Friday, December 02, 2005
Another Off-The-Wall Lie from Pat Robertson
Robertson falsely claims Americans United's Lynn has said Constitution prohibits fire department from saving a burning church
mediamatters.org
On the November 30 edition of Christian Broadcasting Network's The 700 Club, host Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition of America, falsely claimed that Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (AU), has said, "if a church is burning down, the local community could not send the fire engine to put the fire out because that would violate, quote, separation of church and state." Robertson's comments came during a segment with Fox News' John Gibson, in which they were discussing the so-called "war" on Christmas and a perceived anti-Christian bias toward acknowledging the holiday.
On numerous occasions over the past several years, Robertson has accused Lynn of claiming that the Constitution prohibits a locality from sending fire trucks to burning churches. But in a November 2002 "Memo to Pat and Jerry" written in Church and State, AU's official publication, Lynn denied the charges.
He wrote, "Robertson, for example, continues to tell national television audiences that I believe that a public fire department can't go to a burning church without violating the separation of church and state. He apparently uses this "anecdote" to demonstrate my radical, wacky beliefs."
Lynn continued, "Trouble is (for him), I never said it and don't believe it. Journalists who have heard the claim and bothered to research the point fail to find evidence of me saying it. The reason is that fictional attributions don't show up in Internet news databases."
Even the religious organization, Focus on the Family, has noted that this claim is false.
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Robertson falsely claims Americans United's Lynn has said Constitution prohibits fire department from saving a burning church
mediamatters.org
On the November 30 edition of Christian Broadcasting Network's The 700 Club, host Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition of America, falsely claimed that Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (AU), has said, "if a church is burning down, the local community could not send the fire engine to put the fire out because that would violate, quote, separation of church and state." Robertson's comments came during a segment with Fox News' John Gibson, in which they were discussing the so-called "war" on Christmas and a perceived anti-Christian bias toward acknowledging the holiday.
On numerous occasions over the past several years, Robertson has accused Lynn of claiming that the Constitution prohibits a locality from sending fire trucks to burning churches. But in a November 2002 "Memo to Pat and Jerry" written in Church and State, AU's official publication, Lynn denied the charges.
He wrote, "Robertson, for example, continues to tell national television audiences that I believe that a public fire department can't go to a burning church without violating the separation of church and state. He apparently uses this "anecdote" to demonstrate my radical, wacky beliefs."
Lynn continued, "Trouble is (for him), I never said it and don't believe it. Journalists who have heard the claim and bothered to research the point fail to find evidence of me saying it. The reason is that fictional attributions don't show up in Internet news databases."
Even the religious organization, Focus on the Family, has noted that this claim is false.
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Comments:
Isn't it amazing what bald-faced lies Pat Robertson will come up in order to demonize others? And he calls himself a man of faith?! Well, whatever it is that he believes in, I don't want any part of it.
If he's not calling for the assassination of a head of state (Hugo Chaves), then he's claiming that the town of Dover, PA, will basically burn in hell for voting out the Intelligent Design supporters.
Why do people send money to this lunatic?!
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If he's not calling for the assassination of a head of state (Hugo Chaves), then he's claiming that the town of Dover, PA, will basically burn in hell for voting out the Intelligent Design supporters.
Why do people send money to this lunatic?!
