''The 700 Club'' is the flagship television program of the
Christian Broadcasting Network
The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) is an American Christian media production and distribution organization. Founded in 1960 by Pat Robertson, it produces the long-running TV series ''The 700 Club'', co-produces the ongoing ''Superbook'' an ...
, airing each weekday in syndication in the United States and available worldwide on CBN.com. The news magazine program features live guests, daily news, contemporary music, testimonies, and Christian ministry. Celebrities and other guests are often interviewed, and Christian lifestyle issues are presented. The program additionally features world news stories plus investigative reporting by the CBN News team.
''The 700 Club'' has been in production since 1966 and was initially hosted by
Jim Bakker
James Orsen Bakker (; born January 2, 1940) is an American televangelist and convicted fraudster. Between 1974 and 1987, Bakker hosted the television program '' The PTL Club'' and its cable television platform, the PTL Satellite Network, with ...
,
as well as being hosted by
Gordon Robertson,
Terry Meeuwsen
Terry Anne Meeuwsen Friedrich (born March 2, 1949) is an American television personality, co-host of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN)'s ''700 Club'', author and singer.
Meeuwsen was the 1972 Miss Appleton, 1972 Miss Wisconsin and the w ...
, Ashley Key and Wendy Griffith. Previous co-hosts include
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is an American media mogul, religious broadcaster, political commentator, former presidential candidate, and former Southern Baptist minister. Robertson advocates a conservative Christian ...
(1966–1987; 1988–2021),
Ben Kinchlow
Harvey Ben Kinchlow (December 27, 1936 – July 18, 2019) was an American evangelist who co-hosted ''The 700 Club'' from 1975 to 1988 and again from 1992 to 1996. He also hosted other shows on the Christian Broadcasting Network such as ''Straigh ...
(1975–88, 1992–96),
Sheila Walsh (1987–92), Danuta Rylko Soderman (1983–88), Kristi Watts (1999–2013), and Lisa Ryan (1996–2005). Tim Robertson served as host for a year (1987–88) along with Kinchlow and actress
Susan Howard
Jeri Lynn Mooney (born January 28, 1944), better known as Susan Howard, is an American actress, writer, and political activist. She portrayed Donna Culver Krebbs on ''Dallas'' (1979–1987) and co-starred on ''Petrocelli'' (1974–1976). She is ...
, while Pat Robertson ran unsuccessfully for President in the
1988 campaign.
History
In 1960, Pat Robertson, the son of former U.S. Senator
Absalom Willis Robertson
Absalom Willis Robertson (May 27, 1887 – November 1, 1971) was an American politician from Virginia who served over 50 years in public office. A member of the Democratic Party and lukewarm ally of the Byrd Organization led by fellow U.S. Senat ...
, purchased the license for
WTOV-TV
WTOV-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Steubenville, Ohio, United States, serving the Wheeling, West Virginia–Steubenville, Ohio market as an affiliate of NBC and Fox. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station maintains s ...
, channel 27 in
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area.
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...
(unrelated to the current
WTOV-TV
WTOV-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Steubenville, Ohio, United States, serving the Wheeling, West Virginia–Steubenville, Ohio market as an affiliate of NBC and Fox. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station maintains s ...
in
Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Ohio River 33 miles west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from Fort Steuben, a 1 ...
), which had ceased operation because of poor viewership. Renamed WYAH-TV (known today as
CW affiliate
WGNT
WGNT (channel 27) is a television station licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Norfolk-licensed CBS affiliate WTKR (chan ...
), the station began broadcasting Christian programming to the
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
area on October 1, 1961.
In 1962, the station suffered financially and almost closed. It had a total operating budget of $700 per month. To keep the station on the air, WYAH produced a special telethon edition of the show. For the telethon, Robertson set a goal of 70 members each contributing $10 per month (), which was enough to support the station. Robertson referred to these members as the "700 Club" and the name stuck. The
telethon
A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause.
Most telethons f ...
was successful and is still held annually.
After the telethon in 1966, ''The 700 Club'' continued as a nightly, two-hour Christian variety program of music, preaching, group prayer, Bible study, and interview segments. The music was hymns, instrumental pieces, southern gospel music, and urban gospel music.
The first permanent host of the program was
Jim Bakker
James Orsen Bakker (; born January 2, 1940) is an American televangelist and convicted fraudster. Between 1974 and 1987, Bakker hosted the television program '' The PTL Club'' and its cable television platform, the PTL Satellite Network, with ...
