Pat Robertson Expects Men to Commit Sexual Sin (and it’s not the first time)
Pat Robertson, evangelical host of the television show “The 700 Club,” was answering a viewer question about adultery on today’s (May 15, 2013) program, in the segment of the show called “Bring It On.”
The woman said her husband had an affair, and she was trying to forgive him but couldn’t move past it.
Robertson’s answer to this viewer is similar to previous ones he’s given, where he rationalizes and excuses the male’s sinful actions, and he continues to imply that men just can’t help it, gosh dang it, because males are wired to see a hot woman and get worked up over it, and they cannot resist.
Contra to Pat Robertson the Bible says something about the Holy Spirit giving each believer a measure of self-control, and in other New Testament passages, Paul talks about sexual behavior as though it is something that can be controlled by each believer; the Bible does not speak of sex as something that is beyond a person’s control or ability to avoid.
In his response to the married lady’s letter today, Robertson said (I am typing this from memory – though the first comment is a word- for- word quote of his; the rest are accurate paraphrases of his comments):
- “Well he’s a man, okay.”
“Males have a tendency to wander a little bit and you have to make home as appealing as you can so he won’t want to cheat.”
“The magazines are filled with salacious pictures of women”
“Everywhere there are salacious temptatations to tempt a man.”
Robertson has taken a similar position in the past, when women write in to ask him why their husband is an alcoholic; a cheater; or what have you.
Robertson’s response is to blame the woman. In some situations, and despite not having a photo of the wife, and despite the letter writer not mentioning the appearance of the wife, Robertson assumes the wife is ugly and fat, and tells her men like pretty ladies, so the wife needs to lose weight and dress nice, that if only the wife would be skinny, pretty and non argumentative, she would not give her a husband a reason to be unfaithful, get drunk, or whatever.
I find it jaw dropping, very sexist, and incredible that Robertson keeps being so sexist.
A man is responsible for his own actions. It doesn’t matter if his wife is 800 pounds and toothless; that still would not give him a right to seek out a 25 year old 120 pound fashion model to start up a fling.
If you think about it, some of Robertson’s views are sexist against men.
I’d like to think at least some men on the planet are not so prone to, or easy to, caving in to sexual temptation, mistreating their wives or committing adultery, but he suggests men are helpless against their lusts or hormones, and a woman should just accept this as a fact of life.
By the way, this gets back to one theme I have been hammering away at on this blog for over a year:
One reason that there is so much sexual sin among Christians is that there is NO EXPECTATION THAT CHRISTIANS CAN OR WILL CONTROL SEXUAL BEHAVIOR.
It is continually ASSUMED and put forth by pastors, Christian authors on dating books, Christian blogs about dating, and by average lay persons, that sex is something that cannot be resisted or lived without.
Robertson’s quotes to his viewers that I have highlighted in this post is an example of what I mean. He is not the only one, however. I see other Christians, “every day Joe’s” around the web, who make similar comments: they feel they cannot live “X” number of days or months without sex.
Pastor Mark Driscoll of “Mars Hill” church frequently makes the same assumption in his speeches, blogs, or books about sex, dating, marriage: because he cannot picture himself living without sex for more than 3, 4 days in a row, he cannot conceive of any Christian being able to go long without sex.
And of course Driscoll is not the only one. If you look around the web long enough, on sites containing blogs by Christian pastors, or listen to their sermons on You Tube, or watch Christian talking heads on “TBN,” these assumptions come up over and over and over again.
As long as Christians keep buying into the secular premise that sex is a biological necessity that cannot be resisted, and preachers do not have an attitude of EXPECTATION that Christians can and will refrain from sex, we will keep seeing Christians, both married and single, committing sexual sin.
Update: Here’s the video (at least I think it’s the same thing I saw the other day):
Same video segment hosted here:
(Link): Robertson: Husband Cheated But “Well, He’s A Man” (Video on You Tube)
I have other posts about this, if you’d like to see examples; here are one or two:
(Link): Creepy, Creepy and Sexist Pat Robertson
Here’s a video of Robertson where he defended General Petraeus over having an extra-affair (“Pat Robertson Excuses David Petraeus: ‘He’s a Man'”):
- Pat Robertson says Petraeus simply couldn’t help himself: “The man’s off in a foreign land and he’s lonely and here’s a good-looking lady throwing herself at him. He’s a man.”
I’m trying to find a link to the video where he replies to it. It might be on this page somewhere:
(Link): Pat Robertson Bring It On
Or this page:
(Link): All Videos for ‘Bring It On’
Here’s a similar viewer question and reply, but this is NOT the specific episode I am talking about in this post:
If I can find the exact page or video, I will try to edit this post later to add a link to it.
You can visit this page to see or read a whole bunch of Pat Robertson replies to questions about sex, dating, marriage:
(Link): Pat Robertson Advice on Sex, Dating, Marriage
Robertson: Women Usually to Blame for Troubled Marriages:
Other sites hosting the same video:
(Link): Pat Robertson On Cheating Husband: ‘He’s A Man!’
Additional links:
(Link): Pat Robertson: “Males Have A Tendency to Wander”
(Link):According to Pat Robertson, It’s Your Fault Your Husband Cheated on You
(Link): Pat Robertson tells wife of cheating husband to buck up, provide a better home
- No stranger to controversy, Christian host Pat Robertson told a female viewer that she should get over her husband’s infidelity because ‘he’s a man.’ He also suggested she instead focus on making their home so wonderful her husband won’t want to stray.
