce him for what he is.
Growing up I was exposed to both of them. While I disagree with Billy Graham about many things he has never been motivated by his faith. Robertson has always struck my as an Elmer Gantry type in it for his own personal enrichment.
Y’know, if you take a look at that letter, it’s not even self-consistent. Her words are hurtful, but she refuses to talk through their problems? It sounds like the guy is upset that she is trying to talk through their problems.
And if he’s not advocating beating her, then what is he advocating? He doesn’t tell the guy to seek a marriage counselor, he doesn’t tell the guy to love his wife, he doesn’t say that he can’t give advice without hearing both sides of the story. The only thing he talks about is beating her.
Why in the world would you think advocating moving to Saudi Arabia and advocating converting to Islam is the same thing? He wants him to move there and be a Christian, but also legally being able to beat his wife.
It’s a joke, of course, but it’s an offensive one.
The verse immediately preceding adds a lot of context:
“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”
Sorry. You were quoting the part that Robertson was relying on to “jokingly” advocate for wife beating. I was posting the part of the quote that is always left out by the Robertson ilk. My mistake.