, who, along with his then-wife
Tammy Faye Bakker
Tamara Faye Messner (née LaValley, formerly Bakker ; March 7, 1942 – July 20, 2007) was an American evangelist, singer, author, talk show host, and television personality. She gained notice for her work with ''The PTL Club'', a televangelist ...
, also hosted a children's show on WYAH called ''Come On Over'' (later retitled ''Jim and Tammy''). The couple left CBN in 1972; reportedly, Jim Bakker was fired by Pat Robertson over philosophical differences. The Bakkers then moved on to help launch the
Trinity Broadcasting Network
The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is an international Christian-based broadcast television network and the world's largest religious television network. TBN was headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, until March 3, 2017, when it sold its ...
(TBN) before starting their own television ministry and signature show, ''
The PTL Club
''The PTL Club'', also known as ''The Jim and Tammy Show'', was a Christian television program that was first hosted by evangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, running from 1974 to 1989. The program was later known as ''PTL Today'' and as ''Heri ...
''. After the Bakkers left, some staffers at the station reportedly responded by destroying the Bakkers' sets and puppets. Pat Robertson took over as host, and evolved his ''700 Club'' by cutting back on music and preaching and heading toward the talk show format developed by Bakker. Robertson transformed the ''700 Club'' from a nightly religious-themed telethon to a Christian talk show.
''The 700 Club'' originally aired only on WYAH-TV and other CBN-owned stations in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
(
WANX-TV) and
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
(
KXTX-TV
KXTX-TV (channel 39) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language Telemundo network to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group ...
), and later
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
(
WXNE-TV). The program entered
national syndication in 1974, as CBN purchased airtime on stations such as
WPIX
WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, it is operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Nexstar Media Group, making it a ''de facto'' owned-and-operated station and flagship (broadcas ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
KTLA
KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is the seco ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
WPHL-TV
WPHL-TV (channel 17) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group and has studios in the Wynnefield section of West Philadelphia; it maintains ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, and
WDCA
WDCA (channel 20), branded on-air as Fox 5 Plus, is a television station in Washington, D.C., airing programming from MyNetworkTV. It is owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox Broadcasting Company ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, among others. The roster of stations carrying the program grew to over 100 markets by 1976. In some markets, the show aired on multiple stations, choosing between either the full 90-minute version or an edited 60-minute version. In 1977, ''The 700 Club'' received additional exposure nationally on the newly launched
CBN Cable Network
The American cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and six different name changes) during its hi ...
where, like CBN's broadcast outlets, it aired three times daily.
In 1979, ''The 700 Club'' moved its studios from WYAH's facilities in Portsmouth into CBN's then-new campus in neighboring
Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...
, from where the program continues to originate. During the 1980s, the show evolved into more of a format resembling a magazine show like
Group W's ''
PM Magazine
''PM/Evening Magazine'' is a television series with a news and entertainment format. It was syndicated to stations throughout the United States. In most areas, ''Evening/PM Magazine'' was broadcast from the late 1970s into the late 1980s.
Origi ...
'', with news/opinion and lifestyle segments interspersed with interviews. In some markets, ''The 700 Club'' aired during the morning hours, competing head-to-head with the major network "breakfast television" programs such as NBC's ''
Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now''
* Current era, present
* The current calendar date
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...
'' and ABC's ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
''.
After CBN sold its group of terrestrial stations later in the decade, ''The 700 Club'' continued to air on CBN Cable as well as many commercial secular stations and Christian stations nationally. CBN was re-branded as The Family Channel in 1988. The Family Channel was packaged as part of a sale of
International Family Entertainment to
News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
and television producer
Haim Saban
Haim Saban (; he, חיים סבן; born October 15, 1944) is an Israeli-American media proprietor, investor, and producer of records, film, and television. A businessman with interests in financial services, entertainment, and media, and an e ...
in 1998. The channel was renamed Fox Family Channel, but only three years later Fox Family was sold to
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
and was subsequently re-branded ABC Family. Disney later rebranded ABC Family as
Freeform on January 12, 2016; Freeform was later
reunited with many of its former corporate siblings from News Corporation in 2019. , ''The 700 Club'' airs on Freeform three times daily, part of a contractual obligation originally made as part of the Family Channel's sale to News Corporation. As of 2009, the first airing of the show in the morning (only) has been preceded by a half-hour show called ''700 Club Interactive'', which utilizes Internet user-generated videos and comments by viewers of the show.