(Link): Pat Robertson shrugs off adultery, CBN regrets the misunderstanding
(Link): Pat Robertson: Husbands won’t cheat if the wife makes the home “wonderful”
(Link): Pat Robertson Insensitively Advises Woman to Get Over Her Husband’s Cheating (VIDEO)
(Link): Pat Robertson: Cheating is natural and probably women’s fault
(Link):Pat Robertson To Woman with Cheating Husband: Get Over It, He's a Man (Gawker)
- Are you married to a man who committed the ultimate act of betrayal and cheated on you? Are you finding it impossible to forgive him because he ruined your relationship and destroyed the sense of trust you thought you shared? Not sure how to move on? Well, Pat Robertson has some advice for you: Get over it because men can’t help but cheat and it’s probably your fault anyway.
(Link): WATCH: Pat Robertson Tells Us a Husband’s Cheating is Clearly the Woman’s Fault
(Link): Pat Robertson Tells Wife of Cheater, ‘He’s a Man’
- Televangelist Pat Robertson is under fire once again after telling the wife of a cheating husband to get over the infidelity and provide a better home so he doesn’t “wander.”
But it was the way Robertson ended his response that set off a firestorm.
“Males have a tendency to wander a little bit, and what you want to do it make the home so wonderful that he doesn’t want to wander,” he said.
The Christian Broadcasting Network released a statement, saying, …“Lastly, his point was that everyone is human and there is much temptation outside of the home, so she should do whatever she can to strengthen their home and relationship. His intent was not to condone infidelity or to cast blame. We regret any misunderstanding,” the statement concluded.
The Internet went on overdrive as negative comments poured in on Twitter and on YouTube videos of the segment. Robertson’s advice provoked outrage not only from women but his fellow Christian leaders.
“I think it’s outrageous. Historically, Christians take personal responsibilities for our actions and immoral choices and don’t blame those on other people,” said Gabe Lyons, author of “The Next Christians.”
Robertson, 83, gave a similar answer when he spoke about Gen. David Petraeus’ affair with Paula Broadwell last year.
..Earlier this year Robertson was criticized when he suggested a woman’s looks might be to blame for her marital problems. Robertson told a story about a woman who asked a reverend how to stop her husband’s drinking problem.
“She was awful looking. The preacher looked at her and said, ‘Madam, if I was married to you I’d start to drink too,’” Robertson said.
(Link): Pat Robertson Defends Cheating Husband, Blames Wife, Media (Video)
(Link): Pat Robertson’s marital advice: Cheating husbands can now blame the wife
(Link): Family values: Pat Robertson justifies men cheating, blames women
(Link): Ugh, Here’s Pat Robertson Offering the Worst Marriage Advice
(Link): Evangelist Pat Robertson: Cheating man not to blame; it’s the wife’s fault
(Link): Pat Robertson says a husband’s infidelity is just a man being a man
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Related post this blog:
Christian Pundit 
[edited by blog owner to remove pro- Driscoll comments (totally off topic, this is not even a Driscoll thread), and to remove pot shots about my blog]
I get so annoyed, and have been annoyed since 1984, that his ‘co-host’ Terry never questions him about anything. She just sits there and nods, he interrupts her regularly. She is just window dressing for the ladies to relate to.
Reminds me of another woman who sits faithfully next to her tv preacher husband and says NOTHING. I do ont know how she can do it. I bet she secretly has her Ipod plugged in.
Why the cheap shots about my blog, the “crickets” comment? If you read my about page, I believe I explained there (or in one of my early posts), I really write this blog for me.
You’re lucky I published your comment and did not trash it. It was rather condescending in spots. See my policy on dissenters – I rarely publish posts like yours, and I don’t debate argumentative people.
I never expected to get any readers at this blog. I blog here mostly for me. I figured if like- minded single women found this blog and dug it or related to it, great, but I was not looking for a ton of readers.
I’m not like other bloggers who blog to get page views or members.
Mark Driscoll is a sexist asshat who can’t go for sex for more than three minutes, he admits as much in his sermons where he whined that Grace (his wife) did not put out enough for him.
In addition, Driscoll said he found it hard to listen to nubile young, married couples come to him and complain things such as,
“Pastor Mark, we only have sex ten times a week, but I would like it 45 times a week, but my spouse won’t co-operate! Pastor Mark, my wife will do oral sex on me but won’t let me bang her anally, what should we do?”
Driscoll admitted being jealous of those young couples because they were, in his view, having better and/or more sex than him and his wife at the time. The man is a big selfish baby who can’t go for three minutes without sex.
Driscoll’s wife engaged in pre marital sex, as was admitted to in one of their books, the one on marriage. I thought Driscoll had admitted to pre marital sex as well.
Even if he did not have pre-martial sex, as a married man, he complains about not getting enough sex, which is idiotic and juvenile sounding to this 40 something virgin.
I have never, ever had sex but would like to, and he has the audacity to bitch and moan in his sermons and online videos and books about not getting blow jobs and missionary sex daily?
Driscoll is a whiny baby, sex obsessed weirdo, and it looks like he steals other people’s written material:
(Link): Mark Driscoll Plagiarism? Examine for Yourself
(Link): Is Mark Driscoll A Serial Plagiarist?
(Link): Mark Driscoll Accused of Lying and Plagiarism
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Original remarks by Cathy Creswell | December 3, 2013 at 12:42 am (Edit)
I appreciate your views. Even though there is so little traffic here I can hear crickets, you have a lot to say. So, if Mark Driscoll can’t go without sex for 3 or 4 days, how did he wait until he was married? Being a teen must have been hell!