CBN News announced today that Pat Robertson died. Pat Robertson was born on March 22, 1930. His father, Absalom Willis Robertson served in Congress as both a Senator and Representative for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
CBN reports:
Perhaps best known for offering prayer and political commentary at the helm of The 700 Club, the flagship program of his media ministry, Robertson’s rise to prominence is rooted in what he called a vision from God to create The Christian Broadcasting Network, which he founded in 1960. A prolific innovator, he also started a Christian university, a legal advocacy group, and an international NGO specializing in disaster relief.
Even while promoting a worldview that believes in the inerrancy of the Bible, both his approach to business and his on-air persona were considered unorthodox by some – if not ahead of his time. Today, his influence and legacy crisscross interests and industries that have broken barriers for countless Christian leaders and laypeople.
…In 1966, Robertson began hosting a daily talk show, The 700 Club. Still on the air today, it is one of the longest-running programs in television history.
From the set of The 700 Club, he transformed Christian television. But his reach went far beyond spirituality.
By the 1970s, Robertson – who once described himself as a “newsman” at heart – had secured interviews with military and political leaders such as the late Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s prime minister, and Jimmy Carter, who was then Georgia’s governor and would win the White House with the support of evangelical Christians.
Four years later, Robertson was part of the conservative leadership that helped propel Ronald Reagan into the White House in 1980.
The article also notes:
He expanded his political influence by bringing thousands of evangelicals into the electoral process through the founding of the Christian Coalition. He also created the American Center for Law and Justice with a mandate to protect religious freedoms.
“Pat always had this vision to go where a lot of people don’t go. When you do that, sometimes you’re criticized by people,” Pastor Laurie said. “He’s been a risk taker in the best sense of the word. A visionary. A dreamer. But someone whose message was the Gospel.”
With his return to CBN after the failed campaign, Robertson took the company globally, dramatically extending the reach of the ministry’s Christian programming to over 150 countries in more than 100 languages through satellite technology.
Pat Robertson often reminded viewers that America was based on Judeo-Christian principles of law. He encouraged Christians to get involved in politics and uphold those principles. If our current politicians followed those principles today, our country would be in a much better place.
Pat Robertson will be missed, but he left an unbelievable legacy and was an example for all of us.