Political advocacy
Between 1978 and 1980, discussions on current political issues became a part of the program, and news segments were added in the first 20 minutes of the show. ''The 700 Club'' strongly supports Israel, especially in its conflicts with the
Palestinians
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
and the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
. Among its frequent Jewish guests are
Michael Medved
Michael Saul Medved (born October 3, 1948) is an American radio show host, author, political commentator, and film critic. His talk show, ''The Michael Medved Show'', is syndicated from his home station KTTH in Seattle. It is syndicated via Gen ...
and
Rabbi Daniel Lapin
Daniel Lapin (born January 1, 1947) is an American Orthodox rabbi, author, and public speaker. xaminer om/article/rabbi-lapin-reveals-prosperity-secrets (URL blocked by Wikipedia) He was previously the founding rabbi of the Pacific Jewish Center ...
, who share ''Club'' conservative
Judeo-Christian
The term Judeo-Christian is used to group Christianity and Judaism together, either in reference to Christianity's derivation from Judaism, Christianity's borrowing of Jewish Scripture to constitute the "Old Testament" of the Christian Bible, or ...
beliefs.
Staff
Hosts
*
Gordon Robertson (1999–)
*
Terry Meeuwsen
Terry Anne Meeuwsen Friedrich (born March 2, 1949) is an American television personality, co-host of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN)'s ''700 Club'', author and singer.
Meeuwsen was the 1972 Miss Appleton, 1972 Miss Wisconsin and the w ...
(1993–)
*Wendy Griffith (2013–), occasional news anchor
*Ashley Key (2021–)
CBN News reporters
*John Jessup (2003–), main news anchor
*Charlene Aaron (2003-), news anchor
*Jennifer Wishon (2008–)
*Efrem Graham (2009–)
*Mark Martin (2009–)
*Gary Lane (1984-)
*Dale Hurd (1991–)
*Scott Ross (1988–)
*Chris Mitchell (1989-)
*Paul Strand (1995–)
*George Thomas (1996-)
*Heather Sells (2005-)
*Lorie Johnson (2009-)
*Caitlin Burke (2014-)
*Abigail Robertson (2015-)
*Jenna Browder (2016-)
*Brody Carter (2021-)
Former
Hosts
*
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is an American media mogul, religious broadcaster, political commentator, former presidential candidate, and former Southern Baptist minister. Robertson advocates a conservative Christian ...
(1966–87, 1988–2021)
*
Jim Bakker
James Orsen Bakker (; born January 2, 1940) is an American televangelist and convicted fraudster. Between 1974 and 1987, Bakker hosted the television program '' The PTL Club'' and its cable television platform, the PTL Satellite Network, with ...
(1966–72) alternating hosting duties with Robertson
*
Ben Kinchlow
Harvey Ben Kinchlow (December 27, 1936 – July 18, 2019) was an American evangelist who co-hosted ''The 700 Club'' from 1975 to 1988 and again from 1992 to 1996. He also hosted other shows on the Christian Broadcasting Network such as ''Straigh ...
(1975–88, 1992–96)
*
Sheila Walsh (1987–92)
*Danuta Rylko Soderman (1983–88)
*Kristi Watts (1999–2013)
*
Lisa Ryan
Lisa Ryan (''Lisa Gail Davenport''; born c. 1960) is an American author and speaker. She has had a career as a television actress, host, reporter and producer. She assumed the title of Miss California in 1982 after Debra Maffett was crowned Miss A ...
(1996–2005)
*Tim Robertson (1987–88)
*
Susan Howard
Jeri Lynn Mooney (born January 28, 1944), better known as Susan Howard, is an American actress, writer, and political activist. She portrayed Donna Culver Krebbs on ''Dallas'' (1979–1987) and co-starred on ''Petrocelli'' (1974–1976). She is ...
(1987–88)
CBN News reporters
*Lee Webb (2001–13)
Criticism
As a commentator and minister on ''The 700 Club'', Robertson made many controversial statements attracting criticism.
