700 Club's responds to Pat Robertson's Alzheimer's comment

Wow! My blog about Pat Robertson supporting divorce of a mate with Alzheimer's disease generated many responses to my email. (They don't show on my blog. I've done something wrong which doesn't allow comments to be shown.) At any rate, a dear friend and reader, Reverend Marlo Jenkins, wrote to 700 Club to voice his disappointment with Pat Robertson's response supporting divorce of a mate with Alzheimer's. Below is the reply given by 700 Club to my Pastor Jenkins who happens to be a Pentecostal Minister.

 Thank you for sharing your concern about Pat Robertson's response to a Bring It On question about a friend's wife in the late stages of Alzheimer's.

Having had many close friends struggle through Alzheimer's, Pat has seen the devastating impact that it has on not only the spouse with the disease, but especially the caregiver whose quality of life also becomes completely debilitated by it.

The advice he offered was meant for only the most extreme cases, where the spouse is in the advanced stages of the disease (such as the woman in the letter) and the mental health of the caregiver is also at risk.

Pat acknowledges that this is a hard thing, saying, "This is an ethical question that is beyond my call." He also said, "Get some ethicist besides me to give you the answer, because I recognize the dilemma."

We are including below the complete transcript, which we hope will clarify Pat's answer.

Transcript

The 700 Club Daily Broadcast

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

BRING IT ON

TERRY MEEUWSEN: Well, we have your questions from our chat room, and we'd like to take some time to address them now. Pat, this is Andreas, who says, "I have a friend whose wife suffers from Alzheimer's. She doesn't even recognize him anymore. And as you can imagine, the marriage has been rough. My friend has gotten bitter at God for allowing his wife to be in that condition, and now he has started seeing another woman. He says that he should be allowed to see other people because his wife, as he knows her, is gone. I'm not quite sure what to tell him. Please help."

PAT ROBERTSON: That is a terribly hard thing. I hate Alzheimer's. It is one of the most awful things, because here is the loved one. This is the woman or man that you have loved for 20, 30, 40 years, and suddenly that person is gone. They're gone. They are gone. So what he says, basically, is correct. I know it sounds cruel, but if he is going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again, but to make sure she has custodial care and somebody looking after her.

TERRY MEEUWSEN: But isn't that the vow we take when we marry someone, that it's for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer?

PAT ROBERTSON: I know, if you respect that vow. But you say, "To death do us part," and this is a kind of a death. So that's what he is saying, is that she's like-but this is an ethical question that is beyond my can do to tell you. But I certainly wouldn't put a guilt trip on you if you decided that you had to have companionship, you're lonely, and you're asking for some companionship. But what a grief. I know one man who went to see his wife every single day, and she didn't recognize him one single day. And she would complain that he never came to see her. And it's really hurtful, because they say crazy things.

TERRY MEEUWSEN: Well, they see things, too.

PAT ROBERTSON: She finally died. I don't know what he's done. But nevertheless, it is a terribly difficult thing for somebody. And I can't fault them for wanting some kind of companionship. And if he says in a sense, she is gone, he is right. It's like a walking death. But get some ethicist besides me to give you the answer, because I recognize the dilemma, and the last thing I would do is condemn you for taking that kind of action. All right.

The Christian Broadcasting Network

http://www.cbn.com

My friend is a Pentecostal Pastor. He replied to the 700 Club's reply as follows:

"Thanks for your reply. I heard Pat clearly. Compassion is important and necessary. However, we cannot allow the compassion we feel for the healthy individuals in situations like these to lead us to construct beliefs and positions that contradict what the Bible itself says regarding marriage. What about compassion for the person with the illness?"

"I have also known the challenges that individuals face who have spouses with Alzheimers and ALS, etc. What I have been fortunate to witness are the healthy partners in these marriages follow through to the end with the marriage vows they made before God."

"I'm convinced we don't need an 'ethicist' to determine what the Biblical response should be in a case like this. The Bible is pretty clear that the marriage vow is until death separates. There is really no wiggle room to expand 'till death do us part' to 'this is a kind of death' like Robertson said. What is an 'ethicist' anyway :-)"

"I find it difficult to understand how someone who says they represent a Biblical approach to life can say something like, "...if you respect that vow." That's a very surprising comment, especially in a society where there is such an aggressive assault on God's design for marriage and on the value of human life. I'm disappointed that your response was more about defending Pat's comments. I would hope he would reconsider what he said and publicly give a new statement addressing this question. There are many people that are influenced by his comments."

"Rev. Marlo Jenkins
Eaglemont Christian Church
Beaumont, AB"

Thank you Pastor Marlo. Well said. Christians must be careful what they say lest we bring discredit on the Faith or fellow-Christians with a careless or thoughtless comment. And this is especially true for Christians in high profile positions. The world is watching us and may judge all Christianity based on their experience with one Christian. It's not right but it happens.

MP