For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
Michael Brown
Yes, Pat Robertson has been known for giving controversial answers to topics such as homosexuality and global warming. To this I ask you what book has started the most controversial discussions in history? The Holy Bible! Wars have been waged because of what is written in the Bible. Dr. Robertson has repeatedly backed his opinion on these matters with scripture. I'm sure his opinions and comments about many things have ruffled a few feathers. The truth can do that easily.
To answer the question about The 700 Club being Biblical we need to look at the club as a whole. What is their mission & how are they going about achieving their goal. As it should be with all believers their mission is to bring lost souls into God's Kingdom. CBN has locations worldwide. They minister to hundreds of countries to many people who have never heard of Jesus Christ.
When a natural disaster hits, the CBN Disaster Relief team is often the first group to arrive & the last to leave. CBN Co-host Terry Meeuwsen founded Orphan's Promise which provides items like clothes, food, & medicines to people without it.
Matthew 25:35-40 tells us we are to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, & visit the sick. The 700 Club does these things on behalf of thousands of people who are unable to do this themselves.
I am a partner of The 700 Club. I am unable to do many things because I have am disabled. My donation to The 700 Club is used to bless millions of people worldwide. Is this Biblical? I think so.
Michael Brown
As Christians we should always use our discernment to determine the Biblical nature of people & their actions. With the many tools in this world we must be careful in this. I believe the work that CBN's The 700 Club is God's Word in action. They are fulfilling the mission God has given those of us who have accepted Him as our savior!
A few years ago CBN sent me an email thanking me for my monthly donation. The email told about a woman in Argentina who worked from dawn to dusk gathering things from the swamp to sell to provide the money needed to feed herself & her children. This hard work is often life-threatening & she only makes the equivalent of a few US dollars every week. They used my donation to provide her with the equipment & supplies to make life safer & easier. They also gave her items with which she can grow crops to feed her children. "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me" (Matthew 25:35)
My daughter read that email & she asked me if they have a minimum amount on the donations they accept. I told her they don't. She then asked me if I would help her make a donation as well. I told her nothing would make me happier. She went to her room and brought me a $10 bill. I gave CBN her $10 donation. I have no doubt The 700 Club used that money to bless others who would have gone without had CBN not stepped in.
The question was "Is The 700 Club Biblical?". My answer is an unequivocal YES!
Jean Email
I think Houdmann's comments on Pat Robertson are unnecessarily harsh. I have also read unbiblical falsehoods on a few of Houdmann's other answers on this blog. However this does not make him suspect in terms of his theology; I'm sure he loves Jesus like any other Christian. He just has his own interpretation of some issues.
Having said that, I do not always agree with everything Pat Robertson believes, but I do not doubt his love for the Lord and I believe he is a man of God. Over here in Africa, many of us who didn't have much access to the Word and biblical teaching in the 1980s learnt a lot from the 700 Club free sponsored programmes, as well as (dare I say it), Jim Bakker and Friends and Jimmy Swaggart Ministries. Yes ofcourse we all know the things that later happened to a few of those ministries, but this boils down to human failings interfering with a genuine calling as they did for any number of biblical characters, beginning with Abraham having an affair with a maid, Jacob (Israel) defrauding his father and brother, David stealing someone's wife and murdering the husband, Judas Iscariot (yes he was called to ministry by Jesus) betraying the Lord and Peter denying Jesus.... On and on I could go. Because for instance, King David did all those terrible things, we do not from then on despise everything else David taught; he fell in moments of weakness like a true human who needs salvation, then he got up through the help of God and we still all read and pray the Psalms.
Human failings in the bible do not mean we as Christians today should be free to do the same; we simply learn from them. Just like Pat has learnt from his mistakes and apologized, we can't judge over 40 years of their daily programme as worthless or suspect, simply because of Pat's one or two human missteps.
Michael Brown
We should also question the criticism we hear about Dr. Robertson's character. He has, on numerous occasions, spoken against agencies like the "progressive" left-wing party, homosexuals, Muslims, and many other agencies. These groups of people have the resources necessary to launch campaigns of retaliation defaming his Christian reputation.
Through The 700 Club Dr. Robertson is sharing the Gospel with the world. They are also enabling those of us who are not able to "go and make disciples of all nations..." (Matthew 28;16) the ability to do that through them.
I am disabled due to a traumatic brain injury. I am not able to go the the locations The 700 Club does. But by supporting that ministry I AM able to take the gospel message to those who would probably not hear it if it wasn't for that ministry. They also work on healing and education in very remote locations.
From the evidence I've seen Dr. Robertson has a giving heart and will do great things for others.
I am skeptic to believe blasphemous accusations from others. This is only an example of Satan at work!
Jean Email
Admittedly Pat Robertson is seen as a renegade by liberal opinion. Personally, when he sometimes say certain things that court controversy, I'm right behind him supporting him for being brave enough to say it.
But I have personally disagreed with some of his predictions; for instance he predicted the end of the world would happen in 1982 and it didn't. He called for the assassination of Hugo Chavez when Jesus clearly teaches that we are not to call for the death of unbelievers in Luke 9:54-57. He also predicted that God had shown him Obama would not be re-elected and said Romney was taking the White House.
In my opinion, these are human failings and an otherwise dedicated life in the ministry should not be dismissed because of this. I have benefitted from this ministry having only previously know about God only from traditional churches. The 700 Club was my first introduction to miracles and understanding the Word in a way that's relevant to my life. Blessings.