Robertson's service as a minister has included the controversial belief in the
healing
With physical trauma or disease suffered by an organism, healing involves the repairing of damaged tissue(s), organs and the biological system as a whole and resumption of (normal) functioning. Medicine includes the process by which the cells i ...
power of God. He credited his prayers for steering the course of
Hurricane Gloria
Hurricane Gloria was a powerful hurricane that caused significant damage along the east coast of the United States and in Atlantic Canada during the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the first significant tropical cyclone to strike the n ...
in 1985. On March 23, 1995, Pat Robertson led a television program in which he attacked Hinduism, calling it "
demon
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...
ic". He has also referred to Islam as "
Satan
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...
ic". Robertson has denounced views of
feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
, activism regarding
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
,
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
, and liberal college professors. Critics claim Robertson had business dealings in Africa with former presidents
Charles Taylor of Liberia and
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997) was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997 (known as the Democratic Republic o ...
of
Zaire
Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...
who both had been internationally denounced for claims of human rights violations. Robertson was criticized worldwide for his call for
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
's assassination
and for his remarks concerning
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006.
S ...
's ill-health as an act of God.
Former ''700 Club'' co-host Danuta Rylko Soderman later criticized Robertson for having no room on the show for profiling people with progressive illness, who were overweight, had facial blemishes, used wheelchairs, crutches, were blind or had blindness, no disabilities that could not be healed as Robertson viewed people with such problems as "failures of the faith" and that "Robertson offers the Reader’s Digest version of answers to difficult and demanding religious, social, financial, marital, political, sexual and moral concepts." She also accused the show of faking a piece that had Robertson walking into a
Contras
The Contras were the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction Government in Nicaragua, which came to power in 1979 fol ...
camp in the
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
n jungle during the
Nicaraguan Civil War, claiming that the camp was actually a "prop" built by an airfield specifically for Robertson's visit.
The week of
September 11, 2001
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
, Robertson discussed the terror attacks with
Jerry Falwell
Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelism, televangelist, and conservatism in the United States, conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, ...
, who said that "the
ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
has to take a lot of blame for this" in addition to "the
pagan
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...
s, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays, and the
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
s
ho have
Ho (or the transliterations He or Heo) may refer to:
People Language and ethnicity
* Ho people, an ethnic group of India
** Ho language, a tribal language in India
* Hani people, or Ho people, an ethnic group in China, Laos and Vietnam
* Hiri Mo ...
helped
he terror attacks of September 11thhappen". Robertson replied, "I totally concur". Both evangelists were seriously criticized by President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
for their commentary, for which Falwell later issued an apology.
In October 2003, while interviewing
State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
critic Joel Mowbray about his book ''Dangerous Diplomacy'', Robertson appeared to suggest that destroying the
Harry S Truman Building
The Harry S Truman Building is the headquarters of the United States Department of State. It is located in Washington, D.C., and houses the office of the United States Secretary of State.
The Truman Building is located in the Foggy Bottom neighbo ...
with a nuclear bomb would enhance United States security by eliminating a nest of liberal traitors who secretly yearn for Islamic world domination. After officials condemned his remarks, Robertson aired a "clarifying" segment which he described as "issu
nga correction to the State Department" in which he reiterated his previous comments.
On November 9, 2009, Robertson said that Islam is "a violent political system bent on the overthrow of the governments of the world and world domination". He went on to elaborate that "you're dealing with not a religion, you're dealing with a political system, and I think we should treat it as such, and treat its adherents as such as we would members of the
communist party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
, members of some
fascist
Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
group".
Robertson's response to the
2010 Haiti earthquake
A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...
also drew worldwide controversy and was met with international condemnation.
[Urban Legend Expert Debunks Haitian 'Pact with the Devil'](_blank)
Robertson claimed that
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
's founders had sworn a "pact to
the Devil
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood. ...
" in order to liberate themselves from the
French slave
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
owners and indirectly attributed the earthquake to the consequences of the Haitian people being "cursed" for doing so.
CBN later issued a statement saying that Robertson's comments "were based on the widely-discussed 1791 slave rebellion led by
Dutty Boukman
Dutty Boukman (or Boukman Dutty; died 7 November 1791) was an early leader of the Haitian Revolution. Born in Senegambia (present-day Senegal and Gambia), he was enslaved
to Jamaica. He eventually ended up in Haiti, where he became a leader ...
at
Bois Caiman, where the slaves allegedly made a famous pact with the devil in exchange for victory over the French". Various figures in
mainline and
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
Christianity have on occasion disavowed some of Robertson's remarks.
[
]
References
External links
*
* for UK & Europe
*
''The 700 Club''at
Trinity Broadcasting Network
The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is an international Christian-based broadcast television network and the world's largest religious television network. TBN was headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, until March 3, 2017, when it sold its ...
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