Dear Christian Broadcasting Network

Dear Christian Broadcasting Network,

      It is with a heavy and grievous heart that I am writing these words to you. I am both saddened and appalled with the statements made by Pat Robertson regarding international adoption on the 700 Club that aired Thursday August 16, 2012. In response to a letter your network received from a mother seeking advice on how to react to men not wanting to date her when they discover that she has 3 internationally adopted daughters, Robertson stated,

"A man doesn't want to take on the United Nations, and a woman has all these various children, blended family, what is it – you don't know what problems there are. I'm serious. I've got a dear friend, an adopted son, a little kid from an orphanage down in Columbia. Child had brain damage, grew up weird. And you just never know what's been done to a child before you get that child. What kind of sexual abuse has been, what kind of cruelty, what kind of food deprivation, etc. etc." the televangelist said.

Robertson continued: "You don't have to take on somebody else's problems. You really don't. You can help people – we administer to orphans all over the world, we love helping people. But that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm going to take all the orphans around the world into my home.

"Ok, let's take the next question – I'm in trouble," he concluded.

   The statement above reflects the heart of a man who has cheapened the gospel of Jesus Christ. From Genesis to Revelation, the doctrine of adoption is intricately woven throughout its pages. There is no gospel apart from the doctrine of adoption. As believers, we have been lovingly, graciously, and passionately adopted into the family of God.

Rick Morton, co-author of 'Orphanology,' and adoptive father, made the following remark in response to Rev. Robertson's statement and I wholeheartedly agree with him.

"These are not offhand slips of the lip. They reflect a heart and a Theology that cheapens the gospel. The gospel says that God reached down from Heaven in Christ to live and die for the sins of people who were broken, selfish, rebellious, sick, and deprave. Robertson’s consistent comments regarding orphans portrays a brand of Christianity that is concerned with comfort, ease, and selfish pride. In short, the Scriptures demand that we care for orphans in their distress, and Robertson’s gospel call on us to do it only if it is easy, convenient, and enriching to our own lives and egos. In fact, that is really no gospel at all."

Scripture teaches us to,

Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, 

and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. 

Titus 2:2

Rev. Robertson's comments do not reflect sound faith or doctrine. They are not temperate, full of love and compassion, or worthy of respect. Nor does he display self-control when he speaks on behalf of Christ. Because his words are viewed by millions and millions of people worldwide, I am asking that he be removed from your program. He is leading the people of God astray and it has to stop. I do not believe that his comments reflect the heart and the ministry of the Christian Broadcasting Network and this why he must no longer have a public role in your ministry. 

It is my hope that the outcry of believers worldwide over the statements made by Rev. Robertson concerning international adoption will not be over-looked, and that those responsible for moving forward after this incident will act Biblically and in a manner worthy of Christ Jesus, our Lord. 

Respectfully,

Megan R. Card