Television evangelist Pat Robertson has found himself in the midst of controversy after remarks he made on his television program, “The 700 Club” this fall regarding marriage and Alzheimer’s disease.
A man called into the show and asked what he should say to a friend whose wife was suffering from dementia and no longer recognized him. Robertson responded:
“This is a terribly hard thing. I hate Alzheimer’s. It is one of the most awful things, because here’s the loved one — this is the woman or man that you have loved for 20, 30, 40 years, and suddenly that person is gone...I know it sounds cruel, but if he’s going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again, but to make sure she has custodial care, somebody looking after her.”
This response does not sit well in a country where 5.4 million Americans live with the devastating disease, who are cared for by nearly 15 million friends and family members, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
When the show’s co-anchor mentions questions if Robertson’s views are consistent with marriage vows, he responds that Alzheimer’s is “a kind of death.”
In response to Robertson’s comments, Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, reinforced that marriage is a lifelong commitment. Quoting Corinthians, Anderson said:
"The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. You can't quit your own body with Alzheimer's, so you shouldn't quit your husband's or wife's body either."
To this Christian, “I do” is just as powerful as “in sickness and in health.”
CatholicMatchers, what do you think?
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